All the way back in 2022, I took a look back at the first issue of the first Damage Control miniseries. Basically, in the Marvel universe, Damage Control is a group dedicating to repairing the, well, damage and destruction caused by superhero battles. I think the concept is really neat, and the Damage Control miniseries that have been done over the years are hidden gems, underrated bits of Marvel output, and I wish they got more love. As such, I wanted to look at the next issue. What further adventures do these brave fixer-uppers get up to? Let's find out what happens when they cross paths with a certain Latverian dictator in Damage Control #2!
The cover is an Ernie Colon piece. It's one of the outright funniest covers I have ever seen. It has Dr. Doom looming over Albert Cleary, who declares that Doom will pay his bill. It's such a dramatic cover for something seemingly so mundane as paying a bill. But this is Dr. Doom. He does nothing in a mundane manner.
"In It Up to Arrears."
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Penciler: Ernie Colon
Inker: Bob Wiacek
Colorist: John Wellington
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Sid Jacobson
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins in Manhattan, in particular on the Upper West Side. A group of German-speaking scientists are working on a new weapon. And as it goes in these things, something is about to go horribly wrong.
 |
| "I told you not to order those parts off Temu, Hans!" |
The overloading cannon caused the brownstone and everything inside to be turned to glass. This gets the scientists worried, as it turns out, ol' Doctor Doom gave them this project to work on, and this is not supposed to be the result.
This gets the attention of, naturally, our heroes of rebuilding. Robin Chapel calls in a meeting of the main characters of the team: Account Executive Marie Leahy, Senior Foreman Lenny Ballinger, R&D Director Gene Sailors (I accidentally said his last name was "Strausser" in my look at the last issue), and fellow Account Executive John Porter. Sailors gives the group the 411 on what Doom's new weapon did to the brownstone. Ballinger has no clue how to fix it, as evidently the transformed building is putting out vibrations that shakes any equipment that comes near it to pieces.
Comptroller Albert Cleary points out that Doom has not paid his bills to the company in six months. Why on Earth should they fix this? I mean, it's not like people lived in that brownstone or anything. But to be fair, Damage Control is a business, and they can't stay in business if people don't pay their repair bills. Hoag asks Cleary to send the bill over as the company doesn't have a collection department yet. He agrees, even though Porter is quick to point out that Doom is a killer.
We get the skinny on who Doom is, because evidently, Cleary has no idea who he is. Does he live in a cave with no TV? Victor Von Doom in universe is the dictator of a nation. He's fought various superheroes for years. How can Cleary not know who Doctor Doom is?!
The rest of the gang realize Cleary can't go alone, so they draw straws to see who goes with him. And guess who "wins"?
 |
| "Ha ha ha ha...I'm gonna die." |
...John Porter is a dead man. Nice knowing ya, Johnnie! Well, not really. An intern named Bart Rozum wants to come along, as he never gets to do anything. There is a good reason for that. Kid hasn't even graduated from college yet. Cleary decides to bring him along anyway, much to Porter's relief.
Cleary and Bart head out to the Latverian Embassy. After all, when he's not battling American superheroes, or crushing Latverians with his iron-covered fists, that's where he likely hangs his green hood. But Doom is not the only one with issues with Damage Control right now. Here's the Thing!
 |
| "THE BEER WAS WARM!" |
You may have noticed that Ben is a bit...spikier than normal. That's because of the events of Fantastic Four #310 (January 1988). In that comic, during a battle with a villain called Fasaud, Ben Grimm got exposed to cosmic rays and they mutated him into this new spiky form. Fun fact, the animated series Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes paid homage to this form in the episode "Annihilation".
Benjy Grimm is in a Karen mood today, as he demands to see the manager about the FF's own bills to the company. So, the secretary throws Porter under the bus. Well, Porter's able to handle himself just fine. Ben has an issue with the FF's insurance, but Porter's found the problem.
It turns out the FF's insurance only covers the original roster of the FF, but not their current roster. Yeah, like any long-running superhero team, the FF have had their fair share of roster shake-ups over the years. If you know of the Scott Lang Ant-Man and She-Hulk from the MCU, in the comics, they both served as members of the FF for a while. Not at the same time, but yeah.
Porter is able to clear that up, with a little help from Ben's angry growling. Meanwhile, Cleary and Rozum arrive at the Latverian Embassy. They are greeted by a Count Gunter Flounder, who is supposedly speaking on behalf of Von Doom. He announces that Doom is not only discontinuing the usage of Damage Control's services, but that the bills will not be paid. However, Doom himself is seemingly in the house.
 |
| "No, Dr. Doom! We didn't see you playing with your dolls again!" |
Cleary plays with Doom's ego a bit, telling the mad monarch that he and Flounder were discussing the money that Flounder was embezzling from Doom. Flounder tries to tell Doom is a lie, but he's not hearing it. Gunter Flounder, you are fired!
Back at Damage Control HQ, Ben Grimm is amusing the employees by telling some stories of his misadventures. He has one for every occasion. He's about to leave as the insurance issue is settled (just needed to write a check for the deductible) until Robin remarks that she hopes Cleary is doing well trying to get Doctor Doom to pay his bills. Ben thinks he's in danger (this is Doctor Doom after all), and so, calls in the FF.
 |
| "Oh my God, that meteor has the FF logo on it!" |
At the time, the FF is not comprised of its classic roster. Instead, we got Ben, Johnny, Crystal Amaquelin of the Inhumans, and Sharon Ventura, aka She-Thing.
Sharon Ventura, aka formerly the second Ms. Marvel. Yes, in the comics, there was a Ms. Marvel between Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan. First appearing in The Thing #27 (September 1985), she first met Ben during his time as a pro wrestler. She joined the FF in Fantastic Four #306 (September 1987), and then was mutated into the She-Thing in Fantastic Four #310 (January 1988). She would appear on and off over the years. In her most recent appearance as far as I know in Astonishing Avengers #17 (June 2025), she somehow gained the ability to switch between her human and She-Thing forms at will.
Anyway, the FF fly into action, however...it turns out that Cleary and Rozum are just fine. Doom not only willingly pays the bill, he even offered Cleary a job.
So, yeah. The FF can go home, although Ben does wonder if that's the actual Doom or it's just a Doombot, robotic doubles Doom's been known to deploy on occasion. I believe the concept was introduced by John Byrne in Fantastic Four #258 (September 1983) as a way to explain inconsistencies in Doctor Doom's characterization over the years.
With that taken care of, Damage Control can get back to work. There's still one problem, though. Lenny and his crew have no idea how to approach repairing the building. Thing is, Porter has not only a knack for insurance law, but he also has a knack for finding the simple solution to a problem. He picks up a rock. He throws the rock at the glass building, and...
 |
| John Porter unintentionally ruined a piece of art. |
Just sweep up the glass and rebuild the building. Porter even found the original blueprints. Lenny tells him he should ask for a raise. Porter agrees, as he feels overworked.
This was a fun issue. I always loved the concept of Damage Control as a way of exploring the Marvel Universe from the perspective of a regular person. It makes sense that in a universe like this, there would be an organization dedicated to cleaning up the messes caused by superhero battles. I also loved this miniseries as it's a way for Marvel to tell a more comedic story than in their standard titles. The characters are a delight.
I know some would count this appearance of Doom as a Doombot, but I actually would personally prefer if it was the actual Doom here, as having it be the real Doom would not only be much funnier, but I can imagine that Dr. Doom, petty as he can be at times, would do this if only because I can imagine him thinking he can rub this in Reed Richards's face somehow. "DOOM ALWAYS PAYS HIS BILLS, UNLIKE THAT DEADBEAT RICHARDS!"
I can imagine that the late Ernie Colon was having quite a good time drawing this comic. He has said growing up that he wasn't fond of superheroes outside of the Billy Batson Captain Marvel because he found him fun and willing to be silly. Makes sense a more humorous title would be right up his alley. His art is fun to look at. It does remind me of the style the (sadly recently passed) Sal Buscema would adopt in the 90s, only less heavy with the lines and angular.
In a way, I think Damage Control was ahead of its time. If this came out when the US version of The Office started broadcasting, I can imagine it would have become an ongoing series that would have lasted quite a while. If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Damage Control: The Complete Collection. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and wish to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!
