Doctor Doom’s ultimate goal in Last Annihilation has been revealed, and it teases his role in Marvel’s upcoming Reckoning War.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy #18, on sale now
The Marvel Universe has been consumed by wars across the galaxy, including a massive invasion from Dormammu and his forces from the Dark Dimension in the Last Annihilation. Such conflicts have brought major forces together, and even empowering dangerous future threats.
Despite that conflict finally ending on good terms in Guardians of the Galaxy #18 by Al Ewing, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee, and VC’s Cory Petit, things are already in motion for future events. The Reckoning War is set to be one of Marvel’s next most important events — and the conclusion of Last Annihilation hints that Doctor Doom will be involved (with a lot more firepower at his disposal than usual).
The Reckoning War has been teased for over a decade, first mentioned in She-Hulk #3 by Dan Slott, Carlos Pacheco, and Rachael Stott. Confronted by the TVA, She-Hulk learns that a future incarnation of her is set to play a role in the unknown event alongside Iron Man and the Fantastic Four — and that the battle will be so great, even the Watchers will be willing to break their ancient code and interfere with the events of the multiverse.
It’s been a relatively minor blip in the overall history of recent events, but since the resurrection of Uatu in the fallout of Empyre, things have been escalating towards the unknown event. The Reckoning War is currently set to begin in January of 2022, centering around the Fantastic Four. But making matters even more complicated, it appears that Doctor Doom will be involved in the conflict as well. During the course of Last Annihilation, the arrival of Dormammu in the core-Marvel reality of Earth-616 prompts the typically villainous Doctor Doom to briefly ally himself with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Together, they’re all able to work in sync and devise a plan that not only defeats Dormammu and sends him back to his reality, it does so by severely weakening the villain.
Killing his corporeal form with a super-powered shot combining all their powers, the Guardians seemingly deplete much of the MCU epic villain’s potential. However, this is secretly because Doom has been working with Sister Talionis, the Skrull Priestess who set off the event in the first place. The entire coming of Dormammu was strategized by Doom. Although he failed to earn the loyalty of the mutants and couldn’t claim Excelsior from Hulking, Doom was able to claim the Magics of Dormammu — themselves some of the most deadly mystical forces in the Marvel canon. Bound to his armor and fueling Doom, the villain reveals that this potent weapon will remain hidden until “the moment of reckoning.”
All of this suggests Doom already has a plan for how and when he’s going to use this deep well of power — and the specific word-choice suggests that it will tie into one of the events set to endanger his age-old foes, the Fantastic Four. While the full extent of the battle and Doom’s role in it might still be hidden, the fact that he’s involved shouldn’t truly come as a surprise. It’s already being teased as the ultimate challenge for the Marvel Universe and the Fantastic Four specifically so it makes perfect sense that their ultimate nemesis would be involved. And with the sheer might of Dormammu literally at his fingertips, it’s likely Doom will be an important factor to consider during the conflict. With the scope of the conflict suggested to be at a Secret Wars level, this amount of power being at Doom’s disposal is a problem.
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