Fantastic Four #575 (Marvel – Hickman / Eagelsham)
Kicking off the world-spanning new adventures of the Fantastic Four, this is part one of the Prime Elements arc: The Hidden City of the High Evolutionary! Featuring the return of the Mole Man, the architecture of the underworld, and the smartest Moloid you’ll ever meet. Don’t miss it!
It seems to me like perhaps Jonathan Hickman is starting what will be one of those legacy runs on FF. Not sure if he will be around for years to come, but I am sure fans will remember his FF stories.
While the Mole Man does not excite me in any way, and neither does any High Evolutionary story (so going into this I was a tad down), what does pull my finger here is Hickman’s pace. He writes the Fantastic Four like the full-throttle first family of Marvel they are supposed to be.
First, Reed finds the “Reed Corps” – an inter-dimensional corps of alternate versions of Reeds that banned together to right cosmic wrongs. Our Reed is invited to join, he blows them off putting his family first. Bam! That’s huge… and what does Hickman do? Puts it on the back burner. Right from there we have an issue about Franklin’s birthday (looks like a throw-away), but what happens? A future Franklin breaks in, offers a dire warning about four houses and a huge war and Doom being a savior… and he gives present Franklin back his reality-altering cosmic powers. Wam Bam! That’s more than huge! And what does Hickman do? He tells the readers that we will talk about soon… hey look the Mole Man just got here and is talking about evolved Moloids. Crazy! And I mean that in the Randy Jackson-ish kind of compliment.
Hickman is at the wheel of a Marvel flagship book, he has his foot the floor and has a cocky smile like he is the new James Bond. He is giving the FF there own story lines – these aren’t tagged into one Marvel umpteenth events – no cross-overs, no guest stars, no tie-ins, no follow-up mini-series and more glorious than anything, no Nu-Earth :).
Throw in there Eaglesham excellent art and we have nothing short than a winner!
Bottom Line: Finally something a FF fan can be proud of again!
Issue Grade: A
