Doomquest
Encyclopedia
"Doomquest" is a two-issue Iron Man
story arc
written by David Michelinie
and Bob Layton
with art by John Romita Jr. and published by Marvel Comics
. The arc first appears in Iron Man #149-#150. One of the most popular stories of the title character, it establishes Doctor Doom
as a member of his rogues gallery
, a villainous counterpart who mirrors the superhero with his wealth, power armor and engineering
skill.
. After immediately firing the employee, Stark cancels the sale and attempts to return the payment. Doom not only refuses the refund, but sends some agents to seize the refused goods by force. Stark, as Iron Man, is unable to prevent the robbery and travels to Doom's country of Latveria
to recover the goods personally.
When Iron Man
attacks Doctor Doom
's castle, the two are flung back in time on Doom's Time Platform by his traitorous minion Hauptmann to the days of Camelot
. Iron Man meets and joins the forces of King Arthur
, while Doom joins with Morgan le Fay
to enlist her in helping wrest his mother's soul from Hell. Le Fay agrees on the condition that Doom become the general of her army of undead warriors slain by the sword Excalibur against her half-brother King Arthur. Accompanying Arthur's knights against Doom's army Iron Man defeats Le Fay, causing her to flee to another realm. Doom swears vengeance on Iron Man for this, but the two agree to a temporary truce to use parts from both their armors to create a basic time machine
to take them back to the present.
In addition the story arc "Time Is on No One's Side" (Mighty Avengers #9-#10) features Iron Man and Doom, along with the Sentry
, being sent back in time to the 1970s
-era Marvel Universe
and heavily references "Doomquest", such as the two men noting that they cannot duplicate their previous success at creating a time machine from their armours as they lack the components they used originally.
IGN
included the story as part of its Ultimate Bookshelf 2.0: Iron Man. ComicMix included in its 10 Must-Read Stories Before You Watch 'Iron Man' in Theaters. Den of Geek called it one of the Best Iron Man stories. The AV Club called the story "a lot of fun" giving it a B+ rating. Chris's Invincible Super-Blog said "on the short list of [Iron Man]'s necessary adventures, Doomquest sits right at the top.
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
written by David Michelinie
David Michelinie
-Biography:Some of his earliest work is for DC Comics's House of Secrets and a run on Swamp Thing , following Len Wein and preceding Gerry Conway, illustrated by Nestor Redondo. Michelinie did a run on Aquaman in Adventure Comics which led to the revival of the Sea King's own title in 1977...
and Bob Layton
Bob Layton
Bob Layton is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor, who has worked for Marvel Comics, Valiant Comics, DC Comics, Future Comics, and other publishers.-Early life:...
with art by John Romita Jr. and published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The arc first appears in Iron Man #149-#150. One of the most popular stories of the title character, it establishes Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
as a member of his rogues gallery
Rogues gallery
A rogues gallery is a police collection of pictures or photographs of criminals and suspects kept for identification purposes...
, a villainous counterpart who mirrors the superhero with his wealth, power armor and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
skill.
Plot summary
Tony Stark learns that an employee of his made illegal sales of technology to Doctor DoomDoctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
. After immediately firing the employee, Stark cancels the sale and attempts to return the payment. Doom not only refuses the refund, but sends some agents to seize the refused goods by force. Stark, as Iron Man, is unable to prevent the robbery and travels to Doom's country of Latveria
Latveria
Latveria is a nation in the . It is an isolated European country ruled by the supervillain Doctor Doom, supposedly located in the Banat region. It is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, and also borders the Symkaria to the south. Its capital is Doomstadt.-Publication history:Latveria first...
to recover the goods personally.
When Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
attacks Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
's castle, the two are flung back in time on Doom's Time Platform by his traitorous minion Hauptmann to the days of Camelot
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
. Iron Man meets and joins the forces of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
, while Doom joins with Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay (Marvel Comics)
Morgan le Fay is a fictional character in the , based loosely on the Morgan le Fay of Arthurian legend. In this version of the character, she is the half-faerie half-sister of the mythic Arthur. Her elven heritage granted her immortality, and she used this time to master the mystic arts. She...
to enlist her in helping wrest his mother's soul from Hell. Le Fay agrees on the condition that Doom become the general of her army of undead warriors slain by the sword Excalibur against her half-brother King Arthur. Accompanying Arthur's knights against Doom's army Iron Man defeats Le Fay, causing her to flee to another realm. Doom swears vengeance on Iron Man for this, but the two agree to a temporary truce to use parts from both their armors to create a basic time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
to take them back to the present.
Sequels
The story arc proved quite popular and Marvel commissioned two sequels both written by Michelinie and Layton:- "Recurring Knightmare" (Iron Man #249-#250) - Iron Man and Doctor Doom are sent to the year 2089 A.D. complete with a future version of Camelot, where they must ally with a reborn Arthur- here only a young boy- and Merlin against Stark's descendent Andros Stark- now a mercenary using an old armourIron Man 2020Iron Man 2020 is a fictional supervillain. He is the counterpart of the superhero Iron Man in the future year of 2020 in the Marvel Comics multiverse...
for his own gain- and Doom's own future self. Doom slays his double while Iron Man wields ExcaliburExcaliburExcalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
against his descendant, but their memories of their time in the future - including Doom's discovery of Iron Man's true identity - are erased when they are sent back to their home time, the spell that brought them to the present preventing them from bringing anything from the future back with them. - Iron Man: Legacy of Doom - A four-issue miniseries where Iron Man and Doctor Doom battle, includes a trip to MephistoMephisto (comics)Mephisto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Silver Surfer #3 and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, loosely modeled on Mephistopheles - a character from the Faust legend.Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books,...
's HellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
dimension.
In addition the story arc "Time Is on No One's Side" (Mighty Avengers #9-#10) features Iron Man and Doom, along with the Sentry
Sentry (Robert Reynolds)
The Sentry is a fictional character in the . The character first appears in The Sentry #1 and was created by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, with uncredited conceptual contributions by Rick Veitch.-Creation:...
, being sent back in time to the 1970s
1970s in comics
See also:1960s in comics,other events of the 1970s,1980s in comics and thelist of years in comicsPublications: 1970 - 1971 - 1972 - 1973 - 1974 - 1975 - 1976 - 1977 - 1978 - 1979-1970:See also: 1970 in comics...
-era Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
and heavily references "Doomquest", such as the two men noting that they cannot duplicate their previous success at creating a time machine from their armours as they lack the components they used originally.
Collected editions
In 2008, "Doomquest" and the sequel "Recurring Knightmare" were collected as a Marvel Premiere hardcover edition entitled Iron Man: Doomquest (ISBN 0785128344).Reception
"Doomquest" was very well received and has become a fan favorite.IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
included the story as part of its Ultimate Bookshelf 2.0: Iron Man. ComicMix included in its 10 Must-Read Stories Before You Watch 'Iron Man' in Theaters. Den of Geek called it one of the Best Iron Man stories. The AV Club called the story "a lot of fun" giving it a B+ rating. Chris's Invincible Super-Blog said "on the short list of [Iron Man]'s necessary adventures, Doomquest sits right at the top.
External links
- Iron Man vs. Doctor Doom: Doomquest at Marvel.com