The Marvel Universe officially has a new Sorcerer Supreme, and he is the Fantastic Four’s worst nightmare.

As the world continues spiraling into chaos in the wake of the global vampire invasion unleashed by Marvel’s Blood Hunt, the heroes of Fantastic Four #22 are doing all they can to turn the tide of battle. With time running out, Reed Richards desperately attempts to put together the pieces of what could be humanity’s last shot at survival. Surprisingly, someone else has already beaten Mister Fantastic to the punch when it comes to saving the world, and Doctor Doom was able to do just that with his newfound powers as the Sorcerer Supreme.

Written by RYAN NORTH Art by IVAN FIORELLI Colors by JESUS ABURTOV Letters by VC’s JOE CARAMAGNA Design by CARLOS LAO Main cover art by ALEX ROSS Variant covers by ETHAN YOUNG & RACHELLE ROSENBERG, SERGIO DÁVILA & DAVID CURIEL, and STEVE MCNIVEN

Victor Von Doom, better known as Doctor Doom, made his comic book debut in the pages of 1962’s Fantastic Four #5 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In his youth, Victor’s parents did everything they could to care for one another and their child, yet they weren’t able to escape the dark influence of Mephisto, or the elements of their homeland. After making his way from the wilds of Latveria to State University in New York, Doom crossed paths with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, kicking off a deep-seated rivalry between them.

It was during college when one of Doom’s inventions exploded in his face despite Reed’s warnings, leaving him scarred for life and with a greater hatred for Richards than ever before. From there, it wasn’t long before Doom returned to Latveria to stage a coup against its ruling monarch. In the aftermath, Doom became the Supreme Leader of his home country, which provided him with all the resources he would need to embark upon life as a supervillain.

In the years since his debut, Doom has been at the heart of numerous sprawling storylines. While Doom has largely played the role of an antagonist, he has always stayed true to his ideals, which do not include wanton destruction. As such, Doom took it upon himself to save the world from the legions of vampires controlled by Blade, who had become possessed by the spirit of the very first vampire, Varnae. With Doctor Strange’s physical form incapacitated, he was forced to hand his mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme over to Doom, who used his powers to clear the skies of the Darkforce energy that had blacked them out, effectively ending Blood Hunt in an instant.

Fantastic Four #22 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics