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doomfans2018-04-26 11:38 pm
nomadicwriter) wrote in doomfans2018-04-26 11:38 pm
Invincible Iron Man #599
Good news: the issue opens with an absolutely fantastic scene between Doom and Amara, as seen in the preview. Bad news: this is all the Doom we get this issue.
So, a quick summary of the rest of events:
- Tony shows up alive and well (albeit wearing a wig and stick-on beard to cover his baldness) to visit his mom. He asks about his biological father, who was a Hydra agent Amanda supposedly killed; however, turns out at the end that he's not so dead and Amanda knows as much.
- Red Hood discovers Tony is missing and joins Stark Industries Board Dude to form an alliance of boring antagonists I don't care about.
- In a twist even more randomly WTF than Blade's involvement, it turns out the guy helping Riri and her team is... Leonardo da Vinci. (Who, for those of you who remember Jonathan Hickman's SHIELD, was part of a secret organisation of geniuses including Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards.)
- Tony is hanging around Rhodey's grave talking about his intent to make "a very bad and selfish choice".
But anyway, back to Doom and Amara. I love everything about this scene, and the calm, understated tone of it. The panel of her sitting waiting for him to wake is just beautiful. I love that Doom's first reaction literally as soon as he wakes is to ask if the baby is a boy or a girl: immediately focused and after the facts he wants to know in true Doom style. And I like the detail of Amara calling him "Doctor Doom" at first in an obvious attempt at distancing herself before she switches back to Victor right after.
I also really like the fascinating touch of how much he rolls with and respects her statements about the baby: "this so far labelless child", "that child" instead of overtly claiming it as his/theirs, not trying to push about giving her the money beyond making it clear that it's there. Possibly the strongest sign of affection from Victor von Doom - that he's not trying to impose his will on her or take control of their child's future.
I also love (and buy more than Amara) the idea that he turned up purely by instinct because she was his first and only association with a place of safety: it fits with the possibility that he was still somewhat under the inhibition-lifting effect of the Corruptor from a few issues back, plus I tend to assume his teleportation is magic-based, so that's probably more open to influence by his subconscious mind than tech methods. I feel like if Doom had been fully in control and making conscious plans, he would have chosen to go somewhere where he could be alone and try to deal with his injuries himself rather than be visibly vulnerable; though I'm sure he's not above manipulating Amara's emotions, I don't think he'd deliberately do it in a way that involves making himself look weak. (Whatever she thinks of him making his "puppy eyes".)
And their parting is beautifully done. The way that Doom leaves with an apology and thanks and no demands, which again is such an uncharacteristic willingness to stop wrestling for control that it implies his genuine regard for her. And Amara clearly recognises that enough that she can't avoid feeling something in response despite all her efforts not to. The whole thing is all just very lovely and understated and sets up so much future possibility for this relationship, and is much more than I ever expected to get after this storyline kind of fell off the radar for so long.
I feel like this scene is probably meant to be capping off this storyline until another writer decides to pick it up again, which I'm actually pretty okay with - I'm certainly happier with that than any drama involving threats to Amara or whatever next issue. But it does leave me wondering what possible role Doom can have in all the Tony stuff that's being set up for the big finale. He's not really tied into any of these other plot threads, so at the moment my only guess is that he's going to turn up to save the day in response to a distress call when things look bleak or similar. I'm kind of torn between wanting him to have more than a token involvement but also not wanting to push our luck, considering this would be a great place to leave him and I'd rather his future be left up in the air than get too much of a solid ending to this arc that results in him dying or turning evil again.
But I guess we'll find out one way or another in issue #600!
So, a quick summary of the rest of events:
- Tony shows up alive and well (albeit wearing a wig and stick-on beard to cover his baldness) to visit his mom. He asks about his biological father, who was a Hydra agent Amanda supposedly killed; however, turns out at the end that he's not so dead and Amanda knows as much.
- Red Hood discovers Tony is missing and joins Stark Industries Board Dude to form an alliance of boring antagonists I don't care about.
- In a twist even more randomly WTF than Blade's involvement, it turns out the guy helping Riri and her team is... Leonardo da Vinci. (Who, for those of you who remember Jonathan Hickman's SHIELD, was part of a secret organisation of geniuses including Howard Stark and Nathaniel Richards.)
- Tony is hanging around Rhodey's grave talking about his intent to make "a very bad and selfish choice".
But anyway, back to Doom and Amara. I love everything about this scene, and the calm, understated tone of it. The panel of her sitting waiting for him to wake is just beautiful. I love that Doom's first reaction literally as soon as he wakes is to ask if the baby is a boy or a girl: immediately focused and after the facts he wants to know in true Doom style. And I like the detail of Amara calling him "Doctor Doom" at first in an obvious attempt at distancing herself before she switches back to Victor right after.
I also really like the fascinating touch of how much he rolls with and respects her statements about the baby: "this so far labelless child", "that child" instead of overtly claiming it as his/theirs, not trying to push about giving her the money beyond making it clear that it's there. Possibly the strongest sign of affection from Victor von Doom - that he's not trying to impose his will on her or take control of their child's future.
I also love (and buy more than Amara) the idea that he turned up purely by instinct because she was his first and only association with a place of safety: it fits with the possibility that he was still somewhat under the inhibition-lifting effect of the Corruptor from a few issues back, plus I tend to assume his teleportation is magic-based, so that's probably more open to influence by his subconscious mind than tech methods. I feel like if Doom had been fully in control and making conscious plans, he would have chosen to go somewhere where he could be alone and try to deal with his injuries himself rather than be visibly vulnerable; though I'm sure he's not above manipulating Amara's emotions, I don't think he'd deliberately do it in a way that involves making himself look weak. (Whatever she thinks of him making his "puppy eyes".)
And their parting is beautifully done. The way that Doom leaves with an apology and thanks and no demands, which again is such an uncharacteristic willingness to stop wrestling for control that it implies his genuine regard for her. And Amara clearly recognises that enough that she can't avoid feeling something in response despite all her efforts not to. The whole thing is all just very lovely and understated and sets up so much future possibility for this relationship, and is much more than I ever expected to get after this storyline kind of fell off the radar for so long.
I feel like this scene is probably meant to be capping off this storyline until another writer decides to pick it up again, which I'm actually pretty okay with - I'm certainly happier with that than any drama involving threats to Amara or whatever next issue. But it does leave me wondering what possible role Doom can have in all the Tony stuff that's being set up for the big finale. He's not really tied into any of these other plot threads, so at the moment my only guess is that he's going to turn up to save the day in response to a distress call when things look bleak or similar. I'm kind of torn between wanting him to have more than a token involvement but also not wanting to push our luck, considering this would be a great place to leave him and I'd rather his future be left up in the air than get too much of a solid ending to this arc that results in him dying or turning evil again.
But I guess we'll find out one way or another in issue #600!