While viewed as a villain by most of Marvel Comics, Doctor Doom is a deep believer in education. It was his own studies that elevated him to the office of Sorcerer Supreme and allowed him to liberate his homeland of Latveria. Given that, it makes sense that he would seek to offer other young people the opportunities he fought so hard to secure. Hence the creation of Doom Academy; a school for young mages that bears a strong resemblance to another famous school of witchcraft and wizardry. However, as Doom Academy #5 shows, Doctor Doom is far better at managing his school than Albus Dumbledore was at running Hogwarts.
Written by MacKenzie Cadenhead, with art by Pasqual Ferry, Doom Academy #5 continues the misadventures of several new transfer students. They encountered an enchanted book of Latverian fairy tales in the school library, which contained a trapped student named Greta. Unfortunately, the students’ efforts to free Greta also unleashed an army of fairy tale monsters on the magical school.
With the aid of a Doombot and the school librarian, Ms. Stanton, the students were able to banish the monsters to another dimension. However, the battle did not go unnoticed, with head teacher Brother Voodoo showing up to investigate the disturbance. So did Doctor Doom, despite his busy schedule of being Sorcerer Supreme and the de facto emperor of Earth.
Doctor Doom blames teachers for Doom Academy problems
The Harry Potter books are infamous for the ludicrous liberties taken by Albus Dumbledore. Throughout the series, Dumbledore continually ignored the poor judgement and abusive behavior of various teachers. He also turned a blind eye to the bad behavior of his favorite students. Yet Dumbledore also denied his students vital information in the war against Lord Voldemort.
By contrast, Doctor Doom shows a far better understanding of school management. He also shows more respect for his students than Dumbledore ever did. Indeed, Doom puts the blame for the library’s destruction firmly on the teachers rather than the students.
While praising the students for their ingenuity, Doom points out they should not have been placed in danger in the first place. Had their teachers been paying attention, they should have been able to deal with the problem more easily than their charges. Doom wonders how Brother Voodoo could not immediately notice a violent magical conflict in the center of the school. Doom also dresses down Ms. Stanton for failing to protect both his books and his students.
However, despite being impressed by his students’ grace under fire, Doctor Doom does not let their antics go unpunished. The comic ends with his decree that all Doom Academy students will help rebuild the library without magic. Doom believes students will “heed the lesson not to toy with forbidden magics only if they are made to engage with the consequences firsthand.”
Doom Academy #5 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
