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Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman #9-10
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection, Vol. 4
Collects Fantastic Four (1998) #605-611 and #605.1 and FF (2011) #17-23.
Jonathan Hickman's groundbreaking run comes to an explosive end! First, explore the future and the Witness the Fantastic Four of the year 3030 and learn the secret history of Marvel's First Family! Then, follow the team on a journey through an alien landscape as a life hangs in the balance! And when the fallout from the Kree-Inhuman war threatens galactic peace, how will it affect Ronan and Crystal? Meanwhile, the Panther God decides the fate of T'Challa. Who will be the Black Panther? And the kids of the Future Foundation explore the farthest reaches of the Marvel Universe, from Wakanda to the Negative Zone! But when the Wizard returns to claim his "son" Bentley-23, the Fantastic Four and the Future Foundation must join forces to save him!
Jonathan Hickman's groundbreaking run comes to an explosive end! First, explore the future and the Witness the Fantastic Four of the year 3030 and learn the secret history of Marvel's First Family! Then, follow the team on a journey through an alien landscape as a life hangs in the balance! And when the fallout from the Kree-Inhuman war threatens galactic peace, how will it affect Ronan and Crystal? Meanwhile, the Panther God decides the fate of T'Challa. Who will be the Black Panther? And the kids of the Future Foundation explore the farthest reaches of the Marvel Universe, from Wakanda to the Negative Zone! But when the Wizard returns to claim his "son" Bentley-23, the Fantastic Four and the Future Foundation must join forces to save him!
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 18, 2023
12 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,221 books2,034 followersJonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 27, 2025
A good ending to a good run by Hickman.
This wasn't the biggest and greatest run in comics ever produced that everyone made it out to be, but it was still a memorable take on the Fantastic Four. Hickman had some great ideas for this series and he did a great job throwing them all together. He also managed to tie up a few loose ends I was curious about.
Another thing that Hickman is good at is making good, emotional driven scenes. Apparently, a lot of people don't think he is, but I found he does it well. As for the art, I really didn't like the artist changing with every issue. It really pulled me out of the story, but I enjoyed this final chapter overall.
I know my Secret Wars journey doesn't end here, but this was a fun read. Looking forward to Hickman's Avengers soon.
Recommended.
This wasn't the biggest and greatest run in comics ever produced that everyone made it out to be, but it was still a memorable take on the Fantastic Four. Hickman had some great ideas for this series and he did a great job throwing them all together. He also managed to tie up a few loose ends I was curious about.
Another thing that Hickman is good at is making good, emotional driven scenes. Apparently, a lot of people don't think he is, but I found he does it well. As for the art, I really didn't like the artist changing with every issue. It really pulled me out of the story, but I enjoyed this final chapter overall.
I know my Secret Wars journey doesn't end here, but this was a fun read. Looking forward to Hickman's Avengers soon.
Recommended.
November 8, 2024
Hickman'ın FF serisi çok görkemli olmasa da manalı bir şekilde sonlanıyor. Bu kitap çoğunlukla önceki sayılarda yaşanan olayların kapanışını ve bu olayların evrendeki etkilerini göstererek geçiyor. Council of Reeds, gelecekten gelen Franklin, Negative Zone'un hükümdarı Johnny derken epey büyük ölçekli olaylar mevcuttu ve bunların bir şekilde bitmesi ve ekibin yine eskiye dönmesi gerekiyordu. Bir yandan da ilerleyen yıllarda yazacağı Secret Wars hikayesinin temellerini de burada atıyor.
Hickman'ın serisinde diğer başarılı yazarlara göre aile sıcaklığı daha az, bilimkurgu tarafı çok daha ağır basıyordu. Çok başarılı bir seri olduğu kuşkusuz ama tam olarak FF gibi hissettirmediği oluyordu. Bu kitapta ise kapanış kısmının getirdiği duygusal yük ile aile kısmına biraz daha ağırlık verilmiş. Bu sıcaklığı seven birisi olarak kitabı bitirirken yüzümde küçük bir gülümseme eksik olmadı.
Getirebileceğim tek eleştiri Future Foundation tarafında olabilir. FF evrenini zenginleştirdiği doğru fakat bazen bağımsız bir seriymiş gibi davranıyor ve ilgimi çekmiyor. Hikayeleri çok parlak gelmese de Fantasic Four'a bağlandığı bölümler yine de fena değildi
Hickman'ın serisinde diğer başarılı yazarlara göre aile sıcaklığı daha az, bilimkurgu tarafı çok daha ağır basıyordu. Çok başarılı bir seri olduğu kuşkusuz ama tam olarak FF gibi hissettirmediği oluyordu. Bu kitapta ise kapanış kısmının getirdiği duygusal yük ile aile kısmına biraz daha ağırlık verilmiş. Bu sıcaklığı seven birisi olarak kitabı bitirirken yüzümde küçük bir gülümseme eksik olmadı.
Getirebileceğim tek eleştiri Future Foundation tarafında olabilir. FF evrenini zenginleştirdiği doğru fakat bazen bağımsız bir seriymiş gibi davranıyor ve ilgimi çekmiyor. Hikayeleri çok parlak gelmese de Fantasic Four'a bağlandığı bölümler yine de fena değildi
November 5, 2024
Such a great way to tie up all the loose ends before the end of the run. This is probably one of the best marvel runs I’ve read in a long time.
June 21, 2025
This might have been my favorite volume of the entire run. Volume 1 was pure setup, which I understand but didn’t entirely enjoy (maybe a re-read will change my mind…). Volume 2 and 3 pulled things together and took me on an epic, singular story that sometimes felt emotionally hollow but still blew me away. This final volume, taking place after the climax of that major story, feels like a prolonged conclusion. Hickman has set up this new status quo for the FF, as a family and as the Future Foundation, and now he’s just having fun with it.
My favorite FF stories are the short wacky sci-fi adventures and that’s exactly what you get here. He’s still using elements from the run leading up to this, from Adult Franklin and Valeria to Bentley-23 to Doom in the Council of Reeds universe, but each issue is a tight little story that maybe didn’t even need to be told to feel conclusive but was enjoyable in its own way. Most importantly, these stories are fun! The previous volumes were thrilling, but this one has some of the best humor. The FF issues are allowed to be about the kids, instead of having the bear half the burden of the overarching narrative, leaving the Fantastic Four title to be the more mature one for adults.
While one could probably stop after Volume 3 and feel like they got the story, I’m glad Hickman had this set of stories left in his run to wind things down. It’s obvious after reading these that this isn’t a run about the Fantastic Four, but about Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards and about children and parents. It’s about setting the future on the right path instead of getting stuck in the past. And it’s about imagination vs intellect, and why you need both.
I don’t think Hickman’s run will go down as one of my favorites, but it’s certainly memorable and wasn’t afraid of both using as much of the mythology as possible (and let’s be honest, The Fantastic Four IS the Marvel universe) and making its own path forward. Someday I’ll reread again and hopefully be able to pull more out of it from the beginning.
My favorite FF stories are the short wacky sci-fi adventures and that’s exactly what you get here. He’s still using elements from the run leading up to this, from Adult Franklin and Valeria to Bentley-23 to Doom in the Council of Reeds universe, but each issue is a tight little story that maybe didn’t even need to be told to feel conclusive but was enjoyable in its own way. Most importantly, these stories are fun! The previous volumes were thrilling, but this one has some of the best humor. The FF issues are allowed to be about the kids, instead of having the bear half the burden of the overarching narrative, leaving the Fantastic Four title to be the more mature one for adults.
While one could probably stop after Volume 3 and feel like they got the story, I’m glad Hickman had this set of stories left in his run to wind things down. It’s obvious after reading these that this isn’t a run about the Fantastic Four, but about Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards and about children and parents. It’s about setting the future on the right path instead of getting stuck in the past. And it’s about imagination vs intellect, and why you need both.
I don’t think Hickman’s run will go down as one of my favorites, but it’s certainly memorable and wasn’t afraid of both using as much of the mythology as possible (and let’s be honest, The Fantastic Four IS the Marvel universe) and making its own path forward. Someday I’ll reread again and hopefully be able to pull more out of it from the beginning.
June 19, 2025
Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four run comes to a stumbling close. As with most long-term Marvel projects, this volume, along with parallel series FF completely ran out of steam by its end.
In this volume:
- Random tales of Reed traveling thousands of years into the future to watch The Thing age through each millenium.
- A bizarre reinterpretation of the Fantastic Four as Nazis, like some kind of alt world version of Superman: Red Son.
- Black Panther joins the fray, accompanying Reed research monsters or mysterious Egyptian origin. In a strange twist, T’challa confronts his God (without Reed batting an eye) and is gifted the role of King of the Dead.
-Galactus’s corpse is converted into a spaceship for the defenders of tomorrow, led by Banner Jr and a bunch of D-list future superheroes.
- AIM wants to make peace with the FF by giving up Wizard.
Reed, his father, and Val rescue Doom in another dimension after creating his own chaotic world. He finds creating life beneath him.
- Spider-Man kicks out Johnny storm after a bromance of hard partying with horse critters and aliens.
- Black Bolt returns to earth, conferencing with Supremor and agreeing to separate Ronan from his lover.
- Adult Franklin teaches his younger self godlike imaginings in the negative zone, before leaving the family and back to his time for good.
In this volume:
- Random tales of Reed traveling thousands of years into the future to watch The Thing age through each millenium.
- A bizarre reinterpretation of the Fantastic Four as Nazis, like some kind of alt world version of Superman: Red Son.
- Black Panther joins the fray, accompanying Reed research monsters or mysterious Egyptian origin. In a strange twist, T’challa confronts his God (without Reed batting an eye) and is gifted the role of King of the Dead.
-Galactus’s corpse is converted into a spaceship for the defenders of tomorrow, led by Banner Jr and a bunch of D-list future superheroes.
- AIM wants to make peace with the FF by giving up Wizard.
Reed, his father, and Val rescue Doom in another dimension after creating his own chaotic world. He finds creating life beneath him.
- Spider-Man kicks out Johnny storm after a bromance of hard partying with horse critters and aliens.
- Black Bolt returns to earth, conferencing with Supremor and agreeing to separate Ronan from his lover.
- Adult Franklin teaches his younger self godlike imaginings in the negative zone, before leaving the family and back to his time for good.
October 12, 2023
Eu não vou negar que sou fã do Hickman, é um daqueles autores de gibizinho que dá pra ir de olho fechado, aqui temos o fim da fase do Quarteto Fantástico. Quer dizer, é tipo um epílogo na verdade; as histórias principais foram fechadas no volume 3 e aqui as coisas são devolvidas ao Status Quo da Marvel:
- O Johnny perde a eleição de prefeito da Zona Negativa pro Aniquilador;
- Os Inumanos voltam para Terra e o romance da Crystal e do Ronan termina;
- O Reed vai passear pelo tempo e temos uma bonita história sobre o legado do Quarteto e da Fundação Futuro;
- O Bentley-23 confronta o seu "pai" e, infelizmente, se torna um daqueles personagens maravilhosos que serão sempre mal aproveitados e esquecidos por quem vier depois;
- Descobre-se que a origem da "Ponte" e do "resolver tudo" é numa realidade em que o Reed é um nazista de carteirinha;
- Tem uma história em Wakanda que coloca as primeiras pistas sobre a fase dos Vingadores.
Como eu já falei antes, o Hickman sabe fechar histórias e dar ênfase aos personagens certos nos momentos mais improváveis, mesmo quando ele devolve a história ao esquema escola, cinema, clube e televisão.
- O Johnny perde a eleição de prefeito da Zona Negativa pro Aniquilador;
- Os Inumanos voltam para Terra e o romance da Crystal e do Ronan termina;
- O Reed vai passear pelo tempo e temos uma bonita história sobre o legado do Quarteto e da Fundação Futuro;
- O Bentley-23 confronta o seu "pai" e, infelizmente, se torna um daqueles personagens maravilhosos que serão sempre mal aproveitados e esquecidos por quem vier depois;
- Descobre-se que a origem da "Ponte" e do "resolver tudo" é numa realidade em que o Reed é um nazista de carteirinha;
- Tem uma história em Wakanda que coloca as primeiras pistas sobre a fase dos Vingadores.
Como eu já falei antes, o Hickman sabe fechar histórias e dar ênfase aos personagens certos nos momentos mais improváveis, mesmo quando ele devolve a história ao esquema escola, cinema, clube e televisão.
August 26, 2025
I really liked this run a lot. It's my first complete Jonathan Hickman experience (the current Ultimate Spider-Man is my first and I really love that, too) and I can confidently say I'm on the JH bandwagon. This guy rocks.
I met Nick Dragotta at a con a few months ago, and after opining about forgetting my copy of Absolute Batman #1 at home, I talked to him about his work on this series. "Heh. That's some early stuff," he said. I can imagine this series being an early awakening for many people's love of comics. It certainly concretized mine for the Fantastic Four, and in a way First Steps definitely didn't.
I don't think I fully understood every storyline – particularly the Inhumans stuff – but I have a much better grasp of Galactus, Annihilus, Doom, and Franklin and Valeria Richards now, which is pretty much everything I could ask for from a FF book. It also filled a knowledge hole I've had since I was a kid which has eternally bugged me: when did Spider-Man join the Fantastic Four and what's his weird white suit all about???
I'm looking forward to seeing if Hickman's Avengers lives up to this series. #TheRoadToSecretWars!
I met Nick Dragotta at a con a few months ago, and after opining about forgetting my copy of Absolute Batman #1 at home, I talked to him about his work on this series. "Heh. That's some early stuff," he said. I can imagine this series being an early awakening for many people's love of comics. It certainly concretized mine for the Fantastic Four, and in a way First Steps definitely didn't.
I don't think I fully understood every storyline – particularly the Inhumans stuff – but I have a much better grasp of Galactus, Annihilus, Doom, and Franklin and Valeria Richards now, which is pretty much everything I could ask for from a FF book. It also filled a knowledge hole I've had since I was a kid which has eternally bugged me: when did Spider-Man join the Fantastic Four and what's his weird white suit all about???
I'm looking forward to seeing if Hickman's Avengers lives up to this series. #TheRoadToSecretWars!
November 18, 2025
I was hoping for more of a bang to tie off an all-timer run like Hickman’s FF. But since the big war and all that happened in Volume 3, this final volume felt like it lacked a little… oomph. I enjoyed some of the one-off adventures, but so many of them didn’t really click with me at all. Hickman’s methodical and grandiose plotting was replaced by slice-of-life, villain-of-the-week storytelling that lacked the character depth he so masterfully displayed in his earlier issues. I think, though, this was intentional. Hickman, knowing everything he was going to do have to do for Secret Wars, decided to just cut loose and have a little fun. So while it doesn’t read particularly well as a collection, you can still see Hickman’s pure love for these characters shining through. And those last two issues wrapped things up really nicely— to the extent that they alone raised my star rating for this final volume from a 2/5 to a 3/5. Hickman’s run is still spectacular, though— and part of me wonders what these later stage issues would feel like on a re-read now that I’m prepared for them.
February 25, 2023
Hickman wants to do everything in grand scale, and he also succeeds more often than not. When he doesn't, the result is only bombastic and irrelevant.
It feels like Hickman has told the FF story he wanted to tell with the earlier issues, concluding in volume 3 of the complete collections. The issues that follow are mostly aftermath or one-shots.
There are some gems, however. Issue #605.1 is a fun alternate universe origin story. And the concluding issue FF #23 is touching and simply magnificent. It alone makes it worth reading the entire Hickman run. Because of the unevenness, I would rate this only at 3.0 stars, but I can nevertheless recommend this for all FF and Hickman fans.
It feels like Hickman has told the FF story he wanted to tell with the earlier issues, concluding in volume 3 of the complete collections. The issues that follow are mostly aftermath or one-shots.
There are some gems, however. Issue #605.1 is a fun alternate universe origin story. And the concluding issue FF #23 is touching and simply magnificent. It alone makes it worth reading the entire Hickman run. Because of the unevenness, I would rate this only at 3.0 stars, but I can nevertheless recommend this for all FF and Hickman fans.
October 7, 2023
with a whimper and not a bang
Although there’s a fair amount of tying up threads from other volumes this also feels like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to do. Maybe there’s crossovers I haven’t read yet that explain the seemingly pointless inclusion of Nazi FF universe that doesn’t really go anywhere. There’s a lot of foreshadowing Val & Franklin that leads to an unsatisfyingly unresolved ending, the Inhumans plot kind of keeps going without really going anywhere etc. Can’t help but feel all the best stuff happened in the first three volumes and this one is just ‘stuff’ that I could have lived without.
Although there’s a fair amount of tying up threads from other volumes this also feels like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to do. Maybe there’s crossovers I haven’t read yet that explain the seemingly pointless inclusion of Nazi FF universe that doesn’t really go anywhere. There’s a lot of foreshadowing Val & Franklin that leads to an unsatisfyingly unresolved ending, the Inhumans plot kind of keeps going without really going anywhere etc. Can’t help but feel all the best stuff happened in the first three volumes and this one is just ‘stuff’ that I could have lived without.
June 23, 2025
This volume feels less masterfully planned and constantly intriguing as the volumes that came before.
That being said, if you're a Black Panther fan, do not miss this one!
The setup of this arc and a few other elements really pay off huge and are needed for Hickman's following "New Avengers" series!
This book has fun action and interesting little side stories.
The final issues to finish did strike harder than anything else from this series in a while. The final plot lines threads of the future family and their relation with the modern is a cant miss tearjerker.
That being said, if you're a Black Panther fan, do not miss this one!
The setup of this arc and a few other elements really pay off huge and are needed for Hickman's following "New Avengers" series!
This book has fun action and interesting little side stories.
The final issues to finish did strike harder than anything else from this series in a while. The final plot lines threads of the future family and their relation with the modern is a cant miss tearjerker.
May 2, 2025
Yeah, a legendary run indeed. These smaller arcs are perfect after the big event we had. We get to know each character better, especially the kids. We wrap up the main story and have everything set up for the next writer. And the art is just amazing! Dragotta, Stegman, and Garney are all incredible artists, and it’s always a treat to see them in any comic. Plus, Araujo, who I didn’t know before, has a really beautiful style.
July 14, 2025
Si no conecté con el nudo de esta etapa, era de esperar que no disfrutaría demasiado con el final tampoco. Especialmente porque Hickman cocina a fuego muy lento, de forma que va cerrando todos los frentes que ha ido abriendo durante tantas páginas. Con todo, hay partes no tan estrictamente relacionadas con el final que sí me han gustado, como la parte en Wakanda y, sobre todo, el número de la Cosa, que casi es responsable total de mi calificación de este tomo.
February 9, 2023
Terrific finish to Hickman's story, he has brilliant ideas. The artwork matches the brilliance - a fan of Nick Dragotta's in particular.
Just some notes - the Future Foundation stories aren't quite as exciting as regular FF stuff. The Thing goes missing for a large chunk of the middle of the story. My favourite bit was the Nazi FF story.
Just some notes - the Future Foundation stories aren't quite as exciting as regular FF stuff. The Thing goes missing for a large chunk of the middle of the story. My favourite bit was the Nazi FF story.
September 3, 2025
Once again, I am uncertain if I grasped what actually happened, or understood its significance, but what Hickman is so good at—in this run specifically—is crafting really poignant character moments and payoffs that can knock the wind right out of you. This isn’t a dramatic capstone to his time with the FF, but it’s a very satisfying one, that’s for sure.
February 22, 2024
Ends with a bang in my opinion, the best of the 4 volumes. Also has my favorite artwork of all the collections
Full of these really sweet and endearing moments that make the Fantastic Four so wonderful to read
Excited to pick up Hickman’s run again with Avengers!
Full of these really sweet and endearing moments that make the Fantastic Four so wonderful to read
Excited to pick up Hickman’s run again with Avengers!
September 29, 2024
I am not even gonna. Just check my previous reviews for Vols. 1 through 3.
This is the most overrated and shitty piece of comic book run in recent history, and people who give this 4-5 stars just lack the taste for literature. That's it.
This is the most overrated and shitty piece of comic book run in recent history, and people who give this 4-5 stars just lack the taste for literature. That's it.
September 25, 2022
Fantastic
January 26, 2023
I loved the way Hickman tied up his loose ends and the Willie Lumpkin story has earned a special place in my heart.
November 1, 2024
A bit all over the place with the stories that were included here but overall a really touching end to the Hickman run of the Fantastic Four
January 15, 2025
I can't believe it's over already :( Strong finish
May 2, 2025
finally donee! Onto New Avengers and Avengers next on the journey to Secret Wars!
August 25, 2025
I really disliked this when I was trying to read it monthly back when it came out. I was too harsh. it's truly fantastic, pardon the pun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2025
Just reread the last volume to Hickmans incredible run and its just so good and everything i remember. Hickman creates a great story that really captures the awesomeness of every fantastic four story I've ever read. I love the conclusion to the whole run being so ambiguous, in the sense that Hickman could come back and pick it up from there. This last part of the series is far more episodic and it just wraps everything up in a bow.
While i dont love the art of nick dragotta, this book isnt quite hindered by his art because the writing and overall story makes the rest of it beautiful
Thank God for Hickman making something so concise and consistent for the characters, and giving each member a chance to be given the spotlight
While i dont love the art of nick dragotta, this book isnt quite hindered by his art because the writing and overall story makes the rest of it beautiful
Thank God for Hickman making something so concise and consistent for the characters, and giving each member a chance to be given the spotlight
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews