By Mark Rodriguez
The Fantastic Four is coming back with yet another issue 1, just in time for their upcoming movie. Free Comic Book Day not only gives us a new adventure with the modern day Fantastic Four (Johnny's facial hair) and also some relating to the X-Men and others. Let's check it out.
"Strange New world" opens with the Fantastic Four testing out their new teleporter when they suddenly get summoned to an alien world. Three alien kids are surprising the summoning worked and ask if Reed is the Deathmaster. Johnny introduces himself as the Human Torch and says the others with him are the Thing, the Invisible Woman, and 'Guy Stretchomatic'. Reed tells the kids he's actually known as the Mr. Fantastic and they are the Fantastic Four. The kids explain that they summoned them using the cursed symbol of the Deathmaster.
Sue asks if they're having a sleepover. The kids ask how she knew. Sue says they're playing at summoning demons at a sleepover, just like they used to. Personally, I think I (gladly) missed out on that party game. The kids show the team the symbol they made, using metal shavings to make it more real. Reed and Sue determine that the particular shape and metal is naturally attractive to the open end of wormholes, especially artificial ones. That explains how they ended up in this world instead of their original destination. Thing asks what would stop other things from coming through, as not everyone is going to as sociable as the Fantastic Four.
Just then giant monster show up and the team keeps the kids back. Sue created a force-field but says despite appearances, the creatures might be friendly. The monsters try to bite into the force-field. The team determines they have to keep the kids safe and jump into action.
Johnny says the creatures look like deep sea monsters adapted to total darkness, so he cranks up the intensity of his flames to light up the room. Thing comes in and socks one of the monster back. Reed wraps himself around another of the creatures and says he would have to rearrange the metal shavings to re-open the portal home. Sue says they will but him the team he needs, but notices the monsters can track her even when she turns invisible. The monster tries to chomp on Sue and swallow her hole, but she knocks it back with a force-field.
Johnny traps one of the monsters in a cage made out of fire. Reed finishes adjusting the symbol and the portal re-opens. They will just have to shove the monsters onto it. Sue wraps her force-fields around two of the monsters. Reed turns his legs into recoiling springs and shoves the last one towards the portal. The creatures are sent back to where they came from.
The kids are amazed and said they should summon them all the time. Johnny tells them not to because they got lucky that they summoned good guys this time. He reintroduces himself as the Human Torch and explains that they're all humans, which is why his name makes sense. Reed says they'll return to their world now but tells them not to create the resonant attractor again since it's too dangerous. After they leave, the kids say they'll definitely do it again.
The next night, the kids create the symbol again and this time the Thing shows up by himself. He said he knew they'd tried it again but he bet they'd at least wait a week. Now he owes Johnny a cookie. Thing explains that Reed figured a way to make the shape safe so it doesn't pull anyone else that happens to be using a teleporter. He put a tracker on it so now they can contact the Fantastic Four any time they want. Thing confirms this wasn't an emergency and the kids says they were just bored. The Thing asks if their parents are interested in a family trip to a strange new world. The kids are excited. The Thing says their world is called Earth and they have something called ice cream that they're gonna love.
"The General" opens with Cyclops saying he lost everyone he's ever known 24 hours ago. He lost his team, his brother, his girl, his family. He says he only has them as we see Nightcrawler, Thunderbird, Sunfire, Storm, Colossus, Wolverine and Banshee walking towards them. Cyclops says they're untrained, unruly and untrustworthy. He asks them if they think they can stand with the greatest heroes that mutantkind have to offer. He asks if think they can wear the X.
The group charges towards Cyclops, who is already blasting Colossus back. As Colossus flies past them, Thunderbird notes that there isn't any heat in the optic blasts, just pure force. Wolverine says it's a light show and tells him to sit back and leave the war to the soldiers.
Cyclops tells Wolverine that the soldiers already fell in the field and they're now fighting the general. Thunderbird and Wolverine try to sneak up on Cyclops from behind, but he is too fast. He ducks under Thunderbird's strike and blasts them both down. Cyclops asks the ones still standing to show him what they got.
Sunfire and Banshee charge towards Cyclops as Storm summons up a whirlwind. The storm is too close to Sunfire and Banshee and sucks them in, knocking themselves into each other. Storm summons a bolt of lighting, which Cyclops flips out of the way to dodge. Cyclops uses his optic blast to propel himself upwards so he can sock Storm in the face. As Storm falls, Cyclops tells her that she shouldn't have isolated herself. He says they're not the Avengers, they don't showboat or stunt. They fight like hell or they hit the dirt. Someone behind him asks what if they won't wish to fight at all.
Nightcrawler says they have lived their lives full of fear and hatred, the Professor didn't promise them battle, he promised them a home. Colossus says he had lived his life for his family and his commune. He didn't need to crack a tree in half to learn this lesson. Cyclops says the fight is not optional and it will come to them whether they seek it or not. As the team tends to their wounds, Cyclops tells them that when the time comes, they will rise together, not as humans, individuals or soldiers... but as X-Men.
Later on, Cyclops drinks some water and ponders that the new recruits are rough around the edges. There's only so much a few hours in the Danger Room can do. Someone off-panel says they'll be ready. Scott says it's not about being ready. He can't lose another team. He says these guys have to understand what they just walked into. They need to be afraid, as he is. The person off-panel says she's not afraid because she knows Scott Summer and she knows the team. The person says what happens next is going to be one the best stories ever told. She grabs her outfit and tells Scott to let her get ready. If she's going to save the entirety of mutant history... Miss Marvel is going to have to wear the X.
We see Miss Marvel in her X-Men outfit with Scott and Professor X beside her. She has somehow traveled to the past where the second wave of X-Men (Wolverine, Storm and so forth) had recently joined up. The rest of the story will be furthered explained in Giant-Sized X-Men # 1.
"Wolverpool and Deadverine in Popularity Contest" opens in a bar called the Reckoning Bar where all sorts of universal abstract entities gather every few years. Eternity, Death and Infinity get to gossip while Art and Commence get it on. Sometimes something great comes of this, like the Deadpool and Wolverine movie making bank at the box office.. and other times you get Wolverpool and Deadverine. The titular characters and fighting off people in the bar as Deadverine runs a guy through with her sword. Wolverpool tells Ali not to kill them. Ali says it doesn't matter since he told her they were in a comic book and the characters aren't real. The man, a Spider-Man villain named Ox, is bleeding out as asks if he's going to die since he never got to know love. Ali says if comic books are like what her husband told her, he won't be dead for long.
Ken tells Ali that ever since they got to this universe, she's become a murderer. Ali says she's living her best live and she's the one that told her to get a new hobby. We flashback to a counseling session as Ken says Ali is always working and when she gets home she lets him have it. Ali complains that she always comes home to a mess and Ken has been looking for a job since October. Ken says Ali needs hobbies to relax her and wishes they were both into comics. Then suddenly, they both ended up in a comic.
Ken says they have to make themselves incredibly popular so they can end up in the MCU. Once they move to live action, they can get out. Ali says Ken probably just wants to see Steven Yeun play him in a movie. Ken says that would be cool, but goes back on topic. He explains this is their first appearance and they need to make it count since spectators go nuts for first appearances.
Ali asks if he even knows what comic book they're in and she walks off-panel. Ken imagines they're in something important like another X-Men # 1. Ali crawls back into the panel and asks what's Free Comic Book Day. Ken panics.
Ken explains that Free Comics are useless, and they need to get collectors foaming at the mouth to drive prices up, get second printing and variant covers. Ali asks if they can debut somewhere else. Ken says they can't but then remembers that Free Comic Book Day issues are done well in advance so they still have time to debut in another book. Ali says she can take them anywhere with her weird powers, she just needs to know where to go. Ken has a Transdimensional Comic Pouch he can use to pull out comics to see where the action is.
Later one they appear in a comic where Ghost Spider/Spider-Gwen is fighting people at a rave. Ali asks if she's named Deadverine because of her. Ken says it seems like a surefire way to success, combining one popular things with another. Ali asks what Ghost Spider combines. Ken says she combines Spider-Man and Gwen from Gwenpool (which isn't completely accurate since Gwen Poole isn't Gwen Stacy. You should know this Ken.).
Later one, Ali and Ken are sitting on a front porch. Ken checks the first issue of Concert of Champions, and Ali asks if their planned worked. Ken says it looks like it did, since they got a first appearance in a comic that costs actual money. Ken apologizes to Ali for going off on her for killing Ox. He says he knows they're fictional characters but he loves them. He's read every issue of the Amazing Spider-Man and says guys like Ox are real to him.
Ali apologizes and says she just felt so repressed back home. He has his hobby but all she had was work. She promises to just maim people going forward. Ken thanks her, saying he's a diehard fan and doesn't want any of them dead, good guys or bad guys. Just then Mary Jane and Paul walk by. MJ tells Peter that she can't hang with him since she'll be stepping out with Paul for date night. Paul tells MJ to tell Peter they'll see him Sunday for brunch. Paul remarks that MJ's ex is so needy.
Ken glares angrily and tells Ali that maybe she can kill one guy....
So we got a fun little Fantastic Four story and a prelude to an upcoming X-Men story. I'm not sure if Deadverine and Wolverpool are actually getting a series but I like the general idea. The Fantastic Four story was short and fun and decent enough to introduce new readers to the characters and their powers. Not sure about trying to summon demons during sleepovers there, Sue. I am curious how this new Fantastic Four run will go since Doctor Doom is still ruling the world.
When it came to the X-Men story, at first I was confused as to why Cyclops was treating Wolverine and Storm as untrained newcomers. Then I remembered hearing stories about Miss Marvel going back in time to help out the X-Men. Back in 1975 (real time), the original X-Men except for Cyclops were captured by the living island of Krakoa and a new team was formed. I still think that even back then, Wolverine and Storm should have given Cyclops a bigger run for his money.
The third story was fun as a couple from 'the real world' ended up in the Marvel Universe similar to Gwenpool. Speaking of which... I kinda wonder what they would do or say if they ran into Gwenpool. I liked the ending with the meta joke about Ken wanting to kill Paul. Nobody likes Paul, and the fans see him as a plot device to keep Peter and MJ apart. It's fun to see Marvel poke fun at themselves. Though this also means that they know the character gets hate, but have no plans to do anything about it.
One thought that came up regarding the MJ and Paul situation. Peter and MJ were stuck in some alternate dimension and Peter got to escape, promising to return. Peter did find a way to return to that dimension, but time moves different in that world and MJ and Paul got close over the years. The question I have is.. so time moves different in that dimension... but people don't actually age there? Shouldn't MJ be 50 or something?
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