Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s most powerful villains, and his new mask will certainly strike fear into anyone who dares not kneel before him.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Doom #7 by Christopher Cantwell, Salvador Larroca, Guru-eFX, and VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
Doctor Doom has certainly not had an easy time of it since the start of his new comic series. Forced to go on the run for an attack he did not commit, Doom has been usurped, forced out of his country, and betrayed by his traveling companion, Kang the Conqueror.
But in Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larroca’s Doctor Doom #7, Doctor Doom has finally returns to Latveria, and he’s not only coming with a reckoning for those who betrayed him, but he’s also coming wearing one his fiercest masks ever.
In the snowy wilderness of Latveria, the last of Doom’s inner circle practice their shooting to be prepared for incoming enemies. Spotting someone approaching, they prepare themselves for battle but are stunned to see their leader on the back of his bear, Novak. He tells them to feed his pet and then to bring him his tribunal mask so that the reckoning may begin. Inside the cottage, Doom speaks with his servants one on one, wearing his tribunal mask. He has his servants swear an oath of fealty to him, demanding to know their reasons for serving him and gauging their honesty based on past actions and what he knows following his ousting from Latveria.
Out of all his previous masks, the tribunal mask is the most horrifying. With its massive nose, horns, and skeletal teeth, the mask is frightening, and this issue reveals why he doesn’t use it more often. Doom only wears it for these situations, when he does’t know who he can trust and needs to interrogate, or intimidate, them to get the truth. The mask reinforces his power and authority while reminding those he is speaking to about how frightening he can be to anyone that crosses him. At the same time, it acts as a test of courage for those he speaks with, as they need to look a monster in the face and tell the truth or suffer the consequences.