Fantastic Four: The End

Fantastic Four: Miniseries

by Alan Davis

In a distant future, tragedy has led the Fantastic Four to dissolve their partnership and go their separate ways, but when an alliance of aliens and old enemies threatens the Earth, the heroes must work together to save humanity.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Fiction

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail and others.

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful and fun, the great Alan Davis exploring the Marvel Universe of the future. Full of space opera science fiction as the Fantastic Four should be, this is a solid good entry in "The End" series of graphic novels.

[Jim Ef · Rating 3 out of 5]

5.4/10

'A new beginning' would be a more accurate title.
The story is fine and I can't complain about the art.

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 3 out of 5]

Поредният Марвелски тюрлюгювеч - десетки знайни и незнайни герои и безсмислена пата-кюта от първата до последната страница... Единствено пълнотата на колекцията ме кара да продължавам да събирам новелите, но търпението ми е към КраяТ

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's begin by pointing out the title is very misleading. "The End" was a series of Marvel one shots and limited series that supposedly tell the very last adventure of their heroes. Well, in this case, not only does it not seem like the last adventure, it actually ends on a cliffhanger that seems to indicate this was anything but THE END.

Now, that being said, this was an enjoyable series with beautiful art. I've always been a fan of Alan Davis and Mark Farmer's art, and they are at their best with this one. Women in spandex never look better, but the guys look tough and the monsters look scary as well. Just great art and coloring.

The story isn't bad either. It's set in the future, as are all "The End" stories. Reed Richards has helped make the universe into a Utopia, but unfortunately his son and daughter were killed in a battle with Dr. Doom along the way. The Fantastic Four have basically gone their separate ways.

The "mutant war" is hinted at, and as such no mutants appear. I'm guessing this has something to do with X-Men: The End, so I need to read that soon. Most of the Avengers show up, as well as cosmic characters such as the Watcher and Galactus, the Inhumans, Kree, Skrulls, Namor, Silver Surfer...pretty much everyone BUT the mutants it seems like. As far as villains go, we have Doom, Annihilus, Super Skrull, Mole Man, Attuma, and many more. I guess Alan Davis, who also wrote this one, tried to put as many FF related characters as possible into the story.

The story got a little complicated, but overall it was very epic in scope and the art made it all look great. If you're a Fantastic Four fan, pick this up for sure. However, just think of it as a futuristic story starring the FF and not as "The End", otherwise you may be a little disappointed.

[Rodolfo Santullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seguimos reseñando -y leyendo, mirando y escribiendo, que no queda otra- para Ud. Uno más de la colección Salvat así bajamos la pila de acumulados. Corría 2007 cuando Marvel planeó realizar varias series pensadas cómo “El fin”, o sea, el cierre de sus historias pero no de a de veras sino dentro de sus colecciones regulares a modo de historia alternativa, digamos, y luego seguir cómo si nada. No lo realizaron finalmente en muchas -me constan tan sólo tres: esta de hoy, Capitán América El Elegido y Vengadores- pero en general los resultados son considerados muy buenas historias. Por lo pronto, la que hoy nos ocupa lo es sin ninguna duda. Y para ser una historia que se llama “El fin” es increíblemente luminosa, optimista y feliz. Pero no comienza así, claro que no. De hecho Alan Davis -autor integral del relato- propone una gran tragedia que genera si no el final de los FF si una separación de hecho, porque la historia comienza efectivamente unos añitos después de dicha tragedia con nuestros héroes cada uno por su lado. Las cosas han cambiado para los FF y para el mundo. Reed sigue obsesionado con su trabajo y no sale de su laboratorio; Sue recorre el mundo en un viaje místico que los demás no comparten ni comprenden; Ben se casó con Alice, tiene tres hijos y está instalado en el felizmente colonizado Marte y Johnny es nada menos que el líder de los Avengers. En cuanto al mundo, un pacto con las grandes razas alienígenas ha generado una suerte de cuarentena -palabreja de moda- donde la Tierra ha quedado separada del resto y en ese aislamiento ha florecido de maravilla hasta alcanzar una suerte de utopía feliz. Que, por supuesto, no va a durar.
Davis juega el mismo juego que en El Clavo -otra gran historieta de su autoría, en ese caso para DC- y recrea, más que una historia puntual de los FF, el Universo Marvel a pleno. Y demuestra tenerla atada en cuanto a conceptos delirantes -algo bien propio de los FF- la machaca superheroica, la épica, una historia de esas más grandes que la vida misma y una reinvención propia de los personajes cargada de amor y cariño por los mismos. ¿Y el dibujo? ¿Que podemos decir del tremendo dibujo de Alan Davis? Casi que diría que vayan a googlearlo, por aquello de que una imágen vale más que mil palabras. Es asombroso página a página, cómo narrador secuencial, en splash pages de esas que te quitan el aliento, en expresiones, en movimientos, en todo, vamos. Si Davis siempre ha sido un inmenso dibujante, este trabajo sólo remarca una infinita capacidad para deslumbrar en el género de superhéroes.

[Neil McCrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel created a series of mini-series detailing "The End", or final story for each of their major characters and super teams. For the most part these final stories are grim and dismal affairs, but Davis' take on the end of the Fantastic Four is refreshingly optimistic, hopeful and full of wonder.

The plot of the graphic novel is entirely overwhelmed by fan service. Davis manages to cram every enemy, ally and major FF plot point into one very busy storyline. The narrative skeleton is just not strong enough to support all this meat. The book is still a hell of a lot of fun for long time FF fans, and honestly if this is your first (or second, or third) introduction to the characters you really have a lot more FF to read before embarking on this thing.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Davis is completely underrated! If this WAS the last story, that would be fine with me. But that last page...

[Sean Polite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another addition to Marvel's "The End" series of flagship titles, the story focuses on an event in the past that splinters the harmony of Marvel's First Family of Superheroes (underlying a villainous scheme, as always). The main characters (Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, Human Torch) are played up to their synching strengths and weaknesses (For example: No matter how many times its redone, Reed's obsession with research/problem solving and resulting isolatory nature gives Mr. Fantastic a charm akin to writing in a good human flaw). Their strained relationships are at the center of the tale, with gorgeous visual splashes of the otherwordly characters and lands by "Excalibur" artist Alan Davis, who also writes the mini-series. Doom, Anihilus, She-Hulk, the Skrulls and various other complementary players for the F4 are given their due panel time. In only a handful of issues, wrapping up a series is going to feel somewhat rushed, but the mad pace fits the scientific wonder and interstellar awe that lies at the foundation of Fantastic Four. The aforementioned event covers the departure of a key player, which has been done to death (tee hee) interchangably with each member of the team throughout the FF's 50+ year run. It's handled as well as the very temporary nature of death in comics can be (especially in the last 5 or so years) A key hook--Ben Grimm a.k.a. Thing some almost 50 years later clobbers the hearts and funny bones of the reader, as you get a look at his family, and the interplay with Uncle Johnny "Human Torch" Storm doesn't lose a single beat. Ambitious, grand, and grounded in the people who make Marvel's world go round (with shameless cameos), it's a solid read.

[aLejandRø · Rating 3 out of 5]

El legendario Alan Davis nos presenta en esta miniserie de seis episodios, otro clásico conflicto cósmico/familiar tan característico de la Primera Familia Marvel.

Ambientado en un futuro próximo y por tratarse en lo previo de una “historia final”, Davis no escatima en incluir una extensa galería de héroes y villanos, que sumados a un ritmo y acción vertiginosa aseguran el entretenimiento.

A pesar de que las distintas tramas no encajan del todo bien entre sí, el tomo es auto contenido por lo que no es necesario un conocimiento previo de la situación.
Se destaca sí, el arte clásico (“tradicionalista” según el autor) y refinado de un Davis, muy claro narrativamente y visualmente espectacular.

[Martin Doychinov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Доколкото разбрах от допълнителните материали, идеята на тази мини-поредица е да е последното приключение на фантастичната четворка. Авторът се е постарал да включи камари от най-известните им врагове и приятели и е създал едно приключение, което е нещо като инфантилна космическа опера.
С основата на сюжета е могло да се направи много повече, ако е имало желание и капацитет. Все пак ми хареса фактът, че в по-голямата си част се развива в космоса. Въпреки последното, си е жив детски комикс с яко маризене и без особено голяма художествена стойност.
3.5*

[MatiBracchitta · Rating 3 out of 5]

La piedra fundacional de este cómic es simple: Darle un final a los Cuatro Fantásticos. ¿Se cumple? Sí, y no.

Este es otro de esos cómics que me cuesta puntuar. El trabajo de Alan Davis es soberbio, sobre todo en el apartado artístico. Sin tener viñetas espectaculares, logró mezclar un estilo clásico y nostálgico con cierto aire moderno. En el aspecto narrativo, encuentro acertado (y un lindo guiño) la presencia de los diferentes e icónicos antagonistas que los 4F han enfrentado a lo largo de su historia, pues creo que la inmensa mayoría hacen su aparición de una forma u otra.

Sin embargo, considero que se trata de un exceso de fan service que, muchas veces, no se encuentra justificado y peca de oportunista. Durante toda la lectura sentí que algo me hacía ruido y ahora que lo estoy escribiendo me doy cuenta que esto es lo que chirriaba: ¡Los oportunismos son demasiados!

Entiendo y respeto el planteo que Alan Davis realiza a la hora de diagramar una historia: Debe ser entretenida y pensada para adolescentes. Lo entiendo. No todas las historias deben ser revolucionarias, solo interesantes y entretenidas. Pero aún así hay una coherencia argumental que no debe ser rota, y el oportunismo de que los diferentes desenlaces de los héroes lleguen al mismo tiempo a su conclusión (y que estas se superpongan para solucionarse mutuamente) me ha dejado un gusto amargo.

Aún así, tengo que decir que la historia cumple. Es una buena historia de los 4F. No es una historia inolvidable, pero sí nos brinda momentos tiernos y una buena sensación al terminar de leerlo.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Davis is a really awesome writer and artist, and probably underrated, if you ask me. This is another example--he writes a story here that could only work with Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, but because he also understands that there isn't a Marvel U without them, the rest of their longstanding family and friends, from the Inhumans to Spidey to Doctor Strange, all get parts to play in varying roles. We also see some great work in how many enemies the FF have and how they're still dangerous, even after all these years.

The art is slick as hell, as you'd expect. Davis's fluid lines are on full display, with great inks from Farmer.

This is a love letter to a team that's often gotten a bad turn, especially with the extremely mad scientist Reed thing of the past decade. He's still that here--but not in the evil way so much as the hard to see the forest for the trees way. That's the best Reed. And that's why this is one of the best FF comics I've read in years.

[Alondra (Chibi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ay, no sé que tanto pueda decir porque quedé bien fría después de leer este tomo.

Los Cuatro Fantásticos siempre han sido de los personajes más llamativos a mis inexpertos ojos. Lo diferentes e iguales que pueden ser cuatro individuos me fascina. Pero este tomo no me hizo sentir nada de lo que esperaba.

Además, con un título como: "Cuatro Fantásticos: El Fin" uno esperaría que todo terminara de forma horrible, pero nopo niña. Siento que el final de cuento me hizo perder mi emoción.

Ojo, me demoré muchísimo en leer estas páginas y eso puede influir en lo poco que terminó gustandome. La vida no me dejaba continuar con esta historia🤣

Reto ahorro por libro: ✔✔

[Gabriel Llagostera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenida historia, aunque tiene muchos plots que no terminan de cuajar y se pierde el foco de lo que se quiere contar originalmente. Lo destacado es el dibujo: la espectacularidad y la épica con la que Davis nunca falla.

[Sammy Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit some of the “Galactic Council” scenes reminded me of Phantom Menace and yes I mean that in the worst way but those scenes are few and far between thankfully. Overall I enjoyed this as my first full Fantastic Four comic.

[Fernando Gálvez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miniserie de seis números que nos relata la última gran aventura de "La Primera Familia" del universo Marvel.

Luego de un trágico acontecimiento sucedido en el último enfrentamiento con el enemigo de toda la vida, Doctor Doom, los miembros tomarán caminos separados en busca de su recuperación emocional.

Estamos en un universo diferente (sin mutantes), con alianzas galácticas, nuevos experimentos interdimensionales y donde el trazo estilizado de la dupla Alan Davis/Mark Farmer saca provecho a toda su experiencia para plantear diferentes propuestas narrativas y ritmos entre una página y otra dibujando a una cantidad importante de personajes relacionados con el universo de los 4F y dando espacio protagónico justo a cada uno de ellos.

Una historia entretenida, de rápida lectura pero que no es recomendable para quien esté ajeno a este título.

[One Flew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this future vision of the Fantastic Four. Richards was always considered the smartest man in the Marvel Universe but never actually seemed to acheive that much, Davis shows a future without Doom or family constraints to hold Reed back. I like the way Davis ties together so much of the FF mythos, along with a lot of the other Avengers crowd. Despite the fact that the ending itself was average if not outright bad, overall I loved it.

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

La linea The End, che presenta ipotetici finali dei personaggi Marvel più amati, ha prodotto molte cose altalenanti. Persino questa miniserie, affatto disprezzabile, ha dei momenti veramente noiosi. Questo nonostante la storia ci sia e la trama non sia male, mentre i disegni di Alan Davies restano ottimi.

[Nerdmaling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jag gillar FF och är också uppvuxen med serien. Jag gillar också när man gör någon sorts "slutet på en era" serier som vågar vara serier.
Det främsta exemplet är kanske Alan Moores "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" men det finns flera serier som vågar berätta historier som blir avslut i samma ton som serierna är gjorda i. Dvs inte någon storslagen serie i stil med Kindome Come med död, episka avslut där man dekonstruerar superhjälte-myten utan mer avslut. The End helt enkelt.

Jag kan snabbt nämna John Brynes Superman & Batman: Generations som få verkar gilla bortsett från mig och jag har här också recenserat Hulk"The End" av Peter David.

Den här börjar bra med premissen vad gör hjältarna när världen är räddad och hur hanterar man priset man betalat. Reed Richard gräver ner sig i arbete efter att deras barn dött i kampen mot Doom. The Ting är bokstavligt talat pappaledig på mars. Det är också en lite cool Lovecraftiansk bihistoria som och en klassisk men ganska coola teckningar som gör att den faktiskt får en väldigt stark 2:a som lika gärna kunde ha varit en svag 3:a.

Det är inte en jättedålig serie men den lyckas inte heller uppbåda något engagemang trots att premisserna finna där. Allt behöver inte vara överdådigt dramatiskt men det blir tyvärr en besvikelse när det heller inte blir något särskilt.... nånting av det hela.

Men gillar man FF så slår man ihjäl lite tid med en ok serie.

[Irvin Ricardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story even though it was very saturated with plots and characters, I started this story thinking that I would read a story about how a family would be forced to collaborate again for a greater good but literally until the last issue of the event this happens so I was a little disappointed by that, although it was interesting to see how the Fantastic 4 lived their lives separately, and personally, perhaps because the edition in which I read the story did not have the best quality of paper, I was not that much of a fan of the art, especially in the panels in which there were too many characters in scene. However, my interest in reading more stories about the first family of Marvel Comics remains alive.

F♥️4️⃣

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty ambivalent about all of this in that I'm not sure whether it's good (3*) or great (4*). There's a lot of cool stuff in here, but I feel like there are also a lot of dangling threads!

And I"m not sure that the Fantastic Four book really needs this much Avengers to scale up the story. You wind up with too big a universe and not as tight a focus.

I think it falls short of greatness simply because it never coalesces around a threat. Ultimately, it seems to be a too cute and too simpletime travel story with a lot of trappings around it to make it more exciting.

[Mathias Villafañe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me intrigaba mucho este tomo, pensaba que iba para un lado pero termino yendo para otro.
En principio tenemos a los 4F separados, en un contexto interesante, un futuro distópico Seguimos a cada uno de los integrantes por separado y vemos como viven y que es lo que hacen luego del distanciamiento. Reed trabaja en algo que no se sabe bien que es al principio, pero poco a poco va teniendo sentido. Ben parece estar feliz con su familia, Johnny pertenece a los avengers, y Sue esta en la busqueda de algo que sera importante para la trama. Todas las tramas se iran juntando poco a poco, y la historia cerrará muy bien. Es ciencia ficcion pura y dura.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a big Fantastic Four fan, so of course I wanted to see what kind of ending they would come up with. A lot of other character cameos, and an okay story that includes pretty much all of their biggest villains. Strangely the only character to have aged is Doctor Strange, and being a supposed ending, it was also a very non-ending finish, which is to say, not the usual morbid death one would expect, but rather a new beginning. But isn't that what comic books are all about? Some of these characters will be around forever, and thats a good thing.

[Andres Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buena historia de los cuatro fantasticos y la aparición de los personajes del universo que empezaron con esta familia, es una pena que con el pasar el tiempo está familia haya pasado a segundo plano ya que estamos en la época en que los vengadores y los x men sean los que más destaquen y es que después de todo los personajes más iconicos y muchos personajes salieran de la aventuras de esta familia y en esta obra nos lo muestra, esperemos que pronto una serie, una película nos impulse el amor de nuevo por esta familia.

[Omni Theus · Rating 3 out of 5]

April 9, 2024
3 out of 5 stars. Not a bad read. Just not all that great either. Feels like Alan Davis/Marvel wanted to piggy back off the good cosmic work of Abnett & Lanning with this 'What If' kind of story. Without the explosiveness, excitement and mind bending twists. Seems more like a guest appearance - who's who of Marvel without the pay offs.

An element of the story which may have triggered the creative juices of Hickman is Davis' use of Reed's hubris and the Negative Zone gateway. The book is OK for 6 issues without being great. Somewhere between average to good.

[Gustavo · Rating 5 out of 5]

En este tomo, Alan Davis nos relata una historia 100% de ciencia ficción y superhéroes, incluyendo a una gran cantidad de personajes de la historia de los 4F, tanto enemigos como aliados. Es notable como el autor logra manejar a todos estos personajes y darle a cada uno su momento en una saga relativamente corta. El dibujo de Davis es quizá un poco noventoso, pero es muy dinámico, con viñetas expresivas que realzan la acción.

[Ondra Král · Rating 4 out of 5]

Když jsem četl End poprvé v roce 2014, zafixoval jsem si ho jako jednu z nejhorších věcí v UKK. Dneska jsem mu dal druhou šanci a od začátku jsem k příběhu přistupoval jako k velké poctě Alana Davise FF. A ejhle, v téhle rovině to nádherně funguje <3. Přesto by příběh potřeboval místy vylepšit.
3,5*

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of these "The End" books that Marvel was doing for awhile, but I always have time for Alan Davis. His art is as amazing as ever and he tells a good story of a possible future. Its a shame that his version of the FF don't really come together until the final issue, as I would have enjoyed seeing him handle the team dynamics, but its still quite enjoyable.

[Hamish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glorious. These types of out-of-continuity tales are what Davis excels at; it gives him the opportunity to include everything. Davis the writer knows what Davis the artist likes to draw, and the former pulls together a bunch of awesome, off-the-wall shit, and miraculously ties it all together. The whole FF mythos is here, and Davis the artist draws the shit out of it. Fun fun fun.

[Dimitris Patriarcheas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Η αλλιώς το τέλος λίγο πριν τη νέα αρχή, καθώς ο τίτλος είναι λίγο παραπλανητικός. Διασκεδαστικό γιατί παρελαύνουν όλοι σχεδόν οι ήρωες και οι κακοί από αυτή τη σειρά, αλλά για τον ίδιο λόγο λίγο κουραστικό με τις συνεχόμενες εναλλαγές σε σύμπαντα, χαρακτήρες και υποπλοκες, χάνεις λίγο την μπάλα και το ενδιαφέρον.