Ashkan Honarvar’s Heroes - OUROBOROS – Derek Adnams

Page 1 – (Splash Page)

Caption:  INTERVIEW WITH DOOM, CONDUCTED BY V. RICHARDS.

Caption:  “Please state your name.”

Caption:  “You know my name.”

Caption:  “Yes, I do, but for the record: what is your name?”

Caption:  “Doom.”

Caption:  “And how did you come to possess the Cosmic Control Rod?”

Caption:  “I followed the Devil through the mirror.  Doom rules All, and All begs to be ruled.

Doom:  Oh - - I have such wonderful friends.

 

 

 

Caption:  “Once inside the mirror, the Devil became pieces, multiplying, insects emerging from a seventeen year sleep, breathing fire and breaking the armor of Doom. 

 

Caption:  “Sprouting new limbs, I vanquished the Devil and gazed upon the Hell that was now mine.” 

 

Caption:  “Why did you leave?”

 

Caption:  “I was exiled, pulled away from yet another kingdom.

 

Caption:  “We’re linked, you know - - your father and I. 

 

Caption:  “Ouroboros into infinite eternities.”

 



Johnny Storm - Slow Burn - Niel Jacoby

Panel 1: the Fantasticar is crashed in the arctic. THING, MR. FANTASTIC, and SUE STORM are unconscious. JOHNNY is worried. They are not nearly dressed for this weather.

Johnny: YOU CAN MAKE IT THROUGH, JOHNNY. JUST STAY CALM.

Johnny: YOU JUST NEED TO GET THEM TO SHELTER.

Panel 2:  Johnny has set up a circle, with Thing, Mr. Fantastic, and Sue circled around him at a safe distance while he burns in the middle to warm them. We can see the faint forms of wolves on the horizon.

Johnny: JUST... JUST START CONCENTRATING, JOHNNY.
(link)
WE CAN ALL SURVIVE.

Reed Richards - A Picture Paints a Thousand Words - Danial Carroll

[I really liked Adam's breaking of the fourth wall in his play-at-home script, and because it was on my mind, all of my own ideas began revolving around similar themes. This is where they coalesced...]

PAGE TWO (six panels)

PANEL 1. Ben Grimm is in Reed Richards' lab, pointing his thumb back over his shoulder. Behind him is a circular platform that is flaring up in blue and white particles, light-beams, and gases.

BEN:

Hey, Reed, you're dimensional thingy just powered up.

PANEL 2. Same view as Panel 1, except that Ben has turned towards the teleporter. Reed has also now snaked his neck into view so that he can read a display next to the platform.

REED:

Hmm, interesting.

REED:

Seems there's an incoming transmission.

PANEL 3. Amidst the beams and particles of the teleporter, a sheet of paper has appeared and is floating down.

BEN (OP):

Is that... just a bit o' paper?

REED (OP):

It would appear so.

PANEL 4. Ben is holding the paper up so that we are looking at the back of it. He and Reed (still with an extended neck) are looking at it curiously.

BEN:

Is this some kinda joke?

REED:

I don't think so, Ben.

BEN:

But that's us, right?

PANEL 5. Close up of Reed's face, deep in concentration, trying to understand what he is seeing.

REED:

Indeed it is.

REED:

Though this is far too elaborate to be any form of prank.

REED:

This only just happened.

PANEL 6. Close up of the page in Ben's hand, revealing it to be a comic page identical to Page 1.

REED:

Intriguing.

[As an added bonus, I thought I would give you all a glimpse of how I generally "write" my Thoughtballoons pages: Once the concept has been decided upon, I actually sketch the page, writing in the dialogue as I go. I then transcribe it into Blogger when I get home, tweaking it as necessary. Below is the sketch from this one...]

Reed Richards - God's Work - Sime McDonald

1. An elderly Reed Richards stands before his students in a university lecture theatre. He's dressed in a brown suit, his beard and hair is more grey than brown, but he's still got that Fantastic aura that demands attention. He watches his students pile out of the lecture hall, smiling affectionately, proudly. A shadow cast over his back reveals there is a person behind him, unidentifiable from the angle of this panel. It’s Holmstrom (new character, no reference).

CAPTION

The Reed Richards Institute for Science, Technology & Learning.

HOLMSTROM

(off panel)

Professor Richards.

May I have a word?

2. Reed turns and sees a lanky fifty-something year old man in a trench coat still dripping from the rain outside. He looks harmless and is smiling nervously.

REED RICHARDS

You’re not a student.

HOLMSTROM
Ah, heh, no sir, I’m not.

I’m from the Vatican.

3. Reed’s expression turns to stone; Holmstrom raises his hands in defence, fingers splayed.

REED RICHARDS

If this another form of protest against my institute...

HOLMSTROM (1)

Professor Richards, no sir, no, not at all - -

HOLMSTROM (2)

I - -

We need your help.

4. Reed looks at Holmstrom incredulously.

REED RICHARDS (1)

The Vatican has spent decades remonstrating against my life’s work.

I’ve been insulted by your superiors and by your supporters despite saving this universe on more than one occasion and never once claiming to be the demigod you portrayed me as.

REED RICHARDS (2)I’m sure you’ll understand when I say I’ve very little interest in listening to your spiel.

HOLMSTROM

Professor, please - -

5. Holmstrom grabs Reed’s arm, holds on tight to oppose him from moving away.

HOLMSTROM

Your research on engineered crops has not gone unnoticed and quite frankly we feel it needs to implemented now, before it’s too late. We’ve identified several locations where we feel will most benefit from - -

6. On Reed, still uncertain as to what’s altered the Vatican’s stance.

REED RICHARDS

I do believe you’ve called such implementation ‘playing God,’ in the past.

All of a sudden you’re okay with this?

You don’t believe your God will help you solve this current global crisis?

7. Reed’s words sting Holmstrom, but he remains defiant.

HOLMSTROM
What I believe, Professor, is that people need help and you may be the only person who can provide it for them.

I also believe that, now, more than ever, people need to have their faith restored.

And if done correctly – covertly – with your help, I believe we can accomplish both.

A Note from the author:

The idea for this script came from an article I read in which the Vatican’s response to scientific breakthroughs over the years was discussed, and it suddenly popped into my mind, What would the Vatican think of The Fantastic Four?

 

My intention – and I want to make this clear, in case my mother is reading this – wasn’t to portray Reed as a non-believer in God, or as the kind of man who would question somebody’s faith. Reed is, I belive, the kind of man who invents something for the good of mankind and instinctively wants to use it. He doesn’t consider the religious and political implications; he’s a man of action. He sees a problem and he solves it and moves on to the next.

 

But when this story takes place, Reed has grown tired of the bureaucratic barriers that oppose him benefitting the world, so he’s dedicated recent years to teaching. And when the Vatican seeks him out, requesting his help – under the proviso that he assists them in secret in an effort to restore the world’s faith – what follows would be a tale of Reed questioning whether he can willingly participate in a campaign that may really have only exist as a marketing tool.

Reed Richards - Answer Everything - Matt Duarte

Reed Richards in “Answer Everything” by Matt Duarte

This page is four panels, a two by two grid.

Panel 1

Description: Reed Richards has burst into the living room of the Fantastic Four running, carrying a small tablet computer. He looks beaming, with a huge smile on his face. Around him, the rest of the Fantastic Four are enjoying a day off. Ben is sitting in the couch, watching as Johnny and Val play video games, while Susan has Franklin in her arms as they read a book together.

REED RICHARDS: I did it! I finally did it! I solved it!

SUE RICHARDS: What did you solve, dear?

Panel 2

Description: Seen from above. Reed is now standing surrounded by Ben, Johnny and Val, who stopped paying attention to the video game. Meanwhile, Sue and Franklin are still sitting down away from the scene, though paying attention at what Reed is saying.

REED RICHARDS: Everything!

THE THING: Whadda you mean everything, stretcho? Didja stare at your notes for so long that you forgot to blink again?

REED RICHARDS: No, Ben, this is real. It’s the answer to everything. Even in this very room, the answer is already apparent. Furthermore, I also know the question.

Panel 3

Description: A close up as Reed has turned his tablet computer. In it, we can just see one single thing: the number 42.

REED RICHARDS: Think about it: 4 adults and 2 children. 4 men and 2 women. Even naturally, we stand in a group of 4 and in another of 2.

REED RICHARDS: This is it. The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. And the question is...

Panel 4

Description: A completely black panel.

The End.

(With apologies to Douglas Adams)

Reed Richards - The Science of Silence - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Close on Reed Richards, sitting in his lab, his chin resting on one hand like Rodin’s The Thinker. We can’t see his other hand.

CAP: Be very, very quiet…

Panel Two.

Big panel. Pull out to show the scene behind Reed. A huge fight is trashing his lab. The Fantastic Four versus the Frightful Four. Ben is punching a big hole through Sandman. Sue has Trapster caught in a force bubble – he’s firing his paste gun to no avail. Johnny is flying flaming rings round Titania... though they may be more heart-shaped than ring-shaped. Reed’s other arm (his non-Thinker arm) is wrapped around and around and around the Wizard who is struggling to get free. Reed's hand stretches away from the wrapped up Wizard towards a blackboard where he's writing the following message for his captive: "This really is most tiresome, Bentley - can't you see that I'm VERY busy?"

Ben: Y’know why I hate fighting you, Sandy? Takes ages to get you out of the carpet when we’re done.

Sue: Seriously, Peter, when will you learn not to attack my family’s home?

Johnny: No, really, what are you doing tonight?

CAP: …Reed Richards is thinking.

Panel Three.

Extreme close up on Reed’s face, still deep in thought. Complex equations scurry across his forehead to illustrate his thought processes.

CAP: Right now he could be solving world hunger… colonising the Milky Way… finding a way to get spiders out of the bathtub without hurting them…

CAP: Just imagine how much more he could achieve…

Panel Four.

Pull out slightly, but still keep tight focus on Reed’s face. A lightbulb moment – without the actual lightbulb. He’s smiling. He has the answer.

CAP: …if you’d all just… Shut. Up.

Panel Five.

No art, just a handwritten note, signed by Reed himself. The note reads…

This comic strip incorporates a combination of subliminal and supraliminal suggestions coupled with autonomic neuroscientific stimuli devised to reduce unnecessary interruptions and disturbances in the life of Dr. Reed Richards. In the interests of experimental and deductive research, exploration, discovery, achievement and the overall betterment of mankind, copies are being sent to all members of the Fantastic Four (except Susan), all employees of Fantastic Four Incorporated, the entire superhero and supervillain community, Stan Lee, Joe Quesada, Jonathan Hickman and everyone at Marvel Comics, our esteemed fanbase, Willy Lumpkin, and the man who sells hotdogs outside the Baxter Building.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely,

Reed Richards.

Reed Richards - Stretch Armstrong - Max Barnard

The Preamble: Yeah... Does this really need me to explain what the core idea is? No? Okay, let's party.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Page 1

Visually I'm looking for us to really bridge the gap between Stretch Armstrong and Reed Richards, so something along the line of Seth Fisher's much-lauded chibi take on the FF characters presented every so often in the astonishingly beautiful Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big In Japan may well serve that purpose.

1.1
And so we join our 'chibi' Stretch Armstrong-esque Reed Richards in his lab, full of twisted, warped and completely pointless messes of metal and wires, presumably being technology far beyond the comprehension of anyone other than our crazed savant.

REED: 2+2=4. 4+4=8. 8+8=16


1.2
As Reed peers over a pile of wires that are tied in an endless knot (reference), a door opens behind him, with three child-like and deliberately non-descript silhouettes visible in the doorway.

REED: E=MC^2. π=3.141592653589793

Note to letterer: the equation for pi should be shrinking away to nothingness in his speech bubble. After all, Reed may well be able to say it infinitely, but do we really want to listen to it?


1.3
The silhouettes in the doorway have revealed themselves as Franklin Richards, Leech and Artie, who are now running towards Reed with nothing but sheer glee upon their faces. Rather hilariously they themselves are only slightly shorter than our incredibly deformed Reed, who is looking back at them in terror, mouth stretched agape in fear.

REED: π r^2!!


1.4
The three rambuctious youths grab ahold of various parts of Reed and start stretching him out, Armstrong style, across the lab, laughing maniacally the entire time. Reed's face is screaming out in anguish, less from pain and more from his uncomfortable predicament. Oh and considering Artie's lack of speech, he's projecting a large laughing smiley face from his helmet. The silhouette of Sue Richards can be seen in the same doorway the kids came through, although if that's not viable in the panel a sort of shadow coming from that general direction would still manage to get the core idea across.

FRANKLIN & LEECH: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

REED: x-1/(3*45)=r^55!!


1.5
Sue Richards (the only normally proportioned person on this page) is walking into the room, yelling angrily at the kids and picking them up in forcefield bubbles. Reed is twanging back into his original shape, continuing the whole Stretch Armstrong deal.

SUE: !!


1.6
Sue is cradling Reed, who is now stretched out into something resembling his normal human proportions. The children have now presumably been shooed out of the room by Sue between panels.

SUE: Oh Reed, what would you do without me?

REED: I'd bend, stretch, tie in knots. But with you I'd always return to my original shape.

SUE: I don't even know how to respond to that. But that's sweet, honey.

Reed Richards - Upgrade - Ben Rosenthal

1. Sue Storm is in Reed’s lab. There are plenty of machines and screens about. Nothing we haven’t seen before. Sue is looking for her husband.

SUE
Reed. Reed.

2. Sue has noticed a machine is slightly away from the wall, revealing a crack. There appears to be a hidden door behind it.

3. Sue makes part of the wall invisible so that she may see within the secret room. It is dark, the only source of light coming from a large computer screen. On it are images on it of villains that the Fantastic Four have faced recently. There are technical readings all over the screen - lots of information. We can only see a silhouetted figure sitting in front of the large screen (we can tell that it is Reed Richards). Silhouetted of tubes and cables running to and from the seated figure are also visible.

4. Sue has pushed the machinery blocking the hidden door aside with her force field, also opening the hidden door with it.

5. A close up of Sue’s face. She looks worried.

SUE
Reed?

6. A wide panel of Reed, with Sue visible from behind in the corner of a panel. Reed is seated in front of the huge screen. With the light now flooding in from the open door, we can now see that Reed has cables running from his suit to the large computer he sits in front of. However, more cables are wired directly to his head. Data and figures fill the screen.

REED
Susan?

SUE
What are you.....

REED
It’s fascinating. I’ve discovered a way to use my abilities to wire myself into computers. Given that computers are the only machine built to mimic the human brain, the two were surprisingly compatible. As such, I’ve devised a way to gather the data recorded by our suits in battle, and feed the data directly into my cerebrum.

7. A close up of Sue’s face. She looks horrified.

REED
Our enemy’s vulnerabilities and attack patterns at immediate call. Not only data on our enemies, but that which has been collected on friends and allies, even on ourselves, or our surroundings. It will all be stored within my brain.

REED
I’m a living computer, Sue!

Reed Richards – The Celestial Game – Ryan K Lindsay

1. Galactus is sitting on an intergalactic throne made up of swirling anti-matter and other space debris. It should look like the sort of thing Galactus would hold his meetings in.

Galactus: You finally got the bigger picture.

 

2. Reed is looking stern, strong, the leader he truly is. We only see his face.

Reed: Was this your way of testing me?
Galactus (op): Perhaps it was me preparing you…

3. Large panel, we see Reed Richards standing tall above Galactus within the infinite majesty of space. He has stretched himself to stand 5 times larger than Galactus and it’s an immense feat. He has on an FF jump suit but modified to exist within space, there is a very cool space helmet on, that sort of thing.

Galactus: Either way, it appears you now understand the gravity of your place within the celestial game.
Reed: I do.

NEXT! Reed Sits In Council With The Makers of Worlds, and who shall be his HERALD?

Why Reed Richards?

Reed Richards is one of the most important men in the Marvel U. He is one of the founding members of the club because he was one of the first. He has been around a long time and he’s survived plenty of action. He’s the original pioneer of landscapes unknown, he’s the father of the imaginaut generation that don’t mind a Marvel U with Negative Zones and world eating deities. He’s fought nearly every villain, teamed up with plenty of heroes, he’s just about the smartest guy on the planet (depending on who you ask), and he’s also the patriarch at all times of one very cool family.

I was never a real fan of the Fantastic Four. I just had no desire to read their comics but then Jonathan Hickman came along and made me pick up a few issues. As it stands now, it feels like Hickman’s run in its entirety isn’t as awesome as I want it to be, but there’s no doubting that his opening 3 issue arc ‘Solve Everything’ was one of the best stories to be told in the Marvel U for a long while. It finally made me get Reed and so here we are at the dawn of a new year and what better way to launch things than with this man. It seems only fitting considering we ended 2010 with the greatest villain from the DCU that we should start 2011 with Marvel’s greatest hero.

Just so long as no one writes/draws the man with massive pecs and a six-pack. That just isn’t right. The man is a scientist and even if he can stretch his body into being muscly I doubt he would want to. At least, that’s my stance.