macmcentire

Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. The Negative Zone saga comes to an end in issue #256, but it’s an end that leaves us with a lot of questions as to what’ll happen next.

To recap: A dying Annihlus has taken over the Baxter Building, threatening to merge Earth with the Negative Zone, destroying both universes. In the Negative Zone, Reed’s mind is inside a computer, which is animating his body via a high-tech remote helmet. This is hard to describe, but the issue begins with the Fantastic Four standing on a meteor, surrounded by other meteors, in front of an image of Earth projecting into the Negative Zone. Their ship is behind them, which Reed’s helmet is connected to. There’s a little bit of action as our heroes deflect some oncoming meteors. Then, Reed says he has to take a scanner and get even closer to the area where the two universes are merging.

On Earth, Johnny’s new crush Julie Angel and her friend Sharon are on the way to the Baxter Building, concerned about Johnny. Police have barricaded the area around the building, and a passerby informs the two ladies that the Avengers have gotten involved. In the Negative Zone, there’s more business with the Thing fighting off meteors. Reed rejoins his teammates and reiterates that the two universes are about to be destroyed. He says there’s one thing they might be able to do.

Cut to outer space (in Earth’s universe) where Nova, formerly Frankie Raye and now a herald of Galactus, comes across a Skrull spaceship. She returns to Galactus and tells him that she’s found a source of energy for him to feed — the Skrull homeworld. Then it’s back to the Negative Zone, where Reed has created/summoned a “dimensional analog” of the Baxter Building. The technobabble is impenetrable, but the gist of it is that there’s a slim chance that the FF can get back to their own universe and stop all this. Inside the real Baxter Building, Annihilus senses something is up, just in time for Captain Marvel to appear before him. This is the Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel, remember, and here’s where we pick up the action where Avengers #233 left off.

The next bunch of events happens quickly. A console explodes in front of Annihilus (presumably due to Reed’s actions?) which blows off huge chunks of his armor. On the verge of death, he prepares to throw a switch that will destroy both universes manually (no explanation for why he didn’t just do this to begin with). Reed sees a spike of energy and decides now is the time to cross from one universe to the other. At the same time, a “maw” opens beneath Annihilus and he falls into the Negative Zone. He gets sucked into the gravity of a nearby planet and he explodes.

The Fantastic Four make it back to Earth, in the Baxter Building, causing a massive thunderclap that causes a lot of damage. They arrive with… new costumes! Instead of light blue with black, the suits are now dark blue with white. Also, Reed’s mind is back in his body, somehow. Reed confronts Captain Marvel, thinking she’s the villain, but Ben informs him that she’s a friend. Then things take a turn, when Ben discovers a battered and bruised Alicia in the wreckage. He rushes her to the “hanger deck” to get her to a hospital. Sue runs off to find Franklin, while Reed and Johnny put out the small fires that have started. The rest of the Avengers arrive, again picking up where we left off from their issue. Reed performs tests on the unconscious Vision, and says he’ll be all right in time, although Scarlet Witch continues to worry about him. Sue finds Franklin, also unconscious and battered, so the FF and most of the Avengers rush off the emergency room. Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch stay behind to worry about the Vision.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: We’re told that Reed tends not to notice danger when he gets too focused on solving a problem, and that’s just what happens when he doesn’t see a meteor coming after him. In his thoughts, he worries about putting on a brave face and not letting the others know how scared he is.

Fade out: Despite his best efforts, Sue can tell how bad things are just by looking at Reed’s face.

Clobberin’ time: When leaping from asteroid to asteroid, Ben comments that he doesn’t have the same high-jumping power that the Hulk does, but he gets by.

Flame on: When Johnny is flamed on, he refers to the yellow fire flickering around him as his “corona.”

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk appears in only two panels and has no dialogue.

Four and a half: Sue says Franklin was in the lower floors of the building when the thunderclap went off, so his injuries aren’t as severe as Alicia’s.

Commercial break: Greetings, my fellow programs:

Trivia time: The new dark-blue-and-white uniforms are going to be around for a while, and are usually considered a go-to “alternate” uniform for the team. Some fans argue that the new look is supposed to be black and not dark blue, and that’s an argument that I don’t think will ever be settled.

Ben knows the new Captain Marvel because they’d met in Amazing Spider-Man annual #16. The annual even states that Reed was out of town at the time, so it works that he doesn’t know who she is when he meets her.

The Vision remains immobilized for several more issues of Avengers before recovering, thanks to help from the Titan supercomputer I.S.A.A.C. He exhibits some odd behavior after that, but is back to being a full-time Avenger by the time the Secret Wars happen.

Fantastic or frightful? I’m thinking the conclusion to the Negative Zone saga is not as epic as it could have been. All the sci-tech mumbo jumbo about dimensions and energy fields and anti-matter is dense and unreadable, and why is so much time spent on fighting rocks instead of fighting Annihilus? Fortunately, this issue sets up a lot of story bits that will get paid off later on.

Next week: House hunting.

****

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. But wait, this isn’t an FF comic, it’s Avengers #233. Fantastic Four was popular enough at the time that the Negative Zone tale took over Avengers for one issue.

While the FF are in the Negative Zone, Annihilus came to Earth and took over the Baxter Building, erecting a giant invisible barrier around part of New York. We begin with Captain Marvel — this is the light-powered Monica Rambeau version of Captain Marvel — flying over the city. She runs right into the barrier, and is not able to make it visible despite blasting it with light. She transforms herself into radio waves, cosmic rays, and gamma rays, none of which have any effect on the barrier. She flies to Avengers Mansion to get the team together.

At the mansion, Wasp and Captain Marvel recap the last few issue of Avengers (they fought Plant-Man) and Wasp says she and She-Hulk also just encountered the barrier. In Brooklyn Heights, Captain America is worried about a heavy-drinking Iron Man recently quitting the Avengers. He doesn’t want to tell his girlfriend Bernie about it, though. Cap gets a message on his Avengers signal watch and he jumps into action. Then we check in at the Baxter Building, where Annihilus has Alicia captive. He reiterates his plan. He’s sick and dying without his cosmic control rod, so he’s merging the universe and the Negative Zone. This will destroy both universes in an act of “If I’m going, I’m taking you all with me.”

At the barrier, She-Hulk discovered it is expanding, even as she uses her awesome strength against it. The rest of the team joins her. We got the Wasp, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Thor, and a guy named Starfox. She-Hulk uses Cap’s shield to determine that the barrier is under the street as well. Thor throws his hammer at the barrier, saying he is using “the full unfettered might of the lightning at my command.” The hammer succeeds in breaking through the barrier, which seals up behind it. Now separated from his hammer, Thor has to run off before transforming back into plain ol’ Dr. Donald Blake. Captain America is the only Avenger present that knows Thor’s secret identity, and promises to make an excuse to him leaving.

While the rest of the Avengers huddle and try to make a plan, Starfox sees a beautiful woman watching them. See, in addition to flight and super-strength, Starfox also has the incredibly creepy power of being able to make any woman fall in love with him, so he does that right now. An Avengers Quinjet lands at the scene, and the Vision and the Scarlet Witch step out. The Vision tries to use his walk-through-walls power to enter the barrier. It looks like it works at first, but then the Vision collapses, as if all his android parts merely shut off. Scarlet Witch uses her hex fields against the barrier, but no luck.

Starfox continues to creep on the hypnotized woman, when he sees a strange light come from the Baxter Building. Based on this, he deduces that the two universes are merging, threatening to destroy them both. Starfox comes up with a plan to use Captain Marvel’s powers against the barrier. From the Baxter Building, Annihilus broadcasts a message to all New York, saying all will perish alongside him. Captain Marvel flies into space, traveling at her fastest speed, all the way to the sun. She absorbs vast amounts of gamma ray energy from the sun, and then blasts back to Earth, transforming herself into a gamma laser. She breaks through the barrier, which causes all kinds of crazy lights to go off around the Baxter Building. With that, the barrier disappears.

Donald Blake sneaks back up to Thor’s hammer and transforms back into Thor. The Vision, however, is still out of it, showing no life signs. Thor carries the Vision to the Baxter Building, promising to help. The rest of the Avengers crowd into the Baxter Building’s elevator, which the Wasp is able to activate. The Wasp somehow has one of the FF’s signal belts, to summon the private elevator to the top floors. The rest of this issue is word-for-word the same as Fantastic Four #256, so I’ll save that for next time. In other words…

To be continued!!!

Fantastic fifth wheel: She-Hulk is flirty with Starfox at first, but later threatens to beat him up (!) when he suggests that the Earth might be doomed. They apparently settle their differences, because in the next issue it’s strongly hinted that they’d had a one-night stand.

Super soldier: Captain America might have revealed his secret identity to Bernie Rosenthal, but doesn’t want to discuss superhero matters with her. Cap is really broken up about Iron Man quitting the team, as he mentions it several times.

God of Thunder: At one point, Thor thinks to himself, “Dr. Blake will miss his flight back to Chicago this day.” Dude, you can fly! Why are you bothering with all the hassles of the airport?

Dammit Janet: The Wasp was team leader of the Avengers during this time, and we see a couple of panels with her coordinating with the NYPD to keep the streets cleared of civilians during the action.

Photonic: This is actually Captain Marvel’s first day on the job as an Avenger. Except that she joined the team back in issue #227. She reveals that the events of last seven Avengers issues — including battling the Masters of Evil, rescuing the U.S. President, Jocasta’s funeral, Iron Man quitting the team, and the fight with Plant-Man — all took place on the same day as this issue.

Commercial break: The Kool-Aid Man comic is considered one of the worst, if not the worst, Marvel comics of all time, so of course it has a small cult following today:

Trivia time: So, how did the FF story bleed over into Avengers like this? This issue was co-written and penciled by FF writer-artist John Byrne. In that sense, it’s kind of like an Avengers fill-in issue.

The issue after this one deals with the Vision recovering from his injury, with extended flashbacks about his and Scarlet Witch’s history.

Hawkeye was also a member of the Avengers team during this time, but was out of action due to a broken leg.

Fantastic or frightful? This was just before comics went total crossover-happy, so two books combining a plotline was still quite the novelty. Still, the Avengers part of the story is still mostly on the periphery. This is a fun issue, but low on substance.

Next week: We all fall down.

****

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. Seems like the epic Negative Zone arc just got started, and now, in issue #255, we’re already barreling toward the big finale.

Previously, an alien named Taranith stole Reed’s consciousness to fuel his psionic-powered spaceship and make an escape from a primitive planet. Separating Reed’s body from the ship effectively killed him. (Got all that?) We begin far away from there, in New York City, with Daredevil doing the superhero jumping-from-rooftop-to-rooftop thing. He comes across the invisible barrier around several blocks of the city, so invisible that even his heightened senses can’t detect it. Inside the Baxter Building, at the center of the barrier, Annihilus explains his evil plan to his captive Alicia. Turns out he’s sick and dying. He’s going to merge Earth’s universe and the Negative Zone into one, destroying them both, and ending his own personal pain in the process. He reveals his scarred face to Alicia (but not to us) but she can’t see it because she’s blind. Annihilus flips out, promising to kill Alicia.

Then we cut to the Negative Zone, where Reed is described as not “dead,” but “mindless.” Johnny tries to fight Taranith, but the alien has deathtraps set up inside the ship. He blasts Johnny with fire extinguisher-type stuff. Sue and Ben chase Taranith around, but because he’s a little worm-like guy, he gets away from them and escapes into further into his ship. He fires up the ship’s engines, and the ship takes off in a spectacular two-page spread.

The FF, with Ben carrying Reed’s body, continue to fight their way through the ship. Taranith is about to open a hatch and throw them out into the vacuum of space, but something stops him. It’s… Reed! Reed’s mind/consciousness/whatever has taken over the ship’s computer , and he’s now in control of the whole ship. Taranith hops into an escape pod and takes off, but the pod malfunctions thanks to years of misuse on the planet, and it explodes. An image of Reed’s face appears on a viewscreen. He says he’s set a course for Earth, and he’ll work on a way to getting his mind back into his body.

Two weeks later (!), Reed has devised a helmet that allows the computer animate his body, but his mind is still not actually in his body. Okay, sure. The ship heads back to that space tunnel thing from issue #251, only to find it destroyed. On the viewscreen, the FF sees an image of Earth before them. Reed deduces that the two universes are being drawn together, towards mutual annihilation. (Yes, Reed actually says the words “mutual annihilation.”)

To be continued… in somebody else’s comic!

Unstable molecule: We’re told that Reed’s powers give his unconscious body a natural resilience to damage, allowing Ben to carry Reed’s body around during the fight.

Fade out: Sue is the one who builds the special helmet for Reed, following his instructions precisely.

Clobberin’ time: Ben uses his pilot knowledge to figure out how gravity works aboard the ship, and how to find the control room.

Flame on: Johnny suspects there are sensors everywhere in this ship, so his strategy is to fly through the ship as fast as he can, before Taranith can react. Unfortunately, Reed takes control of the ship before we learn whether Johnny’s tactic would have worked.

Four and a half: Franklin is shown in one panel, unconscious and still a prisoner of Annihilus.

Commercial break: Kingpin, Turk*, and Bullseye offer you a weirdly complicated subscription deal:

*(Thanks to MarkAndrew for the correction!)

Trivia time: The reason why Annihilus is sick and dying is because Blastaar stole his all-powerful Cosmic Control Rod in Marvel Two-And-One #75.

According to the Marvel Wiki, Taranith never returned after this issue (not counting a flashback in issue #271). That’s too bad, because I always thought he had the makings of a major Marvel baddie — really smart and really, really evil.

Speaking of issue #271, Reed’s experience in this issue, with his brain getting all Matrix-y, will come back to haunt him and subsequently send the team on one of its craziest adventures. We’ll get to that soon enough.

Daredevil’s cameo in this issue takes place between Daredevil #195 and #196. Continuity!

Fantastic or frightful? As a single issue, this one is pretty slim, with not a lot happening. As part of the ongoing Negative Zone story, though, it does what was intended by transitioning from act two to act three. It’s fun to see the tiny Taranith run circles around the FF, and the exterior drawings of the ship in action are some terrific artwork.

Next week: Assemble!

****

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. You guys like Dr. Who, right? Because this issue is as close as we’ve come (so far) to a Fantastic Four/Dr. Who crossover.

We’re continuing our multi-issue arc with our heroes exploring the Negative Zone. On an alien world, a golden-masked, black-robed figure named Taranith welcomes a young married couple into his gigantic citadel, in a celebratory, wedding-like. Deep inside the keep, a pair of doors open, and the young couple scream in terror. We cut from there to the FF, who are visiting this world incognito, dressed like the locals, in a vaguely Arabic style. Reed says the disguises are because he’s detected odd energy signals from the citadel.

Arriving in the city, the FF rent two rooms at a local inn/hotel-type place. Johnny and Ben explore the town, including peeping into a sexy “house of ill repute.” The whole time, Taranith and his spies are watching the FF from afar. Some bandits get the jump on Ben and Johnny, who blow their cover as they fight them off. At the hotel, Reed and Sue are in bed together (wha-hey!) when they, too are attacked. Taranith shows up to stop the fighting, welcoming the FF to the planet Mantracora.

Back in New York, Annihilus is still running around unchecked inside the Baxter Building. He throws a switch that causes all the office workers in the lower floors to be overcome with panic and flee the building. Outside, She-Hulk and the Wasp are out apartment-hunting (!) when the see the panicked mob. The two Avengers run into an invisible barrier surrounding part of the city, with the Baxter Building at its center.

In the Negative Zone, Taranith apologies for his actions and invites the FF inside his citadel. He treats them to a meal, which has been drugged. Reed passes out, and the rest of the team are placed in a featureless room. Ben rips up the floor to find curved metal underneath. Elsewhere, Reed wakes up, with his head attached to an alien device. He’s surrounded by dead bodies also attached to the device. Taranith explains that he is not originally from this world. He’s from a far more technogically advanced place, and his ship crash-landed on this barbaric planet some time ago. He says Reed is the key he needs to get his ship and running again, to get back into space. Also, underneath his robes, Taranith is a little lizard-lookin’ guy.

Sue, Johnny and Ben work together to escape, and find their way to Taranith. Acting without thinking, Ben pulls Reed off of the device, but Reed doesn’t wake up. Taranith explains that Reed’s mind has been transferred to his ship’s “matrix,” where his psionic energy will power the ship for takeoff. In true villain fashion, Taranith adds, “The man you once knew is forever dead!”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Does Reed have heightened senses? His scanner didn’t pick up any evidence of drugs in the food, but then he’s able to taste the drug seconds before passing out.

Fade out: Hard to believe, but this is the first time in the comic’s history that Reed and Sue are shown in bed together. Their gettin’ it on in this issue will have serious consequences much later.

Clobberin’ time: To escape the featureless room, Ben uses just one finger. He sticks his finger in a tiny hole and uses its strength to peel up part of the floor. Ben also compares the planet to the movie Zardoz, which I find hilarious.

Flame on: Johnny is now able to focus his mega-powerful nova flame into a single, concentrated beam, which he uses as part of the escape. Sue comments that the nova flame is powerful enough to level an entire city.

Fantastic fourth wheel: Say hello to She-Hulk, everyone! Her appearance in this issue generated a lot of interest, mostly thanks to writer-artist John Byrne drawing her so she looks stunningly beautiful. This issue more or less begins her road to becoming the FF’s most well-known alternate fifth member.

Commercial break: This D&D artwork is interesting, but doesn’t quite capture the whole “fantasy adventure” thing, does it?

Trivia time: What’s the Dr. Who connection? This one explicitly references (some might say rips off) the 1976 episode, “The Mask of Mandragora,” featuring a gold-masked character like this issue. The scene where Taranith removes his helmet to show nothing underneath is direct shout-out to a nearly identical moment in the TV episode.

Fantastic or frightful? Another fun space opera romp, full of dazzling visuals. We get a great villain, Sue taking a leadership role during the escape, and a huge cliffhanger. I can’t think of anything bad to say about this one.

Next week: Insane in the mainframe.

****

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. Here’s the next part of the multi-issue Negative Zone arc, promising more spaced-out space adventure.

We begin in the Negative Zone, on board a gigantic spaceship, that’s all cruddy and run-down inside. The aliens on board locate a strange ship and beam it aboard. It’s the Fantastic Four’s exploratory module. Our heroes are quick to comment on the musty stink of the inside of the ship, and Reed estimates that it is ten thousand years old. The aliens rush out to confront our heroes, and there’s a brief fight.

The alien commander stops the fight, and says the FF are their honored guests. They treat the heroes to a lavish meal, which Reed says is safe to eat. The commander tells his story. The aliens are from the planet Kestor, which was once a paradise. After a series of eco-disasters, it was decided that the planet was no longer inhabitable, so the entire population was loaded onto an arc. Most are in suspended animation, except for the crew and their descendants. Then, there was another disaster, which shorted out the ship’s computer, erasing the location of their new home world. The aliens have been wandering space ever since, in hopes of finding it. Reed takes a look at the computer and says there are backups that he might be able to fix.

Back on Earth, Julie Angel is hanging out with her roommate Sharon. Julie has just got a spunky new short haircut, and calls the Baxter Building to ask if Johnny wants to come over a see it. Annihilus is still lurking all alone inside the Baxter Building, and he inexplicably answers the phone (!) and tells Julie off. He then collapses, finding it hard to breathe. He removes his exo-skeletal helmet (we don’t see his face) and, although we don’t learn his plan yet, he promises annihilation for both his universe and ours.

In the Negative Zone, Reed has located a planet nearly identical to Kestor. The alien arc lands, and the commander and his number one are first to set foot on this new world. It’s a lush green paradise, complete with pretty butterflies, but the aliens won’t have it. They rush back into the ship, calling the planet foul and polluted. Reed realizes that the aliens have evolved to live inside the filth-ridden ship, but the ones in suspended animation are still primed for conditions on the new world. The commander refuses this explanation, saying, “We do not evolve.”

The commander launches engines. Reed tries to stop him, and a fight breaks out. The aliens duke it out with the FF for a few pages, when number one reveals to the commander a terrible truth. The FF fight their way into the commander’s chamber, to find him dead of suicide. Number one says that when the ship’s computer was damaged, everyone in suspended animation also died. This was kept secret from the surviving crew, so they’d have something to hope for. The FF agree to keep the secret. They part ways with the aliens. We’re told the aliens will continue on their hopeless quest… forever.

Unstable molecule: Reed has invented special nutrition pills for the FF to eat during their journey, which keep them sustained but have no taste.

Fade out: Sue uses her powers in multiple ways during the fight, tricking them with invisibility and stunning them with force fields.

Clobberin’ time: Ben starts eating the alien food before Reed gives him the okay. Perhaps Ben has a super-strong stomach.

Flame on: Julie’s roommate Sharon thinks to herself that she wouldn’t mind having Johnny visit again, so Johnny’s new romance is now officially a love triangle.

Commercial break: Yum.

Trivia time: This issue was on TV! On a February 1983 episode of The A-Team titled “A Small and Deadly War,” the character Howlin’ Mad Murdock can clearly be seen reading this comic.

Fantastic or frightful? Another old fashioned sci-fi short story, this one heavily reminiscent of early Star Trek. It’s odd that Reed just lets the aliens go at the end instead of continue trying to help them, but along the way there’s a lot of fun human/alien interaction and more jaw-droppingly gorgeous art from John Byrne.

Next week: Intellect and romance triumphs over brute force and cynicism.

****

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