Matt Fraction delivers a Valentine’s appropriate issue of “Fantastic Four,” in which Reed reflects on his love for Sue. Also, Johnny plays a prank on Ben, and there’s some aliens or something.
Written by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by Mark Bagley• An alien world, a thousand-year-old prophesy—is the Invisible Woman a long-awaited intergalactic messiah?
Last month’s issues of “Fantastic Four” and “FF” had the books go in separate directions, with the former focusing on Marvel’s first family and their adventures through space/time, while the latter centered on the replacement Four and the Future Foundation. After reading through this second issue of the space adventure arc, it’s clear to see that one of these books is faring a lot better than the other (hint, it’s not this one).
Fantastic Four #4 (that’s fun!) picks up a few weeks after the events of last issue, with Reed having recently discovered an Earth-like planet inhabited by a sentient alien race. Reed considers this a significant scientific discovery, although surely this kind of thing happens in the Marvel Universe every other day, and decides the Fantastic Four should investigate. The interactions between the team and the alien race are pretty ho-hum, though a little tough to follow due to the alien’s bizarre dialect. The alien’s leader takes a special interest in Sue Storm, which forms the crux of this issue’s major through-line, Reed’s devotion to his wife.
Much of this issue is spent in a flashback to the early days of Reed and Sue’s romance. There’s a lot of Reed as the aloof and absent minded scientist type, struggling to connect to this woman he so desperately cares for, and a lot of Sue getting annoyed with him. This parallels the present day situation, with Reed hiding an alarming secret from his wife who can clearly see that something is wrong. Perhaps it’s slightly unfair, but it’s nearly impossible not to compare Fraction’s work here to Hickman’s previous run on the title. Hickman touched on similar themes in the early issues of his run on “Fantastic Four,” and handled them with a tad more subtlety and grace. Likewise, the “Sue Storm as queen” idea is eerily similar to parts of Hickman’s run, making the comparisons even easier. Fraction is a more than capable writer (just look at “FF” and “Hawkeye,” easily the two best super hero books out there) and should do everything he can to distinguish his run from Hickman’s masterpiece.
Fraction surely realizes this, and is sowing the seeds for the future. A depressed Thing and a Franklin that is haunted by prophetic dreams are far more interesting than the Reed and Sue thread, and hint at bigger, more sinister things to come. All signs indicate that Fraction’s run will soon take a turn from happy-go-lucky to dark and dismal.
One major gripe is the bizarre use of time travel in this issue. Without going into too much detail for sake of spoilers, Reed makes some odd jumps in logic when it comes to reminding himself of his love for his wife. This leads to convoluted plot device that attempts to tie the whole issue together, but instead will likely leave you scratching your head.
Mark Bagley is an artist who is known for his ability to meet a deadline, although the resulting product is often a mixed…well…bag. Fittingly, Bagley succeeds in drawing the fantastic. His scenes in outer space are spectacular and grand, as are his depictions of the lush alien world. When it comes to people, it’s another story. His characters are extremely thin and scratchy, and their facial expressions strangely misshapen. As a result, the flashback scenes (which are very un-fantastic) come off as dull and generic. In the present, Johnny and Franklin are nearly indistinguishable, and Franklin and Valeria’s height and apparent age seems to change from panel to panel. However, Bagley’s Thing looks really great, probably because he’s the least human-like of the bunch.
It’s sad to say, but “Fantastic Four” isn’t off to nearly as good a start as its sister title. It might be easy to pin the blame on Bagley, but in truth Fraction’s writing isn’t up to its usual quality either. There’s a lot of potential here, and perhaps the way this issue ends is a sign of good things to come.
Final Verdict: 4.5 – Browse. There’s no denying this is one’s a clunker, but there’s enough promise to give it a chance.
