Marvel Explains How A Fantastic Four Hero Became Doctor Doom In Ultimates #4 [Exclusive Comic Preview]
One of the best ongoing Marvel comic books of 2024 will soon have a new chapter. The comic in question? "Ultimates" as written by Deniz Camp, which will release its fourth issue on Wednesday, September 4. Marvel has shared an exclusive preview of the first four pages with /Film.
The book is the fifth series in the so-called "Ultimate" universe (Earth-6160, a name reflecting how it's a twisted copy of Earth-616). In 2000, Marvel rebooted its characters for the new millennium, running the "Ultimate" Spider-Man, X-Men, etc. alongside the classic versions. In 2023, it brought back the retired "Ultimate" branding for a similar publishing initiative — a reboot of a reboot. (I promise that you don't need all this background memorized to enjoy the new Ultimate Marvel.)
"Ultimates" is a direct sequel to kick-off mini-series "Ultimate Invasion" by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch. In "Invasion," the Maker (an evil Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic from the original "Ultimate" universe) creates a new world and rewrites history to prevent most superheroes getting their powers. Tony Stark (only a teenage "Iron Lad" here) managed to trap and imprison the Maker — but it only takes two years for him to escape.
"Ultimates" is about Tony tracking down the people who should've become superheroes and building them into a resistance to oppose the Maker once he returns. His primary partner? Not new recruits like Captain America (wearing the colors of a country that no longer exists in this world) or Thor (usurped as king of Asgard by Loki), but Doctor Doom. In this world, Doom is a good guy — because it's Reed Richards under the mask, not Victor Von Doom. The Maker prevented the Fantastic Four from getting their powers and then killed Sue, Johnny, and Ben. He also imprisoned Reed and sealed him inside Doom's mask (as an extra insult) before Tony freed Doom.
Issue #4 of "Ultimates" (drawn by Phil Noto) will focus mostly on Reed-Doom. It will not, as Camp joked on Twitter and several outlets gullibly reported, explain how Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Based on the (great) first three issues, I'd still recommending reading "Ultimates" #4 though.
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What to expect from Ultimates #4
Solicitations for "Ultimates" #4 tease the following synopsis:
"Doom's years of torture at the hands of the Maker finally catch up to him in this secret history of the real Reed Richards! And tensions rise among the Ultimates when Doom might be more fixated on re-creating the life he should have had than the life he's got..."
The primary cover of #4 (see above) shows Doom's discarded mask and four lab mice, each with one of the Fantastic Four's powers. Reed's inability to let go of the past he never experienced has been foreshadowed. In "Ultimates" #1, Tony and Doom viewed video files the Maker had stored and saw the classic Marvel heroes as they should have been, themselves included. Doom's experiments with the mice were also teased in the promo issue "Free Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe/Spider-Man."
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The first page of "Ultimates" #4, structured as four thin rectangular panels stacked on top of each other, opens with a flashback. It begins with a glimpse at Reed's early childhood, where his genius is recognized. It then shifts to the not-to-be Fantastic Four making their voyage into outer space before moving onto Doom watching a video of the 616 Fantastic Four (as words he said to Tony in "Ultimates" #1 play in his mind). The bottom panel brings us to the present, where Tony walks into Doom's lab.
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The subsequent three pages follow the same rhythm and layout; each page has four panels and four stories. Will the entire issue be told like this? It's an effective way to juxtapose past and present.
Page 2 opens with Reed meeting Ben Grimm when they were college roommates, then years later, Reed tells Ben to launch their rocket. Next Doom approaches the Maker's time travel device, the "Immortus Engine," and remembers himself and Tony agreeing that it's off-limits for their mission back in "Ultimates" #1. In the present, Tony grills Doom about his absence from their recent missions. (Indeed, Doom did not appear in "Ultimates" #2 or #3.)
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Page 3 shows Reed meeting Susan Storm, then cuts to the rocket finally blasting off. Reed Doom touches the Immortus Engine, presumably leading to the present day panel where Tony asks why Doom is wearing gloves and he explains that he burned them.
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Page 4 (the last Marvel shared with /Film) shows Reed pitching the space flight mission and then the rocket breaking Earth's orbit. Doom is shown watching the events of the second panel on the third. Have the other flashbacks been videos of 616 Reed that Doom was watching or his own memories? In either case, he's clearly fixated on the past and admits as such to Tony.
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In Marvel Comics, the "Negative Zone" is a parallel universe composed of anti-matter; the Fantastic Four often visit it and the Zone's alien ruler, Annihilus, is one of their greatest enemies. Reed-Doom probably knows this if he has been studying his counterparts. Is he being cheeky describing his despair as such, and will he wind up dragging his Ultimate teammates into that Negative Zone with him? We'll know soon.
"Ultimates" #4 will be available at comic stores and digital retailers on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.