Avengers: The Many Faces of

DoomEmily Somerhalder

AbstractThis issue of the Avengers opens at a gala celebrating the opening of the new Avengers Headquarters in New York City. Upstairs, everyone is having fun and enjoying the company of others. Meanwhile in the Command Center, there is a security breach. Captain America is called away, along with Vision and Sandman. As the party continues upstairs, “Doctor Doom” is found in the sub-sub-basement. After many fights, escapes, and difficulties, the Avengers are able to find the real Doctor Doom disguised as Iron Man. This issue ends on a cliffhanger with Doctor Doom taking over the Avengers Headquarters.

Theme/Focus

This issue of the Avengers focuses on power. Not only are most of the people in attendance very powerful, but also Doctor

Doom is trying to take the power away from everyone else.

This series of panels shows Doctor Doom removing his Iron Man disguise. Spreading this out into eight panels increases

the suspense of Doctor Doom coming to the story. It also shows the power and intensity he as in this moment.

Moment to moment transitions show one action spread out through multiple panels. This causes a movie-like

motion. The technique is used to slow down the action, increase suspense, and help the reader catch small

changes.

This establishing shot shows that there is a gala celebration at the new Avengers Headquarters. The invitation shows the time and address. This panel also has a sense of depth which shows

the Fantastic Four looking larger with a sense of power.

An establishing shot is used to give the readers a sense of place. By using an increased sense of depth, you can increase the perceived size of a

setting or object in the panel.

Choice of frame is where the author decides how close to be to the action. Many readers are likely to believe that characters in the middle of the panel or more or most

important.

In this panel, Captain America is placed in the middle of two other characters and in the middle of the panel. This shows that he is

important to not only this scene, but also the entire comic.

From this panel we can see how important facial expressions are. One can see that there is some fear and surprise in the security team’s faces.This shows that the intruder was unexpected and not a good

thing.

Based off of the six basic emotions, we can combine many to create more complex emotions. Facial expressions are

important in that they help the reader understand how a character feels, without the words.

Due to visual distinction, all of these superheroes are very distinctive. Captain America has his shield and typical

costume, Sandman has his typical costume, and Vision has his yellow cape.

Visual distinction helps the reader keep track of all of the characters. By using costumes and props, the

reader can easily identify each character.

Word emphasis allows readers to give the characters a voice. It also gives readers a

chance to listen with their eyes. Loudness is one of the variable of a word. This is shown by the size, boldness, tilt, and exclamation

points.

In this panel we can see the power of the word “Fathooooom.” It has a large font, very bold, and tilted slightly. With the action happening in the background, we get another sense of the power

being portrayed here.

This panel is showing the power that Captain America has, through his body language. The reader can see from his chest out and shield up that he is prepared to fight Doctor Doom.

Body language helps the reader determine what a character is like without words. This is usually based off

of a situation and very gravity-bound.

Subject to subject transitions are used to show a scene between two or more different characters. The view

switches between each person as they are speaking or doing something important.

In this fight scene, the angles switch between Vision and

Doctor Doom. This is helpful to show who has the power at

that given moment. It also helps the reader understand

who is talking and when.

Breaking the fourth wall is a visual technique that adds dynamism, intensity, excitement, and

urgency to a panel.

There are no real borders on this bottom panel. By breaking the walls, we can see that Vision is coming out and trying to stop Sandman from making a mistake. This shows his power and

position in the fight scene.

Depth cues give a sense of distances. It shows the closeness between characters and the

contrast between them.

This panel shows Vision coming down into the fight scene between Sandman and Doctor Doom. This angle makes Doctor Doom look

smaller and Vision look bigger. Thus creating a sense of power for Vision.

Exaggerated poses and expressions are another example of visual techniques. This also shows

intensity, contract, dynamism, graphic excitement, and urgency.

Doctor Doom has an exaggerated position in this picture. That, along with the art and word emphasis, the reader can see that he has a lot of power and rage in this

panel.

Interdependent combinations are a mixture of words and pictures because one of those alone

will not get the point across accurately.

Without the words and pictures, the reader would not know that an “opportunity” is not a good thing, but that it is code for a

“discreet emergency.” This also shows that Captain America holds

power over the other superheroes.

Expressive traits are characteristics such as speech and behavior that are associated with

a particular character.

This panel shows the “typical” Captain America stance. Showing his power by standing with his chest out and shield up, he is also showing his

characteristics.

A worm’s eye view gives a sense of power to whomever is above it all. It can make objects or

characters look of more importance.

In this panel, while Sandman and Doctor Doom are fighting, Vision is above it all

while coming down to join. Therefore showing his power, importance, and dominance over the

situation.

Aspect to aspect transitions are helpful when an author wants time to stand still. This lets the reader get a look at what is happening at that same moment in other

places.

In this scene, the reader can see what happens when there is a

security breach. Time is standing still and the security team is

checking all areas for an intruder. This shows the power that the

security team has behind the scenes.

The flow of panels is meant to help guide the reader. This shows the readers which order to look at the panels. Without a good chocie of

flow, a reader can get lost in the page.

This choice of flow goes from left to right then downward. The only

confusing area could be the top right. I numbered each panel to better exhibit the

choice of flow.

3

21

4

5

An author’s choice in frame determines how a moment is

perceived. The right distance and angle is important when

deciding how much importance a character has.

In this panel, Doctor Doom is set off center and is at an angle that shows his power and dominance in the moment. The closeness of

Doctor Doom makes him look like he is in control.