Road to Civil War- Fantastic Four #536 & 537

Going In:

JASON: I'm a big FF fan, and I've been pretty much digging Straczynski's run- I find it almost seamlessly flows from Mark Waid's run previously. Add JMS delivering the goods during the Amazing Spider-Man “Road to,” and it means that I'm basically looking forward to this two parter. Though, admittedly, it's more for Doom's return then because of any tie-in value. As with the Road to AMS, this will not be a page-by-page, but rather a broad stroke overview.

MICHAEL: Let’s see. I’ve pretty much never liked the FF. I’ve tried reading some of the Lee/Kirby stuff, and though I love Kirby’s art, I just never found it interesting. I’ve also tried little snatches of it here & there through the years, but I’ve never ever dug it. But since the JMS Spidey CW stuff was so good, I’m willing to have a little faith here. I’m assuming this will somehow set up the whole ‘Thor returns!’ aspect of CW (which I think is dumb … Ragnarok happened for Thor, I’m not real sure how he’s going to return without it being silly … perhaps Franklin Richards put all the Asgards in his beach ball? Hmmm???).

I’ll admit, though, considering all the amazing Tony/Peter talks over in Spidey, I’m really looking forward to seeing how JMS will handle the Reed/Sue interaction. In Illuminati, he says he’s off to “fight with my wife about this until I die,” or something to that effect, so I’m looking forward to some good interaction there. And maybe with Johnny and Ben; not sure if they’ll be brought in yet.

JASON: It's nice to see Reed back to being a human being here. I'm still not believing he'd condone the registration act, but I'm happy to see that, unlike the cardboard cut-out that he was in the Illuminati special. He seems emotionally affected by it, and makes me hope that somewhere, either here or in the actual FF Civil War tie-ins, JMS will shed some light on Reed's decision.

JASON: If you would have asked me if I missed the Doombots a couple of months ago, I honestly don’t know what my answer would have been. But seeing them in their full blow glory, I gotta say that love the knuckleheads. I love the egotism dripping of the Doombots, they're so much better then us because they're made in Doom's image. I love Ben and Johnny’s banter, and the way Doom himself makes his appearance was a very nice touch. Though, having the last page of part one being Thor’s hammer was just a bit anticlimactic, seeing how they already threw the mallet on the cover of the issue.

MICHAEL: I love the fact that the Doombots are treated as a serious threat. Considering all the damn times Doombots have been thought to be Doom for like entire six-parters and they held their own against the FF or whomever, it’s good to see that they’re actually, by now, taken seriously as a force.

JASON: Nice to see that they remember Doom not only had the mystical armor he gained during “Unthinkable,” but also he was trapped in hell at the end of, I believe, “Authoritative Action.” And “There is Doom enough for all!” Bloody amazing. I’m so digging this two part, although I do find myself wishing that maybe it really should have something to do with Civil War.

MICHAEL: Wait, this is a CW tie-in? Are you sure? [Checks cover] Damn. You’re right.

JASON: Ok, Ben almost lost points of the “It’s hammer time!”, but he redeemed himself with “You betcha, sunshine.” And I’m really hoping that Doom pulling a Lo Pan means that he’s kept some of the magic skills he gained in “Unthinkable.” I was really hoping that Doom would have been able to pick up the hammer. And yes, I thought of a couple of ways it was feasible, but since it didn’t happen, it’s a moot point. Finally, of course we are to assume that the person holding the backpack with the initials D.B. is Don Blake.

MICHAEL: Oh, totally missed the backpack. Thought the epilogue seemed pretty random. Of course, I have no clue who Don Blake is. Since you obviously do, I will ask for other confused readers: who is Don Blake? Please tell me he’s a senator pushing for the Superhero Registration Bill so I will feel some vindication for having bought this.

JASON: There will be no vindication from me. Don Blake is the first mortal to hold the power of Thor. He showed up in Journey into Mystery 80 or something. (Sure, I could wiki it, but I'm lazy). If memory serves, Blake was always Thor. Odin had gotten sick of Thor theeing and thouing like he had the Rainbow Bridge stuck up his rump, so Odin put the wammy on him, stripping Thor of his powers and memories. Thor then became Donald Blake- a mild mannered doctor whose powers consisted of a bum leg and always-warm hands.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

JASON: If you couldn’t tell, I really enjoyed this issue. It has everything I look for in FF comic: Doom, Hell, and Ben. I think that if you’re a regular FF reader, you probably dug it. But if you bought it for the Civil War content, well… I hope that you’re a completist, because otherwise, you’re out some money.

MICHAEL: I’m out some money.