Golden Child Part Three

At his Sanctum Sanctorum, Doctor Strange suddenly awakes from a state of meditation and calls for Wong immediately. He tells Wong that he has detected a breach of the dimensional barriers and will be spending the evening trying to determine how such a feat was done. As he doesn’t expect to be getting any sleep, he tells Wong to put on some tea.

The following morning at the Baxter Building, Johnny Storm comes out of the shower and is furious to discover that the Thing has replaced his shampoo with green hair dye. Storming into the kitchen, where Reed Richards and Sue are feeding their children, Johnny demands to know where Ben is. When the Thing returns from his morning work-out, Johnny flames on and tries to attack him. However, Mister Fantastic gets between the two and Sue scolds them for trying to start a fight in front of Franklin and Valeria. That’s when the alarm goes off, warning Reed that someone is trying to break into the Baxter Building. As he tells Sue to get the children to safety, someone who appears to be dressed like Doctor Doom comes crashing through the walll calling out Richards’ name.[1] As Sue shields her family with an invisible force field, Reed quickly takes Franklin and Valeria through a portal to drop them off with the Inhumans to care after. With the children safely away, the Fantastic Four attack the man they think is Doctor Doom. “Doom” meanwhile, notices that the Human Torch is among them and can’t believe it since he saw the Torch die. Realizing something isn’t right, “Doom” decides to stop the fight and prompty flees the Baxter Building, leaving the Fantastic Four confused, particularly since — as far as they know — Doctor Doom is dead.[2] That’s when they are visited by Doctor Strange, who suggests that he and Reed compare notes.

Meanwhile, a military unit is trying to evacuate a small town before the Hulk arrives. There is a sudden explosion that decimates the entire town. As the smoke clears, the Hulk arrives and finds the naked form of Paul Patterson laying face down at ground zero.

Back in New York, the Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange have tracked “Doctor Doom” to a warehouse by the pier. As they prepare to face their foe, “Doom” ambushes them. During the battle, their foe manages to overpower everybody but suddenly stops fighting when he realizes that everyone has been calling him Doctor Doom this whole time. The combatant suddenly realizes what’s going on and tells them to stop. Lifting up his mask, the man they have been fighting reveals that he is none other than Tony Stark.

Recurring Characters

Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Iron Maniac, Wong, Paul Patterson, Hulk, Moon Knight, Valeria Richards, Franklin Richards, Inhumans (Crystal, Triton, Lockjaw)

Continuity Notes

1. As we’'ll learn at the end of this issue and next issue, this is not Doctor Doom, but Tony Stark from an alternate relaity. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2, this reality is designated Earth-5012.

2. At the time of this story, everyone thinks Doctor Doom perished in Fantastic Four #500. He’s actually just trapped in Hell will turn up alive again in Fantastic Four #536.