Fantastic Four - The Crash - P. A. Nolte

1/ The moon at night.  A wisp of smoke drifts up from something unseen below the panel's edge.

Caption: "Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all." ~ Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

2/ Where the smoke is coming from.  The crumpled hull of what was once a mighty spacecraft softly reflects the fire that has claimed the more flammable materials within.  Leaning against what appears to be a mostly intact doorframe is the figure of a man on fire.  He seems unconcerned by the fact, like he has yet to grasp that, yes, he is a man on fire.

Johnny: Is-- Is everyone okay?

To his right, a young woman.  Blonde.  She wears a suit similar to his, constructed to resist the vacuum of space, the pressure of the bottom of the ocean, and who knows what else.  As she props herself up on one arm and rubs her temple with her opposite hand, she glimmers in the light, fading in and out of visibility.

Susan: Reed!  Where's Reed?!  Did he--

In the foreground, a pile of rocks in the shape of a man lunges forward.  How two legs can carry such bulk is anyone's guess, but somehow they do.  Piercing the darkness beyond the crash site, from under a heavy brow of stone, two blue eyes.  The hand that has reached out in front of them is heavy.  Made from the same crude stone as the rest of the figure.  There are only three fingers and a thumb, instead of the usual four.

Ben: Over here!  He doesn't look good...

Fantastic Four - Harbinger II - Ray Wonsowski

Going deep into my WABAC machine...for Part I, go here...

Panel 1- JOHNNY STORM, walking through the flaming antechamber in Atillan, emerges from the blaze. However, a Cosmic Control Rod is at his throat, and his jaw has been reshaped, giving him the appearance of Annihilus. In fact, Johnny is possessed by him, his head lolled over to the side, shambling like he is still learning how to work the body. He is dragging the unconscious body of GORGON of the Inhumans.

JOHN-NIHILUS: s-s-simple thisss waszz...we should have thought of thisss s-s-sooner...

Panel 2- from above. The THING, foreground, launches himself up and away in a bound before, background, SUSAN STORM can throw up her force field, which now encircles herself and REED RICHARDS, who is holding his wife in the stretch coils of his arms. The shield is keeping tongues of flame away.

THING: I've had enough of this crumbum...

SUSAN: NO!

REED: Ben, stop!!

Panel 3- BEN lands hard in front of JOHN-NIHILUS, raising his fists. JOHN-NIHILUS just stands absently before him, as if the Thing was a curiosity under a microscope.

THING: John. Buddy. This ain't you.

JOHN-NIHILUS: ...s-s-stupid creature...hideousss thing...

Panel 4- zoom in, one of BEN's hands around JOHN-NIHILUS's throat, the other tearing away the Cosmic Control Rod from it.

THING: Shut your cake hole, gimme that!

REED (off-panel): BEN! STOP!!

(In the space between panels, sound fx: FASH!

Panel 5- Foreground, the unconscious form of JOHNNY STORM, no longer the thrall of Annihilus. However, background, silhouetted in the flames, the giant rocky form of BEN GRIMM rages, Cosmic Control Rod glowing brightly in his hand, translucent leathery wings having sprouted violently from his back.

BEN-NIHILUS: ...RRRRRR....

...to be continued...

Fantastic Four – Remember that Vay-cay of DOOM? – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: The FANTASTICAR lands in CENTRAL PARK next to a flying machine owned by DR. DOOM. Nearby is DR. DOOM, seemingly doing nothing but observing his surroundings. Flanking him on either side are a pair of DOOMBOTS who are dressed up like secret-service type bodyguards with suits and sunglasses, though with green DR. DOOM-style capes added to the outfit.

REED: Stop right there, Victor!

DR. DOOM: Richards…

Panel 2: The FANTASTIC FOUR unload from the FANTASTICAR, looking ready to go to battle mode. DR. DOOM stays where he is, pretending as though the FANTASTIC FOUR are beneath him in true DR. DOOM fashion. The DOOMBOTS turn to look at the FANTASTIC FOUR, but only enough to qualify as acknowledging their existence.

REED: What are you up to?

DR. DOOM (1): Foolish Richards.

DR. DOOM (2): Can a foreign leader truly not simply enjoy a vacation without being assaulted by your baseless accusations?

Panel 3: DR. DOOM and the DOOMBOTS have turned to face the FANTASTIC FOUR. DR. DOOM stands with his arms crossed in front of him in his usual pompous fashion.

BEN: What now?

DR. DOOM (1): DOOM realized that he had never simply visited this city of New York.

DR. DOOM (2): For all it’s inferior qualities, there is a certain quaint charm to it.

Panel 4: DR. DOOM and the DOOMBOTS march off dismissively as the FANTASTIC FOUR watch.

DR. DOOM (1): If you primitive simpletons can find it in yourselves to excuse DOOM, DOOM shall try to enjoy what few pleasures this city might have to offer.

Panel 5: FANTASTIC FOUR watch as DR. DOOM walks off. BEN, SUE, and REED look confused, JOHNNY snaps his fingers as he comes to a realization.

BEN: Anyone know what just happened?

SFX: *snap*

JOHNNY (1): Trolling!

SUE: What?

JOHNNY (2): Dr. Doom is trying to troll us!

(END PAGE)

Fantastic Four - Family Echoes - Shaun Richens

PAGE ONE - 6 PANELS.

1.1

Close up on REED RICHARDS hand. He holds a whiskey glass, a splash of high class whisky left at the bottom, ice slowly melting around it.

CAPTION REED:

Science was my first love but I’d always vowed that my family mattered most.

1.2

Close up on Reed. His head down as he rubs at his temples with his other hand.

CAPTION REED:

Then I lost them, I forced the space mission, I didn’t want to wait.

CAPTION REED:

I was a damn fool.

1.3

Cut to deep space. JOHNNY STORM in a sci-fi, high tech space suit. He falls through space towards a distant sun. Wreckage of a damaged spacecraft floats around him.

CAPTION REED:

Poor, brave Johnny. He tried to save us. How did I repay him, I just left him up there to burn.

1.4

Cut to. A panel filled with the emptiness of space. A few stars fight against the darkness in a few small areas. More wreckage from the doomed spacecraft litter the scene.

CAPTION REED:

My dear sweet Susan. She, she just vanished without a trace. I had no time to search. The ship was a wreck, breaking apart more with every second.

1.5

Cut to. Interior an intensive care ward. We on focusing on a patient lying in bed. His entire body wrapped in bandages. An oxygen tent around him. Amazing, medical tech all connects to him via cables and tubes.

CAPTION REED:

I got Ben home at least. But at what cost? He’ll never be the same. The man I knew as Ben Grimm died in the stars with the others.

1.6

Cut back to Reed. Wide panel. Reed stands in his lab, go full kirby with this, but a modern twist. Reed is in full lab gear. His back to us. In front of him is a large circular metal portal, it’s made from copper and gold with tints of silver and black iron. This is a door to another dimension - to all other dimensions. A swirling, flowing blue vortex breaths into life at the heart of the portal - it looks almost like liquid.

Reed’s empty whisky glass rests on a worktop near by.

CAPTION REED:

Somewhere out there my friends, my family. They’re alive.

CAPTION REED:

And I will make us whole again.  

Fantastic Four - Familiar Utterances - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Susan stands in an open space, striking a menacing pose as if preparing to enter a fight while starting to turn invisible.

SUSAN: It's time for some transparency!

JOHNNY (OP): Are you striking fear into the hearts of villains or boring them with political policy?

2 - Susan tries again, striking a different action pose while turning invisible (and wearing a frustrated look on her face).

SUSAN: Beware my veiled threats!

BEN (OP): Better attitude, but a little passive-aggressive.

3 - Susan is even more frustrated.  She tries again, waving her (invisible) hand in front of her face.

SUSAN: You can't see me!

JOHNNY (OP): Simple and to the point, but I feel like John Cena may not appreciate it.

4 - Pull back a bit to show that Susan is in the living room with the rest of the Fantastic Four.  Frustrated, Sue sits down on the couch between Johnny and Ben, crossing her arms angerly (and possibly going invisible at the same time).

SUSAN: This is stupid!

5 - Still on the couch, Johnny and Ben try to provide some comfort.  Reed sits on a sofa off to the side.

JOHNNY (1): It's okay, sis.  This kind of thing can take time.  It's not like "Flame on!" was the first thing that came to my mind.  I worked at that for months!

JOHNNY (2): Besides, we're moving in the right direction.  Just remember that there are no bad ideas at this point in the process.

6 - Ben looks over to Reed asking if he's ready.  Reed gets up, looking pretty pleased with himself.

BEN: Why don't try something else.  What do you got, Stretch-o?

REED (1): Well, I don't mean to brag, but I think I have the perfect thing.

REED (2): *ahem*

7 - Reed gets all stretchy as if he's about to do some tussling. He delivers his potential catchphrase.

REED: I hope you have a Fantastic day!

8 - Johnny, Ben, and Sue all look on, dumbfounded at how terrible that was.

NO COPY

9 - Repeat shot. Johnny and Ben turn their attention back to Sue. She looks somewhat heartened by their suggestion.  Reed sits back down on the sofa glumly, his turn to mope.

BEN: Susie, what about something to do with "out of sight, out of mind"?

Why Fantastic Four?

Ostensibly because there's a movie out.  I guess?

It's weird (and a pretty decent problem to have), but it's been a good long while since a superhero movie has come out to pretty much universal disinterest.  Reviews seem to be lukewarm at best, downright harsh at worst.  Admittedly, I haven't seen the movie and I'm not really intending on checking it out.  It just looks to be all kinds of meh, you know?

So let's forget the movie for a second.

We're running Fantastic Four because, as corny as it may sound, they are Marvel's First Family.

D'awwwww!

And when so many comics are focused on explosions and cosmic rays (which, don't get me wrong, are admirable goals), it's refreshing to have characters who focus on that idea of family.  The ones who support you, who bug the hell out of you, who will always be there for you, and who you love more than you can fathom.  And the aspect that I dig more and more as I get older is that the Fantastic Four is about the family you're born into and the one you make for yourself.

Johnny and Sue are siblings.  Reed and Ben are childhood friends.  Sue and Reed are married and devoted parents.  Johnny and Ben are major broheims.

What's not the love?

You can also get into their storied history as some of Marvel's earliest superhero characters, their allegorical representation of earth, wind, fire, and water, or their plethora of supporting characters - and those are all excellent reasons - but I think it's the focus on relationships and their incredible importance that makes the Fantastic Four special.

That and the explosions and cosmic rays.

Break!