Galactus is back. Nu-world is going to get eaten. Atlantis is at war. The Ben is human. The anti-priest is prepping the second annihilation. And... ohmigosh... Torch wants kids!
Cats and dogs, living together, mass hysteria!
I'm so pumped. I love how much gravitas Hickman gives Galactus, and that little moment; "We have to talk about your son"... yeep. And I love how they've built up the way anyone could die; Thing is human so he's vulnerable, Reed is halfway across the universe alone with Galactus, Sue is at the bottom of the ocean alone embroiled in the war of Atlantis, and Torch... Torch has started talking about how he wants kids. That's a death knell, baby.
Anyhow, while I can imagine any of them going, I think Thing is safe. Reed might go because Hickman said he thinks the F4 shouldn't be about Reed but the family. Sue might go too for the same reason; there's a whole element of families; Nathaniel Richards, the Council of Reeds, the Kids' Future Foundation, future Val and Franklin... I can't see the shape of it, but I can imagine Reed or Sue's death would be a big part of it.
But then I think of Torch. And I wonder, of all of them, isn't Torch the only one who has never died?
I don't know. I know this is an old F4 trick, but it's the first time where I've cared enough about the characters to actually be concerned/excited over who's gonna go and what the shake up will be.
I'm totally reading it and forgot to post after I read #585. I love how Galactus is being used. It just reads right. I don't think a lot of writers get him quite right - this is.
Re: Fantastic Four #570+ (Hickman/Eaglesham) Spoilers.
I'd liken it more to ASTONISHING X-MEN in that this series builds on continuity in a way that makes it relevant, fresh, imaginative, and engaging. The amount of continuity this series is using yet does so rather deftly is reminiscent of Whedon's use of Morrison's NEW X-MEN to generate his run.
Re: Fantastic Four #570+ (Hickman/Eaglesham) Spoilers.
Well, that happened. I thought the
Ben fake-out
was pretty good. Overall a great issue with some neat surprises. And a very noble temporary-leave-of-absence for the character (or characters) in question.
was pretty good. Overall a great issue with some neat surprises. And a very noble temporary-leave-of-absence for the character (or characters) in question.
Has anyone suggested the possibility that now with
Johnny dead
,
Ben de-powered (sort of) and with the Avengers
, and Franklin getting his powers back that maybe
Val and Franklin will replace Johnny and Ben and the Fantastic Four will resemble the Incredibles - a truer "family"? At least for the next 13 or so issues
Has anyone suggested the possibility that now with
Johnny dead
,
Ben de-powered (sort of) and with the Avengers
, and Franklin getting his powers back that maybe
Val and Franklin will replace Johnny and Ben and the Fantastic Four will resemble the Incredibles - a truer "family"? At least for the next 13 or so issues
Re: Fantastic Four #570+ (Hickman/Eaglesham) Spoilers.
Cool articles.
I actually downloaded #586 and #587 even though they're waiting for me at my LCS because I probably won't be going up for a few days and I didn't want this spoiled for me. Normally, I would wait but in this case, I just had nervous palpatations of hitting a link somewhere and being sent to somewhere where the title is
The Last Stand of Johnny Storm Sucks!
or something.
Anyhow, I really liked the issue, I liked how all three (Negative Zone, Atlantis, and Nu-Earth) resolved, and I particularly loved two scenes: where the kids of the Future Foundation are calculating the odds of their survival (it's a very technobabbley scene that's actually really compelling) and I think Hickman is probably writing the best ever version of Galactus and Silver Surfer I've read. Seriously. Galactus just has so much presence, and the way Reed talks to him is wonderfully in-character. His Galactus is wonderful.
I have two thoughts regarding the "casualty". Firstly, it is my belief that when Hickman pitched his stories (he came on #570 so this is is fifteenth issue) that he didn't think of this being a big "3" event or hugely advertised. I think it was just going to be a powerful climax that he wanted to do and that the editors saw it as a chance to really overhype the book. The reason for this is that the casualty is well-written but
it seems easily reversible. Really, really easy for them to just go there and find Johnny imprisoned, free him, and save him.
So perhaps it was supposed to be this great cliffhanger shake-up that's been turned into a 'big event'. Alternatively, perhaps he was mandated with killing a character and he did it this way. This is not a criticism at what we got; I think the storyline ends really nicely
and I'm particularly interested to see how Sue and Reed will react when they get back
but the advertising hype seems... out of place. It is an unneeded gimmick, and I'm not sure if it was mandated and Hickman just wrote it well, or if Hickman had this good story and they hyped it up. Something just sits wrong with me on the atmosphere surrounding the issue, not the issue itself. I say 'belief' but I really mean 'unsubstantiated speculation'.
My second thought is this;
as much as I liked it, if you'll indulge me; the "Bass" ending by way of BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID - Ben says he'll sacrifice himself, and then Johnny pushes him through the gate. Except, Ben is actually a strong guy, he's stronger than Johnny, and Johnny tries but can't push him through completely; Ben pushes back. But Johnny has a little edge on Ben and almost pushes him in. Ben starts panicking and he reverts back into the Thing. Johnny of course can't push him now. Ben goes to grab Johnny, but Johnny flies up, out of his reach. Ben grimaces at Johnny. Johnny looks back at Ben, "Come on. You've got a whole new life now." "Like I'm gonna let you take all the glory. Alone."
Ben closes the portal and gets the code from Val. Ben, Johnny by his side, tells Val and Franklin, "Don't tell yah parents we left you unsupervised." "Yeah" quips Johnny, "We don't want to get into trouble." The doors close. Johnny and Ben then look at the wave. Ben asks, "You reckon how many?" Johnny, "A billion." The wave charges closer. Ben asks, "So what's da plan for my 'day-off' nex' year?" "Yeah, about that; I was talking to the guys and we're gonna pass. It's just... we only did this out of charity. We don't want to send the wrong message that we like you." "Surprise party?" "Huge." "Too smart for ya, Johnny-boy." "Do me a favour: act surprised."
Annihilus, leading the wave's charge, yells something in alien at them. Then, without looking at each other, Ben asks, "John, can you believe these putzes? They're askin' for the time." Johnny smiles, "Don't they know?" ...
There's just a part of me that really loves the idea that Ben wouldn't let Johnny die alone.
I also loved that Ben finally called Johnny "John" at the end. That was a great little touch by Hickman.
Re: Fantastic Four #570+ (Hickman/Eaglesham) Spoilers.
Post of the Day.
Also, the whole N-Zone sequence where they're crunched for time and they realize what's gonna have to happen reminded me of the big submarine sequence in the final season of LOST. I'm sure it's reminiscent of a bunch of other movie/TV sequences as well, but I know Hickman watched/liked LOST, so that's what I thought of.
Re: Fantastic Four #570+ (Hickman/Eaglesham) Spoilers.
I want to kiss
Johnny Storm
on the mouth.
As far as the death goes, Hickman explicitly said in his CA interview that the death was part of the original pitch, and looking back through earlier issues it's clearly something he seeded through his run, so I don't think it's hype at all. Ultimately, it should be a pretty big deal. It should change things completely. Although, honestly,
Sue becoming Mermaid Queen
is just as important a tectonic shift.
I was satisfied with it. I can't wait to see what comes next.
As far as the death goes, Hickman explicitly said in his CA interview that the death was part of the original pitch, and looking back through earlier issues it's clearly something he seeded through his run, so I don't think it's hype at all. Ultimately, it should be a pretty big deal. It should change things completely. Although, honestly,
Sue becoming Mermaid Queen
is just as important a tectonic shift.
I was satisfied with it. I can't wait to see what comes next.
What I meant by hype is that pretty much every three years or whatever the new writer of FANTASTIC FOUR kills one of the major characters. Waid and Weiringo killed Thing, Mark Millar killed Invisible Woman... It's really par for the course. And this is a particularly easy reversal. So maybe they wanted to make this event, but the story, by itself, indicates that while this is a big deal, it's one that can be undone. It certainly doesn't feel to me to need polybagging and a new title to happen after it. It's just another "Fantastic Three" thing which has happened so many times.
I am satisfied with the story, just not the hype surrounding it.
