It turns out a classic member of X-Factor might be the key to unsettling the dastardly Doctor Doom and making the formidable foe sick to his stomach.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men: Legends #6, on sale now.
Doctor Doom tries to present himself as a man of high class and nobility, befitting the ruler of a nation like Latveria. This contrasts easily against the more nefarious and ruthless sides of his personality. But there have also been plenty of occasions where some ignoble event occurred to him that would be embarrassing for anyone — let alone the otherwise self-styled perfect leader, Doctor Doom.
One such incident was revealed to have happened in the days of the government-sponsored X-Factor team, with Quicksilver hunting down Doom in X-Men: Legends #6 by Peter David, Todd Nauck and Rachelle Rosenberg and exposing him to one of the unfortunate elements of sudden super-speed.
As revealed in a framing device that places X-Factor within a senate hearing, the team recounts their recent encounter with a band of militant Latverian mutants who threatened the lives of numerous civilians within the Latverian embassy. Demanding freedom and liberation from Doom’s rule, the dangerous mutants prove to be something of a PR nightmare for the hero community — neither the Avengers nor Fantastic Four want to appear to be aiding a despot like Doctor Doom, so they allow the already maligned mutant team of X-Factor to take the fall. While they also claim to be busy with other crises at the time, Quicksilver notes that it fell to them to save the day.
Eventually, the team breached the embassy and spoke with the rebels (at least until a fight broke out). However, things took a turn against the rebels when Quicksilver arrived with the genuine Doctor Doom to assist. When questioned about his ability to easily find Doom, Quicksilver casually reveals that, thanks to his knowledge of a recent battle between Doom and the Fantastic Four, he was able to determine that Doom must still be in New York City. Knowing that someone like Doom would only stay somewhere luxurious and up to his standard, Quicksilver sped around Manhattan until he located the one he was looking for. Finding Doom playing the piano, he alerts him to the events transpiring at the Latverian embassy.
Doom orders Quicksilver to get him there immediately, and even starts to insult the former Avenger in a move that he promptly comes to regret. This jab prompts Quicksilver to pick him up without further warning and run at top speeds back to the Latverian embassy with Doom on his back. Arriving at the building, Doom tries to stand of his own volition, but is clearly wobbly and affected by the trip. Although he tries to say he needs nothing, he soon bends down and is implied to vomit from the experience of super speed — leading Quicksilver to quip to the Senate Hearing that the foreign dignitary “needed a minute.”
Although Doom is quick to pick himself back up and throw himself into the fray, it’s still a nice (and humorous) reminder that beneath all of his armory, weapons, inventions and magic, Doctor Doom is still a man. He’s got many of the same basic weaknesses that other people possess. It also means Quicksilver (and other speedsters like him) might secretly be a key tool for at least hindering Doom for a moment, if not outright being able to stop him. Super-Speed being one of Doom’s true inabilities is an interesting idea, pushing him to a level where his intellect and skills are useless against the increased stimuli and effects on him. It also positions Quicksilver as a secret weapon against the otherwise nigh-unstoppable villain.
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