Doctor Doom has a test. Spider-Man has jokes. Something is definitely exploding.
Doctor Doom has conquered countries, stolen cosmic power, fought gods and spent years insisting that every bad thing in existence is somehow Reed Richards’ fault.
But even Doom occasionally encounters a mystery he cannot immediately solve.
This time, that mystery is:
What exactly makes Spider-Man tick?
Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1, written by Al Ewing with art by David Messina and colors by Rain Beredo, takes us back years for the previously untold first encounter between Peter Parker and Victor von Doom.
And because this is Doom, “Nice to meet you” apparently involves robots, weapons, elaborate death traps and several explosions.
Networking in Latveria is intense.
PROS
The smartest choice here is leaning completely into the personalities of young Spider-Man and classic Doctor Doom.
This is a Peter who is still living at home, still worrying about money and still fixing things with whatever chemistry equipment, webbing and household junk he has lying around.
Then Doom enters his life.
Not because Peter accidentally wandered into Latveria.
Not because the Fantastic Four recruited him.
Doom has been watching Spider-Man.
That immediately makes everything creepier—and funnier.
Victor sees this strange new masked hero swinging around New York and essentially decides he needs to conduct a full scientific assessment. Is Spider-Man important? Dangerous? Useful? Foolish?
Spider-Man, meanwhile, reacts to meeting one of the most intimidating men on Earth by doing what Peter Parker always does when terrified:
He talks.
A lot.
The dialogue between them is easily my favorite part of the book. Doom speaks like every sentence should be engraved onto the side of a mountain.
Peter speaks like he has consumed four coffees and knows irritating the dictator might be his only remaining weapon.
Perfect.
Ewing also structures the issue almost like a series of increasingly ridiculous Doom-certified superhero exams.
Spider-Man gets robots.
Explosions.
Weapons specifically designed to counter his abilities.
More robots.
Another explosion.
At one point Doom is effectively taking notes on how Peter handles everything while Spider-Man is just trying to avoid becoming a red-and-blue smear on the floor.
David Messina has a lot of fun with that setup. His Doom feels appropriately huge and theatrical, while Peter is constantly bending, flipping and twisting around increasingly absurd machinery. The contrast works visually too: Doom is controlled and imposing; Spider-Man looks like chaos somehow learned gymnastics.
But what elevates the issue beyond “Spider-Man survives Doom’s obstacle course” is what Victor is actually trying to understand.
He keeps testing Peter because Spider-Man doesn’t fit neatly into Doom’s worldview.
Peter isn’t fighting for money.
He isn’t pursuing power.
He isn’t trying to rule anybody.
He keeps throwing himself into danger because, to Peter, someone has to.
Doom understands ambition.
Duty without reward?
That’s more complicated.
The final challenge becomes less about defeating Spider-Man and more about uncovering the reason Spider-Man refuses to stop.
And Peter’s answer is basically the most Spider-Man answer imaginable:
He does it because he has to.
That simple idea—responsibility without glory—is something Doom can analyze endlessly but never quite experience the same way.
CONS
The downside to the “Challenges of Doom” format is that the middle can occasionally feel like Victor von Doom’s extremely expensive escape room.
Spider-Man survives one elaborate setup.
Doom takes notes.
Something blows up.
Next challenge!
It’s intentionally old-school and fun, but another quieter Peter-focused beat between the tests might have given the story a little more breathing room.
Also, Doom narrates everything.
Victor could make himself a sandwich and somehow turn it into:
“Observe, Parker! Even mustard bends before the will of DOOM!”
Which, admittedly, I would read.
FINAL THOUGHTS: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!!!
Challenges of Doom: Spider-Man #1 works because it understands that Peter Parker and Victor von Doom are fascinating opposites.
Both are brilliant.
Both have suffered.
Both possess enormous abilities.
But what they choose to do with those gifts could not be more different.
Peter doesn’t conquer.
He helps.
Doom doesn’t entirely understand that—and naturally decides the appropriate response is several days of attempted murder disguised as scientific inquiry.
The ending makes the premise even better: Spider-Man was only one challenge.
Victor has learned something from Peter, made some adjustments and is already preparing his next test.
This time?
Doctor Strange.
Good luck, Stephen.
Spider-Man may have accidentally raised the difficulty setting. 🕷️🟢
