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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Last week, we wrapped up the Atlantis Attacks crossover, and this week, in issue #334, we’re right in the middle of the Acts of Vengeance crossover. That’s Marvel for you — a new crossover every week.

The premise of Acts of Vengeance is that all the superheroes are fighting villains they wouldn’t normally fight. The plot description is pretty much the same as that description of the premise — a bunch of megavillains, including Dr. Doom, the Kingpin, Magneto, and the Red Skull, get together with a plan to organize all villains and send them after heroes they don’t normally fight. It’s later revealed that the whole thing was secretly orchestrated by Loki as a way to bring down Thor.

This issue begins with a mysterious figure skulking around the outside of Four Freedoms Plaza, with a device that can hack into the building’s defenses. Ben, who is still in human form, and Sharon, still in her Thing form, are returning from a night on the town, with the security tech going haywire. After some jokey bantering about this, we see Reed, Johnny, and Alicia (who is secretly Lyja the Skrull in disguise) discussing the government debating a superhero registration act. There’s also more business about building security as Reed plans to install retinal scanners for all members of the team.

The security alarms go off again, and the heroes rush into action, only to find that the building’s defenses have defeated the Constrictor, whom Reed describes as a “two-bit hood.” The police show up and take the Constrictor away. The team then resumes discussion of the registration act. Reed says some people fear that registration means the government will militarize superhumans, while others think it will lead to an increase in superhumans hiding as outlaws and fugitives.

From this point, the issue becomes a repeating cycle in which the building’s defenses defeat another villain, after which our heroes discuss registration some more. The Beetle and the Shocker are both defeated without the FF lifting a finger. Reed eventually decides to testify in Washington DC on behalf of superheroes everywhere, not necessarily for or against, but to keep the lines of communication open.

The FF take off for Washington DC. After they leave, Thor and Iron Man show up at Four Freedoms Plaza. The Avengers’ Hydro-base was recently destroyed (in Avengers #311) so they are there to ask the FF for a place to crash. Because Cap and Thor don’t have the retinal scans, however, the building’s defenses attack them, too. I don’t know what the building’s energy beams are, but they’re powerful enough to hurt the all-powerful Thor. The two of them leave, with Thor joking that next time they should phone ahead.

There’s an entire page devoted to the mysterious figure from the start of issue navigating his way through NYC’s public transportation, eventually hopping a bus for DC. The FF then arrive at the Capitol Building, not aware that another one of the mystery man’s hacking devices is affixed to the Fantasticar. To be continued, I guess.

Unstable molecule: Reed doesn’t appear to take a side for or against superhero registration in this issue, although that will change in upcoming issues.

Fade out: Sue appears to be against registration, arguing that heroes with secret identities be allowed to keep those secret identities. She shows sympathy for the pro-reg side, though, saying “they’re just scared.”

Clobberin’ time: Ben remarks that flying the Fantasticar is a lot easier with human-sized hands. So much for the thought that Reed built controls specific to his size as the Thing.

Flame on: This isn’t the first time that Johnny has encountered the Beetle. They duked it out back in the Beetle’s first appearance in Strange Tales #123.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Sharon is seen reading The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav, a real-life book about advanced physics published in 1979. This is the creators still trying to play her up as “the smart one.”

Four and a half: There’s a running joke about Franklin wanting to go to a museum to see dinosaurs, leading to this terrifying panel of Reed stretching into a dinosaur shape for him:

The Alicia problem: If Lyja is wearing contact lenses to simulate blindness (as will later be revealed), then how does Reed’s retinal scanner work on her? I think we can assume she did some shape-shifting switcheroo at the last minute so the scanner read her “real” eye at that moment.

Commercial break: Be a video warrior!

Trivia time: What happened in Avengers #311? The Avengers Hydro-base, also known as Avengers Island, was attacked by Doombots in the opening chapter of Acts of Vengeance. Quasar and a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including Peggy Carter, were the only the only ones home at the time, and not able to stop the Doombots from sinking the island. Years later, the Hydrobase was restored when the Avengers were rebranded as “Avengers Idea Mechanics,” but that didn’t last long. According to the Marvel Wiki, the Hydrobase’s current status is abandoned.

Fantastic or frightful? The joke here is supposed to be that these are lame villains, not good enough to fight the FF. But when the headquarters defenses also defeat frickin’ Thor, the joke instead reads that the building is ridiculously powerful. Still, it’s amusing to have a “hangout” issue seeing our heroes do everyday stuff.

Next week: It’s getting political up in here.

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. This is Marvel, so of course it’s time for another big crossover. This is annual #22, in which Atlantis Attacks.

Fantastic Four gets the distinction of being the grandiose final chapter of the 16-part Atlantis Attacks storyline that crossed over all of that year’s annuals. That’s a lot to recap. The villain is Ghaur, an ancient alien who founded the undersea kingdom of Lemuria. After coming back from the dead, Ghaur united Lemuria and Atlantis, urging them both to wage war on the surface world. What Attuma, the current ruler of Atlantis, and Llyra, the queen of Lemuria, don’t know is that Ghaur has an ulterior motive. The war is just a cover for his quest to re-create the Serpent Crown, which will unleash the Egyptian snake god Set onto the Earth, which would be bad. To accomplish this, Ghaur has abducted seven “brides of Set” made up of She-Hulk, Jean Grey, Scarlet Witch, Storm, Dagger, Andromeda (an Atlantean princess) and the FF’s own Invisible Woman. The FF, Spider-Man, and the Avengers stopped the Atlantis invasion in NYC, while Thor, Dr. Strange, and the West Coast Avengers defeated Set. Ghaur then escaped to Lemuria with the seven brides.

The annual begins the FF and the two Avengers teams heading deep into the ocean in high-tech submarine-like ships in pursuit of Ghaur. (We’re not told why Spider-Man stays behind.) The heroes arrive in Lemuria and enter the “damp zone,” a space where air-breathing and water-breathing creatures can coexist. (How convenient.)

There’s a huge battle, in which most of the Avengers are defeated, or at least held back. Namor the Sub-Mariner shows up, and this is supposed to be a surprise since he “died” at the start of the crossover. The final battle comes down to Ghaur and Llyra versus Reed, Ben, Johnny, and Namor. Reed describes this makeshift group as “a fantastic foursome.”

Llyra uses her mental telepathy to coerce the FFers into fighting each other. She also torments Namor with visions of his dead loves, Dorma and Marrina. Ghaur uses his new Serpent Crown to achieve godlike power, but then he is interrupted abruptly by Naga of Lemuria, a demonic figure who once wore the crown. (This seems to come out of nowhere, but it was foreshadowed in the “saga of the Serpent Crown” backup stories that run through all these annuals.) Naga and Ghaur destroy each other, and Llyra vanishes without a trace.

The seven brides, now free from Ghaur’s influence, work together to bury the Serpent Crown deep beneath the ocean floor, where we’re told no one will ever find it again. The kingdoms of both Atlantis and Lemuria are fallen, their inhabitants spread out across the oceans. Namor is reunited with his young cousin Namorita, who is hanging around Lemuria after her role in the New Mutants’ part of the crossover. Namor says he has been both a king and a lone wanderer, but he’s truly happy now that he has family. So, this was his story all along?

Unstable molecule: In the Web of Spider-Man annual, Reed is seriously injured while trying to help Spidey swing around, which seems like an uncharacteristic miscalculation on his part. The plot demands it, though, because the Atlanteans abduct Sue while he’s out cold.

Fade out: While Sue is being mind-controlled by Ghaur, there’s a subplot in West Coast Avengers where she and Jean Grey steal a magical gizmo from a Chicago museum.

Clobberin’ time: Even though Ben is human currently, in most of these annuals he’s drawn as though he’s still the Thing. This gets explained away here and there by having him wearing the Thing-shaped exoskeleton from way back in issue #169. (Or, more likely, Reed built him a new one after the destruction of the original Baxter Building.) Many have speculated that the annuals were drawn before it was decided to keep Ben as a human.

Flame on: During the battle, Johnny is reunited with the WWII android Human Torch, currently a member of the West Coast Avengers and going by the name “Torch.” There’s a quick reference to how they were enemies the last time they met, but that was only because of the Mad Thinker’s influence. They’re buddies now.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Sharon doesn’t do much except throw a lot of punches during the battles. This does show, however, that the rest of the superhero community has accepted her as one of their own.

Reed comments that She-Hulk always had “a weird Hollywood-type personality.” I’m not sure what in their history would have Reed think this. She-Hulk later fights a giant sea monster while mind-controlled by Ghaur.

One-time FF member Tigra shows up alongside the Avengers, even though she was out of continuity at this time, having devolved into a full-on cat. Marvel later published a cartoon explaining that Tigra’s appearance in Atlantis Attacks was a mistake, asking readers to just imagine Tigra was never there. (Continuity!)

Commercial break: Here’s an Atlantis Attacks promo. Take the plunge.

Trivia time: As far as I can tell, the Serpent Crown never did actually return. An evil priestess named Nagala was later shown wearing what looked like a Serpent Crown, but it was never revealed what this crown was or where she got it. There were then a couple of stories about the “Thorn Crown,” which was basically the same thing, but different.

This was Ghaur’s last shot at real supervillainy, appearing only sporadically after this. Llyra, however, would continue to be involved in Atlantis-based intrigue. She had a son, Llyron, who became king of Atlantis for a short time.

Fantastic or frightful? When Atlantis Attacks works, it does what these big crossovers are supposed to do, by generating a real sense of excitement that comes with getting all the superheroes together for one big battle. The Avengers, Web of Spider-Man, West Coast Avengers, and Thor annuals do this the best. The same can’t be said the Fantastic Four chapter. I counted thirty-three Marvel heroes in this one issue, only for most of them to be forgotten about after the first few pages. And, yes, it’s more of an Avengers story than an FF story. A mixed bag, I guess.

Next week: Acting out.

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issues #330-333 are writer Steve Englehart’s last word on the series. It’s a bunch of dream sequences that have nothing to do with anything, followed by a mean-spirited satirical jab at his bosses at Marvel. This one’s going to be a bumpy ride, people.

Issue #330 is Sue’s dream, but, oddly she doesn’t dream about herself. Her dream is all about Dr. Doom making a last-ditch effort to re-take the Latverian throne from the Doom imitator Kristoff. Doom assembles a team of the Hulk, the Hobgoblin, Absorbing Man, the Beetle, Dormammu, Attuma, and Master Pandemonium. They attack the Latverian castle, only to learn that Kristoff has assembled his own team, made up of Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, Annihilus, Rhino, and the Abomination. There’s a big fight, ending with Kristoff setting off a series of atomic bombs, eventually destroying the Earth. For if he can’t rule the Earth, no one can. Then we’re reminded that this was all a dream Sue is having.

In the real world, Aron’s clones of the FF still believe it is the 1960s. Because they think this is issue #2 and Skrulls are afoot, they refuse to help the U.N. during an international crisis.

Issue #331 is Reed’s dream. He imagines the newly-reunited FF just as they were before Aron abducted them, with Sharon and a human Ben on the team. The previous few issues have had a running joke about the genius inventor Reed being delighted with having an ordinary home computer. In the dream, the computer turns out to be Ultron in disguise, as part of a plot to take over the advanced machinery inside FF headquarters. Sharon is the one who defeats Ultron, deducing that he can’t still be made of Adamantium, but of weaker metal, in order to be disguised as a smaller computer. Reed is overjoyed to see the FF working as a team again, and then we’re reminded that this was all a dream.

In the real world, the FF clones attack a magician they think is the Miracle Man from issue #3. Clone Reed then announces he is instituting a “Fantasti-tax,” demanding that the people of New York pay the FF in exchange for protection.

Issue #332 is Johnny’s dream. He fantasizes about Crystal visiting HQ. She says she is unhappy in her marriage with Quicksilver and she wants to rejoin the FF. Everyone is good with this, even if it brings back temptation for Johnny, still married to Alicia. Crystal fits right in the team, making for a Fantastic Six for a while. Sue, however, asks Crystal to leave, worried that she’s there to break up Johnny and Alicia. Sue and Crystal fight. Franklin sees the fight, and this breaks down the mental barriers keeping his powers under control.

There’s a multi-page flashback to issue #245, in which Franklin’s powers went out of control, but he couldn’t turn Ben human because of Ben’s fears of losing Alicia. Franklin then admits that Johnny’s relationship with Alicia was not natural, but created by Franklin’s powers in an attempt to make everyone happy. Now that Ben is human, Franklin says he is free to “fix” everything, by restoring Ben and Alicia’s relationship and Johnny and Crystal’s relationship, for a big happy ending. Then we’re reminded that this was all a dream. (The clones don’t appear in this one.)

Issue #333 has the Avengers show up at FF headquarters. The Avengers have figured out that this isn’t the real FF, and a fight breaks out. After a few pages of fighting, the FF clones are teleported to Aron’s hideout in Canada. There, they find the real FF in battle with the Frightful Four. Johnny explains that his dream allowed his body temperature to rise just enough for him to wake up and free the others. The Frightful Four help the FF defeat the clones. Aron reappears with a new plan. He sends the Frightful Four off to jail and sends the FF home. He then puts his clones to sleep so that he can watch their dreams. He says dreams, not reality, are what excites him. Sue says they need to contact the government and the news media right away to inform everyone of the clone situation.

Later, the Avengers and the West Coast Avengers team up to investigate a mysterious craft flying toward Oakland, California. It’s one of Reed’s aircrafts, piloted by Alicia (who is secretly Lyja the Skrull in disguise) and Franklin. They’ve come to Oakland to meet with comic book writer John Harkness (a.k.a. real-life comic book writer Steve Englehart). Franklin asks Harkness/Englehart to write a comic book letting the world know that Reed is really a good guy and that “this was all a mistake.” Harkness/Englehart responds with, “It might take a better man than me to straighten out this mess.” And with that, the issue ends.

Whew. Nothing says “editorial interference” like these issues. It’s obvious that these stories weren’t meant to be dreams, but actual continuity. To what extent, though, remains unknown. The story goes that Englehart allegedly wanted to take the series in experimental new directions, but that Marvel editorial wanted to go back to the original, old-fashioned FF. Therefore, in these issues, the villains argue in favor of stagnation and returning to the past, while our heroes argue for change and personal growth. Here’s my question: If Marvel editorial was so against what Englehart was writing, why did they allow all these not-so-subtle satiric jabs at them in this comic? It looks to me like the bosses at Marvel were trying to be in on the joke. Without access to their side of the story, all we really know is that Englehart was out the door.

Then there’s Zak-Site. http://Zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel is a must-read website for Fantastic Four fans. It is a thorough and exhaustive analysis of these comics, making the case that issue #333 is the end of the Fantastic Four’s story, and the end of Marvel continuity. Further the site speculates that everything that occurs after issue #333 is “the Franklinverse” existing only in Franklin’s imagination. It additionally speculates that everything from here on is the dreams experienced by the clones at the end of #333. (Note, however, that the site lists a couple of times between issues #333 and #355 as the time continuity ended.) The site argues that the series has been about Reed learning to set his scientific pursuits behind and learning to put his family first, thereby opening the door for Ben to emerge as team leader and true hero of the story, which is partially what Englehart wrote. The site goes on to say that everything that happens after this, characters’ histories no longer matter and are often re-written, and that actions no longer have consequences.  I’d argue that the changes in history and continuity represent characters and their world evolving over time. As for consequences, Sharon will still be with the team for quite some time, the Dr. Doom vs. Kristoff conflict is ongoing, there’s a big Galactus story coming up, and, most importantly, Valeria has yet to make her debut.

The next few issues find the FF in the middle of Marvel crossovers, after which the legendary Walt Simonson begins his run on the series, so I’m convinced good times are ahead.

Unstable molecule: Reed convinces the Wizard to help the FF by saying “You and I may be enemies, but we’re both human!”

Fade out: Sue says twice that her Doom vs. Kristoff dream is a parallel for the FF versus clones fight. Not buying it.

Clobberin’ time: Human Ben tries to jump into the fight, only to get knocked out by Reed’s clone just as the fight starts. (He gets better.)

Flame on: Johnny does not get along with his clone, referring to the clone as a “hipster façade.”

Fantastic fifth wheel: Sharon tells Reed that she’s developed an interest in science, and that she served as the brains of the group while Reed was away. I wouldn’t go that far.

She-Hulk is with the Avengers as they storm FF headquarters, but there’s no mention of her being a former member of the team.

Four and a half: Franklin tells the Avengers he used his dream-based powers to peek on the FF’s dreams to discover what was really going on. His powers are all over place during this time. He’s still insisting everyone call him Frank instead of Franklin.

The Alicia problem: Are we to assume that Lyja is able to fly the FF’s aircraft thanks to her experience as a space-faring alien?

Commercial break: “What hit me?”

Trivia time: Aron the Watcher will later return during the Infinity War crossover. I don’t believe we ever learn the fate of the FF’s clones. The best I can do is a fan-made wiki, which says the clones are “assumed to be still on Earth.”

Fantastic or frightful? The reason I started this series on the blog was an attempt to put into words why I was so disappointed with the Tim Story Fantastic Four movies, and what it is that makes the comics work that was lacking in the movies. Steve Englehart’s version of the FF has big ideas and big ambition, but is marred by clunky storytelling. The movies have had the clunky storytelling, but lack the ideas and the ambition. Therefore, I come to praise Englehart, not bury him. His version of Fantastic Four didn’t work, but he really went for it in an attempt to push the limits of what the series can be.

Next week: It’s hotter under the water.

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In the last issue, a villain created clones of our heroes. In issue #329, we see the plans are for those clones.

We begin in the middle of the story, with the FF in Reed’s lab, preparing for their next adventure. Alicia (who is secretly Lyja the Skrull in disguise) seems perplexed by what is happening. Reed is bossing the others around, Sue dotes on his every word, and Ben has not only mutated back to his “spikey” form, but he has a bad attitude, beginning most of his statements with “Bah!” Reed announces that the FF are going to travel to Monster Island and capture the Mole Man. Alicia points out that the Mole Man was abducted by lava men (in issue #313) and Monster Island was destroyed (in issue #296).  Reed says that’s no matter, as his science genius can raise an island.

Cut to our villain, Aron the Watcher, who is in his new hideout in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, which he describes as a wilderness so remote it is “hard to reach by human means.” He reveals that the FF we’ve been reading about are the FF clones he created, and he has the real FF trapped in suspended animation, along with their foes the Frightful Four. He further explains that, as a fugitive Watcher, he is limited in the use of power to stay hidden from other Watchers. His fake FF, however, are free to do his bidding however he wishes.

The fake FF fly a Fantasticar out to the ocean, where Reed does indeed raise the island to the surface and restore it to its former glory. From this point, most of the issue is a remake/homage/satire of Fantastic Four #1, repeating a lot of the same dialogue and story beats from the FF’s first adventure on the island. Our “heroes” occasionally stop to reflect on how their memories of everything that’s happened between then and now feel like a dream.

Speaking of dreams, we cut back to Aron, who is observing the dreams the real FF are having while in stasis. In Ben’s dream, Sharon dumps him because he’s human now. In Sharon’s dream, Ben dumps her for exactly the same reason. The caption informs us that these dreams will go on.

At Monster Island, the fake FF confronts the Mole Man, who says he’s had a change of heart following their last few encounters. He’s left his selfish and cowardly ways behind, and in now working for peace, fighting to unite all the world’s secret underground kingdoms. Still believing that they’re in issue #1, the fake heroes attack the Mole Man. It appears that the Mole Man and his various monsters are about to win the fight, until an energy beam shoots down from the sky and wrecks the island. The fake FF escape, while the Mole Man gives a big speech about how his faith in humanity is betrayed, and he hates the FF even more than ever now.

As the fake FF are escaping, fake Reed wonders why this adventure doesn’t conclude with an awesome explosion, only for the island to then explode. Back in Canada, Aron reveals that he’s the one who fired the energy beam at the island, so that his version of the FF could win the fight. He says his new FF will still take some work.

Clobberin’ time/Fantastic fifth wheel: The only time we see the actual FF in this issue is during the dueling dream sequences of Ben and Sharon. This appears to foreshadow Sharon’s eventual leaving the team, even though that still won’t be for a while.

The Alicia problem: Although she hasn’t been cloned, Alicia/Lyja seems written in an early 1960s style as well, being very naïve and unknowledgeable about the FF. Perhaps we can theorize that Lyja, a trained spy, can tell something is up, and she’s merely playing along.

Commercial break: This ad is way ahead of its time, in that the cool fantasy hero could be either male or female.

Trivia time: Monster Island, located near Japan, was created by Kro, an enemy of the Eternals, before the Mole Man took it over. Monster Island tends to get destroyed a lot, only for characters to visit it later to find it restored with no explanation. According to the Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game, Monster Island is longitude 136, latitude 40 north.

Fantastic or frightful? The idea here to play around with how the FF of issue #1 would interact with the Marvel Universe of today. This story only sort of does that, though, because we’re at Monster Island the whole time. The better moments are the ones that poke fun at the plot holes and overall goofiness of those early issues. It doesn’t really go anywhere, though, ultimately feeling like filler.

Next week: Sweet dreams are (not) made of these.

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #328 more or less kicks off writer Steve Englehart’s final arc on the series, for better or worse.

As we begin, the FF have been defeated by the combined might of the new Frightful Four and Aron the Watcher. Aron, with Dragon Man as his sidekick, has been following the Fantastic Four in secret for a long time now. Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Sharon Ventura are unconscious in the Frightful Four’s hideout, with a now-human Ben back at FF HQ. The Wizard wants to kill the FF, but Aron says he has other plans. He also takes a page to remind everyone that he’s a bad guy because he broke the Watchers’ oath only to watch and never interfere. Their disagreement becomes a full-on villain brawl. The Frightful Four — Wizard, Titania, Klaw, and Hydro-Man — appear to win at first, until Aron knocks them out with a snap of fingers. Aron takes skin samples from Reed and Sue, which is all he wanted, and then he teleports out of there.

Later, Ben arrives at Frightful Four’s hideout on an FF sky-cycle (at least, the Marvel Wiki identifies it the sky-cycle) and talks to the NYPD at the scene. The cops report that Dragon Man was seen carrying a bunch of bodies away. Ben goes back to HQ and contacts She-Hulk, asking her about when she recently fought Dragon-Man. She says he was spotted around the Empire State Building.

Ben and Alicia visit the Empire State Building, where a nearby news vendor tells them a monster has been seen flying around the building lately. They wander around inside the building, where people are acting strangely. Ben concludes that some sort of mind-control device is in effect. Ben questions another man inside the building, who turns into an octopus-like monster. This is then revealed to be a hallucination.

Ben then fights his way into the Wizard’s hideout inside the building, where the Wizard has the FF hooked up to some machine. Without powers, Ben relies on his old-school hand-to-hand combat training and manages to hold his own against the Frightful Four long enough to free his teammates. The FF make short work of the Frightful Four this time, combining their powers to defeat the villains quickly.

Just as it looks like it’s all over, both the FF and the bad guys are teleported to another dimension, where Aron is waiting for them. He says he has to hide out in this other dimension so the other Watchers can’t see what he’s up to. He then reveals why he’s been stealing skin samples from the FF. He introduces his own re-creations of the FF, which he calls his “pawns.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed defeats Titania by stretching himself into the shape of a big slingshot and flinging her into a wall.

Fade out: Sue traps Hydro-Man inside a Hydro-Man shaped force field, so that he cannot turn into water. This allows Sharon to knock him out.

Clobberin’ time: The cops don’t question Ben’s authority as a member of the FF, because they recognize him “from way back.” I wonder what the story is there.

Flame on: Johnny removes Klaw’s sound gun, saying that even though Klaw’s body is made of pure sound, Klaw is still harmless with his weaponry.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Ben suggests to Sharon that she could become human again, but she insists once again that her Thing body is who she was meant to be.

She-Hulk comments about a “guy named Byrne” following her around. This is a reference to John Byrne returning to Marvel to write and draw the comedy She-Hulk comic, famous for its breaking-the-fourth-wall gags.

The Alicia problem: The mind control stuff inside the Empire State Building has no effect on Alicia, who is secretly Lyja the Skrull in disguise. We’re told this is because she is blind (Lyja is actually wearing contact lenses to simulate blindness), but perhaps it’s because, as a shape-changer, Lyja is able to “see” beyond outward appearances.

Commercial break: I’m shocked that Spinjas never took the world by storm:

Trivia time: Not surprisingly, the Empire State Building is often a hotbed of activity in the Marvel Universe. Some highlights: We just had the Inferno crossover, where the X-Men fought demons there. The X-Men’s enemies the Fenris twins had an office in the building, as did Gabriel the Devil-Hunter (on the 13th floor, naturally). The Avengers, the Hulk and even Power Pack have battled multiple enemies there. Way back in the 1940s, the building was the site of an epic fight between the Sub-Mariner and the original android Human Torch.

Fantastic or frightful? A frustrating issue, in how little of it makes sense. Why does Aron leave the FF with the Frightful Four after defeating them? Why does the Frightful Four have to have two hideouts? Where did all this mind control stuff come from? The heart of the story is Ben proving himself even without his powers. That’s good, but everything around it is baffling. And it’s only going to get worse.

Next week: Dream a little (crappy) dream.

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.