Synopsis / Summary / Plot
SHIELD Director Maria Hill is in her quarters on the SHIELD Helicarrier on the phone with her Mom trying to persuade her that she has an important job, and she's grateful for any interruption even if it's about Victor Von Doom. She reminds her subordinate that Agent Ben Grimm is handling that situation. But the message is that Dr Doom is here to see her on the command deck. And alarm bells start going off.
Hill quickly dons her uniform and goes to where armourless Doom is surrounded by gun-toting agents and trapped in a zero-point energy field. But he seems immune to their sleeping gas. Apparently he just appeared there. She tells her team to lower their guns and turn off the field and alarm. She reckons nothing will work against him so she might as well just talk to him.
This is what Victor wanted. He didn't call to make an appointment because he figured she'd just try to trace the call and send loads of Agents after him. This way was quicker and more likely to get some face time with her.
Victor came here to make it clear that he is no longer an enemy. He thought he'd proved that when he rescued her from Diablo in #1. But Hill responds that he's still a dangerous international threat and she has to arrest him. (I presume she can do that because he lost his diplomatic immunity when he resigned from ruling Latveria after Secret Wars III.)
Doom ploughs on. He wants her to call off the Thing from pursuing him. Hill refuses. He wants SHIELD to stop harassing Amara Perera because she knows nothing of interest to them. Maria takes that under consideration. She denies knowing where Grimm is, but a 'helpful' Agent tells her he's in Latveria. Doom leaves and the Agent is fired.
His armoured form arrives in the ruins of his capital city Doomstadt. 3 little boys with big guns warn him off thinking he is Iron Man. He disarms them with a gesture and tells them to go to school, but they tell him there's no school to go to.
Doom hears an explosion and finds soldiers robbing a warehouse. They too think he's Shellhead but he easily repels their bullets. A bit of persuasion is needed for them to tell him where General Karadick is.
He heads to an army base and demands to see the General. But they send Doombots against him, but their creator knows how to defeat them and take them over.
Even Karadick thinks he's facing the old Iron Man. Even Victor revealing his face doesn't help (because Dr Doom always kept his scarred face hidden - and this face isn't scarred (Secret Wars III again)). But eventually Von Doom convinces him of his identity.
Apparently Victor left Karadick in charge of rebuilding the country. (So maybe he should recognise the new Von Doom.) He was to create a democracy. The General claims his military rule is just a transitional situation, but Doom left no plan to move forward. Victor ripostes that he could easily have found people who could have built the new government. While they were talking he has used the Internet to locate a perfect candidate for Chancellor - a Professor Angela Kror.
But now they hear more sounds of conflict, from within Doom's ruined castle. When Karadick says it's not his forces, Doom leaves him with orders to contact the Professor and heads to the scene.
Inside Victor finds the ruined Fantasticar and a trail of orange rocky chunks. At the end he finds Thing in a poor state (see last issue). And he has already detected the presence of his sorcerous mother (last issue again).