Reed and Sue's attempt to reconcile at Mentor's digs on Titan after Richards' rampant jackboot-licking in Civil War was interrupted by a weird space probe. While Reed was poking at it with Hank Pym, Sue got ambushed by the Wizard's latest version of the Frightful Four (him, Titania, Trapster, Hydro-Man).
We pick up after Reed's ship is destroyed by a booby-trap the Wizard somehow got on-board. Fortunately the Black Panther suggested remote starting the ship, but Sue's still being tortured because the Wizard's a sadistic little shit. They've got a back-up ship, but they still need a plan. So Reed sends the Wizard a little message.
The rest of the Frightful Four agree it's time to bail, also recognizing that they'd better kill Sue rather than risk her coming after them. The Wizard, however, is convinced Richards threatening to nuke him from orbit means Reed is charging in heedlessly. Dumbest smart man in comics. Yes, even more so than Reed. But hey, this house is really hi-tech. No way anyone could sneak up on them. Except maybe if one of the C-listers was an expert at that sort of thing.
(Plus, it's not like Reed Richards wasn't staying there for several days. He probably took everything apart while he was promising to never help the government throw people in Negative Zone jail again.)
It's hard to say who has the worst go of it in this issue. The Thing gets sucker-punched by Hydro-Man, then gets his foot stuck to the floor by a stray glue shot from Paste-Pot Pete as he's getting kayoed by the Panther. While he's stuck, Ben gets sent flying by Titania.
On the other hand, Hydro-Man's attempt to drown Ben got thwarted by the Torch evaporating his arm, and when he tries to take T'Challa prisoner, Storm simply turns him into humidity. As it turns out, a guy made of water fighting a guy made of fire and a lady who controls weather elements is in for a bad day. Who knew?
Reed's actually having trouble fighting the Wizard 1-on-1, but after Hydro-Dope gets dealt with, it's 5 against 1. Or is it, because the Wizard has a fancy briefcase! And inside that briefcase, is. . .a flowerpot? A hearing aid for Galactus? No it's the sonic cannon of the sound menace, Klaw! Hard to believe that guy was kept in reserve, considering the losers that made the starting lineup.
[4th longbox, 117th comic. Fantastic Four #548, by Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Paul Mounts (colorist), Rus Wooton (letterer)]
2 comments:
I would have never guessed the art team on this. The first panel looks like Mark Bagley, but that last shot of Storm looks like Alan Davis' work.
I usually do OK at recognizing Pelletier. Something about the way he draws lips and noses. "Mixture of Mark Bagley and Alan Davis" is a pretty good descriptor.
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