DOMINATION FACTOR (1999-2000)

Domination Factor was an event with a curious name and curiouser numbering. It was basically a miniseries, but instead of being “Domination Factor #1-8”, it was:

  • Domination Factor: Fantastic Four: #1.1
  • Domination Factor: Avengers #1.2
  • Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #2.3
  • Domination Factor: Avengers #2.4
  • Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #3.5
  • Domination Factor: Avengers#3.6
  • Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #4.7
  • Domination Factor: Avengers #4.8

Helpful–with that numbering, it’s easy to tell where this series fit in chronologically.

An old rich woman and her assistant Lester have a small army that steals Odin’s original “Golden Apple” while it is in transit and protected by the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Despite that level of protection, her troops take it–and then Human Torch, trying to recover it, accidentally destroys it.

Okay. I’m not going to do a blow-by-blow here–I’ll just cut to the chase: The old lady is a Norse Giant Queen and Lester is Loki.

The heroes journey through time, entering their own younger bodies–meaning Tony Stark is a drunk again, Human Torch is back with Crystal, etc.

It’s confusing for them. And frankly for the reader as well–and yet there’s definitely a “fun factor” in revisiting these periods for these heroes.

Atlanteans get involved, and Sue finds herself at the point in her life when Namor was actively trying seduce her.

Or i should say a time in her life when Namor was making a play for her–because he’s done it many times.

Cap is back in World War II, with Vision who is back in the body of the original Human Torch.

They’re all on various quests to find parts of the Golden Apple–shattered and scattered through time.

Along the way, the past is altered. Notably, Toad drown Magneto.

Thus, when the heroes return to their “present” timeline it is no longer the 616,

But then all is status quo in the end for the 616 timeline

I’m not sure how to tag all this–the stuff in the past is from an alternative reality, so it’s not canon, but the heroes are shunted back into a different timeline. So I’ve just tagged the main characters as appearing here–all the “in the past” adventures are not the 616 versions of the characters, so I’ve not tagged them.

Conceptually, there’s nothing wrong with this, even if the execution is a bit hum-drum. I like the numbering system and I like the idea of time travel being restricted to occupying your own body in the past.

I was disappointed that there was absolutely no BDSM, though.

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