Broken Frontier

The madcap mania that is December’s What If? event continues to roll as both the Fantastic Four and the Sub-Mariner get the What If? treatment in What If: Fantastic Four and What If: Sub-Mariner.             

The original Fantastic Four origin story from way back in Fantastic Four #1 had Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny rocketing into space prematurely in an attempt to beat the Russians. Writer Mike Carey and artist Marshall Rogers explore in What If: Fantastic Four what may have occurred if Reed had been a Russian cosmonaut instead. 

“What I loved about writing this book was the ability to play with historical events and to drop the Fantastic Four (or a possible Fantastic Four) into the crucible of the Cold War, like some kind of weird chemical catalyst, and see what would happen,” says writer Mike Carey. 

Instead of the world having the Fantastic Four, they are replaced by the UFFF, the Ultimate Federalist Freedom Fighters; and their greatest battles were not fought in the Negative Zone or Latveria, but against the powers that attempted to keep them in check.  Geography isn’t the only change.  Reed Richards is joined by three other Marvel heroes to form this new UFFF: Colossus, Magik, and Black Widow.

“It's always seemed to me that the What If? books hone in on a character and situation and how far each of them can ever determine the other,” says Carey.  “What we've got here is a Reed Richards shaped by different politics and ideology, but ultimately - I think recognizably - still the truly exceptional human being that he is in the regular Marvel universe.  Everything else in the book flows from that idea.”

The Sub-Mariner would have also lived a completely different life had his environment been different.  In What If: Sub-Mariner, Ten Terrific writer Greg Pak and artist David Lopez explore what would have happened if Namor grew up with his father on land and how that would have changed the events of World War II and the world after. 

“Namor is the ruler of Atlantis — but his father was a surface-dwelling human,” explains editor Mark Paniccia.  “We’re using our What If? story to explore Namor’s human heritage, to imagine how his life and the course of history would have changed if he had been raised by his father on land rather than his mother in the sea.”

In the main Marvel Universe, Namor became an Invader during World War II, assisting the Allies in order to protect his underwater subjects from the Nazis.  However, what side would this Namor have joined if the Atlanteans asked for his aid, knowing that his hatred towards Atlantis for the death of his mother?

Witness how the outcomes of two different wars, World War II and the Cold War, could have changed drastically by a simple twist of fate in What If: Fantastic Four and What If: Sub-Mariner. 

WHAT IF: FANTASTIC FOUR   (OCT051993)
Written by Mike Carey
Pencils & Cover by Marshall Rogers
32 PGS./T+ SUGGESTED FOR TEENS AND UP …$2.99
FOC – 12/1, On Sale – 12/14/2005
 
WHAT IF: SUB-MARINER   (OCT051994)
Written by Greg Pak
Penciled by DAVID LOPEZ
Cover by CARLO PAGULAYAN
32 PGS./T+ SUGGESTED FOR TEENS AND UP …$2.99
FOC – 12/1, On Sale – 12/14/2005