Twelfth Day of Classic Comics Christmas

Dr. Doom and Magneto

See my initial post for the context. Suffice to say that I will be sharing my entries to the Classic Comics Forum tradition, “Twelve Days of Classic Comics Christmas“. This is a cross-post of my twelfth entry, representing #1 on my list of favorite comic book Crossovers.

Today is the final day. Thank you for reading along.

1. Dr. Doom and Magneto
“A World for the Winning”
from Super-Villain Team-Up #14 (Marvel, 1977)

by Bill Mantlo, Bob Hall, Don Perlin, and Duffy Vohland

[This isn’t quite a complete story; it concludes in the Champions, but the contest I’m playing along with was specifically not about teams, so we’re focusing on the first chapter. All that said…] this was a clear #1 for me.

These are my favorite super-villains. And Dr. Doom has conquered the world. Like, it’s over. He’s won. His only enemy left is boredom. And out of that boredom, he gives Magneto a chance, a small chance, to free the world.

This story would get reused and reworked for Marvel Graphic Novel #27, “Emperor Doom”, also by Bob Hall. And the bare premise of a super-villain in psychic control of an entire world has shown up here and there, since. Most recently in Tom King’s Batman.

But this is the one. Doom’s finest hour. The best story for Marvel’s best villain.