FF #10 Review
- Details
- Published on Monday, 17 October 2011 04:36
- Written by Kevin
- Hits: 1700
With the DC Comics relaunch, Fear Itself, X-Men: Schism and Spider-Island going on one of the titles lost in the shuffle has been FF. Though the relaunch of the Fantastic Four franchise started off slowly the series has really turned around with recent issues. A key to this turn around has been the return of the Black Bolt’s Inhumans as Fantastic Four adversaries. Their return has been perfectly been integrated with the broader War of the Four Cities story going on. Now let’s see if this series can continue delivering another strong issue with FF #10.
Creative Team
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Barry Kitson
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Exiting the portal he just entered, Reed finds himself back at the Baxter Building.
In space, Ronan is given the crown of the Kree with the Inhumans departure. Ronan first order is to prepare the fleet for combat.
Ronan goes into his chamber to tell Crystal the news. He asks her if she is okay with going to war. Crystal says she has made her choice to stay by his side.
In the greenhouse, Reed visits Susan. She asks Reed about everything that has happened and Reed says that Peter and his father must have transported somewhere else. Sue says that with everything going they are being tested and they are failing. Reed agrees. She then asks him what happened to Dr. Doom.
At Latveria, Dr. Doom arrives with one of the alternate Reed Richards. As both begin talking Nathaniel appears. The alternate Reed asks Nathaniel if he is the last of the Nathaniel Richards. He says he is. Nathaniel then talks about the portal bringing him to Latveria because he is needed there by the alternate Reed.
Shifting scenes to the Avengers Mansion, the Thing is on the phone apologizing to Alicia. He finishes up his call and starts talking to Spider-Man who has just appeared thanks to the portal. Spider-Man says that he thinks he needs a lot of things but the reason he returned to the Avengers Mansion is to take The Thing home.
On Attilan, the Inhumans Citadel is being attacked by the Kree. Ronan tells Crystal that this is her final chance. Crystal says she is ready to fight for the empire.
Back at the Baxter Building, Reed and Susan are at the hanger. The Quinjet arrives and Spider-Man is the first one off the jet. He says he brought back someone with him and The Thing comes out. The Thing asks about Doom and Reed says he is off the team. Sue says that it is just their family now. The Thing says he brought some friends and Captain America, Iron Man and Hawkeye walk off the jet. End of issue.
Commentary
The Good: FF #10 continued the upward trend in quality of this series. Not only did this issue continue to deliver a strong read but it is the best issue since Fantastic Four was relaunched as FF. Jonathan Hickman went back to basics with this issue focusing on the family aspect that makes this series so special.
From the scenes between Reed and Sue, Alternate Reed and Nathaniel, Dr. Doom and his people, Spider-Man and Thing and Ronan and Crystal, we each one have a strong sense of being a family. Whether it is for the good guys or bad guys, the running thread is all focused on this foundation. With everything that all these characters have been through as individuals and together Hickman highlights the fact that these characters will always go back to those that they see as their families.
I loved how Dr. Doom was quick to defend his people when he saw alternate Reed’s words as being offensive to his people. Though Dr. Doom is seen as a ruthless dictator, he is still a character that actually cares for his people. Though he shows it in odd ways, Dr. Doom always wants to show his superiority and that includes the superiority of his country. We have already gotten a taste of the old Dr. Doom in Avengers: Childrens Crusade and want to see him back to his old ways here in Fantastic Four.
Additionally, the scene did a good job of furthering the multiverse aspect of the greater story Jonathan Hickman has been playing with since the beginning of his run. Seeing Nathaniel Richards tell alternate Reed that he is there for him is interesting. We saw hints of the jealousy this other Reed has for the 616-Reed and it will be interesting to see how Nathaniel will try to help or use him.
Hickman also nailed the scenes that focused on the current Fantastic Four. Hickman made sure to give each character some much needed focus to address everything that has been going on. The scene between Susan and Reed was especially well written as it showed that even with all the focus Reed has been getting Hickman has not forgotten about Susan. No matter what is going on, Susan is the core of the group. She has always been the heart of Marvel’s First Family and her words continue to be what brings Reed back down to Earth.
I also like how Hickman has seamlessly integrated Spider-Man into the team and not just make him into another Johnny Storm. Peter has his own distinct personality and Hickman is playing up the fact that he, like other replacements on the team, provides an outside perspective to what is going. With everything that The Thing has been through, Peter is the type of person the Thing needs in order to give him perspective of his choice of leaving. At the same time, the scene showed that Peter does place a high importance about his place on the team as it is not just a fill-in role for him.
With all that said, my favorite scenes of this issue were the scenes with Ronan and the Kree Empire. Though Hickman is now building the Kree as a big threat to the Fantastic Four, he does not put them in the villain role by forgetting everything DnA did with these characters. Instead, Hickman uses everything the Kree have been through during DnA’s big Marvel cosmic opera to give some heart to a character like Ronan. As a character that has always played the muscle role, it’s fun to see him finally is the authority figure.
The characters decisions are given even more weight with the fact that he has Crystal by his side. Originally their marriage was only political but we have seen it grow into something more as we can see how much they care for one another. Hickman does a good job making sure that Crystal does not waver in her decision to stay with Ronan. With how the rest of the Inhumans have returned to the moon, I cannot wait to see how Crystal will act when she comes face to face with Medusa. It is a clash that has been building for a while now and I want to see it happen.
As a fill in artist Barry Kitson provide what may be his strongest work since coming over to Marvel. Kitson’s art can be hit-or-miss with me but this issue was a total winner. Kitson did a fantastic job displaying a wide range of emotions for all the characters in this character focus issue. From Ronan’s stoic face to the alternate Reed’s outbursts each characters emotional spectrum popped out of the pages. He also did a great job with the cosmic parts of the issue as he showed off the grandeur of Marvel’s cosmic side of the universe.
The Bad: I have no complaints for this issue.
Overall: With a combination of strong dialogue and artwork FF #10 was the strongest issue of the series since its relaunch. Jonathan Hickman nailed the different interactions we got in this issue as he shows us where all these character are after all the big things that they have been through. With the Kree attacking the Inhumans on the moon it is going to be fun to see the Fantastic Four deal with more cosmic threats close to Earth. The next issue cannot come fast enough.
Fantastic Four