CHALLENGES OF DOOM : SPIDER-MAN #1 – With Me or Against Me

Creative Team – Al Ewing, David Messina, Rain Beredo, VC’s Travis Lanham, Fabrizio De Tommaso

Published by Marvel Comics

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The Story

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Megan and Shawn!

Shawn – Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1 marks another amazing entry into the Challenges of Doom series. After kicking off with Doom’s most famous adversary, Reed Richards, we are now treated to an encounter between Doctor Doom and Peter Parker. I loved that Al Ewing’s approach to this story was for Doom to see Spider-Man as a sort of science experiment. Pretty much everyone in comics knows how Peter Parker became Spider-Man, but this story takes it a little further with Doom examining down to the core of who Peter Parker is and what makes him tick.

Ewing crafts a delightful banter between two of Marvel Comics’ signature characters. While Spider-Man has always been a bit of a clown with his style of humor, the best writers can capture that Doom is rather humorous in his own way. Ewing perfectly brings this to the pages. Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1 really captures what makes these two characters unique, as well as sets the tone for fans who may be new to comic books to understand the long-running, begrudging respect between Doctor Doom and Spider-Man.Ewing treats us to one of the few times that Doom truly underestimates someone and while he still views Spider-Man as a Jester at a circus, it’s clear that Doom learns from his interactions with Peter Parker.

Megan – Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1 brings two of my favorite characters together, Doctor Doom and Spider-Man. Doom has his glowing green eyes on everyone’s favorite webhead and Spider-Man could not be more uninterested in what Doom has to sell. That’s a problem because Doom is of the mindset “you’re either with me or against me”. With these two powerhouses not seeing eye to eye, we get to see both bring whatever they have against each other.

I enjoyed this comic SO much! What Al Ewing does is bring the best out of both characters. Doom is firing on all cylinders and Spider-Man isn’t holding anything back. Doctor Doom thinks he has Spider-Man figured out, but Spidey is used to being underestimated and knows what he’s doing. This was such a great mash up of these two characters and makes me very excited to see the next issue which includes Dr. Strange!

The Art

Shawn -The art team from Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1 really knocked this one out of the park. On top of just the incredible overall art in the story, there’s a significant focus on close-up art in this issue. David Messina masterfully captures the emotions of Doom, which speaks to his ability as an artist since you can only see Doom’s eyes and a slight area around them. The line work is just spectacular, and it takes a bold artist to accept an assignment with so many close-up panels because there is nowhere to hide a mistake. Rain Beredo does a spectacular job with colors, perfectly capturing the signature colors and style of Doom and Spider-Man, making them look visually stunning. Travis Lanham really stood out not only for helping the story flow but also for the sound effects that he brought to the page. I loved that Lanham occasionally broke across the panels with the sound effects for Doom, as it really makes you feel Doom’s power.

Megan – The artists of Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1 certainly brought their A-game and knocked this one out of the park. David Messina’s linework is beautifully done with each panel being excellently detailed. I love how Messina was able to grasp the menacing look in Doom’s eyes and also the acrobatic nature of Spider-Man. Rain Beredo handles the colors and does a great job at making Doom’s classic green and the vibrant Spidey look the focal point of the panels. Travis Lanham cooks hard on this issue with his work with the lettering. What I loved that he did were the sound effects! He made the story feel larger than life with his use of the sound effects, even giving them their own panels. Absolutely splendid work all around!

Final Thoughts

Shawn – 10/10. Another fantastic issue in a run of what have been simply amazing Doctor Doom stories. This entire creative team perfectly captures Doom, Spider-Man, and their relationship to each other. The story is both simple and complex and has me desperate for the next issue featuring Doctor Strange.

Megan – 10/10. No matter if you’re a Spider-Man fan or Doctor Doom fan, you’re going to love this issue. This brings out the best qualities of Spider-Man and shows you the complexity of Doom. Al Ewing and the artists really knocked this out of the park.

Overall Grade –

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