Fantastic Four: Extended Family

Description: For decades, Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing have stood together as comics' first family of super heroes! But even a family of heroes needs help, and the FF have often bolstered their ranks with friends and allies from throughout the Marvel Universe! Crystal! Medusa! Luke Cage! She-Hulk! Ms. Marvel! Spider-Man! Wolverine! Hulk! Ghost Rider! Ant-Man! Black Panther! Storm! Namorita! Witness the debuts of the Fantastic Four's fill-in members!
Collects: Fantastic Four (1961) #1, #81, #132, #168, #265, #307, #347, #384, Fantastic Four (1998) #42
Authors: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Byrne, more
Artists: Jack Kirby, John Buscema, Glynis Wein, more
Published By: Marvel
Published When: 2011-03-09
Parental Rating: PG

Review:

"The Fantastic Four is a family, not a team. There is no official roster." - Black Panther in Fantastic Four #544

That family focus of this fantastic foursome is a long and well-established feature of the series. The close-knit bonds between this quartet, consisting since day one in 1961 of husband and wife, of brother and best friend, is a recurring theme.

Through the years, authors and artists have crafted stories that play on the strength and intimacy of these relationships. On the flip-side there have been many tales based in the strains and tensions and, well, life, that affect a family's bonds of affection.

This TPB provides a fascinating collection of moments, from their 60+ years of FF history, in which the makeup of that family needed to change, at least for a time. From Sue Richards aka Invisible Woman stepping aside for a pseudo-maternity leave, to members being separated for extended periods of time by their adventures in other dimensions of time and space, the core four adds new members as needed, at least temporarily.

In this collection you will find such diverse characters as Crystal, Medusa, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, regular old Hulk, Spider-man, Wolverine, Storm, Black Panther, even Ghost Rider donning the famous "4" at least metaphorically, if briefly. Sometimes they become new members of the family, there for an extended stay, other times it’s a one-issue cameo appearance.

These stories were originally published between 1961 and 2007. So reading them here all together, collapsing those decades into 232 pages, it is hard to miss how central Sue Richards is in causing the changes in membership.

In one tale she is stepping away to look after her children. In another, she is clearly not an active member, and starts out the tale tending to domestic duties in the kitchen. In at least two others, she is almost pulling Reed Richards into some time away, a second honeymoon or time off.

It is also impossible to miss the invisible force-field box of the times, that traps Invisible Woman into traditional gender roles, super-powers or no. Reed is off in his lab creating great things for the team and for humanity. Sue is in the kitchen, creating the next meal for her hungry family. A disappointing contrast in 2022, and glaring when the stories are gathered in one place as in this collection.

The evolution of Invisible Woman's outfit is also fascinating to trace through the years in this collection. Starting from a simple jumpsuit in issue #1, matching those of her fellow astronauts-to-be, it evolves into a form-fitting spandex suit that matches the others, with the exception of her female shape. Then she's a sleeves-rolled-up 80's-hair beauty in the '80s.

Mike Madrid, in his book "The Supergirls: fashion, feminism, fantasy and the history of comic book heroines" describes the 1990s as ‘The Babe Years’ and Invisible Woman is caught up in the era's sexed-up heroines. Her outfit of the time, with its high-cut thighs, bare midriff, over-the-knee boots and cleavage showing through a cutaway "4" in her chest, may have suited the mood of the decade. And it fits with the other women in that issue (FF #384 from Jan 1994), with the scantily-clad villain Malice the she-devil, or Lyja showing lots of leg in one panel, and a low-cut negligee in the next.

But in this collection, alongside more demure and domestic representations of Sue Richards and Invisible Girl, the 1990s outfit is more shocking and jarring than any of the villainous revelations or surprise new teammates. It is impossible to miss the contrast, causing one to wonder if, perhaps, Sue might be due another getaway break with her family; with the art of the day hewing so strongly to sexy fashion trends, she is arguably not herself.

The production quality of this volume is not up to snuff, with perhaps the worst gaff being the wrong words in the balloons of one page from Fantastic Four (1998) #42. When I scare up a copy of the original comic, they appear correct, so it is puzzling how they were messed up in this reprint collection.

Original words (L) do not match words on this page in the collection (R)

Overall, though, this is a decent collection that serves a useful purpose of gathering in one place many of the guest-membership moments in FF history. I give it 3.5 capes out of 5.

ISBN-10: 0785153039
ISBN-13: 9780785153030
Language: English
Pages: 232