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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. We go from a funeral to a jail to… a wedding proposal? No, this isn’t a ‘90s Hugh Grant romcom, it’s issue #562.

Most of this issue is dealing with fallout from the previous storyline, so here’s the recap: Reed’s ex-girlfriend Alyssa Moy and her new husband Ted Castle constructed Nu World, a recreation of Earth in another dimension. Meanwhile, the New Defenders arrived from a disaster-ridden future with a plan to relocate millions of future refugees to the present. After much fighting and conflict, it was decided to relocate the refugees to Nu World. Also, little Valeria Richards was revealed to be a super-genius just like her dad.

We begin with Sue saying, “Thanks for coming to my funeral, everyone.” This is actually the funeral for future Susan Richards, who was leader of the New Defenders. A whole bunch of Marvel heroes have turned out for the event, including the Watcher. The New Defenders are also there, now allied with the FF. Sue gives her own eulogy, praising her future self for fighting to save the future.

Johnny reconciles with his Psionics of the New Defenders. They were dating before the big fight began. He says he understands why she did what she did. She invites him to visit her on Nu World, and he says that after his new band is done touring, he’ll definitely be there. The New Defenders thank the FF again for Nu World, and Reed says Alyssa is the one they should thank. Alyssa says giving Nu World to the refugees hasn’t made her popular, but she’s glad she did it.

Later, at the new Baxter Building, Reed and Valeria have a chat. We’re skipping over how and when he learned she’s a super-genius. Instead, he tells her about how he’s attending a hearing about Dr. Doom to plead against execution, despite everything Doom has done. Valeria shows Reed a new trailer she’s invented for the Fantasticar, which, like a T.A.R.D.I.S., has a bigger-on-the-inside two-story living space within it. She then admits that Franklin has been acting differently know that her secret is out. Reed says the family dynamic is in flux, and to give Franklin time.

Later, Reed visits the Hague, where Army goons let him in where Dr. Doom is being kept in a high-tech cell. Remember that Doom murdered future Sue as revenge for the New Defenders abducting him. Doom makes a remark about sending flowers to the funeral, and then asks if Reed is there to gloat. Reed says he will defend anyone’s life, even Doom’s. Doom says Reed is weak because Doom will always make the final blow. Then there’s some confusion over why he was arrested, not necessarily for the death of future Sue, but general crimes against humanity.

Doom further adds that he has powerful friends who are working on getting him released. He says this includes his “master,” whom he describes as “the first super-villain” who taught him everything he knows. Doom says his master is getting closer and closer, with big plans for the future of humanity. He concludes with a threat, “I wonder if that wife of yours can die twice, eh?”

Later, Ben and his new girlfriend Debbie Green are enjoying a romantic flight over NYC in a Fantasticar. They pass by Avengerse Tower (rebuilt after World War Hulk, apparently), they see a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and even Spider-Man swings by. She talks about how outrageous his life is compared to hers. She adds that she hasn’t seen her ex-boyfriend Jason in six months (we readers know that isn’t true, as he’s been following her).

He jokes about whether she’s a Skrull or some other villain in disguise, and she assures him she’s just an ordinary girl from Brooklyn. He says he’s glad for that, because it’s been a long time since he’d met someone like her. He then hands her a ring and asks, “What’s it gonna be?”

Then we cut to “New York City, one dimension away,” which looks just like our New York. The captions repeat Doom’s dialogue from earlier about his master while blue electricity crackles around the city. Two figures appear in the shadows. One asks if they should start with people or insects this time. Turn the page for an extreme close-up of gross mouth with nasty teeth, answering, “People.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed tells Valeria that he plans to defend Doom in court against execution, because every life is precious. But he tells Doom that, in place of execution, he will argue to keep Doom in prison for “a long, long time.”

Fade out: After the funeral, Sue has a moment with Alex Ultron of the New Defenders. He tells her that although they haven’t technically met, she was the biggest influence on his life. She responds, “That means a lot.”

Clobberin’ time: Ben has had quite a few girlfriends since he and Alicia amicably separated (more than 300 issues ago, remember), so why does Debbie get the engagement ring? This issue suggests it’s because of her normalcy, and how she’s not wrapped up in any superhero business.

Flame on: The funeral concludes in dramatic fashion as Johnny flies up and creates the “4” symbol in the sky with his flame.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Alternate fifth members of the team seen at funeral are She-Hulk, Luke Cage, Storm, and Black Panther.

There was a meme going around Fantastic Four fandom this week with a so-called definitive list of the FF’s alternate fifth members. It’s a good list, including a lot of the ones that people forget, like Tigra and Kristoff. But it also includes Iceman as an official team member, based on his appearances in issues #28 and #36. I went back and re-read those issues, and it looks to me like Iceman is only there in the context of being part of the X-Men. He doesn’t show up Fantastic Four again until Reed and Sue’s engagement party and wedding, and not after that until the Fall of the Mutants crossover. As for any fifth members I would add to the meme list, the only one I can think of is Bounty, the intergalactic bounty hunter who ran with the team vol. 3 issues #14-23.

Four and a half: While Reed and Valeria discuss Franklin’s reaction to her genius, the comic shows a very sad Franklin playing with a Fantasticar toy and looking over his Christmas list for Santa. The list includes “Super-powers like the rest of my family.”

Our gal Val: Valeria’s newly built Fantasticar trailer being like a T.A.R.D.I.S. is no coincidence. She says she got the idea by watching Doctor Who. She specifies it was on the Sci-Fi Channel, which only showed the ninth and tenth Doctors.

Trivia time: Can we sort out the chronology of Dr. Doom during this time? He was arrested for crimes against humanity in Mighty Avengers #11. He was locked up in the Raft, which is where the New Defenders abducted him, minus a side visit to the Baxter Building, in Fantastic Four #558. Now he’s locked up again, this time at the Hague. Is that it? I think that’s it.  

Wolverine is at the funeral, and he and the Hooded Man give each other menacing stares. Remember that the Hooded Man is Wolverine from the future.

The big guy at the funeral with the big skull on his chest is not the Punisher. That’s Ares, the god of war, who had recently joined the Avengers. Also, Spider-Woman at the funeral is not really Spider-Woman but a Skrull in disguise, so the series still hasn’t caught up to Secret Invasion.

Fantastic or frightful? A classic “in between” episode that follows up on the previous storyline and setting up the next. It’s maybe a little incredulous that this funeral gets all this attention, unless the world at large is aware of Nu World and saving all the refugees. But there are a lot of nice character moments, and the characters are what makes Marvel stand out.

Next: Smile time.

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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.

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.