Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Fantastic Four #68 by Mark Waid Flash TPB (2016- DC) By Mark Waid comic books. Volume 1 - 1st printing. Collects The Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #62-68, The Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) Annual #4-5 and The Flash Special (1990). Cover by Greg LaRoque, Jose Marzan, Jr., Travis Charest, and Dan Davis. In 1990, Mark Waid's legendary writing career began when he scripted his first issue of THE FLASH. Waid would continue to work on Wally West for nearly a decade, building a world that would keep the character running for years. In this first volume of a new series, Young Wally West is quickly in danger-not only from The Flash's enemies, but from powers that he doesn't know how to control! Softcover, 368 pages, full color. Written by Mark Waid, Craig Boldman, Gerald Jones, William Messner-Loebs, and Len Strazewski. Art by Greg LaRoque, Michael Collins, Travis Charest, Paris Cullins, Carmine Infantino, Grant Miehm, Irv Novick, Dan Davis, Tim Dzon, Dick Giordano, Scott Hanna, John Lowe, Roy Richardson, Joe Rubinstein, Craig Brasfield, Andrew Pepoy, Mike Parobeck and Jose Marzan, Jr. Cover price $24.99. This item is not in stock. If you use the "Add to want list" tab to add this issue to your want list, we will email you when it becomes available. Volume 1 - 2nd and later printings. Collects The Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #62-68, The Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) Annual #4-5 and The Flash Special (1990). Cover by Greg LaRoque, Jose Marzan, Jr., Travis Charest, and Dan Davis. In 1990, Mark Waid's legendary writing career began when he scripted his first issue of THE FLASH. Waid would continue to work on Wally West for nearly a decade, building a world that would keep the character running for years. In this first volume of a new series, Young Wally West is quickly in danger-not only from The Flash's enemies, but from powers that he doesn't know how to control! Softcover, 368 pages, full color. Written by Mark Waid, Craig Boldman, Gerald Jones, William Messner-Loebs, and Len Strazewski. Art by Greg LaRoque, Michael Collins, Travis Charest, Paris Cullins, Carmine Infantino, Grant Miehm, Irv Novick, Dan Davis, Tim Dzon, Dick Giordano, Scott Hanna, John Lowe, Roy Richardson, Joe Rubinstein, Craig Brasfield, Andrew Pepoy, Mike Parobeck and Jose Marzan, Jr. Cover price $24.99. Volume 2 - 1st printing. Collects Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #69-79, Flash (1987 2nd Series) Annual #6, Green Lantern (1990-2004 2nd Series) #30-31 and 40, and material from Justice League Quarterly (1990-1994) #10. Written by Mark Waid and Gerard Jones. Art by Greg LaRoque, Sal Vellutto, Phil Hester , M.D. Bright, Claude ST. Aubin, Romeo Tanghal, and Patrick Zircher. Cover by Ty Templeton. Once Wally West was Kid Flash, sidekick to his mentor and friend The Flash, a.k.a. Barry Allen. But the death of Barry made Wally the fastest man alive - and the new Flash! Now, somehow, Barry has returned - as a violent and paranoid speedster determined to eliminate what he's created! Is Barry really back? Softcover, 432 pages, full color. Cover price $34.99. This item is not in stock. If you use the "Add to want list" tab to add this issue to your want list, we will email you when it becomes available. Volume 3 - 1st printing. Collects Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #80-94. Written by Mark Waid. Art by Mike Wieringo, Rob Haynes, Barry Kitson, Kris Renkewitz, Carlos Pacheco, José Marzan, Jr., Ian Akin, Ken Branch, Mike Deodato and Wayne Faucher. Cover by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer. After his devastating battle with Professor Zoom and the Zero Hour event, Wally West must get his life back on track with the help of Nightwing and Starfire, only to be charged with criminal negligence after thwarting Heatwave's Christmas crime spree. And racing to Keystone City straight from the future, it's Impulse, the latest member of The Flash's super-speed family! Softcover, 368 pages, full color. Cover price $34.99. Volume 4 - 1st printing. Collects Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #0 and 95-105 and ANNUAL #8. Written by Mark Waid and Michael Jan Friedman. Art by Mike Wieringo, Salvador Larroca, Carlos Pacheco, Oscar Jimenez, Roger Robinson, and Ron Lim. Cover by Mike Wieringo and Jose Marzan. After the events of ZERO HOUR, the Flash-a.k.a. Wally West-gets a glimpse of the future and doesn't like what he sees! Meanwhile he and Impulse have a rematch with Kobra's forces. But something seems off about Wally's speed, which leaves him looking not quite like himself. But even as he tries to deal with his own personal problems, issues with Impulse begin to arise and Wally must seek out the help of Max Mercury. Softcover, 368 pages, full color. Cover price $34.99. This item is not in stock. If you use the "Add to want list" tab to add this issue to your want list, we will email you when it becomes available. Volume 5 - 1st printing. Collects Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #106-118 and Impulse (1995-2002) #10-11. Written by Mark Waid. Art by Oscar Jimenez, Jose Marzan, Jr., Anthony Castrillo, Hanibal Rodriquez, Jim Cheung, John Nyberg, Sergio Cariello, Brian Garvey, Wayne Faucher, and Humberto Ramos. Cover by Steve Lightle. Wally West is pushed to his limit when Savitar attempts to take control of the Speed Force, an indefinable energy field that is the source of all speedsters' powers. A trip to the 64th century also proves eye-opening for Wally, as he is shocked to find out that in the future he is worshiped as a god! Softcover, 368 pages, full color. Cover price $34.99. This item is not in stock. If you use the "Add to want list" tab to add this issue to your want list, we will email you when it becomes available. Volume 6 - 1st printing. Collects Flash (1987-2009 2nd Series) #119-129, Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends (1997) #1, Flash/Green Lantern Faster Friends (1997) #2, Flash Plus [Nightwing] (1997) and a story from DC Universe Holiday Bash (1997-1999) #1. Written by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, and Ron Marz. Art by Paul Ryan, Jose Marzan, Jr., John Nyber, Val Semeiks, Chip Wallace, Bart Sears, Andy Smith, Jeff Johnson, Ron Lim, Tom Grindberg, Mark Pennington, Bill Anderson, Eduardo Barreto, Gerry Fernandez, Tom McCraw, John Costanza, and Dick Giordano. Cover by Steve Lightle. In these tales, the mayor of Keystone asks the Flash to relocate himself away from Keystone City - but trouble still manages to find the Fastest Man Alive in his new home of Santa Marta. First, the Flash saves a presidential candidate from the Top, a member of the Rogues. Then, Mr. Frost strikes-and his illusions threaten to destroy both the Flash and his new home. And when word spreads that the Flash has moved to a new city, several of his greatest foes show up to cause trouble, including the earthquake-causing Major Disaster! Fantastic Four Vol 3 67. Doctor Doom has come to the United States to search for his long lost childhood sweetheart, Valeria. To help him on this quest he has paid a visit to a palm reader who tells him that she cannot help him in this quest. She reads his fortune and tells him that he has lived a life of an altered destiny and that his soul aches with remorse. This strikes Victor as true. He tells her that a life of technological achievements have left him wanting. He tells her that he intents to change this and Valeria is the key, should she return his love. As he exits the fortune tellers business into the streets of Georgia, Von Doom scoffs at the offerings of the United States, not liking being in this uncivilized nation for very long. He recalls that a lot of the times he comes to this country is when he battles his foes the Fantastic Four. However his search for Valeria has brought him here. His travels takes him to a fortune teller named Queen Marie LaVoie to have tea leaves read. When he looks at the arrangements of the tea reminds Victor of autumn. This brings back recollections to his childhood when he and Valeria would spend time together as his people traveled through Hungary, avoiding persecution. He remembers happier times when he gifted Valeria with a wooden music box that he handcrafted. He recalls how things started going dark shortly after his mother died and he discovered her trunk full of magical artifacts. This started Von Doom's infatuation with the dark arts. As he practices these forbidden craft he also learned all he could about science as well. As his obsessive drive propelled him further he became more and more distant to Valeria. Using his mastery of both arts he helped protect his people and fight back against those who persecuted his people. He then recalls how these activities attracted the attention of the United States military who offered Victor a chance to expand his knowledge by pursing his education. When the fortune teller presses Victor to tell more, he stops his recounting, calling her a charlatan and leaving her presence. Retiring to his hotel Victor walks past a woman with a stroller. When the child suddenly begins to cry, Victor apologizes as the mask he wears to cover his disfigured face frightens children easily. The woman tells him that it's not his face that is making her son cry, pointing out that the boy is blind. Victor returns to his room where he tosses all the electronic devices outside and spends his evening giving himself a Tarot card reading. When he draw the Star card, Victor removes his mask and retires for the night. The following day Victor visits another phony fortune teller, this one using a crystal ball. Still he continues his narrative, explaining how he left Valeria behind in order to pursue his education in the United States. There he met and formed a rivalry with Reed Richards while attending State University. He recounts how he ignored Reed's warnings that the calculations were off on a device that would allow him to contact the spirit of his mother in the netherworld. Because he did not heed this warning, the device literally blew up in his face. As Victor explains how Valeria knows the man he became after the fact, when suddenly he catches the glimpse of a house in the crystal ball. The fortune teller smirks, telling Victor that not all fortune tellers are frauds. She tells him that Valeria is in the house he sees within the crystal ball and is waiting for him. Valeria has become obsessed with fortunes herself, destroying the various telling instruments when tell her the fortune she has been dreading. When Victor finally arrive she tells him he was never supposed to find her. Victor explains that he only wishes to bring something very fond to him and give it to her. It is a locket with photos of them as children. This touches her, but when he professes his love to her and asks her to come back with him, she explains that the child she fell in love with is no more. Victor then does something that she does not expect: he takes off his mask and allows her to see his face. He further explains that he comes to her out of his armor as it represents the technology he has come to reject. He tells her that if she returns his love it will make him a changed man. When he opens the music box that he made for her so many years ago, Valeria begins to reconsider. As Victor puts the locket around her neck, she agrees to go with him, at least provisionally in order to give him a chance. When she takes his hand the locket suddenly snaps shut and begins to glow green with mystical energy. When Valeria tries to rip it off, the magic begins to burn mystical sigils on her flesh. As the symbols creep up her skin and Valeria screams in pain, Victor explains how as a child he made a choice and picked science over sorcery and now he is making the choice again. How he is now embracing his mystical heritage and made a pact with netherdemons for unimaginable power, all he had to do was make the ultimate sacrifice -- his childhood love. Victor bids farewell to Valeria as her flesh suddenly is stripped from her bones. As it turns into a mystical costume fashioned after Doom's traditional armor, he tells her that he will always hold her close to his heart. Fantastic Four #35 celebrates 60 years of FF with John Romita Jr, Mark Waid, and Kang. August 2021 marks 60 years to the month since the original Fantastic Four #1 launched the Marvel Universe way back in 1961. And to celebrate, August's Fantastic Four #35 will be an oversized issue which will include not only John Romita Jr's first apparent work on interior pages since his return to Marvel but the return of Mark Waid to the Fantastic Four. "This year, Marvel Comics is proud to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Fantastic Four! Home to concepts and characters that revolutionized comic book storytelling, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s beloved creations have enjoyed one of the most memorable sagas in comic book history and this year will see some of their greatest adventures yet!" reads Marvel's announcement. "Following the highly anticipated 'Bride of Doom' storyline, August's Fantastic Four #35 will be a special giant-sized spectacular that will see series writer Dan Slott teaming up with legendary artist John Romita Jr." 'Bride of Doom' launches this week in Fantastic Four #32, with Doctor Doom proposing marriage to his enforcer Victorious so she can rule Latveria in his stead while he is in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy - though the involvement of Johnny Storm and Reed Richards has added some wrinkles to Doom's wedding plans. Marvel's announcement also gives some insight as to what the FF will be up against in the story launching in Fantastic Four #35, which involves the many incarnations of Kang the Conqueror uniting for a scheme that targets the FF not just in the present day, but across their entire past - including an apparent new villain named Scion. "The entire Kang bloodline is out to destroy every era of the Fantastic Four! How can Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny hope to survive simultaneous attacks across their lifetimes by Rama Tut, the Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Kang’s final descendant, the sinister Scion?!" reads Marvel's official description of Fantastic Four #35. "Still dealing with the repercussions of Doctor Doom's climactic wedding, the groundbreaking changes to the Fantastic Four's status quo are just beginning," it continues. "Plus: Mark Waid and Paul Renaud deliver dramatic new insights into the origin of the fabulous foursome in an all-new anniversary tale and a third story written and drawn by Jason Loo in his Marvel Comics debut!" There was a previous Marvel character who used the name Scion, but that minor character has no apparent connection to Kang or his other identities. Mark Waid's return to the main FF title is notable, as he previously wrote a fan-favorite run on Fantastic Four in the early '00s alongside artist Mike Wieringo that remains a highlight among the team's many eras over the years. Waid has returned to the FF before, with both an Invisible Woman limited series and a limited series alongside artist Neal Adams titled Fantastic Four: Anathema. The untold aspects of the FF's past that Waid and Renaud's story will address apparently go all the way back even further in Marvel's history (even before Marvel Comics or the Marvel Universe technically existed) as Renaud has tweeted some art of WWII heroes including Captain America and Human Torch which the artist says relates to the story. Work in progress for my FF book pic.twitter.com/yyVGOTD7w4May 12, 2021. Romita Jr.'s return to Marvel after a stint of a few years at DC has so far included some promotional art, but Fantastic Four #35 will mark his return to interiors for the publisher. "I've read and been told by much smarter people, that 'luck is the residue of design' so I won't even attempt to claim I designed the events of these last few months, but I will take this kind of luck any day any time," Romita Jr. states. "I was lucky to begin my career with Marvel and now am extremely lucky to re-connect with Marvel. That's an enormous amount of good fortune. I sincerely thank all the folks up at Marvel, and Disney, who worked for this fortunate re-connection to happen." Over the years, Romita Jr. has drawn nearly all of Marvel's major characters from the X-Men, to Daredevil, to Spider-Man, to the Avengers, and many more. "To add to all this, and I hate to add a third section to my good fortune, is the opportunity to start off with a huge project, which is the 60th anniversary of the Fantastic Four!" Romita Jr. concludes. "It is an honor and extreme privilege to be asked to work on this along with a friend and former collaborator, Dan Slott! Along with ink artist JP Mayer, I am looking forward to this being up for viewing in August!" Fantastic Four #35 is due out August 25 with a cover from Mark Brooks, seen here alongside uncolored interior pages from Romita Jr. Stay tuned to Newsarama for Marvel's full August 2021 solicitations later this month. We combed through hundreds of stories over 60 years to find the best Fantastic Four stories of all time . Newsarama staff writer who learned to read from comic books and hasn’t shut up about them since. Conflict Conveys Character: The Genuis of Fantastic Four, “Unthinkable” The new Fantastic Four movie ends with a showdown where the Four must stop Dr. Doom (known simply as Doom in the film) from destroying the earth. Doom wants to wipe out all life on earth for reasons that aren’t exactly clear. He also summons an enormous amount of hatred for his arch-nemesis Reed Richards for even more reasons that aren’t exactly clear. The entire finale is generic and sold on the basis that it is supposed to happen because this is a superhero story. That is probably one of the major reasons this movie has been so poorly received. The central conflict of the film is a paint-by-numbers summer blockbuster. Doom destroying the earth would certainly seem like a big deal if he were sucking up our planet into a plot-portal, but he’s not. It’s a fictional world that will have no bearing on the rest of our lives whether or not it survives. The film presumes the size of its stakes will make the battle seem important, but that’s not how we relate to fiction. We don’t care about stories because of how many lives are at risk, but because of how much we have invested in those lives. As readers and viewers, we can come to care about characters through the art of storytelling. Seeing their lives unfold before us can provide reasons to relate, sympathize, and empathize with them, sometimes becoming so emotionally attached that we cry simply at the thought of them suffering a defeat or dying. It’s the sort of wonder you can find in the first ten minutes of a movie like Up or in almost every issue of the comic Daytripper . And so conflicts become important to us because of what they mean, not how big they are. Battles, whether they be external or internal, are defined by what we feel is at stake. They can also help define what is at stake, clarifying the reasons we care and invest ourselves in a story. While the battle at the end of Fantastic Four may be a poor example of this, another tale about the same quartet presents one of the best modern examples of how conflict can convey character: Fantastic Four #67-70 and #500 , “Unthinkable” by Mark Waid and Mike Weiringo. In Fantastic Four #67 , Dr. Doom kills his childhood sweetheart in exchange for immense magical powers. Having failed to defeat Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four for so long using science, he decides to take the path he denied as a child and use the arcane arts to vanquish them. In quick order he captures Reed and Sue’s daughter Valeria, sends their son to hell, and imprisons the Four in horrible traps. It is grandiose supervillainy with Dr. Doom exacting vengeance as horribly as he can. Waid and Weiringo created one of the best Fantastic Four runs ever put to paper, ranking alongside Kirby and Lee and Byrne. They understood the attraction of this family unit and each of its distinct elements, making it easy to care about each member of the team. Seeing all of them put through such immense trials alone is enough to concern readers based on the legwork found in the first few issues of their run. Yet the brilliance of “Unthinkable” doesn’t come simply from putting these characters in danger, but in the way this specific trial reflects both its hero and villain, revealing who Reed Richards and Doctor Doom are at their core. Before Doom enters the picture in Fantastic Four #68 , Waid and Weiringo take the time to remind readers of a driving conflict within Reed: science vs. magic. While on an inter-dimensional mission, Sue reminds him of an unexplained phenomena in Valeria’s nursery and states that it could be magic. Reed’s response is telling. Not only does he deny that it is magic, but he denies its very existence despite knowing characters like Dr. Strange and Ghost Rider. He is so confident in his own faculties and ability to explain the universe that the very idea that there is something he cannot understand and explain leaves him aghast. Reed has always been the brain of the Fantastic Four, and his intellect is simultaneously his greatest strength and weakness. It is what allows him to find solutions to impossible problems, fund his family, and regularly save the day. It also leaves him aloof and distracted. As Sue notes in Fantastic Four #68 , “you’ve had your nose riding the grindstone for weeks now.” It is his intelligence and dedication to science that also drives a wedge between him and his family. Doom’s use of magic is Reed and his family’s undoing. When a portal opens to Hell and Doom possesses Valeria, Reed has no way to combat him. His rejection of magic has left him utterly defenseless. It is in this way that Doom completely defeats the Four in the course of a single issue. The trap is sprung at the end of #68 , and defeat is evident by the end of #69 . At the end of that issue, Doom hovers over the group triumphantly unable to even be affected by their combined powers and gadgets. The Thing shouts at Reed to think, but the look on his face shows that he has been beaten. When Doom traps Reed, he doesn’t implement any direct forms of emotional or physical torture like he does to the rest of his family. Instead Doom subjects him to a far more nefarious trap. Reed is locked inside of a library filled with magical tomes, aware of the atrocities being visited upon his family and that only he can help them. Doom even tells him what he must do in order to escape the room, “This door can be opened by an enchantment a four-year-old can learn.” This is the one trap that Doom believes Reed is incapable of escaping and for good reason. They share many traits including a love of knowledge, immense intellect, and the hubris that can come with both of these qualities. In a monologue delivered to the imprisoned Reed, while holding his baby daughter, Doom speaks about a weakness that defines both himself and Reed (although he would only admit to the latter). Reed is left alone in a room of books that he cannot understand incapable of saving the people he loves, and arrives at an important conclusion. Anger creasing his brow and tears welling in his eyes, he declares, “I’m sorry. I can’t save you. I’m not smart enough.” This trap exploits the conflict at the core of Reed Richards and reveals why he is ultimately a hero. His obsession with and confidence in science has allowed him to be placed in a position where the thing he cares for most cannot be saved. The prioritization of his work and his family has always been a struggle, and here it is made clear which is more important. Yet all of his dedication to the former cannot help the latter. This death trap both clarifies Reed’s internal struggles and his choices. Despite his seemingly implacable commitment to science and the pursuit of knowledge, he recognizes that it is meaningless without the love of his family. It is that recognition which ultimately allows Reed to free himself and save the day as well. With Dr. Strange’s astral help he attempts to learn magic, but cannot master even simple spells attacking them as if they were formulae. His salvation does not come in the form of learning magic though, but in a deus ex machina that functions based on Reed doing the most un-Reed-like thing imaginable: admitting he is a fool. When he says “I’m an idiot” and “I can’t figure it out”, the device comes to life and gives him the power to save the day. Reed’s confidence that he could solve everything left him trapped, but he is freed by the wisdom that he knows nothing. Ultimately, this tool reflect the importance of power to Reed. His intelligence had always allowed him to feel in control, the master of any situation. It is this sense of self-empowerment that lies at the heart of Doom’s criticism. Reed wins the day by admitting that he is powerless, a fool, without his family. And so it comes that his moment of triumph comes not from his. Reed is shown to be heroic, not because he is perfect, but because he is capable of recognizing and making the right choices. He is easily obsessed and distracted from his family, but his core strength lies with them, and he is willing to give everything else up to protect them. All of his ego and self-importance is washed away by his truly selfless actions here. This battle clarifies who Doom is as well. His defeat comes when he is challenged by Reed to admit that he gained his new powers with the help of three lords of Hell. Doom refuses to acknowledge this, breaking his deal with the infernal powers, and causing them to drag him down below. Unlike Reed, he is incapable of admitting that anything holds power over him. His pride and arrogance are fundamental to who he is, leading him to initiate this conflict and resulting in his demise. The conflict in “Unthinkable” is based purely around the Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom. There are only a handful of lives at stake. It is all very personal, but it feels earth-shaking because it is about the souls of two men who we are brought to know very well. We come to care about them through their struggles, and their challenges and decisions reflect who they. Conflict and character reinforce one another, so that each helps us to care more about the other. The battles in “Unthinkable” aren’t an excuse for action, but an integral part of the story helping us to understand and love Mr. Fantastic. It’s in this way that Reed Richard’s saving his family feels far more important than any fight to save the earth. the m0vie blog. Mark Waid’s Run on the Fantastic Four – Vol. 1-3 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective) Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four, I’m taking a look at some of the stories featuring the characters over the past half-century. The Fantastic Four helped launch Marvel to publishing greatness over the 100+ issues drafted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but they’ve seldom occupied a prominent place in their publishing line-up since that dramatic introduction. Sure, the title earned a place as one of the three Ultimate on-going titles (at least before Ultimatum ) and sure, there were occasionally hugely successful and iconic runs like that of John Byrne, but these were the exception rather than the rule. The title never really reached a stage like the X-Men , Spider-Man or even Avengers books (in modern Marvel), where they were clearly the title to watch. While I’m not entirely convinced he succeeded, Mark Waid is consciously trying to find a definitive approach to the title. And I respect that. The adoring public… In fairness, Mark Waid’s run on the title is aware of the difficulties that the Fantastic Four face as a franchise. One of those great runs published at Marvel in the early part of the last decade, while Grant Morrison was writing New X-Men , Brian Bendis was on Daredevil , Peter Milligan was on X-Force and Marvel was just getting ready to realign the Avengers franchise, Waid didn’t necessarily want to tear down what came before – he just wanted to acknowledge that the title was at a very volatile point in its history. It wasn’t under threat of cancellation, or anything so dramatic. Instead, the threat was one of ennui . The argument has been made (without offense to the countless writers on the title since) that very little has changed with the Fantastic Four since that original run by Lee and Kirby. Included in the hardcover collection is a sample from Waid’s “Fantastic Four Manifesto”: There have been many, many great FF stories written in the last thirty years – many of them probably better than anything I’ll ever write – but taken as a body of work, this series is and always has been INSANELY reverent to 1967. And because of this, because so many well-intentioned writers have invested so much energy in recreating and preserving “The Way It Was” , Fantastic Four the comic is just tired. Worn out and endlessly repetitive – and, sadly, obviously so. Being honest, I think he has a fair point. Prepare to meet your Doom! By the way, it’s interesting to note how many comic book series at Marvel during this period began with a revolutionary manifesto, determined to radically overhaul what came before. Morrison’s New X-Men collections come with his own “manifesto” included. I wonder if every major relaunch features a document that must be phrased in such radical language, or if this was a sign of the times – Marvel moving into a new millennium and genuinely willing to take risks with their properties. It’s the kind of thing I really wish we saw a bit more often. Anyway, Waid opens his comic with the Fantastic Four in a bit of a crisis of relevance. “Their licensing revenue is down twenty-two percent from last year,” we’re informed, as if Waid is making his pitch for his overhaul inside the very comic, directed at the audience. “Wizard hasn’t hot- picked their comic for months.” Even Reed, one of the smartest men on the planet, realises that the group need to be updated and to stay with the times, lest they be relegated to pop culture nostalgia. “People like us who don’t periodically reinvent ourselves are too quickly forgotten,” he reminds his family. In fact, it’s interesting how completely Waid restructures the group, and places them outside their comfort zone. The excellent Colin Smith wrote a rather wonderful article on how Marvel Comics superheroes have gone from anti-establishment figures to being the establishment, but I think the Fantastic Four have always been establishment heroes. They occupy a skyscraper in central New York and run their own gift shop ( “wish the Avengers had a gift shop,” one kid mutters… and I wouldn’t be surprised if they currently do). So, while Marvel was busily working to integrate various superheroes into the framework of the Marvel Universe – with Tony Stark building an Avengers skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan (first announced in New Avengers ) and mutant culture becoming popular (in New X-Men and X-Force ) – Waid tries to dismantle the Fantastic Four, so that we may get an idea of how they work. The group’s international antics in Authoritative Action , for example, serves to make them social pariahs. In sharp contrast to the love and respect that they generally receive from the public, Waid has the group treated as freaks, and has them bumped way down the list of superheroes the Mayor of New York wants on board to combat the latest massive threat. Waid also dismantles the group (before Avengers Dissassembled made that popular), having Reed drive the family apart, and creating rather large divides between the members. At one point, the Thing is gone and Johnny has left the group, while Reed is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.The clear idea seems to be to give the audience a feel for how the group works, and why they work together so well. It’s fascinating that Waid devotes so much time in the saga to the powers of the Fantastic Four. Characters are constantly de-powered and repowered and powers are swapped. At one point, Sue and Johnny switch powers for an arc. At another, the group is completely de-powered. Reed’s elasticity isn’t able to repair the scars that Doom inflicts upon it. Indeed, we spend a significant portion of the first issue being informed that – despite how cool their powers might seem – the “gifts” that the characters have might not be gifts at all. They’re scary and freaky and abnormal – for example, we’re told that Reed stretching sounds like “that noise made when you drag your hand over a balloon.” Indeed, one of the smartest things that Waid does occurs early on, as Reed explains to his daughter Valeria why the Fantastic Four are seen as iconic heroes, rather than a bunch of deformed freaks – the rather fascinating dichotomy that always existed between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, and one I’ve always wondered about. Why are those who gain powers naturally hated and feared more than those who earn them through freakish accidents? The answer, Waid suggests, is because the X-Men don’t have Reed Richards running their marketing. Talking to his young daughter, Reed explains that he created the brand of the Fantastic Four, as “he knew that would keep people from fearing them.” There’s a remarkable volume of character work here, fulfilling Waid’s promise to “make it about people, not about costumes.” Indeed, Marv Wolfman observed of the run: Mark went back to the inspiration of how we remember those early FF stories and re-created that without ever doing what had been done before. Also, he did it without immediately bringing back some old villain. More importantly, he has gone further than anyone, Stan included, to make us care about the core FF characters as well as the stories they’re in. For the first time, perhaps ever, I have a clue to who the characters are. However, as strong as his character work is, I think it only really worked because Waid returned to the spirit of that initial run, rather than its ideas or its format. Sure, Doctor Doom and Galactus appear here (and, in the most disappointing story, the Frightful Four), but Waid takes the character pretty far outside their comfort zones. Take it as Reed… In short, rather than having the Fantastic Four return to the Negative Zone or retread old plots or engage in the same sort of knock-down brawls they’ve been doing for years, Waid actually makes them explorers again. The thing about exploring is that it’s not safe, it involves doing something new, and taking risks. If the Fantastic operate only within the lines drawn by their creators, I’m not sure that they can really be called “explorers.” However, Waid doesn’t focus on sending them to alternate dimensions. He doesn’t have them time-travel. Instead, he places them outside their comfort zones. Reed Richards, man of science, gets tied up in political affairs and spirituality in the issues collected here. Doom isn’t the mad scientist that the group have faced (and vanquished) time and time again, he’s now a magician and a sorcerer. It’s not all Doom and gloom… Reed gets a lot of flack, and has made a lot of mistakes (in fact, it was his mistake which gave the Four their powers), but Waid acknowledges the power of the character – his integrity and the appeal of his scientific approach. When Galactus becomes human, he is not convinced to spare Earth by appeals to cultural values or the beauty of life or any existential nonsense, it’s Reed’s scientific arguments about the potential of mankind that sway him. Similarly, it’s Reed’s rational philosophy – rather than the emotion appeals of his colleagues – which gets the group admitted to Heaven. It’s a nice, well-rounded approach to the character, one which acknowledges his difficulty with expressing emotion (but not with feeling it), while conceding the approach has other merits. Magic and religion move Reed outside his comfort zone. The Thing rightly mocks Reed for his insistence magic doesn’t exist, suggesting he dislikes it “’cause when people throw it around, it’s th’ only time you aint’t the smartest guy in the room.” Indeed, Sue is very clear to define the religious elements of the series as something which can’t be rationalised away with science. “It’s not the ‘afterverse’,” she tells Reed. “It’s a domain of spiritual faith.” The core of Reed’s emotional journey here is one of character growth and development. Indeed, by the end of the run, Reed has come to terms with the fact that “there are higher forces that bind us.” And Waid is sharp enough that Reed’s newfound faith doesn’t disturb or distort his scientific curiosity – the two can exist in tandem (especially in the Marvel Universe). Indeed, each of the characters gets a great deal of development under Waid. Ben Grimm comes to term with his powers, as unpleasant as they might be. Sue Storm comes to respect and appreciate just how much restraint her brother must have in order to control his flame throwing powers. Even Johnny grows up, just a little bit, as he’s granted “cosmic sight” and entire civilisations hinge on his decisions. However, the most controversial characterisation of Waid’s run seems to be that of Victor Von Doom. Waid mercilessly deconstructs the myth that Doom is a man of honor. “By the way,” Waid tells us in his manifesto, “the truism that Victor Von Doom is, despite his villainy, a noble man in absolute crap.” Indeed, Waid shows a Doom who would gladly feed the love of his life to a horde of hungry demons if it gave him a slightly better shot at taking down Reed Richards. Johnny was getting quite good at burning Ben… In this run, Waid gives a chance to see Victor take off the gloves, and come at Reed with more power and intensity than ever before. Waid himself acknowledges that it would be stupid to think of it as an “ultimate” confrontation (as Doom is back by the end of the next arc), but he still has a thing or two to say. Waid’s Reed is smart enough to realise that saving Doom from Hell would be a stupid decision, but also that “this pointless game” between the two will never really end. The best Reed can do is accept a “stalemate” , which is something Doom is not smart enough to embrace. Still, there’s a sense of genuine consequence to the actions that we witness. Waid explores, for example, what happens to Latvaria after the fall of Doom, and has Reed embrace his own responsibility for the sovereign nation, staging a unilateral foreign intervention. It’s actually a really brave move for a superhero comic, turning the Fantastic Four into dictators over a small country, trying to facilitate a move towards democracy – it’s never too dark or edgy, but it’s well-thought out and a fascinating look at the politics of power (even if that power isn’t democratic). Asked to justify himself, Reed suggests, “We’re in charge because we’re responsible.” It’s interesting to see what happens when you follow that fundamental idea to its logical extreme. Thing about town… Truth be told, the run isn’t all gold. In particular, the Frightful Four arc feels like the generic “Fantastic Four fight old adversaries” story that Waid was trying so desperately to avoid retelling. And, while I appreciate the attempt to tie Galactus’s origin thematically to that of the Fantastic Four ( “that’s our origin,” Johnny remarks, “but it’s also yours…” ), I’m not convinced that it was for the best. It seems a little simplistic. Also, Waid does occasionally veer a little too close to soap opera, with Johnny being set up to fail by two corrupt underlings being a prime example. Still, this is the exception rather than the rule, and I do like the fact that Waid explicitly put aside two issues to explore the aftermath of Unthinkable , which it’s easy to imagine another writer might simply have brushed over, or dealt with quietly in the background. It’s clear that actions have reactions and consequences, and that’s a great part of Waid’s run. Spider-Man swings by… Towards the end of the run, Waid cultivates the sense that this is a time of upheaval at Marvel. Things are brewing and changing. The Avengers have disappeared, superheroes are not trusted unquestioningly. It’s a wonderful time, and one might suggest that Waid is trying to suggest his run was a prelude to all the difficulties that would come, with stories like Authoritative Action serving as a thematic lead-in to Civil War . It’s a nice touch, but it just makes it sadder that Waid’s run was cut short by controversy. It’s not a perfect run, but it’s a strong one. I especially like Mike Wieringo’s cartoonish pencils, which suit the material perfectly. Perhaps the appeal of the run can be boiled down to a single panel, as Reed and his companions prepare to make a journey to heaven itself. “So what happens?” Johnny asks. “Do we have a two o’clock with God? Do I get fitted for a harp and a halo?” Reed replies, “Your guess is as good as mine.” That’s the wonderful thing about exploration – you never know where it might take you. At its very best, Waid’s Fantastic Four captured that spirit perfectly.