Saturday, September 5, 2020

Fantastic Four #14-19: Point of Origin

POINT OF ORIGIN



Written by Dan Slott
Penciled by Paco Medina and Sean Izaakse
Published Aug 19 -Feb 20




   At an event celebrating the Fantastic Four donating the Marvel 1, the cosmic rocket that turned them into heroes, Reed can’t let go of the thoughts of what went wrong when they wrecked it. He and Johnny decide to build a replica coined the Marvel 2, and the team sets off to complete it’s very first mission ever.
   As they near the planet Spyre, their leader the Overseer senses their approach. He summons his own band of heroes to defend the planet and the Unparalleled attacks. During their brief fight, we learn that Sky is allegedly betrothed to Johnny Storm, as Ben Grimm is tossed into a gulch known ominously as LowTown.



   As Reed and Sue are brought to the Overseer to talk, Johnny learns a little more about who he’s apparently supposed to marry. Meanwhile the Thing is forced to fight wave after wave of mutates from below. As they talk, the Overseer reveals that after spying on the Fantastic Four, he harnessed the power of his planets cosmic rays that originally powered the travelers. By using them on his own people, some triumphed. Some however were not so lucky, and if their mutation went awry, they were cast into the ditch where Ben Grimm now finds himself. 



   After Mr. Fantastic chides the Overseer for experimenting on innocent people, he demands the Unparalleled kill them - which luckily they deem just a little extreme. The Human Torch and Sky are alerted during their romance that they’re needed on both sides of the isle, while Ben works the monsters in Freak Alley into a Hightown attacking frenzy.



   En route to making a stand, Krumson reveals to the Thing he was an experiment gone wrong during the Overseer’s Fantastic ripoff attempt. Sky is attacked by Reed when Johnny tells his sister and brother in law to knock it off because she’s his soulmate. Their explanation is cut short however and the team is again divided on who’s just on who’s side.



   Up top, the Unparalleled face off with the Thing and the mutants of lowtown when Human Torch arrives and the Fantastic Two try to figure things out. Before long, Reed and Sue arrive as well and they spill the beans: Overseer has been collecting the cosmic rays from 50 light years away, and conversely, actually created the Fantastic Four in the first place.



   With the truth finally out, he tells them he was just trying to scuttle their ship. Now with the battle raging in full force, Ben and Krumson plan an attack on the Overseer. Only problem is that the fight starts to topple the spire they’re in while the fight below continues. Later with their leader temporarily down, their FF are confined to a dome that Susan uses to protect them. 



   Finally the Overseer challenges Mr Fantastic to a showdown. They begin to fight but in the ensuing constant monologuing, they learn that the worlds have basically  created an infinite arms race. They decide to make peace, and Ben Grimm tells them about the “Almost Cure”, a gift of the Future Foundation that turns a superhero back into a human for a day. Now with the Unparalleled on their side, they’re able to repair their ship. And this time, they’ll be returning with one extra passenger. Sky bids her family goodbye and decides returning to Earth with her soulmate is her true destiny. With that, the Fantastic...Five return to Earth. But their newest and latest adventures lie ahead.



   So after a looooooong story arc that slowly trickled across 6 months of comics, I’m just reminded how prolific and chocked full of imagination Dan Slott truly is. Although it seemed like kind of a demotion to put him on this book and off Amazing Spidfer-Man, he’s more than made this series into some cant miss action - and this story is no exception. I give this one a 9/10.



If you like this review, check out my video of it HERE.

You can also buy my physical copy of this book below:

Fantastic Four #15 (Already Sold)
Fantastic Four #16 (Already Sold)
Fantastic Four #17 (Already Sold)
Fantastic Four #18 (Already Sold)
Fantastic Four #19 (Already Sold)


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