WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Fantastic Four #33 by Dan Slott, R.B. Silva, Luca Maresca, Jesus Aburtov and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
The marriage of Doctor Doom to his loyal champion, Victorious, was already a shock to many in the Marvel Universe. But even more shocking was the promise Doom made to all those who would attend his wedding to recognize Latveria's new queen. For any who stood by Doom during his nuptials, he would forgive any and all transgressions from that day forward. This offer may have seemed too good to be true, but it seems like he genuinely meant it.
When Doom was certain that the Fantastic Four were attending the wedding, he began the process of dismantling any and all undertakings he had made to destroy them. Of course, peace seems to no longer be on the table following a recent decision made by Johnny Storm, but with Doom it's hard to say how he might react later down the road.
The revelation that the Human Torch and Victorious were intimate just moments before Doom proposed to her was understandably a shocker. Before his anger though, Doom was unusually generous. One might even go as far to as he was almost giddy about his impending marriage. That positivity may explain why he was so willing to forgive longtime enemies such as the Fantastic Four and even Namor.
He invited the Fantastic Four into his home and spied on them just to be absolutely sure there was no funny business, but the instant he was certain that his oldest foes were genuinely here to support him, Doom upheld his end of the bargain and ordered that all of his weapons be disassembled. For all his flaws, Doom is a man of his word. He believes in an honorable approach to life and has no need for deceit.
But even though it seems that Johnny ruined any chance for peace with Doom, it may not actually be off the table entirely. Doom has been unusually civil with the Fantastic Four as of late. He wanted Reed Richards to be his best man, he allowed Ben Grimm to walk Victorious down the aisle, and if his actions were of any indication, he fully intended to forgive any and all vendettas. In short, Doom has been evolving, and perhaps he is starting to reach the point where he feels that a rivalry with the Fantastic Four is no longer productive.
Sure, he's angry right now, but Doom is not an illogical person. Once calmer heads prevail he might be willing to forgive Johnny. He did show up for the wedding after all. Of course, there is another possibility.
Doom is a genius tactician, and his chess game with Reed Richards proved it. But that may have been a hint of what was to come. Chess is all about strategy, playing the long game and maneuvering everyone into the right position to strike. Doom may have dismantled his other weapons, but he seemed unusually prepared for the "betrayal" he suffered, paralyzing all of his guests with hypnosis he deployed during the ceremony. It's possible that all of this was Doom's attempt to justify an attack on the Fantastic Four, making himself look like the victim by appearing to have his fiancé be seduced by Johnny, thus justifying an enraged response.
If that is the case, then Doom has been playing an especially long game waiting for the right circumstances to happen. It does seem oddly coincidental that he proposed to Victorious mere moments after she and Johnny finished their time together. He was the one who placed her in America to begin with. This plan could have been conceived when the Forever Gate was first activated.
It's a complicated situation that has yet to be fully resolved, but in the immediate, Doom has ordered for the executions of the Fantastic Four. Hopefully, they'll be able to figure a way out of that and manage to return to Doom's good graces. If not, then it seems the rivalry continues.