Challenges of Doom: Mr. Fantastic #1 – Pain is For Lesser Men

Victor Von Doom is anything but ordinary. Throughout his life, he has faced great challenges and great triumphs. Along the way, various individuals have stood alongside and against Doom. Perhaps no greater rival has Doom than Reed Richards. In Challenges of Doom: Mr. Fantastic, we are treated to the tale of how the greatest rivalry in comic books began.

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

Creative Team

Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Mike Henderson
Color Artist: Mattia Iacono
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Fabrizio De Tommaso

Writing

Megan: With all that’s going on with Doctor Doom, I love that we get a look back to where it all started, where Victor Von Doom came into the Doctor Doom role. Of course, this means getting into the nitty gritty of where the iconic rivalry started with Reed Richards and Doctor Doom. What started as a simple dislike has turned into something so much bigger, creating stories all based on these two powerhouse of characters in Marvel Comics.

Challenges of Doom: Mr. Fantastic #1 is a perfect jumping off point for any new Doom fans to get to know the origins of Doctor Doom. It’s also excellent for really any fan of Doom, to get a closer look at how it all started.

Al Ewing does a fantastic job at putting these huge personalities on full display. Victor Von Doom, who has known his importance from the very beginning, wears every emotion on his sleeve. From grief, to anger, and all wrapped in arrogance, Ewing leaves nothing to the imagination when it comes to Doom.

Shawn: Al Ewing did such an amazing job on this first issue. While there is no greater rivalry in comics in my mind than that of Doom and Richards, Ewing peels back the curtain to show us how we got here. You need to be a long-time fan of the Fantastic Four or Doctor Doom to piece together the pieces of how we arrived at Victor Von Doom becoming Doctor Doom. Ewing takes those bits and pieces and places them into a singular story for readers to better understand what makes Doom tick.

My favorite thing about this story is that Ewing shows us that what we recognize as defining characteristics of both Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom have been baked into their personalities since the beginning. Doom’s confidence and ego, even in the face of overwhelming failure, and Reed’s penchant for overthinking everything come through even in their younger years. Ewing perfectly captures the suffering of Doom and how he blames Reed for his injuries. This was an amazing first issue and I can’t wait to see where Ewing takes us from here.

Art

Megan: Challenges of Doom: Mr. Fantastic #1 puts the power of Doom into perspective in many ways. Not just his powersets, but the power of his mind, the power of his emotions, and the power of his decisions. Mike Henderson, Mattia Iacono, and Travis Lanham masterfully bring these depths to life through their artwork. Henderson excellently captures the tension that comes with Victor Von Doom from the start of his villainous life all the way to the first look of Doctor Doom with his excellent drawings. Iacono takes a dark story and brings a huge amount of vibrancy to it, making each page nothing short of stunning. Lanham creates an excellent flow of dialogue for the characters and really captures the tones of the story through the character’s words. Together, the artists truly made this a memorable issue.

Shawn: Mike Henderson and Mattia Iacono do such a spectacular job with this issue. As this issue serves as a background to Reed and Doom’s rivalry, we move through various stages of life and time. Henderson and Iacono handle this perfectly. Henderson put such detail into the scarred and maimed face of Doom that it is truly terrifying and makes your own face hurt seeing it. Though his linework, Henderson makes you feel the confidence and ego that radiates from even young Victor.

Iacono did a spectacular job with coloring. I loved his decision with the younger college versions of Victor and Reed to maintain their Green vs Blue color palette, even though their clothing was more like the clothes of the time period the story was occurring, rather than the outfits we are used to seeing them in. Iacono also did a spectacular job with black and shading, choosing just the right moments and areas of the panel to envelop in darkness to draw you into the world. Travis Lanham brings emphasis to the power of Doom through his perfect lettering while helping to ensure the story flows easily.

Final Thoughts

Megan: 10/10. Challenges of Doom: Mr. Fantastic #1 is the perfect comic for any fan. If you’re new to Doctor Doom, this is an excellent jumping off point to get to know his origins. If you’re a lifelong fan of Doom, you’ll absolutely love this look in the past.

Shawn: 10/10. Ewing continues to show how versatile he is in writing various characters at Marvel. Challenges of Doom: Mr. Fantastic provides the perfect introduction to two iconic characters and their backstory in one convenient story. For people who will be drawn to the story of Doom and Richards because of the upcoming MCU movie, Ewing, Henderson, and Iacono create a perfect jumping-off point to get the background on their relationship and lifelong conflict. The story was well done, informative, and entertaining.

Overall Grade: 10/10

What did you think about the first Challenges of Doom story? Let us know in the comments