Fantastic Four, Vol. 9: Eternal Flame

Fantastic Four (2018)

by Dan Slott (Writer), Mark Brooks (Cover Art), Nico Leon (Illustrator)

Celebrating 60 years of the Fantastic Four! The team has survived the events of “The Bride of Doom” and “Death in 4 Dimensions,” but the fallout of their actions still hangs heavily over Marvel’s first family. Everything they’ve been through in recent months has led to one inescapable conclusion. And now, for the Fantastic Four, life is about to become extremely unstable! Acclaimed writer Dan Slott continues to show why, after six decades, FANTASTIC FOUR is still the World’s Greatest Comics Magazine!

COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (2018) 36-39, Fantastic Four: Grimm Noir, Fantastic Four: Road Trip

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

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2022

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eternal flame is what the Human Torch has been punished with; can Reed fix him, you know, like he(didn't) fix Ben! Johnny has also left his love life in ruins yet again, how will he cope with his self-sabotage and his flamed-on-all-the-time condition. And if that's not enough, one of the team's oldest foes returns to take them on in... court! Okay, okay, I got it wrong. This Dan Slott run on the Fantastic Four has crept up on me, and suddenly by volume 9, I am loving this! What Dan Slott has done is brought back the 'family' to this series and done it delicately and without over-the-top melodrama. A fun volume with some truly beautiful nuances as the role of the Fantastic Four as parents and guardians is put under the microscope of courtroom scrutiny! Best volume so far, an 8 out of 12, Four Star read... next Reckoning War!

2023 read

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's only 4 regular issues in this plus a couple of one-shots. The 4 issues are solid. They mostly focus on the Fantastic Four being parents to their kids while Johnny whines in the background about not being able to shut down his flame. I really liked the Halloween issue that focused on Ben and Alicia taking their adopted children trick-or-treating. The issues about Bentley-23 were good as well. The Wizard sues the FF for custody of Bentley. Enter She-Hulk for two issues of courtroom drama.

As far as the one-shots go Grimm Noir by Gerry Duggan and Ron Garney was solid. The Thing fights D'Spayre. Chris Cantwell and Felipe Andrade made a piece of trash called Road Trip. It's a dumb story with terrible art.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty middle of the road as far as this run goes, and the extra collected material is nothing out of this world either.


Flame OFF, bro!

Johnny going nova all of the time is an interesting development, but it mostly takes a backseat to the courtroom dramatics of Bentley-23's custody trial, which is about as riveting as it sounds.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wake of their 60th anniversary, the Fantastic Four fight for their lives against...their own bodies and their crumbling love lives?! And if that wasn't bad enough, the Wizard is back, and he's about to target the Four right where it hurts - their children.

Sometimes it goes to show that, even though you're famous for flying off into space and dealing with cosmic and interdimensional threats, the biggest problems and the best stories can be found at home. The four actual issues of this volume of Fantastic Four prove that, with some courtroom drama and some interpersonal problems for everyone's favourite First Family that are just as high stakes and compelling as the explosive battles in the previous ones.

Also included here are some more F4 one-shots, specifically Road Trip and Grimm Noir, neither of which I've read, so I'm not incorprating them into the rating. I don't even remember Grimm Noir coming out, I'm not sure how that one slipped under my radar.

Some good fun, even if this is another volume that's a bit light on actual content. With only four issues of the main story and then the rest of the space filled by non-Slott one-shots, it'd be easy to skip this one, but I'd definitely recommend cutting through the fluff to get to the good stuff.

[Blindzider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back when Slott writing Spider-Man, I thought he would be perfect for Fantastic Four and this volume helps to solidify that idea.

Everything is firing on all cylinders now: While I wanted less children in the book, Nicki and Jo are fun to read; Johnny deals with the consequences of his action regarding his soulmate; Ben and Alicia learn more about parenting; and the whole family fends off a unique attack by the Wizard. All of this happens with visits from a couple guest stars AND new setups for future drama.

The art is still relatively consistent on the main title. This time it's two issues by Leon and two by Manna. Leon's was nice but I think Manna's is more exciting and fits the title better.

There are two "one-shots" included and I'm not sure where they are supposed to fit in continuity. They look and read like fill-ins, the first being a mini-adventure with Grimm as he tries to save a neighbor. Not Garney's best art and the conclusion is a little nonsensical. The second is a family road-trip which results in the usual shenanigans for the FF. I didn't care for the art but the story was actually decent.

Now that Slott has all of the pieces where he wants them, he's finally getting to play with them. The perceived pace of the book is speeding up, mostly due to the way he juggles multiple subplots. I just wish the artist would stay on for more issues.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estamos nos aproximando do final da fase de Dan Slott no Quarteto Fantástico. Esta fase, na minha opinião , começou bem mal e foi melhorando aos poucos, principalmente com a adição de novos "players" na família primordial da Marvel. Um ponto fraco foi a rotatividade excessiva de artistas. Neste encadernado, por exemplo, temos dois artistas para o mesmo volume e mais duas histórias que sairam fora do título regular: uma delas muito boa, escrita por Christopher Cantwell que trata sobre o digamos decaimento dos poderes do Quarteto Fantástico. Temos também uma HQ curtinha de Franklin e Valéria Richards. As demais histórias do encadernado revolvem em torno dos poderes descontrolados do Tocha Humana depois de ter traído sua esposa com a arauto do Doutor Destino. Também temos um eneredo de disputa judicial sobre a paternidade do clone do Mago, Bentley-23. São histórias bastante divertidas e que cumorem com seu propósito. Contudo também me alivia que esta fase de Slott esteja acabando porque ele não performou tão bem no Quarteto Fantástico como foi no Homem-Aranha, por exemplo.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eternal Flame is a much, much calmer read than its two predecessors. The first two issues find the F4 struggling to deal with The Human Flame's inability to flame off. The next pair find the F4 in court, represented by She-Hulk, as the Wizard sues them for custody of Bentley-23 (uh, who?). Really, the focus here is on family, especially the Thing's adopted kids.

I dug it! My favorite comics are the ones where the characters have humanity and deal with small-scale issues. Eternal Flame doesn't add a great deal to the greater F4 mythos, but it looks good, made me chuckle, and was an all-around pleasant read. That includes to two standalone issues: a noir starring Ben Grimm and a weirddd road trip starting the whole family. Honestly, the road trip gets pretty gross (a real left turn from the main series), but it wasn't bad by any means.

[Alex Sarll]

The Human Torch is stuck in burning mode as punishment for fucking Doom's fiancée, but Slott's run continues to fizzle, with even the more self-contained stories where it once redeemed itself now feeling like randomly flinging stuff at the walls; even a guest spot by Jen Walters, star of probably his best Marvel book, feels tired. Two one-shots at the end at least have impressive art (noir by Ron Garney and body horror from Felipe Andrade, respectively), but it may help that they also have different writers.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This feels like a filler stretch, with a couple issues given to a silly courtroom drama (though maybe I'm influenced by a subpar lighthearted courtroom novella I just read) and a Halloween issue that's only okay. The Grimm Noir issue is a nice one-shot, but the Road Trip one-shot's just terrible (and doesn't fit the storyline to be included here). I want to see where Slott's going with some of his bigger story, but this one's making me lose interest.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we head into the next Volume of Fantastic Four, especially on this amazing run by Dan Slott, we find ourselves in a middling Volume, one where some things need to be wrapped up before heading on to something more chaotic. AND with Marvel's First Family, something is always about to be chaotic...
Highlights:
- Johnny Storm still has a bad case of "Eternal Flame". Having had his DNA rewritten by Doom due to his indiscretion in the last Volume, Johnny can't "flame off". While the problem doesn't get solved in this Volume, we do find out that the flame can't be put out in the deepest ocean or in the vacuum of space. Reed even refers to him as more of a "Human Star"
- Usually when the Wizard shows up, it means battle not custody cases! But claiming he can offer a stable home now, he would like his clone, Bentley Wittman, who is currently in the care of Dragon Man on the Future Foundation, returned to him. Enter superhuman lawyer She-Hulk! The trick is played on all of them when young Bradley is able to generate an Alpha version of The Wizard, tricking everyone in to thinking Wizard himself is a clone! (This makes sense if you actually read the story LOL)
- There is a pretty weird noir story added where Ben Grimm plays detective and has to fight against D'Spayre, which is very trippy and weird. Didn't love the art, but it lent itself to the story.
- Road Trip was probably the most "Reed" story I have read in a while, and was both genius and hilarious. Daddy Richards decides to gather up a huge mound of space dirt to analyze while his family is on vacation (the "it's small... a vacation sized lab" line was killing me!) and ends up infecting the whole clan. Even after everything, he still wants to take another detour in the end LOL

Overall, another amazing Volume for the Fantastic Four. Can't wait to see what's next.
Recommend.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okayish volume I guess, the beginning was pretty good but the last 2 stories were meh.

So it starts off with the wizard filing a suit against the FF and wants custody of his child, Bentley-23 and that calls for the FF lawyer She-hulk to come in and in a way allows Slott to do a superhuman law story that he is famous for in his She-hulk run, and then seeing how the wizard makes compelling arguments for the FF being bad parents and how it also involves Dragon man, that one was quite fun and it does reference a lot of long term marvel continuity so it could be construed as confusing for some, but in a way for long time readers its rewarding and makes for some great scenarios that are so funny but how it ends is just awesome!

The moment between Pete and Johnny discussing the latter's recent events were so fun and Slott thrives in these interactions and are some of the best part of this book!

The last 2 story being a noir where Ben fights D'spayre was meh and the last one of FF taking a road trip then becoming zombies was meh. It should have been an elseworlds type tale and that would have worked better but unfortunately here its very one and done, but brings the mad thinker in and so maybe an okay one-off and also shows Reed the meaning the danger of too much curiosity.

So overall, a volume with a great first half and the next 2 stories are meh.

[Joy ;) · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was really really good oh my word
Also almost threw up at the end there with the insane nightmare body horror stuff but like it looked pretty?? The art was stunning?? Kinda insane and the way they just breezed by that one, yikes!!
But ohhhh my word they’re delivering on every bit of angst that they promised and I could not be happier
Wowza that was a delight to read
The way it’s so lighthearted in parts while Johnny is in the midst of the worst mental and physical collapse of his life. Like this is such a good picture of what life feels like sometimes. Sometimes it feels like you’re being burned alive but life goes on for everyone else. Like life hurts so much to you and also your family has to just keep living their lives and yeah you do too. This did such a great job of showing the way life unfortunately keeps going even while you’re not doing well.
Oh my word and it’s like the writers are doing everything in their power to humanize this little family of deeply flawed individuals. And I LOVE IT
YESS THEY MAKE STUPID DECISIONS AND HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT!! YESS THEY ACCIDENTALLY SABOTAGE THEIR RELATIONSHIPS!!! YESS THEY’RE FORCED TO PRIORITIZE THINGS AND YESS THAT CAN LEAD TO HURTING THE PEOPLE THEY CARE ABOUT AHEKFOCIWNSCJELSOJRISNWOCJE !!!!
Oh it’s just so good, guys
Solid 9/10 oh my word

[José Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read that is mostly carried by the two One-Shots

I am a little disappointed in three out of the main four issues of the ongoing series collected here, but the two additional one-shots are a lot of fun.

The one standalone issue I thoroughly enjoyed was the first one collected here: Issue #36, it’s a great, heartbreaking story that immediately starts exploring the consequences brought about by Johnny's state at the end of last volume, as well as closing the book on one of the bigger elements that Slott wasn’t really doing much with.

Aside from that, the other issues, while being fine as a standalone Halloween special and a two story arc that explores the legal family system from the perspective of superheroes… they just feel incomplete and with not much happening in them outside of the very end of Issue #39.

The real stars are the two one-shots included, Grimm Noir is… well, what it says on the title, a fun noir story starring Ben and it has a fun twist at the end. Same with Road Trip, they’re just fun, self-contained stories that play around with the FF's setting in some fun ways.

The rating is definitely closer to a 3.5 stars, it’s still a fun piece of the overall puzzle that is Slott's run.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last encounter with Doom has left Johnny Storm in a most unusual state - with his superhuman powers turned up to 11, leaving him without the ability to return to his normal state. And as much Reed has promised to restore his to his previous state of normal, we all know that he had also promised to cure the Thing of his rocky condition and had yet to manage that until the present day. So it's hard to see how this is going to go.

This book was also a chance to catch up on some more personal stories (again, Johnny and his latest relationship), and a somewhat unexpected side story involving The Wizard finally coming to claim Bentley 23 as his son - legally. And this opens up a whole other conversation about the many children in the charge of various members of the Fantastic Four. It's still rather lighthearted, but also quite on point.

The last story is a nice little one-shot from before all this craziness that is at times disturbing but in the end nicely sells us on Marvel's first family.

[Markus Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mais um divertido volume do Quartetk Fantástico do Dan Slott. E depois de muito tempo ele voltou com edições fechadas e mini-arcos que contam a história daquele gibi com uma trama maior de fundo. Aqui temos as consequências do último volume, com o Quarteto tentando lidar com o descontrole dos poderes do Johnny. Mais uma vez o Reed diz que vai consertar tudo, mas parece que sempre aparece algo pra atrapalhar, como o Mago tentando pegar a guarda do seu clone que estava sob cuidados do Homem-Dragão. Temos aí uma participação especial da Mulher-Hulk, a advogada dos Super-Herois! Pra completar, uma história fechada que saiu em uma edição especial nos EUA, de uma viagem em família do Quarteto que acabou sendo um ataque de um antigo inimigo, além de uma outra história curta da Valéria e do Franklin como um conto de fadas. A história da viagem tem um quê de terror, e os desenhos do Filipe Andrade são muito bons, e apesar da história ter uma colorização bem divertida, não atrapalha o clima de terror da história

[Derek Smyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

My four star rating is based solely on issues written by Slott, since I'm still really enjoying his run. Unfortunately, the two one-shots included in this volume weren't as good. Grimm Noir was a fun premise with great art, but the story didn't measure up. It felt like there should have been a few more pages that would help it make a bit more sense. Road Trip was just mediocre. The idea of mixing body horror with the FF to this level doesn't really interest me, and the writing was just average. Filipe Andrade's art actually grew on me, though, as quirky as it is. I'd be interested in seeing him do more work with the team.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a particularly strong previous volume, we're right back into the dumb stuff again. I was not really on board with the whole courtroom drama this time, regarding The Wizard and his attempt to take custody of Bentley-23, a clone of his who has been living with the FF and is being raised by Dragon Man. The Halloween issue is all right. Johnny keeps moping around about his inability to turn off his flame. And then there are a couple of strange, out-of-continuity standalones, one featuring Ben vs. D'spayre and the other a misguided road trip by the whole gang to see the Grand Canyon. Artwork is variable throughout, with some very messy, cartoony stuff in the road trip issue.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Dan Slott writes this family. Every piece is important and shines. As the FF deal with the ramifications of Bride Of Doom and its a really good story. We get to see Johnny freak out as his world is burning down around him, Alicia and Ben parenting troubles, and some great courtroom drama. Slott is also really playing the long game well as he keeps dropping hints to what's coming. On that note, for the last volume before the big Reckoning War story I felt the lead up wasn't big enough. The art by both Leon and Manna was really good. There is also a fantastic one-shot collected here by Gerry Duggan and Ron Garney. Overall, another very good addition to Slott's resume.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really strong collection here, packed with character and heart. Dan Slott has a great affection for these characters and is clearly having fun here writing some fun stories. The pair of one-shots at the end take a darker turn, with Ben Grimm suffering from some very spooky nightmares, and the Road Trip story being unusually gruesome, but incredibly effective with its body horror. Probably my favourite trade in this run so far. 4.5 Stars.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cosmic family drama? Yes, please...

Johnny's power is in overdrive. He's about as hot as a star now. His relationship is in shambles. Ben and Alicia are still fighting to protect their adopted children. Reed doesn't talk about his daddy issues....but BOY are they there. Bentley has to fight for his own rights. When is the Wizard not the Wizard, but still a Bentley? Jeez

Bonus: The Profiteer reappears!
Bonus Bonus: The one shot Noir story and the body horror story are....different.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

There wasn't a whole lot going on in this book. Four or five issues of Johnny being continuously on flame, a side story for two issues about custody issues with Bentley, and a couple of one shots that were just blah overall. I know Marvel likes to drag storylines on forever and a day, but this is plodding at best.

Art was very good throughout and enjoyed seeing Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk. Always a delight to see her.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collects Fantastic Four (2018) issues #36-39, Fantastic Four: Road Trip (2020) issue #1, and Fantastic Four: Grimm Noir (2020) issue #1

The first four issues in this collection are pretty solid, as they are from the Dan Slott-written, main "FF" title. Then, there are two one-shots in this collection that I found myself skimming through.

Final rating = 3.5 stars

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting to have Johnny Storm experience some Ben Grimm karma. He can't turn his powers off and that makes every interaction terrible. Just ask The Thing. Also frustrating? Waiting for Reed Richards to do anything about it. This may take awhile, fellas. You're on fire and you're made of rock. He can make the world's biggest thickest longest dick. He's distracted.

[Logan Harrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10:
SHE-HULK IS HERE WOOOOOOOOOO

I really enjoyed the family court aspects of this collection, I think the fictional legality behind superheroes, aliens, and adopted families is so interesting, so to see it showcased with various Fantastic Four families was awesome!

I’m excited to see how the newest Wizard comes into play; perhaps a new foe of the Fantastic Four?

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two One-Shot issues really drag this mediocre volume down. The Family Road Trip issue is really really bad. Bad art, inconsistent time-line, and inconsistent charters make this one a real stinker.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Johnny looked great in the road trip arc
2) Johnny going into the ocean and into space for some peace and pain relief, even though he could die, just really shows where he’s at mentally
3) sue hitting Johnny. Yikes. Girl, I get it, but g i r l.
4) the children’s hearings made me cry

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gems include Johnny remains trapped in a nova form, Nicki & Jo conquer their first Halloween, a 2part custody battle for Bentley-23, & noir & body horror 1shots

[Andres Pasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Por fin un volumen redondo de los FF, veamos como sigue la historia...

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable volume, loved Johnny being constantly aflame, the Halloween craziness, Ben’s noir story & the mind melting road trip.