Book Review: One World Under Doom by R. North et al.

One World Under Doom written by Ryan North, art by R. B. Silva, and color art by David Curiel

Doctor Victor von Doom had previously taken on the mantel of Sorcerer Supreme and gone into reclusion in his home country of Latveria. Now, he has come out as Emperor Doom, ruler of the entire Earth. He claims to have secretly negotiated with every country's ruler and brought them all in as part of Latveria. He promises to make the world a better place, first by abolishing war (no Latverian province may take up arms against another). Second, he raises the living standard of every human being to the Latverian standard, meaning universal health care and education to the highest levels, as far as any individual wants to go. As he is making his introductory speech, he says revolts are already happening in several areas. His forces squash those uprisings but he will not punish the countries. He ends his speech with the promise: "Doom is Wisdom, Doom is Power, Doom is Prosperity! And only Doom can save you." Naturally, all of Earth's superheroes (including the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, and a handful of other unaffiliated heroes) come together to deal with this new situation. None of them believe Doom is on the level. They think he is on a power trip, probably with Doombots replacing world leaders or some mind control technique on the leaders. They spring into action but Doom has already anticipated many of their moves. More disturbingly, the world leader are all themselves and not under any mystical or mechanical influence by Doom. Is the Pax Victoris for real?

This narrative is the epitome of high concept storytelling. Having one of the greatest villains gain unimaginable power and then use it to make the world his own is just the beginning. His besting of the initial efforts by the heroes solidifies his role as benevolent ruler of the world, making future actions against him that much harder. There's an impenetrable barrier around Latveria itself--what is Doom hiding in there? Can the heroes find out without making Doom more sympathetic and likable to the rest of the world?

The story plays out nicely, with fun reversals and twists as the heroes try to outthink and outmaneuver Doom. Doom is his usual arrogant (always referring to himself in the third person, for one thing) and genius self, making the drama and the action fun and exciting. The plot is very over-the-top and also very enjoyable.

Recommended, highly for Marvel fans.