Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Ultimates #4! Marvel Comics fans have recently been thrust into a world where the Fantastic Four don’t exist, leaving Doctor Doom as the only remnant of the team’s existence. While one would think that Doom himself masterminded this turn of events, nothing could be further from the truth, as Doom is actually the one trying to bring the Fantastic Four back. In fact, Doom’s “Project Four” redefines everything fans know about the Fantastic Four’s powers, and the deadly implications of their Ultimate Universe comeback.
In The Ultimates #4 by Deniz Camp and Phil Noto, readers are given the full backstory of Earth-6160’s Reed Richards aka Doctor Doom. For the most part, Reed’s new Ultimate Universe story is the same as that of his Earth-616 counterpart, but with a few key differences. Like the original version, Ultimate Reed Richards went on a mission into space with Sue, Johnny, and Ben, but because of the Maker’s meddling in this timeline, their mission was doomed from the start.
Everyone except Reed died as a result of their space mission. Afterward, the Maker abducted Reed and tortured him, mutilating his body and twisting his mind until Ultimate Reed Richards became Ultimate Doctor Doom – a metamorphosis the Maker caused just to mock his multiversal variant. Now that Doom is a member of the Ultimates, and knows the truth about how his life was supposed to be, he’s become obsessed with creating the Fantastic Four. However, Doom’s “Project Four” is destined to end in nothing but horror and tragedy.
Ultimate Doctor Doom will Create His Own Fantastic Four, No Matter the Consequences
At the moment, “Project Four” is in the early testing phase, as Doom has only experimented on mice, and every mouse he’s flooded with cosmic radiation has died. However, as he tells Tony Stark in this issue, Doom isn’t ever going to give up, no matter what. So, how long before human testing begins? Soon, readers will be shown the Fantastic Four’s powers in a whole new light, not as incredible abilities with which these heroes can protect the innocent, but as cruel curses cast upon unwitting people by a mad genius hellbent on regaining the life that was stolen.
Another haunting aspect of “Project Four” is the pathetic desperation of Doctor Doom. He doesn’t just want to create a superhero team to help the Ultimates defeat the Maker, Doom wants to create a family, as he hopes that will fill the void inside himself left vacant by the Maker. Given how poorly the experiment has gone thus far with living subjects, it seems likely that things won’t be much different with human trials, meaning Doom may subject many people to this harsh treatment in search of his ‘perfect family’.
Doctor Doom’s Villain Origin Story in the Ultimate Universe is Absolutely Perfect
Ultimate Doctor Doom Hates Reed Richards and is Obsessed with the Fantastic Four in a Whole New Way
Everything about the new Ultimate Universe is absolutely fantastic, and Reed Richards’ Doctor Doom is no exception. Ultimate Doom truly is a dark reflection of his Earth-616 counterpart, as he hates Reed Richards (aka the Maker) and he’s obsessed with the Fantastic Four – not to beat them, but to create them. Plus, fans have already seen Doom accidentally kill a number of people by using the Immortus Engine earlier in this series, and that was just to create more Ultimates. So, what would he be willing to sacrifice for the sake of his precious Fantastic Four?
There’s also the question of how Reed’s Doom will be able to retain his status as a Marvel Comics hero after exposing human subjects to the cruel torment of cosmic radiation mutation. It’s worth noting that Doom created a mutant mouse with the powers of Mr. Fantastic. Is he going to create an all-new Fantastic Four, replacing himself in the team while positioning himself as their villain just to have some twisted form of a relationship with his ‘lost family’? Honestly, that would be awesome, and would allow Earth-6160’s Reed Richards to fully become the Ultimate Universe’s true Doctor Doom.
No matter what form it comes in, Marvel Comics fans will soon have an Ultimate Fantastic Four join this newly-established Ultimate Universe, but what remains to be seen is the extent of the horror Doom is willing to unleash upon human test subjects in order to create them. What seems clear, however, is that the source of this horror will be the Fantastic Four’s powers themselves, as Doctor Doom’s “Project Four” has redefined everything fans know about them, exposing them as absolute nightmare fuel.
The Ultimates #4 by Marvel Comics is available now.
Fantastic Four (2022)
“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE FANTASTIC FOUR?” It’s the start of a new era for the Fantastic Four…and they’re already in a ton of trouble. Something has gone terribly wrong in New York, and the Thing and Alicia are traveling across America to escape it! But when they stop in a small town for the night and wake up the morning before they arrived, they find themselves caught in a time loop that’s been going on since before they were born… That’s been going on since before they were born…
