Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. FF #3 continues writer Jonathan Hickman’s sprawling epic take on the series, but is there such a thing as too epic?

Recap: The Fantastic Four is now the Future Foundation, with a bunch of gifted kid characters and Spider-Man on the team after Johnny’s (not real) death. Our heroes are also still dealing with four lost civilizations they’d recently discovered.

We begin with a bunch of Fantasitcars taking off from the new Baxter Building. On the rooftop, Dr. Doom tells Reed that they will bring “Your doom.” Ooh, ominous. Cut to the vessel of the World Builder, the current home of the High Evolutionary. Ben and the FF’s four Moloid kids meet with him, and Ben gives him an envelope. Then we cut to Diablo’s hideout in Rubedo, where Dragon Man and Alex Power hand Diablo a similar letter. Then it’s off to “Lower Amduat,” to the hideout of the Mad Thinker. Spider-Man gives him another envelope, with the Mad Thinker excited that it is an invitation. Finally, Sue uses her invisibility to sneak herself and Bently-23 into the Wizard’s HQ, an old A.I.M. base on “Outlier Island.” They deliver the invitation, and this time we see that it’s for a symposium on “How to finally defeat Reed Richards.”

Two days later, we see everyone gathered for this symposium. The four villains are there, along with some A.I.M. goons and Dr. Doom, Reed, and Valeria. Reed tells them that his father Nathaniel has vouched for both Valeria and Doom (not sure what difference that makes) and that the Avengers are standing by in case this discussion becomes anything other than theoretical. Valeria starts to address the group, saying, “It all started when…” But she’s interrupted when the Watcher appears in the room to view the proceedings.

Valeria admits that she found the Bridge, Reed’s portal to alternate universes, and that she used it to find the Council of Reeds, a bunch of Reeds from other worlds who wanted our Reed to leave his family in the pursuit of science. The Council was on the run from Celestials, so Valeria brought four of them back home with her. In a flashback, the Reeds do a quick assessment of this universe, finding it technologically backwards compared to their worlds, but they find something called Sol’s Anvil, which they think they can use.

In Old Atlantis, which was sealed off from the rest of the Earth until just recently, one of the Reeds kills an Atlantean to view his memories, revealing to two Old Atlantis leaders that one faction, the Uhari, are planning to overthrow the other rulers of Old Atlantis. The Reed offers to help the Atlanteans if they give him something in return. Deep underground, another of the Reeds looks over the High Evolutionary’s city alongside the Mole Man. The Mole Man says too many of his people are entering the city and becoming evolved, and he doesn’t want that. The Reed asks the Mole Man what he’d be willing to pay to stop it.

Then it’s off to the Blue Area of the moon, where a third Reed meets with the Universal Inhumans. He requests use of a small corner of the Blue Area for archeology, but the Inhumans have a telepath in their midst, revealing him to be a liar. A Dire Wraith among the Inhumans does that tongue thing they do against the Reed, and says the Reeds have “great and terrible plans.”

Finally, we go to a location called “the other side of zero,” where the fourth Reed meets with Anti-Priest of the Cult of the Negative Zone. He requests an audience with the Anti-Priest’s master, who summons a hologram connection with Annihilus. This version of Reed says he and the other Reeds need access to the Negative Zone in order to open a portal to his home. Annihilus says he wants the portal to Earth left open for his army, and the Reed says, “That can be arranged.”

Three of the four Reeds meet at yet another location called “the Dynamo,” a partially-finished structure in the middle of nowhere. (I assume this is Sol’s Anvil, but the comic does not specify this.) One Reed says construction of the device will be complete on schedule. Another says Earth will have to be sacrificed for the greater good. He says, “Now, brothers, we orchestrate a war.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: The four alternate Reeds are loosely defined. One is “Professor R,” from a world where Reed is the Charles Xavier, but others are known only as “Reed Richards Alpha,” “Reed Richards 4280,” and “Reed Richards blue and black costume with circle on chest.”

Fade out: The Wizard at first thinks that Bentley has returned to the fold, but Bently and Sue both tell him that’s not why they are there.

Clobberin’ time: Ben addresses the High Evolutionary by his real name, Wyndham. The two of them ran into each other in Marvel Two-In-One.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Spider-Man jokes about not wanting the Mad Thinker to accept the invitation, only for the Thinker to do so. And no, this is not the first time they’ve met, as the Mad Thinker showed up in Spidey comics a few times.

Four and a half: Look carefully in the background during the Mad Thinker scene, and you can see Franklin and one of the FF’s Atlantean kids playing with the Mad Thinker’s Awesome Android.

Our gal Val: The Marvel Wiki states that the flashback with Valeria and the four Reeds took place during issue #586, which was all about Galactus and Nu Earth. If you say so.

Foundational: Despite his love of villainy, Bentley-23 doesn’t want to return to the Wizard, saying, “My name is Bentley now. I’ve earned it.”

Trivia time: There’s only the one Awesome Android, so that means the one seen in this issue is the same one we knew as Andy from the solo She-Hulk series. The Marvel Wiki confirms that Andy returned to the Mad Thinker after that series, but remained a good guy.

Fantastic or frightful? This issue is filled with references to past issues from Jonathan Hickman’s run, demanding that you remember who all these characters and all these worlds are. It’s a lot to take in, and our main characters take a back seat to these alternate reality versions of Reed. Yes, there’s the sense that it’s all building up to something, but we’ve been building up to something for a long time now and I’m getting impatient.

Next: You have the floor, councilor.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my novel MOM, I’M BULLETPROOF. It’s a comedic/romantic/dramatic superhero epic! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XPXBK14.