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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In vol. 5 #3, writer James Robinson keeps things moving with a powerless hero, frustrated parents, and continuity references galore.

After New York was invaded by insect-like aliens from within Franklin’s old pocket universe (long story), Reed used energy from the Negative Zone to stop them. Except Johnny was caught in that same energy, and now he’s lost his powers. This issue begins with Reed explaining that Johnny died and was resurrected while in the Negative Zone (this was during the Jonathan Hickman run), so the energy that rendered the insects comatose had an effect on Johnny as well. Reed says he’ll work on reversing the effects, but Johnny says he won’t hold his breath. Until then, he says, he’ll stick to just being Johnny Storm, concentrating on his new music career.

Ben hangs out with Alicia at her studio, telling her about a recent team-up he’s had with Deathlok. She expresses concern over him always being in danger, and he promises to protect her, no matter what. A mysterious winged figure is watching them, and we see that this person is spying on them on behalf of the Puppet Master. He watches them from a distance.

Out in New York, Reed is meeting with Damage Control about the cleanup following last issue’s battle. Reed wonders how the insects got out of containment. He later talks to the new Nick Fury about it, saying that he’s having trouble cracking the insects’ molecular structure. Fury says S.H.I.E.L.D. is considering exterminating the rest of the insects, rather than leaving them comatose.

Cut to the bottom of the ocean, where Sue and Namor are taking the Future Foundation kids on an expedition to see a bunch of the Giganto whale-like creatures. Atlanteans Vil and Wu say they’re not homesick, and prefer being a part of the FF family. This causes Sue to flashback to sometime earlier. Sue finds a note in Valeria’s room. This how Valeria tells Sue she has left for Latveria, “where I intend to stay for the time being,” she writes. She says she’s disappointed by how Reed handled things during their recent trip through spacetime, and that Dr. Doom might be willing to listen to new ideas after being brutally defeated by Ant-Man. Val writes, “Please don’t follow me” and “I will return when I’m ready.” Turn the page and we see Valeria with Doom, overlooking the people of Latveria. She tells him that instead of tearing down the world, she thinks he should build it up.

Johnny meets with his publicist. He muses about his old solo adventures from Strange Tales, calling those memories “Goofy.” Reed makes a discovery in his lab and contacts Fury. Reed insists that insects aren’t to be killed or even tested, because… they’re actually humans! Johnny and Ben take a walk through Times Square, with Johnny still insisting he’s fine with that’s happened. Then they’re attacked by a powerful force that tears up the street under them. Johnny is about to fight back, only for no powers. Ben steps up to find they’re against the Wrecker. But instead of yet another new version of the Wrecking Crew, the Wizard appears alongside Cannonball and a new, female Bulldozer. The Wizard announces this as the new Frightful Four!

To be continued!  

Unstable molecule: Reed’s very longwinded explanation of how Johnny lost his powers include how he only has partial knowledge of Franklin’s pocket universe, so he spliced the unknown bits with parts from other dimensions that he had at his disposal, notably the Negative Zone. I guess this means Reed keeps samples from all the alternate dimensions the FF have visited.

Fade out: Sue references how she’s still the emissary to the recently-discovered Old Atlantis, and that she’s visiting the undersea kingdom more than ever.

Clobberin’ time: Ben’s team-up with Deathlok was fight the Secret Empire. It doesn’t look like this was story was properly told in some other comic, but I could be wrong. This version of Deathlok is the new one, Deathlok Prime, who was a supporting character in X-Force.

Flame off: Johnny’s nostalgia includes looking back at his battles against Asbestos Man, also referenced in the Marvels Snapshot FF one-shot.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Namor helping lead the undersea expedition means we can count this as him serving as an alternate member of the team. Johnny says Darla Deering has reached out to him to ask if he’s okay. And freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot can be seen assisting Reed in the lab in one panel.

Four and a half: The other kids ask Franklin about the creepy way Namor always looks at Sue. Franklin just says, “I’ve gotten used to it.”

Our gal Val: For many comic readers, the iconic image of Valeria is her standing by Dr. Doom’s side. This issue is where that originates.

The Alicia problem: Johnny congratulates Ben on getting back together with Alicia, and then he muses about Lyja, calling her “quite possibly the love of my life.” He adds that she was last seen in the Negative Zone. He tried looking for her during his time there, but there was no sign of her.

Foundational: Alex Power muses about how both Namor and Giganto were once considered the FF’s enemies. Sue tells him, “Times change, and people with it.”

Trivia time: While it assumed for many years that Giganto was just one monster, this issue confirms an entire species of Gigantos living in the deep sea. The Marvel Wiki says it’s unknown how many there are, and they might either Atlantean or Deviant (from The Eternals) in nature.

The last time we saw Damage Control in Fantastic Four, they had become evil war profiteers during Civil War. Now they’ve reverted back to comic relief status. The only members seen in this issue are the no-nonsense Lenny and dog sidekick Fluppy. Kathleen O’Meara, who was once considered as a love interest for the Thing, does not appear.

Fantastic or frightful? While the Valeria/Dr. Doom thing is a fascinating new status quo, it feels out of character for the FF not to tear apart Doom’s castle to get her back. Beyond that, this is a nice table-setting issue, moving multiple storylines forward and addressing lots of continuity without overwhelming the reader, something Robinson was always very good at.

Next: The Replacements.

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Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. After setting the stage last issue, writer James Robinson delivers big action in vol. 5, issue #2.

After catching up with what our heroes have been up to, a portal opened inside the new Baxter Building and a bunch of insect-like creatures burst out. We begin with another narration, this time from Sue’s personal journal, written sometime in the future. She says this is where it all began, the end of the Fantastic Four.

We see the building rocked by an explosion. Dragon Man protects the Future Foundation kids while our heroes regroup. Johnny says the insects are now out and about, attacking the city. Franklin adds that he can sense the creatures and they “come from my world.” He means the pocket universe he created with his reality-altering mutant powers from Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return. We know this because he describes it as, “where you and those other heroes were reborn.” He says the pocket universe has gotten sick and infected, and someone let it out.

The FF take off in a sleek new Fantasticar, with an entire page devoted to how it splits into four quads. By now, the creatures have attacked the whole of Manhattan. Sue, Ben, and Johnny fight the insects. Reed muses about who might be behind this, and how this is a puzzle he can’t quite solve. The Wasp flies up to Reed and announces that all of New York’s superheroes are joining the battle. For the record, we’ve got Wasp, Captain America, Wolverine, Rogue, and Havok from the Uncanny Avengers team; Luke Cage, Spectrum, and the Blue Marvel from the Mighty Avengers team; Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man from the regular Avengers team, and Daredevil, Giant-Man, and Mach-VII making this solo adventures for themselves.

Johnny subdues one of the insects so Reed can get it back to the lab. Reed heads straight back there in hopes of a solution while the rest of the heroes keep fighting. Reed then regroups with everyone at the Fantasticar. He’s invented a device filled with “cytotoxin” that will neutralize the creatures if blasted with heat from the upper atmosphere over the city. Johnny volunteers, despite Reed warning there could be side effects.

Johnny flies off and activates the device, creating a massive fireball across the sky. It works, as all the insects are stunned and fall. Sue spots johnny knocked out and falling with them. Reed catches him as he comes to. In a daze, he says, “I can’t feel them anymore,” and “It’s like I’ve lost a limb or something.” He then sheds a tear and says, “My powers are gone.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed says he developed his toxin by getting part of it from inside the Negative Zone, something that will come up next issue. But did he already have this in his lab from a previous adventure, or do we assume this alien invasion issue also has an entire Negative Zone expedition in it?

Fade out: Sue’s narration stops after just the first page, instead running through the whole issue like last time.

Clobberin’ time: While Reed sits up front in the new Fantasticar, it’s pointed out that Ben is the team pilot, and he’s the one who initiates the separation sequence.

Flame on: Johnny jokes that all Ben has to do is push the big button while flying the Fantasticar. But then, during the finale, his instructions for the toxin device are also to push the big button.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Spider-Man in this issue isn’t the real Spidey! It’s the Superior Spider-Man, a.k.a. Dr. Octopus’ brain inside Peter Parker’s dead body. One of the more misbegotten stories in Spider history. Luke Cage is also in the fight. This Giant-Man is the original, Hank Pym, not the FF’s Scott Lang.

Four and a half: Franklin cries out for his parents seconds before the explosion, able to sense that something’s up with the pocket universe he created.

Foundational: Artie Matticks is colored green in this issue, rather than his usual pink/purple. Let’s just say it’s the lighting.

Trivia time: The last time we saw inside the pocket universe (which the Marvel Wiki still insists on calling “Counter Earth”), that Earth had been conquered by Dr. Doom, only for it to become a Mad Max-like post apocalypse. He conquered that world again (!) and left it in charge of his general, Lancer, in the 2000 Doom miniseries.

Fantastic or frightful? Pretty impressive to pack an entire alien invasion crossover into a single issue. It’s all about building up to that last page, setting the stage for more complications in future issues. It’s one piece of a larger whole, but still a fun read.

Next: Get wrecked.

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Want more? My ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is back on the Kindle store! A man searches for his missing sister in a futuristic city filled with far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. Only $0.99 or free with KU!

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. It’s the beginning of the end, people. As writer James Robinson takes over the series, we begin building up to the 2015 Secret Wars which closed the book (for a time) on the FF. But first, here’s vol. 5, issue #1.

James Robinson is of course famous for his revitalization of DC’s Starman, tying together all the past versions of the character in one big epic saga, while also making it accessible to casual readers. It’s one of the all-time greats. Beyond that, he’s worked a lot. Mostly for DC, but some for Marvel and indie comics. He’s also a Hollywood guy, working on the films Comic Book Villains (2002) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). On art, we have Leonard Kirk. He got his start on the always-awesome Dinosaurs for Hire, and he worked with Peter David on Supergirl, Aquaman, and X-Factor. His more recent work has included Avengers Inc. and two Sabretooth miniseries.

We begin in a dark place where Sue is writing a letter to Franklin and Valeria, hoping that someday they’ll understand the dark time their family is currently going through. Some time has passed, and we see that things have changed since the last issue. Sue says Reed has devoted himself to his lab work as a broken shell of a man. Ben is in prison after Reed’s testimony (!). Johnny has surrounded himself with drinking and women, with Sue saying he’s “too far gone.” Sue says she’s never felt more alone and heartbroken, even if not long ago things felt so bright and golden.

We flashback to the Fantastic Four in action, fighting the dragon Fin Fang Foom, who is attacking New York. Note that the heroes have on their stylin’ new red uniforms. No reason is given for this, but here they are. Reed has a neutralizer ready to take down Fin Fang Foom, but it takes time to calibrate, so the others have to keep the monster distracted. After some fighting and classic FF banter, they manage to defeat the monster. S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives under the leadership of the new Nick Fury, son of the original, to haul away the unconscious Fin Fang Foom. Reed thinks something is up, as Foom is normally intelligent, and not acting like a animalistic monster.

Back at HQ that night, we get a look at why Sue is so sad. Valeria has left her and Reed to go live with Dr. Doom in Latveria. Reed says it’s because they kept secrets from her during their yearlong trip through time and space from the previous story arc, and he encourages Sue to be patient and let Val have her space. They’re interrupted by the Future Foundation kids horsing around. This cheers Sue up a bit, while Reed informs her that Ben and Johnny have both taken off for the night.

Ben is visiting Alicia in her studio. He says their situation has been “casual” for a long time now, but he wants them to be a couple again. Alicia touches his face and says she’d like that too. Johnny, meanwhile, visits his manager about the release of his new album, Storm Warning. The manager says the record contract is contingent on Johnny not going into space or other dimensions. Johnny promises to keep things earthbound, and he signs the contract.

That night, Sue concludes the letter, saying that things seem bright even though Valeria left. But then, in the middle of the night, a doorway inside the new Baxter Building marked Gateway F switches from “sealed” to “unsealed” and a bunch of monsters burst out of it. Sue writes in the letter, “This day marked the end of happiness. The end of hope. The end of family.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed built an anti-Fin Fang Foom neutralizer some time ago, and just kept it around in case the monster decided to attack NYC. I wonder if he came up with this during his “solve everything” phase during the Jonathan Hickman days.

Fade out: Sue uses multiple force fields at once during the fight, standing on one while using two to keep falling debris away from civilians, and a fourth to keep Fin Fang Foom at bay.

Clobberin’ time: Ben and Alicia broke up way back in The Thing #1 in the ‘80s. While it’s often been strongly hinted at that there’s still romance there, they’ve not been an official couple again until this issue. (Does Ben even know about Alicia and the Silver Surfer?)

Flame on: Despite promising to stay on Earth, the final sequence has one panel showing Johnny flying through space already.

Four and a half: Franklin also wears the new red uniform, while the rest of the Future Foundation sticks with their usual white outfits.

Our gal Val: I’ve read ahead, so I know the circumstances of Valeria’s leaving will get more detail in the future. The Marvel Wiki tells me there’s also an issue of X-Factor from around this time dealing with Valeria and Dr. Doom, but there’s no footnote saying what issue it is, and I didn’t feel like reading a year’s worth of X-Factor this week.

Foundational: The Future Foundation kids are upset because they think Bentley-23 has invented a death ray. Turns out it’s a death-by-chocolate ray, which is not as frightening but could still be dangerous. Dragon Man promises to take care of the situation.

Trivia time: It’s Fin Fang Foom! Back in the pre-Fantastic Four monster comics days, he was a dragon-like alien who crashed to Earth in ancient China and filled with role of a Chinese dragon. After being defeated, he came back to life by combining a human’s body with a variety of lizards, which is referenced in this issue. Despite some possibly problematic culturalisms, Fin Fang Foom is a favorite among Marvel writers and artists whenever they want a giant monster fight. He previously encountered the FF in a miniseries called Fin Fang Four in 2005. I didn’t cover it for this blog because I have no copies or scans of it.

Fantastic or frightful? There’s a stark change in tone between the light and playful Matt Fraction run and the sad and morose feel of this one. Still, it does a good job of setting up the new status quo while dropping lots of hints as to where the story is going in the future – something Robinson did quite well in Starman. But, again, this is the beginning of the end. The question is, at one point did everyone at Marvel know the series was ending? I don’t think this issue was written with that in mind, but maybe.

Next: Quit bugging me.

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Want more? My ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is back on the Kindle store! A man searches for his missing sister in a futuristic city filled with far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. Only $0.99 or free with KU!

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. By this time, Marvel was the biggest name in Hollywood, so our heroes get the movie pitch treatment in Fantastic Four: Season One.

What’s all this, then? This was one of several “Season One” comics Marvel released in 2011-2013. It looks to me like they were trying to attract folks who liked the Marvel movies but had never read the comics before. It’s similar to the Ultimate Universe, which was also an attempt to draw in new readers, but which had already become unwieldy by this point, as we’re past the craziness of the Ultimatum crossover by now.

So we’re retelling the FF’s origin story again, with some new tweaks. It begins with catching up with what everyone’s doing the night before the fateful rocket launch. Sue is having tea with friends, who are asking her why Reed hasn’t proposed yet. Reed is in the lab with fellow genius Alyssa Moy, as he debates whether to break the law and take off in the rocket, just to advance space travel to the next level. Ben is in the gym, training for the big night. Johnny is both a mechanic and a male model (!), bragging to a pretty girl about how he’s “flying to Cali” in the morning.

The next morning, the ship takes off with our four on board. Alyssa monitors from the surface, pointing out that this is the first-ever privately owned, privately financed, and privately launched spacecraft. The goal is just to go into orbit and take in the view, while Reed and Sue have a romantic moment up there. But then of course the ship is bombarded by cosmic rays. It’s all very similar to the Lee/Kirby original, with hints of powers emerging as the ship goes out of control.

Cut to the woods in upstate New York, where the four emerge from the crashed ship, and their powers kick in for the first time. Everyone’s in a bit of a panic at the body horror of it all, especially Ben, who starts fighting Reed. Rather than decide to be superheroes on the spot, the fight is broken up by Alyssa, who arrives in a hovercraft to rescue everyone. She’s also managed to keep the spaceflight and the crash out of the news.

That night, everyone is in lockdown at the Baxter Building, previously established as the location of Reed and Alyssa’s lab. Johnny breaks lockdown and goes for a motorcycle ride, eventually flaming on and flying for the first time. Ben is also outside, moping around the city streets, focusing on how he’ll never have a normal life again. Meanwhile, there’s some tension between Sue and Alyssa, despite Alyssa saying there’s nothing going on between her and Reed.

The next morning, we get a news report about strange earthquakes felt in the NYC subway, followed by Alyssa contacting the four about a prehistoric creature rampaging through midtown. Reed, Ben, and Johnny take the hovercraft to midtown with Sue staying behind. They confront a giant green monster, familiar as the one from the original Fantastic Four #1 cover. Ben and Johnny try to lure it to Central Park where it can do less damage. Back at HQ, Sue and Alyssa talk about being left behind, and Alyssa says there’s a second hovercraft.

Sue flies to the scene just as the Mole Man appears, riding a second giant monster. Sue manages to talk some sense into the Mole Man by saying he isn’t ugly, and then she defeats the monster with a force field after it swats the other three heroes around. The Mole Man is now an ally, given his own lab inside the Baxter Building. A TV reporter is on site, putting the four on the air and making them famous. Reed shows Sue his plans for building on this, turning them into a team with matching uniforms. Alyssa is the one who gives everyone their code names, based on market research, there’s a press conference announcing the Fantastic Four to the world.

A mysterious man living near the docks sees the TV report and is flooded with memories about the original WWII-era (era) Human Torch. This is Namor, having wandered the Earth as an amnesiac for some time. He goes from vagrant back to original Namor, and then he steals an ancient Atlantean horn from a museum. In the lab, Reed, Alyssa, and the Mole Man come up with a plan to harness the cosmic rays again, this time under controlled circumstances, to turn Ben back into a human. It actually works, and Ben is his old self again. Then Sue contacts everyone, as she and Johnny are now fighting Namor out in the ocean. He’s overpowered them both and is threatening to summon a giant monster from the deep to attack New York.

Reed fights Namor out in the ocean, while Ben frets over whether to step back into the cosmic ray machine and get his powers back to help everyone.  Just as Namor’s monster arrives in NYC, Ben turns back into the Thing and rides the Mole Man’s monster from earlier to the scene, for a big monster brawl. Johnny gets hold of the horn and leads Namor’s creature back to sea, while Sue and Reed capture Namor. Ben says to Reed he had to become the Thing again because stakes are bigger than they’ve ever been before, and that they must have been given these powers for a reason. And just like that, Season One ends with a caption saying the world would never be the same.

Unstable molecule: Reed is accused of “space tourism” being the reason for the FF’s famous spaceflight. He says tourism is only a business model, and that the flight is about much more than that.

Fade out: The main character arc of this series is the Sue/Reed/Alyssa thing. Sue’s friends keep asking why she’s with Reed and if she should start dating someone else. After confronting Namor, Sue makes a case about why she’s with Reed, even if they seem mismatched to everyone else.

Clobberin’ time: Ben sacrificing his humanity to save his teammates comes late in the story, and comes and goes quick that it doesn’t have the emotional punch it could.

Flame on: Johnny is dating a photographer named Zoe throughout this story, even flying her out to the torch (get it?) atop the Statue of Liberty for some alone time.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Alyssa describes herself as being “the fifth Beatle” in the team, saying she’s still a part of everything and just as capable as the rest, except she doesn’t have super powers. In the main Marvel Universe, Alyssa was Reed’s ex-girlfriend from before he and Sue got together, but this series only hints at that.

Trivia time: One panel shows what appears to be Dr. Doom in Latveria, watching the news report about the FF. But, there was no Season Two. The other Marvel comics to get the Season One treatment were Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Wolverine, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, and Daredevil. This version of the Fantastic Four had a cameo in the Daredevil one.

Fantastic or frightful? Would this be a good choice for someone who’s never read a Marvel comic before? I’m not so sure. It’s very fast paced, blasting through multiple storylines in its 100 pages. Namor and Mole Man come out of nowhere and have little impact, while Alyssa Moy gets just as much page time as the Fantastic Four. All the pieces are to establish who the Fantastic Four are, but there’s not enough room left to establish why they’re a big deal.

Next: Here’s to you, Mr. Robinson.

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Want more? My ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is back on the Kindle store! A man searches for his missing sister in a futuristic city filled with far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. Only $0.99 or free with KU!

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Just when you thought this two-series at once thing was over, there’s one last bit to wrap things up.

Writer Matt Fraction’s experimental dual run comes to an end with Dr. Doom defeated in one comic and Doom the Annihilating Conqueror defeated in the other. Then, both Fantastic Four vol. 4 #16 and FF vol. 2 #16 end with the exact same ten pages, wrapping up the subplots we’ve been following since the start. How does it all end? With a barbecue… on the moon!

The casts of both comics are assembled, with a few other guests. Johnny is cooking burgers and hot dogs on a grill, because of course he is. He and Wyatt Wingfoot toast the memory of Old John Storm, who sacrificed himself to save everyone. The Silver Surfer is there, rushing to the scene after sensing the Watcher had been attacked. Ben asks She-Hulk if she and any of the replacement Fantastic Four – her, Ant-Man, Medusa, and Darla Deering – and she says she doesn’t know. Ben and She-Hulk seem almost flirtatious, but agree to be just friends. Wyatt asks Johnny if there’s a girl for him. He sees Darla with Ant-Man and says, “None, it seems.”

Reed and the Watcher observe from a distance, with Reed worrying about whether Johnny will end up like Old John. The Watcher has recently learned he’s going to become a father, and for the first time in a millennia, he faces an uncertain future. Sue and the Watcher’s partner Ulana have a similar heart-to-heart. Ulana says her unborn child is already watching, and it will be born when the time is right.

Turn the page, and Reed has gone from wistful to aggressive, criticizing Ant-Man for battling Dr. Doom when his job was to protect the Future Foundation kids. But when Ant-Man describes how he did it, by using the Pym particles in new ways. This excites Reed, and he wants to share the news with Valeria. Valeria is inside Reed’s ship, pondering running away from home. Onome, the FF’s resident Wakandan genius, talks her out of it, and they rejoin the barbecue.

At this point, I see it’s almost the end of the comic, and I’m all, “Didn’t more happen during this part?” Flip over to the FF issue, and there’s additional story content! Cut back to the Thing/She-Hulk conversation, where the Moloids watch them from a distance. They’re perplexed at the two being just friends, but they remain loyal to Ben no matter what. Next Ant-Man and Darla have their heart-to-heart. She says he’s been avoiding her, and he says they can’t be together because of everything he’s been through. He then realizes, though, that just means he’s been given a second chance at life. He and Darla have a big romantic kiss.

A bunch of the Future Foundation kids discuss the Pym particles in further detail, while Crystal and Medusa insist that Ahura and Luna should remain with Foundation for a while longer, sensing dark times ahead for the Inhumans. Then FF repeats the Reed/Ant-Man scene, only to cut to Franklin using his powers to contact Ravonna, who may or may not be Valeria in another timeline. She has the beaten-down Annihilus and Kang in her possession, and Franklin praises her for “busting up” the cycle of events that created the Annihilating Conqueror.

The final scene is the same in both comics. The Watcher and Ulana decide to stop watching and actually participate, joining everyone at the barbecue and sampling the hot dogs. Turn the page for a double spread of all the characters in one big shot. The Watcher talks about the importance of sharing a good meal with friends and family. He says, “It is elemental to them. It is the foundation of their families. It is… fantastic.” Then Ulana puts both hands on her pregnant belly and says, “It is also… time.”

The letters page then makes way for longtime Marvel editor Tom Brevoort to pen a heartfelt tribute to Fantastic Four, describing his love for the series and his experiences as its editor. He says he’s been editor of Fantastic Four longer than any other person, but now he’s stepping aside to editor Mark Paniccia the reigns. It’s a lovely goodbye from one of the all-time greats. Except that everything old is new again, because as of this writing Brevoort is back as editor, overseeing Ryan North’s current (and excellent!) take on the comic.

Unstable molecule: Rather than be upset with Ant-Man, Reed is so impressed with the new use of Pym particles that he volunteers to be Ant-Man’s assistant in the lab, rather than the other way around. Ant-Man doesn’t stick around, though.

Fade out: Sue is in mom mode with Ulana, saying that having a child is chaos and uncertainty, but also joy.

Clobberin’ time: I’m not sure where this flirtation/non-flirtation between Ben and She-Hulk came from, but it’s resolved as soon as it begins. There’s some reference to finding the right person. It seems they’re talking about Alicia, who hasn’t been in Fantastic Four for a bit, but it’s not said aloud.

Flame on: Johnny isn’t too heartbroken about Darla choosing Ant-Man over him. He says he was only dating her to get in with the music industry, and that he’s considering a new career as a rock star.

Fantastic fifth wheel: It’s shortly after this that Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie comes back from the dead. Dr. Doom is the one who brings her back in Avengers World #16, in a story that also features Valeria, making it more or less a sequel to these two series. After that, Scott and Cassie relocate to Miami for his new solo series.

Darla Deering and Ant-Man didn’t last long, only for them reconnect – explosively so – in Astonishing Ant-Man #2. She continued to be a popular singer, and she kept the Thing rings and exoskeleton suit for herself. After that, she did a cameo during the Dan Slott Fantastic Four run, and that’s it for her.

Medusa’s fear for the Inhumans’ future appears to be foreshadowing the Terrigen Bomb destroying Attilan in the Infinity miniseries.

She-Hulk kept busy after this, joining the law firm of Paine & Luckberg, which eventually led to her getting her own practice, while also joining Luke Cage’s Mighty Avengers team.

Crystal is here to be a good mom to Luna. On the last page, there’s a bearded man wearing purple armor. The Marvel Wiki confirms this is Nathaniel Richards joining the barbecue from wherever in the timestream he was.

Four and a half: Franklin appears to use a version of his astral projection ability from Power Pack to communicate with Ravonna. He tells her that even if she is Valeria from the future, he still doesn’t consider her family after everything she’s done.

Our gal Val: Valeria states “bread and circuses” as she puts on a smile to join the barbecue. What to make of this? She’s putting on an act, and she’s still in a depressed funk? Or something else?

Foundational: Bentley-23 reminds everyone of his villain potential when he suggests digging up Cassie Lang’s corpse (!) to see what effects the Pym particles had on her. The others don’t like that idea.

Trivia time: It’s long been established that the Silver Surfer doesn’t eat food, but instead he merely absorbs energy into his body. In this issue, though, he gives eating a try, and he seems to enjoy the hot dogs.

Ulana only appeared once more after this, in Mighty Avengers #10. Following the Watcher’s death in the Original Sin crossover, Ulana takes over the Watcher’s duties. We see the baby, who has only grown a head, or “omnithalamus” as she calls it. She named Adam Brashear, a.k.a. the Blue Marvel, as the baby’s godfather. After that, neither Ulana or the baby appeared again.

Fantastic or frightful? At the time these were coming out monthly, I was jazzed about what Fraction and co. were doing, feeling like it was an exciting time for Fantastic Four. But this re-read has felt like a chore at times. These two series succeed in the little character moments, like the Dr. Who-ish standalone issues of Fantastic Four, or the kid hijinks of FF. But the overarching plot with Doom and the multiverse stuff never quite tied together for me. Yes, I do recommend you read these two series, but only as long as you go in with the right mindset.

Next: The FOUR seasons.

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Want more? My ongoing series THE SUBTERKNIGHTS is back on the Kindle store! A man searches for his missing sister in a futuristic city filled with far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. Only $0.99 or free with KU!