Rewatching the Star Trek movies! Nemesis (2002) brought in a new director, Stuart Baird, who had no Trek experience and allegedly knew nothing of the franchise before this. The hope at the time was that he’d be an exciting new voice for the series. Was this a smart choice or was it fool… Hardy? (Couldn’t resist.)
Here’s what happens: The Enterprise is sent deep into Romulan space following a coup by the Remans, the Romulans’ worker class. What’s more, the leader of the coup, Praetor Shinzon, is a clone of Picard, discarded after a failed plot to replace him. Shinzon has a plan of his own, setting his sights on both Romulus and Earth – and Picard himself.
Captain’s holiday: What’s the point of making the villain a clone of Picard, rather than the usual scheming Romulan? Picard got his found family on board the Enterprise after being a loner for so long, and now here comes Shinzon to suggest the path Picard’s life might have gone if things had been different.
Ol’ yellow eyes: Oh yeah, there’s a whole other storyline. The Enterprise randomly (or not?) finds another Data-like android on a desert planet. This is B-4, an early Data prototype from Data’s creator. The idea is that B-4 is another road not taken. He’s what Data could have been if Data had not longed to be human. I get it, but I don’t know if Data’s story mirrors Picard’s in the ways the filmmakers hoped. (This would have been another good use of Data’s emotion chip, but it’s not even mentioned this time.)
Welcome aboard: At the time, actor Tom Hardy was considered to be a “boy band” type (silly in retrospect), but his back-and-forth dialogues with Patrick Stewart are electric, and the movie’s best scenes. I find Shinzon’s story to be quite tragic. Picard easily could have saved Shinzon and taken him away from the Remans to start a new life. But in the end, Shinzon only had his hatred.
Continuity café: Does Data ever return? Does B-4 become the new Data? Uh… both and neither, kind of. Continuity gets really weird in following what becomes of them in the various novels/comics/games that followed. The short version is that many writers took a stab at bringing back Data and/or B-4, each putting their own bizarre spin on it. Then Star Trek: Picard apparently closed the book on all things Data… but you never know.
Continuity café dessert: And just because I know everyone’s going to ask, my antiquated two-disc DVD set has the Wil Wheaton deleted scene where we catch up with Wesley Crusher. There’s no mention of him running off with that Traveler guy, but we learn he’s back in Starfleet and that he’s joining the crew of Riker’s new ship the Titan. (Talk of the Titan in this movie sets up a long-running series of novels, but that’s a whole other thing.)
What you leave behind: This is an overstuffed movie with a bunch of other subplots and sci-fi business I haven’t mentioned. It’s also a lot of action, fighting, and explosions, but I must admit I enjoy the talky dialogue scenes more than all the bombast. My big concern is Data’s exit from the franchise. After all this talk about aspiring to be something better than who we are, I don’t see Data’s sacrifice as him fulfilling that. Again, I’m in that place where I enjoy the movie, but I wonder about the movie it could have been.
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.
Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Writer Jonathan Hickman’s cosmic mega-epic has ended, but there are still some details to follow up on, most notably Johnny becoming ruler of the Negative Zone during the time everyone thought he was dead.
Issue #605: Because the FF changed the future in the recent cosmic storyline, time-traveling Nathaniel Richards no longer has knowledge of the future. So he and Reed build an observation platform, to observe but not interact with the future. They witness what appears to be utopian New York with multiple Baxter Buildings, and Franklin and an aging Ben leading a new Fantastic Four.
Reed deduces that Ben is aging slowly, and he and Nathaniel travel another thousand years ahead. Ben gives a graduation speech to the Future Foundation… of the future, made up of hundreds of kids, human and alien. Then it’s another thousand years ahead, where an older Ben is saddened, pining for the good old days. In another thousand years, an immortal Franklin returns from space to attend Ben’s funeral. Back in the present, Reed has a beer with Ben while Ben enjoys a TV boxing match. Ben says, “I’ve missed you too, stretch.”
In FF #17, we learn that the “Peter and Johnny are roommates” gag that ended the epic wasn’t a gag. Also, they’re not roommates at the new Baxter Building, but in Peter’s apartment. Johnny’s fun-loving lifestyle conflicts with Peter’s new professional job at Horizon Labs, so Peter is looking for an opportunity to kick Johnny out.
But then Johnny holds a huge party in the apartment, and Peter joins in, having too much to drink. The next morning, while hungover, Peter finds Annihilus in their bathroom, and he finally tells Johnny to leave.
Gimmie a gimmick: Suddenly we’re in the world of wacky comics numbering as the next issue is Fantastic Four #605.1. At the time, Marvel promoted these “Point One” issues as the big cool thing. Was it?
Things get uncomfortable in issue, as we’re in an alternate universe where the Fantastic Four’s origin is retold… in Nazi Germany?!? It’s the old alternate history where the other side won WWII thing. This version of Reed is pure evil, eventually becoming ruler of this world, defeating all the other superheroes and obtaining the Infinity Gauntlet. He loses control and destroys the Earth. But then, all alone in space, he invents the Bridge, which puts him in contact with the interdimensional Council of Reeds.
Issue #606 has the FF exploring an alien environment, confined to their spacesuits and confronting blob-like aliens. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on, that we’re doing a Fantastic Voyage remake, with them having shrunk down and swimming around inside a person.
In a flashback, it’s revealed that this is happening inside old mailman Willie Lumpkin, who’s developed a deadly tumor. The doctors say it would take a miracle to save him, and Ben says, “Does that guy have any idea who he’s talking to?” The heroes manage to teleport the tumor out of Willie, who makes a full recovery.
In FF #18, Johnny acts as substitute teacher for the Future Foundation. One of the Moloid kids asks him about procreation. He tries to be nice about it, and says it’s all about love. But the Moloids and the Atlantean kids were bred in large groups of hatchlings, while Dragon Man and Bentley-23 were grown in science labs. To teach the kids a lesson about love, Johnny offers a field trip to the Negative Zone, where he’s still a big deal after acquiring Annihilus’ Cosmic Control Rod. Once there, everyone learns that a rebellion is under way to overthrow Johnny, and his generals have joined this rebellion.
We cut to outer space, where Franklin and his future self are using Franklin’s reality-bending powers to heal the sun of Hala, the Kree homeworld. Reed encourages the Inhumans and the Kree to stop fighting and start making peace. But Black Bolt, who was brought back to life to destroy the Kree Supreme Intelligence, only wants to fight. Future Franklin seals Black Bolt in some sort of energy cube and convinces him that he’s needed back on Earth because something very bad is coming.
In the Negative Zone, the rebels are confined to a single city held under siege. Johnny meets with the generals, who demand free elections among the Negative Zone creatures. This leads to a lengthy discussion among the Future Foundation kids about democracy. The generals agree, and the Negative Zone holds its first election. Johnny loses, which he expected, but then there’s a surprise where Annihilus wins by write-in vote. Johnny says, “At least it was fun while it lasted.”
Unstable molecule: Nathaniel is apologetic to Reed for missing so much of Reed’s youth, but he says that Reed would appreciate time travel more than playing catch.
Fade out: Sue of course uses her force fields in various ways during the Fantastic Voyage takeoff, including sealing a hull breach. But she’s also in a scientist/leadership role, detailing to the others the perils of the environment.
Clobberin’ time: Ben’s slow aging is explained by the Future Foundation kids giving him the ability to be human for one week per year, with him only aging during that one week. Also, future Ben has a big beard made of his rocks. Not sure how that works.
Flame on: Among Johnny’s antics is a portal to the Negative Zone in Peter Parker’s closet, serving as a reminder that he’s the ruler there.
Fantastic fifth wheel: Is Spider-Man still a member of the team, or not? He’s no longer included on the opening text pages that half-heartedly catch readers up to speed.
Reed has yet another new version of H.E.R.B.I.E., called a “Herbot.” No idea is this one of the H.E.R.B.I.E.s that was built from old Doombots. Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.
She-Hulk and Luke Cage are seen among the Avengers trying to stop evil Reed in the alternate WWII universe.
Four and a half: Franklin’s future self is still hanging around, and still using godlike powers to do stuff. Future Franklin is basically the Beyonder at this point, and I wonder where they’re going with this character. Another question is what does present-day pre-teen Franklin think of his future self? He seems cool with it, but in the 2020s Fantastic Four comics, Franklin is a frustrated, disaffected teen. Could that be fallout from everything he’s seen in these issues?
Our gal Val: Valeria takes something of a back seat in these issues. In the Negative Zone conflict, she says she wishes Franklin was there, setting up the reveal that Franklin is with the Kree.
Foundational: Bentley-23 watches the boxing match alongside Ben and Reed, saying he likes the violence. He’s later disappointed that there’s an election in the Negative Zone instead of a battle.
Moloids Mik and Turg are at Johnny’s party. It’s suggested that they’re getting drunk with everyone else, but this is not made explicit.
Trivia time: Peter Parker started working at Horizon Labs during the “Big Time” event. The idea was that Peter is finally living up to his potential by getting a high profile, well-paying job – hitting the big time, as it were. My pet theory is that Horizon Labs was a metaphor for the Marvel movies, where Marvel also hit the big time by becoming the biggest name in Hollywood.
Fantastic or frightful? Jonathan Hickman gives us some issues that are less plotty and more character-based, and it’s refreshing. We can see his more humorous side, and it’s such a nice change of pace from all the cosmic mumbo-jumbo we’ve been through. I could’ve done without the Nazi stuff, though.
Rewatching the Star Trek movies! Insurrection (1998) is a bit of an oddity, more like an episode of the week rather than a grand cinematic adventure. But hey, everybody sings Gilbert and Sullivan!
Here’s what happens: Data goes haywire while on a mission to study a primitive civilization. But those primitives are actually highly intelligent, and their planet is a bona fide foundation of youth, with all kinds of life-giving properties. When rival aliens stake a claim on the planet, Starfleet tells Captain Picard to back off and let them. In response, the Enterprise crew goes rogue and stages an… insurrection.
Captain’s holiday: The life-giving planet has an effect on the crew, making them feel younger – even teenager-like in some scenes. TNG was all about Picard going from a loner to finding a family among the crew. This movie suggests a road not taken for Picard, with him befriending (romancing?) one of the locals, and talk of slowing time for one perfect moment. Picard’s character arc is a little muddled, to be honest. I don’t know that the “feeling young again” parts of the movie parallel with the “rebelling against Starfleet” parts adequately enough.
Ol’ yellow eyes: Data makes friends with a kid on the planet, which has Data musing how he’s never had a childhood, a whole world of experience that will be forever unknown to him. It ends with him further exploring these sensations by learning to play with the kids. You’d think this would be a good use for Data’s emotion chip, but, oddly, we’re told he “left it at home.” That’s a baffling choice by the filmmakers that I just don’t understand.
Welcome aboard: The captain’s yacht is part of the Enterprise mentioned in Next Generation trading cards and those technical manual books, but it was never seen on the TV show. It’s not until this movie we actually see the yacht in action. It doesn’t do much except give Picard a means to return to the planet once the heat is on, but it’s still fun to include for fans.
Continuity café: At the time this movie was released, the Dominion War was in full swing every week on Deep Space 9. Insurrection only barely references the war, so the movie can be a stand-alone. But then there’s another DS9 reference when we learn the villains also produce the drug ketracel-white. Every DS-niner can tell you that this was the drug the Dominion used to keep its Jem Ha’dar troops perfectly loyal. How are these guys producing the drug that comes from the other side of the galaxy via the DS9 wormhole? I suppose they’re just working with the Dominion, and not originating the white themselves.
What you leave behind: A lot of fans were expecting something a lot bigger with the premise of Picard going rogue against the Federation, and instead most of the conflict is based in this one valley on this one planet. Despite the relatively smaller stakes, the movie does have some interesting ideas and fun bits. The original screenplay was allegedly much bigger and space opera-y, so we’ll always wonder what might’ve been.
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.
Star Trek movie rewatch! First Contact (1996) is our first solo movie with the Next Generation crew, tossing out Shakespeare and replacing him with Moby Dick.
Here’s what happens: After failing to assimilate the Earth, the Borg return with a new plan. They go back in time to when Earth was wrecked after World War III, to assimilate it then. Picard and the Enterprise-E crew chase them back in time to stop them on two fronts, fighting the Borg on board the ship while also setting history right on the planet.
Captain’s holiday: Starfleet doesn’t want Picard encountering the board, based on the events of TNG’s “Best of Both Worlds” epic two-parter. Picard says he’s put it all behind him, but once the Borg start taking over the Enterprise, the cracks start to show. He gets more and more driven by revenge until Lily (Alfre Woodard) talks some sense into him.
Ol’ yellow eyes: Data doesn’t understand how physical touch can enhance a person’s understanding of an object – or each other. Later, the Borg take a particular interest in Data, giving him human skin for the first time, allowing him to touch the same way humans do. Again, this is not quite the “Data becomes human” story that fans dream of, but it gives him a whole new set of (heh) data to ponder when it comes to understanding humanity.
Welcome aboard: The Borg’s collective consciousness makes them scary and intimidating, but it also means they can’t have character development. Enter the Borg Queen to speak on their behalf. She says the Borg are all about seeking perfection, while Data answers, “I question your motives.” Borg continuity is all over the place throughout Trek history. I say this is because they are always evolving with every new person and/or tech they assimilate.
Continuity café: The 1987 novel Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno depicts the first contact event happening differently. Similar and yet contradictory to this movie, it has Kirk and Spock traveling back in time to witness first contact. But that novel has a meta thing going on, with a book-within-the-book written by a Starfleet historian trying to put together what really happened during first contact.
What you leave behind: With a lot more time for pre-production, First Contact is a more ambitious and thought-out than the TV episode-like Generations. It’s the only TNG film to use the entire ensemble rather than just Picard and Data, and it uses the Borg in a way that similar to what was done before without fully repeating it.
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.
Rewatching the Star Trek movies! Generations (1994) gives us Captain Kirk and Captain Picard in the same movie. That’s fun, but what does it have to say about each character?
Here’s what happens: Seventy-some years after the death (or not?) of Captain Kirk, the crew of the Enterprise-D confronts a mad scientist who plans to return to the Nexus, a place outside of space and time where anything is possible. This plan will put innocent lives in danger, forcing Captain Picard to seek out some unlikely help…
Captains Courageous: Kirk dies saving the Enterprise-B, and then comes back to life to save the captain of the Enterprise-D. There’s this sense of inevitability, in that he knows that the Enterprise (a.k.a. the Trek franchise) is moving on without him. But he has this one chance to make things right, so he’s going to go for it.
Captain’s holiday: Picard begins TNG uncomfortable about children living aboard his ship, only to end the series by accepting the crew as his family. This movie puts that to the test, first by killing off Picard’s brother’s family in France. Then, once inside the Nexus, he has a vision of the family he never had. He’s quick to see through the illusion, and uses that to help Kirk, who has more trouble saying goodbye to the Nexus. That’s the inevitability mentioned above.
Ol’ Yellow Eyes: After not understanding a not-very-funny joke, Data decides it’s time to install the emotion chip introduced on TNG years earlier. But, this isn’t the “Data becomes human” story of fans’ dreams. Instead, Data is still Data, and the emotions just give him another aspect of humans for him to puzzle over.
Welcome aboard: When in the Nexus, Picard has a vision of a family he never had, including a wife named Elise. A lot of fans say Elise is played by the same woman who played TNG’s infamous holodeck babe Minuet. A quick look at the credits reveals this to be false. Elise was played by Kim Braden, who previously appeared as Ensign Brooks in the episode “The Loss,” and who is married to this movie’s director, David Carson. (Minuet was played by Carolyn McCormick.)
Trivia time: Kirk’s not dead! The 1996 novel Star Trek: The Return, co-written by William Shatner, Judith Reeves-Stevens, and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, details how and why Kirk is revived from the dead. He goes on to appear in many more novels, having adventures in the TNG era (era), and in Trek’s notorious Mirror Universe as well. Some fans, however, claim these books are not canon, separating them off into their own “Shatner-verse,” because of course they do.
What you leave behind: This movie is often criticized for being too much like a TV episode, but that was intentional. It was cranked out quick, to get it into theaters mere months after the TNG series ended. Beyond that, Kirk and Picard are both faced with the path not taken, but they choose not to give in to the fantasy. It’s true that Kirk’s death scene is a little disappointing, but would there be any way for that to be satisfying? It just is what it is.
Rewatching the Star Trek movies! The Undiscovered Country (1991) is about the future, and yet it’s also the (mostly) final go-around for the original crew. It’s all a whodunit with cloaked ships, intense mind melds, and you-know-what for knees.
Here’s what happens: When the Klingon Star Empire loses its main energy production facility in an unprecedented accident, peace talks between the Klingons and the Federation are under way. Then there’s an assassination attempt on the Klingon ambassador and Kirk is blamed for it. While Kirk and Bones are shipped off to a Klingon prison planet, Spock and the rest of the crew seeks the real killer.
Captains Courageous: Kirk does not want this assignment, and he’s angry at Spock for vouching on his behalf. He’s mistrustful and arrogant in the face of the Klingons. But when the chips are down, Kirk steps up and does the right thing. He fights to maintain the fragile new peace with the Klingons, despite his personal feelings towards them.
Ol’ Pointy Ears: Spock gives a speech about finality, and this being his last mission aboard the Enterprise. He wants his protégé Valeris to take his place. When she’s revealed as one of the conspirators behind the murder, he reacts with outrage. He later questions his choices as his own arrogance. Kirk’s response: “Everybody’s human.” Spock’s arc across these six movies has been about accepting his non-logical human half. His doubting himself, and then his memorable final line, show us what that acceptance looks like.
Welcome aboard: There are tons of great character actors playing both Klingons and conspirators throughout the movie. My personal favorite is the Klingon judge, whose face is barely seen but whose gravelly voice is awesome. This character has no name, although I see some fans have taken to calling him “the Magistrate.” That’s too bad, because I’d hoped the judge could have shown up in some ST novel or comic.
Continuity café: Okay, why do the Klingons have bright pink blood? We all know the real reason is so the movie can maintain its PG-13 rating. Within the fiction, though, there have been several attempts to explain why the blood is pink in this movie and dark red throughout the rest of the franchise. It’s either because these are different types of Klingons, or because the blood changes depending on the Klingons’ environment.
What you leave behind: This is a great movie. First the first time since The Motion Picture, we have a fully staffed Enterprise, and we have the crew right in the center of the Federation vs. Klingon conflict, rather than off on their own. This gives the plot some big, big stakes, and it feels like what we think Trek should feel like.
Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In between issues #11 and #12 of the rebooted FF, we went back to the original Fantastic Four title for the big 50th anniversary issue #600.
Gimmie a gimmick: Starting with this issue, this series becomes two series. Fantastic Four continues after this with a #601, and FF continues with its #12 issue.
We spend two pages setting the stage for all the various plot threads and characters to keep track of:
The Inhumans on a rampage on board their floating city of Attilan.
The High Evolutionary’s Forever City, where Ronan the Accuser and his new wife Crystal (!) have brought the Kree Supreme Intelligence back to life.
Dr. Doom, Nathaniel Richards, and an evil alternate universe version of Reed arrive in Doom’s former stomping ground of Latveria.
At the new Baxter Building, the young geniuses of the Future Foundation are hard at work on a new emergency teleporter.
On “the other side of zero,” the villainous Anti-Priest is in contact with Annihilus.
In the streets of New York, the FF, the Avengers, and assorted other heroes assemble as Kree warships appear in the sky overhead.
What’s interesting here is that the superheroes have no idea why the Kree are attacking. Sue plans to use her force fields to push the entire armada outward away from civilians. Then, fighting! The combined heroes battle the Kree through the city. Dr. Strange takes down one the Kree’s big dreadnought ships, but it crashes into the city instead of the water. The Anti-Priest, now in a NYC skyscraper, says this is not the destruction he wanted. Annihilus tells him to “access the gate,” and the Anti-Priest unleashes the Annihilation Wave (an army of monsters) into New York.
In Latveria, that group confronts Kristoff, who is ruling the country in his own Dr. Doom mask and armor. Nathaniel says Dr. Doom’s life depends on his return to Latveria. In Attilan, Medusa says the Inhumans should flee as they are outnumbered, but something in Black Bolt insists on staying. The Supreme Intelligence senses that Black Bolt, the “anomaly” it is seeking, is right above them in Attilan.
Atop the Empire State Building, Reed, Spider-Man, and Iron Man invent a device that projects Sue’s force fields through Iron Man’s armor (!) to create a force field around Manhattan. This keeps out the Kree ships, but not their ground forces already in the city. The monsters of the Annihilation Wave attack the Baxter Building, while a bunch of Kree robots attack Soho. Ben is there, hoping to get them away from Alicia’s apartment.
The Future Foundation kids activate the teleporter, sending several floors of the Baxter Building to the moon. Spider-Man swings over the building to check on the kids, fighting the monsters as they try to open the building’s Negative Zone portal. He fights the monsters, who tell him the children died (!). He doesn’t manage to stop them all, and the portal opens.
Turn the page and… it’s Johnny, back from the dead! He’s wearing some sort of alien armor, and he has Annihilus in chains (!) kneeling at his feet. He asks Spider-Man, “Pete, what the heck are you wearing?”
To be continued!
But this is a big anniversary issue, so there’s backup stories. The first one takes us to Johnny’s supposed death, where he sealed himself inside the Negative Zone to keep Annihilus’ forces from getting through to Earth. He uses his all-powerful nova flame to thwart the army and subdue Annihilus, only for more of Annihilus’ forces to show up. Annihilus seemingly kills Johnny. Cut to months later, and Annihilus still can’t open the portal. He’s contacted by Reed, who demands Johnny’s body be returned to him. He threatens to use the Ultimate Nullifier to wipe out Annihilus. Annihilus says he’s doing all this because he wants to die, and that he’s sick of always being resurrected.
We see Johnny hallucinating as the aliens rebuild his body with weird biotech. Johnny is locked up in a jail with members of the Universal Inhumans’ Light Brigade, who had been brought to the Negative Zone by the all-knowing teleporter Eldrac. (Are you getting all this?) They’re being forced into gladiator games in Annihilus’ arena, and a few days later it’s Johnny’s turn. Johnny tries to attack Annihilus instead, only for Annihilus to kill and have him come back via the biotech. Johnny then watches as Annihilus makes a deal with one of the evil alternate universe Reeds who have been running around, who will open the portal for his own needs.
Johnny convinces the Light Brigade to help him steal Annihilus’ cosmic control rod, the source of his power. Then we catch up to the present, as Annihilus prepares to unleash the Annihilation Wave while the Kree attack New York. There’s a big fight, with Johnny again using his nova flame, until he and the Light Brigade subdue Annihilus. Johnny affixes the cosmic control rod to his arm, hence his new alien armor.
Backup story number three is set in Attilan. Medusa and Black Bolt meet in some sort of telepathic space where they can converse normally. Medusa doesn’t like the idea of Black Bolt having four other wives, but Black Bolt says it was the universe’s doing and not his choice. He talks about how things have changed, and he asks her to love him for who he is now and not who he once was. Medusa then makes peace with the other wives and calls them sisters.
In the next backup, we cut to the moon, where Reed arrives in a spacesuit to meet Galactus, just standing there in a big crater. Galactus has given Reed a device called the Arc, that can summon him when needed. Galactus wants to save the Earth because, he says, there is a “Galactus seed” on the planet. This is followed by a bunch of talk about Asgard and its connection to Earth via the “world tree” which must not be severed. Galactus gives a death-and-resurrection speech similar to the ones in the Johnny/Annihilus story. He tells Reed that the Galactus seed must not emerge and to use the Arc if needed. The story ends with him asking Reed, “Have you even noticed what your son has been doing?”
The final backup follows up on Galactus’ question, flashing back to Franklin meeting a future version of himself, and reigniting his mutant powers, creating his own “baby universe.” He hides the universe in his closet (!) during all the recent events. Then he and Leech open the closet door and they fall into a void. Inside the baby universe is an alternate version of NYC, where Franklin and Leech don superhero costumes as Hyperstorm and Kid Incredible. A mysterious figure, who appears to the Franklin of the future, encourages Franklin to do more with his power, and truly make the universe into anything he wants. “If you can make everything, you can make everything better,” the man says.
Unstable molecule: The Reed/Galactus backup story is ambiguous, but it once again shows that Reed is the only Earthling that Galactus respects enough to have a casual conversation with.
Fade out: Sue using Iron Man’s armor to make her force fields more powerful is interesting. It raises questions of whether she can use this tech for more uses in the future.
Clobberin’ time: Ben succeeds in spotting Alicia among the crowd in New York. He tells her to run while he fights off the Kree.
Flame on: I’m sure a lot of readers asked if this issue means Johnny is immortal now, with a Wolverine-like healing factor. We’ll have to see how this shakes out in future issues.
Fantastic fifth wheel: Although he’s defeated, Spider-Man puts up a good fight against the Annihilation Wave inside the Baxter Building before going down.
Namor is on hand, saying he will protect the city “for love.” He addressed that to Sue of course. Sue isn’t having it, but Namor says if they’re all about to die than he has nothing to lose.
While it’s often been theorized that Medusa speaks on behalf of Black Bolt via some sort of latent telepathy, this issue makes that text by having them converse in some s
Nathaniel Richards can address Kristoff like he does because the two have a history. Remember they were both alternate members of the team during the Tom DeFalco years.
Crystal seemed all-in on Kree business now that she’s married to Ronan the Accuser. But in this issue, when the Supreme Intelligence wants extinction of all life on Earth to get at Black Bolt, Crystal responds with, “No!”
She-Hulk helps Ben out during the fight against the ground forces. Her nickname for the Red Hulk is “Big Red.” Storm, Black Panther, and Luke Cage are also on hand during the battle.
Four and a half: Franklin’s create-pocket-universes powers are officially back, and he has considerable control over them this time.
Our gal Val: Valeria calls the shots during the attack on the Baxter Building, giving Bentley-23 the order on when to activate the teleporter.
Foundational: Alex Power uses his gravity-based powers to keep Annihilus’ monsters at bay. He suggests knocking Leech unconscious to short out Leech’s power-dampening abilities. But doesn’t Leech’s powers only work on mutants? And hasn’t Leech learned to control his power by now.
Trivia time: If the Kree robots seen during the fight seem kind of retro, it’s because they’re old school Lee/Kirby creations! They are the Kree Sentries, who made their debut in our very own Fantastic Four #64. They’ve shown up a bunch of times since then, as antagonists in the Annihilation and Empyre crossovers.
Fantastic or frightful? My apologies if this synopsis is a little confusing. As all the story threads and characters from the last dozen issues are now all crisscrossing, it’s hard to keep track of everyone. Each character is given only a few panels to move their part of the story along. The exception is Johnny, as his story is a lot of fun, another variation on the Gladiator and/or Planet Hulk formula.
macmcentire 