The following contains major spoilers for both Venom #12 and Venom: Lethal Protector #5, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
In the past few years, Eddie Brock and the oozing corner of the Marvel Universe he inhabits have been embroiled in some of the biggest stories of all time. Not only has Eddie himself ascended to the role of King in Black, the place he and other symbiotes hold has been elevated beyond what anyone could have previously imagined. Unfortunately, that has also drawn the attention of plenty of new enemies, and Doctor Doom is quickly proving why he should be counted among the worst of them.
While Dylan Brock and the titular symbiote of Venom #22 (by Al Ewing, Ramón F. Bachs, Frank D’Armata, and VC’s Clayton Cowles) investigate the sudden reemergence of none other than Flexo in the modern day, readers learn what happened when the Rubber Man was sealed away nearly a century ago. As it turns out, during one of Flexo’s many missions behind enemy lines during the Second World War, the “robot” broke from orders and annihilated the occupying forces in a village far from his actual target. Rather than doing so of his own volition, however, Flexo was instead seemingly possessed by none other than Eddie Brock, who forced the Rubber Man’s hand in veering off course and, ultimately, being frozen in time by his creators for that crime. Worse still, there was another who appeared all the way back then to instill within Flexo a hatred for that very same King in Black, presumably so that the Doom of the future could claim Flexo as his own.
Why Doctor Doom is After Marvel’s King in Black
While it was already surprising to see how Flexo’s past in the Marvel Universe has been rewritten by the symbiotes of today, witnessing Doctor Doom make his own introduction into the proceedings all those years ago is genuinely shocking. Of course, Doom has long proven himself capable of moving through time as he pleases with relative ease, but his intense interest in symbiotes and their living god is a much more recent development. Doom has had numerous encounters with various symbiotes since their arrival on Earth, and he has even gone so far as to weaponize them in the form of the Venom Virus he unleashed on New York City. However, it was years before he lent any serious consideration to incorporating a symbiote of his own.
Between tasting the raw power of the Venom symbiote for himself in the pages of Venom: Lethal Protector #5 (by David Michelinie, Farid Karami, Arif Prianto, and VC’s Travis Lanham) and seeing what Tony Stark was capable of with his Extrembiote armor during the events of King in Black, Doom has shown a profound interest in harnessing those same powers once more. Unsurprisingly, merely coveting such strength hasn’t helped Doom get any closer to attaining it, especially when doing so would mean dethroning the King in Black. This is precisely why Doom has taken the time to go back and plant a seed of hatred for Eddie deep within Flexo.
By effectively turning Flexo into an unwitting agent against the King in Black, Doctor Doom has created the perfect assassin. Interestingly, Doom has also revealed how outmatched he knows he will be if he has to face Eddie alone. By putting so much effort into having someone else fight his battles, Doom has tacitly admitted that the mantle he covets dwarfs his own. Considering how little Doom likes to lose, it makes sense that he would take every possible precaution in his war against the King in Black, just as his hunger for power provides ample reason for him to launch such an endeavor in the first place. As much as Doom would like for this to paint a picture of him as a cold, calculating mastermind, it only highlights how desperate he is beneath his metallic surface, not to mention how little of the power he already commands is truly his.
What His War Against Eddie Brock Says About Doctor Doom
This isn’t to say Doctor Doom isn’t a viable threat in his own right, but rather that nearly all the strength he exudes and fear he instills because of it comes from somewhere else. There is certainly an argument to be made for him designing and creating his army of Doombots, or the work that Doom has put into studying and mastering the Mystic Arts. Neither of those accomplishments are entirely his own. Just as Doom’s army was only afforded thanks to the vast resources he controls as the ruler of Latveria, so too were his efforts into becoming a Master of the Mystic Arts afforded largely by the status he stole away from the king he overthrew upon returning home so many decades ago.
While Doom’s battlefield acumen has helped him emerge victorious over his enemies, his exponential rise to power was made on the backs of those he felled instead of any innate superiority on his part. This in turn has greatly lent itself to Doom’s constant need to for validation, creating a cyclical sense of dread within him that is further fed by his narcissism and impostor syndrome. If Doctor Doom were ever truly stripped down to only what he can lay sole claim to, one of the Marvel Universe’s most imposing villains would likely end up standing alongside the ranks of his usual underlings at best.
On the other hand, Doom’s propensity for violence and calculated cruelty would ensure that he didn’t stay there very long, which both elevates his status and cements his legacy as one primarily stolen from others. As far as Doctor Doom is concerned, everything he has gained would simply be described as the spoils of war with no regard for any finer sense of nuance. The mantle of King in Black is just the latest of those spoils that he has set his sights on. Luckily, that title comes with power that not even Doom could ever comprehend, although if he were to claim it, he could very well still do plenty of damage before having it wrenched out of his grasp. Or, at the very least, Doctor Doom would manage to cement a legacy for himself as the most annoyingly persistent threat the Marvel Universe has to offer.