Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: R.B. Silva & Luca Maresca
Color Artist: Jesus Aburtov
Cover Artist: Mark Brooks
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
It’s the big day! Everyone had saved the date, and now it’s here. The marriage of Doctor Victor Von Doom with his loyal and powerful herald, Victorious. And he’s inviting all of Latveria to attend the big event. Oh yeah, and the Fantastic Four will be there. See how it all goes down in Fantastic Four #33.
Review:
Previously, Dr. Doom proposed to Victorious, his new and loyal herald imbued with the Power Cosmic, for her hand in marriage. He even beat Reed Richards to a hybrid chess match/fencing duel just so he can have Reed be his best man. Everything seems to be going right, except in the last issue when Johnny Storm cheated on Sky and slept with Doom’s future bride-to-be. As you’d expect, this will not go down so well.
Throughout the comic, Dan Slott establishes the major characters through the wedding guests, including the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, and Namor the Sub Mariner. It even has a few callbacks to older Fantastic Four stories. However, the big focus of this comic is Dr. Doom and Johnny Storm. The comic has this underlying suspense building up because of Johnny’s affair with Victorious, and he’s written more like a sitcom character who’s struggling not to get busted. So, he’s the most annoying character here and does some of the most stupid things in it.
Of course, the biggest star here is Dr. Doom himself. Say what you will about how Slott writes everyone else, but he gets Doom right on all accounts. He’s autocratic, menacing while simultaneously mannerly, and a man of his word. But he also gets in his last-minute jabs at some of the individual members of the Fantastic Four. And throughout the comic, R.B. Silva, Luca Maresca, and Jesus Aburtov do an excellent job making Doom look amazing in each panel of every page he’s in.
However, there’s plenty to get into that demands delving Into Spoilers. But before that, I will say that there will be some hilarious moments in the big wedding.
Spoilers:
Small nitpick: Dan Slott gives Dr. Doom a middle name during the wedding. It’s Victor Werner Von Doom, now. To me, it feels a little excessive since Victor Von Doom always felt like a complete name for him and he didn’t need anything extra added to it.
A big focus of this comic is establishing Dr. Doom’s commitment, if you will, to the marriage. This is very important because the comic goes out of its way on several occasions to demonstrate that, since Doom is following Latverian tradition to forgive the past transgressions of any who attend his wedding. Something the Fantastic Four and Wakanda are keen to capitalize on.
Now, Doom isn’t turning over a new leaf or anything, but he is committed to starting over fresh with his arch-enemies. A major example is when Dr. Doom orders his personal scientists to halt all work on devising any and all weapons to destroy the Fantastic Four and dismantle what’s already been made.
Why does this matter? Simple: when the truth comes out (and it does) the best moments are from Namor and Dr. Doom’s reactions. Making all of Doom’s efforts feel wasted. And honestly, this is the most natural reaction to give Doom. What person wouldn’t want to wring Johnny’s neck after finding out he had an affair with their soon-to-be wife. And sadly, Dan Slott has inadvertently made his take on Johnny Storm very unsympathetic in this situation. So, I’m kind of with Doom on this one.
Final Thoughts:
Fantastic Four #33 is everything you’d expect from a Dr. Doom wedding. Royal pageantry, fancy dinners, and trouble just waiting to happen. While the comic puts focus on Doom and his commitment to the marriage, the authenticity of the wedding is always in question due to the events of the previous issue. If nothing else, Dr. Doom looks great in every page he’s in thanks to the art and colors. By the end, readers might end up rooting for Dr. Doom on this one.