That History Credit You Need To Pass: FF 1-5 Review

 The Faculty

Writer: Jonathon Hickman

Artists: Steve Epting (1-3), Barry Kitson (4-5)

Inkers: Steve Epting (1-3), Rick Magyar (1-3), Butch Guise (3), Barry Kitson (4-5)

Colorists: Paul Mounts

Letters: Rus Wooton (1-2), Clayton Cowles (3-5)

Editors: Tom Brevoort, Lauren Sankovitch

Editor in Chief: Alex Alonso

PS, I couldn’t find my version of the hardcover (It’s the first issue cover) and I thought this looked neat and gave a history book vibe. I can change it if need be.

Class Rules: Hi, Zuko here. Hey, it’s me again, two reviews in one night, this has taken up more of my night than expected. I just wanted to explain a couple things before we jump into this. I never read Fantastic Four prior to its final two issues and I actually owe my current affection for the series to Dan Slott’s Human Torch memorial Amazing Spider-Man issue (567), who really made me believe that Spider-Man joining the team was a natural progression for Peter Parker; he has after all been trying since the 60s. Since the FF retitling, I have picked up the start (First two trades) and end of Hickman’s run. I also own the complete Secret Warriors and UltimateThor by Hickman and are reading his Ultimates and Ultimate Hawkeye, so I’d like to think I know his writing style. Since the death of Ultimate Peter Parker, this is the only title I buy to get my Spidey fix. But enough rambling, review time.

Long Story Short: Johnny Storm is dead, killed by the armies of Annihilus in a heroic act to save Ben Grimm, Valeria Richards and Franklin Richards. By Storm’s own personal request, Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man has joined the remaining three members of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richard’s father Nathaniel Richards (who was lost in time), and a varied group of young intelligent minds to help form the Future Foundation, to help make the future a better place. However, when an council of Reeds from alternate dimensions threaten Earth, the Future Foundation are joined by an unlikely group of allies, a group of Fantastic Four villains lead by none other than Victor Von Doom, who Reed helped recover from severe brain trauma. The alternate Reeds intend to start a War of the Four Cities [Old Atlantis (Atlantians), Attilian (Inhumans), Forever City (High Evolutionary versions of the Mole-Men), and  Annihilus forces from the Negative Zone] to destroy Earth-616 so they can build Sol’s Anvil, a device that uses the Ascension Engine, a machine on the moon, and a portal in the Negative Zone to return home. Oh and Black Bolt is back from the dead.

Listen Bud, He’s Got Radio-Active Blood: Barry Kitson. In a single issue, Barry Kitson quickly ascended the ranks of my favorite comic book artists, especially in the way he draws our dear Spidey. I love his action filled panels and I think he does a good job with emotional moments as well. Two issues was too short a span for him, I hope he returns to the title soon.

Rock Solid: I find myself more interested in the future generation more often than the remnants of the Fantastic Four, especially Valeria and Bentley, who seem to have particularly wicked streaks in them. Bentley stares down a room of villains, points a toy gun at Doom, wise cracks and it’s a great moment. And Valeria has probably the best sub plot of the series, in which she plans to extract vengeance against Annihilus for her Uncle’s death. Also Alex Powers, while I’m not familiar with the Power Pack, his action scenes made me want to get to know them. Hickman does that with a lot of characters and I’ve gone out of my way to get to know some better.

My favorite surviving FF member has to be Sue Storm, Hickman has made her a force to be threatened with in this series and she’s had some of the best scenes in the series so far. She stands her ground in what she believes and she really feels like the glue holding the seams together in the Future Foundation.

This may sound weird, but I love the new Future Foundation suits. Steve Epting does some cool things with the suits and the scene where Spider-Man was playing around with them is my favorite scene in the first issue.

Hickman’s Spider-Man is not only witty, but he’s actually smart and he’s treated with respect; Reed refers to him as the fresh perspective in the group. He reads very much like Johnny Storm would in battle, but outside of the fights, he’s a very interesting character. He has formed bonds with a few of the younger generation and struggles to become more of a mentor than a brother to the younger generation. He also serves as the conscious of the group. 

Intangible: The most powerful moment in the end of the Fantastic Four was Ben Grimm’s reaction to Johnny Storm’s death. Ben had decided to stay and Johnny tricked him at the last moment and took his place; Ben had to watch as the armies swarmed over Johnny and then comforted the children. It was a powerful moment, so I’m surprised that Ben more often than not gets on my nerves in this series. And after what happened in Fear Itself, I don’t see Ben changing in the near future.  It’s not a major problem, but it does bother me.

Hickman’s FF is occasionally bogged down in the history of a run I haven’t read completely and characters I know next to nothing about like Dragon, Wizard, and Black Bolt. For example, the current arc is the battle of the four cities, but he never really slows down and explains who the Four Cities are in simplistic terms.

The last thing is this series is very intelligent in its nature. Discussing brain surgery and the effects of destroying a world to save another are common conversations and with such a diverse cast and so much going on, you get lost very easily. While it’s great to have an intelligent Spider-Man and some cool moments with the kids, most issues require a second or even a third read through to catch most things. It also jumps around in the time line a lot and once again, the lack of knowing Hickman’s Fantastic Four run hurts you, although I can gladly recommend it.

Stretched Too Thin: If there is one thing Hickman does not handle well in my opinion, it is exposition. As is the case for Ultimate Hawkeye and Secret Warriors as well, the series grinds to a halt to explain some back story or some necessary piece of plot. Issue three really hurt the fantastic (pun intended) run Hickman has been doing. I personally know nothing of Black Bolt except that he was dead in the Illuminati event and his history isn’t even part of Hickman’s Fantastic Run as far as I know and there is no editorial note telling you to read the War of Kings event. This gets much worse in issue 6 and 7 and those were a task to read. 

A Spectacular Exchange: With so many great Spider-Man moments in these issues, you’d think it would be hard to pick one, but one scene moved me with it’s simplicity yet depth. In a scene where Sue is preparing lunch for the kids, her and Peter discuss the villains Reed has assembled and it’s a fantastic scene topped off with a great moment where Peter learns all the kids have their crusts cut off and then when offered, has his cut off as well. It just felt really deep and like an intimate family moment.

Looking to the future: Jonathon Hickman is a grand architect. It’s what he does best; give his Secret Warriors a read if you doubt his talent to weave together an intriguing, conclusive, well done story. Once everything is down on paper, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was put up there in the ranks of great Fantastic Four runs. I’m only reviewing the first five issues, because they represent the series better than 6/7 and they are really bad in my opinion.  Hickman has filled this book with a family vibe that just bounces off the pages and although it gets tedious and confusing at times, you’ll find the best Spider-Man around these days in these pages and an intriguing story. I’m on board a hundred percent, change the future Hickman. 5/5