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Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Maberry
Artist: Scot Eaton
Cover: John Romita Jr.

**Minor Spoilers**

“Doomwar pt 4”: Last issue was a perfect recap of events that led up to and during Doomwar, but still managed to push the story forward into new territory.  Now with Dr. Doom currently having the upper hand, the heroes are scrambling to get some type of edge over him.  So Shuri (the current Black Panther) has suggested a frontal assault on several of Doom’s facilities, as time is a luxury that they don’t have and she’s tired of being steps behind while her brother T’Challa (former Black Panther) and Reed Richards try to outmaneuver Doom.  As more lives are lost in these attacks, T’Challa’s mindset is changing, and he stresses to Mr. Fantastic that they have essentially “trained” Doom how to defeat them over the many years they have crossed swords and he knows how they think.  So T’Challa has made preparations to throw the wildest of all the wild cards into the deck in hopes to throw Doom off his game a little.  That’s right folks, the merc with a mouth steps up, and hopefully this choice won’t come back to bite T’Challa in the butt!

Amid all of the huge cross-over events going on, Doomwar seems to be getting lost in the shuffle, and that’s a shame because Jonathan Maberry is bringing some serious heat to this story.  He’s got the perfect villain in Doom, and he’s established that in this story which started off in one direction, but after events in the last issue Maberry decided to not make this one predictable.  This issue has a nice balance of  action, which was more of a back drop along with great dialogue, but if you pay attention that’s where the real fight is.  As we witness the back and forth between Reed and T’Challa, and then Dr. Doom with his accomplice the Broker, it was good to see three of the big brains actually written to their potential.

Scot Eaton’s visuals are nothing but great issue after issue, and I’d like to see him on the Black Panther title if Marvel decides to start it up again.  Almost every panel is filled, but it doesn’t feel cramped, nor does it get confusing to follow Maberry’s story, and he even manages to make Reed Richards look intimidating from time to time (and that’s a feat in itself if you ask me).  There is a minor issue of some of the panels being too dark and not showing off his skill and nicely done pages at certain parts of the book.

I did have issues in the beginning with T’Challa’s sister Shuri taking over the mantle of the Black Panther just in time to have to go against Doom, but Maberry has managed to ease a few of my worries; though I do feel that T’Challa has more stories as Black Panther left in him before it’s all said and done.  T’Challa, Mr. Fantastic, and Dr. Doom are three of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe, and this series is definitely reflecting that.  Just watching this cerebral tug of war take place is nothing short of great!  So I’d suggest picking this up as a trade if you’ve missed the first few issues, or if you’re able to grab them go ahead and get up to speed.  With appearances from the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and now Deadpool, Doomwar just keeps getting more exciting, and with two issues left it’s anyone’s guess how Maberry is gonna end this thing!

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