Marvel’s First Family must face the consequences of their recent action, leaving Johnny Storm to ponder a flameless future in “Fantastic Four” #3.
Written by James Robinson
Illustrated by Leonerd KirkThe FANTASTIC FOUR were victorious defending Manhattan from inter-dimensional invasion but at a terrible cost!!! Is this “Flame Off” forever for the HUMAN TORCH? Introducing a new stronger, deadlier version of the WRECKING CREW!!!
The relaunched (again) “Fantastic Four” has begun a seemingly darker chapter in the lives of these heroes. After saving New York City (again) at the cost of the near destruction of the Baxter Building (again), Johnny Storm has appeared to have lost his fire abilities, living him powerless. Reed Richards is on the case right away, and even though in over a decade of trying he hasn’t been able to turn his best friend into not a rock, Reed quickly figures out the cause of Johnny’s predicament. The bomb that the Fantastic Four gerryrigged to paralyze the alien invaders drew its power from other decisions, including the Negative Zone, where Johnny was destroyed and resurrected (long story), and the detonation canceled out his super powers. Johnny now faces a non-supered powered future, as the Fantastic Four suddenly find themselves as a trio.
James Robinson is known for his love of comic book history and his use of dense narratives, both of which have kicked into high gear only three issues into his tenure. The issue is steeped in the past adventures of the Fantastic Four, dating right back to Prince Namor’s attack on the city and crush on Sue Storm way back in the Lee/Kirby days. Robinson is clearly laying the ground work for something larger, and every scene includes at least one plot point that propels the characters forward, it’s just such a shame that every scene also features a good deal of exposition. In the hands of a writer less talented than Robinson, the story would be clunky, obtuse, and almost undecipherable to anyone who hasn’t read 800 hundred-ish issues of “Fantastic Four”. Fortunately, Robinson has experience in this sort of thing and uses these nods to history as the basis for more emotionally driven character moments, but the exposition does become noticeable due to the sheer amount present.
While Robinson’s time on “Fantastic Four” seems to be headed in a darker direction than the previous Matt Fraction penned run, it’s fortunately not all doom and gloom. There’s one scene where Reed surveys the damage to the Baxter Building with a construction crew, and the foreman compares the damage somewhere between a Spider-Man dustup and a Galactus appearance. There are also slight jabs at Reed’s inability to turn the Thing human again, and the time Johnny’s girlfriend turned out to be a Skrull. The slight meta quality to these exchanges makes the past adventures of this team feel more lived in, than if they were just ponderous references to set up other plot developments.
Leonard Kirk is off to a fine start as the regular “Fantastic Four” artist. Kirk recently pencilled various X-books, and he clearly has the necessary experience drawing superpowered teams. The character designs stick fairly close to the traditional looks and Reed, Johnny, Sue, and the Thing, but Kirk doesn’t resort to their familiarity to produce remotely lazy or lackluster. Every line is crisp, every face remains undistorted from panel to panel, and even Reed’s trademark grey temples look good. This issue is really heavy on dialogue and two person scenes, but Kirk manages to keep every panel visually interesting. For scenes in Reed’s lab for example, the backgrounds are filled with machinery and computers, as opposed to just grey monochrome backgrounds.
This issue features appearances from Namor, Doctor Doom, and even Nick Fury Jr (another long story), it’s a real who’s who of the Marvel Universe. Kirk’s realistic style really works well for these other characters and helps to give the feel that the Fantastic Four are at the center of the Marvel U. When Kirk finally does get the chance to draw some action, he fills the quick scenes with just as much energy as the dialogue driven scenes, and hopefully the next issue will allow him to show off with a big super-hero battle. And damn, does the Thing look sharp in that trench coat.
The new era of the “Fantastic Four” is wasting no time throwing the team out of whack. Robinson’s choice to have the Human Torch depowered, instead of die (again), is an interesting way to break up the team, but Johnny seems so unfazed that it’s slightly difficult to get emotionally invested. This is a very word-y issue, and although Robinson makes it flow as well as possible, it might seem just a tad repetitive. Kirk steps up to the challenge by delivering high quality and interesting art, it should be worth the wait when he really get the chance to show off. James Robinson and Leonard Kirk are a talented team, but this is a book that will need space to grown before the big picture comes into focus.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Soft buy. This might be one of those wait-for-the-trade runs.
