Imperfect God
The event continus and the story and the world of Doom unfolds itself more and more with each issue. This time around we have an examination of the dynamic between Doctor Strange and Doom. As always the creative team doesn't disappoint and crafts a beautiful story both in terms of verbal action and artistic one as well. The story contained in this issue is truly important as it is an essential character defining issue in which we learn more about Strange and how he perceives Doom and his idea.
I should definitely start out with saying that Esad Ribic, as always, does not disappoint even slightly. His interior artwork combined with the amazing colors of Ive Svorcina create a picture that is more than beautiful. Every single page of the issue and this book is utterly amazing with it's action, emotions and overall layout. Most likely the best moments of the book are when Ribic explodes with his creativity in terms of battles and interaction between the characters. If it wasn't for him, this story wouldn't have been as enjoyable as it is.
The character development we have in this issue is a crucial part of the whole event itself because we see Strange, the right hand of Doom, saying that he isn't exactly on the same terms with Doom. He thanks him that he was able to go up against the Beyonders and steal their power, kill them and forge this new world but he does not agree with his actions and behavior. However, there is nothing else that he can do except follow the orders he is given and obey because he has been gifted with when he could be dead like some other characters. And the way Hickman exposes all of that feels natural and forced by any means. It all seems perfectly fitting together and it makes the tension grow stronger for the final moment which is a big climax on it's own.
Many may have been disappointed that Doctor Strange( or Sheriff Strange if you prefer) is on Doom's side here but you can see that no matter what happens he will always be one of the good guys and that he hasn't forgotten who he is, where he has started from and who are his real friends. There's nothing you can do but to like him. He is one of those characters that you want to hate or dislike at least because of the choices he is making but you simply cannot do anything against the fact that you actually like him. He has his reasons to be the man he is but that doesn't mean he is corrupted by power or any other emotion, he is the way he is because he wants to survive.
As much as I loved this issue and every single issue before this one, there's a small flaw in this that I could not simply overlook. There was a certain build up for a moment that was long awaited by me and probably others as well - the Phoenix Cyclops vs. God Doom fight. I waited to see how things will turn out and what will happen because everything so far has been handled perfectly by Hickman and I've loved all of the character development there has been and I was eager to see how epic this will be. To my misfortune the fight was mostly lackluster, started out really strong but in the end the Phoenix Force was more of a tool to show us how strong is Doom exactly because Cyclops fell rather hastily.
All in all I cannot say a bad word for this issue or the event itself. Each issue has been a pleasant surprise for me of how good of a writer Hickman is and how well he has handled the whole false imperfect god thing and the whole world build up. I like how things are developping and where this is going and I am really eager to find out what will happen next between these characters and how it will all conclude.
