Spoilers for Doctor Doom #9 ahead!

One of Marvel’s dumbest rivalries, the one between Reed Richards and Doctor Doom, is going to kill the entire planet. Recent events in Doctor Doom have positioned Doom as the planet’s potential savior, but if he cannot move past his adversarial relationship with Reed Richards, then the planet is most certainly in serious trouble. Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Salvador Larroca and colors by Guru eFx, Doctor Doom #9 is available now.

Doom’s solo title kicked off with the destruction of a moon base which, in the process, opened an enormous black hole near the Earth. Doctor Adam Brashear, AKA The Blue Marvel, deduced that the black hole will cause the laws of physics to break down and potentially harm all life on Earth. The Blue Marvel, whose powers are anti-matter based, travelled through the black hole in an attempt to close it, but was lost. Now, the responsibility to close the black hole and save humanity falls on Doctor Doom’s shoulders, which would be great if he could just get over his hatred of Reed Richards.

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This bitter hatred was on full display this issue. Doom’s plan to close the black hole is “foolproof” (his words) and he is confident in it. The world knows what he is about to do, and just as he is ready to commence, Reed Richards calls him to wish him luck. After a tense exchange between the two ends, Doom begins doubting his plan. Surmising that Reed found a flaw in the plan and called Doom up to troll him over it, Doom begins changing it, causing a catastrophic failure and another, even larger explosion than the one that created the black hole in the first place.

Doom has convinced himself that he is now a great hero; several times throughout the issue he praises himself for his heroism and humility. The constant bragging shows Doom isn’t a hero—he may be doing a great deed, but for all the wrong reasons. And he has let his obsession with Reed Richards, a long-time rivalry he can’t move past, jeopardize both his plan and the people of Earth.

Doctor Doom’s solo title has been a fascinating exploration of what makes Doctor Doom tick. Cantwell and Larroca first took everything from Doom and then gave him everything and more back—only to have Doom throw it all away over a petty rivalry. Will Doom be able to somehow salvage the situation on the moon? And will he ever be able to move past his burning obsession with Reed Richards? The answer is more than likely no, meaning Doctor Doom will never be able to achieve the greatness he thinks he deserves.

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