Marvel Read-Through: Fantastic Four No More
Surprise! The Fantastic Four broke up… again. It seems to be a recurring plot in the comics: someone quits the FF, they break up, they get back together, the end. And it happens once again in the lead up to Fantastic Four #200. The landmark issue brings them back together in a face-off with Dr. Doom and it’s an action-packed epic finale to a well-written story that does feel a little overdone.
We begin with a three-issue arc that sees Ben Grimm losing his powers and being replaced by Power Man aka Luke Cage. It’s a fine story. There’s nothing necessarily bad about it, but it’s pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Ben loses his powers, his spot on the team is taken by Power Man, they defeat Puppet Master, Reed makes Ben an exo-suit so he can still be Thing, and several issues later Galactus restores Ben’s powers anyway. I never knew that there was a brief time where the Thing was actually just Ben in a suit, but other than that no major revelations here. I did like that it is arguably the first instance of Reed being the true Reed Richards: kind of an asshole. It’s agreed upon by comic readers at this point that Mr. Fantastic isn’t so fantastic. He’s too smart for his own good and constantly endangers people and even the entire universe in the name of science. His experiments and scientific discoveries are more important than life. He also knows he’s the smartest man alive and therefore tends to do things his way, without consulting anyone else. It doesn’t always work out. In this arc, he spends three issues watching Ben struggle as a regular human and refuse to accept that he’s been replaced on the team and not once does Reed mention that he’s working on an exo-suit for Ben. Only after multiple arguments, physical fights, Ben endangering himself by going into battle as a regular human, and much heartache does he finally reveal the suit. All he had to do was tell Ben that he was working on it and it would’ve solved a lot of unneeded drama. Ugh. Classic Reed.
I was surprised to see Roy Thomas as writer since at this point it seems like he’s moved up to editor, but I guess he held on to Marvel’s First Family a little longer than his other writing posts. Unfortunately, he didn’t change his writing style with the times. The dialogue and narration read exactly like a 60s Silver Age book and it definitely does not fit in with the comic books of the mid-70s. It feels outdated and out of place. Thomas is a Marvel legend, and rightfully so, but I think it’s time he gave up on writing.
Jumping ahead a few issues, Reed loses his powers, as promised by Annihilus way back when, and he decides to quit the team. It’s definitely repetitive and annoying at this point for the Fantastic Four to have another story based on a member quitting or being forced to leave the team (I mean Thing JUST did it), but the thing about this particular time is that it is great. Issue #191 where they pack up the Baxter building and go their separate ways was genuinely emotional, and I know they’re gonna get back together! I’m here reading Fantastic Four comics in 2022 so this break-up in 1977 obviously won’t last, but I still felt quite emotional, especially reading the scene of Johnny and Ben consoling each other. That’s the genius of Len Wein. He’s an excellent writer. Even when the overall plot was an overdone trope, he made it work.
But it’s Marv Wolfman, one of my favorite writers of all time, who comes in to bring the team back together in issues #196–200. Wolfman is the creator and original writer of Nova, my favorite character, and because of that I’m a big fan of his work. That original run on Nova is great, but I’ll get to that another time. For now, let’s focus on the Fantastic Four’s inevitable reunion. The team is kidnapped by Dr. Doom, Reed finds out his new science job that is going to help him regain his powers is actually being fronted by Doom, and now he has to use his newfound stretchy-strength to save his family. Also, Doom is trying to manipulate the UN into not voting to condemn Latveria, while the people of his country plan a revolt against him. He’s a bad king and a bad guy, but he’s one of the greatest villains ever for a reason and his evil genius is on full display here, while still sticking to the overly-complicated classic comic book villain scheme.
These five issues were just a whole lot of superhero fun with a fitting grand finale. Expertly written by Wolfman, he took a formulaic plot — the team breaks up, they’re forced to work together, they get back together — and made it something special. He nails each character’s voice, even throwing in some of that Reed Richards assholery, and just puts together a story that is exactly what the Fantastic Four should be. They’re a team and they work together to save the day, but they’re also a family and they can’t be torn apart or turned against each other, no matter how hard the world tries to do so.
Dr. Doom ending up in a catatonic state after his mind is destroyed by his own machine is obviously something that will be reset, and probably sooner than I even expect, but I liked it as an ending for him. Mr. Fantastic shows a darker, aggressive side of himself in their final confrontation; he makes it clear he is not afraid to kill Doom. A lot of superheroes don’t actually have a ‘no killing’ rule like many believe. It’s something that’s very specific to certain characters and I like when even a hero can show that they are willing to do what needs to be done. It would be out-of-character for Batman or Spider-Man, but for the Fantastic Four against Dr. Doom at his most dangerous it makes perfect sense.
I don’t really know where the Fantastic Four goes from here, I don’t know much about them after Wolfman’s run, but having Marvel’s First Family around in a good story? Always a treat!
Next: The Man Called Nova!
Issues Read:
Fantastic Four #168–170, #175, #188, #191, #196–200
Favorite issue: #200. Perfect ending
