The Marvel Universe has fallen to a new, not-so-benevolent ruler in the the starting chapter of One World Under Doom #1.

Spinning out of Ryan North’s Fantastic Four, 2025’s big crossover event at the House of Ideas revolves around Doctor Doom, which is a canny decision given his (admittedly already contentious) appearance in next year(?)’s Avengers: Doomsday. And you know what? Rightfully so, since Doom is probably one of Marvel’s S-Tier villains. Perfect antagonist for one of these massive storylines. But One World Under Doom #1 asks the daring question, “what if Secret Empire were actually executed well?”

As a rare defender of that maligned Captain America-led event, I’m willing to concede the concept was much better than the way they actually chose to tell that story, with inconsistent ideologies being expressed by the creators involved —perhaps most of all, writer Nick Spencer, who has all but fallen off the face of the Earth since it ended— and lack of willingness to really confront the ugly realities of fascism because they realized a bit too late that maybe they should have given the concept of Hydra Cap a little more thought. One World Under Doom is working with a lot of similar parts based on this first issue alone.

While it’s possible that One World Under Doom may fall into a similar trap that its spiritual predecessor did, I have faith in North to deliver on the premise. (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl fans rejoice, because Doreen AND Nancy are in this!) It also helps that Doom is already, well, a supervillain whose heel turn won’t be seen as jarring by most people. Another factor in its favor is that, like Secret Empire before it, this story is being published in a politically fraught time wherein power structures in the world feel more vulnerable and easily corrupted than ever before. People are desperate to put all their faith in one almighty ruler who will most definitely make our groceries cheaper and kill all the “bad” people in the world, however we define that word. Also Trump is president again and not only is he still bad, he’s even worse! We’re in hell.

While One World Under Doom is ultimately a silly superhero crossover event, there’s enough “real” here that gives it an interesting edge. I’m already sensing some sort of allegory for AI generations and deep fakes with the use of Doombots in this first chapter, for example, and the aforementioned allusion about grocery prices as a means of winning support for fascist leaders. It might be a bit on the nose, but in times like these, it’s hard to be subtle. As the saying goes,s ome anvils need to be dropped.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a Doombot T-Rex. Sue Storm has an invisible plane. Johnny Storm has patchy facial hair. And it’s all lovingly rendered by R.B. Silva, now a superstar artist in his own right thanks to his work throughout the Krakoa-era X-Men books. You can just tell when a comic is in good hands, and with the space to tell a longform crossover narrative, North is just getting started —literally— with One World Under Doom #1.