Fantastic Four #84
The Name Is Doom!
On their way home from the Hidden Land, the Fantastic Four are intercepted and forced to land by SHIELD jets. They are greeted by SHIELD director Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan, his second in command. Fury tells them that they had sent spies into the nation of Latveria to investigate rumours that Doctor Doom has been developing a new type of robot army. Unfortunately, none of the spies have returned and are feared captured or dead. Given the Fantastic Four’s long history with Doctor Doom, Fury hopes that Reed and the others will assist SHIELD by liberating the spies and finding out what they can about Doom’s new robots.
Using phony credentials, the Fantastic Four attempt to sneak into Latveria, but are quickly discovered. Doctor Doom unleashes an army of Servo-Robots that quickly incapacitate the entire team with a powerful knockout gas. With the Fantastic Four defeated, Doctor Doom orders his minions to carry out the next phase of his plan. The Fantastic Four soon wake up and are surprised that they are in a house instead of locked away in some dungeon. Not only this, they are surprised to discovered that the people of Latveria have welcomed the team and has put on a celebration in their honour.
Watching this from the monitors in his castle, Doctor Doom is assured by his minions that the hypnosis used on his foes has been successful and they will no longer be able to access their powers. By this time, Reed Richards has deduced that this is all some kind of trap laid out by Doom and suggests that he and the others try and flee. However, when they do, Doom has automated defences to blast Reed back. Appearing on a monitor, Doctor Doom tells the Fantastic Four that they are trapped in Latveria and they will be forced to live under his iron fist until the day they die.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing, Crystal), SHIELD (Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan), Doctor Doom
Continuity Notes
The Invisible Girl is not present in this story because she is on a leave of absence from the team after she gave birth to her son in Fantastic Four Annual #6.
Dum Dum Dugan's appearance here is a complicated one. As revealed in Original Sins #5 Dugan was seemingly killed in action back in 1966 and it was suggested that he was replaced by a complex LMD that thought it was Dugan. However as revealed in New Avengers (vol. 4) #17, Dugan's body was kept alive and his mind was transmitted into LMDs.
Doctor Doom was revealed as ruler of Latveria in Fantastic Four Annual #2. His conquest of that country was depicted in Books of Doom #5-6.
