Even the mighty Galactus cannot withstand the full power of Doctor Doom: Fantastic Four #8 finds the consumer of worlds paralyzed after his defeat through the combined efforts of the Fantastic Four, Doom, and Victorious, a cosmic-powered Latverian patriot named Zora.
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Doom’s true goal was harnessing Galactus’ power for the good of Latveria, which has the “unstoppable force of nature” unable to move or speak and now acting as a skyscraper-sized generator the country feeds from.
“In the span of one night, our glorious leader, Victor Von Doom, has transformed Latveria… into the most powerful nation on Earth,” Zora tells the helpless Galactus, who lies frozen in place as a series of tubes leech from his body. “So while this giant can no longer speak, his silence sends a clear message to all: HAIL DOOM.”
In his under dungeon beneath Castle Von Doom, in the “Heart of Destruction,” Doom has four special chambers waiting to be filled. The first has Reed Richards stretched to the size of a two-story house, stretched to his limit in a room “colder than the vacuum of space.” His flexibility is a weakness here: the slightest movement will crack his skin and shatter his organs.
Reed asks how Doom has managed to draw power from Galactus, and he’s all too happy to explain: “A way to extract limitless cosmic power. I have done the unthinkable!” Doom lectures.
“I have chained a proverbial Prometheus and stolen his fire. A bountiful gift that I, and Latveria, shall share with the rest of the world.” Reed attempts to warn of the risks, but Doom says they’ve been considered and dealt with.
“Don’t you understand? I am trying to be a good man, Reed,” Doom says. “I wanted my last act toward you… to be one of kindness.”
Elsewhere, Ben Grimm, the Thing, is restrained in the form of an “X” by glowing chains. Doom knows Ben has the strength and resolve to break free, so the restraints aren’t the trap. Instead, Doom’s prison for Ben is more insidious: the more pressure he applies, the faster the remaining three traps will kill his family.
“Yeah? Well, all’a yer fancy doodads are gonna kill ’em anyway, right?” Ben says. “So why shouldn’t I escape?”
“Because you are a man of faith, Benjamin. You honestly believe that, given enough time, your friends will liberate themselves,” Doom explains. “That’s the trap.”
The more he struggles, Ben learns, the more the temperature drops in Reed’s cell. Best friend Johnny Storm is suspended in a tank of breathable liquid, and currently confronted by Zora, who says the fiery superhero deserves to die for invading her homeland — despite his saving her life.
Sue Richards is trapped in a cubicle rigged with sophisticated sensors, Doom tells her, explaining she’s being bombarded by sonic pulses scrambling the portion of her brain she uses to generate her invisible force-fields. “For the sacrifice you are about to make, I swear to you… that both Valeria and Franklin shall be well looked after.”
Sue is pissed. Doom continues. “That is my parting gift to you. That once you are gone… your children will be under my protection. Safe and sound… wherever they may be.”
Elsewhere, Franklin realizes he’s back at the edge of the Multiverse. He’s met by the thousands of species and billions of lives he created there, but is quickly horrified as the multi-colored creatures question why they were brought into existence only to “suffer and die.”
He stirs awake in terror, realizing he’s sharing a room with sister Val at their Aunt Petunia’s place in Arizona. Val wants to complete a teleport to Latveria, but it’ll take some of his godlike power to get it going. His new Aunt Alicia tries to stop his leaving, but the teen sidesteps the blind Alicia and leaves. Unbeknownst to him, Franklin is watched by shadowy, horned creatures peering from the trees.
Doom, meanwhile, has taken control of the world’s broadcasts with a message, one also issued to neighboring galaxies: “They must be informed that Earth has granted them a great boon,” Doom boasts. “That we are the planet that captured Galactus… and spared every other world this devourer’s wrath!”
“What’s more, we are keeping the monster weak and withdrawn… by harvesting from him the source of his stupendous strength… the power cosmic!”
Doom promises limitless energy that will “usher in a new era of prosperity for all,” declaring war, famine, and poverty as things of the past. Dubbed “cosmic fuel,” Doom entices the world with coming construction of spacefaring vessels within the year, adding humanity — through Latveria — “Shall take its rightful place among the stars!”
Any nations seeking to subvert such power, as well as alien forces attempting to thwart Earth’s manifest destiny, “would be most unwise,” Doom warns.
With Victorious at his side, Doom gives the planet the Fantastic Four as sacrifice — publicly declaring their coming executions. Doom promises to flood the Four’s chambers with “pure, uncut cosmic power,” bringing about a swift but graphic end for the Fantastic Four.
While Wyatt, Alicia, and Petunia head out in search of Franklin, he encounters an unfamiliar face: Wendy, hailing from Fantastic Four #239. Franklin and Wendy watch Reed note Doom miscalculated, pointing out power surges quickly growing in frequency. Eventually, Reed warns, they’ll destroy Latveria and knock Earth off its orbit, ending all life on the planet.
Doom declares them lies, but a spike sends Latveria reeling as Galactus begins to stir. Doom is angered, but Reed rallies the family. From her cell, Sue addresses Doom: “You wanted the whole world, the universe, to see everything? Tell me, Victor, how do you feel about full transparency?”
Sue uses her powers to cast invisibility and strip Doom of his armor, revealing his scarred, naked body to the world. Then, through gritted teeth, a furious Doom promises: “You will pay for this!”
Next, “One cruel act will forever change the relationship between the Fantastic Four and Victor Von Doom. The fate of Latvia and of the world and the balance of cosmic power in the universe all rests on one decision! All will be revealed in the terrifying final chapter of ‘Herald of Doom!’”
Elsewhere in the Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange, the master of the mystic arts, strikes a deal with a starving Galactus to serve as the devourer’s newest herald.
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