*** (three of five stars)
Summary
On Valhalla, which he has rechristened "Libera Cielo" (Latverian for "clear sky"), Doom meets with his "Black Cabinet" to prepare for an attack on America. They consider a number of options before Doom announces that they've reached the point of diminishing marginal returns on the discussion and that he's leaving to go shopping. One of his minions, Fortune, accuses him of becoming increasingly paranoid and Doom notes that his paranoia is justified, since she herself betrayed him to save her brother's life. When he asks why she didn't trust him to come to him first, she reminds him that she couldn't come to him because he's perpetually angry at everyone. He wonders aloud how he is going to rule America if he cannot trust anyone to rule Latveria.
In the American Southwest, Septymbre and Polymbre from the Theater of Pain steal an artifact from someone named Lohengrin at his underground base. In Los Angeles, the Hulk is also apparently in pursuit of the artifact, knowing of its existence since (as mentioned later by the Punisher) it came from a Knights of the Banner stash. He wants the artifact because it is apparently capable of resurrecting Gawain, who (as discovered later by Septymbre while he's torturing the Hulk) apparently died trying to save the Hulk. In cyberspace, Doom asks the Ghost in the Machine to send Ghost Rider from Transverse City to retrieve the artifact. In New York, the Punisher tells Spider-Man that Avatarr had originally come into possession of the artifact (from the aforementioned Knights stash) and planned on resurrecting the Aesir with it. However, he lost it to a "mystical hand" that grabbed it through "something called a virtual unreality gate." The Punisher and Spider-Man decide to go after the artifact since Avatarr, who that suspects Doom was behind the theft since he's the only other person capable of using such a gate, has promised an Alchemax directorship to whoever retrieves it. Separately, the X-Men arrive at Lohengrin's base with the intent of using the artifact to learn more about Loki (now calling himself Halloween Jack), possibly by resurrecting Heimdall, whose ashes Jack has with him. However, they enter the base to discover Ghost Rider threatening Lohengrin. The X-Men and Ghost Rider team together to find the Theater of Pain, who Lohengrin confirms is now in possession of the artifact.
Meanwhile, the Hulk runs into Polymbre as he makes his way through the desert. He offers to help her, but she turns the tables on him and attacks him to feed off his pain. He awakens at their base where Septymbre reveals that they plan on using the artifact, which can only be used once, to resurrect their member, Wintre, who was killed in a fight with the X-Men. The X-Men and Ghost Rider find the Pain's base and Jack reveals that he wants to resurrect the Aesir in order to protect him and his "precious Las Vegas" from Doom, who he feels is going to attack imminently. They engage in battle with the Theater and Polymbre discovers that Ghost Rider and Meanstreak have their own agendas for the artifact, with Ghost Rider wanting to resurrect his original body and Meanstreak wanting to bring back his girlfriend, Serpentina. The Punisher and Spidey arrive and encounter an escaping Jack, accidentally causing him to spill Heimdall's ashes. As Septymbre resurrects Wintre, the Punisher shoots her reviving form, breaking the spell and destroying the artifact. He then frees Ghost Rider, the Hulk, and Meanstreak. Jack convinces Meanstreak to flee, and the Hulk, the Punisher, and Spidey stay to defeat Septymbre and Polymbre. The Hulk and Spidey refuse to kill them, but, not reluctant in that department, the Punisher opens fire. Ghost Rider, meanwhile, appears in the Ghostworks and informs the Ghost in the Machine that the artifact was destroyed.
On Valhalla, Doom ponders the cleverness of Lohengrin, stealing the artifact from Avatarr and making it seem like Doom did it. Doom reveals that he wanted the artifact to bring back the deceased Poet for Fortune, whose advice he really does value. Despite his earlier comment, he makes it clear that he plans to leave her in charge of Latveria while he runs America.
The Review
The beginning of this issue is rough and I'll be honest by saying that I almost stopped reading it, I found it so difficult to follow. After the first few pages, you expect this issue to be dedicated to Doom's impending attack on America. However, you suddenly (and unexpectedly) find yourself in some sort of "Cannonball Run" story without any real transition. The abruptness of the shift makes it difficult to follow the chase for its first few pages, particularly as the chronology of events is revealed slowly (and not necessarily in chronological order), leaving the reader confused not only by the shift from the first story (Doom) to the second one (the artifact) but by the new story itself. But, once you start getting into the groove of the story that Kavanagh's telling, you suddenly appreciate how he manages to draw in nearly every 2099 character currently appearing in the main titles in a way that felt totally organic.
The Good
The best part of this issue is the way that Kavanagh uses the artifact to show everyone's innermost wishes and how human these wishes were. It was this focus on the characters that eventually overcame my distraction over the non-linear progression of the plot and made me get into the story.
The Bad
1) Although I eventually made my peace with the story's format, it's hard to believe that Kavanagh couldn't have gone with a format that made a little more sense. Moreover, the issue itself doesn't really do much to set up Doom's impending attack. I thought that this issue would basically be a primer for fans not reading "Doom 2099" so that we aren't caught by surprise when Doom suddenly runs the 2099 world. Instead, we just get some insight into his cronies, with no real understanding for why he's moving against America at this point. It seems like a missed opportunity, though we'll see how they do in introducing it in "Spider-Man 2099."
2) Given that I read this issue as a Spider-Man 2099 fan, I have to say that his appearance here was somewhat disappointing. It seems weird that he and the Punisher would agree to help Alchemax simply to obtain a directorship. Would he go to board meetings in his mask? "Director Spider-Man, how do you vote on the matter of the hostile takeover of Nightshade?" I feel like a much more believable justification would've been to keep Avatarr from getting something that he actually wants.
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