Fantastic Four #246
Published and © by Marvel, September 1982
Title: “Too Many Dooms”
Synopsis: With the help of several Doombots, Doctor Doom escapes the miniature town of Liddleville to again menace the Fantastic Four.
Writer: John Byrne
Artist: Byrne
Review: Doctor Doom finally escapes Liddleville (where he was trapped in Fantastic Four #236 [see review]) to again threaten the FF. Writer/artist John Byrne clearly enjoys playing with Doom, and he writes the character well; there’s little question the not-so-good doctor will be the premiere FF villain of Byrne’s tenure. But this issue is a pretty routine exercise in splitting the FF up so each member has a chance to face off against the deposed Latverian monarch. There’s a nice twist ending, though (tying into FF #200), and, of course, this issue is very well drawn.
Grade: B+
Second opinion: “The last we saw Victor von Doom at the peak of his characterization was in FF #84-87 … Byrne would begin to change all that, not only restoring Doom to his menacing, cultured best, but also deepening his characterization by placing him in situations calculated to reveal his human side.” – Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1980s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon,” 2014
Cool factor: The Thing is often smarter than his gruff persona would suggest, especially during Byrne’s stint on FF.
Notable: The “Fantastic Four Fan Page” letters page includes an LoC from future comics artist Jill Thompson.
Collector’s note: According to MyComicShop.com, there is a Mark Jewelers variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “As ever your brutish reactions are as predictable as they are stupid.” – Doctor Doom to the Thing, followed, one would guess, by “neener-neener-neener”
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Oct. 26, 2009.
