One World Under Doom #1 officially sets up the full status quo of the current Marvel Universe, in which Doctor Doom has seized the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, using it to become the unquestioned ruler of the whole planet.
And while Doom's rule is starting out surprisingly - almost shockingly - benevolent, the lingering sense of dread that the Latverian dictator is luring everyone into a false sense of security while planning something totally unwholesome behind the scenes is palpable.
Spoilers ahead for One World Under Doom #1
One World Under Doom #1 by writer Ryan North, artist RB Silva, colorist David Curiel, and letterer Travis Lanham opens with Doctor Doom commandeering the entire world's broadcast systems to declare himself the master of the world. We've seen bits of this broadcast in the lead-up to the official launch of the actual One World Under Doom title, but now we're getting the full spiel from Doom, including what he's actually doing as ruler of the world.
First off, Doom insists that all of the world's leaders have agreed to peacefully surrender power to him, and that those who have complied will be allowed to continue governing according to their own traditional systems of power, so long as they abide by his two rules, and agree to invoke several global policies that Doom himself will enforce.
What are these rules and policies? Well, as Doom himself states, they won't involve forcing people into enslaved labor or violent purges of his political enemies (though this last bit isn't quite true, as we'll get into).
Instead, the first rule is that there will be no war between the world's nations, all of which Doom has declared provinces of Latveria under his "Pax Victoris" policy. The second rule is the bit about the world's governments continuing mostly as normal so long as they institute his policies, which include offering full universal healthcare for all people on Earth, along with free education up to the highest levels of study for anyone who wants it.
Sounds pretty benevolent, right? Coming from a guy whose name is Doom and is already known to be not just a dictator but a supervillain, that's hardly the worst case scenario.
Still, there are already some cracks in Doom's claims of peacefulness, as he interrupts his own speech to send Doombots to crush several burgeoning rebellions against his rule across the world, using this as an example of what happens to those who try to rise up against him.
No sooner is this point made than Baron Zemo takes his own control of the airwaves, stating that Hydra will never come under the rule of Doctor Doom, and announcing Hydra's invasion of Latveria.
This prompts the involvement of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, who quickly make their way to Latveria to intervene in the conflict. But as they arrive, Zemo once again makes a broadcast stating that he and Hydra have actually come to terms with Doctor Doom, and will now put down their weapons and begin mobilizing all Hydra's troops to help build new infrastructure around the world.
But there's yet more to the story, as it turns out that Doom has actually killed Baron Zemo (and the Red Skull, and other villains) and replaced them with Doombots under his own control - a fact he reveals to the world to bring scrutiny to the Avengers' actions and gain sympathy for himself as the world's new ruler, since he's rooted out some of the Marvel Universe's most evil villains.
All of this sets up the Avengers, the FF, and the rest of Marvel's heroes to be on the back foot as Doom begins unveiling his plans for the Marvel Universe - though much like the heroes, I've got a seriously nagging feeling that Doom is planning something really bad for the world.
I won't be coy about it - the ideas of universal education and healthcare are incredibly appealing to me. But when those seemingly benevolent policies are coming from a guy with a literal iron fist who is promising not to root out his political opponents while also secretly murdering them and replacing them or violently, publicly shutting them down, it's worth considering the source of all the great promises being made for the people of the Marvel Universe.
Doom's rule will continue across the Marvel Universe into the summer, with One World Under Doom #2 arriving March 19.
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