Audiobook: Fantastic Four - Doomsday

The Fantastic Four make their first prose novel appearance in legendary comic book writer Marv Wolfman’s 1979 book Doomsday. The official synopsis goes like this: “The brilliant scientist Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic, teams up with the woman he loves, Sue Richards, who also goes by Invisible Woman; her hot-headed kid brother Johnny Storm, or the Human Torch; and Ben Grimm, the Thing and top-flight test pilot. Together, these four braved the unknown dangers of outer space and were transformed by sizzling cosmic rays into something more than merely human! In this installment of their adventures, the Fantastic Four will go head to head against Dr. Doom.” The audiobook is narrated by Natalie Naudus and was released on April 5, 2022.

We get a great comic book and novelization writer to pen this one in the form of Marv Wolfman. Wolfman had already had lengthy writing stints at both DC and Marvel by the time he wrote this book in 1979. His claim to fame was the co-creation of The Tomb of Dracula with artist Gene Colan for Marvel in 1972, a comic that went on to become one of the most critically-acclaimed horror comics. It was during their run on the series that they created Blade, the popular character portrayed by Wesley Snipes in the movie trilogy of the same name. Wolfman had a run on Daredevil, creating the character Bullseye, and also wrote The Amazing Spider-Man in the late seventies. He also did quite a bit of screenwriting for TV, especially for cartoons in the eighties, most notably for G.I. Joe and The Transformers. Needless to say, Marvel’s First Family was in good hands for their debut novel with Marv at the helm.

Cover art for the 1979 print edition

My love for the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom is no secret, as I’ve stated in my review of Fantastic Four: Redemption of the Silver Surfer. Here we get a fun, fast-paced story, that feels as if it were written for comics so much it flows well and the listeners can easily picture the comic book pages unfolding in their mind as they listen to the audiobook. Wolfman’s depiction of action scenes along with the characterization of the FF and Doctor Doom are right on point. The above-quoted synopsis doesn’t reveal much about the storyline so I’ll quickly sum it up for you. There’s backstory on how the Fantastic Four came to be, as well as Doctor Doom’s origins and then it’s on to Doom’s plot of deception to capture the FF. He splits them up and has specific traps set for each of them that they must go through. Most of the story takes place in Latveria, Doctor Doom’s homeland. When the FF escape, they finally piece together the diabolical scheme Doom had devised all along and it makes for a grand finale. Doctor Doom is featured prominently in this book and that scores brownie points with me as he is my favorite comic book character. Although I was skeptical at first having a female narrator for a book that only features one important female character (Invisible Woman AKA Sue Richards), Natalie Naudus did a terrific job narrating and voicing the various male characters such as Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, The Thing, and Doctor Doom, giving them each a unique voice.

The FF by Jack Kirby in the '70s

Doctor Doom by Jack Kirby in 1970

Fantastic Four: Doomsday is a hell of a fun audiobook. As I have stated in my reviews of the previous FF audiobook and The Avengers: The Man Who Stole Tomorrow, these books are pretty simple and straight-forward. They might not appeal to today’s more sophisticated readers and fans of the Marvel cinematic universe. It’d be a perfect listen/read for young adults though, and highly recommended for fans of Marvel’s glorious ‘70s and ‘80s era of comics. Nostalgia plays a big factor in the reader’s enjoyment here, but if you’re a fan of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, writer Marv Wolfman or all three, then this audiobook should hit the bull’s-eye.

Rating: Five stars out of five

Get your copy on Audible