Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection, Book 2

Fantastic Four (1998) (Single Issues) #67-70, 500-502

by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo (Illustrator), Casey Jones (Illustrator)

Collects Fantastic Four (1997) #67-70, #500-502. Dr. Doom wants to destroy the Fantastic Four once and for all, and what he'll do to achieve victory is unthinkable! When Doom balances his technological power with new magic, he strikes at his greatest enemies in new ways! Franklin, sent to hell! The Thing, beaten nearly to death! Valeria's first word: DOOM! And Reed, fresh out of ideas! Life for the FF will never be the same after this!

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

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2011

About the author

Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: These story arcs are kind of serious and sad!

There's still plenty of action, but the three story arcs contained in this collection are more serious, and sometimes heart-wrenching, since they deal with the major "issues" and insecurities that each member of the family has: Reed's insecurity about his inability to protect his family despite his intellect, and his ego; Sue's worries that she's not a good mother and the pain of having a miscarriage; Ben having to learn to live a new life as The Thing; and Johnny, well, Johnny actually steps up as the common-sense, tough-love character. The stories are also about how horrible it is for the Richards children to deal with the trauma that they must, because they're their parents' children. It's not quite as dark as Batman or spy comics that explore the "life" taking it's toll on the protagonists souls, but the realistic aspect of the kids being afraid isn't washed away in bright superhero primary colors. Although the words are a little cheesy at times, since comics are mostly written in dialog, and there are things that characters "say" that real people wouldn't necessarily say out loud, this was so good. I just wanted to give hugs all around to the characters.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waid always does this to me! I think "hey, he is writing some fun and interesting stories - I will keep reading" and then BAM he gets SUPER dark. He did this on Daredevil and it is happening for this collection.
Let's get the art out of the way - really solid. A bit too cartoony for the darkness of the story but visually a treat to look at.

Story? Well Dr. Doom thinks "I want to do magic instead of science" and instantly becomes a super powerful wizard. Okay - fine - good. But then the darkness - Doom kidnaps Franklin (the son of Reed Richards and Sue) and holds him hostage in Hell for a LONG time. So long that after he is rescued the kid is in a catatonic state. that's dark! That is so dark! that is TOO dark for what I want in a fun comic. Waid likes to literally torture his characters (he did it with Daredevil and does it with Sue, Ben and Johnny in this volume) and when he tortures a little boy - that's too far for me. Maybe Mark Waid is a nice guy in real life but he is very sick when he writes like this.

And the torture doesn't even serve the plot. And the plot? Not a fan. Doom is torturing Reed by saying "I am torturing your family and your child, try to learn magic to stop me". Okay...weird. But with the help of Dr. Strange Reed does learn some magic. Well not much. In fact it is very stupid. Reed gets an artifact from Strange and Strange doesn't tell him directly how to use it but Reed figures out "if I just say I am an idiot, it works". Why? I guess Waid wanted Reed to learn the importance of humility and not knowing everything. But, to me, that's dumb. Reed has never been arrogant (in the times I read the FF at least) and a scientist like Reed KNOWS he doesn't know everything - that's why he is a scientist - to learn more. Even the part - Reed needs to believe in magic - is stupid and pointed out to him by The Thing "Reed you see magic all the time, Dr. Strange, Agatha Harkness was your nanny" so why would Reed need to learn this? He knows magic exists.

I think I could live with the very weak 3rd grade resolution of "Reed tricks Doom into saying something that breaks Doom's pact with the demons who gave Doom power" if it wasn't for the fact Waid had just tortured a little child and then spends the next issue dwelling on it. Making sure we, as readers know, this child is VERY scarred by all the torture that the writer has just written. Waid...you are sick.

Also - some of my negative reaction comes from the hype. "This is the best FF ever" is something you see on a lot of forums. Nope. Not for me. I prefer the childlike fun of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, or the smart writing and beautiful art of John Byrne. This? Not a fan.

[Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know much about the Fantastic Four, but I do know that their archnemesis is Doctor Doom, and this is a hell of a Doom story. The first issue is entirely Doom-centric, which is wonderful because it allows you to understand his motivations and catch up on the necessary backstory, why he hates Our Heroes—mostly Reed—so much.

I'm sure this is the scrumdiddlyumpteenth time that Doom has launched an attack on the Fantastic Four, but it was the first I've read, and it must be different from many others because now he's able to get to them through their kids, as villains so often do. The things Doom does in this story are genuinely scary, and I give Waid and Wieringo props for really pulling me into the awfulness without having years and years of familiarity with these characters. There's all sorts of pain and misery and dastardly manipulation, and it's all rooted in the characters. Last book, I was wondering how things would get serious: shit gets serious in this book, and it's fantastic. Pun entirely intended, as it always is in FF reviews.

And if that weren't enough, Waid actually spends a couple issues dealing with the aftermath, and it's incredibly affecting. The first Waid book I read was Kingdom Come , which I thought was overrated, so I've really had to get over that bad first impression to appreciate that this Waid guy, he knows how to write superhero comics after all.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waid and Wieringo continue their run on Fantastic Four with an arc mostly focusing on Doom. The first issue of this volume fleshes out some of Doom's earlier days leading up to his despotic regime in Latveria. We get some insight into Doom's tragic relationship with a Romani woman named Valeria (who Valeria Richards is named for) and the lengths he goes to maintain his magical aura. The story then takes a darker turn as Doom attacks the Fantastic Four via their children using some forbidden magic. Doom's primary aim is to unseat Richards as the primary scientific mind, though ironically the entirety of Doom's approach is using magic. Strange gets involved in a rather entertaining way, but ultimately it's Reed's own resolve that prevails. Aside from the main plot, there are some light hearted moments between individual team members highlighting Waid's ability to balance the superheroics with the moments of levity. Unfortunately, the main plot is rather forgettable superhero stuff that overstayed its welcome quickly. Wieringo's artwork doesn't appeal to me all that much, but I can see why some people would enjoy the stylish cartoonish look he goes for.

[Joseph R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this volume is about a confrontation with Doctor Doom. Vincent von Doom has been an on-going and iconic adversary for the Fantastic Four. Doom tries a new attack, committing to an all-magical assault. He makes a deal with demons to get some extra witchcraft abilities which he uses to torment Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. Doom's initial focus is on Valerie and Franklin, Reed and Sue's children, making him extra-evil. The conflict causes a lot of damage to Marvel's first family, not all of it resolved in this book.

The story was interesting, especially providing some backstory for Doom that was relevant for the current narrative. He is a fascinating character and used well here. The overall narrative has some character development for Reed and Ben which was nice. The art was a bit hodge-podge, with some different styles for the characters. I was never confused about who was who but the changes were noticeable.

Mildly recommended.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, talk about highs and lows...
What starts as a walk down memory lane for Victor Von Doom, leads into a complete crippling of Marvel's first family. Doom was doing his best "contingency for everyone" plan, cutting everyone off, taking them down, and forcing Reed to humble himself. Wasn't complete without Doom monologuing to Reed about the man he is, while also talking about himself. The aftermath of the attack alone was also powerful, as it feels like the prototype for the infamous Hickman written aftermath issues years later. Ben Grimm, you'll always be my favorite comic uncle.

[José Ignacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic (pardon the pun) character work from Waid

This has to be Top 10 FF stories of all time. Might even be Top 5. The amount of character work that Waid manages to get out of such an insane story is amazing. This is Dr. Doom at his worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) and the way Waid plays with Franklin and Ben especially is just phenomenal.

Wieringo's art is still solid and enjoyable. Overall an excellent continuation of the run and yet another excellent addition to Waid's bibliography.

[Shane Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I found this Volume to be a lot better than the previous. Mark Waid has a really good handle on these characters, and taking them through such a personal story was a wise choice. Dr. Doom makes his triumphant return, with a lot more focus on magic this time around. Waid does a great job with Doom, and the impact this encounter with him has on the FF does really interesting things going forward. I also liked Wieringo's art more in this one.

[Greg Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same as the first volume, Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo are absolutely thrilling with a couple arcs that detail Doom going to wild and terrifying lengths to inaction his revenge on the F4, specifically targeting Reed Richards through his children. The focus on the family, upon Reed's limitations of knowledge beyond science, and upon their recovery from the mayhem is gripping, just absolutely enjoyable.

[Robotato · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's obvious there is some weight here to the confrontation with Doom, and the aftermath is clear. But maybe due to my lack of history with the Fantastic Four or something else but the whole encounter ends up feeling rather cheap and not very earned, in line with how these big super hero confrontations tend to. Very likely that someone with more context and established buy in from before finds this take unfair, but it unfortunately did not fully hit the mark for me.

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I can appreciate the Doom and Reed dynamic, I don’t really know their characters that well, and I was looking for fun sci-fi adventures, so this just wasn’t for me. I did like the last two issues and the speech that Ben says

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blah.

I'm not sure I buy the magic on either side of this fight.

[Audrey Hacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I STARTED SOBBING WHILE READING THE LAST ISSUE UHHHH

[Ekenedilichukwu Ikegwuani · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing story arc. this has really really really good character development and interactions

[Lillian Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Doom-centric story. Very fitting for #500.

Love this run.

[Brendan Mckillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Waid understands the Fantastic Four and uses their entire cast of the family to tell compelling and entertaining stories.

[Zachariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that took a turn. This funny found family with sitcom-like stuff happening to them was kidnapped and tortured by their worst enemy. Like. Fuck.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those last two issues almost made me cry

[John Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the family dynamic but still hard to find something that hooks me.

[ಥ_ಥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so much more then volume 1. This is more family oriented and Dr Doom is a lot of fun.

[Βαγγέλης Τόλιος · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok she's mother.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Latverian takeover arc is some of the most gripping superhero storytelling I've ever read. A pity that, instead of resolving, it devolves into Waid playing with action figures.

The heaven arc is ambitious, but self-indulgent to the point that the plot and character developments have to be announced in order for them to proceed. The same goes for the Spidey-Torch team-up.

No clue what the last issue was going for.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some more fantastic stories here - Doom searching for a long lost love, and his everlasting quest for power, this time using magic. Franklin in Hell, and the Thing being the one who helps him out of the psychological aftereffects, and the Reed / Dr Strange team up. The Franklin/Ben story is brilliant, even emotional, whilst the rest is thrilling and often shocking!

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the second volume in this series. I particularly liked Waid's novel approach to Dr. Doom. I look forward to reading more in this series.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Action packed and full of family love, this was quite enjoyable.