Fantastic Four #611 Review
Sad to reach the final issue of Jonathan Hickman's fabulous Fantastic Four run. There's a definite sense of the storyline being wrapped up before its time, but it's gracefully done, and I'm pretty glad Hickman got to do it himself instead of leaving it for someone else to handle.
We revisit the Parliament of Doom scenes from FF #16 (and Ryan Stegman and colourist Paul Mounts do a great job of recreating the atmosphere of Steve Epting's art from that issue). Doom visits the universe destroyed by the alternate Reed in F4 #605.1, and uses his Infinity Gauntlet to recreate life, shaping a world governed by magic and science in balance. But predictably, creations made from essence o' Doom are not so happy to sit round and be ruled.
Back at the Baxter building, the adult version of Val wakes her father to inform him that her younger self lied about Doom being dead, and that he now needs their help. Nathaniel's been fixing up the Bridge so the three of them can go through. Reed wonders how they can know Doom's even alive, and interestingly, Nathaniel says they know it because Val knows. I wonder if that's a hint that Val really does have some form of psychic link to Doom left over from when she was a baby. (Still my favourite fanon explanation for her super-advanced intelligence.)
Reed and Nathaniel petition the six priests who rule Doom's world for his release. Doom's being unusually passive about the whole thing - he seems to be content to stand back and let his creations make their own decisions, which has never been his standard MO. Possibly, since the priests represent different aspects of him, he's viewing the whole thing as an exercise in self-analysis. (Admittedly, also not a big part of his standard MO. Interesting...)
Predictably, the priest that represents Doom's desire for power can't let him go, and there's a last-minute scramble before they manage to rescue him and Val destroys the gate behind them. Doom gets to meet adult Val for the first time, who seems to be just as fond of him as her child self.
Val attempts to prod Doom into showing social graces; he's willing to unbend enough to say "Consider us even, Richards," which I actually find even more fascinating than if he'd said thank you. How even is even? Like completely even? Is this an official declaration of the end to hostilities? Reed seems to take it relatively lightly, though, grinning and saying, "Good enough. Let's go home, Victor."
Back on Earth, Reed is in the middle of offering Doom a ride back to his castle in the Fantasti-Car when Nathaniel reveals that he's not coming back with them: he wants to use the Bridge to go visit all the orphaned Reeds in other universes and try to help them with their issues. Adult Val goes with him, warning her dad that her younger self is going to be a pain, but "in my own twisted way, I'm just trying to be a better you". When they're on the other side, Nathaniel figures out that Val probably isn't coming along just to keep him company. She looks upon the remnants of the shattered Council Building, and says with a smile... "Here, I can build."
To be concluded in FF #23...
The issue ends here, so tragically, the scene where Reed and Doom presumably drive off alone together in the Fantasti-Car is left to our imaginations. Here's hoping we get to see some more of Doom in FF #23, though; at the very least, I'd like to see his reunion with Kristoff.
So... an interesting issue. On one level it feels like it ought to be a letdown: Doom's new position is quietly dismantled in the space of a single issue, when there was clearly a lot of potential for a much longer storyline, and we probably could have got it if Hickman had stayed on. On the other hand, things are not precisely back to status quo either: Doom appears to be in an interestingly calm and reflective place after everything that's happened, and he and Reed seem to have more-or-less buried the hatchet. I'm not greatly optimistic that future writers are going to pay the slightest bit of attention to these developments, but still, I live in hope.
Stegman's art is a great fit for F4 - I'm sad he didn't get to have a longer run. It's a nice balance between the realism needed to give certain scenes more gravitas and the cartoony edge that I feel F4 always benefits from. He draws a super-cute Val, especially in the close-ups in the final pages, and he's got a pretty nice take on the Doom armour too. And props must be given to Paul Mounts' colouring again, because he's seriously been one of the unsung heroes of this book for years.
All in all, a very satisfying finish that still leaves me a little wistful for what might have been in a world where Hickman got to stay on. Looking forward to the follow-up in FF #23.
We revisit the Parliament of Doom scenes from FF #16 (and Ryan Stegman and colourist Paul Mounts do a great job of recreating the atmosphere of Steve Epting's art from that issue). Doom visits the universe destroyed by the alternate Reed in F4 #605.1, and uses his Infinity Gauntlet to recreate life, shaping a world governed by magic and science in balance. But predictably, creations made from essence o' Doom are not so happy to sit round and be ruled.
Back at the Baxter building, the adult version of Val wakes her father to inform him that her younger self lied about Doom being dead, and that he now needs their help. Nathaniel's been fixing up the Bridge so the three of them can go through. Reed wonders how they can know Doom's even alive, and interestingly, Nathaniel says they know it because Val knows. I wonder if that's a hint that Val really does have some form of psychic link to Doom left over from when she was a baby. (Still my favourite fanon explanation for her super-advanced intelligence.)
Reed and Nathaniel petition the six priests who rule Doom's world for his release. Doom's being unusually passive about the whole thing - he seems to be content to stand back and let his creations make their own decisions, which has never been his standard MO. Possibly, since the priests represent different aspects of him, he's viewing the whole thing as an exercise in self-analysis. (Admittedly, also not a big part of his standard MO. Interesting...)
Predictably, the priest that represents Doom's desire for power can't let him go, and there's a last-minute scramble before they manage to rescue him and Val destroys the gate behind them. Doom gets to meet adult Val for the first time, who seems to be just as fond of him as her child self.
Val attempts to prod Doom into showing social graces; he's willing to unbend enough to say "Consider us even, Richards," which I actually find even more fascinating than if he'd said thank you. How even is even? Like completely even? Is this an official declaration of the end to hostilities? Reed seems to take it relatively lightly, though, grinning and saying, "Good enough. Let's go home, Victor."
Back on Earth, Reed is in the middle of offering Doom a ride back to his castle in the Fantasti-Car when Nathaniel reveals that he's not coming back with them: he wants to use the Bridge to go visit all the orphaned Reeds in other universes and try to help them with their issues. Adult Val goes with him, warning her dad that her younger self is going to be a pain, but "in my own twisted way, I'm just trying to be a better you". When they're on the other side, Nathaniel figures out that Val probably isn't coming along just to keep him company. She looks upon the remnants of the shattered Council Building, and says with a smile... "Here, I can build."
To be concluded in FF #23...
The issue ends here, so tragically, the scene where Reed and Doom presumably drive off alone together in the Fantasti-Car is left to our imaginations. Here's hoping we get to see some more of Doom in FF #23, though; at the very least, I'd like to see his reunion with Kristoff.
So... an interesting issue. On one level it feels like it ought to be a letdown: Doom's new position is quietly dismantled in the space of a single issue, when there was clearly a lot of potential for a much longer storyline, and we probably could have got it if Hickman had stayed on. On the other hand, things are not precisely back to status quo either: Doom appears to be in an interestingly calm and reflective place after everything that's happened, and he and Reed seem to have more-or-less buried the hatchet. I'm not greatly optimistic that future writers are going to pay the slightest bit of attention to these developments, but still, I live in hope.
Stegman's art is a great fit for F4 - I'm sad he didn't get to have a longer run. It's a nice balance between the realism needed to give certain scenes more gravitas and the cartoony edge that I feel F4 always benefits from. He draws a super-cute Val, especially in the close-ups in the final pages, and he's got a pretty nice take on the Doom armour too. And props must be given to Paul Mounts' colouring again, because he's seriously been one of the unsung heroes of this book for years.
All in all, a very satisfying finish that still leaves me a little wistful for what might have been in a world where Hickman got to stay on. Looking forward to the follow-up in FF #23.