Books of Doom has been an unexpected surprise. A really high quality story so far that has given some great backstory into the supervillain of Doom. I was completely new to this character before reading this, and this ended up being a discovery that perfectly filled the gap that was present from my total lack of understanding into who he was, what he stood for, and why. This comic came out a few years back at this point, but I can completely understand why some would call this a fundamental read if you are like me and wanting to learn a bit more about Doom. The first volume really takes us from the very start, where Doom is just a child and exposed to a difficult gypsy life and forced to leave due to his mother's witch-like struggles. Doom haunted by the loss of his mother as he grows older, fueled at the idea of saving her somehow. And his character growing increasingly more isolated from the world as he betrays the United States governments and runs off into hiding. With his face scarred for life, and being hunted by various nations and shadow organisations, Doom has very little to live for. And the older he gets, the few directions he does have in life all lead to pursuing some form of revenge against those that have wronged him. A man fueled by hate, where the only person that did gain his trust is best left out of his life due to the problems that follow him everywhere, putting her in danger.
This is a quick summary of the narrative so far with some key points missed out for convenience, but the last volume really saw the Doom character come into fruition. There's really no safe place for Doom anymore, and his life pushes him forward constantly as his money slowly runs dry and he's hiding within the corners of Eastern Europe. Volume four yet again picking up with Doom on the move again, in another desperate bid to escape those who had been hunting him and unfortunately had found him. The Himalayas now his place of refuge. No limits to the desperation he faces, the constant challenges that lead him from one extreme environment or location to the next. It was interesting that from this point on Doom had accepted this lifestyle, it was no longer something he felt he didn't want to do, but called it destiny. There was no going back nor any rejection of this direction he found himself heading in. This one coming from a strange man that had saved him and his love in the previous volume, telling him of a location he must travel to. Sending Doom on a vast series of travels in efforts to not just find a group of people that wanted him, but would help him find himself again. Where people beyond him used both magic and science and pushed their abilities to the maximum. This was a fun shift in the narrative that spoke of people much like Doom that had fled into the tough terrain of the mountains to remain safe and hidden from those that would want to hunt them down for their skills.
With Doom traversing through the mountains in search of more answers, it was an interesting turn of events that brought us back to the volume in which Doom struggled in the cold with his father, the cold which would inevitably take his life. Speaking of a cold so intense that it burned, and having the same horrific dreams of his mother tormented by demons in the after life. Still trapped there and assuming her son may have failed to save her. Fights against a Yeti, being close to starvation and on the brink of bleeding out. Questioning whether he'd suffer the same fate as his father and die freezing in the snow. These callbacks to the previous events were something I really enjoyed, giving us yet another thing to sympathise with the Doom character over. Not seeing him as a villain, but a troubled individual that wanted to save his mother from a fate undeserved and misunderstood. Himself in this state of using all his abilities in attempt to create things that could benefit him in this pursuit, and the whole world seemingly against him anyway. The discovery of the monks in the mountains on the brink of death leading him into years of study, perfecting his skills alongside mentors that were already ahead of him in skill but knew they'd be replaced by Doom. Again this consideration of fate told to the reader, but this time Doom stating that destiny was now something he could bend to his will with such new skills.
This reminded me a lot of the way one of Nolan's Batman films played out, your troubled protagonist that needs training, finding himself far from home in the mountains and being trained by those who are aware that he'll likely surpass them. Though one thing I didn't quite understand within this story was how and why Doom would have the bandages forever wrapped around his head. It's never really clear where they came from and why they needed to remain for five entire years. Previously he stated the anonymity it provided as nobody really knew of him and paid much attention beyond a quick glance. This volume did focus on the birth of the name Doctor Doom, though. Where those in the temple were forced to call him that after the discovery that his college rival had been using his work and taking all the credit, and Doom didn't like seeing others be considered higher than him at this point. He was fully driven by ego under the treatment he had received at the temple and the powers within his grasp. Rather than mentioning the bandages again, it explored the creation of his armour, the reasons of its creation to defend him from the demon that haunts him in his dreams, that gives him that horrible burning feeling that sends him back to the failure of saving his mother. And with that, came the mask.
With the creation of Doctor Doom finally here, the comic feels like it's taking a shift in its direction. Less focused on that development of character and more focused on the revenge aspect. Now he's all powerful, a man with nothing to lose but a whole lot of people to punish for their traitorous actions against both him and his parents, even his loved one that was manipulated and sent his way to discover where Doom was located. I've thoroughly enjoyed the volumes up until this point, and I'm actually really looking forward to seeing how this revenge unfolds. It has been slowly building up throughout the story, frequently mentioned that those people are still alive, if not better off in life since Doom left Latveria. After all, there are two more volumes left within this story. I'm curious as to where it heads from here.
hiveblocks