THOR Week Vault Review:
Doctor Doom & Absorbing Man

Thor week continues, verily! It’s my turn and I get to review one of the strangest Marvel Universe two-packs so far: Doctor Doom and the Absorbing Man from Secret Wars. Not that it’s a bad two-pack, but it’s just a strange hodgepodge of two villains who you don’t normally see hanging out together.

Doctor Doom is probably one of most recognizable characters in comics. The striking image of an armored figure wrapped in a green tunic and cloak has not only plagued the Fantastic Four since the beginning, but he’s also become a consistent threat to the entire Marvel Universe. Even lowly characters like Squirrel Girl have faced Victor Von Doom and lived to tell the tale. Which is why I’m so surprised it took almost an entire year for him to be included in the Marvel Universe line.

I also found it interesting that they chose to give us a classic comic book version of Doom in a Secret Wars pack. I always thought the battle armor that he forged to take down the Beyonder had a great look. Plus it made for a really cool toy in the original Secret Wars line. So not seeing that version is a bit disappointing for me.

Doom’s arms, legs, and crotch have all been taken from the previous MU Ultron. Sadly for Ultron, I think Doom wears it better. These pieces look more like medieval armor than robotic parts. Also, the emotions his hands evoke definitely lend themselves more to screaming “RICHARDS!”.

Doom’s Head, chest, lower tunic, and cape are all new pieces. I love the tiny sculpted details they gave to all the fabric. It really adds a nice rough texture that contrasts from the smooth armor. They even added the two little rockets on his back. His head also has quite a bit of detail with all the rivets that circle his eyes and mouth. Plus, if you look close enough you can see they sculpted that little mechanical device in his mouth. That’s pretty impressive on a figure this small. Sadly, they weren’t able to give him any eyes, just two dark holes with a bit of gold paint.

Doom has swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, and ankles. His head, biceps, wrists, and waist are all swivel joints. His upper chest and hips are ball joints, while his knees are double hinges. This gives him a huge range of movement. The only problem I have is that they didn’t give him a ball jointed head. The ability for him to look up, down, or even tilt his head would have added a lot of character to this figure.

Aside from his cape, Doom only gets one weapon: a German Mauser. Has Doom actually ever used his sidearm? I don’t think I can remember an instance where he has. I don’t even know if it’s a normal gun or some sort of super magical weapon that simply looks like a Mauser. Either way, I always saw it as more of a symbol of power than a weapon he’d actually use. Sadly, the figure’s holster is molded shut, so Doom can’t actually keep his trusty sidearm at his side. Continue to Page 2…

11 thoughts on “THOR Week Vault Review:
Doctor Doom & Absorbing Man

  1. crusher’s a badass. your question about steel is easy to answer… sometime, it pays to be something other than steel. especially when the guy you’re fighting can bend steel with his nutsack and regularly fires off lightning bolts.

    when we were younger, my brother was into quasar. quasar fought AM at one point, and crusher, after no fairing very well, managed to get a hand on the quantum bands. he big, and powerful… too powerful. he had no idea how to wield the power that he had just acquired, it ended up making him explode. that was just kind of fresh. this was just post “acts of vengeance” as i recall, and loki had granted crusher one other power, he altered the ball and chain so crusher could toss it and fly behind it like thor does w/ his hammer… good stuff.

    1. OK, I guess I can see that being useful.

      I didn’t know he could fly with it though, that’s kind of cool.

  2. This is a good two pack, but Crusher looks less like an Absorbing Man and more like an Unabsorbant one that couldn’t mop up very well. Either that or someone did a Wyle-E on him and put Acme dynamite in his Mountain Dew…….

    Seeing as we all knew we would get Doom on a single card sooner or later I too would have loved a Secret-wars accurate version – that was the only Secret Wars figure I ever had and even then I whined about the lack of knee-joints when compared to Super Powers. It’s never too early to start whining about Mattel ruining your life……little did I know it would become a life’s work.

    1. Lol, as a kid I remember wondering why the Marvel figures couldn’t move as well as the DC ones. I didn’t realize different companies made the two lines. Heck, I didn’t even know there were different companies. Toys were just something that existed at a store and I brought home. 😛

  3. I can’t remember Doom using his sidearm in the comics either, but I think it’s an occasional move in Marvel Super Heroes, and maybe the later games. I love that Doom has it, here and in the comics: I think it’s intended as a ceremonial thing, but Doom’s absolutely not above pistolwhipping Richards or finishing him execution-style.

    1. Yeah, I remember him using it in the games, just not the books.

      Anyone one else out there know if he ever used his pistol?

  4. The lack of a Secret Wars Doom was a big negative for this set here, Vault. Had to pick it up for Crusher, but I wash Hasbro would’ve done up done right.

    1. I know! What’s even more annoying is that version of Doom would have required the same amount of pieces as this one. Plus we’re getting another version of this Doom later this year. He has better colors, but I still want my armored version.

      And 2099, since I’m being demanding.

  5. Fun fact about the original ML-Hulk line’s Creel with orange pants: his prison serial number is actually the birthday of ML/DCD/various other lines’ paint master Ed Wires.
    (and the day after mine! LOL)

    RIP Ed.

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