Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. It’s not a retcon or a remake, it’s a “Marvel Remix,” as we flashback to the early days of the Inhumans in Fantastic Four: Fireworks.

We all love ‘60s Marvel, but they really were making up as they went along. Continuity and interconnected world-building happened more or less by accident. This means that characters’ first introductions often (and still do) come in fits and starts before the writers and artists get a handle on them. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were clearly invested in the Inhumans, but it took several attempts before those characters became the classic Inhumans we all know. Hence Fantastic Four: Fireworks, a three-issue limited series that retells the Inhumans’ first appearances in a way that aligns them with modern continuity. Got that?

The miniseries begins back in the hidden city of Attilan, the original secret home of the Inhumans. Black Bolt has ordered his brother Maximus to create a force field to protect the Inhumans from the outside world. Medusa presses Maximus on this, but he says his genius cannot be rushed. Crystal, meanwhile, wants to be a part of what’s happening although the others say she’s too old. She swipes a device from Maximus that picks up broadcasts from the human world. While Medusa wonders what Maximus is doing with such a device, Crystal is intrigued with news about new superhumans called the Fantastic Four, and one in particular with the power of fire.

Out over the ocean, the FF are meeting with Namor. Reed says he wants to negotiate peacefully with Namor for a science experiment, but Johnny just wants to fight. Johnny flies off in anger. Back in Attilan, Maximus has set off a bomb to attack Black Bolt, blaming it on the human world. When he’s found out, he runs away. Crystal suggests contacting the FF for help, but Medusa refuses. Crystal tries to get teleporting dog Lockjaw to take her to the FF, forcing Medusa to knock her unconscious to stop her. Medusa decides that to stop Maximus, she must be the one to venture into the human world, saying “I must follow the path I fear most!”

The bomb has put Black Bolt into a coma, which has then made Maximus ruler in his place. Maximus returns and demands to know where Medusa has gone, and the other Inhumans play dumb. In New York, the Avengers and the X-Man are visiting for Reed and Sue’s engagement party. Johnny tries and fails to flirt with Jean Grey, so he flies off again. He visits his old pals at the garage, and then sees the “4” flare in the sky. He follows it to a fight with the Wizard, Sandman, and Paste-Pot Pete, who’s actually calling himself that this time. Medusa then attacks him, making them the Frightful Four for the first time.

At that moment, Maximus sees a news report about the fight, discovering Medusa’s whereabouts. He sends an Inhuman named Seeker outside Attilan to find her. Desperate to act, Crystal uses her powers to heal Black Bolt. She and Black Bolt meet with Karnak, Triton, and Gorgon (who, let’s never forget, once single-handedly defeated the entire Fantastic Four). They agree to use Lockjaw’s power to find Medusa before the Seeker does.

The Inhumans arrive in New York, in a downtrodden part of the city, baffled at the ways of the humans. They find a newspaper describing Medusa as a new super-criminal. Gorgon says he will find medusa and demand answers, and he tells Crystal to stay put and curb her youthful romanticism. She hides out in an abandoned building, watching over the still-weak Black Bolt. Johnny shows up in that same neighborhood, looking for the Frightful Four. Then it’s the fateful meeting. Johnny spots Crystal on a street corner, and he’s immediately smitten. She, however, says, “No! We can’t meet like this! We can’t!”

Issue #2 begins with Crystal separating herself from Johnny with an elemental blast. Rather than flame on again and tear up the neighborhood looking for her, Johnny takes Sue’s advice and tries some self control. She returns to Triton, who is using Inhuman “constructiods” to turn the apartment into a mini-Attilan. Then Gorgon returns with Medusa, saying he battled humans to rescue her. She says she joined the Frightful Four after experiencing how much humans fear and hate anyone they consider to be different. Crystal believes the Fantastic Four are different, but Medusa and Triton disagree, arguing that the FF have already been in conflict with Namor and Atlantis for some time.

That night, Crystal goes out for a walk while everyone else is sleeping. Johnny finds her again, and this time they talk. She says her family won’t let her trust anyone, and he offers to talk to them. That darned youthful romanticism wins out, so takes him back to the apartment. Karnak seems friendly at first, only to toss Johnny into a cell. He escapes, contacts the FF, and the fight is on. The Inhumans put up a good fight, except that Triton’s breathing apparatus is damaged, making him fun for water before he asphyxiates. Everybody fights some more, and then Crystal says Triton vanished, fearing the Seeker has found him. The Inhumans teleport away so the Seeker doesn’t spot them as well. Johnny flies over the city and spots where they teleported to. Crystal says she wants to stay with Johnny, but the Inhumans refuse. They teleport again, this time for good. Johnny tells Reed he has to find Crystal, no matter what.

The Inhumans return to Attilan, where Maximus is preparing a coup. Black Bolt stops him, although he rants more about how dangerous the human world is. Johnny appears in Attilan, recognizing Maximus as an enemy of Crystal’s. The rest of the FF is there as well, with Reed’s genius allowing them to follow Lockjaw’s trail. Maximus sneaks off in the confusion to arm his “atmo-gun,” which he says will disrupt the neurons of all humans, leaving only Inhumans left. This causes gravity to go haywire for a bit, and then Medusa announces that the gun didn’t work, because deep down, Inhumans and humans are the same.

Crystal takes Johnny away from the city to its outskirts, a wilderness where the Inhuman and human worlds meet. Medusa says there can be peace between Attilan and the humans, so Maximus activates the force field in hopes of sealing Attilan away from the humans forever. Johnny and Crystal have a moment, saying their control of the elements make them the same. But then Ben interrupts, pulling Johnny away from her and onto the human side of the force field, with Crystal on the other. Johnny and Crystal are both heartbroken, but their respective families tell them it’s for the best.

Issue #3 begins after time has passed, and the FF have successfully fought Galactus and driven him away from the Earth. Johnny’s thoughts dwell on Crystal. We see him start college and befriend Wyatt Wingfoot. In Attilan, the Inhumans can find no way out of the force field, and Medusa encourages Crystal to forget about Johnny. She learns that Lockjaw can teleport in and out of the force field, but he cannot take any others with her. She wants him to bring Johnny to her, but Gorgon tells her not to, fearing that will defy Black Bolt.

While Johnny continues to be a short fuse about Crystal, Reed and Wyatt approach him with a way back into Attilan. It’s a the Gyro-cruiser, a flying ship with a force field of its own, courtesy of Black Panther’s Wakandan tech. In Attilan, Maximus succumbs to madness, Medusa urges caution, while Black Bolt retrieves a deadly device called an “absorba-bomb” that can amplify his own destructive power.

Johnny and Wyatt take the Gyro-cruiser on an expedition to the Saraha, where they encounter the ancient supervillain Prester John hibernating deep underground. Johnny wants to use Prester John’s weapon, the Evil Eye, to break down Attilan’s force field. This adventure runs concurrent with Black Bolt using his new powers against the force field. The Eye and Black Bolt both explode with power at once, only to be flung back. In defeat, Johnny and Crystal gain newfound resolve to be reunited.

Wyatt and Johnny take the Gyro-cruiser to the Himalayas, just outside Attilan, where they find Lockjaw. Rather than teleport them inside the Inhuman city, Lockjaw takes them back to the Baxter Building, which is under attack. In Attilan, Crystal again uses her powers to heal a weakened Black Bolt, adding fire to the mix this time. Black Bolt uses his newfound power against the force field, and this time it works. The entire barrier around Attilan dissolves.

We get a short recap of Johnny and the FF fighting Dr. Doom in a Negative Zone adventure, after which Johnny and Crystal are finally reunited. The caption states, “Let’s just say that the heroes all survive… and young love finds its faith rewarded. And when you come right down to it, what else matters?”

Unstable molecule: Reed’s method of tracking Lockjaw’s teleportation isn’t fully explained, and it seems that it something that only worked once.

Fade out: Sue tells Johnny to learn self control, which kicks off his whole emotional arc in this series.

Clobberin’ time: Ben accuses Johnny of going through a phase called “jerkolescence.” He later separates Johnny from Crystal for Johnny’s own good, just like in the original version of the story.

Flame on: The series doesn’t attempt to undo the love at first sight nature of Johnny and Crystal’s romance. While we learn she’s been watching him from afar for some time, he instantly believes she’s the one for him with that first glance.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Crystal’s character arc in this is all about fire. The other Inhumans tell her she’s too young to master that part of her elemental powers. After she meets the fiery Johnny, however, her own fire powers revive Black Bolt to save the day.

Medusa gets a great moment when encouraging Crystal not to be reckless. Medusa says that her lifelong relationship with Black Bolt, who cannot speak, has taught her the value of patience. She stresses that Crystal should exercise similar patience.

Trivia time: This is mostly a retelling of classic FF comics with a few extra details, but Medusa’s story contradicts the Marvel Wiki, which states that Medusa joined the Frightful Four as an amnesiac, rather than on an ill-defined undercover mission. (She lost her memory while battling a villain named Trikon.)  

Fantastic or frightful? Fireworks is better than it has any right to be. For a series about allegedly fixing continuity, it’s more about capturing Johnny and Crystal’s emotional arcs during this whirlwind time in their lives. I would have preferred a fourth issue to explore Medusa’s time with the Frightful Four more fully, as that remains an odd wrinkle in Marvel history. But overall, consider this a recommendation.

Next: Mythic.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.