August's Pull List: Fantastic Four #13

This post has turned out to be a bit of an awkward to write compared to some.

First of all, it took me the better part of a week in order to carve out the time necessary to actually read this comic after it was originally released. Even then, I felt like I had to rush through it

Fantastic Four #13

And then, possibly (in part) due to that need to rush through my read of this issue, it took me three reads to actually feel like I was connecting to it.

Maybe I just wasn't destined to read, or maybe even enjoy Fantastic Four #13.

Fortunately, last night I finally got to read it properly and, dare I say, I even enjoyed it.

So, this (unlucky) 13th issue tied up the Thing vs Hulk fight which had been all but set up in the prior instalment. However, while that issue was pretty much all setting of the scene and getting us to the place where the fight would begin, this issue was indeed the knockout drag out were expecting and hoping for as the Honeymooning Thing, barely an hour away from having his yearly reversion to human, has to scrap with a Hulk who is not just his powerful, unstoppable (and most likely immortal) self, but also being controlled by Things rather upset father-in-law.

Let the fight begin!

I was expecting big things of this issue after I had read the first part and so maybe my expectations were a little high. However, this second half was still really good, even if it didn't measure up to what I was anticipating in my head. That said, this does not by any means make it a dud for, once again, the creative team do some really great work in my opinion.

At this point, I'm convinced that Dan Slott should play the Thing in any MCU film because he has the characters voice and personality down pat. Slott writes a great Thing and makes the character feel more like he was intended to be than any FF writer I've read the work of so far in my life. Of course, that isn't the only Grimm who shines here as I really felt that this issue was very much Alicia's issue. This is because we not only got to see her (again) prop up her husband and give him the inspiration he needed (although the 'proposal' scene from last time won't be topped) but she also, got to be the hero by saving the innocents she was trapped with simply down to her own knowledge and drive. This is what I loved about her, although it was slightly ruined by her seemingly inconsistent personality as she came across as the Alicia I always knew one minute and then someone more Ben like the next. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

I really love the look Isaakse has
given this issue.

Of course, this issue is meant to be the 'fight' portion of the story and , damn, is it a good fight scene. This fight was just absolutely brutal from beginning to end, with every panel and turn of the page having me route for the clear underdog that was Ben. Once again, I felt that Sean Isaakse's art is phenomenal here as he seemed to bring all the shadows and vibrancy from the first issue back but also upped his game with this battle looking traditionally superheroic but also grounded which I thought really added to the punch (pun intended). I may have said this before but if Isaakse ends up becoming the regular artist on this book, Marvel could make few better decisions.

Alicia doing a spot of last
minute pep talking.

I will admit though, that this comic isn't perfect, mainly because it left me with so many burning questions and concerns by the end. Firstly, Hulk really is a vile son of a b*%$£ in this issue, which I didn't really expect as I figured he'd be a bit closer to the version we all know but with better speech, kind of like Frankenstein's monster. He, however, his personality made me think he was acting all 'Joe Fixit' and if this is the way he is in the Immortal Hulk may actually put me off checking that series out. That said, Isaakse once again makes him look awesome!

Meanwhile, I'm now totally confused by the Puppet Master's power set as it is outright stated that Hulk is aware of being controlled by Phillip Masters. However, I always assumed that PM's power set was that he controlled people like literal puppets, performing all their speech and movements regardless of the 'puppets' desire. This is something I'm going to need to look into. Also, the ending was a bit of a shock as I would love to see Slott focus more on the Grimm/Masters dynamic given they are very much arch enemies.


An unstoppable force against an
immovable object?

 Nonetheless, this was a fun little story that is a Fantastic (pardon another pun) end to the Grimm/Masters wedding saga. Now, while I am enjoying Ben Grimm so far in this run, I really hope we can move forward to focus on Reed, Johnny and/or Sue a little bit more in the next arc.

Of course, with a arc title called 'Point of Origin', I think my wish for more Reed is definitely going to come true!