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Fantastic Four (2018)
Fantastic Four, Vol. 5: Point of Origin
One of Reed Richards' biggest regrets leads to a voyage to the one place in the universe the Fantastic Four have never been. Get ready for a bold new chapter into the heart (and the start) of the Marvel Universe... and it all begins here! Don't you dare miss this one!
COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (2018) 14-20
COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (2018) 14-20
136 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
About the author
Dan Slott
1,937 books440 followersDan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 16, 2020
This should have been so much more! Slott re-imagines... the origin of the Fantastic Four! Reed, looking fondly back at the original spaceship in which the accident happened gets the team invested in rebuilding a new version and completing their original mission, a mission that leads a path back to their very first mission in space!
What should really be a classic moment in Fantastic Four is made mundane with a typical Fantastic Four 'colonial' superiority sees then take on an entire planet and its culture and still come out as the 'good guys'! I expected more from Slott after his Amazing and Superior Spider-man magic! 6 out of 12, for the innovative concept this story is built around.
What should really be a classic moment in Fantastic Four is made mundane with a typical Fantastic Four 'colonial' superiority sees then take on an entire planet and its culture and still come out as the 'good guys'! I expected more from Slott after his Amazing and Superior Spider-man magic! 6 out of 12, for the innovative concept this story is built around.
July 10, 2021
The best volume of Slott's FF run I've read to date. Slott comes up with an original look at the F's origins. Reed and Johnny are inspired to finish to trip that was interrupted when they were blasted by cosmic rays. Some of the culture of Spyre was a bit ham-fisted but I really liked the idea of the FF finally exploring the destination of their original space flight.
Marvel needs to get a handle on the art for this book. Six different artists worked on these 7 issues. If these artists can't keep up it's time to being in some rotating creative teams to bring a consistent look to the book for at least an arc.
Marvel needs to get a handle on the art for this book. Six different artists worked on these 7 issues. If these artists can't keep up it's time to being in some rotating creative teams to bring a consistent look to the book for at least an arc.
September 23, 2020
This was a really great story, one that could be up there with my favourite FF tales, that explores a side of the team’s origin that I’m absolutely amazed nobody has ever thought to deal with before but, MAN, this book is suffering from the lack of a regular artist! I totally understand the need to bring in a fill-in artist occasionally but when you have three different artists in the same issue, it really hurts the book. All the artists used here are very good but their styles clash and really jar you out of the flow of the story.
Story: 5 stars
Artwork: 3 stars
Overall: 4 stars
Story: 5 stars
Artwork: 3 stars
Overall: 4 stars
August 17, 2020
We really don't need any more F4 origin retcons. We really don't.
This one had potential, I'll admit, but it goes on for FAR too long, and doesn't go anywhere at all aside from dragging a new character along for the ride back to Earth. Splitting the Four seems like a way of tapping more of the story beats out of the world of Spyre, but it really just means we get more of characters we're not attached to and have no reason to get attached to because they're almost entirely unlikeable.
The artwork is also all over the shop. Sean Izaakse and Paco Medina do the heavy lifting, and both are fantastic, but there are also what feels like dozens of fill-ins, with sometimes five or six artists on one issue. F4 has struggled majorly with finding a consistent art team, and unfortunately this volume doesn't manage to get past this either.
I've really enjoyed Dan Slott's F4 so far, but I really couldn't wait for this arc to be over with. A mega speed bump in the road.
This one had potential, I'll admit, but it goes on for FAR too long, and doesn't go anywhere at all aside from dragging a new character along for the ride back to Earth. Splitting the Four seems like a way of tapping more of the story beats out of the world of Spyre, but it really just means we get more of characters we're not attached to and have no reason to get attached to because they're almost entirely unlikeable.
The artwork is also all over the shop. Sean Izaakse and Paco Medina do the heavy lifting, and both are fantastic, but there are also what feels like dozens of fill-ins, with sometimes five or six artists on one issue. F4 has struggled majorly with finding a consistent art team, and unfortunately this volume doesn't manage to get past this either.
I've really enjoyed Dan Slott's F4 so far, but I really couldn't wait for this arc to be over with. A mega speed bump in the road.
February 17, 2021
I love it when the 4 go cosmic, and this is no exception. Strong writing and good clean art. Slott doing good work overall on this run.
October 15, 2020
Somehow I missed reading Vol. 4. Not sure if anything important happened, but this volume seems to start off with a clean slate.
It begins really well, revisiting the initial flight of the four that gave them their powers. It's one of those stories that keeps all the facts of the origin the same built adds a different perspective and layer to it. Two issues in I'm liking where it is headed. This is more what I expected from Slott who can be very creative and innovative at times.
Unfortunately, the story devolves into generic comic book drama, preset reactions from characters and standard fisticuffs. A few moments were nice: Reed and Sue, jokes about Johnny's previous love life. But it all just felt really rushed once it got started.
The art changes dramatically and frequently which is a shame.
So far, Slott's run has been less than fantastic.
It begins really well, revisiting the initial flight of the four that gave them their powers. It's one of those stories that keeps all the facts of the origin the same built adds a different perspective and layer to it. Two issues in I'm liking where it is headed. This is more what I expected from Slott who can be very creative and innovative at times.
Unfortunately, the story devolves into generic comic book drama, preset reactions from characters and standard fisticuffs. A few moments were nice: Reed and Sue, jokes about Johnny's previous love life. But it all just felt really rushed once it got started.
The art changes dramatically and frequently which is a shame.
So far, Slott's run has been less than fantastic.
March 30, 2021
You can see the logic here. The sliding Marvel timeline means that "we have to get to space before the REDS do" is no longer a credible reason for the FF's originating spaceflight. And the elevation of Reed Richards from cold-blooded boffin to Dadly super-genius makes the details of the story - the rushed launch, the cosmic ray miscalculation - arguably dubious too. Fair enough - but if you want to replace those things rather than just let them lie fallow, you need something as compelling (and thematically rich) to take their place.
This isn't it. There's nothing wrong with "first faster-than-light spaceflight" as a retcon, and it has the advantage of being pretty much future-proof, but everything else about Point Of Origin muddies more than it enriches. At its heart, this is a "Team has to work out an alien culture" story, and proceeds as these things usually do - the team get split up as a means of introducing different factions on a planet and then bring them together to solve the planet's problems.
This was enough of a science fiction cliche 30 years ago for Grant Morrison to do a Doom Patrol story riffing on how dumb it all was, since any culture-scale problem that can be solved by a few days' intervention by Our Heroes requires the aliens to be (or act like) complete fools. Slott makes a few tweaks - the society has broken itself because it thinks the Fantastic Four are going to destroy it, and the FF's intervention works as a way to acknowledge and reset things (or destroy them as predicted, depending on perspective) - but that fundamental problem remains. Someone has to act like a fool, and in this case it's the guy who has been observing Earth through his magic camera since the FF was formed and still thinks they're going to be hostile. He's also involved in the Big Retcon, which I won't "spoil" because I strongly doubt anyone will use it again.
None of which would matter if this was a strong character story, or if the alien world's culture was compelling (or even very alien). It really isn't - the one distinctive thing is that these people mate for life via a holy dating app, and that's mostly used to give Johnny Storm a new girlfriend with even less set-up than usual. A lot of the story is taken up by the resident superhero team, who do little to merit the coverage. There are a few nice character moments and Sean Izaakse draws a great Marvel Monster, and it's all pacy and readable. But SO flimsy.
(There's one more unusual element of Point Of Origin - the alien planet is populated entirely with POC. Either Dan Slott has thought "this is a cool thing to do" and not realised he's written a story about colonialism, or more likely Dan Slott reckons his story about colonialism is a lot sharper and more nuanced than it actually is.)
This isn't it. There's nothing wrong with "first faster-than-light spaceflight" as a retcon, and it has the advantage of being pretty much future-proof, but everything else about Point Of Origin muddies more than it enriches. At its heart, this is a "Team has to work out an alien culture" story, and proceeds as these things usually do - the team get split up as a means of introducing different factions on a planet and then bring them together to solve the planet's problems.
This was enough of a science fiction cliche 30 years ago for Grant Morrison to do a Doom Patrol story riffing on how dumb it all was, since any culture-scale problem that can be solved by a few days' intervention by Our Heroes requires the aliens to be (or act like) complete fools. Slott makes a few tweaks - the society has broken itself because it thinks the Fantastic Four are going to destroy it, and the FF's intervention works as a way to acknowledge and reset things (or destroy them as predicted, depending on perspective) - but that fundamental problem remains. Someone has to act like a fool, and in this case it's the guy who has been observing Earth through his magic camera since the FF was formed and still thinks they're going to be hostile. He's also involved in the Big Retcon, which I won't "spoil" because I strongly doubt anyone will use it again.
None of which would matter if this was a strong character story, or if the alien world's culture was compelling (or even very alien). It really isn't - the one distinctive thing is that these people mate for life via a holy dating app, and that's mostly used to give Johnny Storm a new girlfriend with even less set-up than usual. A lot of the story is taken up by the resident superhero team, who do little to merit the coverage. There are a few nice character moments and Sean Izaakse draws a great Marvel Monster, and it's all pacy and readable. But SO flimsy.
(There's one more unusual element of Point Of Origin - the alien planet is populated entirely with POC. Either Dan Slott has thought "this is a cool thing to do" and not realised he's written a story about colonialism, or more likely Dan Slott reckons his story about colonialism is a lot sharper and more nuanced than it actually is.)
March 19, 2021
The Fantastic Four's origins get a reboot in Point of Origin - and I really liked it! I understand that rehashing a superhero's origins is typically a one way ticket to Yawn City, but I thought Dan Slott offered a fresh, clever look at the cosmic storm that gave the Fantastic Four their powers. Turns out, the planet they originally intended to visit was populated - and powerful, with their own set of superheroes (the Unparalleled).
Thus, when the gang decides to reboot their initial magical mystery tour, they wind up on a distant planet that has a major beef with them. Point of Origin plays out in some surprising ways, with most of the FF characters getting unique arcs that smartly use their differing personalities. It's a longer arc, but mercifully all contained in one book and all focused on the same goal: getting home and not leaving the newly discovered planet too much of a wreck. That's a nice change from Slott's previous Fantastic Four volumes, which have been all over the place in terms of length and content.
Six artists worked on Point of Origin, which is at least four too many, but I barely noticed the change in artistic stylings from one issue to the next. The action and character designs all held up. This might be my favorite volume in the series thus far - surprising considering I was ready to give up on the series with Fantastic Four Vol. 4: Thing vs. Immortal Hulk!
Thus, when the gang decides to reboot their initial magical mystery tour, they wind up on a distant planet that has a major beef with them. Point of Origin plays out in some surprising ways, with most of the FF characters getting unique arcs that smartly use their differing personalities. It's a longer arc, but mercifully all contained in one book and all focused on the same goal: getting home and not leaving the newly discovered planet too much of a wreck. That's a nice change from Slott's previous Fantastic Four volumes, which have been all over the place in terms of length and content.
Six artists worked on Point of Origin, which is at least four too many, but I barely noticed the change in artistic stylings from one issue to the next. The action and character designs all held up. This might be my favorite volume in the series thus far - surprising considering I was ready to give up on the series with Fantastic Four Vol. 4: Thing vs. Immortal Hulk!
July 2, 2022
This book is so bad I'd be embarrased if I had anything to do with its creation.
The characters are out of a 60s show, fake as hell with cringe-worthy lines to try and be funny or forced to say stuff as to appear that they're not one-dimensional. Bad dialogue. Bad script. Bad. Bad. Bad. Stay away.
The artwork was nice.
The characters are out of a 60s show, fake as hell with cringe-worthy lines to try and be funny or forced to say stuff as to appear that they're not one-dimensional. Bad dialogue. Bad script. Bad. Bad. Bad. Stay away.
The artwork was nice.
March 18, 2020
Despise. Sky. Get. Her. Out. Of. This. Book.
Johnny has had enough girlfriends, superpowered and otherwise, as it is. Throwing in some throwaway character without any connection to the Marvel universe at all? Whose powers aren't even that cool? (She could be summed up as, "bird-like") No. Just, no.
Otherwise, the writers tried way too hard to hit us over the head with the idea that Reed wasn't really responsible for what happened to the Thing, in getting his powers. Of course, this is at least the third or fourth attempt to explain away the FF's origins, so take that for what it is.
Johnny has had enough girlfriends, superpowered and otherwise, as it is. Throwing in some throwaway character without any connection to the Marvel universe at all? Whose powers aren't even that cool? (She could be summed up as, "bird-like") No. Just, no.
Otherwise, the writers tried way too hard to hit us over the head with the idea that Reed wasn't really responsible for what happened to the Thing, in getting his powers. Of course, this is at least the third or fourth attempt to explain away the FF's origins, so take that for what it is.
August 30, 2020
I'm wanting to like this run. But this story was just pretty... terrible comes to mind. I'm also waiting to like Slott's post-Spider-Man work (FF and Iron Man). But it just feels like he can't find his footing with these other characters in the Marvel universe. I keep hoping THIS next issue will finally be the one.
May 17, 2021
Big "nope" from me. I skimmed these issues and even that felt like a waste of my time.
May 22, 2021
This was good but I feel like it could’ve been a lot better based on the concept. Like this should’ve been an instant classic but Slott doesn’t do the best job on executing some things he sets up. Also some parts the art would change every three pages which was kinda annoying.
March 5, 2021
Not good. The tale of Spyre and the Unparalleled seems to be targeted at a 10 year old level. The artwork is rather variable. And a totally unnecessary attempt at retconning the origins of the FF. If it wasn't for the last issue that helps to turn things around just a bit, I might have one-starred this. Dan Slott is not showing himself as up to the task of writing this book...
December 25, 2020
The best of the Dan Slott series so far. Humor, heart, action and heroics - the four fantastic things that makes the FF one of my all=time favorite series.
November 27, 2021
Eu amei essa revisitação na origem do quarteto e nos acréscimos que foram feitos a ela não desrespeitando a clássica. Eu amei o fato de desfocarem um pouco o foco no doutor destino e focar no grupo (sinto falta dos filhos do quarteto apenas nessa edição) mas de resto está perfeita essa edição, por ser muito coerente todos os acontecimentos principalmente relacionado ao coisa e como essa história pode trazer várias reflexões, como na 2º edição que mostra a visão de como a população do planeta que o quarteto chega veem eles e como não entendem oque eles falam, isso foi uma sacada muito boa do Slott além é claro de toda a trajetória do Coisa. Uma ótima edição e com desenhos muito lindos.
September 3, 2020
When i started reading this it felt like the title was getting stale. I read up to the issue where the Unparalleled would appear and put it down for a week or so. I picked it back up to finish it today and figured I would be droping the title from my trade buying list. Instead i was really blown away from the rest of this trade. From the point the Unparalleled appear this book is top notch. Its rare a group of powered people are invented for a story that I enjoy this much. Anyway I will pick up the next volume. If you have made it to volume 4 and are thinking of dropping this book I say "don't" and definitely grab this volume.
July 16, 2020
So yet again it was not a mistake that created Fantastic Four? But it was a mighty powerful being weaponizing cosmic rays. Ok.... we go with that now.
So-so art companies the story that tries to sell me that. Loads of fighting, loads and loads of talking about it and about family values.
Meh.
So-so art companies the story that tries to sell me that. Loads of fighting, loads and loads of talking about it and about family values.
Meh.
May 12, 2021
Auch wenn mich die vorherigen 4 Bände von den Fantastic Four mächtigen beeindruckten, war ich bei diesem Teil regelrecht nervös. Immerhin sollte es in diesem Band darum gehen, wieso die Fantastic Four überhaupt zu den Fantastic Four werden konnten. Ok, wir wissen alle das sie in einen kosmischen Sturm gerieten, aber wieso er so stark war, dass er ihre Moleküle verändern konnte, war zumindest mir bis dato ein Rätsel. Ich dachte halt immer, das dies eben ein Sturm im All wäre. Aber weit gefehlt.
Tatsächlich überraschte mich der Band vom Anfang bis zum Ende, in dem er mir eine Geschichte erzählte, welche es mal so richtig in sich hatte. Neben fremden Planeten und neuen Zivilisationen gab es nämlich auch die Entdeckung anderer Superhelden. Diese waren, genau wie die F4, sehr angesehen in ihrer Welt, was man ihnen auch nicht verdenken kann, da sie wirklich alle sehr starke Kräfte besaßen. Doch wo es Segen gibt, da gibt es auch einen Fluch und der zeigte ganz schnell das in diesem eigentlichen Paradies so einiges schieflief.
Das Schönste aber dabei war, das er sich unglaublich leicht lesen ließ. Ich glaube keiner der Bände bisher war so einsteigerfreundlich wie dieser, da hier der Ursprung der Fantastic Four haargenau erklärt. Also nicht nur die Sache mit dem Sturm, sondern eben auch den Aufbau der Rakete. Selbst der neue Planet stellte für mich kein Problem dar, da man wirklich das Gefühl bekam, ihn zusammen mit den F4 zu erkunden. Und da gab es wirklich einiges zu sehen. Besonders am Ende, wo ein bekannter Gegner der F4 mit überraschendem Gefolge in den Kampf ging. Optisch hob sich der Band nicht von seinem Vorgänger ab, was aber auch vollkommen ok war, da er so wie er ist, perfekt war. Langweilen dürfte man sich aber trotzdem nicht, denn dafür gab es viel zu viele Details, bei denen es sich lohnte näher hinzusehen. Egal ob die Variant-Cover der Kapitelübergänge oder die mitreißenden Kämpfe hier wurde man wirklich einfach mitgerissen.
Selbst wenn man noch nie einen Band der Fantastic Four in den Händen gehalten hat und nun mit diesem in die Welt der Superhelden starten möchte, dürfte mit Leichtigkeit in sie hinein finden. Die erweiterte Entstehungsgeschichte der F4 samt der Kinder von Sue und Reed war wirklich ein Spektakel, welches mich packte, überraschte und selbst nach der letzten Seite immer noch faszinierte. Ein richtiges Highlight für die Augen und die Sinne!
Tatsächlich überraschte mich der Band vom Anfang bis zum Ende, in dem er mir eine Geschichte erzählte, welche es mal so richtig in sich hatte. Neben fremden Planeten und neuen Zivilisationen gab es nämlich auch die Entdeckung anderer Superhelden. Diese waren, genau wie die F4, sehr angesehen in ihrer Welt, was man ihnen auch nicht verdenken kann, da sie wirklich alle sehr starke Kräfte besaßen. Doch wo es Segen gibt, da gibt es auch einen Fluch und der zeigte ganz schnell das in diesem eigentlichen Paradies so einiges schieflief.
Das Schönste aber dabei war, das er sich unglaublich leicht lesen ließ. Ich glaube keiner der Bände bisher war so einsteigerfreundlich wie dieser, da hier der Ursprung der Fantastic Four haargenau erklärt. Also nicht nur die Sache mit dem Sturm, sondern eben auch den Aufbau der Rakete. Selbst der neue Planet stellte für mich kein Problem dar, da man wirklich das Gefühl bekam, ihn zusammen mit den F4 zu erkunden. Und da gab es wirklich einiges zu sehen. Besonders am Ende, wo ein bekannter Gegner der F4 mit überraschendem Gefolge in den Kampf ging. Optisch hob sich der Band nicht von seinem Vorgänger ab, was aber auch vollkommen ok war, da er so wie er ist, perfekt war. Langweilen dürfte man sich aber trotzdem nicht, denn dafür gab es viel zu viele Details, bei denen es sich lohnte näher hinzusehen. Egal ob die Variant-Cover der Kapitelübergänge oder die mitreißenden Kämpfe hier wurde man wirklich einfach mitgerissen.
Selbst wenn man noch nie einen Band der Fantastic Four in den Händen gehalten hat und nun mit diesem in die Welt der Superhelden starten möchte, dürfte mit Leichtigkeit in sie hinein finden. Die erweiterte Entstehungsgeschichte der F4 samt der Kinder von Sue und Reed war wirklich ein Spektakel, welches mich packte, überraschte und selbst nach der letzten Seite immer noch faszinierte. Ein richtiges Highlight für die Augen und die Sinne!
March 12, 2021
National Air and Space Museum newest exhibit is Marvel-II the rocket ship where the FF did their first flight and got their powers. The FF are there, as well. Reed has the idea that the FF should redo their first, failed space flight. They should finally go to the planet where they were trying to go. Johnny and Sue agree but Ben think they’re all nuts.
But in the end all four members launch in the redone rocket ship. However, the FF don’t know that the planet is inhabited. The people of Spyre knew that the FF were coming to invade them all those years ago… and they’ve had time to prepare. Now they have their own superheroes, the Unparallered. But their near-perfect society has a darker side, too.
This was a fascinating concept and I enjoyed most of it. The people of Spyre have a very clear and insular culture. They don’t have any contact with any other cultures and so their view of the FF is quite different from what I’m used to. However, this is a pretty standard superhero story with a couple of twists. One of them concerned Johnny and I’m curious to see how it will turn out.
On the other hand, I’m not sure if we really needed an FF origin retcon. We already know that Reed isn’t a perfect person or scientist. Also, the storyline has several artists which hurt the comic a bit. Their styles weren’t completely incompatible but noticeably different.
But in the end all four members launch in the redone rocket ship. However, the FF don’t know that the planet is inhabited. The people of Spyre knew that the FF were coming to invade them all those years ago… and they’ve had time to prepare. Now they have their own superheroes, the Unparallered. But their near-perfect society has a darker side, too.
This was a fascinating concept and I enjoyed most of it. The people of Spyre have a very clear and insular culture. They don’t have any contact with any other cultures and so their view of the FF is quite different from what I’m used to. However, this is a pretty standard superhero story with a couple of twists. One of them concerned Johnny and I’m curious to see how it will turn out.
On the other hand, I’m not sure if we really needed an FF origin retcon. We already know that Reed isn’t a perfect person or scientist. Also, the storyline has several artists which hurt the comic a bit. Their styles weren’t completely incompatible but noticeably different.
September 1, 2023
Easy reading, fun and breezy, but grounded in the heartfelt relationships and family feel that keeps the FF from just being a bunch of squabbling roommates. Bravo Slott, after sticking with you through a decade of Spidey (and getting increasingly antsy at the even tone of that book) I’m glad for this deep adherence to what makes FF work.
The sarcasm from these four is pretty…fantastic. I love that they’re so jaded that as soon as they encounter a society that challenges them in any way, they get super snarky. Not that they’re unaffected, but they’ve been around the universe so often that it’s impossible to faze them anymore. Totally believe this is how they’d be after closing-in-on-700 adventures.
And for all those who bitch about no good new characters (and that instead Marvel just remixes the archetypical heroes with race and gender - which I personally love to give us new angles on the same ol white make ennui), Slott brings us a new adventurer from space in the form of Sky, Johnny’s latest-in-a-never-ending-parade of soulmates. Hah! That boy’s in over his head.
Really interesting how they revisited the FF origin and gave both Ben a reason to let go of his anger, and Reed a renewed reason to reach beyond himself.
The sarcasm from these four is pretty…fantastic. I love that they’re so jaded that as soon as they encounter a society that challenges them in any way, they get super snarky. Not that they’re unaffected, but they’ve been around the universe so often that it’s impossible to faze them anymore. Totally believe this is how they’d be after closing-in-on-700 adventures.
And for all those who bitch about no good new characters (and that instead Marvel just remixes the archetypical heroes with race and gender - which I personally love to give us new angles on the same ol white make ennui), Slott brings us a new adventurer from space in the form of Sky, Johnny’s latest-in-a-never-ending-parade of soulmates. Hah! That boy’s in over his head.
Really interesting how they revisited the FF origin and gave both Ben a reason to let go of his anger, and Reed a renewed reason to reach beyond himself.
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March 21, 2021The opening issue here is lovely, with the FF donating the rocket from their original, life-changing adventure to the Smithsonian. Leaving them suddenly wistful and deciding at long last to complete that journey. So once more they rocket off into the unknown...and find themselves on a deeply generic alien world, an insular 'perfectly ordered society' divided between haves and have-nots. A retread, in short, of all those Kirby ideas that didn't quite catch, from the Inhumans onwards. Oh, and also, upon attaining adulthood everyone is told their soulmate by science, which for those of us prone to side-eyeing monogamy serves as a not entirely necessary early warning that Spyre has its problems. So then the story goes through the motions of a superheroes on alien world story, and for the duration it's a case of...is this it? After all those mad, brilliant ideas in Slott's Silver Surfer run, was this really the best he could manage here? Is the pointless wrinkle it adds to the team's origin meant to be exciting? It picks up again once they're back to Earth for the final issue, but can't help confirming the sense of this run as erratic.
January 9, 2021
A silly origin retcon, a bunch of bland enemies, and a new member of the team (who is also really bland). This whole story arc just felt really drawn out and unnecessary.
November 4, 2020
This was fun but a little forced. Forced because we find out that this new planet the FF journey to (I am still not clear why they were headed for THAT planet and had never gone to it before now) had a hand in their origin story. It was revisionist history that didn't make a whole lot of sense. I liked the fact this planet had its own hero squad and some of the interactions between that squad and Johnny and Ben but the reason for the FF being there and the history of the planet - it was forced.
Also - there is a subplot of Wingfoot (I have never understood his character - he was introduced in the Kirby Lee days and I was always confused by him - why does he hang around the FF?) and the Mole Man which was just weird and over before any drama was built up.
So - not my favorite Slott, FF or FF by Slott, but mildly enjoyable.
Also - there is a subplot of Wingfoot (I have never understood his character - he was introduced in the Kirby Lee days and I was always confused by him - why does he hang around the FF?) and the Mole Man which was just weird and over before any drama was built up.
So - not my favorite Slott, FF or FF by Slott, but mildly enjoyable.
April 8, 2021
Seems like these days, those that are now part of the Marvel Now reality, you can’t go more than a handful of issues without having some writer or editor throw a swinging retcon (“retroactive continuity” for all you newbies out there) change at the longtime readers. Sigh. And this one is one that will fundamentally change the relationship dynamics of Marvel’s first family in ways that will reverberate ... well, at least until the next writer retcons this away. Sometimes these things work, sometimes they don’t (I still won’t touch another Spider-Man comic because they not only brought back Norman Osborne and Gwen Stacy to life, but revealed they had kids and then Peter made a deal with Mephisto just to get a divorce ... I mean just to get out of a marriage that lame writers couldn’t work within the constrictions of (the less said about that lame writer’s crutch the better). While this one doesn’t appear to have as much immediate (and horrifying subtextual) ramifications, I fear it could prove disastrous if left to just slide. Oh well, we’ll see how it pans out. And FINALLY someone pointed out the obvious nature of the Johnny/Wyatt bromance! Now why is it exactly that Johnny can’t seem to settle of the right woman? I mean, I’ve had a sneaking suspicion since I was 8 years old old. I mean Johnny also has this delightful bromance with Peter ... just sayin’. And then there’s Ben and Johnny’s trademark brawls. At the end of this volume, I was just left feeling like the writers and editors have just slide into the average rut of not pushing the envelope because they have to keep the general status on the title without causing too many changes. Yes, by all means let’s retcon the characters origin, fundamentally altering their relationship dynamics (with only giving a passing nod to this in the comic story itself) but we can’t let the characters age. Heaven forbid they would grow old or even gasp grow up (I mean poor Franklin was born in the 1968 annual, and he’s only just now an angsty teenager?)
November 18, 2020
Marvel's First Family gets a slight retcon to their origin story when they decide to make the Marvel-2, which they will use to complete the first mission they undertook but never achieved. Arriving on the planet Spyre, we meet a society who saw the coming of the "Four-Told" as an invasion of their planet and their way of life. Their leader, called Overseer, helped create a team of superheroes called "The Unparalleled" to defend them. But Overseer has two other secrets: 1) The process used to create Unparalleled also turned some of the members of their society into the monsters that now populate the underground. AND 2) Out of fear for the loss of power and control by the arrival of aliens, Overseer is the one who was able to manipulate the cosmic forces towards the Marvel-1, and is actually responsible for giving the Fantastic Four their powers (This is the slight retcon part.). After several battles and eventual teamwork, they work out a peace and a kind of cure.
One other element of the Spyre society, is their adoption of soulmates via a cosmic scope. Obviously, it is shown that Reed and Sue are soulmates, but a surprise comes when Johnny finds his soulmate in Kaila, one of the Unparalleled, known as Sky due to her wings and powers related to talking to birds. Sky returns with the team when they come back to Earth.
When arriving home, Johnny and Kaila head off to help Wyatt Wingfoot and the reservation he lives on. They are having trouble with Moloids and the arrival of MoleMan. Sky is able to communicate with the T-Rexes MoleMan is using (avian descent) and help achieve the peace.
Overall a good Volume, but I wonder how long this thing with Sky will last and how the team will play into the upcoming Empyre.
Recommend.
One other element of the Spyre society, is their adoption of soulmates via a cosmic scope. Obviously, it is shown that Reed and Sue are soulmates, but a surprise comes when Johnny finds his soulmate in Kaila, one of the Unparalleled, known as Sky due to her wings and powers related to talking to birds. Sky returns with the team when they come back to Earth.
When arriving home, Johnny and Kaila head off to help Wyatt Wingfoot and the reservation he lives on. They are having trouble with Moloids and the arrival of MoleMan. Sky is able to communicate with the T-Rexes MoleMan is using (avian descent) and help achieve the peace.
Overall a good Volume, but I wonder how long this thing with Sky will last and how the team will play into the upcoming Empyre.
Recommend.
April 29, 2023
Dan Slott apunta a la misma génesis de los 4F en el arco argumental que implica casi toda la totalidad de este recopilatorio. El desesperado vuelo de prueba del cohete espacial que convirtió a esos 4 ingenuos astronautas en la Familia de héroes más singulares de su Universo está de aniversario. Y Reed Richards busca cumplir el sueño de realizar ese viaje de forma totalmente correcta y sin ningún percance. Eso es llegar a cierto planeta sin explorar que era la meta del viaje de la Marvel-1. Pero esta decisión no solo reabrirá viejas heridas entre la Primera Familia, puede que en ese planeta se descubra algo más en torno a esos rayos cósmicos y el origen de los 4F.
A la hora de revisitar eventos y sagas clave asentadísimos en el imaginario colectivo, se corren grandes riesgos. Supongo que Dan Slott era consciente cuando ideó Punto de Origen. Si bien toda la idea general y revelaciones en torno a la génesis de los 4F que planteó no se antojan tan terribles... Si que creo que la forma de abordarlo hace desmerecerlo todo muchísimo. El mundo paranoico y autoritario de Overseer camuflado como utopía sentimental podía haber funcionado por sí solo, sin la necesidad de jugar al remedo de los "Fantastic Avengers" y los "Morlocks Alienígenas" para también abarcar la perspectiva de Ben. Y el tema de las "almas gemelas" predestinadas se hace reiterativo de más y acaba no implicando todo lo que debería al lector como para alegrarse de la decisión final de Sky.
Todo avanza de forma bastante mecánica e impersonal, como un cómic de supers más en vez de lo que alguien espera encontrarse con algo de los 4 FANTÁSTICOS. Siendo una alegría mayor el que vuelvan a la Tierra para mostrar una mini aventura contra el Hombre Topo... y T.REX.
A la hora de revisitar eventos y sagas clave asentadísimos en el imaginario colectivo, se corren grandes riesgos. Supongo que Dan Slott era consciente cuando ideó Punto de Origen. Si bien toda la idea general y revelaciones en torno a la génesis de los 4F que planteó no se antojan tan terribles... Si que creo que la forma de abordarlo hace desmerecerlo todo muchísimo. El mundo paranoico y autoritario de Overseer camuflado como utopía sentimental podía haber funcionado por sí solo, sin la necesidad de jugar al remedo de los "Fantastic Avengers" y los "Morlocks Alienígenas" para también abarcar la perspectiva de Ben. Y el tema de las "almas gemelas" predestinadas se hace reiterativo de más y acaba no implicando todo lo que debería al lector como para alegrarse de la decisión final de Sky.
Todo avanza de forma bastante mecánica e impersonal, como un cómic de supers más en vez de lo que alguien espera encontrarse con algo de los 4 FANTÁSTICOS. Siendo una alegría mayor el que vuelvan a la Tierra para mostrar una mini aventura contra el Hombre Topo... y T.REX.
January 27, 2023
I am kinda biased here as I love this book. I have read this story multiple times and just love it like the way we find out the real reason why the FF got their powers and seeing how they land on this planet "Spyre" and then meeting the heroes of the planet "The Unparalleled" and their leader "Overseer" and how they have prepared for the coming of the FF threat and I love the drama and the narrative build up done here, its brilliantly written and fantastically drawn and the way you learn of the real history and motives and then the monsters underneath the city and an adventure for each of them and the banter between Reed and Sue is so fun lol, it makes the whole thing so much worth it.
The getting to see the threat and how they solve the problem organically or the way they are famous for.. its kinda awesome and I love the character arcs for each of them and like the welcoming of a new member and it makes for "something familiar, something new" with Johnny atleast and even his sister and best friend Wyatt make fun of him for it lol.
I loved this and its one of those books that will take you a while to read but its so worth it and has all the narrative beats and towards the end has a fun story with Sky and Johnny and already Slott doing great work to show her strengths as a characters and setting up some interesting stuff to come down the line.
The getting to see the threat and how they solve the problem organically or the way they are famous for.. its kinda awesome and I love the character arcs for each of them and like the welcoming of a new member and it makes for "something familiar, something new" with Johnny atleast and even his sister and best friend Wyatt make fun of him for it lol.
I loved this and its one of those books that will take you a while to read but its so worth it and has all the narrative beats and towards the end has a fun story with Sky and Johnny and already Slott doing great work to show her strengths as a characters and setting up some interesting stuff to come down the line.
October 27, 2020
I've had mixed feelings about the Dan Slott run for Fantastic Four since some of the stories have felt a little hit or miss, depending on where your interests slant. But the man is great at nostalgia and celebrating the legacy stories of the titles he works on, as evidenced by his long run with Spider-Man.
This book is a gem and starts with an effort to sort of commemorating the original mission that led to the Fantastic Four getting their strange powers to a far-flung adventure on a distant world that somehow fulfilled the original mission that had first set out to do. And what started as a strange encounter that was part misunderstanding and part dread prophecy evolved into a more complex story that changed the team's origin story to some degree, but potentially for the better.
I really enjoyed this story from start to finish and they did a great job with keeping things sort of light, especially with the Reed and Sue banter and of course the sort of incredulous view everyone has as Johnny's latest "soulmate", given his colorful history with other women.
Just a really fun adventure and a great addition to the overall series.
This book is a gem and starts with an effort to sort of commemorating the original mission that led to the Fantastic Four getting their strange powers to a far-flung adventure on a distant world that somehow fulfilled the original mission that had first set out to do. And what started as a strange encounter that was part misunderstanding and part dread prophecy evolved into a more complex story that changed the team's origin story to some degree, but potentially for the better.
I really enjoyed this story from start to finish and they did a great job with keeping things sort of light, especially with the Reed and Sue banter and of course the sort of incredulous view everyone has as Johnny's latest "soulmate", given his colorful history with other women.
Just a really fun adventure and a great addition to the overall series.
January 30, 2021
Dan Slott não vem numa fase muito inspirada não. Podemos sentir isso no seu Homem de Ferro, que teve de dividir o roteiro com outros escribas como Jim Zub e Christos Gage. Seu Quarteto Fantástico atrasava sempre que podia, com arcos de fracos a péssimos. Então veio este arco, do quinto volume da primeira família da Marvel, lançando nova luz sobre sua origem. Podemos dizer que este arco está no nível das suas histórias menos inspiradas de quando ele era um ótimo escritor de quadrinhos de super-heróis. Ou seja, é um arco bom, competente, que mexe um pouco nas fundações da origem do Quarteto Fantástico e da sua primeira viagem espacial, que lhes concedeu os poderes. Assim, os quatro vão parar em um outro planeta em que os super-heróis chamados Insuperáveis precisam defender a sua realidade dos Quatragouros, que você, a essas alturas, já deve saber quem são. A arte, que muda a cada edição do arco, é bonita, porém dá aquela sensação de descontinuidade e inconsistência. Arco divertido e descompromissado, mas longe de ser uma grande história da Família Fundamental ou do roteirista Dan Slott.
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