Nativity

Years Ago

At State University, Ben Grimm is tossing around a football with his friends when he accidentally knocks down Victor von Doom who is walking by with buckets of paint. This causes paint to spill and Victor chastises Ben for causing the situation. This irks Ben, and later at a party, he is goaded by his friends to play a prank to get back at Von Doom. Although Ben and his friends break into Doom's private lab, they find nothing simple enough to wreck. When Ben looks into one of the other rooms he finds a bunch of strange mystical symbols painted on the walls in luminescent paint. As he leaves, Ben smears one of the singles with his hand.

At that very moment, the future Fantastic Four have arrived in this era. Mister Fantastic has developed a device that will put them out of synch with time and allow him and the Thing to examine the accident that will scar Victor von Doom's face, leading him to become Doctor Doom. The reason why they are doing so is that Ben has recently admitted that he may have been responsible due to a college prank caused by Ben's tampering. Although Ben insists that he is responsible, but Reed reminds Ben of Victor's tragic upbringing and his ascension to becoming Doctor Doom. As the Fantastic Four's time-space craft approaches State University, the Torch and Invisible Woman inform Reed that they are not alone. Hovering above the school are a number of ships that are also out of synch with time. Down below, the Parliament of Doom is standing around the experiment that scarred the faces of many of them and they are preparing to celebrate the birth of Doom, calling it "the Nativity".

As they wait, this era's Reed Richards enters the room and goes over Victor's notes. This eventually leads to the moment where Reed tries to warn Victor that his calculations are off, but Victor refuses to listen. One of the alternate Doom's attempts to take the opportunity to eliminate Reed Richards then and there, but the other Doom's stop him, explaining that they must never interrupt the Nativity. As the Dooms continue to witness this historic event, Mister Fantastic and the Thing -- unseen even to the Parliament of Doom -- begin examining the room for signs that Ben's tampering is responsible for the creation of Doctor Doom. Although Reed sees no sign of this situation, Ben still cannot bring himself to watch Victor to have his accident. Deactivating the device that keeps them out of synch with time, the Thing pulls the young Victor von Doom off of the device and smashes it.

Young Victor easily recognizes Ben and begins to curse him again as the other Doctor Dooms also appear to deal with him. Mister Fantastic enters the fray and pulls young Victor to safety while Ben fights his counterparts. However, Reed soon discovers that the prevention of the accident has nothing to stop Doom's dreams of conquest as he breaks free and sides with the Parliament of Dooms and tells the two heroes to begin. With no other choice, Reed and Ben return to their ship. As the Parliament of Doom indoctrinates their newest member, Mister Fantastic assures Ben that no matter what they do, Victor was always destined to become Doctor Doom.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Parliament of Doom (Doctor Dooms of Earth-4162, 9034, 938, and 1610)

Continuity Notes

• Doctor Doom's origins were first examined in Fantastic Four #5 and has been expanded upon in Fantastic Four Annual #2, Marvel Graphic Novel #49 and Books of Doom #1-6.