Savage Avengers #6 (2020)
by Gerry Duggan & Kin Jacinto
cover by David Finch
When Marvel acquired the rights to Conan comics in the 70s, they kept him separated from the rest of their universe. Aside from a couple of What Ifs, Conan stayed in his time.
When they got the rights back in 2019, however, they went all-out to give him as many team-ups as possible by moving him in the 21st century.
While I’ve never been a regular reader of either character, Conan and the Punisher feel like a great match.
They share an adventure that leads from Antarctica to South America, where a Doombot has been waiting for Conan.
Savage Avengers #7 (2020)
by Gerry Duggan & Patrick Zircher
Conan has been killing time, and people, in South America for a bit.
However, in the middle of his drinking, he’s been moved to Latveria without his consent.
Doom manages to calm down Conan with the unusual approach of… offering him food.
He should try this more often.
Conan may be a barbarian, but this is by far the most polite way anyone has ever been invited to Castle Doom.
Savage Avengers #8 (2020)
by Gerry Duggan & Patrick Zircher
cover by Valerio Giangiordano
“Dining Doctor Doom” would be a weird series.
I’d still read it.
The dinner interaction between Conan and Doom is AWESOME.
Conan demonstrates that not only he’s not afraid of Doom in the slightest…
…he also understands Doom PERFECTLY.
Anyone else would probably be killed or, even worse, be subjected to one of Doom’s Titanic Monologues.
But it’s very clear, in a very subtle way, that Doom actually respects Conan.
He even goes as far as taking down his mask, something he tends to do surprisingly frequently in recent years.
Conan not giving any reaction whatsoever to Doom’s scarred face would have been awesome before Doom’s own series, were we saw that his CURRENT scars aren’t even that bad.
The reason why Doom cares about Conan is that he brought with him a powerful magic amulet.
Doom hasn’t mentioned it once, but Conan is smart enough to figure out why the wizard king is being so polite.
Doom is not the only magician interested in Conan’s amulet, as Doctor Strange shows up.
The amulet belongs to Kulan Gath, a Conan villain who already interacted with the rest of the Marvel Universe (most notably, in a famous X-Men storyline).
Strange, what exactly in your decades old knowledge of Doctor Doom tells you that he would care if the amulet is evil?
Conan has very little patience for wizards and sorcerers… understandably, as the vast majority of those he knows have tried to kill him.
But he’s also quite possibly the most direct character ever.
The amulet is the “Third Eye of Agamotto”.
The first is the one all Doctor Strange readers are familiar with.
The second is from a 2019 Iron Man story where it is, indeed, possessed by a dragon.
And now Conan has brought back the third one, which might be cursed.
Which requires a test to see if the Third Eye is actually cursed.
You would expect a complicated spell from Doctor Strange, or a needlessly convoluted plan by Doctor Doom.
Conan just uses a goat.
Like most things from Strange’s lore, the First Eye of Agamotto has had different origins that are WILDLY contradicting each other.
Marvel’s official approach to the subject is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Given that it’s tied to Kulan Gath, the amulet is clearly a trap… but Conan still wants his prize.
Doom has a different theory that hinges on him being the most powerful sorcerer ever.
Because of course he does.
However, considering that DOCTOR DOOM was cautious around this magic artifact, it’s safe to assume that it IS dangerous.
Because of events earlier in the series, Strange is aware of where they can actually find Kulan Gath in the 21st century. And so he just brings Doom and Conan there.
Conan is just here to decapitate Kulan Gath. It’s a hobby of his.
Nice bit of continuity here. The last time Doctor Strange faced Kulan Gath (in the aforementioned X-Men storyline), time was eventually reversed to remove the entire story from existence.
I would have accepted Doom being aware of it because of his affinity with both time travel and magic, but this is even better.
As I mentioned Conan utterly despises wizards… but Doctor Doom of all people is the exception!
Strange is not offended by his attitude. He’s been in a team with Namor for years, he’s numb to this kind of stuff.
By contrast, both Doom and Strange seem to find Conan endearing.
Strange… Doom is already after Kulan Gath, you don’t have to sweeten the deal by offering him the chance to be better than you!
Stories revolving around magic can be weird because “it came to me in a dream” is a legitimate source of information.
Doom might be able to tolerate helping Doctor Strange, but he has little patience for Doctor Voodoo.
No wonder, considering that during their last encounter Voodoo was kind of pathetic.
Conan’s delightful personality can only endear Doom up to a point… asking him to clean after him is too much.
Doom has grown SO impatient that he straight up steals the amulet from Conan.
Maybe, just maybe, Doom should have waited a little longer.
And we end of the cliffhanger that reveals the real villain behind this trap…
…Kulan Gath.
Not exactly a surprise since the trio came here to kill him.
Doom significance: 1/10
Aside from setting up the finale, Doom won’t interact with Conan later… because Marvel won’t keep the license for long.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
It’s justified in the story, but Doom’s extreme politeness reminds me of when he acted like a good guy for Silver Surfer. Even if he’s not as flamboyant this time.
Will it stand the test of time? 10/10
I’ve only read a handful of Conan stories, but to me he feels 100% in character.
His interactions with Strange and Doom are just perfect, and the dining scene in particular is the highlight of the entire storyline.
In addition to great characterization for everybody, the story is also being smart enough to include continuity problems with Kulan Gath and has several small moments for both Conan and Doom.
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 146
While calling Conan a superhero is reductive, he’s close enough in this series to count.
He’s an ally for most of the story, but Doom does attack him.
It was a Doombot all along
Spoiler from the next issue, but the one dying is a Doombot and the real Doom (presumably) will show up next time. But that also means…
Crazy tech
This is not the first Doombot that we see using magic, but this one seems to be skilled enough to temporarily fool both Strange and Kulan Gath!