Broken Frontier

With the launch of the Ultimate line a few years ago, I predicted it wouldn’t take much time until the Fantastic Four got Ultimate-ized. In fact, I thought it would be one of the first three books Marvel would launch for the new line. Imagine my surprise when it took over two years to get it done.

Yet, when Marvel did decide to get it done, they called in the big guns to do it. Assigned to re-imagine the Fantastic Four were the publisher’s top guns—Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis and artist Adam Kubert. Taking over the second arc were uber-writer Warren Ellis and artist Stuart Immonen. “The N-Zone”, the book’s third arc, which concludes tomorrow, teamed Ellis with Kubert.

From reviews and commentary that I’ve come across, reaction to the Ultimate version of the FF has been mixed. Some have welcomed the more youthful version while traditionalists feel that this team is nothing like the originals.

Me? I like it.

One thing that really hooked me from the first issue is how the book was structured to build the FF’s story from the ground up. While the original FF book started with the group’s origin and how they got their powers, the subsequent issues featured the group’s further adventures without really giving readers much with regard to who they were and where they came from. While the stories themselves were engrossing, there were times when I wondered what made the FF the people they were. And this is where UFF fills in the gaps.

For instance, with a blank slate to work with, Millar and Bendis came up with the back story surrounding the FF’s leader, Reed Richards. While Reed has always been portrayed as the massive intellect and confident leader of the group, UFF serves up a tortured look into his past and gives a paradoxical view of just how someone so abused could develop the leadership skills required to lead a team of scientist/adventurers.

The second arc, dealing with the origin of Dr. Doom, also served as a solid platform for people to see just what transformed this young man to become the team’s main antagonist. We’re not just served up the villain du jour, but the reader is given enough background to see what made Victor Van Damme transform to Dr. Doom.

An interesting change Bendis and Millar came up with is the introduction of the FF as younger versions of their MU counterparts. Having them being prodigies and having an overwhelming command of science makes the team all the more fantastic. One gets a feeling that this group is very special indeed.

The story’s pacing is an oft-heard complaint detractors have with regard to this series. Who can blame them? The original story told the origin in one issue. This book takes six just to show how they got their powers and how they deal with their first obstacle. Although there may be some truth that the story was decompressed to come up with the prerequisite six-issue-good-for-TPB format, I did enjoy the fact that I got to delve into the characters more. With all the exposition made by Bendis, Millar and Ellis over the course of two arcs, I feel as if I have more grasp of just what the FF is really all about. I’m not just being fed gratuitous action scene after action scene.

My growing fondness for the book also centers on the fact that the writers, while introducing variations on old elements of the original FF book, has retained some of the things that FF fans find appealing. For instance, we still have the Reed/Sue relationship, the Johnny and Ben teasing, and more importantly, Reed’s never-ending search to cure Ben’s condition. Retaining these aspects of the original FF is something that I appreciate from the writers.

However, as much as I’m enjoying it, the only obstacle that hinders my complete enjoyment of the book is the techno-babble that seems to accompany most of the issues. While I see this as a necessary element since FF also has roots in sci-fi, physics-challenged readers like myself find a lot of the terminology above our heads most of the time. At times, it gives me a feeling like I may be missing something.

The first three arcs feature contrasting artwork by Adam Kubert and Stuart Immonen. Both men are proven artists and have worked on some Marvel’s high profile books in the past. Kubert’s style tends to the more dynamic and sketchy style while Immonen’s work has a more polished feel to it. Differences aside, both artists have shown their capabilities to render the scientific and action elements the book requires. With Greg Land set to come up to bat very soon, the UFF should continue to be a visual treat for everyone.

Guiding Line:  The differences between the MU Fantastic Four and its Ultimate counterpart are both huge and tiny at the same time. New concepts have been introduced while the some of the vestiges of the original have also been retained. But all of have been for the benefit of the book. Millar, Bendis and Ellis have come up with great stories that have made the Fantastic Four fresh again. Coupled with the contrasting but nevertheless eye-catching work of Kubert and Immonen, Marvel has reinvigorated its first family and has once again put the fantastic into the Fantastic Four.