Title - Meeting of the Minds

Writer - Jeff Parker

Art - Paul Pelletier

 

Summary:

The Leader reaches out to various super-villains to form the Intelligencia, a collective of mutual interest, information gathering and exchange. Their first project as a group is to raid various strongholds of knowledge across the globe to reconstruct lost Library of Alexandria. The group stores their newly gained knowledge in Latveria under Doom's protection until he betrays the group to keep the knowledge for himself.

 

Notes:

  • According to the The Leader, Doom informed the group that the tachyon beam the Intelligencia set up to attract cosmic energies drew the attention of The Beyonder, thus sparking the first Secret War. The panel however depicts the Beyonder as he appeared in Secret Wars II, which Doom was not a participant of.

 

   

Issue - 606

Title - Father's Day

Writer - Greg Pak

Art - Paul Pelletier

 

Summary:

The Hulk crashes into Doom's castle and assaults Doom. The two battle but Doom bests the green behemoth. Skaar, the Hulk's son, appears not to save his father but to make sure Doom doesn't kill him before he does. Doom reveals to Skaar that the Hulk he just defeated was in fact a cosmic powered robot and not his father. As Doom prepares to deliver a fatal blow to the boy, Bruce Banner appears and saves him. Banner nullifies Doom's technology causing Doom to resort to magic. To Doom's surprise he can no longer remember the words to the spells he wishes to use. Banner reveals that the Leader armed the robot Hulk with a neural anesthetizer. The device essentially renders Doom an idiot. The robot Hulk then leaves taking Doom with him.

 

Notes:

  • The cosmic powered Hulk was created by the eternals and at one point was rebuilt by Doom and under his control. See Incredible Hulk #350

   

Issue - 607

Title - Man with a Plan

Writer - Greg Pak

Art - Paul Pelletier

 

Summary:

Doom toils in a cell calling out for revenge against Bruce Banner.

Notes:

  • Cameo appearance only.

 

 

 

   

Issue - 20

Title - Man nor Beast

Writer - Jeph Loeb

Art - Ed McGuinness

 

Summary:

The Intelligencia use Doom's Liddleville Technology to hold their prisoners, Doom included.

Notes:

 

   

Issue - 608

Title - Endgame

Writer - Greg Pak

Art - Paul Pelletier

 

Summary:

Doom is a prisoner of the Intelligencia, his mind trapped by the Liddleville technology he created.

 

Notes:

  • Panel appearance only.

 

 

 

 

   

Issue - 609

Title - Perfection

Writer - Greg Pak

Art - Paul Pelletier

 

Summary:

While the real world is devastated by an army of Red Hulks and super-heroes of have been "hulked-up," Bruce Banner is unknowingly trapped in a virtual paradise created by the Intelligencia. Also imprisoned are the seven other greatest minds on the planet: Reed Richards, Henry Pym, T'Challa, Hank McCoy, and Doom. Only Doom senses that there is something amiss with their reality and encourages Banner discover how to escape. Content with the perfect life he has, Banner is reluctant to let go. However Doom forces his hand by creating chaos that ruins Banner's idyllic life. Banner frees himself from the mental prison of Liddleville along with the others. Doom is the first to recover and in an attempt to drain the minds of the others he instead fries his own brain. Doom chases Banner but is suddenly tossed out of the golden helicarrier by the Red She-Hulk.

 

 

Notes:

  • Were it no for the absence of Tony Stark, the Intelligencia's Liddleville table would have on it the Atomic Knights from the Heroes Reborn era.

 

 

Comments:

I find it surprising that in a year that had an event named after him (Doomwar), Doom's status quo is changed in a Hulk event. His role here is small but crucial. The Alpha issue of this event tries to ret-con the Intelligencia into Marvel's past much like the Iluminati was. I wasn't fond of the Iluminati, but thankfully I think very little Marvel history was affected here. Though the comment about their tachyon ray attracting the Beyonder merits further explanation. I admit to being bothered that yet another hero manages to waltz into Doom's territory and paralyze his technology (see Black Panther #19). I'll accept Reed Richards and Tony Stark, but Bruce Banner? I'll admit, I am not a Hulk fan, so I don't read it often. However he's never seemed to me as being on Doom's level of techno-know-how. I do like that his appearances here continue the recent trend of showing Doom as a magical force. I am of course unhappy that Doom seems so easily defeated, and that in the end he's left "dumb." I would much rather have seen the character suffer serious consequences in an event to which he is more directly involved (hint hint, Doomwar). Nonetheless I am happy that this is being addressed in his other appearances (See FF and Namor) so I'm curious to see how this develops. The inclusion of Liddleville is welcome, as is the fact that it is Doom that realizes that something is amiss. This is difficult to rate as Doom mostly guest appears or only shows briefly in panels. However in the long run, this is not a series of appearances that I will wish to revisit anytime soon. Bottom Line ** out of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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