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Fantastic Four: The End, by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer.

Normally I like to do reviews in a very structured format, but with this one, there is just so much to say that I literally have to go page by page and recollect my thoughts, however random they may be.

First off, this is by far the best Fantastic Four story to come about in the last two years, even if it does take place in a possible future timeline. Alan Davis wrote this as if it actually was the very end of the FF, and his artistic life depended on it. It’s almost as if this was a make or break story, and this was Davis’ definite make. He did a superb job capturing the 45 years of rich history and intertwining it with the best story regarding the FF in a very long time.

The story in itself is a complete U turn- we begin with a scene and end with the same scene, except there is 20 years in between. In a nutshell, Reed has created the perfect Earth Utopia after the Mutant Wars (not an X-Men fan, so unsure of where this came from-Zeeks), but it is hard for some to adjust. Victor Von Doom is one of those people, and in the opening scene where we have a class A brawl with Victor, the Richards’ two children- Franklin and Valeria- seemingly disappear in the heat of the battle along with Victor. Years later, we see how the FF have split up, gone their own separate ways, and what is happening in this specific Marvel Universe that leads up to the point of origin.

Anyone and everyone who is a someone in the FF world makes an appearance in this (sans the X-Men), and their appearances bring something both old and new- Every relationship, every nuance of the characters, and how they all interconnect is here- you don’t need to know 40 years of history. You have perfectly explained drama right here.

Starting with Victor, in the words of another sci-fi story, “he is more machine now than man, twisted and evil.” In this case, it is very true. Victor is more of a cyborg now with a very disillusioned view of the world he lives in- the urge for world domination is still there, but the regality of what was once a great man has been lost. Victor has totally lost it. There is no more calm, collective, commanding and domineering royalty. There is just the pain and anguish of a man who cannot adjust to Reed’s Utopian Future.

In the wake of losing his children, Reed has all but become a hermit in space. His relationship finally did fail with Sue, as the death of their children was not something either one of them could get over. Reed made his work his life, and the result was a total Utopian Future- one where peace prevailed, and hunger & war were abolished. Of course, there are always detractors to every Utopia…

…Starting with the surprise attacks in space. Who but the Avengers to the rescue? Johnny Storm is part of the Avengers now, along with Norrin Radd and the bulk of the classic Avengers- Thor, She-Hulk, Thundra, Vision, Iron Man (or at least, Tony’s personality, which is now transferred into numerous drone bodies), and a Hulk which is now completely in control of himself. Johnny finally grew up- he is now a responsible team player, and makes quite a good lead. Nick Fury, still the man of mystery and knowledge, is checking out these surprise attacks with the help of Peter Parker, T’Challa, Hank Pym, and Captain America. The first attack consists of classic villains- or does it? The Wizard, Klaw, The Red Ghost, and Psycho Man attack one of the Quarantine Generators that protects Utopian Earth, but when the villains are not who they appear to be, questions arise…

Ben Grimm- perhaps the luckiest to emerge out of the four- has what he always wanted; his original body back and a loving relationship with Alicia, whom are the proud parents of Daniel, Jacob, and Yancy. He lives on Mars, has close connections with the Inhumans, and not only has his dream been fulfilled, but he can also turn back into the rock hard Thing at will. The only longing in his heart? His former teammates.

To escape the tragedies of a life with Reed, Sue went inwards as well, focusing on rescuing the children that she believes are still alive. She disguises her pursuits as a love for archaeology, which takes her to the ocean depths- right into Prince Namor’s domain. The thesis of their relationship, the love triangle with Reed, the lust she feels for Namor- all captured perfectly in a few pages. Namor still burns for Sue; a fact he never hid. He still shines in all his splendor and regality, and as a man who would do anything for Sue, but Sue is still bonded to Reed, no matter how tough the times are between them. Another perfect example of Davis capturing aspects of the past and using them to create a new, fresh now.

Dr. Stephen Strange and his daughter, Clea (named after her mom) have closed themselves off from the world for the most part, but as always, Stephen holds the key to Sue’s findings at the archaeology dig in the ocean, which leads her into direct conflict with The Mole Man, the FF’s first encountered villain. Mole Man is just a passing image now- nothing has really changed for him except for getting older and uglier; however, he does hold the key to Sue finding the kids- the Orb of Gnorman.

The attacks on the quarantine stations continue; this time a slew of Ultrons attack, again, not appearing to be what they really are, and the Avengers swoop in to take action. Check out Vision kicking butt on the suedo-army of Ultrons. Meanwhile, Ben brings the family to the moon the InHumans are residing on. A touch of “This Man, This Monster” erupts as one thing is evident in the universe- there is always a racism of some sort, and Ben won’t let a bunch of thugs get away with it. True Ben Grimm- honorable, always does the right thing, and fights for equality even when another chooses to treat him as an unequal.

There are the occasional moments of humor, very reminiscent of the constant play fighting between Johnny and Ben. Johnny and Norrin Radd drop by to see Ben- and a food fight ensues. In all the drama and seriousness of what is going on, it is good to see moments of light heartedness, done in the true fashion of Lee and Kirby. Most importantly, you can see the love between these two guys- no matter how long it has been since they have seen each other, they are brothers to the end, and treat each other likewise. Johnny and Ben travel together to the InHumans moon to investigate a signal that was sent from the moon in connection with the attacks onto the Quarantine generators. When John sees Crystal, you see the flame re-ignite between the two. Nothing like a little love in the air.

Going off into yet another thread in the yarn, the Galactic Council is reviewing the quarantined Earth and the ramifications this will have on the Universe at large. And who but the Kree and the Skrulls to take opposition? Taking things even a step further on the Galactic Scale, Utau The Watcher and the big boy himself, Galactus, get into the picture, but their intentions are unidentified as of yet, aside from Utau’s play on Galactus’ honor and integrity. Talk about overstepping your bounds to a world devourer! Back down to the lower sentient life forms, She Hulk turns out to be Super Skrull and the InHumans along with Norrin, Johnny, and Ben encounter a Kree Sentry. And whom but Diablo and the Mad Thinker (both of whom were low on the villain scale to begin with) are found to be carrying out the orders of the Kree, particularly Ronan the Accuser.

Ben, Johnny, and the gang figure out they have to get to Reed, but Reed has problems of his own. While trying to invent a new device along the lines of a transporter going through the Negative Zone, Super Skrull exposes himself a fight ensues, sending both of them into the Zone, and Reed finds out why his transporter device keeps failing preliminary testing- Annihilus! Ben and Johnny rescue Reed in the Negative Zone so they can get him back to Earth- which is currently being invaded by Ronan and the Entire Kree Army. Lockjaw helps out with getting everyone too and fro, and it was great to see the cute pup. Another great appearance.

Susan finds Reed, Ben, and Johnny and proposes a plan with the help of Dr. Strange and Clea, who have found the secret of the orb- and it’s relationship to young Valeria. At this point, every super hero on Earth is battling the Kree and the Shi’Ar armada. Stephen initiates the point of battle going all the way back to Victor, and the battle of all time ensues. Even in the supposed death of the children and the animosity that Victor has nurtured throughout his life for Reed, there is still the one thing Reed offers him- compassion and forgiveness. As one battle reaches fruition, another comes to an abrupt end, courtesy of Galactus, who sends the Kree Armada packing.

Final showdown: Victor, being decimated by the Four, finds the only opportunity he can for his world domination- Reed’s Dimensional Gateway to the Negative Zone. Only problem is Reed has set it to self-destruct. He warns Victor, but the ego is swelling in the heat of battle. Victor enters the Gateway, and it explodes, leaving the children safe and sound in the loving arms of their family. As the story concludes, the Fantastic Four found the end- the end of their separation and a new journey together. Johnny learns he is destined to have children with Crystal, and Earth is once again at peace. The spread on the 2nd to last page is a true testament to not only the FF, but the Marvel Universe as well.

And what is the last image we are left with? A victorious Doom who has conquered the Negative Zone.

Every once in a while, you come across a comic that has everything you want. This is one of them. Alan Davis has perfectly captured the essence of exactly who the Fantastic Four are and the reader’s experience with them. Lee and Kirby originally created a team that consisted of everyday people who are family and how they perceive situations in an everyday manner. They aren’t super soldiers like Captain America. They weren’t born with special powers like mutants. They had a freak accident that changed their lives forever. The reader can identify with the problems the FF experience, not only in their super hero lives, but in their everyday lives. They pay the bills like you and me. They fight like you and me. They love, they lose, and they grow like you and me. Of course, your chances of running into SuperSkrull are slim to none, but do we not face obstacles that seem to have ganged up on us and knock us on our asses?

Davis got it all down right, from the playfulness of Ben and Johnny to Reed and Sue’s relationship woes to Namor’s feelings for Sue and just about everything in between. Davis also penciled the entire story as well, and the artwork is fantastic. Take a look at the single page when Galactus intercedes on behalf of the humans. Pure Majesty. Included are the classic angle shots and exaggerated anatomy and poses that made Marvel a singular entity apart from all over publishers. Check out the two page spread of Reed’s ship and the Quarantine Generator over Earth. The detail is amazing. The paneling is also great, keeping the pace and continuity of the story going at an understandable and decent rate.

Everyone has their own moment in the spotlight, but those moments never take away from the main story- they simply add to it to create a more enticing whole. It is no easy feat to intertwine all the independent stories, like the Kree/Skrull invasion, Sue’s Journey, Reed’s Journey, Ben and Johnny’s journey, the impact of Doom and the children, the being that is now Stephen Strange, and so on into one fantastic tale. Mark Farmer also did an extremely adequate job of inking, although I found all the yellow and orange hues kind of hard to distinguish from each other during John’s visit to Ben on the beach. Also, some of the Kree Fleet scenes tend to run into each other, but there is nothing without flaw, although Alan Davis came damn close.

It would have been nice to have touched on the classic tangle between Ben and Bruce Banner, but with this story being so jam packed, there obviously had to be some sacrifices to be made. It was also rather odd to find out that the villain teams who were attacking the generators were mere clay things (speaking of which, where was the Puppet Master?)

The best line? Ben saying to Victor, “War’s over, Doom- so why not do like the song sez and give peach a chance y’ sick, psychotic Nut!” Right on, Ben.

ace review dude.