Best of Marvel: Week of February 19th, 2020

Best of this Week: Fantastic Four #19 (Legacy #664) – Dan Slott, Sean Izaakse, Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega and Joe Caramagna

It all began with one fateful foray into space.

Reed Richards, a gifted scientist from Empire State University, his brilliant wife, Susan Storm, her hot headed younger brother, Johnny Storm and expert pilot Ben Grimm board the Marvel-1 in an attempt to explore space. Unfortunately for them, their ship is hit with a wave of Cosmic Rays, sending them crashing back to the Earth and giving them all special powers. For decades, we all thought that everything was Reed’s fault for not having strong enough shields, blessing and cursing his family with powers, but we learn here that that is not the case.

Throughout the last five issues, The Fantastic Four have been fighting against the people of Spyre; A planet of normal people, enhanced people and monsters that have feared the prophecy of the “Four-Told,” beings that would destroy Spyre and their way of life. After Reed exposes their leader, The Overseer, for being the one that released the cosmic rays on the Four, Ben climbs his tower and beats the everloving crap out of him and destroys the tower in the process.

Realizing that the Overseer stands defeated and the eye that watched them is no more, every citizen turns on the FF, proclaiming that the prophecy did happen as the Overseer lay in the rubble. This issue picks up in the immediate aftermath (after a preview of the coming story in the first few pages involving Mole Man and Wyatt Wingfoot). Sue places a barrier over the FF as the citizens, heroes and monsters pelt her forcefield with fists and rock. Previously, the citizens were divided by their classes, but now they’ve united against Reed and the Four.

One of the more interesting subplots that Dan Slott had been weaving is the burgeoning relationship between supposed “soulmates” in Johnny Storm and a Spyrian hero named Sky, a darker skinned girl with wings that may actually be in love with another hero by the name of Citadel. This is one of the few times that Johnny shows an actual longstanding interest in a woman, especially since their connection was made shortly after the Fours first failed mission unbeknownst to him.

Slott had been building this up and getting readers invested in their struggle of love and it’s good to see Johnny loving someone like he did with Medusa or Crystal of the Inhumans.This is further tested as Sky is torn between the traditions of her people and her disdain for the FF after their actions. Of course, she’s not the only one who is irate as the Overseer picks himself back up and calls Reed out for a one-on-one brawl.

Reed’s never been the best fighter in the world, but he’s always had ways to use his powers to his advantage and can still hold himself pretty well. Sean Izaakse portrays that pretty well with a few expertly drawn pages of battle as Reed uses his stretchy abilities to dodge energy beams, punch Overseer from afar and uses his arm as a slingshot to fling boulders at the villain. Izaakse and Erick Arciniega work in perfect tandem to make these scenes exciting with bright colors and dynamic angles.

Things get even crazier as Overseer fights back with his own arsenal of suit abilities. Izaakse draws amazing looking rings for sonic blasts that Arciniega colors with a beautiful yellow. Then switches it up for crackling blue lightning and finally ends things with Kirby-esque bubbles of energy that go from a dark orange to a dastardly purple to match Overseer’s beautiful armor. This fight is absolutely gorgeous to look at even as the panels are mostly medium sized, widescreen rectangles.

Throughout their fight, the two have an exchange that boils down to hubris vs. personal responsibility and both make pretty good points. Reed had always blamed himself for what had happened to his friends and family, thinking that his miscalculations are what put them all in anger and that weight is lifted off of his shoulders with rage at finally punching the cause. Overseer, feared for the lives of his people from the potential threat from beyond by a man that never asked what the greater galaxy wanted. Reed always does things like this and Overseer’s only course of action was to curtail it before things got bad.

As always, Reed does what he does best, uses his brain to talk Overseer down, knowing that he too hasn’t fully mastered the use of Cosmic Rays and suggests that they could accomplish more together than against each other (opposite his conversation with Charles Xavier – see X-Men + Fantastic Four). Reed proposes that the two make a trade of sorts and offers the people of Spyre a chance similar to what Ben has in “The Almost Cure,” something we’ve seen used recently when Ben and Alicia Masters went on their honeymoon and would have allowed him to turn human for a day until he fought the Hulk and landed in a coma.

The Monster Men take umbrage with the idea because Ben had preached appreciating who one is on the inside when he rallied them to fight Overseer, but when one of the Heroes of the Spyre asks if it will work on him too, almost everyone seems to want in on the change. Of course there are others who see the FF’s gift as what will truly destroy their people, showing that some people just can’t be pleased. As their time on Spyre draw to a close, Reed and Johnny bond together like they did when this arc started as Johnny muses on what his life would have been without his powers.

It’s a touching scene and Dan Slott has always been great at things like these. From his time on Spider-Man and She Hulk, he’s shown that he has skill in giving readers heartfelt moments, especially given that we almost hardly ever see the pair together. This is accentuated by Izaakse drawing Johnny with a smile on his face as he flies through the skies with an almost old school look colored by Arciniega with lush oranges and intense reds.

Just as the FF are about to depart, Overseer tells them that only ones soulmate can remove the soul bindings on their arms. After a few pages of searching for Sky, she shows up to Johnny. I think the implication is that she went on some soul searching away from Johnny and when he offers to remove her Soul Binding, she refuses and tells Johnny he can keep his too as she’s joining them on the trip to Earth.

Suffice to say, this is as shocking to The FF as one might expect as they add yet another hero to the ranks, but she likely won’t be on the main team, but more as a supporting role until Marvel decides to give her a miniseries and then sends her back to the Spyre. She’s certainly a welcome addition and it’ll be fun to see what kind of shenanigans she and Johnny will get into as he’s naturally flirtatious and she wants to keep to the traditions of her people. It’s difficult to say that she’s fully in love with Johnny still as she flirts with Citadel before they disembark.

Overall, this was a really fun issue and concludes a story that had a surprising amount of heart and depth. Generally, I like the idea of Cosmic Happenstance and did love the mysterious nature of how the FF got their powers. I might have preferred that things be kept random chance, but honestly, I wasn’t put off by this equally ridiculous explanation either. At the same time, Dan Slott also alleviates some of the guilt from Reed’s shoulders which could be a double edged sword for him in the future if his ego grows too large.

Sean Izaakse and Erick Arciniega also do an amazing job on the art (I can’t leave out Marcio Menyz, but I didn’t really care for the Wingfoot stuff). The pair smash it with the visual storytelling through fantastic facial expressions, body language and utopian setting. One thing that took me time to notice was that all of the people of Spyre were black. It’s a small, but nice touch that makes them stand out amongst the other races that we see throughout the galaxy.

Depending on how the next issue goes, I may stick with the series, but I’ve never been a big fan of Mole Man stories, so I may drop off until the next arc, but this one was absolutely worth the time, a high recommend!

Best of Marvel: Week of September 4th, 2019

Runner Up: Fantastic Four #14 (Legacy #659) – Dan Slott, Paco Medina, Jesus Aburtov and Joe Caramagna

Sometimes you just have to sit back and smell the roses.

Growing up, I actually thought the Fantastic Four were pretty lame. They weren’t exactly high on my radar because they were a family of explorers, scientists and just general nerds. I got seriously into comics around the time their last book hit the shelves prior to all of the Disney/Fox nonsense and that really awful movie which soured me on them even more. Things changed when I began to read Secret War (2015) and realized that there was so much more that I was missing.

I scoured my stores for back issue and trade paperbacks of everything written by Jonathan Hickman, Mark Millar and Reginald Hudlin before seeking out the older stories by George Perez, John Byrne and Roy Thomas. I learned to love their love of science, adventure and family oriented stories, so when they finally made their Marvel return, I was excited and so far they’ve done nothing but impress. This particular issue is one of the best examples of how even just dialogue, dynamics and expressions can build a great foundation for a simple yet amazing story.

The Fantastic Four have been everywhere. Other dimensions,hellscapes, universes and planets, but there’s still one mission that they’ve never completed: their original flight to the stars. After a new gallery opens showcasing the original shuttle that they traveled on in all of its destroyed glory, Reed reminisces of that time with happiness. Ben listens to one of the original black box recordings as they were first getting hit by Cosmic Rays and he’s overwhelmed with negative feelings. Two original Pilots for the space flight thank Johnny and Sue for taking their place, saying that they could have become monsters like Ben and Johnny becomes enraged with Sue having to calm him down.

These moments remind us of who these wonderful characters are and always have been. Reed is a scientific mind that’s always looking to achieve more and better himself and his inventions. Ben still lives with the inner scars of his transformation despite being one of the most respected heroes in all of the Marvel Universe. Johnny is a hothead and Sue, his sister, has always been there to calm him down. The First Family have been there for each other forever, they know each other better than anyone else does. They care about each other.

Paco Medina captures each of their emotions in a Fantastic way with excellent facial expressions and body language accentuated by Jesus Aburtov’s stellar colors.

Reed stands tall as he marvels at the old shuttle with his kids, his face is full of pride and joy while they look mildly unimpressed. Later while he’s working on specs for a new shuttle, we can see how focused he is, how determined. His fantastic beard shows how he’s aged from his previous clean shaven self, but he’s even more refined.

Ben remembers the original flight with trepidation and trembles as he remember his words when he was first becoming a rock monster. He stomps around in his normal grumpiness, but by the end, knowing that Reed, Sue and Johnny know and care about him so much, he smiles and eagerly helps them on their next journey.

Johnny, being the hothead he is, does in fact show his anger as his eyes begin to turn orange after Ben is insulted, but we get an amazing flashback to when he was just a young adult in the shuttle program and the rigorous training that he was put through by Ben. This showcases just how much Johnny wanted to go to the stars and shows us how long he’s been the ultra determined man that we know and love. Medina draws him going through the training with ease, only having space on his mind and the want to prove Ben and the other pilots wrong, becoming the youngest ever back up pilot in that universe.

Sue, being the ever loving sister, is the calm one as she gets Johnny to back off. She’s radiant as a character and Medina portrays as her the linchpin of the family. She’s the graceful one, drawn as serious as Reed, but with her normal beauty as well. She shows just how in love she is with her husband as he works on the specs and lays her head on his shoulder, smiling like she does in the flashback.

Nothing super action-y happens in this issue, in fact, one of the best moments is Johnny and Reed having a bonding moment working on the second shuttle. Both comment on how neither is using their powers to make the work easier and they share a laugh together. It’s just a nice, warm moment between brothers-in-law doing something that they haven’t been able to in years. It was at this time where I just fell in love all over again.

The Fantastic Four are more than just space adventures, aliens and Doctor Doom plots. They are a family in comics unlike any other. Where most teams are just friends that might hang out every once in a while, the FF are a family with a rich history and ever growing numbers with Franklin, Valeria and now Alicia Masters marrying Ben. The love is palpable and I wish I’d understood this for so many years prior. I can’t wait for where this next adventure takes them, but I’m all for it.

Best of Marvel: Week of August 14th, 2019

Runner Up: Fantastic Four #13 (Legacy #658) – Dan Slott, Sean Izaakse, Marcio Menyz and Joe Caramagna

Before Steve Rogers was saying that he “could do this all day,” Ben Grimm was living that life.

The Thing has always been one of the toughest characters in all of Marvel, going toe-to-toe with just about anyone, be they person or celestial being way above his pay grade. Ben Grimm has never said die in his life and even when he’s on his back, he always stands right back up, dusts himself off and throws even more punches. Ben Grimm is about that life and that action.

This issue of Fantastic Four is just another amazing showcase of that spirit that Ben is so well known for. With less than an hour before he reverts back to his human form for a week, Ben tangos with the Hulk who’s shown up just in time to ruin his honeymoon with his new wife, Alicia Masters-Grimm. The first page starts with a CRACK as the Hulk decks Ben right in the face and Ben acknowledges that the Hulk has ALWAYS been stronger than him. He also acknowledges that if he doesn’t beat Hulk now, well, he won’t have to worry about the age old question of who’ll win in a fight.

Ben tries to convince Hulk to stop fighting for a moment to save the other vacationers, including Alicia as they’re trapped under the rubble. This distracts the real perpetrator of this fight, Puppet Master who’s controlling a clay doll of The Hulk, allowing Ben to get a few good licks in. He tries to plead to Banner if he’s still in there, but given Hulk’s current state, he reveals that he’s kinda into it and willingly goes along with the puppeting. Meanwhile, Alicia takes charge of the other trapped people and starts pulling rocks away to make an exit.

Izaakse’s art really shines in the second third of the book as The Thing trades punches with The Hulk. Everything feels so heavy as these two titans hit each other with all they’ve got. The Thing’s got speed and smaller size on his side and asks what did he ever do to piss the Puppet Master off. Hulk, as the Devil he is now, chimes in that Ben married Alicia without her father’s blessing. Hulk’s got the size and raw power in the fight as his strikes cause small shockwaves and break pieces off of Ben throughout the fight.

Ben laughs and says that she really must have wanted to marry him as Hulk also reveals that she used one of Puppet Master’s dolls to manipulate him into saying yes. Hulk taunts him back by calling him puny, saying that he’s punching above his weight as he continues to knock pieces off of him, exposing fleshy bits underneath the rock. Ben stands his ground for a while, saying that he’s always been punching up, whether in the UCWF, Marvel’s superpowered wrestling league, or in the Marines. Everything he’s learned was on Yancy Street and he headbutts Hulk before getting leveled with one last uppercut.

With just a few minutes left, Ben’s got nothing left in the tank. He tells himself that Alicia’s counting on him, but he can’t do it…until she shows up and gives him the pep talk that only a wife can give, allowing him the Second Wind that he needs. “No one has more heart than My Ben,” she says. Hulk rushes Ben with rage in his eyes and Ben simply cocks back, his wedding band glinting in the light and he gives The Hulk one hell of crushing left, cracking his rocky shell right open as his human timer clicks down to its last second. Hulk is laid the hell out, Puppet Master’s clay doll of Hulk is destroyed and Ben slowly transforms back into a human and slumps over from his injuries.

He wakes up a week later, back in his Thing form and laments that he missed his honeymoon as he and Alicia were gonna “make a family” if you catch his drift. She cheers him up by saying they have the rest of their lives and as a plus side, he finally beat The Hulk, ending the book on a happy note before the horrifying last few pages as The Hulk gets Puppet Master back.

I really enjoyed this book for showcasing a great character that hasn’t really been having an amazing time in recent years aside from his wedding. For the most part, this Fantastic Four book has been centered on him and Alicia and the great strides their relationship has taken. However, at the same time, he was shown to be vulnerable as the Hulk cracked through his outer shell. There’s just a small part of me that’s afraid of what the future holds for him and that this isn’t just a sign of things to come.

But for now, The Thing can finally say he beat The Hulk and that’s badass. High recommend.