Scan barcode
dantastic's review
4.0
A message from Reed Richards leads Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm on a scavenger hunt to find a device that will let them travel across the multiverse. Will they be able to find Reed, Sue, and their kids?
I'm a Fantastic Four fan from way back so I was pretty jazzed to pick this up. It did not disappoint.
Everyone knew Marvel would bring the Fantastic Four back once the pissing match with Fox was settled and this is the beginning of the return. Ben and Johnny are slowly losing their powers when Ben gets a message from Reed. The two go galavanting across dimensions with a scientist named Rachna in tow. Things go pear-shaped when they end up in another universe, this one where Doom usurped the power of Galactus and has devoured most of it.
While the Reed and Sue in the tale aren't "our" Reed and Sue, it was great to see the Fantastic Four together again. The universe they wound up in was a dark one indeed. While we didn't get the reunion in this volume, it's coming soon. This volume was a taste. It was also nice to see The Infamous Iron Man, aka Doctor Doom, teaming with Johnny, Ben, and the Reed and Sue from this timeline.
Fate of the Four was the kind of adventure the Fantastic Four used to have and something that is missing in the current Marvel universe. Chip Zdarsky can fly the Fantasticar whenever he wants.
A Fantastic Four out of five stars.
I'm a Fantastic Four fan from way back so I was pretty jazzed to pick this up. It did not disappoint.
Everyone knew Marvel would bring the Fantastic Four back once the pissing match with Fox was settled and this is the beginning of the return. Ben and Johnny are slowly losing their powers when Ben gets a message from Reed. The two go galavanting across dimensions with a scientist named Rachna in tow. Things go pear-shaped when they end up in another universe, this one where Doom usurped the power of Galactus and has devoured most of it.
While the Reed and Sue in the tale aren't "our" Reed and Sue, it was great to see the Fantastic Four together again. The universe they wound up in was a dark one indeed. While we didn't get the reunion in this volume, it's coming soon. This volume was a taste. It was also nice to see The Infamous Iron Man, aka Doctor Doom, teaming with Johnny, Ben, and the Reed and Sue from this timeline.
Fate of the Four was the kind of adventure the Fantastic Four used to have and something that is missing in the current Marvel universe. Chip Zdarsky can fly the Fantasticar whenever he wants.
A Fantastic Four out of five stars.
helpfulsnowman's review
4.0
I had a LONG star debate on this one.
Maybe it should be 4. Because it IS, after all, a Fantastic Four book.
Then I thought 2. Because only two members of the Fantastic Four are present. A 2 out of 2 therefore being a perfect score. Maybe even a 3 out of 2 because Chip Zdarsky picked the right two.
Let's be honest, if we're going to see half the Fantastic Four, The Thing is a given. He's a big, orange rock man. Nobody is saying No to that.
When it comes to the second character, there's some debate to be had.
The big problem with Sue Storm/Richards, aka the Invisible Woman, is that her powers are invisible. If I'm an artist working on a book, on one hand, awesome. I'm going home early today! I barely have to draw anything! On the other hand, I'm going to assume that most comic book artists somewhat enjoy drawing, and if I enjoy drawing, I have a feeling that flames are pretty fun to draw. Human Torch for the win.
With Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, the fun is if you want to draw big gizmos. This guy is the KING of giant gizmos that do stuff. COSMIC stuff. That's why they're so big. So, it comes down to a debate: Do you want to draw flames or gizmos?
The x factor, of course, is the interaction between the characters. Human Torch and Thing have easily the most fun relationship of all the possible relationships and combinations of the FF.
That's a LONG way to say it's a fun comic written by someone who clearly knows how to make comics fun. Chip Zdarsky knows what he's doing. In comics, at least. There's a video floating around out there about his campaign for mayor. I'm not sure if he knows how to be a good Mayor.
Zdarsky does a great job fitting this story into a weird moment in continuity, and he manages to turn it into something solid. Even if they are dimension hopping. Seriously, the Fantastic Four are ALWAYS in a dimension or a time rift. Everything is a portal with these guys.
Maybe it should be 4. Because it IS, after all, a Fantastic Four book.
Then I thought 2. Because only two members of the Fantastic Four are present. A 2 out of 2 therefore being a perfect score. Maybe even a 3 out of 2 because Chip Zdarsky picked the right two.
Let's be honest, if we're going to see half the Fantastic Four, The Thing is a given. He's a big, orange rock man. Nobody is saying No to that.
When it comes to the second character, there's some debate to be had.
The big problem with Sue Storm/Richards, aka the Invisible Woman, is that her powers are invisible. If I'm an artist working on a book, on one hand, awesome. I'm going home early today! I barely have to draw anything! On the other hand, I'm going to assume that most comic book artists somewhat enjoy drawing, and if I enjoy drawing, I have a feeling that flames are pretty fun to draw. Human Torch for the win.
With Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, the fun is if you want to draw big gizmos. This guy is the KING of giant gizmos that do stuff. COSMIC stuff. That's why they're so big. So, it comes down to a debate: Do you want to draw flames or gizmos?
The x factor, of course, is the interaction between the characters. Human Torch and Thing have easily the most fun relationship of all the possible relationships and combinations of the FF.
That's a LONG way to say it's a fun comic written by someone who clearly knows how to make comics fun. Chip Zdarsky knows what he's doing. In comics, at least. There's a video floating around out there about his campaign for mayor. I'm not sure if he knows how to be a good Mayor.
Zdarsky does a great job fitting this story into a weird moment in continuity, and he manages to turn it into something solid. Even if they are dimension hopping. Seriously, the Fantastic Four are ALWAYS in a dimension or a time rift. Everything is a portal with these guys.
crookedtreehouse's review
4.0
I often find the Fantastic Four to be one of the more boring aspects of The Marvel Universe. Even when it was being written by one of my favorite writers, Jonathan Hickman, it took me a while to warm up to the series. But Zdarsky's book about The Thing, The Human Torch, and Doctor Doom traveling through the multi-verse in search of the Reed family, when two out of three of them are pretty sure that the Reeds are actually dead, is a fantastic story.
Zdarsky is in top form, tweaking all the Fantastic Four tropes from different eras to make an engaging character study of Doom and The Thing. And while Rachna Koul isn't fully fleshed out in this volume, she makes an intriguing character who you want to know more about.
I recommend this story who anyone who loved the multiverse travelling FF/Fantastic Four stories, fans of the blue-eyed everloving Thing, Doom apologists, Rick & Morty enthusiasts curious about the inspiration for The Council Of Ricks, and people who enjoy fun comics that explore traumatic and damaged interpersonal relationships without getting overly melodramatic.
Zdarsky is in top form, tweaking all the Fantastic Four tropes from different eras to make an engaging character study of Doom and The Thing. And while Rachna Koul isn't fully fleshed out in this volume, she makes an intriguing character who you want to know more about.
I recommend this story who anyone who loved the multiverse travelling FF/Fantastic Four stories, fans of the blue-eyed everloving Thing, Doom apologists, Rick & Morty enthusiasts curious about the inspiration for The Council Of Ricks, and people who enjoy fun comics that explore traumatic and damaged interpersonal relationships without getting overly melodramatic.
gohawks's review
4.0
I can see how Zdarsky can often be a very "surface" and quippy writer, but I'm a sucker for F4 and this is just as much about the relationships as anything else - which has always been what fascinated me about Marvel's first family.
josetinocoperez's review
5.0
90/100.
Los 4 Fantásticos fueron mis primeros superhéroes del mundo audiovisual y quizás por eso les guardo tanto cariño. Es verdad que la adaptación es mala a ojos de un adulto, pero a la vista de un niño, fue una revelación. Mucho tiempo después, comencé a leer cómics y por aquel entonces, los 4 Fantásticos murieron.
Quizás por eso me alegra tanto que el guion de Chip Zdarsky les esté dando esta vida regalada a Johnny y a Ben conforme esperan a que vuelvan Susan y Reed. Yo también los espero con muchas ganas para leer cómo exploran el universo.
Los 4 Fantásticos fueron mis primeros superhéroes del mundo audiovisual y quizás por eso les guardo tanto cariño. Es verdad que la adaptación es mala a ojos de un adulto, pero a la vista de un niño, fue una revelación. Mucho tiempo después, comencé a leer cómics y por aquel entonces, los 4 Fantásticos murieron.
Quizás por eso me alegra tanto que el guion de Chip Zdarsky les esté dando esta vida regalada a Johnny y a Ben conforme esperan a que vuelvan Susan y Reed. Yo también los espero con muchas ganas para leer cómo exploran el universo.
squidbag's review
4.0
Someone's already described this as a "love letter to the Fantastic Four," and that description certainly does the job. This is a multi-villain, universe-hopping, pathos-having, fun and jokey melancholy romp through FF history. Reed & Sue are absent here, presumed dead, but their presence is on every page. This is honest and fair storytelling, and Zdarsky here has produced an epic FF tale (with a lot of promising groundwork done for the next chapter) that stands alongside Lee, Byrne, & Waid's takes on Marvel's First Family.
More...