Ultimate Fantastic Four # 58 (Marvel – Pokaski / Kirkham / Winn / Blond)
Ultimatum hits the Baxter Building! As the team is torn apart in more ways than one, the fate of the Fantastic Four rests on the rocky shoulders of the Thing. Ben Grimm steps up and embarks on a hero’s journey to the very center of the Earth to find the one man who can help his imperiled teammates. And that’s just the beginning…
First off, I know this came out two weeks ago, but those of us at the Pullbox got justifiably waylaid over the Thanksgiving Holidays with family stuff and so forth, so… sorry 🙁
But you know with books like UFF #58 coming out, it’s ok for you to have waited for me to tell you this was just filler until Ultimatum is over. If you read Ultimatum #1, you got the over ongoing plotline of this issue.
The only real addins were some flashbacks showing how truly close Ben and Reed are and how their friendship has had a long solid history (readers of the book have already gotten this) and the set up for the next issue, Sue is hurt and Ben goes to get the Mole Man to help because Reed cannot be found (reader of Ultimatum #1 know why). The details of this could have been a two-page sequence and not stretched out to an entire book. Lazy.
And this crap about Ben “steps up and embarks upon a hero’s journey”, Ben has always been the heart and soul of the Fantastic Four and it hasn’t been any truer than in the Ultimate incarnation.
Like I said, this was just a page-filler, and a very good example of the shifty writing that is happening inside Marvel country – check out this earlier post. Next issue is yet another take on “Fantastic Voyage” as Ben gets shrunk down and has to go inside of Sue’s body to save her. Then #60 is the last issue of Ultimate Fantastic Four with Ultimatum shaking up the entire Ultimate Universe and new titles coming forth. It is after Ultimatum finishes when we will see as to whether or not the writers will have some sort of backbone and really do something big and meaningful to the characters here (i.e., kill off Sue Richards).
UFF has had overall a decent five year run, some fantastic stories and some totally rotten. I hope Marvel’s first family gets a good send-off!
Issue Grade: C
