One World Under Doom is the best that a Marvel event has been in a long time. The first issue was a pitch perfect kick-off, and things have only got better from there. The Avengers have joined forces with the Masters of Evil, the Fantastic Four have been put in their place by Doom, who cures Ben Grimm of his Thing form, and Doom just keeps winning. One World Under Doom #3 sees the heroes in the worst possible place — on the back foot against a villain who holds all the cards. Ryan North and R.B. Silva do a tremendous job of not only raising the stakes, but continue to bring complexity to a plot that has hooked fans, as they reveal how Doom has been able to do what he’s did, as well as showing that he’s fallible. The issues does have some problems, but that doesn’t stop it from being entertaining.
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This issue is a typical issue of One World Under Doom, which is one of the problems with the comic. The first two issues of the book had two major points in each one — Doom outsmarting the heroes when they come for him and Doom being proven to actually to be right. These are repeated in issue #3, with the Avengers and the Masters of Evil attacking Doom, who outsmarts them again. Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch, Madelyne Pryor, and Baron Mordo learn the secret of how Doom got the world leaders to join his side — he used magic to slow down time and negotiate with them. This is a cool idea, but it also shows the problem with this story so far.
Before I get to that, I want to point out that North is doing a tremendous job with this book. There’s a definitely a formula developing, but it’s an entertaining one. North does a great job capturing the different voices of the characters, the dialogue is great, the jokes land, and it’s an exciting book. There are problems with the comic, but it’s not a bad comic. However, it’s starting to get to be a little much how hard this book glazes Doom. Yes, Doom is the Sorcerer Supreme, but the way he’s able to outsmart the heroes constantly and smack them around with little difficulty feels like it’s a bit much. Yes, Doom is a good leader who wants the best for his people, but he’s not altruistic, yet we’re still getting an altruistic Doom. Obviously, the book is building anticipation on when Doom is going to turn out actually be evil, but so far, One World Under Doom is in a holding pattern because of the story’s structure. It’s not good that this is noticeable.
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Meanwhile, the art isn’t as great as it was in the first two issues. Silva is known for his very clean linework, but looking at his lines in this issue, it kind of looks like he was on a deadline crunch. Some of the faces look weird, the action can get a little static, and the detail slips at times. Much like the missteps in the issue’s story, this isn’t bad art by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not as polished as it was in previous issues. Plus, color artist David Curiel keeps giving redhead Madelyne Pryor more auburn tinted hair, which is kind of annoying for this Maddie fan.
There is still a lot to love about the art. Silva draws such a great MODOK that it isn’t funny; every time MODOK shows up is a cheerworthy moment. The fight between the Avengers and Doom is mostly well-rendered, although some panels aren’t perfect, and is full of exciting action set pieces, especially whenever tyrannosaur Doom shows up. Silva may not be at his best with this issue, but there’s still highpoints, especially once we get to the end of the issue and see the price of Doom’s hubris, with Silva rendering an amazing version of a classic Marvel villain that hasn’t shown up in a story like this in ages. Silva sticks the landing, even if every move of his floor program weren’t as good as it has been before.
One World Under Doom #3 has a lot of predictable moments and some art problems, but it’s still worth a read. North is repeating himself, but he knows how to make even formula interesting. The issue ends promises a big change to the book, which it definitely needs, so that’s good. Silva and Curiel makes some mistakes in the art, but overall, everything looks good enough. This is a slightly above average comic, a solid yet imperfect read.
Rating 3 out of 5
Published by Marvel
Released on April 23, 2025
Written by Ryan North
Art by R.B. Silva
Colors by David Curiel
Letters by Travis Lanham
One World Under Doom #3 is on sale now.
