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FANTASTIC FOUR #605.1

“THE FOUR”

• The Secret History of the Fantastic Four

• Everything starts just like you remember…

• …It ends like something completely different.

Story by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Mike Choi
Colors by Cris Peter
Cover by Mike Choi

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 13.0%

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Comments

  1. Avatar photo tripleneck (@tripleneck) says:
    May 14, 2012 at 1:19 pm

    As much as I love Fantastic Four, I’m sitting this point one issue out. It might even be great, but I have a huge stack this week.

  2. Avatar photo zlbenson says:
    May 14, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    saw a bit of the preview – and I am now very interested to see where Hickman has this issue going.

  3. Avatar photo RileyArmpit32 says:
    May 14, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    Gonna be good, no-matter!

    I cannae wait!!!!!

  4. Avatar photo wangman31888 says:
    May 14, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    Is this the issue where they break the multiverse and crossover with Planetary?

  5. Avatar photo kingjoeg says:
    May 14, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Don’t know whether to skip this issue or not. If its just a standalone story then i guess it doesn’t matter.

    • Avatar photo USPUNX says:
      May 14, 2012 at 3:38 pm

      They’re all going to be stand alone stories until Hickman finishes up his run in a few months.

    • Avatar photo WillupsBrighton says:
      May 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm

      I don’t know if they’re all going to be totally stand alone. 606 and 608 are both going to be Black Panther team ups so I assume the stories will be connected.

  6. Avatar photo CaseyJustice says:
    May 14, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    Not sure. Game-day decision.

  7. Avatar photo stubbleupdate says:
    May 14, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    Considering the quality of everything that Hickman has done with this title, there isn’t really any sort of choice about whether I will pick this up or not.

  8. Avatar photo Elwapo187 says:
    May 14, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    Hickman is still killing on this run. I really like this one shots. I want them to revel what title he is going to next.

  9. Avatar photo mgriffith says:
    May 14, 2012 at 8:05 pm

    I’m in, even though Choi would not be my first choice of artist.

  10. Avatar photo TheNextChampion says:
    May 15, 2012 at 12:00 am

    It’s nice to see Hickman is just ignoring the premise all together of the .1 issue and telling a What If? story. Sadly I will not be getting this because Choi is a terrible artist and I don’t wanna read 20pgs of that.

  11. Avatar photo player1 says:
    May 15, 2012 at 10:46 am

    Still digging this.

    Hoping the art doesn’t deter me.

  12. Avatar photo Funcrusher says:
    May 15, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    I have every issue since the dark reign mini, but I really don’t know if I want this.

  13. Avatar photo keithfury says:
    May 15, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Please stop this .1 bullshit!

  14. Avatar photo mgriffith says:
    May 16, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    Hello, “What If … ” ? Yes, we found one of your old scripts and dusted it off. Can we use it for an issue of Fantastic Four? We can? Oh, thank you.

    (Not saying it’s a bad thing, mind you.)

    Wow – not what I expected.

  15. Avatar photo adrianrigter says:
    May 16, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    It’s the story of one of the alt Reeds, and it’s very good, also the best thing from Mile Choi i’ve seen in quite a while.

  16. Avatar photo zlbenson says:
    May 16, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    Awesome! And its not exactly a What If story – its kinda sorta actually in continuity!

    I thought Choi did a job. The cover kinda sucks but the interiors look pretty good. But 5 start book for me just storywise. Very cool.

  17. Avatar photo Funcrusher says:
    May 16, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    This was an absolutely amazing issue.

  18. Avatar photo mgriffith says:
    May 17, 2012 at 12:05 am

    True, it IS in continuity.

    Less “What If … “and more “Oh, wow…”. 🙂

  19. Neutrino says:
    May 17, 2012 at 1:55 am

    Beginning to wonder if 616 Reed is the only good Reed.

    Or maybe… he’s just the most subtle Reed.

    (also Hickman rules)

  20. Avatar photo zlbenson says:
    May 17, 2012 at 10:35 am

    Something else that this issue made me think about and realize – is how little the 616 Reed Richards really knew about his other-selves. If he knew the history of this Reed – would he have aligned himself with the Council of Reeds at all? Wouldn’t he start to wonder about the other Reeds?

    Who knows what there real motivations were? Sure they seemed to be making positive changes – but they weren’t above making decisions about others lives if they deemed it an obstacle. I think Doom would have been proud. Will the 616 Doom be the one to avenge all his other-selves? Man i don’t want Hickman to ever leave this title.

    • Avatar photo Smasher says:
      May 17, 2012 at 1:37 pm

      To that point, @zlbenson, what if the opposite is true? If the Council of Reeds were ‘evil’, what if the Parliament of Doom are ‘good’?

      What if that’s why Valeria let the 616 Doom escape, to reform him?

      They should cancel Fantastic Four after Hickman’s run.

      There’s no one out there who can follow this run.

    • Avatar photo zlbenson says:
      May 17, 2012 at 1:48 pm

      I wonder how selfless those other Reeds really were – sure it was pointed out they gave up everything that defines a normal life – family, friends, etc. But Nazi-Reed obviously had no interest in that life. Can we assume that it maybe the same for many of the other Reeds? At what point would they have been no longer content “fixing” worlds, and eventually try to rule?

      They also obviously placed themselves far above any particular universe or world. They had no problem putting the 616 Earth at risk.

      For the Parliament of Dooms, I guess it remains to be seen if the “lobotomized” Dooms can be restored? Did they have portions of their brains removed for the Reeds to harvest? And if they can be restored – how many of them will be more altruistic or on the “hero” side of things. I can’t see 616 Doom really turning the cheek. He is what he is – hellbent for more power and control.

    • Avatar photo cubman987 says:
      May 17, 2012 at 2:07 pm

      I was pretty much thinking the same things after reading this. It kind of makes me feel like Reed is just a soft nudge away from becoming a super-villain, as Conor pointed out in his POTW piece Reed has had some instances where he’s hovered on the edge of being sort of a bad guy. I feel like ultimately with Reed, that he becomse so obsessed with trying to “solve everything” that he will do anything to accomplish this, and as we’ve seen with some of these other Reeds they don’t really care who they hurt to accomplish their goals.

      The Doom question is a good one, I hope we get to find out the answer to that.

  21. Chocobavits says:
    May 17, 2012 at 2:24 pm

    Speaking of art, did anyone else see the painted swastika on the rocket got smudged off some to make a 4?

  22. DrewHLMW says:
    May 17, 2012 at 5:42 pm

    As a new reader who tried to start with issue I can really only judge it as such, an introduction for new readers to jump on board with. and it failed miserably.

    This tells me nothing about the current 616 FF and their current plot and happenings and it is the first comic book I regret ever buying.

    since you guys say the current writer is leaving soon I’ll wait for the 1st issue of the new writer before trying Fantastic Four again.

    • Avatar photo zlbenson says:
      May 17, 2012 at 5:50 pm

      I hear ya, the only thing I can say is that if that last page intrigued you – it leads right into the very first arc of Hickman’s Fantastic Four. But thats about the only thing for a new reader to latch onto here. As someone who has been reading since Hickman’s first issue, this was very rewarding.

    • Avatar photo dear earthling says:
      May 18, 2012 at 2:09 am

      I haven’t read FF since I was a kid, and I randomly bought this issue and LOVED it. I can’t imagine not enjoying this because you didn’t know what else was going on. Do you really need to? This was a great stand alone story. Anyone avoiding this comic because they think they don’t like Choi’s art should think again. He does beautiful work here.

      Could anyone tell me what Hickman’s first issue of Fantastic Four was? Would like to go back and start there. Thanks!

    • Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick">Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
      May 18, 2012 at 3:05 am

      @dear earthling: It starts with FANTASTIC FOUR #570, I believe.

    • Avatar photo Smasher says:
      May 18, 2012 at 12:15 pm

      Sorry @DrewHLMW.

      Don’t give up on this story though. In fact, you have a piece of knowledge that no one else who’s read Hickman’s run had. If you go back and start reading Fantastic Four #570 you not only get the start of a great 3 yr run of comics but you’ll have a somewhat unique interpretation of the story.

    • Avatar photo RileyArmpit32 says:
      May 18, 2012 at 1:57 pm

      This wasn’t a typical .1 issue from Marvel, but in-a-sense a typical Hickman story, this seemed more like his Image related stuff.

      Any first timers of Hickmans Fantastic Four run, really need to start from the beginning way back at issue 570!

    • Avatar photo cornflakes says:
      May 18, 2012 at 4:38 pm

      Technically, new readers of Hickman’s FF should start with the Dark Reign: Fantastic Four mini he wrote, which directly leads into Fantastic Four #570.

    • Avatar photo RileyArmpit32 says:
      May 19, 2012 at 5:52 pm

      Yeah but most’ve that sucked until the last issue, I wasn’t keen on the whole alternate reality dress-up stuff!

    • Avatar photo Conor Kilpatrick">Conor Kilpatrick (@cskilpatrick) says:
      May 19, 2012 at 6:08 pm

      Yeah, I don’t think it’s necessary to start with DARK REIGN, either.

  23. Avatar photo mgriffith says:
    May 20, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    The art did little for me in this issue, but it is Choi’s best work to-date, IMO.

    The writing was very good, and I always look forward to the Fantastic Four every month.

    Overall, a nice issue that, with better art, could well have been a classic.

  24. Avatar photo dear earthling says:
    May 20, 2012 at 8:05 pm

    Thanks for the heads up, Conor and cornflakes. (Did a little Google-ing and realized I could have just done that in the first place 😉

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