It has been a big weekend for pro wrestling, but since I only have so much time on my hands, I'm watching three supercard events throughout the week instead of losing sleep. First is Clash at the Castle, WWE's first event in the United Kingdom in decades, and the first main roster PPV I've watched in more than a year.
WWE has also undergone a seismic shift in creative control, and because of this, I'm more intrigued by the product than I ever was for the past couple of years. I'm watching more closely at WWE than I used to, and now I feel compelled to actually watch PPVs in full.
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I finally read this storyline, and it only took me like two years to get around to it. BACKGROUND:
I'm pretty familiar with how Doomwar starts and how it ends, but I hardly know anything about what happens in between. SUMMARY: During the finale of the 2008-2010 Black Panther series (which I talked about here), the Wakandan monarchy is overthrown by the Desturi (a xenophobic nationalist group) with the assistance of Doctor Doom. T'Challa and Shuri have seemingly fled the nation, and Storm has been arrested during all this. For the first time in its entire history, Wakanda has been conquered. Now, Storm faces execution at the hands of the Desturi (who are keen to eliminate all outside influence from Wakanda, citing it as the reason for the nation's decline). In order to take back control, T'Challa and Shuri go to the X-Men for help. Cyclops (serving as the leader of the mutant nation during this time) does not sanction a mission to prevent more bad press for mutantkind, but Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler choose to help regardless. With their help (as well as the Dora Milaje, who have been personally prepared by T'Challa for this conflict), T'Challa and Shuri are able to take back control of the throne and, in the process, manage to circumvent the seemingly insurmountable defenses of Wakanda themselves. However, that's far from the only problem they have to deal with. Having found his way in to Wakanda with the help of the Desturi, Doctor Doom is now free to execute his true master plan: steal all of Wakanda's vibranium. It's hardly an original or surprising plan, but his reasons for doing so are far more ambitious than any other person who has vied for Wakanda's sacred metal. Doom manages to crack T'Challa's defenses for the nation's reserve of vibranium (which is somehow even more impressive than his very infiltration of Wakanda) and makes off with the lot of it. With it, he plans to do the unthinkable: Doom intends to channel the vibranium's mostly unexplored mystical properties to become the most powerful force on Earth and finally realize his goal of global domination. The rest of the comic is T'Challa and Shuri scrambling to stop Doom, but it becomes clear throughout that Doom has been several steps ahead of them even before the events of the storyline take place. The royal siblings become increasingly frustrated at the overwhelming odds, and while Shuri becomes more ruthless, T'Challa digs deep for a strategy that even Doom can't predict. Along the way, the two enlist the help of the Fantastic Four to try and retrieve as much vibranium as possible (easier said than done, as Doom has scattered his stolen goods across the Earth, fortified each with vibranium-enhanced defenses, and has masked his own location). In an act of clever desperation, T'Challa also enlists the help of Deadpool, with the rationale that he's the kind of wild card Doom would never be prepared for. By the end, it seems like Doom has won, as the heroes are too late to stop his master plan and he successfully weaponizes vibranium (the result of which is terrifying). But T'Challa makes a massive play: he uses Doom's power against him to render all Wakandan vibranium inert, deactivating all their unique properties. It's a hell of a sacrifice, considering vibranium is the lifeblood of Wakandan life and economy, but it demonstrates T'Challa's faith in his nation's resilience (in fact, Doom chastises Wakanda's codependence on vibranium). This comic features the exact take on Doctor Doom that I have been a fan of since I was a kid. Not only is he incredibly skilled in both advanced technology and sorcery, he's also a master strategist, and the showcase of how he infiltrates Wakanda to begin with (as well as how quickly he gets past T'Challa's defenses for the vibranium) illustrates that perfectly. One of my favorite moments in this entire comic has him come face-to-face with the Panther Goddess Bast, who looks into his soul and judges him. It's in this moment that his one of his defining character traits is showcased: that for all his arrogance and his resentment of Reed Richards, he genuinely believes he is the only one who can save humanity from itself, and all his schemes are in service of that. Despite fighting from underneath for pretty much the entire comic, T'Challa is still a formidable intellect in this large-scale chess match, figuring out plays that work despite Doom staying steps ahead of him. This doesn't stop him from getting frustrated, though, and even he finds himself somewhat agreeing with Shuri's impulsiveness later on in the story. Speaking of Shuri, she becomes dead set on winning the war right from the start, becoming quite ruthless in the process (much to the dismay of his brother and some of their allies). Her willingness to throw bodies at the conflict and her increasing capacity for lethal force (especially against Desturi supporters, who are still technically Wakandans) grows over the course of the story, though her dealing with that isn't really explored until later series (like in Klaws of the Panther, which I talked about here). I liked the slight contrast between her and T'Challa in this case, and I'm also glad she wears her high-tech armor again. The special guests are a lot of fun, though they obviously don't do much outside of lend their support in battle and comment on the situation. Some of them get to say or do a lot more than others, though; for instance, Mister Fantastic challenges some of T'Challa's strategic choices in the latter half of the book. Another one I liked was Nightcrawler and Wolverine growing very concerned over Shuri's willingness to kill. And obviously, we get some classic Deadpool humor. Unfortunately, Storm feels more like a special guest herself instead of being a big part of the comic like how she used to be in the Reginald Hudlin series. She does get to kick some ass (and I'm personally content with that), but if you were hoping for more out of her, this is not the comic where you'll get that. The Dora Milaje get to shine a lot in this series, as they kick ass against insurmountable odds multiple times across the story, and it's awesome to see. This comic is also notable for the debut of the Midnight Angels, the special division of the Dora Milaje that eventually reappears in later comics. Perhaps the one gripe I can level at this story is how short-lived the actual conquest of Wakanda actually is. The Desturi don't stay in power for too long, and Doom pretty much just uses their coup as a way in to steal vibranium. I'd have loved if the story explored how the Desturi actually aimed to change what they perceived were problems in Wakanda (or at least pretend to do so), and it would have been cool to see how the normal citizens reacted to the whole mess. I suppose it isn't the main focus of the story, and it makes total sense that Doom doesn't care since infiltrating Wakanda was only a stepping stone to his main goal. What stood out to me with the interior art is the prevalence of really thick outlines, impressive lighting effects (evident in Doctor Doom's armor), as well as great shading and textures. It all comes together to deliver a style that leans toward a realistic look in my eyes. In contrast, the cover art feels more like cartoony, old-school comic art, though it does boast the level of detail and more varied color palettes you'd expect from modern comics. I feel like something about the exact style of shading and the generally brighter colors are why I see the covers the way I do. VERDICT: Doomwar feels like quite the culmination of the brewing animosity between Doctor Doom and T'Challa; we get the impossible (Wakanda's conquest), and we get Doctor Doom in what is arguably one of his strongest moments ever (he's at full power and has completely outfoxed an intellectual rival in T'Challa). The odds feel insurmountable for the heroes for most of the story, and T'Challa persevering and eventually outwitting the villain cements him as one of Marvel's greatest heroes. I still feel like they could have done more with certain elements (primarily the actual conquest of Wakanda itself), but I enjoyed this storyline overall. This is one of those comics where T'Challa actually meets his match, and if you're interested to see how he fares against one of Marvel's most formidable villains, you'll want to read Doomwar ASAP. I'd also go as far as to say that this comic is a fantastic showcase (pardon the pun) for Doctor Doom himself; if you want to see the Doctor Doom I grew up loving and hardcore comic fans are hoping shows up in the MCU, you'll get a decent taste of that in this book. - end - |
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