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Marvel Comics Fantastic Four #601 Story: Jonathan Hickman |
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After our glowing podcast review of FF #600 (listen here), #601 had a lot to live up to. How’d it do? Let’s see.
The Kree invasion continues to attack NYC. The invisible shield Susan and Iron Man created to protect the city is now destroyed by Kree suicide bombers. These dudes are hardcore.
Ben still has his hands full with some Sentries in Soho.
Back in the Baxter Building, Spidey can’t believe his eyes. Johnny’s alive. Johnny can’t believe his eyes either; he thinks the FF uniforms are hideous. Johnny always like to make an entrance, so his return from the Negative Zone will be no different.
That’s fantastic.
At The Forever City, the Supremor wants to destroy the Inhumans- and the world- but Ronan wants no part. He has to think of his Inhuman wife. He’s not a bachelor anymore. The Supremor relieves him of his duties.
The reunion on top of the Baxter Building building needs to be quick because there’s a war going on. BTW, Johnny is now two years older. Time in the Negative Zone works differently. The Kree armada is coming but Johnny has his own army. Whoever controls the Cosmic Control Rod controls the Annihilation Wave.
Johnny takes the gang in HIS spaceship to battle the Kree. The two fleets are similar in size, and the battle seems pretty even, until the Inhuman Cityship shows up. They want a piece of the Kree too, and our heroes aren’t opposed.
Just one problem: the debris from the battle is landing on Earth. This could get messy.
Jonathan Hickman delivers another great issue in what is destined to be a treasured run. While short, the reactions from the current FF to the return of Johnny are truly moving. His return rallies the team, especially Ben. Hickman gives us a more mature Johnny, shouldering much more responsibility, but still gives him moments of the pre-death Johnny we all love. There are great Johnny moments as he takes center stage this issue.
Steve Epting deserves a lot of praise too. His pencils on the FF run have been stellar: great panels filled with detail and character expression. This may sound weird, but he draws great tech as well. This is a packed issue, but the art never falters.
So, why isn’t this an event? We get Avengers based events, why not an FF? All the pieces are here.
I give this issue 4 Magnificos! out of 5.
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