Well, it's a bitter-sweet end to the Fantastic Four. I must say, I'm sad to see them go. I haven't been reading their comics for long but always enjoyed their stories, on the big screen and off.
So, dear reader, what can I tell you about the end of the Fantastic Four comics...
Surprisingly, the title at the top of the comic, the one that was burning down, is not completely gone from the title page. The creators were kind enough the leave the words "The End" at the top for us. Again, there is the sense of an explosion on the front cover, though this time it is more like an atomic bomb going off while the FF stand facing it. Readers gets a nice picture of the FF's backs and the bricks below their feet have risen up to create the number 4. This cover has such an ominous feel to it, as if reminding readers that the end is here and the FF are going to be walking out the their lives forever.
So, dear reader, what can I tell you about the end of the Fantastic Four comics...
Surprisingly, the title at the top of the comic, the one that was burning down, is not completely gone from the title page. The creators were kind enough the leave the words "The End" at the top for us. Again, there is the sense of an explosion on the front cover, though this time it is more like an atomic bomb going off while the FF stand facing it. Readers gets a nice picture of the FF's backs and the bricks below their feet have risen up to create the number 4. This cover has such an ominous feel to it, as if reminding readers that the end is here and the FF are going to be walking out the their lives forever.
I talked briefly about the plot line before but did not want to spoil the ending for anyone. I give fair warning now- SPOILER ALERT- if you do not want to know how the story ends then skip the next paragraph.
I left off describing how Franklin and the others, including Sleepwalker, were going into Franklin's dreams to defeat the corruption that Quiet Man instilled. Turns out a character by the name of Psycho Man was living in Franklin's dream New York, corrupting everything in the dreamworld. Quiet Man was able to create portals all over the Earth to bring these creatures to "our reality". While Johnny, Ben, Captain America, Spiderman, and others fight these monsters, Reed and his daughter Val confront Quiet Man. The story ends with Franklin destroying his dream New York, thus killing Psycho Man, and the evil masses everyone were fighting are left as lifeless puppets. This definitely connects to the front cover, as the explosion that killed Psycho Man was a depicted as the same white glow. Earth was saved, no one from the team died, and in an ironic twist the story ends with Johnny lighting up the sky with a giant 4, "to remind everyone we're back to sty and we're not going anywhere."
But it didn't end there. Each character had their own quick "what now?" comic included in this issue. Sue and Franklin bond of memories, Johnny catches up with an old girlfriend, Ben is left to clean up the mess in the city, while Reed and Val bond over experiments on the beach.
Perhaps the last lines in this comic are meant as a message from the creators- though the Fantastic Four may have no more comics coming now, that does not mean they will be gone forever. Reed gets the last line in the comic, saying "Do it Johnny...for all of us." It certainly felt as though the FF team was making a statement to the readers, and perhaps themselves.
What I found most interesting about this ending is not so much how it ended but the commentary about it ending by the writers and fans. After the initial story ended, the senior editor for the comic, Mark Paniccia, gave his own farewell to the FF. He tells how hard writing this last issue was for everyone involved and gives his due to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the FF's creation; Paniccia goes on to thank the fans: "all of us here at MARVEL want to thank you- the readers, the new and the longtime- for supporting this title with such enthusiasm and loyalty. You all helped to keep these characters alive in print and they'll always be alive in your hearts." Like I said, it is a bitter-sweet ending. Just as Johnny and Reed gave hope to readers with their final lines, so too does the senior editor.
While you are happy for the FF at being able to have happy endings, it is still a sad moment to know that they won't be around in comic form any longer. Fans wrote in to the staff at Marvel about the ending of the FF and a few letters were published in this issue. Most lamented the fact that the comic was done but all knew, without a doubt, that the FF would be back. As one fan stated, "it's comics after all". And each fan touched on the fact that Marvel's first family was coming to an end. That phrase "first family" was in almost every letter. And in the last entry Michael Mulligan wrote:
Many comic fans feel [the FF] too old fashioned and campy. But I still believe
they're the best representation of what a comic book should be. They're the first
family of comics, the first family of Marvel and my favorite team in comics, bar
none. The Avengers and X-Men may get more of the lime-light these days, but
they'd be nothing more than colorful costumes on a printed page if it wasn't for the
Fantastic Four leading the way.
The love the fans have for this comic says more than the story itself. Some one those who wrote in have been following the FF since the first appeared in comics. There is something about these characters, these superheroes who are more human than superpowered beings, that draws in the readers. From the little reading I have done on their beginning, and now having read their ending, I was always left wondering what would happen next in the story.
The characters made the story; they were real people. And the sense of family that these comics brought to those involved in their creation as well as the fans who read them is amazing. It is fitting, then, at the final issue of the Fantastic Four comic, Reed's first lines are about his family: "If we're down, we rise. If we fail, we try again. If we lose the battle, we win the war. And that is what makes us the Fantastic Four!" The morals and truth and connection in these comics is found on more than just the pages they were printed on; it has seeped into the hands of the creators and fans.
That is what makes this comic so special. And that is why it will not be gone for long. "And on that note, FANTASTIC FOUR FOREVER, my friends. FOUREVER" (Paniccia).
I left off describing how Franklin and the others, including Sleepwalker, were going into Franklin's dreams to defeat the corruption that Quiet Man instilled. Turns out a character by the name of Psycho Man was living in Franklin's dream New York, corrupting everything in the dreamworld. Quiet Man was able to create portals all over the Earth to bring these creatures to "our reality". While Johnny, Ben, Captain America, Spiderman, and others fight these monsters, Reed and his daughter Val confront Quiet Man. The story ends with Franklin destroying his dream New York, thus killing Psycho Man, and the evil masses everyone were fighting are left as lifeless puppets. This definitely connects to the front cover, as the explosion that killed Psycho Man was a depicted as the same white glow. Earth was saved, no one from the team died, and in an ironic twist the story ends with Johnny lighting up the sky with a giant 4, "to remind everyone we're back to sty and we're not going anywhere."
But it didn't end there. Each character had their own quick "what now?" comic included in this issue. Sue and Franklin bond of memories, Johnny catches up with an old girlfriend, Ben is left to clean up the mess in the city, while Reed and Val bond over experiments on the beach.
Perhaps the last lines in this comic are meant as a message from the creators- though the Fantastic Four may have no more comics coming now, that does not mean they will be gone forever. Reed gets the last line in the comic, saying "Do it Johnny...for all of us." It certainly felt as though the FF team was making a statement to the readers, and perhaps themselves.
What I found most interesting about this ending is not so much how it ended but the commentary about it ending by the writers and fans. After the initial story ended, the senior editor for the comic, Mark Paniccia, gave his own farewell to the FF. He tells how hard writing this last issue was for everyone involved and gives his due to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the FF's creation; Paniccia goes on to thank the fans: "all of us here at MARVEL want to thank you- the readers, the new and the longtime- for supporting this title with such enthusiasm and loyalty. You all helped to keep these characters alive in print and they'll always be alive in your hearts." Like I said, it is a bitter-sweet ending. Just as Johnny and Reed gave hope to readers with their final lines, so too does the senior editor.
While you are happy for the FF at being able to have happy endings, it is still a sad moment to know that they won't be around in comic form any longer. Fans wrote in to the staff at Marvel about the ending of the FF and a few letters were published in this issue. Most lamented the fact that the comic was done but all knew, without a doubt, that the FF would be back. As one fan stated, "it's comics after all". And each fan touched on the fact that Marvel's first family was coming to an end. That phrase "first family" was in almost every letter. And in the last entry Michael Mulligan wrote:
Many comic fans feel [the FF] too old fashioned and campy. But I still believe
they're the best representation of what a comic book should be. They're the first
family of comics, the first family of Marvel and my favorite team in comics, bar
none. The Avengers and X-Men may get more of the lime-light these days, but
they'd be nothing more than colorful costumes on a printed page if it wasn't for the
Fantastic Four leading the way.
The love the fans have for this comic says more than the story itself. Some one those who wrote in have been following the FF since the first appeared in comics. There is something about these characters, these superheroes who are more human than superpowered beings, that draws in the readers. From the little reading I have done on their beginning, and now having read their ending, I was always left wondering what would happen next in the story.
The characters made the story; they were real people. And the sense of family that these comics brought to those involved in their creation as well as the fans who read them is amazing. It is fitting, then, at the final issue of the Fantastic Four comic, Reed's first lines are about his family: "If we're down, we rise. If we fail, we try again. If we lose the battle, we win the war. And that is what makes us the Fantastic Four!" The morals and truth and connection in these comics is found on more than just the pages they were printed on; it has seeped into the hands of the creators and fans.
That is what makes this comic so special. And that is why it will not be gone for long. "And on that note, FANTASTIC FOUR FOREVER, my friends. FOUREVER" (Paniccia).