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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. It’s the final two issues for writer Jonathan Hickman. What’s his final word on our heroes?

Gimmie a gimmick: This issue and the following FF issue both have “Final issue” in big bold letters at the top. But this was Marvel’s usual shenanigans, as it had already been announced that a new team was taking over both series with new #1 issues.

Issue #611 begins with Dr. Doom on the other side of the Bridge, Reed’s portal to other universes, where he’s assembled his own version of the Council of Reeds, the Parliament of Doom. And he now has two Infinity Gauntlets from the Dr. Dooms of the other universes. Doom uses the bridge to find an empty reality and creates his own new universe, a world ruled by equal parts science and magic. He even gives his universe life, populating it with strange creatures.

On Earth, the adult versions of Franklin and Valeria are still hanging around. Future Valeria warns Reed that Doom is still alive. They are joined by Nathaniel Richards, who has a working version of the Bridge. They follow it through the old council chamber and then into Doom’s new reality, now called Doomworld. There, we learn that Doom has been overthrown, and there are six new rulers who have divided Doom’s Infinity Gems among themselves. It’s a short negotiation, but five of the six let Doom leave with Reed and the others. The sixth puts up a fight, sending a giant monster after our heroes. The monster almost comes through the Bridge, but he’s stopped by the rest of the Parliament of Doom. The force the beast back through the Bridge, after which Valeria blows it up.

Dr. Doom says he was a god in Doomworld, and adds, “I found it beneath me.” Valeria gives Doom a kiss on the cheek (!), and tells him, “Say thank you.” Instead, Doom only says, “Consider us even, Richards.” Back on Earth, Reed lets Doom return to his castle. Nathaniel and Valeria tell Reed they are not coming home. Instead, Nathaniel wants to continue exploring the multiverse for other Reeds who have been orphaned. Valeria will go with him to help. It’s a tearful goodbye, with the two of them promising to return someday. On the other side of the bridge, Nathaniel calls out Valeria on her B.S., asking what she really wants. We see she’s building a gigantic device of some kind, saying, “Here, I can build.”

FF #23 backs the timeline up a bit, so we see future Franklin and future Valeria discussing her plan to leave with Nathaniel. It’s another tearful goodbye, with her promising to see him again. All alone, future Franklin says, “So this is it.”  Future Franklin meets with present-day Franklin and Leech, laying down some ground rules for young Franklin creating and exploring pocket universes. (There’s an amusing bit with young Franklin hiding a pet universe in his closet.) But then, inside one of these pocket universes, future Franklin tells his young self to chuck out all the rules and do whatever he wants. This is followed by several pages of the three of them letting their imaginations run wild, living any adventure they can dream of.

Franklin doesn’t want to show this universe to his sister, but future Franklin tells him not to worry about Valeria being so much smarter than him, because his creativity will someday match her intellect. “Creating is harder than knowing,” he says.

Later, Valeria is trying to teach complex mathematics to the other Future Foundation kids. She’s frustrated in their lack of interest, and she’s momentarily distracted as future Franklin pokes his head in to wave goodbye. He then shares a drink with Ben and Johnny, as his way of saying goodbye to them as well. He then says goodbye to Reed and Sue, saying there will be repercussions if he stays longer. Reed and Sue ask if they were good parents to him. He says they were perfect, and then he disappears. The last page is young Franklin leaping through the pocket dimension door in his closet for another adventure.

Unstable molecule: While Dr. Doom doesn’t exactly thank Reed as Valeria asked, Reed’s response to Doom is simply “Good enough,” and “Let’s go home.”

Fade out: Sue has a big speech about the doubts of parenting, saying it’s a constant struggle between uncertainty and hope.

Clobberin’ time/Flame on: Adult Franklin tells Ben and Johnny about the Fantastic Four’s last stand in the future. He says Ben got his clothes burned off, so he charged into battle wearing the Impossible Man’s pants. Johnny is, of course, amused.

Fantastic fifth wheel: This would appear to be the end for Nathaniel Richards, except that his final scene with Valeria promises more storylines with them in the future.

One of Franklin’s imaginings in his pocket universe is a “Herb-pocalypse,” featuring gigantic H.E.R.B.I.E.s. Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.

Four and a half: We get a glimpse of some of Franklin’s ideas he’s written down for his pocket universe. They include “rocket car,” “cloud tunnels,” “olive planet,” “jumping ray,” Moloid jazz,” and “chocolate ice cream mountain toys.”

Our gal Val: Reed questions why the adult Valeria would say Doom is alive while present-day child Valeria insists he died. Future Valeria says her young self is not to be trusted.

Foundational: Each of the Future Foundation kids has their own way of being bored with Valeria’s lesson. Artie is the only one who tries to solve the problem, but he gets it wrong.

Fantastic or frightful? I’ve been awfully critical of Jonathan Hickman as I’ve read all this stuff over the past few months. I see his huge ambition in crafting this expansive narrative with lost civilizations and cosmic grandeur, but I felt his reach exceeded his grasp. But I’m the outlier here, because Hickman’s Fantastic Four was a financial and critical success. These two issues conclude with an essay from Hickman, and I must admit I agree with his thoughts in these, and I appreciate how he gets to the heart of the matter. So, I’ll let Hickman have the final word:  

Next: Four minutes in heaven.

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Want more? Check out my novel MOM, I’M BULLETPROOF. It’s a comedic/romantic/dramatic superhero epic! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XPXBK14.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. After everything that’s happened, it’s time for a vacation. I hear Wakanda is lovely this time of year.

Issue #607 begins with the Fantastic Four and the kids from the Future Foundation arriving in Wakanda to meet with Black Panther and Storm, still a married couple at this point. But then we learn that Wakanda’s famous Vibranium supply has been rendered inert by Dr. Doom, and that Black Panther recently stepped down from the throne. (This happened in Black Panther vol. 5 #8.) Despite no longer being in rule, Black Panther and Storm are still people of prominence, being addressed as “Your Majesty” and rolling out a royal welcome. T’Challa’s sister Shuri is now on the throne. Then there’s a flashback to ancient Egypt, where Anubis conquers the king Amun-Ra. Anubis tries to acquire Amun-Ra’s heart, but the king had already given his heart (literally!) the cat goddess Bast.

Back in the present, Reed says the Foundation kids have a lot of ideas for restoring Wakanda’s power and wealth. Black Panther is hesitant, saying Wakanda is a country that looks forward, not past. There’s another flashback where Bast uses the blood of Amun-Ra to anoint a warrior, making him the first Black Panther and more or less founding Wakanda. Later, during a fancy banquet, the skeleton warriors seen in the flashback attack, and the Panther says this is the real reason he asked the FF to come. Later, Reed and Black Panther visit an underground cavern deep beneath Wakanda, where they find a gigantic Anubis statue. Panther says this is where their journey begins.

FF #19 follows the Future Foundation kids in Wakanda, where a young Wakandan named Onome leads them through the jungle riding elephants and rhinos. She takes them to Wakandan reservoir, which promotes peace by providing water to four neighboring nations at once. The kids go swimming and it’s all fun until Alex Power spots a body nearby. It’s a warrior from the Hyena Clan, scavengers and thieves who know no nation. The kids accidentally set off a homing device, so the rest of the Hyenas teleport to the area. Their leader, Aardwolf, has a plan to steal all the water from the reservoir.

The kids fight the Hyenas while tinkering with the teleporter. Onome uses it to send the Hyenas straight to the palace where Dora Milaje arrests them. Onome says she wants Valeria to ask Reed if she can join the Future Foundation, and Valeria says she was already going to ask. She adds, “You’re going to love New York.”

In Fantastic Four #608, Reed and Black Panther open a door in the underground chamber, which Panther says is “forbidden to the living” and “This is where Black Panthers are laid to rest.” They arrive at the city of the dead, and they enter a temple where Bast is waiting for them. Bast says the two of them will be judged, and that this will create an inseparable bond between Reed and T’Challa. T’Challa starts to ask Bast how to defeat Anubis, but Anubis goads him into admitting what he really wants – to be king again. Bast says a great catastrophe is coming for Wakanda, and that T’Challa could be its salvation. He agrees to let Shuri remain on the throne so he can complete this greater work. He will be king of the Necropolis, with all the powers of past Black Panthers running through him.

Meanwhile, Sue, Storm, and Shuri are preparing a pilgrimage to the Wakandan gods so they may confront Anubis. This is done through some sort of meditation which transports them into another world or plane of existence or something. At least that’s what it seems. They fight a bunch of monsters before reaching Anubis. Anubis seems undefeatable until Bast appears and defeats him, after having made the deal with T’Challa in the previous issue. As the FF leave Wakanda, Bast gives them a warning, that dark days are ahead, and Reed and T’Challa must face them together.

Unstable molecule: When Bast asks Reed why he deserves to stand in the sacred space of the past Black Panthers, Reed answers, “Loyalty.”

Fade out: We’re told that the confrontation with Abubis was meant to be only for Storm and Shuri, but Sue insisted on joining them. It would have been nice to see this scene rather than hear about it afterward. But I get it, you only have so many pages.

Fantastic Fifth Wheel: Yes, Storm and Black Panther are still a couple at this time, with her continuing to bounce back and forth between Wakanda and the X-Men. T’Challa describes his friendship with Reed as being like brothers.

Four and a half: Once again, we raise the question of whether Franklin is considered a member of the Future Foundation. He has the uniform, but in this issue he refers to it as “their” school, and says his homework is different from theirs.

Our gal Val: In the Fantastic Four issue, Valeria says she wants to ride an elephant, and then the following FF issue opens with her riding one. Continuity! She also helps rewire the Hyenas’ teleporter.

Foundational: Welcome to the team, Onome! A lot of fans confuse her for Idie Okonkwo of the Jean Grey School, but they’re two different characters. The Marvel Wiki states that Onome’s big skill is using advanced mathematics to predict possible futures.

Dragon Man is often seen grouped together with all the kids like he’s one of the students, but in this issue he’s in a teacher role, instructing the other kids about the jungle. Alex Power is quite the powerhouse in this one, using his anti-grav powers to fly up to the top of a mountain, and then to take out the Hyena warriors. Bentley-23 shows he’s not all talk by fighting and defeating Aardwolf on his own.

Trivia time: While the Hyena clan was previously established as enemies of Wakanda, this is the only appearance of their leader Aardwolf. I’m assuming he got kicked out after being defeated by a bunch of kids.

Fantastic or frightful? Writer Jonathan Hickman again goes big with space gods and warring factions, but he does it in just a few issues instead of spending years building up to it. It’s curious that this big moment in Black Panther continuity is happening in Fantastic Four instead of his own comic, but it’s always nice to keep Black Panther and Wakanda connected to the FF.

Next: Ready, shoot, A.I.M.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my novel MOM, I’M BULLETPROOF. It’s a comedic/romantic/dramatic superhero epic! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XPXBK14.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Writer Jonathan Hickman’s years-long mega-epic finally comes to a close in Fantastic Four #604. Was the journey worth it?

Gimmie a gimmick: The cover sports an Avengers vs. X-Men logo in the corner, even though the Fantastic Four were not major players in that crossover. (At least not to my recollection.)

All this business of the past several issues has finally come to a head, with the Council of Reeds, four lost civilizations, and more all leading to Earth under attack by gigantic Mad Celestial, with adult versions of Franklin and Valeria arriving from the future in hopes of saving the day. In a single flash of light, the two of them disappear the Mad Celestials, and that’s that.

Nathaniel Richards celebrates with future Franklin and Valeria, saying that this was their plan all along, and that it actually worked. Turns out the Celestials were only teleported into a gas giant, and they’ll be back. Future Franklin asks our Franklin to hand over the pocket universe he has created in secret over the last few issues. The Celestials return. Future Franklin tries to fight them, but he’s not powerful enough. During the fight, Nathaniel says this was meant to be the day Reed died. It all began when he opened the Bridge, his portal to other worlds, and met the interdimensional Council of Reeds. That moment, Nathaniel says, always led to Reed’s death at this moment, and it’s what Franklin is fighting to prevent.

Future Franklin sends the pocket universe to the corpse of Galactus (which has been another ongoing concern during all this). Franklin says “To me… my Galactus!” and Galactus returns from the dead. Galactus and future Franklin team up to fight the Celestials, while Nathaniel speechifies some more about how the Council of Reeds eschewed love and family in favor of power. Our Reed chose his family first, which led to future Franklin fighting to save him.

Future Franklin flies into a Celestial’s chest, creating an explosion so huge it’s seen all over the Earth and through space. The Celestials are defeated, and Galactus reveals future Franklin survived. There’s a speech about how hope exists, while Reed and his grown son embrace. This is followed by a black page with just “The Fantastic Four” in big letters. There’s a one-page epilogue of Reed and current-day Franklin on the edge of a building, with Franklin leaping off and flying for the first time.

FF #16 picks up the pieces. Franklin connects with his future self, with them being buddies. Valeria, however, dislikes her future self, and there’s mistrust between them. Ben and the others remember that the new Baxter Building and huge chunks of New York were trashed in the big battle, so they head home to make things right. In space, Galactus and future Franklin muse about the end of the universe. Galactus says he always thought it would end with him alone, and Franklin says, “But now, you know better.” The end of the universe will be the birth of a new universe, Franklin says, but only if Galactus does not devour the Earth.

Back in NYC, the FF and the Avengers repair the damage, sending the debris into the Negative Zone, where scavenger aliens will use it to rebuild. Reed uses the teleporter to restore the Baxter Building. Not only that, but it’s been redesigned so the Future Foundation kids now have their own personalized quarters. The kids’ uniforms get a redesign, with them each assigned a number. Then Reed has an even bigger surprise for them. He takes the kids into space, showing them their very own orbital space station, simply called the Foundation. It’s here that the kids can study all things space-y, and Johnny’s Negative Zone battleship is parked there as well. But Johnny decides to move back into the Baxter Building, joking that he and Spider-Man can be roommates now.

Throughout all this, there’s been a running gag about Valeria being grounded. But now it’s no joke as her parents confront her about her secret dealings with Dr. Doom. Sue says she understands why Valeria did it, but she cannot abide Valeria being deceitful. Valeria promises, “I won’t keep any more secrets. Ever.” Cut to the other side of the Bridge, where Dr. Doom survives. There’s a flashback to Valeria saying she’s leaving a gift behind for him, and that it’s their secret. (Uh-oh.) Doom rises from the wreckage and helps himself to all the tech left behind by the evil Council of Reeds, including an Infinity Gauntlet from another universe. A bunch of Doombots also emerge from the wreckage, chanting Doom’s name. He says, “Here, I can rebuild.”

To be continued?

Unstable molecule: While the Fantastic Four are on the sidelines during the final Franklin/Galactus/Celestials fight, it’s Reed hugging his future son that’s the emotional climax to this entire story.

Fade out: When the Future Foundation kids first visit their new orbiting satellite, an unseen force lifts them up through the air and into space. Is it understood that Sue is doing this with her force fields, or is this some unseen tech?

Clobberin’ time: Ben also makes a reference to moving back to the Baxter Building, saying his bed was destroyed in the New York battle. Was his living situation something we’ve meant to follow during all this?

Flame on: These issues make it a point that Johnny is keeping his space battleship for future use. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Spider-Man is given less and less to do with so many characters around. She-Hulk and Power Man are seen among the Avengers during the NYC cleanup scenes.

Four and a half: Lots of unanswered questions about future Franklin. Time travel in Marvel Comics normally dictates that he’s not from the only future, but one of many possible futures. Okay, sure. But then there’s the matter of the baby universe present-day Franklin created, and how this of all things brought Galactus back from the dead. I suppose when things reach a cosmic level, they’re not for us to understand.

Our gal Val: Val promises no more secrets, only for the series to suggest immediately that there are still plenty of secrets. And we all know that whatever this thing is between her and Dr. Doom will still be a concern through the 2015 Secret Wars and maybe beyond.

Foundational: Each Future Foundation kid is now an assigned number, something that’ll be a thing moving forward. Bentley-23 is somehow not 23, but 13. He likes it, though, because it’s the ol’ unlucky 13. Valeria ponders her having a crush on him someday.

The kids’ new rooms in the Baxter Building are built to their specifications, so Atlanteans Vii and Wu have a big pool to swim around in, and subterranean Moloids have a rocky, cave-like room.

Trivia time: Galactus not devouring the Earth and witnessing the end of the universe flies in the face of John Byrne’s 1984 classic “The Last Galactus Story” that ran in Marvel’s Epic Illustrated in 1984. Or does it? The story has Galactus and Nova (the FF”s own Frankie Raye!) finding an abandoned Earth in the distant future, and then a cluster of planets hidden away from him. The story was unfinished, and Byrne alleges it would have concluded with Galactus being part of the end of the universe, and the birth of a new one – just like these issues suggest.

Fantastic or frightful? So, this whole story is about Reed refusing to join the Council of Reeds due to his love of his family, and because of that his own son appears from the future to save him when things become dire. That sounds like a pretty cool story. But then why is this also about four lost civilizations and Dr. Doom’s struggle to retake Latveria, and Reed starting a school for kid geniuses, and Johnny dying and coming back while also being replaced by Spider-Man and a couple dozen other things. These final issues (are they final?) get to the heart of what this has been all about, but it’s been such a long and unwieldy tale so full of other stuff. I applaud writer Jonathan Hickman for his ambition, but the run of issues leading up to this has just been TOO MUCH.

Next: Fathers and sons.

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Want more? Check out my novel MOM, I’M BULLETPROOF. It’s a comedic/romantic/dramatic superhero epic! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XPXBK14.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. We’re in the middle of some of the most ambitious – and most bewildering – run of issues the series has ever done. Buckle up.

In what has got to be one of the most convoluted storylines in comics history (including that one where Superboy Prime punched all of reality itself), New York is under attack by four ancient civilizations and four evil versions of Reed from other universes. The Inhumans, the Kree, and the Avengers are also involved. Oh, and Johnny died a while back, Spider-Man took his place, and we just learned Johnny is still alive. Oh, AND the series is now two series, Fantastic Four and FF, with the story running across both titles. We’ve reached the “don’t even try to follow all this” point in the story, and instead we’re just going along for the ride.

FF #12 follows the kids from the Future Foundation after they teleported several floors of the Baxter Building away from the NYC battle. Unfortunately, they’ve ended up on a mountaintop in Latveria. They’re rounded up by Doombots and taken to the castle. There, Nathaniel Richards and an evil Reed have subdued Dr. Doom before Kristoff, who is currently ruling the country. Valeria and Nathaniel have a conversation about time travel, and he says he’s the one who sent Franklin from the future to give her message that “all hopes lie in Doom.”

With Kristoff and Nathaniel’s help, the Future Foundation kids return to their section of the Baxter Building up on the mountains. Valeria sneaks away to steal a small device from Reed’s lab, and then the kids get to work rebuilding the Bridge, Reed’s teleporter to other dimensions. The evil Reed says it’s time for him to go home.

Fantastic Four #601 takes us back to the battle in New York, where the Kree use a feedback device to break through the force field Sue put around the city. Spider-Man and Johnny are reunited at the Negative Zone portal. After seeing NYC under attack, Johnny takes off and creates the “4” symbol in the sky, letting everyone know he’s back. Ben defeats the robots on street level, rescuing Alicia and the other civilians, and the original Fantastic Four are reunited.

There’s a bunch of business where the Kree floating city merges with the floating city of Attilan. Ronan the Accuser tries standing up to the Kree Supreme Intelligence, but the S.I. says his plan will go forward. The FF and the Avengers try to come up with a plan to save New York. Johnny says that now that he has Annihilus’ Cosmic Control Rod, he has his own army – the Annihilation Wave. He opens the Negative Zone portal thanks to those obelisks the cultists put around the city (remember what I said about not trying to follow all this) and the FF lead the Annihilation Wave into space to take on the Kree Armada. Black Bolt sides with the FF and also fights the Kree. It looks like they’ve won, but debris from the battle is about to fall down onto NYC.

Then it’s back to Latveria in FF #13. The whole group enters the Bridge, only to find the Mad Celestials on the other side. The Mad Celestials are the ones who defeated the interdimensional Council of Reeds. (Again, don’t try to follow all this.) There’s a flashback to Valeria and Nathaniel talking about time travel and whether they can prevent future catastrophes.

The Doombots fight the Mad Celestials, and Valeria reveals the device she stole from Reed’s lab is (of course) the Ultimate Nullifier. Franklin catches the attention of the Celestials, who describe him as “beyond omega classification.” They try to destroy him, but Franklin’s reality-altering powers kick in, turning their weapons into flowers (!). The Celestials show Franklin an empty void, telling him it’s his future. The Celestials permanently open the Bridge, preventing Valeria from using the Nullifier. The evil Reed has a redemption moment, saying he will stay behind to buy the kids more time to close the Bridge. Doom also stays behind, saying “What gods dare stand against me?”

In Fantastic Four #602, the battle is suddenly not going well, despite the ending of the previous issue, with the surviving Kree laying waste to the Annihilation Wave. While Reed tries to devise a way to stop the debris from hitting New York, the Kree breach Johnny’s battleship and attack. The heroes fight them off, and Reed recovers. The Supreme Intelligence orders the Kree to redirect their attacks on Attlian. Reed then activates his new device, opening a singularity.

Galatcus comes through the singularity, and tells Reed he will take care of the Kree. (Remember that Reed contacted Galactus before the battle. Also remember that’s really no point in trying to follow all this.) The Kree try to fight Galactus, but then Galactus says his vision of death is now fulfilled, and “mad gods” are here. Turn the page and the Mad Celestials are there, facing off against Galactus.

Then it’s back to the Bridge in FF #14, where at this point the Mad Celestials are still on the other side of the Bridge. There’s a lot of technobabble as the kids undo the Celestials’ devices to get the Bridge closed on their side. The devices transform into a robot to fight the kids. In the ongoing flashback scenes, Nathaniel teaches Valeria about constants in the timestream that cannot be stopped, and they work to find more time. They reach the conclusion by repeating the “all hope lies in Doom” line. Nathaniel says Dr. Doom must be convinced to sacrifice himself.

There’s another flashback, this time to the Council of Reeds, where one Reed tells another that the Ultimate Nullifier can be used successfully, but only if the user has enough focus. In the present, the evil Reed falters, pondering how the Council could have changed everything for the better. In his moment of weakness, the Nullifier destroys him. All alone, Dr. Doom stands up to the Celestials, saying he will not be moved. The Celestials blast him, and then they travel through the Bridge to Earth, back atop the mountain in Latveria. It looks as if all is lost, but Valeria says, “We bought enough time.”

In FF #15, there’s more technobabble as the kids debate what to do about Mad Celestials on Earth. The Bridge is shut down too late, with Dr. Doom on the other side. Kristoff wants to go back for him, but Nathaniel says Latveria needs Kristoff now. Stranded on a mountaintop, Alex Power says help is on the way. It arrives in the form of living spaceship Friday and Alex’s siblings in Power Pack! They’re back in their original outfits, moon boots and all.

Friday flies everyone to the Hub, former headquarters of the four evil Reeds. Franklin has a conversation with the image of his future self, saying he had to use some of what future him gave him. There’s a fight with the advanced Moloids who still live there. After that, Franklin, Nathaniel, and Valeria stay behind while Power Pack and the Future Foundation return to the Latverian mountain. The Fantastic Four arrive aboard Johnny’s battleship, and now the whole family is reunited. Everyone’s about to fire up Sol’s Anvil, the mega-weapon built at the hub. But then the Mad Celestials catch up with them and blast the place. Franklin survives, and amid the rubble, he sees the future versions of himself and Valeria appear. Future Franklin says, “I’m here now.”

Then it’s a jarring jump back to Fantastic Four #603, where the Mad Celestials are not in Latveria, but confronting Galactus in space. Galactus and the Celestials fight in epic cosmic grandeur, so much so that the Kree and the Inhumans flee Earth for deep space. Galactus kills one of the Celestials, but then the other three form into one bigger Celestial like they’re freakin’ Voltron or something. They blast Galactus back to Earth, seemingly killing him.

This is where the issue crosses over with FF #15, as Valeria contacts Reed and tells him to meet the Foundation kids at the Hub. We see the FF’s side of the big family reunion.  The one big Celestial flies toward Earth. Reed uses the Hub to combine the energies of the four lost cities into a massive energy weapon to attack the Celestial. It breaks up back into three Celestials, and now the FF have no way to fight them. The Celestials lay waste to the place until only Sue is left standing. Then a portal opens up, and we see the same (or, similar) scene to the end of FF #15, where future Franklin and Valeria appear. Sue says, “It’s our children.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: I know Reed is a super-genius and all, but wow he whipped up that singularity device on the fly awfully quick.

Fade out: The Kree describe Sue’s force field as “subatomically frictionless.” Add that to the list when trying to figure out how the force fields work.

Clobberin’ time: Ben makes short work of the Kree’s robots when he sees Alicia in danger. Later, he’s the first one to get taken out by the Mad Celestials.

Flame on: There are references to Johnny looking older now, and Reed surmises that time passes differently in the Negative Zone, so two years have passed for Johnny during his time there.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Spider-Man is on hand throughout, but he doesn’t do much now that Johnny is back.

During the fight in New York, She-Hulk and the Red Hulk do their version of Wolverine and Colossus’ famous “fastball special,” where Red Hulk uses his strength to throw She-Hulk at a Kree ship.

Four and a half: Franklin has long been designated as an omega-level mutant (but really, which Marvel mutant isn’t omega-level these days?), and yet here the Celestials call him “beyond omega.” I think this refers to whatever power his future self gave him, and not some silly-sounding new mutant designation.

Our gal Val: There’s a running joke about Valeria and Nathaniel building a working lightsaber. Val chooses red as its color, somewhat tellingly.

Foundational: Bentley-23 is all about being villainous in this issues. He talks about overthrowing Latveria for himself, he tries hijacking Val’s message to her parents to make evil demands, and he suggests eating Atlanteans Vil and Wu if stranded in the wilderness.

Everyone keeps calling Dragon Man just “Dragon” in these issues. Nobody tell Erik Larsen’s lawyers.

Trivia time: Where were the Power Pack kids in continuity at this time? God only knows, because trying to track them after their series ended is next to impossible. Their appearance in these issues is not in their Marvel Wiki page. By this point Julie Power had all kinds of grown-up adventures (in more ways than one, wink-wink) in series like The Loners and Avengers Academy, while little sister Katie Power is still being drawn like she hasn’t aged since the early days.

Fantastic or frightful? I can see what writer Jonathan Hickman is going for, in making things more and more cosmic and increasing the stakes higher and higher. But how much is too much? Also, how and when the two storylines cross over is inconsistent, and you’d think having one writer on both series could prevent that. I don’t know. I’m ready to move on from Hickman, but we still have a way to go.

Next: Future shock.

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Want more? Check out my novel MOM, I’M BULLETPROOF. It’s a comedic/romantic/dramatic superhero epic! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XPXBK14.