FANTASTIC FOUR #556Written by Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch
Fantastic Four #556 is flawed, but enjoyable comic. There are numerous inconsistencies with the rest of the Marvel Universe in regards to the crux of this issue, ie, the battle with CAP, the modified Hulkbuster-like sentient robot from Nu-World.
As I said, CAP is on a rampage, executing his programming to seek out and destroy all forms of weapons and starts with an Alaskan military base. After frying five hundred or so soldiers and destroying the base, SHIELD puts the call out for all available super-heroes to come stop this thing.
That's all fine and dandy. We're in a post-Civil War world where this kind of thing should be a piece of cake to do. However, as the Fantastic Four, sans Reed, arrive on the scene, CAP has mopped the floor with thirty or fourty super-heroes, including most of the Mighty Avengers and even unregistered heroes, such as the New Avengers. Yes, this robot took out the Sentry, the most powerful being on the planet, and even Tony Stark, a man that can interface with any electronic device on the planet. How SHIELD put the call out to the New Avengers, Dr Strange, Hercules, the Young Avengers and several other non-SHIELD personal, got them all up to Alaska and didn't arrest anyone remains a mystery.
The other heroes eventually wake up, after the three FF hold their own against the robot, but you have to pretty much ignore everything that's going on in the Marvel Universe proper to look past the various hero appearances here. This is written for trades and is off in its own little bubble anyways, so I doubt anyone will be overly bothered by this.
Outside the battle, the issue managed to find time to expand Johnny's subplot with the super-villain girlfriend and it looks like his reality TV show is still in the works. There's not much to say about this, though, as it's mostly just laying foundation for the next four part arc, but I'm not sure I buy Johnny letting a criminal go like this, even if it's for some quality time between the sheets.
But, in the end, this is a fight issue and there was very little in the way of character moments. I did, however, love the last splashpage with Reed. CAP, after finishing up with heroes, initiates his teleporters and starts targetting foreign countries' military bases, as well, and, just as everyone is panicking in the control rooms, Reed comes on the line telling everyone to sit tight because he's on his way as the splashpage shows him coming back from the other side of the universe (don't ask) on one of the Fantasticars (or a hoverbike-like vehicle at least). It's rare to see Reed having a badass moment like this, so I still can't help but smile everytime I look at that page.
Verdict - Check It. Despite some glaring holes in the story, I still enjoyed this book. It's not the best book on the market and, if you came on expecting Ultimates, you'll probably be disappointed. But, when all things are said and done, this is just fun to read and that's all you can ask for.
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