Fantastic Four #199
The Son of Dr. Doom!
Having captured the Fantastic Four and placed them within a machine, Doom plans on transferring their powers over to the young man he claims is his son. As Doom gloats over his victory, he is interrupted by his scientist Hauptmann who has come to warn Doom that Zorba has gathered the masses and the are up in arms and prepared to overthrow Doom from his throne. Having become fed up of Zorba and his rebellion, Doom lashes out at them, but quickly asks them to lower their weapons and wait until the coronation is over, so that his successor may rule them fairly and that he may retire in peace. Doom then goes to check on the progress Alicia Masters is making on the statue of his personage. Needing to get a feel of his face in order to "see" how it looked before it was horribly scarred, Doom allows Alicia to do so by removing his mask.
Meanwhile, back in Doom's lab, even though Doom the 2nd's power transfer continued, Mister Fantastic manages to break free from his containment dome. As Hauptmann is frightened away, Reed accesses the controls in order to free his teammates. With the transfer canceled, Doom's "son" passes out allowing the Fantastic Four to go into action against their enemy. They fight through Doom's armed guards. They fight their way to the room where Alicia is being held captive, but Doom holds her hostage, forcing the Fantastic Four to stand down.
A few hours later, Doom holds a public address guarded by his robots to announce the successor to the Latverian throne, a man he claims is his previously unseen son, Victor von Doom the 2nd. Disgusted by this site, Zorba sneaks away and with his bionic eye, blasts through the castle guards in order to free the Fantastic Four from their power dampening cell. Showing Reed some plans he had stolen, Reed is horrified by what Doom is planning and mobilizes his team to swing into action. Just as Doom crowns his successor, Zorba and the Fantastic Four crash the coronation. Zorba announces to all gathered that the man being crowned is not Doom's biological son, but instead a clone of Doom himself. Angered by having his plans exposed, Doom orders his robots to attack. As the Fantastic Four come to the aid of the people of Latveria, the Doom clone undergoes a strange transformation. His skin turning partially into stone, both Dooms realize that the clone has partially gained the powers of the Fantastic Four. When Doctor Doom orders his creation to destroy his hated enemies, the clone refuses much to Doom's shock and surprise.
The clone has come to realize that his creator is insane and seeks only to destroy noble people. A fight soon breaks out between the two Dooms as the clone tries to convince the original to admit his faults, but the Doctor refuses to listen. As the Fantastic Four dispatch Doom's robot, they come to watch as Doom battles his clone. Although the clone has a fraction of the powers of the Fantastic Four, he is no match for the genuine article, who is forced to kill his creation. Realizing what he has done, Doom begins to condemn his greatest creation for forcing him to kill it.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Alicia Masters, Gert Hauptmann, Doctor Doom, Prince Zorba, Victor Von Doom Clone
Continuity Notes
The robots seen here, dubbed Omni-Bots by Doom, are actually his "Invincible Robots" last used in a failed attempt quell a Latverian peasant uprising in Fantastic Four #85-86.
