Fantastic Four #1 Preview and Spoilers

[Kintor]

Oh, ffs - it's humorous. If it's making fun of anything, it's Slott poking fun at himself for "failing" at the apparently simple task of bringing team together right off the bat.

Absolutely no one is being "belittled" by this lighthearted one-page Impossible Man strip.

It's always a bad idea to joke about the failures of your own work, in the very same product that your trying to sell. I don't know how Marvel's editors keep letting things slide like this. Issue #1 was sold on the premise of the Fantastic Four's triumphant return, that didn't happen. At best its false advertising, at worst its incompetence where Marvel's creative and editorial staff let the story get away from them.

[runguy]

Well spoilers:

It seems that Dan Slott is a great fan of the Thing and his history and what better way to start off his FF run with the Thing purposing marriage to his long time girlfriend Alicia Masters. EXCEPT A FEW THINGS... 1. This isn't the first time the Thing purposed marriage if anyone is to recall Mark Millar's time with the team. 2. This isn't the first time we see Alicia Masters married, although it was a Skrull in disguise, which brings me to my third point. 3. Is Marvel truly setting up its readership for some DEJA VU all over again. While time has past from the previous two events it doesn't mean that Marvel could pull the same trick twice, right ? 4. We already had a busted marriage, but the only reason Marvel isn't being bothered by it was due to the fact that they had a back-up marriage in case the first one was a bust. As fans of the character and his history: What do you think of this new moment for the Thing ?

end of spoilers

actually in Millars' FF run that was a new character named Debbie (school teacher) that he met when Reed and he went to Ben's old school.

[Crimz]

It's always a bad idea to joke about the failures of your own work, in the very same product that your trying to sell. I don't know how Marvel's editors keep letting things slide like this. Issue #1 was sold on the premise of the Fantastic Four's triumphant return, that didn't happen. At best its false advertising, at worst its incompetence where Marvel's creative and editorial staff let the story get away from them.

There were two ways this issue was going to end either them all together or what we got. So I'm personally fine with it.
We got to see Sue and Reed at the end for the first time in 3 years, in Two-in-one it's always been flashbacks.
I get why some are upset, but I'm fine with it because no matter what the first issue would only have at most a page with Sue and Reed at the end of the issue. The 2nd issue was always going to be the "main event" no matter who was writing this return.

[Mantis Dad]

I know suspension of disbelief plays a big part in superhero comics. I know that readers of superhero comics aren't really big sports fans. But I have to say it, Slott is really pushing it if he expects me to believe that Johnny Storm is a Mets fan. Ben Grimm I can totally see cheering for the tire fire that is the Mets. Johnny Storm has done nothing but root for the Yankees because they are New York royalty. They are winners. Men want to be them. Women want to be with them. That is how Johnny views himself. Maybe Slott still had some lingering Peter Parker characterization because I can totally see him at a Mets game.

What's next Johnny Storm goes to a Cleveland Browns game? If your going to do something sports related, do it right.

I am a huge sports fan. NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, etc. etc.
As far as the Met's go, Johnny's age might place him born in the 90's in this comic. Maybe he fell in love with the romance of their '86 championship? Or maybe, Wyatt is a big fan, and Johnny could care less about sports, but wanted to hang out with his friend and be seen in public?

Bottom line, I have no problems with the HT at a Met's game.

[InfamousBG]

Ben proposing to Alicia and her happily accepting is "bad news?"

Reed sending the signal for the entire world to see that the FF is coming back is "bad news?"

Seems like good news to me.

I 100% agree.

[Steven Caldwell]

Now I remember why I did not like slott in Amazing Spider-Man. The overuse of decompression in the storytelling and the failure of decent follow through and satisfying conclusions in his stories.

[Prof. Warren]

It's always a bad idea to joke about the failures of your own work, in the very same product that your trying to sell. I don't know how Marvel's editors keep letting things slide like this. Issue #1 was sold on the premise of the Fantastic Four's triumphant return, that didn't happen. At best its false advertising, at worst its incompetence where Marvel's creative and editorial staff let the story get away from them.

Not having the FF return in full in the first issue isn't a "failure", it only is a subversion - or belaying - of expectations.

That Slott has a bit of fun - at his own expense - to the end this first issue with the promise that, yes, the FF will, no fooling, be all together in #2 is not "joking about failure" so much as it is simply letting the readers know, in an entertaining fashion, that their patience is noted and will soon be rewarded.

This issue does mark the FF's triumphant return. Marvel's cornerstone title is back, for real, and the spirit of family that it always embodied is fully represented and there's no doubt left to the fact that everyone is about to be reunited so there's no mystery, no fake out, no chance that this is all an elaborate ploy. The FF are back.

[Mantis Dad]

Not having the FF return in full in the first issue isn't a "failure", it only is a subversion - or belaying - of expectations.

That Slott has a bit of fun - at his own expense - to the end this first issue with the promise that, yes, the FF will, no fooling, be all together in #2 is not "joking about failure" so much as it is simply letting the readers know, in an entertaining fashion, that their patience is noted and will soon be rewarded.

This issue does mark the FF's triumphant return. Marvel's cornerstone title is back, for real, and the spirit of family that it always embodied is fully represented and there's no doubt left to the fact that everyone is about to be reunited so there's no mystery, no fake out, no chance that this is all an elaborate ploy. The FF are back.

Ditto the Prof!

[Prof. Warren]

Now I remember why I did not like slott in Amazing Spider-Man. The overuse of decompression in the storytelling and the failure of decent follow through and satisfying conclusions in his stories.

One thing you can't accuse Slott of is decompression. His scripts are typically very dense with plot. And his gift for long term planning and the laying down of story seeds that pay off down the line show that he's all about follow through. There's little or no elements in a Dan Slott story that doesn't have a satisfying pay off.

His Silver Surfer run, for example, is a master class in planning. That run was so well charted from the start that when it comes to its conclusion, it's stunning to see the way it was all laid out from the very first issue.

[Kirby Krackle]

That Impossible Man bit was hilarious. No idea how anyone could be upset by a little bit of tongue and cheek fun. Stan and Jack used to poke fun at the book all the time AS THEMSELVES within the pages. It was fun.

[Anthony W]

Not having the FF return in full in the first issue isn't a "failure", it only is a subversion - or belaying - of expectations.

Yikes, the dreaded "subversion of expectations". Just going to read someone's issue one and then buy issue two when it comes out.

[theoneandonly]

It's always a bad idea to joke about the failures of your own work, in the very same product that your trying to sell. I don't know how Marvel's editors keep letting things slide like this. Issue #1 was sold on the premise of the Fantastic Four's triumphant return, that didn't happen. At best its false advertising, at worst its incompetence where Marvel's creative and editorial staff let the story get away from them.

well at least it wasn't Stan the man Lee poking fun at the house of ideas as seen here

[JKtheMac]

This is a difficult issue to critique for me. On a purely emotional level 'Signal in the sky' was excellent. I bought every beat, enjoyed the voices and like the developing themes. On the other hand I felt cheated of substance. Surely the first issue of a much heralded and anticipated book shouldn't feel like a prologue?

What I really enjoyed was the way Slott has Johnny at the apex of acceptance that Reed and Sue are gone, and how Ben is moving on with his life. The story was crafted perfectly to reach these points. It is a really good story. I am just not sure why it was in this particular issue. It feels like a linking story not a story opener.

Talking of linking stories, it feels wrong to me, to have the Doom story in this issue. Again, the story is good, and the way it is handled works, I just don't think it is right for the context of a #1. I am a fan of Bianchi, and I thought the choice of art was appropriate for that tale, but it certainly doesn't feel like a nine page story. It feels too drawn out for the substance we see here.

I don't add my voice to those that feel it was wrong to not have the team back together again. If the story is going to be about how the team reform then so be it, I am here for the ride. To some extent I think Marvel Two-in-One was always a red herring, I don't think it was ever going to contain the main aspects of the story, which rightly belong in this book. It just feels a shame we didn't get more of that story here. Instead this felt like a Two-in-One tale. The story would have felt far better as a tie-in issue in a Two-in-One Annual. A linking story to help launch us into the main story.

[JKtheMac]

That Impossible Man bit was hilarious. No idea how anyone could be upset by a little bit of tongue and cheek fun. Stan and Jack used to poke fun at the book all the time AS THEMSELVES within the pages. It was fun.

Indeed I wish Marvel would do more of that kind of thing, perhaps with less well known cartoonists.

[Prof. Warren]

Yikes, the dreaded "subversion of expectations". Just going to read someone's issue one and then buy issue two when it comes out.

This is the opening arc of the return of the FF, meaning that it shouldn't really be that surprising to anyone that the story is just getting started in #1 and that there's more to come.

But in every way, this issue is a joy. And Reed and Sue are well represented here.

In just a couple of panels, Slott gives as lovely a summation of Reed and Sue's relationship as anyone ever has.

For anyone who loves the FF, this was a warm welcome home.