Issue - 350
Title - Doom Service
Writer - David Micheline
Art - Erik Larsen
Summary:
Doom tracks down the Black Fox, an aging jewel thief who he has determined stole the Dragon's Egg. The Egg is a jewel that once belonged to Doom's mother but was stolen when it was put on display for charity. Spider-Man intervenes in order to prevent Doom from massacring the Black Fox while trying to reacquire the artifact. Angry beyond description, Doom battles Spider-Man bringing the arachnid near death. Ultimately Spider-man convinces Doom to let him get the jewel from Fox. Fox finds out that the jewel has been sold to a arcane cult. Spider-Man follows the Fox and the two unwillingly work together to grab the jewel. Doom arrives on the scene and reclaims his property. As a final punishment however, he crushes a jewel that he found in Fox's apartment which was to be used to finance his retirement thus emphasizing the value that one object had over the other.
Comments:
I wasn't expecting much when I bought this issue. I thought that most Spider-Man/Doom stories are normally very mundane and that Doom always gets the short end of the stick characterization wise. However this issue is written by David Micheline. Leave it to him to make the odd pairing of Spidey and Doom a little more interesting and do justice to both characters. Although the plot has been used on several occasions, i.e. Doom searches for a lost/stolen relic and crosses path with [insert hero here], this issue does provide Doom with some solid moments. For me the highlight is the fight between Doom and Spidey. Rarely have I seen Doom be allowed to pound the hero of a book so hard. The fact that he may die as a result of the injuries inflicted upon him by Doom add an extra sense of urgency and danger that I seldom see in Spider-Man stories, and seldom see described after a bout with Doom. One of my favorite bits about this story is the end. Micheline embodies Doom with all the noble and honorable beliefs of the medieval knight. Doom illustrates how his jewel had value because it is representative of his lineage while the other was just a stone to be sold. Thus no matter how much money he gets for it, in the end it is truly worthless. Micheline clearly has a handle on the character and was himself the one that drew the strongest parallel between Doom and the knights of old in his Iron Man stories. The only minor quibble is that Micheline has Doom say that his mother is the most powerful sorceress there ever was. Cynthia von Doom was hardly that. This statement seems a little out of place and curious coming from someone who did write about arguably the most powerful sorceress, Morgana Le Fey. Since it is the 350th issue you won't likely find this very cheap. Doom is not center stage for the entire issue, but when he's there he steals the scene. If you can fit it into your budget, Bottom Line: Buy It!