Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. It’s off to a distant planet for more time travel action in vol. 4 #11. Also, an Arrested Development crossover?

Recap: Reed has taken the family on a year-long expedition through time and space, which is a front for him seeking a cure for a molecular disease of some sort that’s slowly killing him and his teammates. As the disease started to affect his teammates, Reed came clean with them. In the parallel series FF, there’s a lot of mystery as to what’s become of them, but the main series hasn’t gotten there yet.

This issue begins with Reed apologizing to Valeria about deceiving everyone. Further, he asks for her help. He says he’s stared at the problem for too long and needs a fresh perspective. He agrees to let her choose where the family goes next, no matter what. The then arrive at planet Celeritas, a utopian world that harvests energy from star clusters to rebuild their world. They’re greeted by two hosts, Titor and Michio, who not just know who Valeria is, but are in awe of her presence. She asks for a few hours in their most advanced laboratory… and a sandwich.

Valeria, Reed, and Johnny take off for the lab, while Sue, Ben, and Franklin tour the main city in Celeritas. They ask why the city has what appears to be old Earth buildings, but they’re told not ask questions. Johnny and Valeria bicker for a bit about the kids leaving Legos on the floor, after which she requests a full diagnostic from the aliens.

Then we see a ticking clock, followed by images of the city all twisting and turning around. Titor says “time terrorists” have set off chronal explosives to force history back into the present, hence the old buildings. Then Michio reports that Reed, Valeria, and Johnny were taking forward in time because of the explosion. Titor says only the Preservation Front knows where or when they might be. Then we meet this Preservation Front, a steampunk-looking crew of high tech gear and old-timey style. They spot Sue, Ben and Franklin in the city via their monitors, and their leader, Thunder, plots to steal the heroes’ time ship.

Reed, Johnny, and Valeria find themselves on a version of the planet that’s about to fold in on itself due to all the time disruptions. There are portals all around that Valeria says are dangerous, acting like miniature white holes. Reed wants to figure out a way of fixing things to get back, but Valeria is more concerned about the sense that something else is there, stalking them. Johnny then sees something flying overhead, confirming they’re not alone. He chases the figure, only to discover it’s Old John Storm from the concurrent FF series – Johnny from the future!

With the other group, Titor explains that the Preservation Front are driven by nostalgia, wanting to drag everyone back to the good old days. The P.F. then attacks, on modern-day cars and motorcycles. They fight, with the P.F. throwing bombs that make crazy time-stuff happen, like a tree growing under Ben within seconds. In the other scene, Valeria and Reed can detect the battle happening through one of their portals. The two of them reach a large structure with a glowing globe on top. Valeria declares, “We’re going to build more future and save everything.”

The fight continues, and Franklin’s eyes start glowing. Energy surrounds him, and Sue urges him to focus and control his powers. He shouts, “Stop!” and sends out a wave of energy that knocks out the Preservation Front. Valeria, meanwhile, deduces that the globe is a sort of time capsule, containing all of Celeritas’ history, punching holes in spacetime whenever it is activated. To create more time and repair the machine, Valeria says she needs a lot of heat. Johnny and Old John show up, with Johnny vouching for his future self. Reed has thousands of questions, but they have to get to work on the machine.

Sue negotiates with the Preservation Front, who she’s keeping held in force fields. She demands her family back, just as Ben’s hands start crumbling like they did at the end of last issue. Big Sky, another P.F. member, says he knows what other team is doing, and it will be their undoing. As he says this, we see cutaways to the two Johnnys heating up the machine. He asks Sue to let them go in exchange for saving her family.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed taking a back seat to Valeria in this issue is about him being contrite about not revealing the truth to his family. He tells his daughter, “You can be mad if you want. I deserve it.” He adds that the only way to make it up to her is to find a cure.

Fade out: Sue tries threatening the Preservation Front, but they know all about who the Fantastic Four are, and they know Sue is overall nicer than that.

Clobberin’ time: Ben spends the whole issue wanting to punch someone, only to be undone by the fast-growing tree.

Flame on: Johnny tells Old John Storm that he’s never really measured just how many degrees of heat he can generate, saying he just pushes it and sees what happens.

Four and a half: Franklin’s mutant powers are reestablished in a big way with him gaining some control over it. Him using energy waves to take out the enemies is reminiscent of how he defeated Mephisto that one time during the John Byrne years.

Our gal Val: Valeria takes on the leadership role in this issue, something we’ll see more from her as time goes on.

Foundational: Old John Storm crosses over from FF to this series, but without his cybernetic limbs and no mention of the future threat of the Conquering Doom. Readers are continuing to wonder what the bigger picture is.

Trivia time: The members of the Preservation Front are Thunder, Phenom, Starstruck, and Big Sky, along with three unnamed members. They have no entry in the Marvel Wiki, despite coming back for more next issue.

This issue’s letters page states that, following the events of Arrested Development season 4, Marvel’s lawyers cracked down on Tobias Funke’s unlicensed FF musical. Editor Tom Brevoort says it’s a shame, because “that theme song is kinda catchy!”

Fantastic or frightful? This is a bit of a confusing one, throwing all kinds of sci-fi concepts at the reader at once, hoping we’ll keep up. I wonder if this was meant to be multiple issues of story condensed into one. I do like the Preservation Front, though, as a quirky group of villains/antiheroes. I can totally see somebody at Marvel bringing them back.

Next: Don’t box me in.

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