>Marvel Comics has delivered some of the most iconic villains in pop culture history, but few cast a shadow as long as Victor Von Doom. With the upcoming eight-issue series One World Under Doom (due out out on February 12), writer Ryan North (alongside artist R.B. Silva and colorist David Curiel) is poised to explore the complex psyche and towering ambitions of Doctor Doom in ways we’ve never seen before. Earlier this week, I was able to chat with North to talk Doom, his grandiose plans, and how a story of world domination intersects with power, politics, and culture.>We began with a central question: in the past, North described Doom as the ultimate villain who always seems to find a way to win. How, then, did the team intend to balance his intellectual, manipulative side with his more overt, imposing display of powers in this series? North’s response readily encapsulated Doom’s duality.>“They’re kind of two sides of the same coin, right?,” said North. “He’s using his brains, his manipulation in concert with his power to achieve the goals of what he wants. And what he wants is to go over the world and to show, to prove, that he’s the best guy for it, that only Doom can do this.”>North also doesn’t shy away from Doom’s self-serving nature.>“While he might be saying, ‘I’m doing this for all these wonderful reasons,’ he’s doing it for himself,” said North. “He’s doing it to prove that he is the best of us and will always be the best of us, and he’ll use any tool at his disposal.”>In One World Under Doom, those tools are more formidable than ever, with Doom’s status as Sorcerer Supreme granting him even greater abilities.
A Story of Power and Politics>One World Under Doom has been in development for years, but its themes feel particularly resonant today. As I noted on our chat, the series is about world leaders in a way, and so one’s mind immediately goes to politics. North agreed but clarified that this isn’t a direct commentary on contemporary figures.>“It is a story about someone taking over the world,” said North. “It’s obviously political, but it’s not based on American politics or even Canadian politics. There’s always politics, which is just the art and science of people trying to interact with each other and gain advantages over people. And that’s a domain that Doom works in very, very well.”>North’s approach also involves historical parallels.>“It’s a story about geopolitical maneuvering,” said North. “When you’re at this level of countries represented by people, what do those people do? You go back a 100, 200, 300 years, you have a lot of situations being decided by individuals and how they react to each other. And it’s not a good way to run the world, but it’s a great way to tell a story.”
Doom is a fag.
The Humanity of Doom>One of the most compelling aspects of Doctor Doom is the sliver of humanity that sets him apart from being purely villainous.>“What’s so tragic about him is that he could be a great guy,” said North. “If he went in a slightly different direction, he could be a good guy. That’s why he and Reed [Richards] have such a Capital R relationship. They see themselves as these sort of very similar but very different men.”>This duality also shapes the narrative’s tension.>“The fun and challenge of writing a Doom story is that he is so good at what he does, and what he does is not great,” said North. “Even when he loses, he extracts something. He takes something from you in that loss that you maybe didn’t want to give him.”
Will there be story for Val?
Familiar Faces, New Dynamics>Fans of North’s work on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl will be thrilled to know that the beloved hero and her friends, Nancy and Brain Drain, make an appearance in One World Under Doom.>“The bottom line is there’s no way I was ever gonna do a Marvel event and not include Squirrel Girl in it,” said North. “If she wasn’t there, people would be like, ‘Well, the only reason why I didn’t put her there is ‘cause she would solve this problem in 10 minutes.’”>North’s enthusiasm extended to the broader Marvel Universe.>“When I was writing the story, I wasn’t thinking, ‘How many toys can I cram into here?’ It was more about how many personalities we could drop in and see how Doom reacts to that,” said North. “It’s a story about Doom and him trying to achieve something that he’s never really achieved before, without cheating.”
Doom’s Ultimate Pitch>At the heart of the One World Under Doom story is Doom’s attempt to convince the world that his leadership is not only inevitable but beneficial.>“Doom has shown up, he’s taken over the world, and if he wants to hold onto that, he has to convince people that their lives are better with Dr. Doom being the ultimate authority in them,” said North. “The first issue is him basically making that pitch. And it ends with a woman repeating a slogan back to him. It’s working, at least initially.”
What’s Next?>With the first arc completed, North reflected on the collaboration involved in a Marvel event.>“The advantage of writing the story so early was that I could give the completed issues to people doing tie-ins,” said North. “The stuff that other writers are doing to build off of this is really exciting. It’s a fun situation to play in—one man taking over the world lets you tell stories you couldn’t otherwise tell.”>And, of course, North teased a few standout moments.>“There’s a big fight in issue #5 that’s just… chef’s kiss,” said North.>As for the lighter side of Doom? North joked about a potential reality TV show in Doom’s new world order.>“I think it’s called Everyone Loves Doom,” he said with a laugh. “There’s nothing more dystopian than a show called Everyone Loves Doom projected onto the clouds. You can’t avoid it. It’s not descriptive, it’s a direction. Now everyone must love Doom.”>With One World Under Doom, the creators promise a story that’s as much about power as it is about the people subjected to it. Packed with political intrigue, cultural shifts, and Marvel’s trademark blend of action and heart, it’s shaping up to be a can’t-miss event.>https://aiptcomics.com/2025/01/09/one-world-under-doom-ryan-north-qa/
cool, they even included preview pages
>>147060379>Another "Doom wins" story that will be undone by the end when Doom gets bored of winningYawn...
>>147060398>Hydra working for Doomhuh
>>147060406Sorry doreen, you aren't allowed to win. Probably Doom will be keeping Storm as a hostage, I theorize inside a Soul Cage Crystal fixed atop a shaman staff granting him her full powerset AND M-word privileges.
blah blah blah Doom won and is actually making things better but he throws it all away because he wants to be petty to Reed, we've seen it all before
>>147060379I hate how marvel is shilling this dude so hard. North’s run on FF has been awful there’s zero reason to give it a cross over event.
How many times has Doom taken over the world by now?
>>147060392>it’s not based on American politics or even Canadian politicsjej
>>147060399Obviously not. North shipped the kids off for over a year to avoid writing them.
>>147060392>North agreed but clarified that this isn’t a direct commentary on contemporary figures.Let’s be real this is just going to be another faggy industry darling seething about trump while getting back pats from colleagues and middle fingers to and from readers.
>>147060774Bitch anon. They’ve been back for two years now.The kids are great and fuck Wolverine for stabbing the cute Skrull girl.
>>147060753>isTry "always", anon. Really, dude was far better before people ever pretended he actually had a point, cause at least it was funny to imagine the theatrical warmonger of a backwoods potempkin village where they aren't educated enough to read or understand any of Doom's ridiculous self-congratulating monologues actually achieving global unity and peace just like he preached.
>>147060810I don't read much X-Men or Wolverine but it's funny how nearly of appereances of Logan on an FF issue have him as an absolute "punch first, don't even think" mongoloid
>>147060863Let's be real, outside of the X-men or his rare teamup issues, that's pretty much what he IS.
>>147060398>>147060406>Zemo's just being mindcontrolledLame. I hope it's a fakeout. Half the fun of Dark Reign was seeing Stormin Norman try to get people on his side. Without a proper villain teamup there's no entertainment to it.
>>147060753His run has been great thoughever
>>147060406>The book is Doom brutally murdering Squirrel Girl for 22 pagesI'd buy it.
>>147060379North is terrible.
>>147060398One thing I love is that even in the decade or so since Secret Wars Marvel hasn't reverted Doom to "regular villain." he still sees himself as a good guy, just in a Doomy way . He even invited the F4 to his wedding and had Richard's as his best man.
>>147062732>Secret Wars Marvel hasn't reverted Doom to "regular villain."Nigger what are you even on about? Post-SW Infamous Iron Man Doom was having a heart to heart with Ben about how much of a dick he was. Then Slott came along and he's back to screaming RREEEEEEEEEEEEECHARDS. Sue literally made him appear naked in front of the entire galaxy in the opening arc, and he's been an even bigger arse since then. Him being on good enough terms with them has been a thing since Valeria was born and Unthinkable was quietly ignored. Doom always sees himself as a hero, you're literally spouting nonsense.Doom is just that popular that writers keep giving him friendly banter with everyone and nobody treats him as the actual in-universe villain he is. All Post-SW development has been reverted.
>>147060379How many times has Doom ruled the world at this point
>>147060406Dr Strange is honorary Latino
>>147063500>WASP>based on Vincent PriceIn literally what way is he "honourary latino" you dumb twittertard?
>>147061727
