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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan was a four-issue miniseries attempting to bring some classic kaiju action to the Marvel Universe. Zeb Wells is writing, but clearly artist Seth Fisher is the one behind the steering wheel, because this artwork is something.

The FF visit Tokyo, enjoying their celebrity status at the ribbon cutting for the Tokyo Giant Monster Museum and Expo Center. Also present is Otetsukun, a skyscraper-sized robot that has protected Japan from giant monster attacks for decades. But there haven’t been any monster attacks in a generation, so Otetsukun serves as a sort of monument these days. The FF tour the museum, where curator Dr. Yamane tells them about scientific advances Japan has made thanks to studying the remains of the giant monsters. Just as Reed questions the ethics of this, billionaire Tony Stark arrives, hoping for an economic partnership with the museum.

Then some cow-like monsters escape their pens (I guess this museum is also a zoo for monsters) and more monsters escape and run loose. The FF fight the monsters, while Tony runs off to find his “bodyguard.” Monsters of all shapes and sizes run through the city. Iron Man flies in to help the FF fight them. Johnny says he can sense a mysterious hum, and then more kaiju rise from the ocean to attack the city. (This is when the comic uses the word “kaiju” for the first time.)

Issue #2 specifies that four of the monsters from ocean, Eerok, Giganto, Droom, and Grogg, are throwbacks from classic 1950s Marvel Comics. Sue fights Eerok, a Kong-like gorilla, while Iron Man battles Droom, a big dinosaur. Droom has a vision of Iron Man turning into an Ultraman or Jet Jaguar type of giant robot, and he befriends Iron Man.

Reed and Yamane return to the museum, where Yamane describes monoliths discovered under the polar ice caps which suggest there may be an intelligence behind the kaiju’s actions. Out in the city, Sue continues to fight Eerok while telling the locals to evacuate. Ben shows up with Otetsukun, controlling the robot by yanking wires inside its chest. Eerok and Giganto manage to overpower Otetsukun. Then Johnny reveals he is hiding inside Otetsukun’s mouth, making it look like the robot is breathing fire.

After removing a trachea from one of the monster museum exhibits, Reed uses it as a horn. This somehow allows him to communicate with Grogg, the dragon. Grogg says the kaiju once ruled the world, but they were driven underground first by the atom bomb, and then by the rise of superheroes. He refers to the heroes as “vanquishers.” Grogg says the kaiju have returned not to attack, but because they are fleeing something else. Reed convinces Grogg to turn away. Grogg agrees, saying that humankind will now face a “walking apocalypse” in the kaiju’s place.

In issue #3, The FF, Iron Man, and Yamane travel to the North Pole, searching for this threat the kaiju warned them about. They discover the remains of a paleontological expedition that vanished forty years earlier. They find what appears to be a giant structure under the ice. They enter it, and here’s where the artwork gets so wild and off-the-wall that I’m not sure what’s happening exactly.

The heroes explore rooms made of massive eyes, fingers, and teeth. They are confronted by “living shadows” called Kaa, who say they are waiting for a key. Reed says reality is warping, while the Kaa break the fourth wall and talk about turning pages. The Kaa are preparing something called “the tearing.” Dr. Yamane disrobes, revealing his body covered with eyeball tattoos (or maybe they are eyeballs). He says the paleontologists were secretly a cult who worshipped kaiju as gods. He is the son of one of them, and he’s here to complete the ritual. He does some weird dance, and time and space tear apart. This is depicted by having one of the shadows appear to tear through the comic page itself. The caption tells us this is a “5-D Mega-Gourb!” Sure, why not?

Then there’s several pages of what I can only describe as random craziness:

The heroes escape the tear, back out onto the North Pole. They’re pursued by a yellow-skinned cosmic being. The Marvel Wiki identifies this creature as the Apocalypse Beast. The creature crushes Yamane under its foot, with him celebrating that he’s fulfilled his purpose. The heroes fly onto the Beast’s toe and examine its pores (that’s how big it is), and Reed deduces that it has sealed its skin because it comes from a different atmosphere from Earth’s. (Never mind that it has two faces with open mouths.) The inside of the Beast’s body is toxic, so Sue uses her force fields to create an armored suit of compressed air around herself (!), and she and Iron Man enter the creature’s pore in hopes of stopping it from the inside. Then the Mole Man shows up, announcing that the creature is on its way to Monster Island.

In issue #4, we see that the Apocalypse Beast is indeed going to Monster Island, with Reed reminding everyone that the Mole Man has a history with that island and all the giant creatures who dwell there. A Moloid meets them there, with Mole Man describing them as nameless and mindless, but then we discover that they’ve formed a doomsday cult underground. Sue and Iron Man fight their way through the Beast’s body, Fantastic Voyage-style, depicted in more trippy weirdness. Sue has a vision of the Beast in space, and she concludes that something was removed from it, and the creature wants it back. Reed and the Mole Man find ancient machinery deep under the island that has been dormant until recently, when the Moloids activated it again.

Reed then deduces that Monster Island is not merely a giant machine in disguise, but a giant syringe (!). Johnny ignites the dormant volcano under the machine, Reed mans the machine’s controls, and Ben protects them from an attack by some other random monster down there. The volcano/syringe pokes the Apocalypse Beast in the eye, and all the Moloids fly upward into it. The creature turns inside out (!) and flies back into space. The Mole Man breaks down crying, remembering that at least one Moloid had a name… Noah.

Reed concludes that the Moloids were a virus all along, bio-engineered for the purpose of driving off the Apocalypse Beast. Reed and Sue are reunited, as she and Iron Man made it out okay. Cut to the year 12,425 A.D., where two Moloids discuss how their once-great civilization is doomed, and their world’s resources are all but spent. They place their infant child into a pod and launch the baby into space, in hopes that it will find a new home on a new world. No, the baby isn’t named Kal or Clark. His name is Noah.

Unstable molecule: Upon learning that all the Moloids were really a virus all along, Reed says, “It’s just as I thought,” to which Ben replies, “You’re telling me you expected that?”

Fade out: We’ve seen Sue surround herself with a force field armor before, but this time it’s different. It looks like an Iron Man suit, and the “condensed air” part of it gives the armor a blue glow, rather than have it be purely invisible.

Clobberin’ time: When Ben is able to control the giant robot Otetsukun, that could be a reference to his great piloting skills, or just letting the reader know he’s gained some engineering skills after working with Reed in the lab for so many years.

Flame on: Johnny is incredibly powerful in this one, using his flame to ignite a long-dormant volcano. It recalls the “Messiah” storyline from the John Byrne years, when a villain trapped Johnny deep underground to use his powers in a similar way.

Trivia time: Is this story canon, or isn’t it? The origin of the Moloids in this contradicts the one in the Marvel Wiki, where the Moloids were genetically engineered by the Deviants back in ancient times. But then, the Wiki adds an “Oh, by the way” and states the Deviants added the power to drive off this story’s creature as a bonus. But then, the Wiki further says maybe it was the Deviants or maybe it some other, unknown intelligence.

Who are these other monsters with ties to Marvel’s past? Grogg first appeared in Strange Tales #83, where he woke from an ancient slumber beneath a mountain in Russia, following Russian atomic bomb tests. Droom first appeared in Tales to Astonish #9, where he was an ordinary lizard accidentally given an experimental growth serum. Fantastic Four fans recognize Giganto as Sub-Mariner’s monster of choice way back in issue #4. He’s since gone on to be one Marvel’s go-to sea beasts. Finally, there’s Eerok the giant ape. This miniseries is his first and only appearance.

It’s also the first and only appearance for antiquated giant robot Otetsukun. That’s too bad, because it’s a fun design and interesting backstory.

Fantastic or frightful? If you’re going to read this one, it’s for the over-the-top psychedelic yet cartoony artwork. It’s like nothing else we’ve seen from Marvel. The art is so outrageous, though, it makes following the story a challenge. Every other page, you have to stop and ask “Wait, now what’s happening?”

Next: Back on main.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my new ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a city full of far-out technology and hidden dark magic. The first three chapters are FREE, so give it a shot! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. It’s the second half of the Fantastic Four: Foes miniseries from Robert Kirkman and Cliff Rathburn. We’ve got mind games, aliens, and Negative Zone action, but does it all tie together?

The first half of Foes introduced several plotlines that appear only sort of connected at this point. Fearing that the FF has made too many enemies to the point where they’ll be dead in two years, Reed begins plans on his own super-prison located inside the Negative Zone. He enlists help from Andrew Lewis, whose security firm works in the lower floors of the Baxter Building, and who worked on the Vault, Marvel’s original super-prison. After battles with Puppet Master and two clones of Annihilus, the FF are under attack by the Super-Skrull. He snuck into the Baxter Building disguised as Franklin to steal some of Reed’s tech to contact the Skrull homeworld.

Issue #4 begins with Sue defeating the Super-Skrull, demanding to know where Franklin is. Johnny says the school called during the fight, saying Franklin is still there. Sue casually goes to pick him up. Later, Reed meets with Nick Fury (actually a life-model decoy of Fury) where S.H.I.E.L.D. is keeping the recent villains in suspended animation. LMD Fury says S.H.I.E.L.D. is ready to start construction on the new jail.

Reed then comes up with a device based on all the villain DNA the Puppet Master and the Mad Thinker took in issue #1, which will allow the FF to track the villains’ movements. The team uses it to track down the Mole Man deep underground. They try to apprehend him while he’s sleeping, only for one of his subterranean monsters to defend him. After a big fight, the Mole Man surrenders when the cavern collapses. Reed has another chat with LMD Fury, admitting that he’s thinking more rational and less paranoid. We then join Andrew at home, where he’s been working overtime on the prison. And we’re reminded that he thinks his wife is normal, when she’s really a gross insect-like creature. What appears to be his actual wife’s corpse is sitting in one corner, creepily.

Issue #5 begins with Andrew taking a tour of the new prison, along with a tough guy known only as the “Warden.” Several of the FF’s enemies are already inside, and there’s several pages of the FF tracking down and apprehending their enemies, including Hydro-Man, the Grey Gargoyle, the Wizard, Klaw, the Trapster a.k.a. Paste-Pot Pete, and even the Molecule Man. We check in with Andrew, where his alien insect wife dons a necklace that makes her look human. She’s looking forward to her Andrew giving her a tour of the prison.

The villains learn what the FF is up to. When the FF move in to apprehend the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, the Red Ghost has a trap set for them. It’s a big fight, but the FF wins and knocks out the Ghost and the apes. Back in Reed’s lab, he finds a strange transmitter hidden behind a wall. He shuts it off and can then think more clearly. When he goes to inspect the device, it dissolves in front of him.

Andrew takes his wife on a tour of the prison, despite the Warden’s objections. She reveals her true face, much to Andrew’s objections. She then whips out a gun and shoots up the place. She takes over the control room and sets all the villains free. Then the Mad Thinker shows up, saying he and the wife were working together the whole time, and all is going according to plan.

In issue #6, Reed tracks the strange device through the Baxter Building to Andrew’s office. In the prison, Maureen tells the Mad Thinker that when she returns to her homeworld, he’ll be rewarded as a hero. The escaping villains confront the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents at the sealed-up exit, when the FF teleport onto the scene alongside She-Hulk and Hercules. Sue creates a big wall with her force fields, and Ben and Hercules push it like a battering ram at the villains, which knocks out most of them. Others surrender, but a few make it to the FF’s teleporter and escape. Sue finds Andrew still alive, and he activates neural scramblers on the remaining prisoners, knocking them all out. Reed learns that Andrew’s wife was an alien, and he says he needs to get back to the lab.

Later, at another location in the Negative Zone, the Mad Thinker is hanging out romantically with Maureen, whose real name is Threska. The FF teleport onto the scene, and the Mad Thinker drops tons of exposition. He says he was getting sick of the superheroes vs. villains game. Then he encountered Threska, a powerful Negative Zone sorceress stranded on Earth searching for a way home. Taking the other villains’ DNA and the device to increase Reed’s paranoia were all in pursuit of his escaping to the Negative Zone with Threska. The FF take Mad Thinker back to Earth, with him saying he underestimated Reed, and that he has a renewed interest in destroying the Fantastic Four. Back aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, LMD Fury tells Reed that they told Andrew everything, and that he’s traumatized by it all. Reed wants to talk to Andrew, but Fury says not to, because Andrew blames Reed for the whole thing.

Unstable molecule: When Ben and Reed take a break from apprehending all the villains, Ben complains about being bruised, and Reed says with his stretching powers, he’s not able to be bruised.

Fade out: In addition to her battering ram move, Sue also uses a force field to close off the exit to the prison, keeping most everyone inside. (Klaw is the one who gets out.)

Clobberin’ time: When fighting the Mole Man’s monster, Ben boasts about being able to take on the Hulk. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition does state that the Hulk is stronger, but who could actually win remains an ongoing debate.

Flame on: Johnny appears to burn the Red Ghost right in the face, but the Ghost appears unharmed in the next panel. I suppose Johnny just has that much control over his flame.

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk and Crystal both make appearances in reference to them serving as babysitters for the kids. Crystal says she has a date, but we don’t see with who. Similarly, She-Hulk has some blonde guy in her bed, and it’s not clear who that is.

Four and a half: Franklin gets a subplot about being stuck at school after his parents don’t come pick him up. He tells a teacher to try calling the moon, but the teacher suggests the Baxter Building again.

Our gal Val: Valeria is only in one panel in these issues, showing Crystal babysitting her.

Trivia time: Neither Andrew nor Threska ever appear again after this series. Threska killed the guy’s wife to get back to the Negative Zone, and she just gets away with it?

Fantastic or frightful? I don’t know. You can enjoy this on a pure heroes vs. villains slugfest, but I feel this series could have been so much more. It’s supposed to be a big villain team-up, but most of the villains are background cannon fodder, like they’re nameless henchmen. That’s disappointing considering how so many of them were legit threats in the past. Reed’s paranoia is also not emphasized as much as it could have been. I would have liked to see a real battle of wits between him and Mad Thinker, but this series is packed with so much other stuff that we don’t really get it.

Next: On main.

• * * * *

Want more? Check out my new ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a city full of far-out technology and hidden dark magic. The first three chapters are FREE, so give it a shot! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Fantastic Four: Foes was a six-issue miniseries from comics whiz kid Robert Kirkman, who’d later go on to create The Walking Dead and Invincible, and artist Cliff Rathburn. It promises a big super-villain team-up, but does it deliver?

We begin with Andrew Lewis, who works in an office in one of the lower floors of the new Baxter Building. He tells folks that the “science fiction” only happens in the top floors, and that he’s working an ordinary job. In his office, he seems sad, as if the “ordinary job is not so fulfilling. There’s a scene of Sue and Ben getting the kids ready for school, after which we cut to the Puppet Master. He’s assembled a group of villains in a secret location, and he gives a passionate speech about them all teaming up to destroy the Fantastic Four once and for all.

This is a famously continuity-breaking scene, with tons of villains present. Some of them hadn’t been seen in a long time, some of them are cosmic beings and/or aliens, and some already have confusing continuities of their own. If you’re a fan and you’re tracking a specific character’s history, you must include that one time they met with Puppet Master. I know you want the list, so here it is:  

• The Mad Thinker
• Dragon Man
• The Trapster, a.k.a. Paste-Pot Pete
• The Wizard
• Salamandra
• Hydro-Man
• A Doombot
• The Mole Man
• One of the Mole Man’s Moloids
• Tyros a.k.a. Terrax
• Klaw
• Pharoah Rama Tut
• Mahkizmo
• A Skrull
• A Kree warrior
• The Overmind
• Staak
• Devos the Devastator
• The Iconoclast
• Dreadface
• Psycho-Man
• Exalt
• Stem
• Ba’ar

There are three others that the Marvel Wiki doesn’t name. One is man with a cybernetic eye of some kind, who I think might be Zorba. Another is a big gorilla, which I’m assuming is Miklho, one of Red Ghost’s Super-Apes. The third is a man with long black hair, a red cape, and a single red horn on the side of his head. Your guess is as good as mine. And there’s least 17 others seen only as silhouettes in the background.

All this Marvel continuity is for naught, because the villains all get up and walk out on Puppet Master, with the exception of the Mad Thinker. Turns out Puppet Master and Mad Thinker are in cahoots. The Thinker collected DNA from each of the villains, and he’s invented a device to allow Puppet Master to mind-control any one of them.

Then it’s back to Andrew, who works for a security firm. An electronic sound goes off in his office. As if hypnotized, he gets up and opens a hidden panel in the wall full of wires. He adjusts them, and then goes back to his work, not knowing what he just did.

At Alicia’s apartment, Puppet Master shows up. He boasts that he now has ultimate power, and that he wants Alicia to be at his side when he finally destroys the FF. Ben arrives, as he was already on his way for a lunch date with Alicia. Puppet Master uses his new mind control device and summons Dragon Man to fight Ben. Ben calls his teammates for backup. By the time they arrive, Ben has already knocked out Dragon Man and apprehended Puppet Master.

Reed finds Puppet Master’s two suitcases, which contain the other villains’ DNA, stored in big vials for some reason. Reed breaks down, saying he’s been mathematically calculating his and his teammates’ futures, and this revelation confirms what he’s feared. If events continue as they have been, he says, the Fantastic Four will be dead in two years.

Issue #2 begins with the Mad Thinker returning to his hideout, where the FF are already waiting for him. The Puppet Master sold him out. He surrenders, saying his calculations show he can’t win a fight against the FF on his own. Reed puts him, Puppet Master, and Dragon Man in suspended animation. Reed then elaborates on the whole death thing, saying the FF have made so many enemies over the years that the odds are now stacked against them.

After some worrying about sending Franking and Valeria off with babysitters for a few days, Reed says the villain DNA could be the key to changing the FF’s fate.  Reed says he can use the DNA to track the villains’ movements. Rather than confront the villains on the defense with innocent lives at stakes, Reed says the FF can now confront the villains on the FF’s own terms.

Reed further states that if this works, they will need a place to apprehend and imprison the villains, so they never endanger the FF again. With super-prisons the Vault, the Raft, and the Big House no longer in operation, Reed says he’ll have to build an even strong, more high-tech prison. Reed then shows up at Andrew’s office, asking for his security company’s help in building the new prison. Reed says he has the perfect location for it – the Negative Zone. Then we learn Andrew is the one who originally designed the Vault, and he’s up for the chance to get out from behind his desk and do some real satisfying work again.

The FF venture into the Negative Zone, where they find a planetoid containing only plant life, which Reed says will be perfect for the new prison. Then Annihilus attacks, having been alerted to the FF’s presence. They fight, with Annihilus ranting about how his kingdom is in shambles and his Cosmic Control Rod is missing. Reed uses a stun device to knock out Annihilus, only for a second Annihilus to show up.

Back in New York, Andrew returns to his apartment, telling his wife all about the new job offer from Reed and how excited he is. Then we get our first good look at his wife, seeing that she’s an alien insect creature.

 Issue #3 starts by continuing that scene, where Andrew acts as if nothing is unusual about his alien insect wife. Then it’s back to the Negative Zone, where the two Annihiluses (Annihili?) fight each other. They accuse each other of being an imposter, and of stealing the Cosmic Control Rod. The FF just leave them there to fight (!) and Reed says the prison will have to be cloaked.

After some more “daily life” stuff with the FF at home, we catch up with Lon Zelig, the special effects whiz who briefly worked with Johnny back when Johnny was pursuing a Hollywood acting career. You might also remember that Zelig was the Super-Skrull in disguise the whole time. He’s meeting with an unscrupulous S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who is sneaking him some communication equipment so Zelig can contact the Skrull homeworld. Zelig says the tech is ineffective, and he needs something better.  

Later, Sue picks Franklin up from school, and he’s acting quiet and distracted. At the Baxter Building, Franklin heads straight to Reed’s lab and starts messing with things. Reed matter-of-factly states, “Franklin knows not to touch anything in here,” and this Franklin is revealed to be the Super-Skrull in disguise.

It’s another big fight. Sue is enraged, threatening to suffocate the Skrull with a force field. She demands, “Where is my son?!!” Then we cut to Franklin, sitting on a sidewalk curb in the rain, still waiting for his mom to pick him up.

With that cliffhanger, such as it is, we’ll leave the concluding three issues for next week.

Unstable molecule: There’s one page where Reed meets with Nick Fury about his plans for the Negative Zone prison, and Fury is still mistrustful of Reed following the Latveria incident.

Fade out: There’s a bit of business where Sue has a NYPD cop watch over her parking space while the Fantasticar is invisibly parked there.

Clobberin’ time: There’s a scene where Ben gets Lenny from Damage Control to oversee repairs to Alicia’s apartment, free of charge.

Flame on: Johnny’s subplot has him dating two women, Miranda and McKenzie, and he can’t remember which is which. We later meet Miranda, when she dumps him after he misses too many of their dates because of superhero business. Miranda has no entry in the Marvel Wiki, so I’m guessing she never comes back.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Now that She-Hulk has a full-time job at a law firm again, she says she’s adding babysitting to her high-priced legal fees. Reed says he doesn’t know if she’s kidding.

Crystal is mentioned as babysitting the kids on the moon, but she can only do so for a few days before a sacred Inhuman ritual. The specifics of this ritual are never revealed.

Four and a half: Running late for school, Franklin gets a ride there in the Fantasticar rather than take the bus, which he prefers. Can you blame him?

Our gal Val: Sue takes little Valeria shopping with her, when she gets the call about Dragon Man’s attack. Valeria is then with She-Hulk when she drops the kids off.

Trivia time: The Civil War crossover is the big cloud looming in the horizon over all the comics of this era (era). The idea of Reed building a super-prison in the Negative Zone will be brought back in Civil War in a big way.

What are these other super-prisons? The Vault, located in Colorado, was destroyed in a massive break-out in Heroes for Hire #1. The Raft, located in the ocean just outside Manhattan, was destroyed in a similar massive break-out in New Avengers #1. The Big House, Hank Pym’s jail located inside the Microverse, had a massive break-out in She-Hulk #21, and was shut down and under investigation at the time of this issue.

You might recall that Hellscout beheaded Annihilus during the confusing Gideon Trust storyline, after which the Trust obtained the Cosmic Control Rod. The Marvel Wiki states that two Annihiluses in this issue are insectoid larvae grown out of fragments of the rod. Their story is never concluded, and instead the original Annihilus will return in the (what else?) Annihilation crossover.

And, yes, the Nick Fury in this issue is yet another life model decoy. The original Fury went underground after the 2005 Secret Wars, and won’t return for real until much, much later.

Fantastic or frightful? The story is all over the place, whipping us around from one fight and subplot to the next. I did some reading ahead, and I can see how Kirkman will tie everything together, but it might be a bumpy road getting there.

Next: More foes, more problems.

• * * * *

Want more? Check out my new ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a city full of far-out technology and hidden dark magic. The first three chapters are FREE, so give it a shot! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Anime and manga boomed (peaked?) during the early 2000s, and Marvel hopped on the trend with Marvel Mangaverse: Fantastic Four. Hope you like giant mechs.

What’s all this, then? Marvel Mangaverse was an interconnected series of one-shots assembled by a group of top-notch talent, including Ben Dunn, who wrote and drew the beginning and ending chapters, as well as Peter David, Lea Hernandez, Jeff Matsuda, Kaare Andrews, Chuck Austin, and C.B. Cebulski. The Fantastic Four issue comes to us from writer Adam Warren with art by Keron Grant and Rob Stull.

The somewhat loose main narrative of Marvel Mangaverse is teen genius Bruce Banner living and working on the high-tech Stark Island. Stark International is run by Toni Stark, a.k.a. Iron Girl, younger sister of Tony Stark. After the scheming and eventual attack by Hydra, Baron Mordo, and Atlantis, Bruce is drugged, and a kaiju-sized Hulk rises from the ocean and marches toward NYC. Along the way, the Iron Avengers use their mech suits to battle Apocalypse, and we meet a teen ninja Spider-Man, magic-themed X-Men, and a female dominatrix Punisher (!). And then there’s Fantastic Four.

The FF’s issue begins with a one-year-ago flashback, set on a research facility on moon, where an unseen speaker speaks to a group about an upcoming grand experiment in “descriptor theory.” A man in the audience criticizes this, saying this is tampering with the structure of the universe.

In the Baxter Building, a hunky, ponytailed Reed Richards has a huge command center full of staff monitoring the stars. They report a gigantic interdimensional mech identified as Annihilus on the way toward Earth. We see Reed’s three teammates being alerted as they don their “metatalent alignment suits.” Redheaded Jonatha Storm’s suit has fire powers, allowing her to extend to a skyscraper-sized fire exoskeleton. She battles Annihilus only to get knocked out as Annihilus reaches the city.

Next up is Sioux Storm, Jonatha’s half-sister, whose suit exoskeleton is a giant invisible force field. She takes on Annihilus in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat, wrecking the surrounding skyscrapers. Because her suit pumps her full of “wardrugs” and “aggressor hormones,” Sioux succumbs to exhaustion. Reed says, “Benjamin, it’s your turn.”

Turn the page, and we see Benjamin (not Ben) Grimm has a kaiju-sized rocky exoskeleton composed of “miscellaneous urban materials.” The others describe Benjamin as an introvert and a neurotic geek, who only acts tough when in his mech. Benjamin fights Annihilus, complete with a classic “It’s clobberin’ time!” It appears Annihilus is defeated, only for it to heal itself. It fights back, slicing off one of Benjamin’s mech’s arms off.

Then there’s another one-year-earlier flashback. The descriptor theory experiment has failed, the moon has been reduced to rubble floating in space, and everyone is dead except our four main characters. He says the four of them show no sign of manifesting metatalents, unless he’s able to think of something.

Inside the Baxter Building, Agatha Harkness, one of Reed’s agents, deduces that Annihilus is after something inside the building’s negative zone vault. In his lab, Reed concentrates. We see that Reed’s metatalent is to stretch his brain matter on a cellular level, giving him greater thinking power. It works, and he figures out that Annihilus travels from dimension to dimension. Every time his cosmic control rod is destroyed, he simply hops into an alternate universe to get another one. He contacts his teammates and says he has a plan.

Reed has everyone in the command center bring the mech suits to full power. Jonatha gets her fire back and attacks Annihilus with full force, while Benjamin grabs Annihilus’ cosmic control rod and breaches its outer shell. Annihilus is destroyed in a massive explosion. Reed says that without the rod, Annihilus couldn’t warp an intact body from another universe, stopping him permanently.

Jonatha, Sioux, and Benjamin crawl from wreckage, beaten and battered but still alive. Then we finally catch up with the main Hulk storyline as Reed sends his agents out to recover Annihilus’ tech in the hopes of gathering information to come in handy the next time a giant monster attacks. The panel also shows the moon with a big line across it, suggesting Reed stitched it back together somehow.

Skipping ahead to the final issue of Marvel Mangaverse, the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Stark Industries team fight the Hulk, while the X-Men and our own Fantastic Four take on Hydra and the Atlanteans. We see that Bruce Banner did not transform into the Hulk, but the gamma radiation in him merely makes him a conduit for the Hulk. Doctor Strange, who is part of the Stark group, channels everyone else’s power into Bruce, and he transforms not into a Hulk, but into Thor. With one throw of Thor’s hammer, the Hulk is defeated. Bruce and Toni Stark then declare their love for each other and ascend to Valhalla in a heavenly light. Reed asks where they’ve gone, and Strange answers, “Out there, Richards. Out there.”

Unstable molecule: This version of Reed is not just younger, but a lot sexier, and addition flashbacks show him in bed with different women.

Fade out: There are even more flashbacks as interview snippets of the other FF members. Sioux is described as having borderline personality disorder, not very talkative, and having several invisible friends as a child.

Clobberin’ time: A running joke has Benjamin insisting his name is pronounced “Ben-ya-meen.” Nothing comes of this, though.

Flame on: In the interview clips, the others say Jonatha is impulsive and lacks self-control. She is nonetheless a valued member of the team.

Fantastic fifth wheel: A younger, cooler Agatha Harkness is pretty much a member of the team, serving as Reed’s right-hand man. The characters often speak to an Alicia, who answers from off panel but is never seen.

Trivia time: Marvel Mangaverse eventually got a second volume, which introduced a new version of Captain Marvel, and featured appearances by this version of the FF. Other spinoffs included Spider-Man: Legend of the Spider-Clan, Marvel Mangaverse: X-Men, Marvel Mangaverse: Ronin, and Marvel Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate. Fans have both praised and criticized the later Mangaverse series for borrowing heavily from the popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion.  

Fantastic or frightful? With so many characters and so much exposition, Marvel Mangaverse is nearly impossible to read, let alone summarize. The whole thing is carried by the artwork, which is sleek and sexy, and has eye-popping redesigns of our favorite Marvel heroes. The follow-up Captain Marvel and Spider-Clan minis were much better, with the plot and character arcs given more breathing room.

Next: Oops, all villains.

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Want more? Check out my new ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a city full of far-out technology and hidden dark magic. The first three chapters are FREE, so give it a shot! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. I’m sure most comics fans are familiar with Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross’ modern classic Marvels, but did you know Marvels had a bunch of follow-up comics? Marvels Snapshots: Fantastic Four is one of those.

What’s all this, then? For those not in the know, Marvels retold four key moments in Marvel history through the point of view of an everyman, Phil Sheldon. Issue #2 is of interest to Fantastic Four fans, as it deals with the original Galactus trilogy. Marvels was a huge hit, and some lesser-known sequels and spinoffs followed. The idea behind Marvels Snapshots was Marvel as seen through the eyes of other non-powered characters. Other subjects included Spider-Man, Captain America, X-Men, Captain Marvel, and of course a Civil War tie-in. This one-shot comes to us from the team of Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Benjamin Dewey, Jordan Bellaire, and Joe Caramanga. Busiek is credited as “curator” for this series, and Alex Ross painted all the covers.

We begin with a news reports telling us that this is Johnny’s ten-year high school reunion. Then we check in with Johnny’s former high school girlfriend, Dorrie Evans. She’s still living in the suburbs with her two kids. She’s attending the reunion alongside two reporters, hoping to spread the word that there’s more to Glenville than its fame as the birthplace of Sue and Johnny Storm. This is tough, because the town has become a FF-related tourist destination. The reporters and Dorrie tour a Fantastic Four museum full of recreations of their past adventures. Special attention is paid to Johnny’s solo adventures in Glenville.

Next, Dorrie and the reporters visit former supervillain Asbestos Man, who admits his motivation was mostly jealously and fear about the new wave of superheroes at the time. Asbestos Man is old and appears to be very sick. He has a young sidekick who seems much enamored with the old man’s life of crime.

Then Dorrie gets her interview segment. She talks about how Johnny was a “hothead” even before he got his powers. Once he did, she says it was like dating a “combination rock star, police officer, and astronaut.” She admits she grew anxious after a while, and started having nightmares about Johnny accidentally burning her. She admits and she and Johnny never officially broke us, so much as they just drifted apart over time.

Later that night, Johnny shows up at the reunion during a huge fireworks display. He’s surrounded by admirers while Dorrie and the reporters watch from a distance. Inside the reunion, Johnny is too busy partying for an interview, but the other attendees all give their thoughts on Johnny’s days in Glenville and life in town overall. A man named Bob confronts Johnny, saying he’s an Afghanistan war vet, and he asks why the Fantastic Four aren’t curing cancer or stopping terrorism. Johnny says the FF are private citizens, not gods, and they can’t do everything.

After the reunion, the lead reporter, Marcia, thinks something is up with the townsfolks’ behavior, and she wants to follow Dorrie home in secret. Something is definitely up, as Dorrie and several locals all meet at the beach, wearing sunglasses at night (heh). Johnny then reappears with the Inhumans’ teleporting dog Lockjaw. He’s brought marshmallows, and it’s an old-fashioned beach bonfire party. This is the real reunion, among old friends. Even Asbestos Man shows up, having reconciled with Johnny.

Johnny and Dorrie have a chat, with them agreeing he must play the part of a jerk to keep the town’s “secret identity.” The secret being that he still has deep friendships with many people in town. He signs Dorrie’s yearbook, something he never did back in high school. The reporters leave without documenting any of this, letting everyone have their privacy. Then the “4” signal appears in the sky, and Johnny and Lockjaw must leave.

Later, Dorrie is back at home, where her kids are watching the Fantastic Four on the news. We then see Johnny’s yearbook scrawl, which reads, “Dorrie! Thanks for being there through it all. So glad you are still in my life. Your friend 4-ever. Johnny. P.S. Flame on!”

Flame on: Who the heck is Asbestos Man? Back in the original Strange Tales issues, Orson Kasloff was a brilliant scientist who developed a special asbestos able to withstand the Human Torch’s flame, but the Torch defeated him anyway. While it’s suggested in this issue, the Fear Itself crossover will later reveal that he is indeed dying of asbestos poisoning.

Trivia time: This issue opens with a news report that offers a quick rundown of a lot of what’s happening in Marvel at this time. Public opinion continues to turn against the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. after Avengers Disassembled. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are Matt Murdock’s bodyguards, saving him from an attack by Typhoid Mary in Daredevil #48. And tabloid celebrity mutants X-Statix welcome new member El Guapo, in X-Statix #11.

Additionally, every page in this comic has multiple references to classic Fantastic Four and Strange Tales comics, for maximum nostalgia. I could take the time to list them all here, but geez, I’m only human.

Fantastic or frightful? While the relationship to this and Marvels is the thinnest of thin threads, this is a fun slice-of-life comic, with a ton of nostalgic references for old-school Marvel fans. It’s also definitely the most character development Dorrie Evans has ever had, making her feel like a fully-fledged part of the Marvel Universe for once.

Next: Man and manga.

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Want more? Check out my new ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a city full of far-out technology and hidden dark magic. The first three chapters are FREE, so give it a shot! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.