In the previous volume, Mark Waid made clear his intention to do away with the "honorable villain" portrayal of Doctor Doom that had been the standard for so many years. To this end, he had Doom engaging in some rather out-of-character behavior. Because the story was so good, I gave it a pass.

In this volume, he takes it one step further, revealing Doom as something just this side of Hitler. Then he proceeds to assassinate the character of Mr. Fantastic. Reed Richards, shaken by recent events, completely loses his shit and attempts to take over Latveria, obliterate Doom's legacy, and bring freedom to a bunch of people who weren't doing too badly to begin with. He dupes his teammates, who have no idea of his real intentions.

Reed's actions upset the U.N., the U.S. government, and many others. (Realizing that these stories were originally published 2003-2004, I wondered if this was some kind of political commentary. If so, it's poorly conceived.)

In the second story arc, Reed journeys to the afterlife to bring back a fallen friend. Considering the content, this is actually handled pretty well.

Then we have a two-part story where the Human Torch solicits Spider-Man's advice on how to live in a world that hates him. This story is funny, if a bit too silly at times.

Finally, a piece about the reconciliation of Reed and his wife. A cute story illustrated by Paul Smith that ends the book on a positive note. (Why couldn't Smith have been the regular artist on this series? He makes the other guys look like amateurs.)

Definitely a step down from the first collection, but it has some good bits and I can't say it didn't surprise me, for better or for worse. ( )