Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Now that we’ve met Dr. Doom’s teacher, it’s time for Doom to get some schooling in issue #567.

After wreaking murderous havoc throughout the multiverse, Dr. Doom’s long-lost master, the all-powerful Marquis of Death, has arrived on Earth with his apprentice. The Marquis expressed disappointment in how Doom has not yet conquered the Earth, so he engulfed Doom in a burst of flame. This issue begins by showing us that Doom is not fazed by this. He says through the fire, “Is that the best you can do?”

Doom fights back, with fire swirling around him and the Marquis. Doom brags about all the amazing things he’s done, such as exploring all of time and space, and escaping the fires of Hell itself. The caption tells us that this battle goes on for six weeks (!), and that Doom eventually defeated the Marquis by inventing something called the Omega Box. We’re told that other superheroes join the fight, and Reed Richards died (!!) in the battle, which Doom mourned. Then it’s five years later (!!!) in New York, where Dr. Doom’s technological advances have benefitted all humanity.

It’s a new world, with futuristic flying cars. The new Baxter Building is now the Reed Richards Memorial Building. Doom is inside, with an older, eyepatch-wearing Ben, who inspect a sculpture of the FF in the lobby. Ben says Reed would have liked the statue, and Doom says it’s too bad Reed never saw Doom save the world. Then a pregnant Sue approaches and tells Doom the Fantasti-car is fueled up and ready to take him back to Latveria. She calls him, “Darling.”

Yes, Sue and Doom are now a couple. They discuss how Johnny does not approve, and he refuses to speak to Sue. They arrive in Latveria to a cheering crowd. Sue says to Doom, “It makes me happy to see a country that adores you like I do.” Next, we see Doom inside what looks like a gigantic library. The caption tells us that this is the Omega Box. Sue joins him, and Doom says he’s dwelling on how close the Marquis came to destroying the Earth if Doom hadn’t thought up with Omega Box. “So much hinging on a single idea,” he says. “It chills the blood.”

Sue asks Doom if he’s happy, and if this life he’s built for himself makes him feel content. He says, “For the first time in my life.” Sue answers “Good. Then we’re ready.” She peels off her face to reveal she’s the Marquis in disguise. Doom says the Marquis died five years ago, but the Marquis says not even five seconds have passed. And just like that, we’re back at the start of the issue, with Doom on his hands and knees burning up in the fire.

The Marquis says he showed Doom his dream life, just to take it away. Doom’s mask has fallen off, and it is on the dirt in front of him. (We of course don’t see Doom’s face, as it’s covered with shadow.) The Marquis opens his cape to reveal his skeletal, corpse-like body. He tells Doom not to mourn for a fairy tale, but to mourn for the people of Latveria. Then we see a nuclear blast wipe out Latveria, with the Marquis saying, “This is real.”

Doom wants to continue the fight, but the Marquis says this is not a battle but a punishment. He uses his power to torture Doom by turning his blood to acid. The Marquis’ apprentice suggests sending Doom to the past, so the Marquis sends Doom into the Pliocene Age, dumping him into an ocean filled with megalodons. There’s an entire page devoted to Doom about to be swallowed by one of the megs.

Back in the present, the Marquis says he’s disappointed, and that he hoped for better from Doom. The apprentice says it’s time to initiate the slaughter, and destroy the Earth like all the worlds they’ve destroyed. Instead, the Marquis says his honor must be restored by rectifying his failure with Doom. He says this begins with the Fantastic Four. The Marquis picks up Doom’s mask and puts it on his own face, saying “Let us see how they fare against the new Doctor Doom.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule/flame on: Reed and Johnny appear only on the cover, where they appear to be dead. I assume this is aftermath of the battle in Doom’s alternate reality.

Fade out: This is the third time there’s been a suggestion of a Sue and Doom romance. The most well-known is when Reed was trapped in Doom’s armor and had to pretend to be Doom, going so far as to stage a fake wedding with Sue. Just prior to that, we saw an alternate universe where Sue and Doom were a couple, and parents to the first Valeria Richards, who later joined the team as Marvel Girl. The comics hinted at maybe Reed was Valeria’s real father, but this was never followed up on.

Clobberin’ time: Look closely, and you can see that future Ben has not just an eyepatch, but a missing arm. We’ll likely never get the story of how, specifically, he got these injuries.

Trivia time: Nobody doesn’t love megalodons! The giant prehistoric fish has appeared on occasion throughout Marvel history, most notably in Where Monsters Dwell, but also in Uncanny X-Men, A-Force, and a little-known Lockjaw miniseries.

Fantastic or frightful? You’d think this issue would be the perfect time to get into who the Marquis is, his history with Dr. Doom, and why no one’s heard of him before this. Instead, it’s yet another multiverse romp, and more multiverse versions of classic characters. People are clearly into multiverse stuff these days, but does this issue really need it? Feels like a roadblock to the main plot, rather than continuing the narrative.

Next: Stormy weather.

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