Every supervillain has an origin story, and across the history of comic books, there's nothing like a good team-up. At a certain point in pop culture history, the inspiration that Dr. Doom gave the late great MF DOOM turned into a symbiotic presence, and there's perhaps no better example of that than what released on Wednesday (May 15). Moreover, this week, Marvel Comics released the first issue of DOOM, a 2024 comic book series marking the villain's first titular solo run since 2000 -– and thus, the first since Viktor Vaughn's sudden and tragic passing in late 2020. On the issue's first page, writers and illustrators Jonathan Hickman and Sanford Greene paid tribute to Metal Face's memory with beautiful artwork of the universe beyond our atmosphere and one of his most legendary bars: "Living off borrowed time, the clock ticks faster" off of "Accordion."
That track is the "opening" cut (after an intro) on one of MF DOOM's most legendary projects: 2004's Madvillainy collaborative album with producer Madlib. That LP, in addition to being a staple of underground hip-hop and pretty much all of rap at this point, was recently certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) two decades after its release. Much like Victor Von Doom himself, the enduring spirit of DOOM continues to inspire new generations and energize older ones. In fact, the synopsis for this new comic run kind of lines up, unsurprisingly, with Daniel Dumile's own missions to save rap.
Marvel's New DOOM Run Pays Tribute To MF DOOM
"IN THE NEAR FUTURE… DOOM ALONE MUST SAVE THE MARVEL UNIVERSE!" it reads. "Legendary creators Jonathan Hickman and Sanford Greene send Doctor Doom on a journey unlike any he has undertaken before! With Valeria Richards at his side, Doom goes on a quest to harness more power than any human has ever wielded before in order to try to stop Galactus from bringing about the death of the universe!" Despite some controversies surrounding former label manager Egon over allegedly stealing MF DOOM's notebooks, it's clear that all the souls he touched on this Earth want to keep this will alive.
Meanwhile, hip-hop continues to mourn and celebrate MF DOOM at every turn, such as a recent story of an alleged freestyle session with Nas. Gems like these will likely continue to emerge over the years. Through this new comic run, it's heartening to see a company as massive as Marvel Comics pay tribute to a true fan and supervillain. Just remember...
RIP MF DOOM.