Fantastic Four, Volume 2: Original Sin

Fantastic Four (2014) (Collected Editions)

by James Robinson, Leonard Kirk, Marc Laming (Illustrator)

The hits keep coming, and Fantastic Four are being torn apart at their very foundation! Will Ben be able to cope with the Original Sin that he's learned about Johnny? Will Sue and Reed lose Franklin and the rest of the Future Foundation? And will what's left of the team be able stop their headquarters from being shut down by...the Avengers?! James Robinson and Leonard Kirk continue their epic deconstruction of Marvel's First Family as Original Sin rolls on!

Collecting: Fantastic Four 6-10

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

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

James Dale Robinson is a British writer of American comic books and screenplays.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The downfall of the Fantastic Four continues. The Avengers help kick the Fantastic Four out of the Baxter Building and Sue goes ballistic! Ben learns that Johnny botched one of Reed's attempts to make him human and Reed and Johnny lied about it. Ben storms off and by the time Reed catches up with him, it looks like Ben murdered the Puppet Master! Ben winds up on Ryker's Island with a bunch of super-criminals...

Wow. I wonder if James Robinson knew his job was the turn the lights out when he signed on to write the Fantastic Four.

Things are looking grim for the foursome in this outing. The Fantastic Four have been evicted from the Baxter Building. Johnny's going down a self-destructive path. Ben's in the joint after it looked like he killed the Puppet Master. Reed and Sue are living in an experimental community in Michigan. The Future Foundation kids are living at Camp Hammond with the original Human Torch.

It was cool to see Sharon Ventura, aka Ms. Marvel, aka She-Thing again, even though she's a criminal now. I also like that the original Human Torch is in the supporting cast. So who's pulling the strings behind the Fantastic Four's demise? No idea, honestly.

The story and the art are really good. My only gripe is the slow pace but that's my gripe with most modern comics.

I really like James Robinson and Leonard Kirk on the Fantastic Four. Too bad it's their job to pull the plug. Four out of five stars.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so awesome omg!

I loved this one again and okay so here we have the tie-in to original sin like what Johnny did during one of those times when Reed could have cured him and the effects of that and wow its an emotionally charged story and we see the falling of alliances between them and it makes you feel bad for Ben and then the stuff with Pupper master and him going to Rykers and the confrontation with the villains there and the She-thing/Sharon ventura as another mystery builds there and I love the whole thing and it really makes you feel bad for Ben :(

And then the stuff with Johnny and what feels like a nervous breakdown and Robinson does really well to show the state of his mind and how its affecting him and the drama there and all, is fun and will be interesting to follow in future volumes and Sue's journey and well whatever Reed has gotten him into vs the new Frightful four of the mad thinker and I love who shows up in the and it makes the story so much better!

Plus the childrens journey with Agent Hammond and omg its a heart-filled story and I love the whole way is set up and really makes you feel a bit of happiness.

Ahh man this volume really showing the FF at their worst and the way each of them is struggling with something just shows how amazing the writing of Robinson is and its just beautiful! <3

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

After things got bad for the FF in the previous volume, things get even more bad in this one. Which comes as a surprise to absolutely no one, since the first issue of Robinson's run kicked off with, essentially, a list of all the various and sundry ways the FF fell apart, and all we've been doing is catching up. Kind of dilutes the dramatic tension when we know Ben will end up in jail, etc. And because all ten issues to date have been nothing but a litany of woes, it's a hell of a downer, with nothing to lighten the tone. And until this volume, nothing to indicate that this was even going anywhere. In all honesty, knowing that this book would be canceled a year or so down the line, this kind of looks like a concerted attempt to dismantle the team from within. But I know that isn't the case, it's just coincidental timing. Or, maybe, editorial saw the direction this was going and took the opportunity presented.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The FF continue to have the worst week ever. Not quite as much action in this volume, but certainly an increase in the melodrama. Probably my favorite moment was when Sue - taking a cue from a few Stephen King title characters - goes ballistic in reaction to some "friends" who stopped by her neighborhood.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course the Fantastic Four would play a huge part in Original Sin. Who would have more interest in the death of the Watcher than them? Reed would be up on the moon and ... that's not what happens? The Fantastic Four never get involved? The crossover is just one issue of a reaveal that one of the many times Reed tried to fix Ben, Johnny screwed it up? And, even though, continuity-wise, this event happened way before the multiple times Ben Grimm did get to be human, in the story Ben is angry because Johnny screwed up his ONE chance at being normal? You're telling me that the Watcher gets killed and the creative team tells a half-hearted, throw-away story so they can get back to their downward spiral story arc? Jesus, Grandpa, what did you read me this thing for?

[Audrey Hacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are so short!! I crave nourishment...

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont hate it but its a very odd mix of old and new stories.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything gets worse for the F4 as the events of Original Sin rock the team, as well as the continued machinations of whoever is behind their current downfall. Those expecting resolutions and answers in this volume will be disappointed, as this is definitely just the next instalment of James Robinson's long-form story. The despair of the Four is evident from the get-go, and whilst Jim Hammond's story is a bright light amid all the depressing, it's definitely going to be fun to see how Robinson sorts this whole mess out. There are a lot of old faces popping back up from F4 history, and whilst this run is definitely very different to all that has come before it, it definitely feels like there's a pay-off planned later on that deserves to be seen through to the end. The artwork from Leonard Kirk is great, and Marc Laming's guest art in the latter two issues blends in well, though Dean Haspiel's Original Sin flashbacks feel very out of place. I expect the idea was to make the art seem like an old 60's F4 comic, but it just feels disjointed when surrounded by Kirk and Laming's more up to date and easy on the eye style.

[Mike Jozic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been missing the Fantastic Four and decided to finish off Robinson and Kirk's run on the last iteration of the FF to date. This second volume, despite having a tie-in to the company-wide crossover event, Original Sin, still manages to be a really entertaining self-contained story focusing on the core characters and continuing to push the "Torn Apart" plot forward. The fact that it manages to do so without feeling like a bunch of ancillary stuff from a separate story have been shoehorned in is a triumph and a testament to Robinson's deft handling of this book. It's criminal that this creative team was only allowed to handle these characters for 16 issues and an Annual. This is good solid writing, good art, and just overall good storytelling across the board. A major turning point for Marvel's first family and the midpoint of the end of the Fantastic Four as a monthly periodical. Highly recommended.

[James Lawner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fantastic Four just can’t catch a break, can they?

I’m loving this Fantastic Four series so much more than Matt Fraction’s. I just love seeing the characters go through so much, because it shows how grounded they are and it makes this storyline feel genuine and have stakes in it. I also liked the Original Sin tie-in issues, but considering how Ben Grimm might have been responsible for Victor von Doom becoming Dr. Doom (as it happened during Matt Fraction’s run on Fantastic Four), it’s kind of hypocritical for him to be mad at Johnny and Reed for failing to turn him back to human. The Future Foundation kids and their situation is still meh to me (I feel like they’ve always been meh since Jonathan Hickman’s run on FF).

Overall, great story and art, and with the air of conspiracy against the F4, it’s really shaping up to be an already intriguing series. Also, I did not know that “She-Thing” existed!

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been a Marvel guy as far as comics are concerned. Love the movies, though.

I'm cold coming into the ongoing story, but a recap page caught me up. The courts have ruled the FF are holding dangerous devices, potentially destructive to Manhattan (like we've never seen that happen before). And the kids must be taken away. Wait, there are kids, as in more than Franklin? Oh, he's gone, too.

And we pick up this trade at this point. Ben discovers a secret, and there's a locked-room mystery. Sue has gone off the reservation (a couple of times), and Reed is on a different reservation. Oh, and a de-powered Johnny is living down to his attributed hedonistic lifestyle. Interesting stuff, but I'm not sure how organic all of this is. I don't have the recent history of the Fantastic Four available in my memory, so some of the events just seem haphazard.

I want to figure out what happened/happens, but not at the top of my list.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I KNOW WHAT YOU AND REED DID, JOHNNY!!!"
- The Thing

The Original Sin event has infected this title too. Years ago, invented a super fancy one-use only cosmic ray tanning booth to unf@#$ The Thing's awful spray tan. But before Ben could use it, Johnny had a seat in it, probably to "read some articles" on pornhub, and neglected to tell Reed and Ben when they arrived. This machine was so sensitive that Johnny's elevated body temperature, from "reading articles," threw the calibration off and turned Ben into a Picasso character.
So now, Ben, the epitome of self-control and serenity has a few words for someone who couldn't keep his skinny jeans out of Ben's one, and only, chance at normality.
Oh, and then Ben goes to supervillain jail to find out that his former side-piece is running the gangs on the inside.
I'd like to see Family Guy do this with Quagmire as Human Torch and Joe and Thing.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zawiera materiały z serii: Fantastic Four #6-10 (2014).

Fantastyczna czwórka doznaje porażki, po nieudanym procesie, jaki zostaje wobec nich wytoczony. Przegrana oznacza wiele zmian w dotychczasowym życiu, w tym odebranie wychowanków z Future Fundation, jak i dzieci. Coś takiego jest jawnie niesprawiedliwe i należało by działać, a rodzina nie może polegać na przyjaciołach z Avengers.

Jednocześnie na pewnym etapie każde z czwórki bohaterów podaży swoją własną ścieżka. Johnny stracił moce i zaczyna się pogrążać w imprezowym życiu, niejako wyrzekając się swojego imienia. Reed odnajduje swoje miejsce w Nowy Edenie, gdzie kwitnie zapotrzebowanie na technologie pod dowództwem charyzmatycznego założyciela miejsca.

Sue postanawia działać i odzyskać dzieci, dlatego też robi swoje, czyli planuje dostać się tam, gdzie SHIELD przetrzymuje dzieciaki. Najgorzej jednak ma niewątpliwie Ben Grimm, ktory ładuje w... Kiciu. Za domniemane morderstwo. Przez lata wysyłał tam sporo elementu, więc na pewno będzie miał najweselej z całej czwórki.

Tytuł nie bez przyczyny ma w sobie sentencje Original Sin. Podczas tego eventu na jaw wyszły wszelkie grzeszki, jakie były do tej pory skrywane przez rozmaitych bohaterów. Jak się okazuje takowe przemilczane przewinienie względem Bena ma sam Johnny Storm. Pozostaje tylko kwestia wyznania sobie prawdy i ewentualnych konsekwencji tego czynu, który rzutował na życie Thinga.

Dzieje się tu sporo. Szczęśliwie całości towarzyszy całkiem fajna kreska, ładnie ukazującą postacie i dynamiczniejsze sekwencje. Niestety drugi tom ma swoje grzechy, a jest nim przewidywalność. Prawie wszystkie wątki można sobie w jakimś stopniu wywnioskować, dobrze zatem że całość jest przynajmniej sprawnie napisana. A mi mimo tej wtórności i głupotek (już uwierzę, że Ben kogoś zabił...) całość się podobała.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a huge FF fan, but this was good. The FF get beat up, both figuratively and literally, all their stuff gets taken away by SHIELD and they're basically labelled a threat by the government, because every time they save the world they make a big mess and one of Reed's experiments just happened to put an entire city in jeopardy. Add to that the "original sin" part where Ben learns that Johnny messed up his only chance at getting back to normal and then him and Reed lied about it, and you have a hot mess of drama. Now I'm going to have to read more to find out how they recover from all this.

[Eddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really sadden by how much I did not like this. The Thing's problem discovered during the Original Sin, seem forced a not very believable. I just do not see Ben hating Johnny for the event, depress sure stop being on the FF ok ( but done so many times loses the punch for me). Reed needs help, his 1st call is not for magic. Maybe if there were more clear threat of for Dr. Strange's talents. Wow, how lucky Scarlet Witch was free( since Robinson was writing that series at the time) Speaking of forced. I would love to read about the master mind of the plots against FF but not getting Vol. 3

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robinson's FF run continues and this book suffers from bad editorial choices. There is a much bigger arching story here and this book collects a small part of it and ends very abruptly. The story is good but too obvious that its a set up. The Original Sin revealed here seems somewhat lame given the history involved with the characters and similar events. The artwork by Kirk & Laming is good especially the scenes where there are multiple heroes. Overall, a decent read that has a literal terrible ending.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the previous volume, but still off. It is painfully obvious that the FF are being targeted by some unknown force, but the people that do notice it seem to not be overly interested in doing something about it.
The Avengers seem totally out of character by fighting with Sue Richards. They may have reluctantly guarded the Baxter Building, but no way do they actually fight a friend who just had her kids taken from her.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never read any of the Fantastic Four, but I'd figured I'd give them a shot. Interesting ideas and a great story, but not much for me here. My favorite part might just be how Leonard Kirk and Marc Laming draw Reed Richards. Even when he's not fighting crime, he's contorting his body in weird ways, it's super visually interesting and hilarious to imagine in real life.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I admit that I am intrigued by the mysteries in this storyline, I am frustrated by the incomplete nature of the storytelling (trade paperbacks used to contain full stories....this is just one story broken up at random points) and the dreary, depressing mentality of tearing the heroes down. It's become a popular way of telling superhero stories, and unfortunately, its gotten quite old.

[Sleepseeker · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I don't read much Fantastic Four comics. I read this because it's a tie in to Original Sin. It was a quick and easy read with being able to understand what happened in previous comics. I wasn't lost. I'm thinking about putting Vol 1 and future volumes on my list to read. The story of them losing their kids sounds interesting.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series continues to put the Fantastic Four through the ringer. This time the Thing discovers something that Johnny did years ago.

My favourite part though was the Sue losing her temper and taking on the entire Avengers. People forget how powerful she really is. A good read.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of twisting and stretching plot lines from the get go, epic world buildign from the start, great vibrant colouful art that leaps of the page, three-dimensional characters from the beginning and epic world building! :D

[Frans Kempe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first family continue to betaken apart. A Original Sin tie-in story is included

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad for anyone that read this thinking it was a true Tie-in because of the name. It basically had nothing to do with Original Sin, and the "truth" that Ben now knows is pretty weak.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I’m reading the entire story arc in pretty quick succession. Full review at the end.*

[Néstor Vargas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Original Sin arc was the highlight of the volume. It had a great flashback story and conflict. Eden also presented an intriguing mystery.

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

agressively okay and wildly predictable

at least the annual was good

[Raj Aich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is not as bad as I was expecting seeing the reviews and ratings. Go for it.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this part of the Original Sins storyline but guess I’m confused. That’s part of the problem with the way Marvel has been confusing their narrative.