Dr. K's Waiting Room

Story Title: Untitled (or, perhaps, simply “Doom” or “Kneed Deep on the Dead!”
Published: May 1996
Writers: Steve Behling and Michael Stewart
Artist: Tom Grindberg

The Background:
First-person shooters (FPS) existed before Doom (id Software, 1996) but, thanks to having been ported to every console and format available, the genre was basically defined by Doom, which inspired a craze of copycats and popularised online “Deathmatches”. The brainchild of id co-founder and lead programmer John Carmack, Doom’s deathmatches were so popular that it caused servers to crash and it was installed on more computers than Windows 95! Doom’s success inspired both controversy and sequels, but also some ancillary media. Of course, there was the critically-mauled live-action adaptation, but there was also a one-shot comic book created a part of a 1996 giveaway. An obscure piece of merchandise that was as gory and over-the-top as its source material, Doom was a true collector’s item for fans of the game that fetches a high price for those unlucky enough to have missed out winning a copy.

The Review:
The Doom one-shot comic book doesn’t waste any time getting to the advertised “scenes of graphic violence”, beginning with the unnamed Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) marine (henceforth referred to as the “Doomguy”) in the midst of a Berserker rage. Doomguy’s bloodlust is so overpowering that even his inner monologue reads like a man half-addled by insanity. Enraged and empowered, he believes himself to be invincible, untouchable, and effortlessly rips a roomful of Imps, zombies, and other assorted demons to shreds with his bare hands. Driven to a gibbering madness, the Doomguy screams at his felled foes, clutching a severed spinal cord, and eagerly kicks a door down in search of his next victim. Despite coming face-to-face with a mammoth Cyberdemon, the Doomguy launches into a full-frontal attack, determined to “rip and tear” the horned demon’s guts out, only for his punch to have no effect. The Berserker rage quickly leaves him, returning his thoughts and speech bubbles to normal and turning him to more rational ideas, such as fleeing for his life in such of “a gun […] a big gun”. Running head-first into a roomful of gun-packing zombies, the Doomguy grabs a convenient nearby chainsaw and gets to slicing, severing their heads with one swipe and taking a double-barrelled shotgun for himself. Faced with a pitch-black room and fresh out of torches (or “flashlights”), the Doomguy fires off a few shots to light his way before finding a light switch and revealing his errant shots have blown holes in a fresh crop of demonic nasties. Poking around in their corpses, the Doomguy is elated to upgrade his arsenal to a hefty chaingun, which he readily turns on an Imp that catches him from behind with a burst of flame.

Suitably emboldened, the Doomguy guns down more Imps and zombies, daring any and all challengers to try their luck against him. Even when he’s tackled to a sewer full of radioactive ooze by a slobbering Pinky, the Doomguy is ceaseless in his slaughter, tearing through the bullish demon with round after round and leaving it little more than two dripping halves. Covered in radioactive goop, the Doomguy takes a moment to decry humanity’s inability to safely dispose of such dangerous materials and our predication for poisoning future generations with our reckless ways….then notices his gun’s out of ammo and realises the environment is the least of his concerns. Taking a convenient teleporter, the Doomguy materialises right in front of a couple of Cacodemons. Luckily, a plasma rifle is lying right there, allowing him to fry the grinning spheres and flee into a storage room full of barrels of toxic waste. When he’s blindsided by an invisible Spectre, the Doomguy lights up the barrels, blowing the demon to pieces, before finally spotting his goal: the Big Fucking Gun (BFG). All that stands in his way is a slaughter of bloodthirsty demons currently engaging in in-fighting. However, the Doomguy simply shrugs his way through the fracas and tearfully claims his prize, strolling over to the Cybderdemon and taking it out with one shot from the massive cannon. Having proven his superiority over the demonic masses, the Doomguy stands victorious and prepares to head to Earth and take out the rest of the invading creatures, his resolve boosted by the knowledge that “righteous” power in the hands of a “strong man with the biggest, baddest gun in the world” can restore order to chaos.

The Summary:
Doom is a very brief and shallow reading experience. In many respects, it’s the perfect adaptation of the source material, which honestly had the simplest plot you could ask for. Rather than wasting time establishing the setting, the plot, or even delving into the Doomoguy’s life before things literally went to Hell, Doom just drops us right into the middle of the action and barely lets up across its scant page count. Driven into an insane bloodlust by the Berserker rage, the Doomguy’s thought and comments dwell on nothing other than his physical superiority and his lust for demon blood. How did he get in this state? What does the Berserker power-up look like in this context? Who knows…and who cares? All that matters is that the Doomguy is powerful enough to render skin and muscle from bone…until the power fades and leaves him desperately seeking the biggest gun he can find. Though his thoughts are no longer clouded by the Berserker rage, the Doomguy is no less crazed. When he’s not stealing other hero’s catchphrases, he’s flip-flopping between childishly simple comments and strangely eloquent mediations on the nature of humanity, the struggle of good against evil, and our destructive nature, especially regarding our environment. These polarising character changes paint the Doomguy as either out of his mind or suffering from a personality disorder and there’s little compassion or nuance to the Doomguy beyond these conflicting moments. He offers no explanation of what’s happened or how, doesn’t seem to care that his fellow marines are either being slaughtered or have been turned into zombies. He is simply a ravenous, crazed lunatic giving a taste of what the first two Doom games have to offer players.

In this regard, Doom works quite effectively. You get a sense of what one of the most iconic power-ups does to a player, see the chainsaw and double-barrelled shotgun in action, and witness the Doomguy retrieving bigger, better guns from corpses or the environment. The battle for the BFG is a simple affair for the Doomguy, one that effectively brings the story and any further conflict to a close due to the gun’s awesome power (here sadly represented as merely a streak of energy that shreds holes in the Cyberdemon). Similarly, Doom showcases some of the game’s most common and memorable enemies and even gives hints on how to defeat them. The Doomguy is surprised by an Imp, which pops up out of nowhere and tosses a fireball just like in the games. A Pinky tackles him out the blue and he expresses brief concerns about the dangers of toxic waste, two things that can sap your health in seconds in the game. A Spectre also blind-sides him and the Doomguy demonstrates the effectiveness of using explosive barrels as an assist and, most notably, he showcases the intelligence of fleeing from an unwinnable fight until you have a more powerful weapon. In fact, the only gameplay mechanics Doom doesn’t delve into are the collection of keys and maze-like structure of the games, but the bare basics of the Doom experience are on offer, however briefly. While I didn’t really care for the Doomguy’s characterisation (an omniscient narrator talking us through things would have been better than the traditionally mute avatar gnashing his insanity all over the pages), the depiction of blood and gore satiate my needs as a Doom fan. It’s not an especially deep or complex story, but Doom does an effective job of advertising the first two videogames, though you’re not missing much if you’ve never flicked through its obscure pages.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Were you lucky enough to snag a copy of Doom? What did you think to the Doomguy’s characterisation? Did you enjoy the gore and monster selection on offer? Do you prefer it when the Doomguy is mute? Would you like to see more Doom comics be published? Whatever your thoughts on Doom, drop a comment below and go seek out my other Doom reviews.