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harvey_rrit February 21 2014, 20:00:58 UTC
What I read, back in Ye Olden Dayes, was that originally VD* was marred to some degree, but the real damage happened when he slapped on the nice new mask fresh from the forge.

(*Why have neither Johnny nor Ben ever remarked on the initials?)

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dochermes February 22 2014, 18:22:33 UTC
That was a John Byrne revision and most of his revisions carry little weight with me. Byrne showed Doom with a slight scar on his chin but he put the iron mask on while it was still red hot. I don't buy it. If you look at the origin story from FF ANNUAL# 2, the monk puts the mask on with his bare hands and Doom continues talking calmly through the whole process.

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harvey_rrit February 22 2014, 18:32:40 UTC
I distinctly recall reading it many years before John Byrne did it so vividly. I remember seeing Byrne's version and nodding at how well he'd done the scene, including running out and cooling the mask in the snow.

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dochermes February 22 2014, 18:39:22 UTC
Could be. The origin has been redone and tinkered with and weakened many times over the years.

I think Doom over-reacting to a minor scar cheapens the character and lessens the melodrama he needs to function. It'd be like having Ben Grimm always having been able to change to the Thing and back.

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guidoc February 21 2014, 20:39:30 UTC
"Does this pistol on my belt make me look fat?"

Funny how a little detail like that can remind you of a characters' early appearences. This was right after he double crossed Namor and pulled the Baxter Building into space,right?

I don't recall Doom being depicted as carrying a sidearm past the first year or so.

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dochermes February 22 2014, 18:25:20 UTC
Yeah, this was four issues after he was last seen drifting away into outer space. He gained a lot of new abilities from a friendly alien race called the Ovoids (thanks a bunch, Ovoids) including being able to switch bodies.

I think the sidearm looks natural on someone like ol' Victor, even with all the weaponry built into his armor. Maybe it just adds an intimidation factor.

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anonymous February 21 2014, 21:04:31 UTC
It's refreshing to see Vic show up at the office now and again to remind everybody who's boss.
Sometimes you gotta put the hammer down. Can't be a nice guy all the time.

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dochermes February 22 2014, 18:25:48 UTC
"Oh, no, Doom is here! Everyone look busy."

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rab62 February 21 2014, 21:28:55 UTC
Yeah, right, Stan and Jack had a studio that they shared. Presumably that's where Stan came up with all the ideas and told Jack what to draw and criticized him for not being sufficiently imaginative about inventing new characters. Yeesh! Doctor Doom is arguably the LEAST unrealistic thing in these pages...

The idea of authorized comics within the Marvel Universe has always been interesting. When this issue was published Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis starred in their own authorized DC comic series, while Don Rickles and Woody Allen each made cameo appearances as themselves in other books a few years later. That's not to mention Jackie Gleason, Roy Rogers, and countless others. The idea of celebrity-featuring comics was a lot more commonplace back then. But what would Marvel have done if Victor wanted a royalty check for the use of his likeness?

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anonymous February 21 2014, 21:50:29 UTC
Yeah, Guidoc, I noticed that too. What does Vic need with a pistol anyway? He's got finger blasters. I can't picture him drawing down on anybody.
Maybe that's not a pistol in that holster. My guess? A lotta condoms.

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skjam February 22 2014, 02:26:00 UTC
Doom had a normal gun for two reasons. First, just in case Reed managed to come up with an EMP device that would fry Doom's armor weapons. Second, to shoot minions who failed him, as they were not worthy of being slain by Doom's cool finger blasters.

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anonymous February 22 2014, 03:52:34 UTC
Doom had a gun so he could shoot people in Florida and then say he felt threatened.

- Hoosier X

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anonymous February 22 2014, 15:07:11 UTC
Good point. Victor was still working on his style. He got to rummaging around in some of Jacks' old "Captain America" books and saw how the Red skull dealt with minion failure and thought "cool move".

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