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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In FF #4, we have a meeting of the minds and a city under attack.

Where were we? The Fantastic Four is now the Future Foundation, with close to twenty members, most of them genius kids in Reed’s makeshift school. Also, Spider-Man has joined the team following Johnny’s death (he’s not really dead). Dr. Doom made a deal with Valeria to join the team in exchange for Reed restoring Doom’s intellect to full strength. Valeria also recently released four members of the Council of Reeds (alternate universe versions of Reed who don’t have Reed’s morals) into Earth. The FF is also still dealing with four lost civilizations they recently discovered, along with a prophecy about a war among those four cities. To deal with the four evil Reeds, the FF have recruited some of their most intelligent enemies to plan a counter-strategy… how to defeat Reed Richards. Got all that?

We begin with sitcom-ish scene a Sue and Spider-Man make sandwiches for the kids. Spidey asks Sue why she’s not concerned, because they’re doing this while Reed is meeting with Dr. Doom, the Mad Thinker, the Wizard, Diablo, the High Evolutionary, and some A.I.M. guys. She says she’s not worried because, “I’ve beaten every one of them.” She goes all Batman saying she’s not afraid of them, but they should be afraid of her. An alarm goes off, but we don’t see what that’s about because we cut to…

The meeting. In addition to Reed and the all the villains, Valeria, Nathaniel Richards, and even the Watcher are there. Reed chides Valeria for letting the four other Reeds into the Earth, while the villains chide Reed for never having been so fearful. Diablo suggests exploited the other Reeds’ weaknesses, namely their versions of Sue and the kids. The Mad Thinker says the Reeds would expect that, and that the Reeds’ true weakness is something they’ve overlooked. The Wizard retells the myth of King Solomon and the two mothers (why?) until Reed interrupts, saying, “You don’t understand.” Reed says, “They are not me,” emphasizing that the other Reeds do not have families or loved ones, only their cause.

Ben stands guard outside the room, along with Bently-23. Ben says he’s prepared for the inevitable, ready for a fight when the villains get out of hand. Bently likes that the villains are there, saying “This is really turning into my kind of place.” Ben walks off, saying he’s going to take a few days off. Bently and some of the other kids then hear that alarm go off. Sue, Spidey, and a bunch of the others respond to the alarm, which is coming from Sue’s bedroom. The alarm is a message from Old Atlantis, one of the lost cities recently discovered, having been sealed off from the Earth since ancient times. The message is that creatures called Chordai and Mala are leading a revolution. As acting regent, Sue says she’s on her way. Sue heads off to Old Atlantis, bringing Spider-Man and Alex Power with her as backup.

Back in the meeting, there’s more talk about the other Reeds are more ruthless than our Reed, with the villains expressing admiration for them. Dr. Doom calls them “perfect Reeds.” Nathaniel says the other Reeds are acting out of desperation, violating whatever code it is that they do live by. Reed concludes that they must be building a machine. Doom says this machine is the Reeds’ weakness, and he gets Valeria to admit she knows its location. The machine is Sol’s Anvil, briefly seen last issue. Then things finally tie together (sort of) as Valeria admits that part of the machine are found in the four lost cities, on the moon, in the Negative Zone, in the High Evolutionary’s underground city, and… Old Atlantis.

 Inside Old Atlantis’ main structure, the Peak, Sue learns the Chordai and Mala are amphibius, attacking the city from the air-breathing side. We see these creatures as some kind of shell-wearing tentacled things, who unleash huge energy blasts upon the Peak. Sue, Spider-Man, and Alex join the fight outside the Peak, which also include humanoid Orc-like monsters. These are smiling all through the fight, saying, “He is coming.”

The ground collapses into a huge sinkhole, and the Mole Man emerges. He’s brought his army of Moloids and several of his giant subterranean monsters. There’s also a mysterious hooded man alongside the Mole Man. It’s not a mystery for long, as he pulls the back to hood to reveal he’s one of the alternate Reeds. Sue looks at him with shock, asking “Reed?”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed’s love for his family is what initially separated him from the rest of the Council of Reeds, revealing them to be not-so-nice. This issue revisits those themes.

Fade out: The conch shell in Reed and Sue’s bedroom is a communication device linked to Old Atlantis. Why’d she chose the bedroom for that? I can’t say.

Clobberin’ time: Ben’s walking out, especially when on guard duty, seems a little out of character, but we’ve seen that he’s been in a dark place since Johnny’s death.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Spider-Man jokes around with Sue about how the FF kids like having the crusts cut off their sandwiches. But then he admits that he, too, cuts the crusts off.

Four and a half: Franklin joins Bentley-23, Leech, and Artie running around shooting suction cup guns at each other. One gets stuck to Ben.

Our gal Val: After spending so long sneaking around behind the scenes and doing her own thing, Valeria sees consequences to her actions. She thought she was doing the right thing, but even her genius couldn’t have predicted this crisis. Now she’s in a place to have to set things right.

Foundational: The FF’s two Atlantean members, Vii and Wu, finally get a character moment as they help repair the FF’s aquarium, noting that the repairs will make the fish “more tart.” They’re predators, apparently.

Dragon Man is put in charge of the FF while Sue, Spidey, and (apparently) Ben are away.

Artie has seemingly had a growth spurt, now drawn at the same height as Leech, Franklin, and Bentley.

Trivia time: The Mole Man is of course joined by Giganto, the monster from the famous Fantastic Four #1 cover. The other monsters are, to date, unidentified.  

The Marvel Wiki states that the Mala and Chordai first appeared in issue $576, as lost tribes of Old Atlantis. I don’t have time today to go back through the issues, so I’ll take the Wiki’s word for it this time.

In the Marvel Universe, King Solomon is not just a Bible story, but a living character. He was a former Sorcerer Supreme, and he was briefly brought back to life in the 1940s to use his magic powers to fight evil. Also, remember Solomon’s Frogs from the Black Panther issues? Same guy!

Fantastic or frightful? Exciting to see Jonathan Hickman start tying up all these threads he’s started, yet I feel like I’ve said that a couple of times now. Still, this issue keeps moving, with suspense among the villains and some action at Old Atlantis. I liked this one, and I’m hoping it’s a swing in the right direction.

Next: Mistaken identity.

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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. FF #3 continues writer Jonathan Hickman’s sprawling epic take on the series, but is there such a thing as too epic?

Recap: The Fantastic Four is now the Future Foundation, with a bunch of gifted kid characters and Spider-Man on the team after Johnny’s (not real) death. Our heroes are also still dealing with four lost civilizations they’d recently discovered.

We begin with a bunch of Fantasitcars taking off from the new Baxter Building. On the rooftop, Dr. Doom tells Reed that they will bring “Your doom.” Ooh, ominous. Cut to the vessel of the World Builder, the current home of the High Evolutionary. Ben and the FF’s four Moloid kids meet with him, and Ben gives him an envelope. Then we cut to Diablo’s hideout in Rubedo, where Dragon Man and Alex Power hand Diablo a similar letter. Then it’s off to “Lower Amduat,” to the hideout of the Mad Thinker. Spider-Man gives him another envelope, with the Mad Thinker excited that it is an invitation. Finally, Sue uses her invisibility to sneak herself and Bently-23 into the Wizard’s HQ, an old A.I.M. base on “Outlier Island.” They deliver the invitation, and this time we see that it’s for a symposium on “How to finally defeat Reed Richards.”

Two days later, we see everyone gathered for this symposium. The four villains are there, along with some A.I.M. goons and Dr. Doom, Reed, and Valeria. Reed tells them that his father Nathaniel has vouched for both Valeria and Doom (not sure what difference that makes) and that the Avengers are standing by in case this discussion becomes anything other than theoretical. Valeria starts to address the group, saying, “It all started when…” But she’s interrupted when the Watcher appears in the room to view the proceedings.

Valeria admits that she found the Bridge, Reed’s portal to alternate universes, and that she used it to find the Council of Reeds, a bunch of Reeds from other worlds who wanted our Reed to leave his family in the pursuit of science. The Council was on the run from Celestials, so Valeria brought four of them back home with her. In a flashback, the Reeds do a quick assessment of this universe, finding it technologically backwards compared to their worlds, but they find something called Sol’s Anvil, which they think they can use.

In Old Atlantis, which was sealed off from the rest of the Earth until just recently, one of the Reeds kills an Atlantean to view his memories, revealing to two Old Atlantis leaders that one faction, the Uhari, are planning to overthrow the other rulers of Old Atlantis. The Reed offers to help the Atlanteans if they give him something in return. Deep underground, another of the Reeds looks over the High Evolutionary’s city alongside the Mole Man. The Mole Man says too many of his people are entering the city and becoming evolved, and he doesn’t want that. The Reed asks the Mole Man what he’d be willing to pay to stop it.

Then it’s off to the Blue Area of the moon, where a third Reed meets with the Universal Inhumans. He requests use of a small corner of the Blue Area for archeology, but the Inhumans have a telepath in their midst, revealing him to be a liar. A Dire Wraith among the Inhumans does that tongue thing they do against the Reed, and says the Reeds have “great and terrible plans.”

Finally, we go to a location called “the other side of zero,” where the fourth Reed meets with Anti-Priest of the Cult of the Negative Zone. He requests an audience with the Anti-Priest’s master, who summons a hologram connection with Annihilus. This version of Reed says he and the other Reeds need access to the Negative Zone in order to open a portal to his home. Annihilus says he wants the portal to Earth left open for his army, and the Reed says, “That can be arranged.”

Three of the four Reeds meet at yet another location called “the Dynamo,” a partially-finished structure in the middle of nowhere. (I assume this is Sol’s Anvil, but the comic does not specify this.) One Reed says construction of the device will be complete on schedule. Another says Earth will have to be sacrificed for the greater good. He says, “Now, brothers, we orchestrate a war.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: The four alternate Reeds are loosely defined. One is “Professor R,” from a world where Reed is the Charles Xavier, but others are known only as “Reed Richards Alpha,” “Reed Richards 4280,” and “Reed Richards blue and black costume with circle on chest.”

Fade out: The Wizard at first thinks that Bentley has returned to the fold, but Bently and Sue both tell him that’s not why they are there.

Clobberin’ time: Ben addresses the High Evolutionary by his real name, Wyndham. The two of them ran into each other in Marvel Two-In-One.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Spider-Man jokes about not wanting the Mad Thinker to accept the invitation, only for the Thinker to do so. And no, this is not the first time they’ve met, as the Mad Thinker showed up in Spidey comics a few times.

Four and a half: Look carefully in the background during the Mad Thinker scene, and you can see Franklin and one of the FF’s Atlantean kids playing with the Mad Thinker’s Awesome Android.

Our gal Val: The Marvel Wiki states that the flashback with Valeria and the four Reeds took place during issue #586, which was all about Galactus and Nu Earth. If you say so.

Foundational: Despite his love of villainy, Bentley-23 doesn’t want to return to the Wizard, saying, “My name is Bentley now. I’ve earned it.”

Trivia time: There’s only the one Awesome Android, so that means the one seen in this issue is the same one we knew as Andy from the solo She-Hulk series. The Marvel Wiki confirms that Andy returned to the Mad Thinker after that series, but remained a good guy.

Fantastic or frightful? This issue is filled with references to past issues from Jonathan Hickman’s run, demanding that you remember who all these characters and all these worlds are. It’s a lot to take in, and our main characters take a back seat to these alternate reality versions of Reed. Yes, there’s the sense that it’s all building up to something, but we’ve been building up to something for a long time now and I’m getting impatient.

Next: You have the floor, councilor.

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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. Except that Fantastic Four is over, and the series has now rebranded as FF #1. Oh, and Spider-Man is here. Maybe I should have led with that.

We begin with scientists from A.I.M. opening a portal and venturing into it, saying “All death leads to be rebirth” and “We have to find some new ideas.” (Subtext is text.) Then there’s a title page stating the following:

A lot of readers at the time disliked that the initials FF stands for Future Foundation and not Fantastic Four (never mind that social media at the time used it as a hashtag for “follow Friday”) but here the comic makes it official. Anyway, at the new Baxter Building, Reed replays a recording Johnny made before he died. It’s the classic “If you’re reading this, that means I’ve died” thing you always see in fiction. He encourages his teammates to remember what they stand for, and he tells them to give Spider-Man his spot on the team.

There’s a luxurious two pages of Spider-Man swinging through New York on his way to the Baxter Building. It’s very classic Spidey, in his original red and blue suit. He arrives at building’s rooftop and jokes that there’s no door, only for Sue to greet him in a sci-fi pop-up elevator thing, telling him he just has to know where to look. They exchange pleasantries, with her asking about his family. Note that she’s wearing a new uniform, a sleek black number with white highlights.

She tells him about how things have changed since the last time he (and the reader) have visited the team. Nathaniel Richards has returned from the future, he and Reed reconnecting. The kids of the Future Foundation are developing all kinds of exciting new technology in hopes of transforming the world for the future. Sue is dividing her time between New York and the recently-discovered Old Atlantis, where she is the acting regent. Ben, Franklin, and Valeria are still deep in mourning Johnny. Ben especially has taken it hard, blaming himself for Johnny’s death.

Spider-Man now has his own bedroom in the building (that was quick) and Sue gifts him with his new FF uniform. It’s his one with white with black highlights, but with a spider-symbol in place of Sue’s new symbol of three matching hexagons. Sue says the “4” logo is out, because she was in the mood for something different. She can transform her outfit to a white one matching his, as the unstable molecules have been programmed to respond to their thoughts, changing their appearance as well. Spidey makes his outfit into a black one for one panel, but he then changes it back.

Cutting back to the A.I.M. scientists, they appear through their portal not into another world, but into yet another start scientific facility. They break through a huge door to find a man on the other side. He says, “Is that the fluttering of angel’s wings I hear?” The new FF fly up to the P.A.V.L.O.V. facility, which you’ll remember was described as “metahuman psychiatric facility” in response to a break-in. This is the same location A.I.M. has portal’d into, and our heroes fight all the yellow-suited A.I.M. guys.

Spider-Man attempts some funny banter with Ben during the fight, but just says all he wants to do is punch somebody. The mystery man that A.I.M. is rescuing makes a comment about “deliverance,” and Reed deduces that A.I.M. is rescuing the Wizard. During the fight, Reed mentions Bently, and the Wizard says, “You have something of mine.” The A.I.M. guys return the Wizard’s cybernetic helmet to him, and he uses it to teleport them out of there in a huge explosion.

Despite having lost the fight, everything’s jovial back at HQ later as most of the Future Foundation gathers for dinner. Alex Power gives a nondenominational and science-based blessing for the meal. Reed suggests terraforming the moon for the Inhumans, and for possible human expansion. Nathaniel says it’s a terrible idea. There’s a moment of tension as everyone feels this will become a fight, but Reed welcomes the differing opinion.

Later, Nathaniel and Valeria tell Reed they need to talk. We don’t see what Valeria reveals to Reed, but he’s upset by it, so much that he threatens to cut her out of the Future Foundation immediately. Nathaniel argues that what she did has to be done for things to work out in the future, but Reed says that Nathaniel’s future is only one of many possibilities. A hooded figure approaches, and Nathaniel says, “We’re going to need him.” Nathaniel says he trusts Reed’s leadership in this situation.

Turn the page and we see the hooded figure is Doctor Doom. Valeria says to him, “Welcome to the club.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed gives Franklin advice on beating a video game, that Franklin has to look for pattern, because there are patterns programmed into everything. If you find them, Reed says, you can win. What could this be foreshadowing?

Fade out: It’s not said why Sue greets Spider-Man in the black version of the new uniform, except to show off how the uniform can transform. It’s a cool look for her, though.

Clobberin’ time: Ben’s wallowing in grief is a storyline that will continue into the next issue. He does crack one joke during the dinner scene, though, showing that the old Ben we all love is still in there.

Flame on: I’d really like to know when Johnny recorded this message. It has to be recent, but what in recent continuity might have inspired him to do it?

Fantastic fifth wheel: Welcome to the team, Spider-Man! After so many team-ups over the years, we can now list him as an official member. Although he’s technically joining the Future Foundation and not the Fantastic Four, there’s all that talk about him taking Johnny’s place, and he’s prominent alongside Reed, Sue, and Ben as their fourth.

Dr. Doom is considered an alternate member of the Fantastic Four, thanks to those rare occasions where and he and our heroes have worked together to fight a common foe. Now he’s coming to live with the team as a full-time member, which will be a little different, one assumes.

The Baxter Building computer A.I. has the face of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot, except that H.E.R.B.I.E. isn’t included in this issue’s Marvel Wiki entry. Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.

Four and a half: Franklin insists on keeping a seat empty for Johnny at dinner, making Spider-Man take another spot at the table.

Our gal Val: It seems harsh that Reed would threaten to cut Valeria out of the FF completely if she doesn’t stay in line, but extreme measures are probably likely when you consider how her genius puts her so far ahead of everyone.

Foundational: Artie Maddicks is shown helping prepare dinner, but he doesn’t sit at the dinner table with everyone. Instead, he stands behind Reed, peering over Reed’s shoulder the whole time. Does Artie not eat? The famously mute Artie is also developing some speech, saying words aloud when he hears others say them.

The Moloid Turg, the one who is a head in a floating jar, isn’t at the dinner table at first, but then he floats up for some food. His jar has a little opening at the mouth for him to eat. Is the jar not filled with liquid? How does Turg work?

Trivia time: The previous issue made it seem as though the Fantastic Four no longer know Spider-Man’s secret identity following the One More Day event. After the entire Marvel Universe forgot his identity, Spidey revealed it to the FF again in Amazing Spider-Man #591.

Similarly, the events of this issue were retold in Amazing Spider-Man #657, with them happening quite differently. In that version, we see Reed play the message for Johnny for the whole family, and Johnny has an additional message for Spidey. Upon rereading both these issues, the best explanation is that the Amazing issue takes place before FF #1. Amazing Spider-Man #658-660 follow up with Fantastic Four stories, emphasizing how Spidey fits in with the team. Maybe I’ll cover those on this blog. I don’t know.

Where is Spider-Man at in continuity at this point? He’s one busy spider. He’s joined the big brains at Horizon Labs for his science-y day job, he’s still a member of the New Avengers, and now he’s a member of (and living with?) the FF.

Fantastic or frightful? The issue does a good job setting up the status quo for this new team, but it also relies on the reader having read Fantastic Four up to this point to know who all the Future Foundation kids are. The Wizard plot and especially the Dr. Doom plot overshadow Spider-Man joining the team, despite Spidey’s big intro.

Next: Doom gets schooled.

* * * *

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. It might look like an ending, but issue #588 is more of an in-between issue following a major character death last issue and new lineup in the next one.

Gimmie a gimmick: Marvel stuck a big “Final Issue” stripe over the top of this issue’s cover, but everyone knew that wasn’t the case, because Marvel had been hyping what’s to follow for some time.

Recap: To stop Annihilus’ insectoid army from invading Earth through the FF’s Negative Zone portal, Johnny had to stay behind in the Negative Zone and seal the portal from the other end. He succeeded but was overwhelmed by the insectoids. He’s dead. (Spoiler: He’s not really dead.)

This story is told almost entirely through wordless panels. We see the Avengers arrive just after the fight, only to realize they’re too late. Days later, we see Sue is so distraught that she surrounds herself with a force field and does not let Reed console her. Reed consults his multiverse-hopping device the Bridge to confront Annihilus. We don’t hear their conversation, but we see Annihulus waving Johnny’s uniform in front of Reed. Then it’s time for the funeral, with various Marvel characters in attendance. Ben sulks in the corner the whole time.

After that, we cut abruptly to Latveria where Kristoff (yes, that Kristoff) is being coronated to the throne. He appears to be a full-on adult now, wearing some kind of bio-armor that’s wired directly into his skin. Dr. Doom watches this from a distance. Then we cut back to the funeral, where Doom similarly watches the graveside service from a distance.

There’s one page of Spider-Man talking with Franklin on a rooftop. Then we see the genius kids of the Future Foundation in their classroom. Valeria makes a to-do list of potential replacements for Johnny. She then erases it and changes to the to-do list to a single item, “Kill Annihilus.”

Somewhere out in the desert, Ben talks with two men, who conclude their chat by showing him an image of Johnny’s grave. There’s a flash of lightning, and we see the two men are Donald Blake, now transforming into Thor, and Bruce Banner, now transforming into the Hulk. There’s a brief slugfest, but Hulk refuses to fight back, instead taking Ben’s punches until Ben collapses with grief.

In Reed’s lab, his computer screen shows potential threats to be high, including multiple alien and/or other-dimensional invasions. The computer states that reforming the Council of Reeds is necessary. Then a portal opens, and Reed’s father Nathaniel steps out of it, saying, “Hello son, I’m home.” And so this final issue is… to be continued.

Then we have a backup story, “Uncles,” that tells the full story of Franklin and Spider-Man’s meeting. After finding Franklin sitting alone on the new Baxter Building’s rooftop, Spidey takes Franklin swinging around the city. They stop for hot dogs, and then eat them on another rooftop. Franklin wonders if he could have saved Johnny. Spider-Man tells Franklin about his own uncle, who he definitely knows he could have saved. Spider-Man gives Franklin a new variation on the classic power/responsibility line, saying “When you have gifts like ours, you don’t think about yourself first.” Their talk concludes when Spidey tells Franklin his uncle’s name was… Ben.

The final page of the issue is a letter from writer Jonathan Hickman to the readers, promising that although Johnny is gone, the story will continue – including all these storylines he’d introduced – in the upcoming new series, FF.  

Unstable molecule: Among Reed’s lists of potential threats to the world is Frankling reemerging mutant powers. Kind of not cool to put that on the list.

Fade out: Despite sealing herself in a force field at the start of the issue, Sue later holds Reed’s hand at the graveside. I guess that’s her character arc in this one.

Clobberin’ time: Impressive that Ben can punch Thor so hard that he knocks the thunder god off his feet. Maybe, like the Hulk, Thor is letting himself take the punches.

Flame on: Johnny’s grave features a life-size statue of him, with an eternal flame (of course) emerging from his hand.

Four and a half: You might recall that Franklin and Spider-Man already had this “Uncle Ben” conversation in Dan Slott’s Spider-Man/Human Torch miniseries. This story, however, takes place after the controversial One More Day event, in which the entire Marvel Universe forgot Spidey’s true identity, so that earlier conversation more or less never happened in continuity.

Our gal Val: Valeria’s initial list of replacements for Johnny are She-Hulk, Storm, Black Panther, Wyatt Wingfoot, Alex Power, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. This is a misdirect, as the actual new fourth member isn’t included.

Fantastic fifth wheel: FF alternate members attending the funeral are She-Hulk, Storm, Black Panther, Luke Cage. Namor is there as well, so let’s count this as acting in his capacity as a member of the team. (Remember that he got his “Welcome to the Fantastic Four” moment during the Onslaught crossover.)

No, you didn’t miss an issue. The circumstances of Kristoff’s return to Latveria are unknown at this point. What we do know is that Dr. Doom is stepping down from the throne after his intellect was reduced during Fall of the Hulks.

Foundational: The Future Foundation kids are also at the funeral. They appear to have mixed reactions to Valeria’s plan.

Trivia time: The missing dialogue between Reed and Annihilus will be revealed in issue #600.

Why wasn’t Spider-Man at the funeral? (Other than misdirection, that is?) This issue doesn’t say, but that month in Amazing Spider-Man, it was the middle of the ongoing Revenge of the Spider-Slayer storyline, teaming him up with the New Avengers and a bunch of other Marvel heroes.

Fantastic or frightful? The comics world was at such a place where everyone knew this so-called “final issue” wasn’t that at all, and that FF #1 would soon hit shelves. The wordless gimmick works well enough, but it’s still anticlimactic as an ending. But then, the whole “end and start with a new #1” is just what comics are now, so I guess we’d better get used to seeing it in Fantastic Four.

Next: For F’s sake.

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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’ve all heard the jokes about comic book characters always dying and coming back to life. Our own Reed Richards was dead for a couple of years in the 90s. But now it’s time for another major character to bite the big one. Issue #587 is the final one in the “Countdown to Casualty” storyline, setting up writer Jonathan Hickman’s biggest swing on the series so far.

Recap: Reed recently founded the Future Foundation, a group of young geniuses now living at the new Baxter Building. The FF recently discovered and are caught up in the discovery of four lost civilizations, leading to conflict between Atlantis and the formerly lost Old Atlantis. Galactus is attacking Nu-World, which was co-founded by Reed’s ex, Alyssa Moy, and her husband Ted Castle. And finally, Annihilus is sending an army of his insectoids through the Negative Zone portal to Earth, straight through FF headquarters. Got all that?

The Future Foundation kids join Johnny and Ben in fighting the insectoids. Note that Ben is still human, during his new ability to spend one week per year as a human. Leech insists that someone punch him out. Valeria does, and this activates Franklin’s long-dormant mutant powers. He singlehandedly wipes out the insectoids. Johnny seals the Negative Zone portal, but Valeria says it won’t last for long. To close it permanently, she says they have to travel to the other side of the portal activate the shielding on the other side. Valeria says she can do it, with help of some of the other Foundation kids. A team of sorts is formed, with Johnny, Ben, Franklin, Valeria, Alex Power, Artie, Bently-23, and one of the Moloids.

Cut to Thailand, where negotiations between Atlantis and Old Atlantis have broken down following Namor’s murder of the Old Atlantis king. There’s a lot of confusing talk about who is or isn’t a pawn or a sacrifice. The Old Atlanteans say the king’s heirs are too young to take the throne in his place, so rule belongs to the king’s steward – Sue. They all bow before her. Things get even more confusing on Nu-Earth, where Ted says they will not evacuate the planet’s population. The people’s bodies are automatons, and their combined consciousness has been absorbed into the telepath Natalie X, who has evolved into Mother X, a “worldmind” with an impossible huge brain. To evacuate the entire planet, all they have to do is get Natalie off the planet. But then things accelerate, as Galactus isn’t trying to devour the planet like he usually does. In his outrage, Galactus will simply destroy the planet, killing them all so they can’t kill him in the future.

In the Negative Zone, Ben, Johnny, and Franklin fight more insectoids, while the rest of the kids use their genius to figure out how to seal the portal. Reed himself programmed the portal during his pro-reg Civil War days, making it impossible to reprogram. Bently jokes that they should just nuke the portal, but Alex suggests it as a real possibility. The kids set about using tech from the Baxter Building to create a bomb, while Valeria says one of them will have to stay behind to activate it.

In Thailand, Namor wants to wage war against Old Atlantis and kill them all, but Sue stands in his way. She says they’re under her protection now. He tries attacking her, but she swats him down with a force field. She says, “These are my people now. I rule here.” She drops her force field and tells Namor she’s going home. At Nu Earth, just before everyone can evacuate through a portal, they’re attacked by the Maestro, a.k.a. the Hulk from the future. He insists on joining them. Reed says, “Let’s go home,” mirroring what Sue just said. The portal is activated just as Galactus tears the planet apart.

Back inside the Negative Zone, the insectoid army has regrouped, giving everyone only a minute to activate the bomb. Ben volunteers to be the one who stays behind, sacrificing himself. The genius kids say there’s no other way, and Ben thanks Johnny for one of the best weeks of his life. The kids enter the portal, but then Johnny grabs Ben and throws him through, making Johnny the one who stays behind.

Johnny seals the portal, although everyone on Earth can still see and hear him. He activates the bomb. Ben tries to punch through the portal, transforming back into the Thing as he does so. Johnny asks the others to tell Reed this is where he made his last stand. He says to Ben, “You don’t wish it any more than I do.” He then faces the oncoming army of insectoids. With one last “Flame on!” he goes down fighting as the insectoids overwhelm him. We don’t see this bomb go off. Instead, the portal closes permanently. Ben holds Franklin and Valeria in his arms. The last page of the comic has a number 3 instead of a number 4 logo, with the title, “The Last Stand of Johnny Storm.”

Unstable molecule: Valeria at first says Reed made the portal so it can’t be reprogrammed. But, later in the issue, she says Reed would have a “backdoor” built in, suggesting Johnny can be saved. So, which is it?

Fade out: Sue punches out Namor by creating invisible force field armor around herself, complete with huge spikes. You have to wonder why she doesn’t do this all the time.

Clobberin’ time/Flame on: Despite my criticisms of this issue (see below), Johnny’s final moments are quite affecting. It’s clear that’s his sacrificing himself not so much to save Earth, but to save his friend Ben, just as Ben has found a new opportunity to find some happiness in his life.  

Four and a half: Franklin’s powers are back, but how are they manifesting this time? He’s just unleashing powerful energy blasts, something different than his usual create-pocket-universes power, or his lesser seen dreams/psionic power.

Our gal Val: With Reed not around, Valeria easily fills his role, not just in spewing out lots of science technobabble, but also in a leadership role.

Foundational: Bently-23’s job during the crisis is to watch the oncoming insectoid army and calculate how long until they’re able to attack. Artie uses his powers to create holograms of the portal’s inner mechanisms. Dragon Man is assigned as babysitter/protector for the kids who stay behind on Earth.

Trivia time: Is this Maestro the same one from the classic Hulk: Future Imperfect miniseries and its spinoffs? That does not appear to be the case, as this is the Hulk Jr. character we met a while back as part of the New Defenders, even though he looks and acts just like Future Imperfect’s Maestro in this issue. The Marvel Wiki says this Maestro is the same one who appeared in the ongoing Old Man Logan series, but regular Wikipedia disputes this, arguing that version of the Hulk was known simply as “The King.”

Johnny says the Avengers have been called for backup, but it’ll take them time to arrive. During this month’s issue of Avengers, the team was in crisis after Steve Rogers (who at this point was just “Captain Rogers” and not Captain America) learned about Iron Man’s involvement in the Illuminati, threatening to boot Iron Man off the team. It’s probably for the best that all this drama didn’t spill over into Fantastic Four.

And of course Johnny isn’t really dead. (Ooh, spoiler!) This story will be revisited in issue #600.

Fantastic or frightful? Johnny’s death was a big enough deal at the time that a few mainstream media outlets did some brief stories on it. I always felt that it came out of nowhere, not foreshadowed or built up at all. Upon this re-read it occurs to me that Hickman was trying a bait-and-switch, making us think Ben was going to die with all the “human again” stuff. Either way, this sets up the storylines that are the most well-known of Hickman’s run, and the team’s most famous alternate member.

Next: The end. (Not the end.)

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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.