Writer : Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils : Greg Land
Inks : Matt Ryan
Color : Justin Ponsor
Letters : Cris Eliopoulos
Editor : John Barber
Yes, I’m back!
(Takes a bow)
Its been a long while between drinks for your illustrious correspondent from the land Down Under, and I wish I could be returning with a more inspiring title.
First, the good. If there was any doubt as to who was writing the initial issues of this cross-over, they are dispelled extremely rapidly. The Stan Lee-esque banter between the heroes in the initial fight sequence is unmistakably the work of one Mr Bendis. Witty, charismatic and undeniably entertaining.
However, with today’s style of story-telling, it becomes very clear early on that this is going to be one of those cross-overs where the first issue is really only devoted to set-up. With the advance knowledge that the reader has of the nature of this story (ie. that the Supreme Power universe will be invading the Ultimate Universe) the first issue is devoid of any drama or suspense. Yes, the Thing has angst and issues. Yes, Reed is determinted to pursue knowlege, perhaps with little thought as to possible consequences. These are facts that are inherent to the characters, and even an issue of ‘set-up’ should give us more.
I was impressed by Reed’s answer to the ‘butterfly effect’ theorem, as it is a way of thinking that has also previously occurred to me in arguments of the kind.
SPOILER ALERT
After reading through around half of the issue, and seeing nothing but the Ultimate Universe (and only the Fantastic Four from that universe), it becomes patently clear that the final page will be a splash page of the Supreme Power characters entering the universe. Shock! I was right. This is certainly the way to make the reader want to see more, if only because at the end of the first issue, there isn’t a lot that they have seen!
Therefore this 22-page issue essentially only becomes a prologue to the effect of ‘Reed seeks knowledge, triggers gateway, Supreme Power characters enter. The rest is (admittedly entertaining) filler.
I know that Greg Land tends to polarise opinion, but I loved his work on the recent ‘FF Zombies’ arc in Ultimate Fantastic Four, and I love his quasi-realistic photo-style art here as well. Oh, and he draws some beautiful cheesecake shots, as demonstrated by the art in the initial fight sequence.
Entertaining, but so much more could have been portrayed in the initial ‘previously’ page.
