The Fantastic Four Appreciation 2021

[alanyoung909]

Speaking of the next FF writer, does anyone know if Alpha issues and one-shots like The Trial of the Watcher count into the Legacy numbering of a book?
I was recently trying to work out how long Dan Slott is still on this book.
He's obviously approaching his endgame since he's starting to address threads he laid down much earlier like the Bentley and Dragon-Man stuff, but I also know that he will most likely end his run on a milestone issue like Fantastic Four 700.
Slott loved writing milestone issues in his Spider-Man run, he started his FF with a milestone issue (FF 650, the Ben-Alicia wedding) and he'll probably end it with another one (FF 700).
If the one shot issues don't count into legacy numbering, then FF 700 will be issue 55 of this current run.

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Here's the timeline I'm currently working with:
December 2021 - Fantastic Four 38
January 2022 - Fantastic Four 39

(RECKONING WAR EVENT)
February 2022 - Reckoning War Alpha, Fantastic Four 40
March 2022 - Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher, Fantastic Four 41, Fantastic Four 42
April 2022 - Fantastic Four 43, Fantastic Four 44
(END RECKONING WAR EVENT)

May 2022 - Fantastic Four 45
June 2022 - Fantastic Four 46
July 2022 - Fantastic Four 47 (milestone issue - 60th anniversary of Doctor Doom)
August 2022 - Fantastic Four 48
September 2022 - Fantastic Four 49
October 2022 - Fantastic Four 50 (milestone issue - 50th issue of this run)
November 2022 - Fantastic Four 51
December 2022 - Fantastic Four 52
January 2023 - Fantastic Four 53
February 2023 - Fantastic Four 54
March 2023 - Fantastic Four 55 (milestone issue - 700th issue of Fantastic Four)
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Fantastic Four 700 will probably be one of those 96-page issues (like the recent Avengers 750) that will wrap up all of Dan Slott's threads in a neat bow.
Then, the next FF writer begins their run with a double-sized Fantastic Four 1 (LGY 701) in April 2023.

Thoughts?

[Digifiend]

Are you sure his run doesn't end with Reckoning War?

[Hypo]

By Doc Shaner

https://twitter.com/DocShaner/status...94464715722762

[CaptCleghorn]

Speaking of the next FF writer, does anyone know if Alpha issues and one-shots like The Trial of the Watcher count into the Legacy numbering of a book?
I was recently trying to work out how long Dan Slott is still on this book.
He's obviously approaching his endgame since he's starting to address threads he laid down much earlier like the Bentley and Dragon-Man stuff, but I also know that he will most likely end his run on a milestone issue like Fantastic Four 700.
Slott loved writing milestone issues in his Spider-Man run, he started his FF with a milestone issue (FF 650, the Ben-Alicia wedding) and he'll probably end it with another one (FF 700).
If the one shot issues don't count into legacy numbering, then FF 700 will be issue 55 of this current run.

Fantastic Four 700 will probably be one of those 96-page issues (like the recent Avengers 750) that will wrap up all of Dan Slott's threads in a neat bow.
Then, the next FF writer begins their run with a double-sized Fantastic Four 1 (LGY 701) in May 2023.

Thoughts?

There are very few cases where a one-shot has counted in Legacy Numbering. Trial of the Watcher doesn't look like a pure FF story and I really doubt this would count.

[Ravin' Ray]

New covers!

https://twitter.com/DanSlott/status/1473699763635867655

Covers for upcoming issues of #FantasticFour!

The Reckoning War is going ALL over the universe! Everything is at stake-- from the unbelievably cosmic, to the incredibly personal.

Johnny and Annihilus re-match!


Ben discovers another secret Reed's been hiding from him again?

[CaptCleghorn]

New covers!

https://twitter.com/DanSlott/status/1473699763635867655

Covers for upcoming issues of #FantasticFour!

The Reckoning War is going ALL over the universe! Everything is at stake-- from the unbelievably cosmic, to the incredibly personal.

Johnny and Annihilus re-match!


Ben discovers another secret Reed's been hiding from him again?

I love the idea of Johnny/Annihilus round 2. With the calls for individual members of the FF having their own foes, it seems very fitting for Johnny and Annihilus to have personal animosity based on being killed numerous times and being led around on a leash as a pet.

And the Ben/Reed conflict foretold in a previous story is something Slott's been planning. Over the years, Ben's learned to tolerate a lot of Reed's $#!+, but with he and Alicia being parents now, I'd point at that as being the reason behind this.

In any case, these are nice looking covers.

[Crimz]

The run might end after Reckoning War, now that I see the Ben fighting Reed plot is coming to fruition. The only dangling plot threads left are Johnny's powers (that can be fixed at any time) and Reed's unknown sister.

[Iron Maiden]

By Doc Shaner

https://twitter.com/DocShaner/status...94464715722762

This is a great rendition of the Thing IMO.

[Chris0013]

As much crap as Slott gets about Franklin's angst, I think the character's attitude makes sense. Franklin had the power of a god, and remade the multiverse. Then he lost that power and the rest of his family went on with the gifts they had and he was left behind, basically useless. With a teenager, the angst and whining has a good reason.

He took off to hang with Wendy, an old Byrne character in one story. It wasn't a BF/GF thing, but it definitely looked like Franklin was open to at least the possibility. He's also talked some with a girl on Yancy Street through Ben's social center. As for other prospective girlfriends, there are many teen women characters hanging around Marvel who could certainly attract the attention of any teenage heterosexual boy.

But to the point of your question, there hasn't been much on that front.

These are really 2 issues I have with Franklin's character.

1. They should never had completely de-powered him. Show that his powers are waxing and waning throughout his early life. He can go from near omnipotent reality changer to lesser powered energy manipulator.

2. I really would have liked to see him get a girlfriend...and that they actually spend time on showing the relationship. Not sure if it should be Katie Power though as there might be a little too much of an age gap there with his age up due to multiversal travel...I put Katie at 13 for her last appearance.

Have they been consistent with the Power kids ages?

Originally....
Alex (12)
Julie (10)
Jack (8)
Katie Power (5)

Now...I get that age really depends on what the writer wants for kids and the story...but these are siblings...and Alex traipsing thru the timestream aside...age progression should be a constant.

For this argument I will use Julie as the baseline. Originally she was 10 years old...and in FF Vol 6 # 12 she mentions flunking out of college...so I would say that at a minimum she is 18-19 years old. Add in that it is mentioned by Alex in this series that he is months away from being 21 and can be the team's "mentor". So...8 years at minimum for Julie from 10 to 18 would put Jack at 16ish and Katie at 13ish...plus or minus based on actual time between births. But Katie and Jack seem to be written in this series as being much younger.

[CaptCleghorn]

It seems Slott is keeping to some aspects of the original issue number like he did with Thing/Hulk in issue 657 (renumbered 12).

[alanyoung909]

There are very few cases where a one-shot has counted in Legacy Numbering. Trial of the Watcher doesn't look like a pure FF story and I really doubt this would count.

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks!

Are you sure his run doesn't end with Reckoning War?

I can't imagine Dan Slott having the opportunity to take the book to issue 700 (since he's so close already) and not taking it.
Back in 2018, when Dan Slott was first announced to take over Fantastic Four, there was an article in The New York Times announcing his run which stated that Slott's plan was to do 'at least 55 issues'.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/b...el-return.html

Here's the relevant paragraph:
Mr. Slott will complete a 10-year-run writing Spider-Man this summer. He is envisioning writing at least 55 issues for the Fantastic Four, which would get the heroes to issue No. 700 (using comic book math, which stitches together three previous series). Fans should be used to these types of shenanigans. Captain America, for example, will reach issue 700 in April, only to be followed up by a new No. 1 in July written by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Now obviously, plans could have changed and I could be wrong, but for now I think this is still the general outline.
I think Reckoning War will be the big third act event of Slott's Fantastic Four run but he will use the 10 issues after that to wrap up all the other dangling plot threads (Reed's sister, Sky and Spyre, Franklin's powers, the Griever, the Molecule Man, ...)
This is similar to how Jason Aaron's Thor run had a big third act event in War of the Realms but then Aaron had a couple issues of Thor and a King Thor mini-series to properly conclude the run.

[Crimz]

FANTASTIC FOUR #41
DAN SLOTT (W) • RACHAEL STOTT (A) • Cover by CARLOS PACHECO
X-Gwen Variant Cover by RICKIE YAGAWA
BLACK HISTORY MONTH VARIANT COVER BY JOSHUA “SWAY” SWABY
CONCEPT ART VARIANT COVER BY R.B. SILVA
“WILL YOU WATCH AS OUR UNIVERSE BURNS?”
• The Human Torch is a planet’s only hope for surviving Annihilus.
• The Invisible Woman is missing.
• Mister Fantastic, the Thing, She-Hulk and Jack of Hearts face a foe who is predestined to slay one of them.
• The most destructive force in history and the time before time is reawakening.
• And if the Multiverse is to survive, today is the day all of the Watchers must break their most sacred oath.
• Guest-starring the Silver Surfer, Thor and Doctor Doom.

Lol at Sue being missing. Not much different from how she's usually treated in this run tbh...

[Keyotheseasons]

This rumor was going around and just wanted to play around with yet another speculative piece of "information".

[Iron Maiden]

Who is that??

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks!



I can't imagine Dan Slott having the opportunity to take the book to issue 700 (since he's so close already) and not taking it.
Back in 2018, when Dan Slott was first announced to take over Fantastic Four, there was an article in The New York Times announcing his run which stated that Slott's plan was to do 'at least 55 issues'.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/b...el-return.html

Here's the relevant paragraph:
Mr. Slott will complete a 10-year-run writing Spider-Man this summer. He is envisioning writing at least 55 issues for the Fantastic Four, which would get the heroes to issue No. 700 (using comic book math, which stitches together three previous series). Fans should be used to these types of shenanigans. Captain America, for example, will reach issue 700 in April, only to be followed up by a new No. 1 in July written by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Now obviously, plans could have changed and I could be wrong, but for now I think this is still the general outline.
I think Reckoning War will be the big third act event of Slott's Fantastic Four run but he will use the 10 issues after that to wrap up all the other dangling plot threads (Reed's sister, Sky and Spyre, Franklin's powers, the Griever, the Molecule Man, ...)
This is similar to how Jason Aaron's Thor run had a big third act event in War of the Realms but then Aaron had a couple issues of Thor and a King Thor mini-series to properly conclude the run.

And Slott's Fantastic Four is double-shipping in March (issues #41 and #42) so that will speed things up a bit.

[Wat]

I love the idea of Johnny/Annihilus round 2. With the calls for individual members of the FF having their own foes, it seems very fitting for Johnny and Annihilus to have personal animosity based on being killed numerous times and being led around on a leash as a pet.

And the Ben/Reed conflict foretold in a previous story is something Slott's been planning. Over the years, Ben's learned to tolerate a lot of Reed's $#!+, but with he and Alicia being parents now, I'd point at that as being the reason behind this.

In any case, these are nice looking covers.

Probably Anhilus will have a kick the dog moment.