EARTH-523003
(DR. DOOM HAD BECOME THE THING)
Type: Divergent Earth
Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Presumably vibrational attunement
Dominant Life Form: Androids, Atlanteans, Humans, Inhumans, the Kree, Poppupians, Skrulls, Watchers, Zenn-Lavians
Significant Inhabitants: Annihilus, Doctor Bruce Banner, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Doctor Doom, Dragon Man, the Fantastic Four (Sgt. Ben Grimm, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, Sue Storm), Galactus, the Hate-Monger, Impossible Man, Ricardo Jones, Richard "Rick" Jones, Karnak, Klaw, a Kree Sentry, the Molecule Man, the Mole Man, Namor the Sub-Mariner, General Ross, Silver Surfer, the Skrulls, the Watcher, the Wizard
Significant Locations: State University
First Appearance: What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (February, 2005)
History: (What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (fb)) - When Reed Richards and his friend, Ben Grimm, visited the dormroom of fellow student, Victor von Doom, to warn about possible expulsion due to his recent string of missed classes, they came face-to-face with Victor himself. Victor immediately accused of Reed of stealing his notes, who warned Von Doom of the miscalculation in the third differential of his notes. Soon after Reed and Ben's departure from the dormroom, Von Doom noticed that Reed was right around the differential and followed them outside to exchange ideas with Reed in order to make "amends" with Reed for his outburst.
(What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (fb) - BTS) - Not long after Doom and Reed became friends, Ben Grimm dropped out of college and joined the army.
(What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing?) - Five years later, Von
Doom and Reed Richards had designed a craft that would take them to the moon
using a new propulsion system. Reed had invited his girlfriend, Susan Storm
and her younger brother, Johnny, to accompany himself and Doom to verify
their claims of the new system. As the group prepared for launch, Sue asked
Reed why they were launching that day in particular, to which Reed replied
that Doom had chosen the date. Sue mentioned that Doom had picked the same
day that their old friend Ben Grimm was to be security for the U. S. government's
experiment for a new energy source. As Reed reminded Sue that their friendship
with Doom was about to pay off, Sue left and soon found herself with Doom
himself, who attempted to make a pass at her. She shrugged him off, saying
that she was Reed's girl and that Reed would no longer need Doom's money
to perform his experiments after their trip to the moon. After that
confrontation, the group suited up and blasted into space. While in space,
the group encountered cosmic radiation that Reed had designed shielding to
protect them from. Doom egotistically announced that Reed had made a calculation
in his shielding, leaving it inadequate for protection, as he surrounded
himself with armor of his own design to protect only himself. As Reed wracked
his brain trying to fathom why Doom had not warned him about the shielding,
Doom explained that he figured that the three others would soon die and he
would be free to use Reed's ideas to add to his own personal glory. He then
piloted the space craft to crash in a desert, making it seem that he was
injured and unable to get his "friends" to medical attention.
Almost immediately
after crash landing, Sue began to turn invisible, while her brother Johnny
burst into flame. Reed soon demonstrated the ability to stretch his body,
while Doom's armor had absorbed the radiation instead of shielding him from
it, causing him to transform into a rock-like creature. Doom blamed Reed
for his condition and attacked Reed, knocking him into the U. S. government's
military test site where Ben Grimm was acting as security. Their battle caused
the experimental reactor to get hit, prompting Sgt. Ben Grimm to rush out
onto the test site to retrieve the combatants. A surprised Ben Grimm soon
met his old college friend Reed, pulling him into a protective trench just
as the experimental gamma bomb exploded, bombarding Ben with gamma radiation.
Doom soon regained his senses and resumed his attack on Reed, only to be
halted by Ben Grimm, who had now transformed into a hulkish creature due
to the gamma radiation. Reed eventually had to stop Ben from killing Doom,
only to get attacked himself by the near-mindless Ben. Before Ben could crush
Reed, however, Reed reminded Ben of their friendship and Ben gave up his
attack, reverting to his human form. Doom used the diversion of Ben Grimm
to escape, as Ben, Reed, Johnny, and Sue decided to band together as a group
called the Fantastic Four. Becoming superheroes, the Fantastic Four met many
strange and unusual friends and foes in the following months, including the
Silver Surfer, the Black Panther, Galactus, the Molecule Man, Namor the
Sub-Mariner, the alien Skrulls, the Inhumans, the Wizard, Annihilus, the
Dragon Man, the Kree Sentry, the enigmatic Watcher, Klaw, the Mole Man, Ricardo
Jones, the Impossible Man, and the Hate-Monger.
Comments: Created by Karl Kesel and Paul Smith.
The divergent point on this Earth was during the events first seen in Fantastic Four I#1 (November, 1961).
Clarifications:
Earth-Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing had no known connection to:
DOCTOR
DOOM
Victor von Doom was a selfish and egotistical college student when he first met Reed Richards, who warned him of a mistake in his research. Angry at Reed, Doom sought to steal his ideas. He decided to befriend Reed and for five years, funded their research so that he might one day steal it. When the duo created a spacecraft using a new propulsion system, he allowed them to go into space and get bombarded with cosmic radiation, hoping it would kill Reed, his girlfriend Sue, and her brother Johnny. He shielded himself and faked a shuttle crash, but once the group had landed, Doom found that his shielding was not enough. As the others gained superpowers, Doom was transformed into a rock-like creature. He immediately blamed Reed for his transformation and attacked him. The battle was soon drawn into a nearby military testing site for gamma radiation as an energy source. Ben Grimm was present as military security and rushed out to keep the combatants from being hit by the gamma bomb, but as he saved Reed, Ben was hit himself by the bomb. The bomb transformed Ben into a hulking creature who made short work of Doom. When Ben turned toward Reed, Doom made his escape.
Doctor Doom possessed superhuman strength and durability due to his rock-like hide.
--What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (fb), What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing?,
THE
FANTASTIC FOUR
When Reed Richards was in college, he became with friends with Victor von Doom, who helped him design a spacecraft years later. The two, accompanied by Sue and Johnny Storm, traveled into space where they were bombarded with cosmic radiation. Upon crash landing, each of the four found that they had gained superhuman powers: Reed could stretch his body, Sue could turn invisible, Johnny could burst into flame, and Doom became a rock-like monster. Doom quickly turned on the group, attacking Reed and drawing the battle onto a military base where Reed's old college friend, Ben Grimm, was stationed. Ben attempted to save the duo from the base's experimental gamma bomb, but was hit by it himself. The bomb transformed Grimm into a hulking creature who made short work of Doom. Once he reverted to his human form, Ben agreed to join Reed, Sue, and Johnny as the superhero group the Fantastic Four. As the FF, the foursome met many strange friends and foes.
Ben Grimm could transform into a hulking creature with superhuman strength that increased as his anger grew, with durability to match.
Reed Richards, like his Earth-616 counterpart, could stretch his body.
Johnny Storm could burst into flames and fly.
Sue Storm could turn invisible.
--What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing? (fb), What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing?,
images: (not counting ads)
What If...Dr. Doom Had Become the Thing?, front cover (Main Pic)
p15, pan4 (Dr. Doom)
p24, splash page (Fantastic Four)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Last Updated: 11/25/05
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