Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #573 takes us back to Nu World, where we all learn a lesson about how sometimes you shouldn’t want to go back.

Following the previous storyline’s subplot, Johnny and Ben are off on vacation to Nu World. Remember that this is a recreation of Earth located in an alternate dimension that is currently home to 100,000 refugees from an apocalyptic future. What Johnny and Ben don’t know is that Franklin and Valeria have secretly stowed away on the trip with them.

We begin in a futuristic setting where a man and robot are on the run. Through their dialogue, we learn the man is Ted Castle, the mega-billionaire who financed the creation of Nu World. The robot is powered by a human brain, and this is Alyssa Moy, super-genius and Reed’s ex-girlfriend who married Ted. Ted rants about unnatural progress and evolutionary acceleration on Nu World, saying this is not how things were meant to be. The robots chasing them say it’s because they’ve violated Ultron’s territory. After fighting them, Ted and Alyssa look over a ridge to find Ben, Johnny, and the kids emerging through the portal from Earth.

After fighting off the robots, Ted reveals that years have passed for him and Alyssa, while only a short time has passed for everyone on Earth. The sun over Nu World is collapsing, making the portal back home unusable. More robots attack, so Ben fights them off while everyone else escapes. He gets help from Lightwave and Psionics, two of the New Defenders from the future who came to be Nu World’s superheroes.

Ted leads everyone to an underground chamber. He explains that Nu World was a paradise at first, but war broke out over resources once the star collapsed. Alex Ultron of the New Defenders is now just Ultron, using the telepathy of Natalie X to mind-control the populace. Ted takes everyone to a hidden city where there’s some business about people jet-packing into the collapsing star as if it’s a portal. Then Ted leads them into the center of the planet.

At Ultron’s fortress, we see that he’s working alongside Psionics and Lightwave. Psionics believes Valeria has the genius needed to reopen the portal to Earth, but Ultron has moral issues about abducting a child. Psionics doesn’t worry about, saying they’ve taken Ben hostage, so the FF will come to them anyway. Inside the fortress’ holding cells, Ben discovers that Hulk Jr., also formerly of the New Defenders, is locked up down there as well.

In the center of the planet, Ted shows Valeria a device called the Wheel, and he explains that one of the reasons they can’t reopen the portal on their side is because they lack a power source. Valeria shows him the device she swiped from the Baxter Building last issue and says, “So what’s the other thing we need?” Outside the fortress, Johnny and Alyssa plan the attack, only to spot all the robots leaving. All alone in whatever chamber she’s in, Natalie X wakes up and says, “They’re coming.” At the Wheel, the power source works, and Valeria gets work on the complex calculations needed to chart a course back to Earth.

Johnny and Alyssa find Ben’s cell inside the fortress. Just as they’re about to break him out, the dome atop Alyssa robot body shatters and her brain goes spilling out. Psionics steps out of the shadows and kills the brain by stepping on it. (!) She boasts about how her telekinesis has gotten far more powerful, and she demands that Valeria help her open the portal instead of Ted. Before she can finish her villain speech, Hulk Jr. busts out of his cell and kills her with a single punch. Johnny and Ben escape, but Hulk Jr. stays behind to deal with Lightwave.

Throughout this issue, Franklin has been relating all this to Sue via narrative captions. At this point, the issue flashes forward to them having this conversation. Franklin says Ted had to stay behind to manage the portal, so Ben, Johnny and the kids could get back home. Ted’s fate, as well as Hulk Jr. and Lightwave’s fates, remain unknown. It’s nighttime, and when the clock turns 12, it’s officially Franklin’s birthday. Sue wishes him happy birthday and then he goes to sleep.

Fade out: Sue is pretty chill about the kids going on this post-apocalyptic adventure. She says the best thing about their family is that you never know what exciting thing will happen next.

Clobberin’ time: We’re not shown how Psionics and Lightwave managed to capture Ben. Perhaps Psionics’ increased powers did it. We’re also not told why Ben can’t use his awesome strength to escape from his cell. I guess if these cells can hold a Hulk, they can hold him.

Flame on: It’s only barely acknowledged that Psionics is Johnny’s ex-girlfriend. She jokes about him not returning her calls, and another character wisecracks about them once dating, but that’s it.

Four and a half: There’s a fun bit where Franklin has a sandwich he brought from home, and he shares it with Ted.

Our gal Val: Valeria boasts about being even smarter than Reed. It’s unknown at this time if that’s true or if she’s merely bragging.

Trivia time: The brutal deaths of Alyssa and Psionics are final. Neither character ever appeared again. Ted and the surviving New Defenders will be back during the Heroic Age crossover.

Fantastic or frightful? How do issues like this happen? They’re revisiting the Nu World storyline, which was fairly recent, only to wreck it? And kill off two supporting characters. I get that Alyssa and Psionics were no one’s favorites, but the characters had potential. With their personal history with the FF, a good writer could have done anything with them and made them interesting in all kinds of ways. But no, we’re killing them for no good reason. I’ve enjoyed Jonathan Hickman’s writing elsewhere, but his FF run is not off to a good start.

Next: Let me be Frank.

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