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Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Reed Richards disappeared five issues ago, and in issue #261, we get some answers.

Open up the comic and the first page is Sue and Namor kissing! Wha-hey! Turn the page, though, and we see that this is just a friendly goodbye kiss. Namor is dropping off Sue at home after they helped Alpha Flight defeat a baddie known only as the Master. Namor and AF member Marrina take off for Atlantis, and Sue heads inside. She finds the Baxter Building empty, and wonders where Reed is. She calls Avengers Mansion, where Jarvis the butler tells her the Avengers are on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite, investigating a strange beam that struck the mansion earlier. The Silver Surfer, who was resting in the Baxter Building infirmary, wakes up and compares notes with Sue. He reminds her (and the reader) that he came to New York investigating that same beam.

The Silver summons his surfboard from where it was buried in the wreckage of the Terrax/Tyros fight. He and Sue travel to Avengers mansion. The Scarlet Witch is there, watching over the still-comatose Vision. She tells Sue what she saw when Reed was abducted (in issue #257). The Silver Surfer uses the power cosmic to do the “psychic investigator” thing to confirm that Reed is no longer on Earth, but was transported somewhere way out in the cosmos.

Sue meets with Reed and Johnny, insisting that the three of them leave for space. Johnny and Ben remind her (and the reader) that she’s pregnant. Sue shuts them up, saying that when Reed isn’t there, she becomes the official leader of the FF. With that, everyone boards the FF’s rocket ship, with Sue saying she knows someone in space who can help them. (The Silver Surfer is still exiled on Earth and cannot follow.) The story pauses at this point, so writer-artist John Byrne can take a few pages to depict his own version of the FF’s origin story. The flashback ends as our heroes arrive at the blue area of the moon, home of the Watcher.

Not only does the Watcher know the FF were coming, he has already consulted with people and been given permission to get involved. (Let’s take a second here to notice that the Watcher has been completely redesigned. Instead of looking like a big bald guy, he’s now a lot more alien, with a huge head on top of a spindly thin arms and legs.) The Watcher teleports the FF across the galaxy, to a massive fleet of spaceships. He says these are the survivors of Galactus — aliens who’ve had their homeworlds devoured by the big G and who have now banded together in their space-homelessness.

The FF and the watcher are greeted by the survivors’ leader, Xxan Xxar. He takes them to… Reed! Reed is being tortured on this big wheel-looking thing, and it looks really painful. Xxan Xxar says Reed is to blame for the destruction of the Skrull homeworld. (Reed saved Galactus’ life in issue #244, only for Galactus to kill the Skrulls in issue #257. So much continuity!) A fight breaks out when Ben tries to free Reed, but the Watcher breaks it up, sealing everyone in some sort of energy spheres.

We cut to later, where the survivors’ council is meeting. Reed says human compassion has him mourning the deaths of the Skrulls, and it was that same compassion that drove him to save Galactus. The Watcher says Galactus has a purpose in the universe, even if such purpose is beyond mortal comprehension. Just as the council members are about to reconsider, they’re interrupted by Lilandra, head of the Shi’ar Empire. She demands that Reed must die.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: When reunited with Sue, Reed says she shouldn’t be there, showing that he is resigned to his fate. Later, though, he argues for his freedom while standing with his arm around her, showing that her presence has changed his mind.

Fade out: Sue is now fully in her “she has become totally awesome” phase of her character development. Her first act as leader of the FF is to take on the Watcher. Sue’s ponytail is of note, because it’s the first of several tweaks her hairstyle will go through in issues to come. (Changing Sue’s hair is always good for causing some minor controversy among fans.)

Clobberin’ time: The flashback to the FF’s origin comes from/is narrated by Ben as the ship flies through the cosmic ray belt that gave them their powers. (This time they’re prepared for it.) Ben thinks, “Life’s been one big pain in th’ butt ever since.”

Flame on: There’s a bit where Johnny flies off by himself inside the Watcher’s house, only to get lost among all the reality-defying spaces inside there. The same thing happened to the Red Ghost back in issue #10 and to Wolverine during the death of Jean Grey saga in Uncanny X-Men.

Commercial break: This ad is for a puzzle book, but oh wow are they trying to convince kids that it’s a video game:

Trivia time: OK, so the story goes that this whole story is the product of infighting between John Byrne/FF editorial versus Chris Claremont/X-Men editorial. Remember when Lilandra made her dire warning to the FF in the pages of Uncanny X-Men? That was allegedly done without Byrne’s knowledge. Byrne was allegedly pissed off, and wrote this story arc as a response. I’m throwing the word “allegedly” around a lot, because the truth of what happened totally depends on who you talk to.

Fantastic or frightful? Although this is mostly set up for the next issue, there’s a lot of great stuff here. I like the survivors of Galactus, and I always wished Marvel would do more with those characters. I really like Sue stepping up and finally becoming ultra-heroic.

Next week: The cosmic grandeur of… it’s WHAT month?!?

****

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

Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. The Doom/Tyros story arc ends in appropriately explosive fashion, in a way that may or may not shake up the whole Marvel universe, in issue #260.

To recap, Dr. Doom gave the power cosmic to Tyros (formerly Terrax) and sent him off to fight the FF, weakening the heroes so Doom himself can deliver the killing blow. What Tyros doesn’t know is that the power cosmic is slowly killing him. What nobody knows is that Reed has mysteriously disappeared, leaving only Sue, Ben, and Johnny to fight back. This issue begins with none of that, as we’re instead treated to Namor the Sub-Mariner, flying around arctic waters. In a flashback, we learn a bunch of undersea barbarians came to Atlantis seeking refuge, claiming a great evil was threating their home. Namor is now investigating when his metal wrist bands dissolve and all the strength leaves his body. He sinks to the ocean floor.

Then, we rejoin the battle with Tyros. Fighting! Tryos is able to use his earthbender-style powers to counter any attack that Ben, Johnny, and Sue throw at him. Sue fires her FF signal flare into the sky, in the hopes that Reed will see it and help. Dr. Doom, watching all this from his spaceship high above New York, also sees the flare. As the minutes tick by, Doom realizes Reed isn’t coming. Doom doesn’t want Reed to miss the deaths of his loved ones, so Doom transports down to the surface and joins the fight in person.

Doom attacks Tyros, again insisting that FF can’t be defeated with Reed not there. Tyros says he must have his revenge against the FF for the last time they fought. He and Doom then duke it out, with Tyros finally fusing Doom’s armor so Doom cannot move. Tyros faces the FF, but before he can strike, the Silver Surfer flies down from the sky and kicks his butt. (Remember that the last issue ended with the Surfer going to New York to investigate a matter transportation beam from space.)

While the Silver Surfer fights with Tyros, we focus on Doom. In his thoughts, he says there is one way out of his statue-like predicament, something he hasn’t tried in years. Then we cut to the crowd watching all this, which includes Peter Parker’s Aunt May. She wonders why it’s taking the FF so long to defeat Dr. Doom, and the man next to her tells her, “Be quiet, old woman!” and wanders off. Aunt May is an especially feisty mood, because then then tells the ‘80s punk rocker on the other side of her, “I’m not your granny!”

The Silver Surfer grabs Tyros and flies him way up into the atmosphere. They both turn into a giant fireball flying back down to Earth. (It’s the whole “burning up in the atmosphere” thing.) They crash land right on top of Doom, causing a massive explosion. Sue contains the blast in a force field, which pushes her back. This is this issue’s opportunity to remind us that she’s pregnant, when she insists that neither she nor the baby were hurt. The Silver Surfer rises from the wreckage, saying he’s won. Tyros’ body has completely melted away, and Doom’s burned-up mask is found in the wreckage. Sue calls it, saying “the greatest evil the world has ever faced is… dead!”

(Because this is a re-read and not a first time read, I’ll spoil it: Dr. Doom isn’t really dead. He switched minds with the guy standing next to Aunt May, using the same mystical mind-switch technique he used on Reed way back in issue #10. For readers at the time, however, we were meant to think that Dr. Doom was well and truly dead and that this was his final appearance ever.)

In one text panel, we’re told that FF doesn’t just leave the scene of the battle, but that it takes some time to deal with its “economic and emotional” consequences. Hours later, Sue arrives at the Baxter Building with the Silver Surfer, who is weakened from the fight. He rests in the infirmary, while Sue checks out the building, to find it empty. She considers calling the Avengers (Reed was last seen at Avengers Mansion) when Namor shows up, looking beaten up and saying he needs her help. We end with, “To be continued in Alpha Flight #4.”

Unstable molecule: The characters finally start to wise up and realize Reed is missing. This won’t become a crisis until next issue, though.

Fade out: Sue’s first move against Tyros is use a force field to cut off his air. She’s become so hardcore that she goes for the lethal attack right off the bat.

Clobberin’ time: Ben’s nickname for the Silver Surfer in this issue is “Glinty.”

Flame on: Johnny confirms that he doesn’t need to say “Flame on” to activate his powers. During the battle he shouts “Flame on!” while already flamed on, just to get himself pumped up.

Commercial break: Is there any possibility that Solar Fox the game was as great as the comic in this ad? Because I want 200 issues of this Solar Fox comic:

Trivia time: Here’s what happens in Alpha Flight #4: Sue and Namor help Alpha Flight defeat an alien known only as the Master, who is sucking nutrients out of the ocean to power his spaceship. The heroes destroy the Master’s ship and the Master disappears. AF’s amphibious hero Marrina agrees to live in Atlantis with Namor. There, all caught up.

Fantastic or frightful? The Silver Surfer saving the day is a total deus ex machina, but other than that, this issue is terrific. It has big action, a real sense of danger for our heroes, and the nifty twist of Dr. Doom’s “death.” Simply a classic.

Next week: To the stars!

****

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

Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. The last two issues have piled on the cliffhangers, and in issue #259, we start dealing with them. To recap: Dr. Doom gave Tyros (formerly Terrax) the power cosmic and sent him a quest to kill the FF. But what Tyros doesn’t know is that the power cosmic is killing him. Further, what no one yet knows is that Reed disappeared without a trace while visiting Avengers mansion. Got all that?

We begin with Sue in disguise as her new secret identity, “Susan Benjamin,” looking at a home in Belle Port, Conn., as possible home for her and Reed to raise Franklin in a normal setting. We get four whole pages of her walking through the house with two neighbors, kindly old Martha Winslow and would-be teen babysitter Katie Dwyer. Although it’s never actually said, it’s clear from the dialogue that this is going to be Reed and Sue’s new home. (Reed has apparently left all home-buying decisions entirely up to Sue.

Cut to New York City, where Ben is returning from various adventures in his Thing solo series. He’s in an NYC taxi cab when Tyros attacks. Fighting! Tryos uses his Earthbender-style powers to throw rocks and dirt at Ben, while riding on a wave of rubble. Ben counters by tossing cars at Tyros and wrapping him up in chunks of metal, but Tyros escapes. The fight takes them to a supermarket, where Ben is concerned about civilians being hurt. Tyros has no such concerns, and throws Ben into the store. (This supermarket is supposed to be in New York City, but it’s drawn like we’re still in the suburbs.

In another part of the city, Johnny is hanging out in his new loft apartment, using his fire powers to kill cockroaches. He gets a visit from Sharon Shelleck, his girlfriend Julie’s roommate. After some small talk, Sharon makes her move, planting a kiss on Johnny. In a case of perfect timing, Johnny sees the “4” emergency flare in the sky. He flies away from Sharon, and toward the action.

Then it’s back to Sue, returning to New York in the Fantasticar. A huge spaceship emerges from behind a cloud and swallows the Fantasticar whole. Inside, Sue immediately recognizes this as Dr. Doom’s technology. Doom shows up and actually punches Sue in the face. (Dang!) Knowing this is against Doom’s personal code, Sue figures this is Doombot and she destroys it with her force fields. The real Dr. Doom then speaks to Sue via some sort of floating globe, and shows her Tyros beating the crap out of Ben and Johnny. Doom gives Sue a choice — either stay there and fight him, or go help her teammates. She says “Curse you, Doom!” and leaps out of the ship to save Ben and Johnny.

Then, in Earth’s orbit, we see the Silver Surfer hanging out on an asteroid. He spots a “matter transferal beam” from space striking New York City, so he sets out to investigate. To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Not only does Reed not appear in this issue, but his abduction isn’t even mentioned. If someone hadn’t read issue #257, they’d have no idea anything was amiss.

Fade out: Like any good superhero, Sue wears her FF uniform under her regular clothes. Instead of changing, she merely turns the outer layers of her clothes invisible until all we see is the uniform. This issue also drops several reminders that Sue is pregnant.

Clobberin’ time: The reason why Ben is returning to New York is because he had just been in the southern U. S. in The Thing #3, dealing with Lucas, a creepy mutant child. Lockjaw teleported Lucas to the moon, leaving Ben on Earth and forcing him to fly commercial.

Flame on: Johnny at first rejects Sharon’s advance, calling her a “nice kid.” She responds by saying he doesn’t know Julie as well as he thinks. So much drama!

Commercial break: Unscramble the fun!

Trivia time: Reed and Sue’s new house is allegedly based on the house writer-artist John Byrne was living in at the time.

Byrne later re-used this cover design for the first issue of DC’s Legends crossover in 1986.

Look closely — one of the items on sale at the supermarket is “Fisk Potato Chips.” I really hope that’s a reference to the Kingpin, and some secret scheme of his.

Fantastic or frightful? Again, I feel that this is the best arc of John Byrne’s legendary run on the comic. The action is terrific, as you get a sense that Ben and Tyros are evenly matched. The dialogue is even better, with Sue proving herself as the ultimate badass when she doesn’t put up with any of Dr. Doom’s crap.

Next week: Death from above.

****

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

Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. The previous issue ended with a huge cliffhanger — Reed’s mysterious disappearance — with a promise that the next one would provide no resolution at all. It’s truth in advertising, because issue #258 is the famous “Fantastic Four without the Fantastic Four” issue.

So if the main characters aren’t here, what’s the comic about? It’s a Dr. Doom solo story! It’s several months earlier, before the Negative Zone trip. Doom is on his castle balcony, overlooking Latveria, thinking that all is well. Since retaking the kingdom, the economy is booming, and Doom alleges that all crime and hunger in the country have been eliminated. The peasants are shown all smiling and happy.

Doom visits Kristoff, the boy orphaned back in issue #247. He’s taken the kid under his wing. Kristoff lives at the castle and has a private tutor there. Doom takes Kristoff on a tour of the castle, pausing to destroy a Doombot that carelessly let the villain Arcade strike a match against him in Uncanny X-Men #145. We get more “daily life” stuff of Doom governing his subjects and showing how his robots help in and out of his armor. Then his servant Hauptmann informs him that “the project” is complete.

Doom flashes back to the time he stole the power cosmic from the Silver Surfer (in issues #57-60) and how that didn’t go well for him. He’s now built a machine to replicate those same powers. Doom tests the machine by throwing Hauptmann into it, and it kills Hauptmann in a nightmarish manner, zapping him down to his skeleton. Later, Doom is on the computer, searching for someone strong enough to survive the machine. Kristoff innocently suggests Magneto, saying the mutant’s power rivals Doom. Doom explodes with anger, lifting Kristoff off the floor by his neck, shouting “No one rivals Doom!” An injured and terrified Kristoff runs off, just as Doom finds a name that meets his criteria.

Later, in New York, a bunch of Doom’s robots sneak into a hospital. They find a gigantic man, labeled “John Doe,” wrapped head to toe in bandages. (There’s a reference to the Thing’s fight with the Champion in Marvel Two-In-One #96, so we’re meant to think this is Ben, but it isn’t.) They escape with the man and get him to Latveria. There, we learn this mystery man is Tyros the Terrible, former known as Terrax the Herald of Galactus. (We last saw Terrax/Tyros falling into a dumpster in issue #243.) We get two pages of recapping Tyros’ origin.

Doom hooks Tyros up to the machine (we’re not really told why Tyros just goes along with this) and it works. Tyros is once again given the power cosmic, giving him telekinetic-like power over rocks and earth. He remembers his fall from grace, and swears revenge on the Fantastic Four. Doom provides Tyros with a custom-made “sky sled” to fly to New York and unleash hell. Once he’s gone, Doom reveals that he’s tricked Tyros. Tyros has only five hours to live before the power cosmic destroys him. Doom figures that’s enough time to weaken the FF, so Doom himself can deliver the killing blow.

To be continued!

Trivia time: Here we see some of the behind-the-scenes conflict going on between writer-artist John Byrne and X-Men writer Christ Claremont. Byrne didn’t like how Claremont wrote Dr. Doom, so in this issue he establishes that it wasn’t the “real” Doom.

The scene where Doom grabs Kristoff by the neck has been alternatively praised and criticized over the years for its depiction of child abuse.

One page has Doom considering an offer to be Dr. Strange’s new apprentice. This “Strange needs an apprentice” thing was big ongoing plot in Marvel at the time, and pretty much every magic-using character was considered.

Years later, it’ll be revealed that Dr. Doom’s servant Boris, who appears in one panel, is really Zarrko the Tomorrow Man in disguise.

Commercial break: Guys… girls!

Fantastic or frightful? This issue begins a story arc that is, in my opinion, John Byrne’s best work on Fantastic Four. The big action is coming, but in this issue we get a lot of great character moments for Dr. Doom, Tyros, and even the oft-hated Kristoff. Beautiful artwork, too.

Next week: Rocking and rolling.

****

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

Fantastic Four podcasts! Who wants some? Appropriately, here are four that I’ve been listening to:

Fantasticast. The hosts, a pair from England, are going through not just the Fantastic Four comic series, but every appearance by the characters in any Marvel comic. So, you’ll be getting a lot of Strange Tales, Marvel Two-In-One, and the many guest appearances. Their critiques of each issue are fair and nicely thought out, and they have a ton of great trivia notes on hand. Because they grew up reading the Marvel UK reprints, we get to learn a lot about the baffling ways Marvel UK used to repackage old comics.

The 4Cast. A podcast with a single host, this one started with issue #575 and took us up through the modern times, with a lot of talk about the Hickman run up through the Matt Fraction run. There’s quite a lot of talk about the Fantastic Four movies as well, with a series of ongoing news items leading up the 2015 film.

The Fantastic Fourcast. I’m assuming this is the longest-running FF podcast, with more than 500 episodes. This one is more of a comedy podcast, poking fun at the many absurdities of superhero comics. Episodes are really short, ranging from ten for forty minutes tops, so it’s easy to burn through a bunch of them at a time. The website is a little clunky, though, forcing you to click back through page after page if you’re searching for a specific issue.

Baxter Building. While I’ve been enjoying all four of these podcasts, Baxter Building is my favorite. A spinoff of the Wait, What? podcast, Baxter Building’s two hosts are re-reading the series several issues at a time, so their episodes usually go over two hours each. Still, they’ve got great insight, deep trivia knowledge, and a winning sense of humor. You can follow along with the notes on their website, including some choice scans from the issues. Great stuff all around.

There you go! Hope everyone checks out these podcasts and enjoys them as much I’ve been. If you know of any other FF-specific podcasts, let me know and I’ll check them out

Next week: Doom! (Or maybe something else.)

****

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

Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #257 is called “Fragments,” which is appropriate because it contains a little bit of everything.

We begin in outer space, where Galactus is dying. He’s experiencing a rare bout of compassion, having passed up several populated worlds, sparing them and starving himself. Death — that is, the celestial being that is the universe’s living embodiment of Death — appears before Galactus. We learn that the two have a relationship of sorts, with Death calling Galactus “My husband and father, my brother and son.” (Try finding that on Facebook.) She talks him out of the whole compassion thing, saying the universe is a garden the two of them must weed. Nova (formerly Frankie Raye of Earth) shows up and says she has located a planet for Galactus, the Skrull homeworld.

As Nova battles the Skrull armada, the Skrull empress and her daughter Anelle console each other, knowing it is the end of the world. Galactus arrives on the surface of the planet, and uses his powers to sink straight down the its core. The planet is destroyed, and a fulfilled and sleeping Galactus is returned to his ship, with Nova watching over him.

Back in New York, Johnny is out apartment-hunting with girlfriend Julie D’Angelo and her friend Sharon (who, remember, also has a crush on Johnny). Johnny wants a place of his own, and he really likes this Manhattan loft, complete with a skylight for easy entrance and exit when flying. They go to lunch, where there’s talk about why the FF’s costumes are different now, and some comedy shtick with Johnny using his powers to freak out a waitress.

At the hospital, we learn Franklin is recovering from his injuries. Reed announces that the Baxter Building is not a safe place for Franklin, so he and Sue are planning on buying a house in a small town outside the city, to raise their son in an “atmosphere of normalcy.” Ben thinks this is the end of the FF, but Reed says he and Sue will divide their time between parenting and superheroing. Ben is so happy to hear this that he lifts Reed and Sue off the ground. The doctor tells Ben to be careful because of Sue’s “condition.” Yes, she’s pregnant!

Reed and Sue check in Franklin, and writer-artist John Byrne treats us to a poem. That’s right, a poem! In a Marvel superhero comic book! It’s called “What is a child?” Here it is:

Days later, Sue, disguised in a brown wig, goes house-hunting “along the Atlantic coast,” and finds a suburban home for sale she really likes. She rings the doorbell, and that’s the first cliffhanger of the issue. Reed visits Avengers mansion to check in on the still-comatose Vision. While he’s there, the Scarlet Witch fixes him some tea (!) when the alarm goes off. She runs to the medical lab and finds a huge hole in the wall next to where Reed was just standing.

The “to be continued” for this issue is notable, because it promises no further explanations of Reed’s disappearance or Sue’s house-hunting, and no new developments for Ben or Johnny. The “next issue” box on the letters page is just an empty space with no text. Talk about mysterious!

Unstable molecule: Reed says he and Sue are not leaving the FF simply because whenever the team members go their separate ways, circumstances always bring them back together.

Fade out: The letters page for this issue has a reader suggesting it’s time Sue change her name from Invisible Girl to Invisible Woman. The editor offers a third choice: “Mrs. Fantastic.”

Clobberin’ time: Look closely: The doctor at the hospital is actually Ben’s uncle, whom we got to know back in issue #239. The Thing solo series established that he and Aunt Petunia relocated to New York.

Flame on: Johnny says he’s paying for his new apartment with the money he’s earned as owner of 25 percent of Fantastic Four Inc. The skylight in the apartment recalls the bathroom skylight from Roger Stern’s run Amazing Spider-Man around this same time.

Fantastic fifth wheel: We’re told that Nova is so fully transformed that there’s nothing left of her human self anymore. She considers the possibility that she’s falling in love with Galactus.

In one panel, we see that Reed has built a new version of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot, now named H.U.B.E.R.T. the robot. (Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.)

Commercial break: Not superheroes, mind you, but supercharacters:

Trivia time: Ben’s worrying about whether this is the end of the Fantastic Four was the big cliffhanger at the end of The Thing #2, leading right into this issue.

Why doesn’t Galactus use that big machine of his to devour the planet? The machine is needed to devour one hundred percent of a planet. In his weakened condition, however, Galacus in this issue just goes in and takes what he needs. He still destroys the whole planet, though.

Fantastic or frightful? Here’s a whole issue that exists only to set up future storylines. The Galactus stuff is stellar, especially when you know it isn’t filler but part of something much bigger. There are also some nice character moments and a feeling like these are genuine people.

Next week: In the spirit of this cliffhanger, next week I won’t be reviewing issue #258. In fact, I won’t be reviewing a comic at all. What am I up to? What will it be?!?

****

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