Fantastic Four #35 DEATH in FOUR DIMENSIONS: Review and SPOILERS;

[Iron Maiden]

Fantastic Four #35 review


Some positives:

I did like them breaking up each Kang's missions with individual chapters with it's own comic book cover. The only problem with it is I found it to be annoyingly inconsistent. Rama Tut's story uses FF #28 as the issue number but it has nothing to do with that issue in the FF run - it's a story featuring the X-Men coming for a visit. Just skimming over that original story by Lee & Kirby, I don't see how you could shoehorn Rama Tut's return (Rama Tut is featured in Fantastic Four #19)

JR jr. is welcome addition - he carries a heavy load with size of this story and needed 6 inkers. It's a shame it couldn't' have just been Scott Hanna (whose inked JRjr before ) and Mark Morales. The consistency of the pages was a bit wonky but one would expect it to be with that many inkers.

For the Scarlet Centurion's quest for the Prize the chapter cover page is issue #376. In the FF publication history, this is when Nathaniel Richards returned with dire predictions, etc and the Thing is bearing the scars of when Wolverine slashed his face. Slott jumps the story forward to a few months after Onslaught to show SC gathering up the Thunderbolts. Scarlet Centurion then whisks them back in time to face the FF of issue #376. In this confrontation, Scarlet Centurion obtains his Prize and ends the confrontation by causing Four Freedoms Plaza to collapse by aging one floor 1,000 years which causes the same kind of pancake effect when the WTC buildings came down on 9/11/2021. The Fantastic Four are bit notorious for having tenants in the building they've used over the years for their HQ, So this results in not only the FF's deaths in this reality (well, except for one), The Thunderbolts and anyone who was in that building.

Kang's time jump is more consistent and conforms to the story in the published issue. The cover used is for Fantastic Four #605, which is when Johnny returned from the Negative Zone and his "death" in a previous issue #587. So this one makes sense to me.

Reed does successfully thwart Immortus's competition and saves a member of each of the versions of the Fantastic Four encountered by the others. This team wins the day and thwarts the Kang Gang. I do admit I was surprised by Reed's disguise as "Scion".

Hint to Dan Slott: Read Christopher Cantwell's Doctor Doom series and take some hints on how to write Kang. Immortus comes across as a parental figure dealing with some squabbling children

IMO the biggest problem with Slott's story is that each chapters ends with the death of the Fantastic Four. In one these chapters Kang is seen hacking his victims to death with a sword. In the FF Freedom's Plaza's construction I feel like it's too close to what we've all been reminded us this September. This a pretty grim way to "celebrate" the 60th anniversary of the Fantastic Four.

One eyed Nathaniel shows up at the end to reveal that Reed has a heretofore unknown sister. My problem is this version of Nathaniel, who first appears in issue #375 in DeFalco's FF (not to be confused with Slott's story) was killed during the Great Hunt arc in Hickman's Fantastic Four. I always thought that meant that Hickman's Nathaniel was the only one left. But with time travel, etc. I suppose this could be just one of his visits that he undertook when he was alive. Since this Nathaniel was notoriously dishonest I view this development of Reed having a sister with much skepticism.

Nathaniel getting whacked in the Great Hunt...



I've always felt that he is a false Nathaniel or that is too say one from another timeline. The one we see in Byrne's FF was much different. For one thing, he was being hoodwinked by his wife Cassandra and had no idea of some of the thing she was up to. He also lacks the peculiar eyepiece that Paul Ryan draws him when he is introduced in FF #375.



This issue does have two "bonus" stories to finish things up. One is a brief 2 pager by Jason Loo called "family time" that depicts a typical family outing that ends up being interrupted by failed and even briefer encounter with the Mole Man. Cute.

The last one is yet ANOTHER rehash of the Fantastic Four's origin. This is written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Paul Renaud. Origin story? Again?? No......just no. Show me something new. It's a shame that IMO Paul Renaud is wasted here. There is a great two page spread as the saving grace of this story. Oh, and 2 of Reed's colleagues walk off the project because Reed doesn't want to accept their opinion that the shielding is inadequate for the spacecraft that Reed designed. C'mon, Reed. smh.

If I were to grade this issue, I would give it a C+....mostly because the artists save some mundane story telling

[Reviresco]

Wow. I think you gave this issue more thought and analysis than the writers. ;p

I was seriously underwhelmed by what I thought was going to be a special issue. Like you said, I didn't see much celebrating of the Fantastic Four in their own anniversary issue. Instead, we got a lot of focus on the MCU's next big bad.

Even though it was another origin story, putting Waid's writing next to Slott's did Slott no favors at all.

First thing I thought when I saw spoilers:

the reveal of another Reed sister

end of spoilers was, it's gotta be Moon Girl!

[Doom'nGloom]

This issue is basically a Kang special featuring FF. Not what I wanted for a story which supposed to celebrate FF's 60th anniversary.

[CitizenXXX]

I really liked it. Slott writes great Reed and Ben (unfortunately I can't say the same about Johnny and Sue), Reed always has a plan and wins thanks to his intelligence and resourcefulness. Villains, all of these versions of Kang are just a function to travel through the history of F4, and while they technically kill every version of F4 at all points in time, they really don't - it's just a fake victory and deception - Reed knows they will all be fine. The ending is happy and bright.
By and large, the issue is not mandatory at all, it is, like everything that Slott does, very "old school", but it was fun. New old origin F4 from Mark Waid continues the idea from the first issue of Mark's original run about Reed's desire to earn the forgiveness of Ben, Sue and Johnny, giving them a new happy life of famous heroes. I liked this sequence of Mark twenty years later.
Loo's story is very sweet.
Good.

[CitizenXXX]

https://twitter.com/DanSlott/status/...DHziX6pqQ&s=19

[jackolover]

When you read about Kang doing these things, and he can kill all the superheroes in their sleep, you wonder what is this guy even accomplishing? We know the superheroes are there as the protectors of the timeline, and Kang goes and upsets them with these childish distractions?

The Kang the Conqueror series has this problem to describe it too. Unless we come to the conclusion Kang is in love with the superheroes, his distractions don’t make any sense.

[jackolover]

When you read about Kang doing these things, and he can kill all the superheroes in their sleep, you wonder what is this guy even accomplishing? We know the superheroes are there as the protectors of the timeline, and Kang goes and upsets them with these childish distractions?

The Kang the Conqueror series has this problem to describe it too. Unless we come to the conclusion Kang is in love with the superheroes, his distractions don’t make any sense.

[The Cool Thatguy]

When you read about Kang doing these things, and he can kill all the superheroes in their sleep, you wonder what is this guy even accomplishing? We know the superheroes are there as the protectors of the timeline, and Kang goes and upsets them with these childish distractions?

The Kang the Conqueror series has this problem to describe it too. Unless we come to the conclusion Kang is in love with the superheroes, his distractions don’t make any sense.

No, not so much.

Kang is Alexander the Great in comic form. He wants epic battles, hard to kill enemies. He wants to build his empire through blood and sweat, but backstabbing and killing infants who will one day become heroes (looking at you, Waid).

As Kang said in Avengers, "Time is my tapestry, not weapon."

[Oberon]

So what occurs to me (still haven't seen)

One eye Nathaniel could be

the version from before he was killed by another version. So the sister could be Huntara.

I am not recalling if Reed met Huntara back in the Defalco story.

Or option 2, one eye Nathaniel is a variant or version of the "real" one-eye. (slap me till I wake up)

If Kang can have so many alternates and never really eliminate them all

than why not one version of Nat, or all/any of those.

Will we ultimately find out that far future Nathaniel/Kang

is really Reed's father after all.

If Huntara is not forgotten totally that would be nice.

[Anthony W]

But...why would Kang try to kill anyone when he is doomed to always win? Doesn't he always end up ruler of not only earth but his own cosmic empire before becoming Immortus?

[The Cool Thatguy]

But...why would Kang try to kill anyone when he is doomed to always win? Doesn't he always end up ruler of not only earth but his own cosmic empire before becoming Immortus?

Hey, why does a man climb a mountain? Because it's there.

Kang isn't doomed to become Immortus anymore, if Avengers Forever still counts.

[jackolover]

No, not so much.

Kang is Alexander the Great in comic form. He wants epic battles, hard to kill enemies. He wants to build his empire through blood and sweat, but backstabbing and killing infants who will one day become heroes (looking at you, Waid).

As Kang said in Avengers, "Time is my tapestry, not weapon."

I understand that is the standard line that describes Kang. But when Kang sees Age of Ultron in his time viewer, and Secret Wars, what does his “Alexander” ethic mean then? Kang cannot reconcile interference with superheroes when these monstrous events come along that Kang can’t defeat. Only the superheroes defeat these events. And then Kang is this little boy, without any knowledge and just plays pirates in his back yard Time Travel playtime, with the very heroes who can save everything.

I have to worry that any Kang series is not taking into account AoU and SW’s, and any other Earth destroying event like Death Celestials. Kang is this little boy playing in the time stream, who doesn’t know that destiny is greater than his own little drama’s.

[The Cool Thatguy]

I understand that is the standard line that describes Kang. But when Kang sees Age of Ultron in his time viewer, and Secret Wars, what does his “Alexander” ethic mean then? Kang cannot reconcile interference with superheroes when these monstrous events come along that Kang can’t defeat. Only the superheroes defeat these events. And then Kang is this little boy, without any knowledge and just plays pirates in his back yard Time Travel playtime, with the very heroes who can save everything.

I have to worry that any Kang series is not taking into account AoU and SW’s, and any other Earth destroying event like Death Celestials. Kang is this little boy playing in the time stream, who doesn’t know that destiny is greater than his own little drama’s.

Kang's not afraid of death or defeat, don't see why either would bother him. He cares more about the challenge than anything else

[jackolover]

Kang's not afraid of death or defeat, don't see why either would bother him. He cares more about the challenge than anything else

In most cases, as the Earth survives events, Kang can see what happens in the past is inconsequential. But when an event like Age of Ultron eliminates post-history 2013, and Secret Wars removes reality post-2015 and replaces it with another reality, that has to gives him shivers?