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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Now that we’ve met the Future Foundation, issue #580 gives us our first look at what they’re up to.

To recap, Reed and the FF have assembled, either by design or by accident, a group of brilliant young people to live at the new Baxter Building. They are now a combined school and think tank (!) called the Future Foundation. As this issue begins, Reed is meeting with some of the kids who have presented their first project as an attempt to solve a scientific conundrum Reed has struggled with for years. Franklin, not technically a member of the Foundation like his sister is, keeps interrupting Reed. The Impossible Man is not only back on Earth, but he’s about to introduce his new toy line (!) at a public event that afternoon. Reed promised Franklin they would go together, but now Reed is too busy with the Foundation.

Instead, Johnny takes Franklin to the toy show, with Leech tagging along. There’s all sorts of Marvel merchandise on sale (art imitating life?). Johnny comes across supervillain Arcade and is ready for a fight, but Impossible Man appears and says the two of them are working together. Arcade has turned over a new leaf, going into legitimate business with toys, collectibles, and video games. He promises that he’s given up on his elaborate death traps, but Johnny doesn’t buy it.

Then there’s a big presentation, where Arcade and Impossible Man introduce the toys, with Impy saying that a little bit of his “impossibleness” is infused in each one. Impossible Man cuts the ribbon, letting a crowd of kids at the toys. Then we see Arcade going back on his promise when he whispered “Okay, maybe a tiny little death trap.” All the toys come to life and attack the kids, punching out Leech. Impossible Man tries to fight back, but he’s overwhelmed by his own toys.

Energy swirls around Franklin’s head, and a dinosaur display then also comes to life, controlled by Franklin. It snatches up Arcade in its teeth, and Franklin tells Johnny to burn all the toys. He does, and then there’s some jokey business about Impossible Man crying that he’s ruined, only for it to be an act. He says he’ll keep an eye on Arcade until the police arrive.

There’s another two pages of revisiting Nu-Earth, where we see what billionaire Ted Castle and the other Nu-Earth characters are doing 500 and then 600 years in the future. Back at the Baxter Building, the Future Foundation kids have invited Ben to join them. Turns out he is the scientific conundrum they’re working on, and they say they can cure him and make him human again. He doesn’t buy it, after all the times Reed has tried and failed, but then Reed admits that the kids have outsmarted him.

The kids explain that Ben can’t ever be fully cured, but his powers can be switched off for a time, about one week per year. Alex Power is the one who hands Ben a vial of glowing green liquid, saying to Ben, “You get to be human again.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed says he doesn’t know if he should be proud or insulted (!) that the kids chose a more personal subject for their project rather than something that could help all mankind. Strange choice of words, there.

Clobberin’ time: Rather than a cure, Ben suggests the kids make him super-boots, a robot assistant, or a personal cooler.

Flame on: Franklin and Leech initially say their favorite superheroes are Spider-Man and Iron Man, but by the end of the issue, they admit that Johnny is now their favorite.

Fantastic fifth wheel: The issue remembers that Impossible Man was once a member of the FF, during the short-lived “Fantastic Seven” of the ‘70s. He greets Johnny with a hug when they’re reunited.

Four and a half: We get another look at Franklin’s mutant powers reemerging, but we don’t know what form they’ll take this time.

Our gal Val: Valeria seems to gloat when she gets to work on the project with Reed instead of Reed spending the day with Franklin. She’s much more empathetic with Ben, apologizing that he can’t be human for longer.

Foundational: Reed assumes that Dragon Man came up with the idea to cure Ben, but Mik, one of the Moloids, takes credit. Bently-23 gets his first-ever line of dialogue when he suggests they test the cure on a clone of Ben. This is of note because Bently himself is a clone.

Trivia time: Once again, Arcade is a villain-of-the-week type of character, so much so that this issue isn’t referenced at all on his Marvel Wiki entry. It was shortly after this that he upped his game in an attempt at making the supervillain big time as the main antagonist in Avengers Arena.

Fantastic or frightful? A comedic and kid-friendly issue, making me wonder if that’s what the Future Foundation era (era) will be like. My memory is that this was a fun and exciting time for the Fantastic Four, but my concern now is that this new direction for the series will be too “kiddie.” We’ll see.

Next: A hot dad!

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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.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Speaking of starts, this is a brand-new one for Fantastic Four and for Marvel in general as the Heroic Age begins. You might say this time in comics is… foundational.

What’s all this, then? The Heroic Age was a crossover that’s not a crossover, but more of a soft reboot for Marvel. Fans had spoken up loud enough against all the violence and darkness of Civil War and its follow-ups like Secret Invasion and Dark Reign. Plus, the Marvel movies were in full swing now, so Heroic Age gave us a new Avengers series from heavy-hitters Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr., intended to get movie fans into comic bookstores. It’s also a new direction for Fantastic Four, albeit one that the creators had been building up to for a while.

Recap: After some foreshadowing about four cities in conflict, we eventually encountered them – the High Evolutionary’s underground kingdom, a lost tribe of Atlantis living in isolation in Antarctica, an offshoot of the Inhumans living on the moon, and the former Negative Zone prison now ruled by Annihilus and his insectoid army. We’ve also met a bunch of new characters, children who’ve come to stay at the new Baxter Building – mutants Artie and Leech, three intelligent Moloids, and a young clone of supervillain the Wizard.

We begin with Reed speaking at the Singularity Conference. He said when this annual conference started ten years earlier, it was just a few scientists with a plan to solve not just today’s problems, but the future’s. It has now grown into a huge event with its own campus in Colorado. Rather than praise the scientists, though, Reed criticizes them for growing too old and stale, and not thinking big enough. Rather than debate population control, Reed urges them to look to the stars. He announces his resignation as a member, saying there are more discoveries to be made.

At the Baxter Building, Alex Power, formerly of Power Pack and now somewhere around 18-ish (let’s not get into how comic book characters age), is arriving with all his bags packed. He says he’s seen “the roster” and he fears he’ll be the dumbest person there. Reed says Alex brings experience and perspective, which will be invaluable. In Old Atlantic deep beneath the Arctic, Sue acts in her role as ambassador, as the Old Atlantean king says his people are now free to explore the entire Earth’s oceans at will for the first time. He brings out two children and says, strangely, “You will have what you asked for.”

Then it’s back to HQ, where we catch up with the Moloids. Turg, who has been reduced to a head in a jar, is their voice of reason. Korr and Tong have taught themselves to read English, while Mik is busy calculating a confluence that links the four cities. Oh boy, it’s going to be tough keeping these Moloids’ names straight.

Then we cut back to Nu-World, which was originally a perfect recreation of Earth, only for all kinds of dystopian sci-fi stuff to happen there. Case in point, the next few pages take us further and further into Nu-World’s future, following its founder, Ted Castle, and the superheroes of that world and all the changes they go through over 300 years. Your guess is as good as mine by this point.

Back at HQ, there’s some comedy bits with Franklin, Ben, and Johnny, while Valeria uses her genius to fix up Dragon Man. She says she can make him smarter. (Dragon Man, who is not a dragon but an advanced robot, has been docile and friendly for some time now.) Franklin is learning martial arts, and he spars with Artie and Leech. Valeria loses control of Dragon Man, but she manages to fix him with the help of Artie’s holo-projecting powers.

Then we cut to P.A.V.L.O.V., location alone, which is described as a “metahuman psychiatric facility.”  Reed is there to check in on the Wizard, who is in a rabid state, ranting about creating clones of himself as a divine calling. Reed gives the Wizard his old helmet back, assuring the doctors that it is now harmless. This makes the Wizard a little more coherent. Reed tells him that the Wizard’s young clone, Bently, has come to live with the FF. Coldy, Reed tells the Wizard that Bently will grow up to become something better than the Wizard.

At the Baxter Building, Reed has set up a classroom. He says to his students that there will be only one class in this school, and it’s pass or fail. He says, “Welcome to the Future Foundation,” and “Together, there is nothing we can’t do.” And with that, we see our new team, the Future Foundation, assembled for the first time.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Not only has the Singularity Conference never been mentioned before this, but it seems it never will again. The Marvel Wiki has no entry for it. This is also the only appearance of the P.A.V.L.O.V. psychiatric facility, perhaps wisely.

Fade out: We don’t see what Sue said to the Atlantean king to request that the two undersea kids join the Future Foundation, but the king has no problem handing them over.

Clobberin’ time: Ben and Johnny give Franklin pointers on how to come up with an action hero catch phrase. Franklin decides on, “Time to die, buttheads!”

Flame on: While Franklin practices his martial arts, Johnny dresses for it, in a replica of the yellow suit with black stripe, famous for Bruce Lee in Game of Death and/or Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk makes an appearance at the conference at the beginning, having lectured on science and law. Reed praises her efforts before belittling the rest of the group.

Four and a half: Curiously, Franklin is not in the Future Foundation classroom at the end. I had assumed he’d be a member. He’ll certainly interact with the Foundation a lot.

Our gal Val: Valeria dons her own “4” uniform for the first day of class.

Foundational: For the record, here are the starting Future Foundation members:

– Valeria Richards of the Fantastic Four.

– Alex Power, formerly of Power Pack.

– Artie and Leech, regulars from various X-Men series.

– Four highly intelligent Moloids – Tong, Turg, Korr, and Mik.

– Two children from the lost Old Atlantis kingdom – Vil and Wu (not named in this issue).

– Bently Twenty-Three, child clone of the Wizard.

– Dragon Man, now with increased genius.  

Trivia time: Is there any Marvel character with more hard-to-follow continuity than Dragon Man? Despite occasional stories about him become docile and childlike, he’s mostly used as a henchman for whatever supervillain acquires him. Prior to his recent appearances in Fantastic Four, he was seen in the Negative Zone prison during Civil War, but somehow also attended Stilt Man’s funeral during Civil War. The Marvel Wiki says he was “relinquished” to the Fantastic Four’s care following the collapse of the Negative Zone prison, which is where we catch up with him now.

Who are Artie and Leech, you ask? Leech (no other known name) was born a green-skinned mutant, whose mutation is the power to render other mutants powerless. He grew up among the underground Morlocks in NYC’s sewers. After the Mutant Massacre crossover, he went to live with X-Factor and became a regular in the X-books ever since. Then there’s Artie Matticks. A mutant whose scientist father experimented on him, Artie is mute but can communicate by projecting holograms. After his father died in a mutant battle, Artie went to live with X-Factor. It’s there that he and Leech eventually became inseparable pals. Note that Artie lost his powers during the House of M crossover, but now wears a high-tech helmet that lets him project holograms as he did before.

Fantastic or frightful? There’s not really a story in this issue, just a lot of place setting as we establish the new status quo. It’s a lot of juggling as the team grows from four members to around eighteen. Writing a comic series with that many regulars can be tricky, but the likes of X-Men and Legion of Super-Heroes have done it for decades. Now it’s the Future Foundation’s turn.

Next: Where’s Buzz and Woody when we need them?

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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.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. We’re going all the way back to the beginning with Mythos: Fantastic Four.

What’s Mythos? This was a series of one-shots allegedly created to bridge the gap between Marvel Comics and their movie adaptations. They were meant to appeal to movie fans looking for a jumping on point for the comics. Whether this was successful is open to discussion. Besides Fantastic Four, the others in the series were X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Captain America. The whole thing was written by Paul Jenkins and had fully painted art by Paolo Rivera.

We begin in the middle of some sort of government hearing, where a bunch of suit-wearing politicians are questioning the Fantastic Four, to determine if “what happened” could be a threat to national security. Reed says it all started at breakfast, and then we cut to a flashback of him, Sue and a human Ben aboard a space station orbiting Earth. This not only confirms we are in retelling-the-origin territory, but the station setting also evokes the 2005 movie.

The four are astronauts, and it seems they’ve been living aboard the station for a while, given their playful sitcom-style bickering. Johnny is outside on a spacewalk for some adrenaline rush thrills. Ben dons a spacesuit to fly after Johnny and bring him back. While they’re doing that, Reed’s instruments pick up an unusual solar event. The station is struck with a huge energy wave. There’s an interesting bit where Johnny and Ben hear the “tac-tac-tac” sound effect inside their helmets.

Back in the present, one of the politicians asks Ben if the station’s communications could have predicted the solar event. Ben, whose monstrous rocky hide is partially hidden under a hat and trench coat, does not say anything in response. In the flashback, there’s a lot of action, as the station is wrecked by the solar event. Sue tries to hide, while Reed struggles to reach her. Ben was angry and didn’t want to die, and Johnny could only think of how he felt like he was burning up.

The station’s escape shuttle flies back to Earth and lands at an airport, all while on autopilot. Emergency crews open the shuttle. They believe Ben is severely burned, and he and the other three are helped off the ship. The crews then find a radiation leak, as the ship’s reactor is damaged. In the present, the politicians doubt that the damaged shuttle could have flown itself home while the four were unconscious inside. Reed and Sue argue that this was an anomalous event and that there’s way to know what really happened up there.  

Cut to a hospital, where Sue and Reed observe with fear as Ben is in a coma while doctors run Johnny through a series of tests. Ben wakes up and freaks out upon seeing that he has become a monster now. There’s a lot of action as he trashes the hospital while the others try to calm him down. This activates Reed’s and Sue’s powers in response. They get Ben to calm down, only for Johnny to burst through the door, fully flamed on.

In the present, the politicians say Ben is dangerous because of the damage done to the hospital. He says it’s because he was scared, and that anyone would have acted the same way. Reed says that no matter what these powers are or where they came from, the four of them will use them only for the right reasons. As the four of them leave the hearing, Sue asks Reed what will become of them. We get an image of the FF with a lot of their villains and supporting characters in the background, and Reed says, “Even I can’t predict the future.”

Reed announces that he’s purchased the Baxter Building in New York, and he wants the other three to join him there, saying their adventure is only beginning – and it’s going to be bigger than space itself. We get the classic image of the four of them joining hands. As they head off toward their new life, there’s a joke about Johnny wanting to hit a local karaoke bar on the way.

Unstable molecule: This issue has Reed speaking in a lot of math/science gibberish about calculus and Euclidean probabilities.

Fade out: Sue corrects the politicians that she and Johnny are siblings, and not married. What is this, Star Wars?

Clobberin’ time: Ben comments to the politicians that they should not accuse him of being like a monster until after he actually acts like one.

Flame on: Johnny complains about feeling cold, even after flaming on in the hospital.

Trivia time: The space station is named the Pegasus. My guess is this is a reference to the mad scientists of Marvel’s Project Pegasus.

The FF does not get their powers from cosmic rays, but from a solar event producing a combination of alpha and theta waves. Does this officially rewrite Marvel continuity? No, because the Marvel Wiki confirms that the Mythos series takes place in yet another alternate timeline.  

Fantastic or frightful? I don’t know how this would go for someone who has never read Fantastic Four comics before. We get the explanation of how they got their powers, but we don’t see them in action on their adventures. That part is only suggested. The best part is Paolo Rivera’s excellent artwork. The space stuff looks terrific, but he’s also great with faces and body language in the dialogue scenes.  

Next: A firm foundation.

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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.

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.

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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.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Time to get all inner child with the kid-friendly Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius.

Son of a Genius, from writer and cartoonist Chris Eliopoulos, started as some backup comics appearing in the 2000s non-canon revival of Power Pack. These were then reprinted as standalone comics, which proved successful enough for Marvel to produce even more standalones. The setup is simple. Franklin is a precocious kid and H.E.R.B.I.E. is his overprotective robot nanny and overall voice of reason. Franklin helps himself to an invention of his dad’s, leading to comedic mishaps. Everyone in the world compares this to the legendary Calvin and Hobbes newspaper strip. But aside from similarities in the art, they’re not that alike.

Son of a Genius

• – “Microscopic.” Franklin has a homework assignment to learn about the microscopic world. He and H.E.R.B.I.E. steal Reed’s micro-pod, shirnk down to microscopic size, and explore the inside of Reed’s nose!

– “Tons of Fun.” Ben tells Franklin that when he’s grown, he can have all the junk food he wants. Franklin uses a matter-expanding machine on himself. But instead of getting larger, he balloons to a spherical shape.

– “Veggin’ Out.” Franklin needs something for show and tell, so he swipes a device of Reed’s that turns inedible matter edible. It backfires by transforming all of Franklin’s classmates into vegetables. H.E.R.B.I.E. saves the day with a “revert-ilizer.”

– “Weather or not.” Wanting wintertime fun during summer, Franklin uses a weather generator inside his bedroom. First he creates a blizzard, and then a massive storm. Sue has him clean his room, saying it looks like a tornado blew through it.

– “Send in the Clones.” Now it’s Halloween, but Manhattan is too dangerous for trick or treating, so Franklin runs some Jell-O through a cloning machine and makes Jell-O clones of himself. The clones go trick-or-treating, only to keep the candy for themselves, and then trash Franklin’s room. H.E.R.B.I.E. dissolves the clones with water.

Happy Franksgiving

– “Hamster Havoc.” Franklin’s parents give him a pet hamster. He really wanted a dog, though, so he puts the hamster in a “transmutanator” to turn it into a dog. It backfires, growing the hamster to Godzilla size. H.E.R.B.I.E. replicates an equally giant hamster wheel for it, and then they shrink it back.

– “Telepathy Terror.” Franklin may or may not have a crush on a girl named Katie. He experiments with a telepathy helmet, only to get visions of someone in his life tying him up and launching him into space. The thoughts belong to H.E.R.B.I.E., who just wants to keep Franklin safe from harm. We never learn about Katie, but later entries will reveal this is Katie Power of Power Pack.

– “Speed Demon.” After losing a race in gym class, Franklin uses a speed enhancer to live life at super-speed. He loses control, running around the world in minutes. H.E.R.B.I.E. saves him by trapping him in a force field, and then Franklin is too exhausted to win the next race in gym.

– “Ocean-Ape Escape.” Franklin orders “Ocean-Apes” from the back of a comic book. (Like Sea Monkeys, get it?) Only to be disappointed when they arrive as seeds. He uses Reed’s accelerated growth powder on them, turning them into monsters. After fighting for a bit, the monsters fall in love (!) and fly off.

– “Turkey Trouble.” On the day before Thanksgiving, Franklin accidentally steps through a portal to an alternate universe where the FF are human-turkey hybrids.

March Madness

– “Evolution Revolution.” Franklin asks his dad for help on his homework on evolution. Reed shows him an invention that can de-evolve and then re-evolve biomatter. Franklin accidentally sets it off, turning Reed into a monkey. Franklin distracts Reed with a banana and then transforms him back.

– “Molecular Mayhem.” Franklin wants to ride a new roller coaster, but he’s stuck helping his dad in the lab. He activates a subatomic sled, and he and H.E.R.B.I.E. go on a whirlwind spin through the Microverse.

– “Hair Today.” Franklin tries giving himself a haircut, with disastrous results. He takes some experimental “sonic tonic,” that makes his hair grow out of control. H.E.R.B.I.E. reverses the tonic, and Franklin ends up bald for his school photo.

– “Rodent’s Revenge.” Franklin’s pet hamster is back! To teach it tricks, Franklin hooks it up to an intelligence enhancer. The hamster gets too smart, and begins plotting world domination. H.E.R.B.I.E. electrocutes it, which puts it back to normal… or not?

– “Basket Brawl.” Franklin swipes a psychic projector to give him an edge in a basketball game. He projects his fears onto the other players, transforming them into monster basketballs.  H.E.R.B.I.E. saves the day by getting Franklin to think of them as normal, which turns them back.

World Be Warned

– “Gravity Depravity.” Wanting to be like Spider-Man, Franklin uses a gravity machine to be able to walk on walls. It breaks the fourth wall by sucking the panel frames into a gravity well, only to reset to normal because the law of gravity can’t be broken.

– “Bully Breakdown.” Franklin is getting bullied at school. Rather than call the FF in for support, he uses a portable force field for protection. It goes haywire, causing him to lose friction and bounce all over the school. H.E.R.B.I.E. then shows the principal video of the bullying so he can take appropriate action.

– “Monkey Talk.” Franklin takes a universal translator to the zoo so he can communicate with the animals. They convince him to set them free.

– “Build a Better Bot.” Reed builds a new robot for Franklin, named H.U.M.P.H.R.I.E.S. The new bot is fun at first, but he doesn’t give Franklin the leeway that H.E.R.B.I.E. did. H.E.R.B.I.E. finds the new bot smashed, and Franklin tells H.E.R.B.I.E., “You’re perfect at what you do.”

– “Frank Smash.” While the Hulk is visiting the Baxter Building, Franklin helps himself to Hulk’s chocolate bar. This causes the Hulk to rampage, until Franklin uses his allowance to buy more chocolate for them to share.

Monster Mash

– “Ready, Steady, Yeti” Franklin teleports himself to the arctic in search of the Abominable Snowman. Although scary at first, he and Franklin become friends and enjoy a snowball fight.

– “Little Monster.” Franklin x-rays himself to figure why he’s been burping. The burp comes to life as a huge purple monster that runs rampant through the Baxter Building. H.E.R.B.I.E. stops it by de-radiating it.

– “Ghosts in the Machine.” Franklin wants to use an interdimensional phase shifter to turn himself into a ghost as a prank on his parents. He encounters a bunch of other ghosts who chase him around. H.E.R.B.I.E. brings him back, but Franklin can still see the ghosts at the end.

– “Under the Bed.” The monster under Franklin’s bed is real! Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. fight it for a bit, before using Reed’s dimensional rift device to banish it from Earth, even though Franklin’s parents still don’t believe the monster is real.

– “Power Trip.” Franklin wants super powers like the rest of family. The automated lab computer gives him recreations of the FF’s powers. He can’t control the powers, so he has the computer undo them.

Fall Football Fiasco

– “Fantasy Football.” Franklin uses the lab computer to turn all his toys into football players, so he can have someone to play with. They run amok until he grabs the ball and chases them back into the lab to reverse the process.

– “Lockjaw Unleashed.” Franklin is dog-sitting the Inhumans’ giant teleporting dog Lockjaw. He keeps trying and failing to get the dog to teleport himself somewhere.

– “Double Trouble.” Franklin encounters a new version of the Super-Adaptoid, which transforms itself into a second Franklin. The clone runs around causing chaos in Franklin’s life that he then has to catch up to. This story is the series at most Calvin and Hobbes style, referencing the story where Calvin cloned himself. It also confirms that Franklin’s crush Katie is in fact Katie Power of Power Pack.

– “Time and Time Again.” Franklin meets himself from the future, who shows up with a time machine. This causes some kind of time loop where their meeting keeps repeating itself.

– “Alien Encounter.” While on an outer space trip with Reed, Franklin beams a cute little alien aboard the ship. The alien multiplies into a bunch of aliens, and then they all run amok. H.E.R.B.I.E. puts them to sleep with allergy medicine (is this a drug metaphor?) and they beam the creatures off the ship.

Not-so-secret Invasion

– “Skrull Surprise.” Franklin is behaving too perfectly, and H.E.R.B.I.E. suspects something is up. Turns out Franklin was replaced by a Skrull. Franklin fights and defeats the Skrull, for some actual superhero action in this series for once.

– “Little Lizard No Longer.” Franklin is babysitting his class lizard, who drinks some radioactive goo and grows to Godzilla size. Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. fight him with a giant mech, and then they put him to sleep by rubbing his tummy.

– “The Other Football.” Franklin’s soccer ball gets switched for a soccer ball-like egg from Reed’s lab. It hatches to reveal a dinosaur. Franklin subdues the beast not with more tech, but with his awesome soccer skills.

– “Squid Squabble.” Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. travel to the bottom of the ocean to help Franklin’s friend Squid Kid. He thinks Squid Kid is under attack by the Ocean-Apes, but H.E.R.B.I.E. devises a fish translator to reveal that Squid Kid was really inviting Franklin to his wedding.

– “Wizard Wipeout.” The Wizard infiltrates the Baxter Building and hypnotizes Franklin and the FF. This leaves H.E.R.B.I.E. and robot receptionist Roberta (remember her?) to defeat the villain.

Summer Smackdown

– “Thunderous Throwdown.” Franklin attends a wrestling match where Ben is taking on a superhuman wrestler named Thunder. Franklin then gets in the ring with a force field device.

– “De-aged Dad.” Reed encourages Franklin to make friends with kids his own age, so Franklin uses a de-ager ray on his dad. They horse around for an afternoon. When Reed turns back to normal, he appears to have learned a lesson, and takes the rest of the day off to hang out with Franklin.

– “Night of the Living Pet.” Franklin’s hamster is dead (!). He uses mad science to revive it, creating a zombie hamster. It runs wild for a bit before he catches it and now has a new undead pet.

– “Unmistaken Identity.” Franklin uses a holographic image inducer to impersonate his teacher for a parent-teacher conference, leading to not one but multiple mistaken identities as things progress.

– “H.E.R.B.I.E.’s Love Bug.” H.E.R.B.I.E. has a date with Roberta, except she’s not programmed for romance. Can Franklin cheer up his heartbroken robot pal?

Sons of Geniuses

– “Mission Unstoppable.” Franklin spots Reed using a “cross-dimensional communicator” to conference with other Reeds in other universes.  Franklin pulls off a heist to reach the communicator.

– “Fantastic Frank.” An alternate universe where Franklin has super-powers, but everyone in his family does not.

– “Chimp Change.” In this alternate universe, everyone is a chimp. Chimp Franklin confronts a chimp version of the Mole Man.

– “H.E.R.B.I.E. Son of a Super-Computer.” And in this alternate universe, everyone is a H.E.R.B.I.E.-style robot except for Franklin. He’s the human nanny to a precocious and troublemaking young H.E.R.B.I.E.

– “Franklin Freakout.” Back in “our” universe, Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. must deal with a crowd of alt-universe Franklins coming through a portal.

Dark Reigning Cats and Dogs

– “Forty-year-old Franklin.” Franklin wants a dog his birthday, only to be told not until he’s older. Then he meets an older version of himself from the future. They go on a time travel adventure, and older Franklin leaves the teleporting Inhuman dog Puppy with Franklin as his new pet.

– “Frankenrichards’ Monster.” It’s Halloween, and Franklin wants to see a real monster. H.E.R.B.I.E. turns monstrous after getting struck by lightning.

– “Homework Hassle.” Franklin uses a hologram to make everyone believe he’s doing his homework when he’s really goofing off.

– “The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend.” There’s a new kid in Franklin’s class at school – Kristoff! There’s an instant rivalry between them, until Franklin steps in to save Kristoff from bullies.

– “Multiple Personalities.” Franklin uses a shape-changing device to come up with Halloween costume ideas.

– “Dark Reigning Cats and Dogs.” Puppy uses his teleporting powers to fill the Baxter Building full of other dogs.

April Fools

– “Picnic Panic.” During a fun day at the beach, Kristoff summons giant ants to attack Frankin’s picnic. Franklin forms a Fantastic Four of his own with himself, Katie Power, Squid Kid, and Puppy.

– “Nightmare.” Franklin has been having nightmares, so he uses a “nightmare extractor” to deal with it. Except that this brings the nightmare to life.

– “Cloud Craziness.” Franklin uses Puppy’s teleporting power and a weather-controlling device in hopes of having a perfect day at the park. It doesn’t go as planned, of course.

(These are all the one-shots I had access to this week, but I see there are three or four more out there. I’ll assume they’re more of the same.)

Trivia time: As you can guess, all this is considered an alternate universe and not canon to the Marvel Universe. The biggest difference is that Franklin is not a mutant in this timeline, but an ordinary human kid.

These comics were popular among critics as well as readers. Franklin Richards was nominated for the Special Award for Humor at the 2008 Harvey Awards.

Fantastic or frightful? There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this series, it’s all very light and funny, and the art is colorful and lively. It’s just that they feel so repetitive after reading them in one sitting like this. It’s the same plot over and over, with slight variations each time. I suppose you can say that about a lot of our favorite serialized fictions, but it especially stands out with this one. Or maybe I’m being too harsh, because it’s a fun-to-read comic for younger readers, and that’s all it has to be.

Next: Sky booms.

* * * *

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.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Remember Marvel’s Annihilation crossover? No? Well, issue #578 sure does.  

Johnny, in voiceover captions (is that the right term?) describes meeting a woman at a bar called The Other Side of Zero, where a performance artist called the Anti-Priest is on stage making weird speeches. Johnny takes the woman back to the new Baxter Building. He wants to take her to his bedroom (wa-hey!) but she’s more interested in the controls to the Negative Zone portal. He tells her to get away from it, and she punches him out. Her eyes and mouth start bleeding (!) and she gives a big speech about wanting to die, and how everything is reversed in the Negative Zone, so death means life there.

Then the woman’s skin tears open, and a bunch of alien bugs come out of her. I guess this was a “kids standing on each other’s shoulders inside a trench coat” thing. Carrying a metal device, the bugs leap through the portal into the Negative Zone. Johnny deduces that the device was a bomb, and he decides to enter the Negative Zone to stop the bugs. He recruits the newest version of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot to monitor the portal from Earth’s side. (Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.) Johnny doesn’t call his teammates for help, saying “My mess… I’m gonna fix it.”

Johnny emerges on the other side of the portal right into a city under attack. Two aliens state that the attackers are the army of Annihilus, but the city has the power of the Cosmic Control Rod for their defenses. Johnny tries to warn the alien general that the bugs are attacking with a bomb. He’s too late, as the bomb explodes. The general is attacked by more bugs, who are apparently in the employ of Annihilus. Johnny then attacks the bugs with his flame.

Then we get another one of these text pages summarizing what’s going on. The nightclub is a recruitment center for something called the Cult of the Negative Zone. Inside the Negative Zone, Annihilus has been reborn and has gone to war with Blastaar the Living Bomb-Burst. Those were his people in the city. There’s also a bunch of details about this newest version of the Negative Zone portal, and some business about how this fits into the whole Annihilation crossover by stating that the attacking bug army has been reset to “pre-crunch” levels.

Then we cut to the present, where Johnny has been voice-overing from. He’s telling all this to Valeria, who’s also reading the text page on her iPad-like device. Johnny states that Blastaar’s city is in fact the Negative Zone prison from Civil War, now rebuilt into a city. Johnny explains that the bomb kicked off another Annihilation Wave, so he fled back to Earth. Johnny asks why Valeria is interested in this, and she says she must keep learning. He asks her if this incident is something the FF should be worried about, and she responds, “How would I know something like that?”

Then we catch up with continuity from the last few issues. Sue, acting in her capacity as envoy of humanity for the recently discovered Old Atlantis, arranges a meeting between the Old Atlantis king, Ul-Uhar, and the regular Atlantis’ current monarch, Andromeda. Speaking on behalf of Namor, who is with the X-Men at this time, she asks Ul-Uhar how he they can negotiate when he knows nothing of the outside world, not even having seen the sun. He responds by raising Old Atlantis up to the surface, breaking through the icy exterior of Antarctica. At the Baxter Building, Reed scolds Johnny for jumping into the Negative one without calling on his teammates. Johnny apologizes, and Reed tells him “You have to start paying attention to what’s going on.”

Cut to the moon, where the new Universal Inhumans are living in the Blue Area on board their city-ship. The six rulers have summons their top six warriors, naming them the Light Brigade. To prove their worth, the Light Brigade must take on a battle they know they can’t win. All six warriors jump through a portal into the Negative Zone city, where they fight the Annihilus bugs. The caption tells us, “The war of four cities begins.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: The text page says that Reed rebuilt the Negative Zone portal with a faster boot cycle and a decompression buffer. I suppose this explains why Johnny doesn’t pass through the trippy distortion area before arriving at the prison/city.

Fade out: Sue doesn’t say anything during the meeting between Atlantis and Old Atlantis, but the caption emphasizes her importance there as “the herald of man.”

Flame on: Reed’s talking-down of Johnny is even-handed. He says he appreciates that Johnny dives head-first into action, but reminds Johnny that he can’t do so in a way that endangers others.

Fantastic fifth wheel: This new version of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot is bigger and bulkier than previous ones, and he only speaks in electronic bleeps and bloops. He chest opens up with a minibar that Johnny uses to make a cocktail for his date. Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot

Our gal Val: The Marvel Wiki confirms that Valeria is researching these four cities, and spoils a little bit about why.

Trivia time: Turns out the Negative Zone prison from Civil War was abandoned after the Secret Invasion crossover and before the War of Kings crossover, specifically in Guardians of the Galaxy #9-10.

What’s the Annihilation Wave again? While often described as a weapon, it’s Annihilus’ invading army, consisting of a seemingly endless number of insectoid soldiers that can swarm and consume entire planets. Therefore, the bomb in this issue is not the Wave, but just one weapon used by the Wave.

Fantastic or frightful? Writer Jonathan Hickman starts tying together threads that were set up in previous issues. That’s exciting to see, but this issue still comes off like a jumble of disconnected scenes. The fans love Hickman’s writing on FF, but I’m wondering when we get to the really good stuff.

Next: That’s no stuffed tiger.

* * * *

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.