Fantastic Four #11 SPOILERS and review

[U.N. Owen]

I’m wondering how long they’re gonna have Franklin be sir teen angst for. It’s even more grating when the book keeps drawing attention to it yet does nothing about it.

I'm just hoping it leads into a good storyline about how Franklin needs to move on from the destruction of his creations.

I'm also hoping someone kicks him in the crotch hard enough that he feels pain every time he so much as rubs two brain cells together whenever he tries to call himself a god. The first time was funny. Then it dipped into boring and finally annoying.

Emo Frank is 4 times more powerful than widdle baby.

who has the weiringo page of him saying ****, this darkness was here all along
.

Franklin swearing is one of the things that is actually funny about the run.

[The BaRoN]

I didn't mind this issue at all but it felt like filler to cap off the Doom trade.

Loved the art

[Jekyll]

So what is the consensus on Slott's run thus far? He lost me by issue three.

[Crimz]

11 issues in and nothing has happened outside of the Wedding issue.

There has been no development or interesting moments with Reed, Sue, and Johnny. They feel more like supporting cast to the kids and Ben. Which in turn makes Wyatt's existence in the book feel pointless. It's nice that he's back, but why? He's not done anything outside of the first issue and feels like he's there solely for nostalgia.

Franklin is just terrible. This teen angst thing isn't working for me and is just making me hate every panel he's in.

Valeria has lost her spark. She used to interesting in how she utilized her intellect and looked at things differently from her father. She was more morally grey, and at times said things that made you wonder whether she'd grow up to be a mad scientist. She used to play both Reed and Doom like fiddles. But all of that is gone now, and she's just like every other Marvel genius. She lost what made her different and she now bores me.

If I wasn't such a fan of the team I would have dropped this book. I can understand taking 3 issues or so to get the ball rolling, but we are 11 issues in and still nothing has really happened. The focus has been on family, but in the most boring way possible. The FF are meant to be about family and exploration/adventure. Both concepts need to work in tandem to truly represent the Fantastic Four, solely focusing on family loses what makes the team special. Plus this has been the most generic definition of family which adds another layer of boredom.

I'm seeing how the next 3 issues go as hopefully they should be interesting. But if it ends up more of the same then I may done with book, at least there'd be are other FF related books I can read such as the Sue mini and Future Foundation books.

[U.N. Owen]

Plus this has been the most generic definition of family which adds another layer of boredom.

You say boring. I say unintentionally offensive. Reed and Sue adopted many members of the Future Foundation like the Moloids and Leech and Artie. With them gone, I always need to reread the page whenever Slott writes "We are a family" a million times in the first few issues because either a continuity mistake has been made or more unfortunate implications have been made. Either isn't desirable.

[Crimz]

You say boring. I say unintentionally offensive. Reed and Sue adopted many members of the Future Foundation like the Moloids and Leech and Artie. With them gone, I always need to reread the page whenever Slott writes "We are a family" a million times in the first few issues because either a continuity mistake has been made or more unfortunate implications have been made. Either isn't desirable.

I was pissed when they were shipped off. They are just as much their kids as Frank and Val are.
If they were going off to find Molecule Man then ALL of the kids should have went off. Not just the adopted/fostered ones. You're right that it sends a terrible message.

Also, now I'm thinking that aging the kids to teens was a big mistake. It took away any interesting and likable aspects of them.

[U.N. Owen]

Also, now I'm thinking that aging the kids to teens was a big mistake. It took away any interesting and likable aspects of them.

The problem is not aging them to teens. The problem is that Slott is treating them exactly like children. Being a teenager, hell even being a middle schooler before that, is when teens are supposed to be a bit more free range and take on a bit more responsibilities. Slott is still cooping the kids up with mommy, daddy, hothead uncle, and cooler uncle. The kids aren't as free as they could be. Other teenagers in the Marvel Universe are dressing in costumes and saving the world. Frank and Val are sitting in front of tv screens whining about not being involved in the action or being involved in the action with their family. The only time they don't do this, they're off panel after issue 10.


Have Franklin babysit Kobik for Bucky, have Val argue with GIRL over RBMK reactors, have Franklin exchange texts with the mutants, have Val learn magic, do something with these teenagers. You don't even need to have this go anywhere. 1 page with 3 panels can be enough to give us snippets of these stories.

[Crimz]

The problem is not aging them to teens. The problem is that Slott is treating them exactly like children. Being a teenager, hell even being a middle schooler before that, is when teens are supposed to be a bit more free range and take on a bit more responsibilities. Slott is still cooping the kids up with mommy, daddy, hothead uncle, and cooler uncle. The kids aren't as free as they could be. Other teenagers in the Marvel Universe are dressing in costumes and saving the world. Frank and Val are sitting in front of tv screens whining about not being involved in the action or being involved in the action with their family. The only time they don't do this, they're off panel after issue 10.


Have Franklin babysit Kobik for Bucky, have Val argue with GIRL over RBMK reactors, have Franklin exchange texts with the mutants, have Val learn magic, do something with these teenagers. You don't even need to have this go anywhere. 1 page with 3 panels can be enough to give us snippets of these stories.

A big part of it is the writing. But for Val she should have never been a teen in the first place. There is meant to be a decent sized age gap between the kids, plus it skips through most of her childhood. She went from a toddler to a teen when she should be Moon Girls age at most. A lot of story potential has been skipped.
Franklin is insufferable and not in a fun way. I'm not sure if more freedom would fix that.
This run has been mostly a Franklin and Valeria story so far, they are the ones who have gotten the most focus and I haven't enjoyed it.

[U.N. Owen]

A big part of it is the writing. But for Val she should have never been a teen in the first place. There is meant to be a decent sized age gap between the kids, plus it skips through most of her childhood. She went from a toddler to a teen when she should be Moon Girls age at most. A lot of story potential has been skipped.

This is the greatest sin of this run, not having Val and Lunella be rivals around the same age.

Franklin is insufferable and not in a fun way. I'm not sure if more freedom would fix that.

I hate him, too, and find fanfics of him more fun while being somewhat more angsty.

Knowing Slott, Franklin would probably end up ranting about how he's a god if given the freedom.

This run has been mostly a Franklin and Valeria story so far, they are the ones who have gotten the most focus and I haven't enjoyed it.

But they don't do anything. For Pete's sake, the only time the camera loves a character who does absolutely nothing is in unfunny sitcoms.

[Chainsaw Vigilante]

Valeria's face on that cover is the stuff of nightmares.

[U.N. Owen]

Now that I've read this issue, here are my two cents.

Remind me to never bet on the outcomes of comics ever again. I lost five bucks reading because I predicted the kids would both fail while my niece predicted Val would fail and Franklin would pass.

Speaking of the plot, let's get to the plot. The Microverse is leaking out into the universe. The U.S. government does what they do best and interfere in the affairs of superheroes since the kids need to be licensed to fly vehicles. The fact that they were legally dead and that their kids' birthdates don't match anymore was probably managed off panel.

Cue a montage of Val and Franklin practicing, the former doing way better than the latter.

Cue a scene where Franklin goes on an angst binge about his powers fading.

Gargantua interrupts the test via giant portal. Franklin monologues about how boring Earth is to her and she promptly leaves.

Doom's story is a bit simply, handing over radioactive clay to the Puppet Master with the cover of the next issue on the next page.



---

My thoughts are rather dull just like the issue. The art is pretty nice save for the cover. I joked the U.S. government is obstructive, but this somewhat makes sense since we have seen various extraordinary vehicles before. We also saw the government interfere with Julie Power's travels via her superspeed, so it's not too unreasonable.

The biggest issue was Franklin and Valeria. Despite being the focus, they were really boring as characters. Val is smart and acts smart. Franklin is an angsty idiot who acts like an angsty idiot. Once again, Slott hammers the point home of how Franklin's powers are fading and they'll be gone forever. This would be an interesting able to play with a nigh-omnipotent child, someone who could do anything with a snap of a finger now needs to do it the normal way. The weakness lies in how it's executed. It's good to see an angsty character express angst differently, through anger and frustration but also sorrow and hopelessness. Does Franklin do that? Nope! He decides to bitch and moan about his fading powers.

Val is a different type of boring. She just felt kind of there to feed Franklin's angst rather than be her own character. I actually began reading her dialogue in a younger Sierra McCormick's voice because that's honestly where she sounded like. She's just smart and preachy. That's a long-shot from Hickman's brain is bigger than her heart characterization.

How the plot is resolved feels like something a Disney Channel sitcom would resolve itself. Franklin tells a villain that conquering the world would suck because Earth is boring. I'm supposed to find that funny, but the buildup was so poor that the punchline missed.

Overall, I really don't like this issue.

[CaptCleghorn]

So what is the consensus on Slott's run thus far? He lost me by issue three.

I'll probably read this tomorrow, but when I look at and judge the job Slott did, I see the following:

- Slott gets the family feel and has relied on it more than any other writer. It could be said he does it well, but maybe too much of it. That to me is a result of your particular taste.
- Emo Franklin is a cartoon trope. But where the story works best is in how Franklin became a teenaged a-hole. He's gone from creating universes to a relatively mundane world where he's no longer special and what made him special is gone. He';s a smart kid and with non super-geniuses he can blend in. At the Richards dinner table, he's the village idiot. I get it, but he needs some positive scenes as well to flesh out his character.
- Doom and Galactus sucked. Slott's had one big villain arc and he bombed with that. Slott did create the griever who could have potential and other appearances have been his versions of Kurrgo and other one-shot baddies.

[U.N. Owen]

- Emo Franklin is a cartoon trope. But where the story works best is in how Franklin became a teenaged a-hole. He's gone from creating universes to a relatively mundane world where he's no longer special and what made him special is gone. He';s a smart kid and with non super-geniuses he can blend in. At the Richards dinner table, he's the village idiot. I get it, but he needs some positive scenes as well to flesh out his character.

It would help if he had a range of emotions and dialogue. 100% of his dialogue since the wedding issue has been this:

A villain appears. "I used to be a god and now I have limited power which is gone forever after I use it!"
Being in immediate danger. "I used to be a god and now I have limited power which is gone forever after I use it!"
Being punished. "I used to be a god and now I have limited power which is gone forever after I use it!"
Everything in this issue. "I used to be a god and now I have limited power which is gone forever after I use it!"
Hypothetically stubbing his toe. "I used to be a god and now I have limited power which is gone forever after I use it!"


Cloud, Squall, Lightning, and Hope Estheim have more emotional and dialogue ranges than him.

[The BaRoN]

The next two issues are Thing v Hulk and I assume puppet master.

I think this book really needs some villian other than a terrible doom from the 80s.

I would love to see griever again or some new frightful 4.

Glad we've got great art on this book

[Crimz]

The next two issues are Thing v Hulk and I assume puppet master.

I think this book really needs some villian other than a terrible doom from the 80s.

I would love to see griever again or some new frightful 4.

Glad we've got great art on this book

The art is nice, but so inconsistent.

Why does one book change artists so frequently? Why can't it stick to one?