‘New Fantastic Four #1’ Review
Written by Peter David | Written by Alan Robinson | Published by Marvel Comics
Everyone loves a supergroup, and that’s as true in comics as it is in any other field. Back in 1991, the biggest characters at Marvel were Gray Hulk, Wolverine (of course), Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man. Punisher too, but that version of Punisher was not really a team player and a bit too violent for the tone these guys had (though Ghost Rider came close at times), so he was passed over. Sorry, Frank.
In Fantastic Four #347, Peter David and Art Adams introduced this ‘new’ Fantastic Four, only ever intended as a quirky temporary team up until the ‘real’ FF resumed duties. It was short and quirky, but has remained a fan favourite group ever since, and Marvel has seen the light. Peter David has been invited back to write another story of his supergroup, set back in those heady days of 1991. He’s invited artist Alan Robinson along for the ride, in the absence of the legendary Art Adams, and of course, us.
It’s 1991 Las Vegas and the new Fantastic Four is front page news, after recently saving everyone from Skrulls and The Mole Man. Life goes on of course, and Father John continues his work, helping the homeless of Las Vegas. He drops in on Molly, a young homeless girl who warns him that some of the other homeless have been changing of late. A mysterious individual, Mr. Ash, has been whipping up discontent among the homeless, telling them to fight back against the Las Vegas wealthy. Mr. Ash it soon becomes clear, is not a man at all. He seems to be a demon of some sort, and Father John realizes, clutching his Daily Bugle, he needs superhuman help, and guess which team is front page news.
Off to New York, and a fun cameo with Vulture, before Spider-Man and Logan catch up on the roof of the Daily Bugle building. Odd thing is, they both thought about visiting Las Vegas about the same time, with no obvious reason why they should. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice once said. Back in Las Vegas, the Hulk (or Mr. Fixit, as this smart grey version was called) has arranged a plane for Logan and Peter, and Ghost Rider has also dropped by, also not sure why he has been drawn to Las Vegas. He, at least, can sense when magic is involved, and there’s a whole load of it doing the rounds at the moment it seems.
Hulk has noticed a recent upsurge in crime in Vegas of late. It started slowly, with minor crimes, leading up to worse and worse incidents. The fact the hero’s car is stopped by a large, baying mob gives you a rough idea of how bad it’s getting. The fact they attack the heroes doubles down on the bad. Ghost Rider can sense the people aren’t quite what they seem to be at first glance…. some of the people are actually demons. Time to find Mr. Ash. Find him they do, but he manages to split the team, leaving just Ghost Rider to face off against him. Luckily for the other three, they have been teleported back to New York City, where a startled Johnny Storm cameo points to the Fantastic Four possibly becoming the Fantastic Eight. Or at least the Fantastic Five. We’ll take that.
There was certainly a lot to unpack here. First, the good. The book felt authentic, it felt it was a story of the time in which it was set. The characters all looked and sounded dead on, Peter David capturing his younger self’s humour and voice. The art was nice, deliberately designed to resemble the Art Adams style from the original issues. It read well, was very funny in parts, and it looked great. Now the bad. It lacked the necessary spark to make it an essential read. It had the feel of going through the motions, of rewriting an old story, it felt a little, dare I say it, tired. The choice of story for the team is also an odd one, with straightforward super-heroics more in tune with these guys than the magic one unfolding.
So, a decent read, but slightly disappointing considering the characters involved and the fact it’s Peter David writing them.
C’mon Peter, channel that 1990’s superstar writer once again. We’ve been waiting for you.
Small correction–the original “New Fantastic Four” story arc (Fantastic Four (1961) #347-349) was written by Walt Simonson, not Peter David.
See https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Fantastic_Four_Vol_1_347