Fantastic Four: 1 2 3 4

(Marvel, 2001–2002)
™ and ©2001 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Reed Richards, the distant, dysfunctional leader. Ben Grimm, one-armed babbling madman in a hospital. Johnny Storm, self-centered, mean-spirited hothead. Sue Richards, love-starved wife who may seek solace in the arms of Namor, her husband’s rival. Does this sound like Marvel’s first family to you? It is, if you’re writer Grant Morrison (X-Men, JLA). Together with artist Jae Lee (Namor), Morrison gives readers a close—at times, uncomfortably close—look at the interpersonal relationships of the Four. He treats them like members of an all-too-human family, complete with all the grudges, problems, misgivings and distrust that so often pervade every family. What results is one of the most intimate and disturbing glimpses into the lives of the Fantastic Four to date. It’s also a clever plot that manages to show Doctor Doom at his most insidious, as he strikes at his enemies through their greatest weaknesses—their feelings (both good and bad) for each other.

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