Fantastic Four: The End [Hardcover]

In recent years, Marvel Comics has put out several stories under the THE END banner, stories which aren't officially within the Marvel universe's mainstream continuity but which, nevertheless, purport to chronicle the last days of various superheroes. The Punisher, Wolverine, the Hulk, and the X-Men received the THE END treatment and are mostly downers. Then came FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END, the most upbeat of these stories so far. In six issues, it tells the final adventure of Marvel's first and premiere superhero family. As written and artistically rendered by talented Brit Alan Davis (with invaluable help from long time collaborator and inker Mark Farmer), FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END is an exciting, galaxy hopping epic which kept me awake and feverishly reading to the very end.

SPOILERS alert: Set in the future, times have changed for the world and for the Fantastic Four. One final battle with Dr. Doom resulted in a tragic loss for the close-knit superhero family, for which Reed Richards claimed personal blame. The Fantastic Four disbanded and each member went his and her separate way. Ben Grimm, the ever lovin' Thing, moved to Mars with Alicia Masters on a terra-forming mission and began his own family; Ben has given up crime fighting and he's pretty content. Johnny Storm joined the space hopping Avengers and became their leader. Susan Richards, who had become somehow obsessed with archaeology, spends all her time gallivanting from one dig to another, but in search of what? It's been a long time since she's spent quality time with her husband. And Reed Richards?

Some more background re this future universe: In the aftermath of the cataclysmic Mutant Wars, which devastated humanity, Reed Richard's technology gave the people hope and, in fact, it is Reed's technology which eventually ushered in a new era of prosperity for mankind. Mr. Fantastic had invented the Methuselah Treatment, which cures diseases and retards aging. Too, he has brought Earth official status within the galactic community. It's now the best of times for humans as Earth has become someting very Utopian. However, nowadays, the most brilliant mind on Earth is off Earth, living a hermitlike existence in his asteroid space station, preoccupied with his experiments and drawing further and further away from friends and family. Folks have become concerned with Reed's mental health caused by his prolonged isolation. Accordingly, ex-attorney Jen Walters (She-Hulk), now a therapist, visits his asteroid to give him counsel. It is, naturally, at this point that the smelly stuff hits the wind machine.

There's always someone not content with paradise. Earth's solar system has been quarantined, which serves to keep out the Skrulls, the Kree, the Shi'ar, and other grumpy Marvel space aliens. When mysterious insurgents commit acts of sabotage within the solar system, John Storm and the Avengers proceed to investigate. Meanwhile, Susan Richards, intent on her own quest, ends up on the bottom of the ocean, and then even deeper. These two disparate events would eventually involve the biggest stars and most galactic of heavy hitters in the Marvel universe and also reunite the scattered members of the Fantastic Four for one last grand adventure.

Alan Davis doesn't stint on the grandiose space opera, trust me. The scale of the story is indeed immense, encompassing sentient cosmic forces and marauding space armadas. It features the return of classic foes (yes, the most dangerous ones), and stages massive, let's-save-the-world battles. Guest stars? The pages are rife with 'em! And you won't believe who ultimately saves the day (or, actually, if you read the series, you might get a notion). This series also debuts *drum roll* the Bug Squad.

At the heart of the galaxy spanning intrigue are the estranged members of the Fantastic Four. Alan Davis, as capable a writer as he is an artist, does a good thing by not ignoring the personalizing human elements within the intricate space opera. Ultimately, no matter how epic the story, the reader derives the most satisfaction from the littler stuff, namely a focusing on the characters. Davis shows that, in the end, these four people might have been away from each other for who knows how long, but when they get together, it's still about family. The climactic sequences in issue #6 prove once and for all that this fantastic quartet is truly about family as they become more immersed in Susan's doings than in the nearby world-in-peril tussle, occuring simultaneously (I really can't be more specific than that, without blowing the ending).

Naturally, Davis throws in a few curves. For example, it's nice to see Johnny, now called John, step up and be so effective and decisive as the Avengers leader. Nice to see Ben so happy, having finally settled down and with three beautiful children (one of whom, a daughter, is named Yancy!). It's ironic, though, that, having finally achieved the ability to change at will from human to rock, Ben discovers that the Martian populace tends to hold the Thing in high regard while belittling his human form.

But it is Reed and Susan's marriage which is the most affected here, and negatively. If I could mention two things which bugged me, one would be that Reed doesn't get to do a lot in this story and, for the majority of the pages, acts too befuddled for my taste. I realize the circumstances, but this isn't the Reed I know. My second nag is that the reconciliation between Reed and Susan was given short thrift. Otherwise, I was blown away by this limited series. So it's not a surprise that I'm recommending FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END, for its big, big storytelling scope, but grounded with a humanizing touch, and for its scintillating artwork (this man Alan Davis, he can draw). I must say that this one is very deserving of the mainstream F.F. comic's erstwhile boast of being "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine."

This is just one possible "end" for the Fantastic Four. Originally a six issue limited series, Alan Davis's story is collected here as a beautiful hardcover edition. Is it worthy of the "premiere hardcover" treatment?

Yes and no. The artwork is fantastic--something that Alan Davis fans have known for years since his "Excalibur" work for Marvel. Sue Storm, pushing fifty in this story, has never looked better--she's still comics' hottest soccer mom. And this story has every major FF villain that a fanboy could want: Galactus, the Moleman, Annilihus, the Super Skrull, Krees, and, of course, Dr. Doom. As for the FF, Reed and Sue are split, Johnny leads the Avengers, and Ben Grimm finally finds solace as a human (maybe...).

There are just too many characters and plot threads to follow. Someone new is attacking every other page, so we never really get to sit down with any of the FF. Could every single one of the FF's villains coincidentally attack at the same time? I was hoping that all of the threads would somehow tie together at the end, but, alas, they don't.

Marvel's periodic 'The End' books are supposed to imagine the final adventures of their classic characters. They offer glimpses of our favorite hero's fates.

Fantastic Four: The End starts strong, the FF's advanced technology has helped create a golden age for the human race but at a terrible cost. Their children were killed years ago in a final battle with Dr Doom. We get some glimpses of the future, the children of Spider-Man, the Wasp and Henry Pym try to form the 'Bug Squad'. Tony Stark has downloaded his mind into his armor.

But then things turn into a standard FF story. We learn that Mr. Fantastic's advanced medical technology has kept all the established heroes young and active, and virtually unchanged. The FF's usual rogues gallery shows up for a confusing series of battles, and in the end everything turns out fine. It's not even a true last battle for the FF.

There's no real new insights here and no new ground is broken. Much of the interesting action happened before the story started and would have made for a better story. When characters in the story complain that 'the future is boring' it's probably a bad sign.

Alan Davis' art is as nice as ever but this book has no real point.

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