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Fantastic Friday! Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s first big story arc comes to a head in issue #561.

Recap: With an eco-disaster on the horizon, the New Defenders have traveled from the future to with a plan to bring future survivors to the present. They’ve abducted both Johnny and Dr. Doom, attaching them both to a dead Galactus and a “Galactus engine” which will power this plan. Meanwhile, Mrs. Deneuve, the FF’s new nanny, was revealed to be Sue from the future, and the New Defenders’ leader.

This issue begins as Johnny learns all when future Sue rejoins the New Defenders, who are Hulk Junior, Lightwave, Natalie X, Alex Ultron, the mysterious Hooded Man, and Johnny’s bank-robbing ex-girlfriend Psionics. Hulk Junior turns on the engine, causing Johnny and Dr. Doom great pain. Future Sue watches this coldly, saying she’s come too far to turn away now.

At the new Baxter Building, the FF, She-Hulk, and the kids recover from future Sue’s attack last issue. Reed deduces that she’s Sue from the future. Reed doesn’t know how to find her, but he does have his new microscopic tracer he’s developing in case of future FF abductions. He looks at Sue and says, “Once it’s injected, it’s impossible to remove.” Reed gives Sue the tracer, and then the computer locates future Sue in the hideout in upstate New York. She-Hulk stays behind to watch the kids until authorities arrive. As Reed, Sue, and Ben fly off in the Fantasticar, Reed says to Valeria that they’ll talk when he gets back.

At the New Defenders’ hideout, we learn that the engine is drawing energy from Galactus first, then Doom, and finally Johnny, in hopes that Johnny might still survive. Future Sue says the eight billion survivors from the future will be equally distributed around the present Earth’s give major continents. Outside, Sue uses her rarely seen “make invisible things visible” power to reveal the hideout is a huge ship hovering in the air upstate. (I find it unlikely that Psionics’ bank robberies paid for all this. Maybe that was just beer money.) The New Defenders can sense an attack is imminent, but they’re not fast enough, as the FF bust into the place.

Fighting! Ben and Sue clear a path so Reed can get at the New Defenders’ computer. The Hooded Man holds them off with his… adamantium claws! Yes, the Hooded Man is really a future Wolverine! He puts up a good fight until Sue blinds him by turning his optic nerves invisible so Ben can punch him out.

Sue confronts her future self, saying that an additional eight billion people would deplete the world. Future Sue says shutting off the engine will kill them all. Sue says she won’t let the future survivors die. Then she contacts Alyssa Moy, Reed’s ex-girlfriend, who has been working with her husband on Nu World, a recreation of Earth in an alternate universe. She and her husband Ted Castle are on Nu World at the moment, and she sends the signal to let everyone through. Alyssa confronts Ted on his plan to save only the wealthy elite, and she tells him to think of this as payback.

All eight billion survivors beam into Nu World in an instant. Ted freaks out, saying the board didn’t approve of this. Alyssa responds, “What are they going to do, Ted? Evict them?” Back at the hideout, future Sue drops the villain act and is overjoyed that Reed found a solution for the survivors. Ben detaches Johnny and Doom from the engine. They’re both out of it, but they survived. Galactus, this one from the New Defenders’ future, wasn’t so lucky, and is now dead. Reed says that one thing Nu World doesn’t have is super-powered protectors, and he thinks the New Defenders are just right for the job.

Then Dr. Doom wakes. Future Sue tries to apologize, saying there was no other way, and that it was nothing personal. “I only did what I had to,” she says. Doom says, “Likewise,” and he wraps his hands around future Sue’s next. There’s a flash of blue lightning, and future Sue is now just a burned skeleton. (Remember a few issues back when Doom swore revenge?) The others ask what he’s done, and Doom says, “Restored my honor. Nothing more.”

To be continued.

Unstable molecule: Reed’s microscopic tracer is in place so that any member of the FF can be instantly found if they ever mysteriously disappear again. Let’s see how long this stays in continuity.

Fade out: Future Wolverine says he recognizes the smell of Sue’s invisible force fields. This has never been a thing before, but I guess future Wolverine is just that good.

Clobberin’ time: But then, Ben has to point out that Wolverine smelled the force fields, but didn’t smell Ben coming. I wonder if that was an editorial note.

Flame on: Johnny refuses to believe future Sue is his sister. She explains that Reed concocted a way to keep her alive for centuries to save the world from the oncoming eco-disaster.

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk gets stuck on bodyguard (babysitting) duty. She promises to join the fight when she can, but I guess it’s over before she can get there.

Four and a half: Franklin expresses concern over his mom becoming a bad guy in the future. Ben assures him that future Sue is not really evil, but doing what she has to because an entire world is counting on her.

Our gal Val: The unspoken look between Reed and Val before he leaves suggests Reed has figured out Valeria’s secret, that she’s a super-genius.

Sue-per spy: The 2019 Invisible Woman miniseries revealed that Sue was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent all along. Her uncovering the hideout’s ship so efficiently might be her spy training at work, along with use of her powers.

Trivia time: Alyssa and the New Defenders will be around for a while longer, as we deal with the fallout from this story.

The Marvel Wiki tries to reconcile this version of Wolverine with other future Wolverines, from Old Man Logan, Wastelanders: Wolverine, and a weird Spider-Bot interactive comic.

Fantastic or frightful? Mark Millar’s first story arc on the series ends with a bang, while still setting up things to come. For as frustrated as I’ve been with some of Millar’s other work, these past few issues of Fantastic Four have been quite good. It’s a big sci-fi superhero epic, yet one that keeps character from and center. Fun comics, in other words.

Next: Rules of engagement.

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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 and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first three episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch continue on with issue #559. Also, David Letterman is here!

Recap: Dr. Doom has been kidnapped by a new team of supervillains calling themselves the New Defenders, one of whom is Johnny’s new girlfriend, a super-powered bank robber named Psionics. Also, their leader appears to be… the Hulk! Meanwhile, the Richard kids’ new nanny, Mrs. Deneuve, has deduced that little Valeria is actually a genius.

This issue begins in good spirits as Johnny’s new rock band is performing on The Late Show with David Letterman. Ben and his new girlfriend, schoolteacher Debbie Green, head to the Ed Sullivan Theater to check out the show. Johnny is running late for the show, speeding his expensive new car through NYC traffic, when he’s attacked by Lightwave, one of the New Defenders. They fight for a bit.

Elsewhere in New York, Sue is having dinner with Alyssa Moy, Reed’s ex-girlfriend. (Rather rude of Sue to skip Johnny’s Letterman appearance.) There’s a lot of tension between them, and Alyssa admits she’s in trouble. She and her husband, Ted Castle, are building Nu Earth, a recreation of Earth in a parallel universe where humanity will be evacuated in an upcoming natural disaster. However, Alyssa reveals that Ted lied, and that his plan is to save only the wealthy elite and leave the rest of humanity to die. Alyssa says Reed has severed his ties with her, and she doesn’t know who else to call.

Then we catch up Johnny, crawling from the wreckage of his expensive car. Psionics joins the fight, and he assumes this is because of their fight last issue. Psionics says that “Dr. Banner” insisted that Johnny die painlessly (!) but Lightwave, who you’ll remember is Psionics’ father, wants revenge for Johnny breaking his daughter’s heart. They fight inside a fast-food place, then in the sky over the city, and then in a parking garage.

The New Defenders’ sixth member, the mysterious “Hooded Man,” then attacks Johnny, grabbing him and throwing them both into an office building. We see a series of explosions from outside the building, and then the Hooded Man steps out with an unconscious Johnny. “Let’s get this clown back to base,” he says.

At the New Baxter Building, Reed is speaking on the phone (actually a hologram) with Hank Pym. He says he’s letting his subconscious work on the mystery of Doom’s kidnapping, while his main focus is investigating Alyssa and Ted’s prediction of an impending worldwide eco-disaster. He says he wants to assemble a task force. Then Mrs. Deneuve tells him something terrible has happened to Johnny.

At the New Defenders’ secret base, Johnny wakes to find himself and Dr. Doom both hooked up to a strange machine. Doom in uncommunicative, with the New Defenders bragging about how his pride has taken a huge blow. Johnny sees that the Hulk (or someone who appears to be the Hulk) is the group’s leader. This Hulk says his team needs a power source for a machine. Johnny looks down and sees that this machine is hooked up to Galactus’ chest (!). The Hulk says, “I think it’s time we had a little chat, Johnny.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed says the predicted eco-disaster will destroy the Earth in thirty years. He feels that the data is sound, but that it cannot be because of all the geniuses at work on Earth.

Fade out: Sue says her new charity-fundraising super-team Miss America has raised $55 million to help New Yorkers whose homes were destroyed during the World War Hulk event.

Clobberin’ time: Ben has fun showing off with Debbie in front of paparazzi, but Debbie says she doesn’t want her picture taken. This is another hint that she has a big secret.

Flame on: Johnny says he’s running late because he was visiting sick children in the hospital, but everyone knows he was really partying with two supermodels, because they posted photos online. (Not on social media, but on “their websites.”) Johnny does show his humanitarian side during the fight, though, when he helps civilians get to safety.

Our gal Val: Valeria is shown with Reed and Mrs. Deneuve, not saying a word and keeping her secret.

Trivia time: I’m very confused. The publication dates show that Secret Invasion has happened by now, but the Marvel Wiki is insistent that this storyline is before Secret Invasion, and that Hank Pym in this issue is still a Skrull in disguise. Hank’s hologram has a slight green glow, which might be a Skrull Easter egg. I guess I’ll get to Secret Invasion whenever the series gets to it.

David Letterman did a lot of top ten lists about comic book superheroes over the years, but I couldn’t find one specific to Fantastic Four. On the whole, it seems he and his writers favored DC over Marvel, referencing Batman and Superman most often. But, to be fair, Letterman did team up with the Avengers in Avengers #239, part of the infamous Assistant Editors’ Month event. (Conan O’Brien is a known Marvel fan, often praising Dave Cockrum’s art on Uncanny X-Men. When Jay Leno had Kevin Smith as a guest, Leno admitted he didn’t read comics.)

There’s a brown-haired man and blonde woman in Ben’s Fantasticar at the start of the issue, but we later learn that Reed and Sue are elsewhere in NYC at this time. Closer inspection reveals that this man and woman with Ben are Debbie Green’s coworkers, whom we met in issue #554.

Fantastic or frightful? A lot of action, and a lot of moving subplots forward, but not a lot of answers. This issue is big and cinematic, but it has middle-of-the-trade-collection energy.

Next: Hard Rain 2: Rain Harder.

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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 and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first three episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #558 gives us new villains and a surprise continuity-changing twist for one of our main characters.

Recap: After their adventure involving an alternate Earth and would-be utopia called Nu Earth, the FF settled down for a bit back home. But it didn’t last long because a beaten and battle-weary Dr. Doom teleported into the new Baxter Building demanding to speak to Reed. Also, this issue’s cover proclaims, “Starting this issue: the death of the Invisible Woman,” so we’ve got that going on.

Ben has his new girlfriend Debbie Green and potential new nanny Tabitha Deneuve take Franklin and Valeria out of the room. Doom says he’s not there to attack, and he again demands to speak to Reed. Then three superhumans teleport into the room. Because this is a re-read and not a first-time read, I’ll go ahead and spoil it. The big metal guy is Alex Ultron, the glowing guy is Lightwave, and the girl in the green outfit is Natalie X. Ben fights these intruders, with them knocking him around with brute strength and a force field. Then Lightwave blasts Ben outside the building and through several neighboring high-rises. Natalie subdues Dr. Doom by giving him nightmares (!) and then they teleport out of there.

One hour later, Ben fills Reed in on what happened, amid the wreckage of the fight. Sue thanks Mrs. Deneuve for her help, and she offers her the job nanny on the spot. An Avengers Quinjet flies right into the room from outside (!), with She-Hulk and the Wasp, offering help. Debbie Green leaves, shaken by her experience, but promising to stay in touch with Ben. Outside, she has a clandestine meeting with a strange man, who asks her how long she was going to spend with “that freak.”

Later, Reed visits super-prison the Raft, where he reviews some security footage showing these three new villains breaking Doom out of his cell. (Doom was locked up following a lengthy story arc in Mighty Avengers.) A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent says Doom then broke free from the villains and escaped in hopes of contacting Reed. The villains call themselves the New Defenders. S.H.I.E.L.D. has Reed meet with former agent turned rogue Mentallo, who saw all this in a psychic vision. He mentions a “hooded man” and says an old friend is a leader of this group.

Then we catch up with Johnny and his new rock band in rehearsal. He says he doesn’t care about Doom’s kidnapping, considering how big of a problem Doom has been for the FF over the years. Johnny’s new girlfriend, the super-criminal known as Psionics, shows him a newspaper article about a string of armed robberies, and he figures out she’s the culprit. In private, Johnny tells her he can’t keep turning a blind eye to her life of crime. She chides him on never asking why she needs all the cash she’s stolen, and then she flies off in anger.

While Sue works late, Mrs. Deneuve sits with Valeria, who is sleeping. She says the baby monitor has been switched off, and they can now talk freely. Valeria opens her eyes and says, “How did you know?” Yes, Fantastic Four fans, this is the first appearance of lil’ genius Valeria!

Mrs. Deneuve says she can tell Valeria’s intelligence made a quantum leap forward about three months earlier, and she’ll soon be just as intelligent as her father. Deneuve encourages Valeria to tell her parents, and that they will be supportive. Valeria disagrees, saying Sue will feel alienated and it will drive an emotional wedge between Reed and Franklin. Deneuve asks Valeria, “You know who I am, don’t you?” and she asks Valeria to trust her.

Then we cut to the New Defenders’ secret headquarters, which is drawn as a lake. Are they underwater? Can’t worry about that, because Psionics is there, as one of the team! And… Lightwave is her father! She says she’s okay with Johnny dumping her, because if he couldn’t handle her being a bank robber, then he really wouldn’t have handled where the money is going. She assures the rest of the New Defenders that their mission hasn’t been compromised. We see that Dr. Doom is still with them, and he’s still comatose. Also, a hooded man is seen among them, as one of the team.

Turn the page, and we see the New Defenders’ leader emerge from the shadows. It appears to be… the Hulk?!? He says, “Everything’s going to plan.”

To be continued!   

Unstable molecule: Reed throws his weight around among the S.H.I.E.L.D. guys, as they let him look on their security cam footage.

Fade out: Sue is shown continuing her work on Miss America, her new all-female charity-raising super-team. She talks about how they’re relocating New Yorkers who lost their homes during the Hulk’s attack in World War Hulk.

Clobberin’ time: Not only has no one heard of the New Defenders, but they’ve never heard of Ben, guessing that his codename is either “Rock-Man” or “Brick-Man.”

Flame on: Johnny’s band is supposed to be rehearsing, but we only see them sitting around a recording studio doing nothing, with their instruments leaned against a wall.

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk shows up at the Baxter Building not to stop Dr. Doom’s kidnapping, but because she and the Wasp are there for a Miss America meeting. I find it funny that they fly the Quinjet in through the hole in the wall, and not land on the roof like usual.

Four and a half: During the fight, Franklin takes Mrs. Deneuve to the Baxter Building’s panic room. He says that Reed makes the kids do “supervillain drills” every Sunday morning. Is that upsetting? That seems like it could be upsetting.

Our gal Val: Valeria has been with us for a while now as a baby and then as a toddler (not to mention as Marvel Girl during Chris Claremont’s run), but this is her first real appearance. Valeria the child genius is going to go to create all kinds of complications throughout the Marvel Universe, and it all starts here. A lot of fans don’t like her, but I think what they’ve done with Valeria is pretty cool. In the 2000s, Marvel had a tough time creating new characters who manage to stick around. Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, and Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel are the big three, but I personally would add genius Valeria to that list.

Trivia time: Who’s this Mentallo guy? First appearing way back in Strange Tales in 1966, he’s a mutant and low-level telepath and precog. Originally a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he went rogue and worked for Hydra for a while. Since then, he’s bounced around among various supervillain teams and menaced multiple Marvel heroes. His continuity is so all over the place, that I’m unclear as to what landed him in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody in this issue.

Fantastic or frightful? The Valeria reveal is exciting, as is tying together the subplots that have been brewing for a while. Also, artist Bryan Hitch does his signature “widescreen comics” style to the fight scenes, making them big and propulsive. Despite all the mean things I’ve said about writer Mark Millar, I’m enjoying his take on Fantastic Four so far.

Next: Stay up late.

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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 and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first three episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #557 answers the question, how do you fight a giant robot? With another giant robot!

Recap: Reed was contacted by his old girlfriend Alyssa Moy and her new husband, mega-millionaire Ted Castle, about their new project. It’s Nu Earth, an exact replica of Earth on the other side of a portal. Alyssa says an unpreventable environmental crisis is on the way, and humanity must be evacuated to Nu Earth. They also have plans for Nu Earth to be a utopia without armies or weapons. To manage this, they have a robot enforcer named Cap, who is programmed to end soldiers and war. Then Cap escaped its lab and waged war on all the Earth’s armies. Three of the FF and a whole bunch of Avengers could not stop him, but then Reed returned from a deep space mission with a promise to save the day.

This issue begins with Sue rescuing Ben from the icy waters where he was trapped, and then Alyssa and all the heroes trying to come up with a plan. We see the Pentagon and the White House being evacuated as the world fears Cap will track down and destroy any powerful military installations. We’re told Cap’s path of destruction has already leveled military bases all over Asia and India. Cut to Central Park in NYC, where we see Reed’s plan – he’s built a giant mech!

Reed calls this his Anti-Galactus suit, and he argues that if Cap is hunting the biggest weapons on Earth, then he’ll come straight for this one. Cap appears at that moment, ready to fight Reed. All the other heroes come through a portal, ready for a fight, but Reed orders them to back off. Reed knows the Cap wants to destroy the Anti-Galactus, but he also deduces that Cap is programmed not to harm Reed. He’s right, as Cap stops saying “Command: Do not hurt.” Reed says he’s under no such restraints. He fights back, with a punch that sends energy waves across all of New York.

Cap collapses, Reed shuts down the power to the Anti-Galactus, and everyone celebrates. Sue asks how Reed knew Cap was programmed not to harm him. Reed looks over at Alyssa and says, “An educated guess.”

At the White House, the president and his staff are dealing with the fallout of Cap destroying military bases all over the world. The president says that the “top-secret plan” is over, but his advisor tells him that foreign nations are willing to “keep a lid on the entire situation.” She then says that Nu-World is “our last hope” and that this incident cannot hold them back.

In New York, Reed and Alyssa are assisting with cleaning up the wreckage. She says she still wants him to work with her and Ted on creating Nu-Earth. He says he doesn’t like all the secrecy, and he’d rather work on saving Earth from the oncoming eco-disaster. Alyssa then gets personal, saying, “We married the wrong people.” She says Ted has the intellect but no passion, and she criticizes Sue for always complaining about Reed spending too much time in the lab. Reed says he loves Sue, and that’s not something Alyssa can work out with a calendar. Reed kisses Alyssa on the cheek, adding that’s a kiss goodbye.

Turn the page, and Reed and Sue are at a fancy restaurant for their anniversary. Sue says she could tell right away that Alyssa had an ulterior motive. Reed assures her she has nothing to worry about. He then gives her a gift, an “eternity ring” that he made himself. The ring’s jewel contains a micro-galaxy with seventy-four worlds inhabited with forty trillion life forms. She says it’s beautiful. Her gift to him a Bob Dylan CD (!).

Then one more surprise. This restaurant is located years in the past, with Reed and Sue having time-traveled there. They watch out the window to see young Reed and young Sue bump into each other on the sidewalk, which Reed says is the first time they laid eyes on each other as adults.

Elsewhere, Johnny returns to his new apartment to find his new girlfriend Psionics in his bed. She’s nude and covered with dollar bills (Wah-hey!). She’s just robbed a bank, but Johnny kisses her rather than call the cops.

At the new Baxter Building, Ben and his new girlfriend, Debbie Green, meet with a woman named Tabitha Deneuve, who is there to interview to be kids’ new nanny. Then alarms go off, and Ben believes the building is under attack. A door tears open, and a battle-damaged Dr. Doom is on the other side. He says, “Find Reed Richards! Now!”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: This is the first I can recall of Reed’s Bob Dylan fandom. Any Dylan experts out there who want to tell me which song might be Reed’s favorite?

Fade out: Sue’s micro-galaxy ring is certainly foreshadowing, right? It’s setting up some future story where it’ll be used in a far-out sci-fi way, right? Nope, this issue is the only time it’s ever been seen.

Clobberin’ time: Ben asks a good question in why Cap doesn’t come with any sort of emergency off button. This goes unanswered.

Flame on: Issue #554 stated that Johnny’s new apartment was in New York’s famous Flatiron Building. But in this issue, the building exterior is definitely not that. There are some cardboard boxes in the background during that scene, so maybe he’s already moved again.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Black Panther, Storm, and Luke Cage are shown among the heroes fighting Cap.

Four and a half/our gal Val: This Ms. Deneuve lady missed her job interview because the FF were busy with the crisis. But she did meet Franklin and Valeria, who, we’re told, enjoyed her company. Unlike Sue’s galaxy ring, Ms. Deneuve is setting up a future storyline.

Trivia time: This is the only appearance of the Anti-Galactus mech. This issue references to how expensive and power-consuming it is, so that’s probably why.

Again we see that Reed has this huge staff working for him. This time they’re all flying around on hoverboards to put the final touches on the Anti-Galactus. Reed’s second-in-command is a woman named Rosie. The Marvel Wiki insists that this is the same Rosie who hosted the celebrity date auction in vol. 3 issue #50. We’ll never learn what that’s about, because this is her last appearance.

Fantastic or frightful? Despite wrecking half the Earth and defeating three Avengers teams at once, the menace of Cap ends up being anticlimactic. In the end, it wasn’t about Cap running amok, but about the Alyssa-Reed-Sue love triangle, which is handled nicely in this issue.

Next: Pretty little liar.

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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 and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first three episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Except this is the holiday weekend, and Storm is an official FF member now, so here’s Storm:

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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 and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first three episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.