Doctor Doom Now Has His Own Herald Like Galactus

Marvel fans know that Galactus is famous for having heralds such as the Silver Surfer. Now Marvel has also introduced the herald of Doctor Doom.

SPOILERS for Fantastic Four #6 by Dan Slott, Aaron Kuder, and Marte Gracia follow.

Galactus has been consuming planets since the big bang created the Marvel Universe. At some point during his travels through the cosmos, Galactus realized that his quest would be much more efficient if he sent out scouts to find suitable worlds for him. He began creating heralds by infusing different individuals with a portion of his own Power Cosmic and sending them off to explore the universe for him. While many varied beings have served as Galactus’ herald in the past, Silver Surfer remains the most famous.

The Fantastic Four have only recently reunited. The Richards family had been off exploring and rebuilding the multiverse. They finally returned to their home just in time to attend Ben Grimm’s marriage to Alicia Masters. Unfortunately, that wedding was interrupted by a massive holographic image of Doctor Doom. Doom proclaimed that Galactus, the world-devourer, was headed to Earth and that Doom alone would stand against planet-eater.

Doom had gone through a kind of transformation during Reed Richards’ time away. His scarred face had been healed and he tried to turn over a new leaf. He even became the new Iron Man for a time while Tony Stark was in a coma. But that all came to an end. His face is scarred again and he’s returned to his home country, Latveria, once again becoming the nation’s despotic ruler.

Reed stops time long enough for Ben and Alicia to say their vows. Then the Fantastic Four headed to Latveria, where Galactus has already made landfall. Doctor Doom was immediately alerted to the FF’s arrival and sent his new herald, Victorious, to stop them.

Victorious is the new hero fo Latveria. Her real name is Zora Vukovic and she was the leader of the resistance movement that fought against an occupying army that took control of the country in Doom’s absence. As seen in Fantastic Four #1, Zora infiltrated Castle Doom and convinced Doctor Doom to return to his position as the country’s ruler. He was so inspired by her that he wanted her to do the same for al Latverians. He infused her with the power cosmic, transforming her into his herald. He rechristened her Victorious naming her for how he expects she will make other Latverians feel (also, you can’t spell Victorious without Victor, as in Victor Von Doom).

Victorious’s cosmic energy is what drew Galactus back to Earth. During the fight, Doctor Doom’s robot minions destroy some of Galactus’ technology, which leaves him hungrier than ever. Galactus heads straight for Victorious. Reed assumes that Doctor Doom has once again miscalculated his plans, but Doom assures the Fantastic Four that bringing them to Latveria, where they stand in the shadow of Galactus and Doom’s own herald, has been exactly his plan all along.

What do you think of Doom’s new herald? Let us know in the comments!

Fantastic Four #6 is on sale now.