In the cliffhanger ending to ‘Fantastic Four’ #603, the Mad Celestials had defeated Galactus and were set on destroying the Earth but the future versions of Franklin and Valeria Richards appeared at the last minute to possibly save the day.
I won’t give my usual recap of the issue since, to do so, would ruin the multiple ooos and aahs moments. What I will say is that we finally get a true look at the extent of Franklin’s powers and, whatever you thought they were, they’re even better than that. We’re treated to the cause behind the Mad Celestials and the event that Nathaniel has been trying to prevent through all of his constant tinkering with the events in the FF timeline. When you close the final page on this issue, you’ll most definitely be sitting in awe of Hickman’s writing with a smile on your face… and maybe a tear in your eye.
And that’s it. This issue is the culmination of Jonathan Hickman’s work on the Fanastic Four. Sure… word is that he’s still got six more months of writing left but, if he left with this issue, it would be a fitting end to both his epic story arc. So I look forward to seeing what he’ll do from here. The events in this issue pull together a lot of threads, even going as far back as Hickman’s first work on the series three years ago. It is pure comic brilliance!
Steve Epting returns to the series to close out Hickman’s massive arc and does a wonderful job of it as expected. The epic battles between Gods, world makers, and the powerful mortals caught in between couldn’t be more wonderful to behold.
Until now, DC Comics has had my vote for best single issue of the year with ‘Batman’ #5 and ‘Swamp Thing’ #7 but Marvel definitely throws down the gauntlet with this one and shows why ‘Fanastic Four’ is called “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine”.
Verdict: Buy
FANTASTIC FOUR #604
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by STEVE EPTING and RICK MAGYAR
Cover by MIKE CHOI and GURU-EFX
