FANTASTIC FOUR #574 – It’s Franklin’s birthday and much too Johnny’s dismay, the kid’s only request was that Spider-Man be there. Artie and Leech (formerly mutant friends of Franklin’s from waaaay back…) and three of the Power Pack kids also attend. The FF also seem to have adopted one of the Wizard’s clones they found still alive in his HQ. Roughly the same age as Franklin they have named him Bentley (The Wizard’s real name…) although he insists on being called thirty-two. After everyone has enjoyed cake, Franklin hands out gifts to his friends: gift certs for the Power kids, a new projection helmet for Artie (he can’t speak…) and an invite to live in the Baxter Building for both him and Leech. Once everyone has left to go home, the FF and their extended family go to bed only to be awoken by the “timequake” alarm in Reed’s lab. Both Franklin and Valerie are visited by a strange man who whispers something to Franklin that knocks him out and then he has a conversation with Val. As the FF desperately try to break down the strangers shield, he tells Val, “There will be a war between the four cities. The dead must not be forgotten. The future man must return to save the past. And all hope lies with Doom.” Val asks him why she should believe anything he’s told her and he replies, “Because you sent me.” Val then tells him happy birthday just as he leaves and the FF manage to get his shields down. After everything has calmed down and the kids are back in bed, we see Val checking some equations she wrote on the wall behind a picture. In his own room, Franklin is remembering what the “stranger” told him, “Rest… and remember what you are.” Under the covers of his bed, Franklin is once again creating a universe. The last time this happened, we were treated to Heroes Reborn. Hopefully, Jonathan Hickman won’t make that mistake again and just plans to show us how powerful Franklin is without the mental power blocks. I honestly haven’t enjoyed reading Fantastic Four since the days of John Byrne (I’m not that old, I picked up the back issues. Appreciate the classics!). Hickman has given new life to Marvel’s first family in a way that hasn’t been seen before. With some of the hints that being dropped just in the first few issues of his run, it looks like he has some pretty far-reaching and universe shaking plans for the FF’s future. It’s about time that the FF were back in the forefront of the Marvel U. For too long, they’ve adventured on their own with only the occasional guest star or guest starring role. My only complaint is that we’ve only had a few issues of the artistically phenomenal Dale Eaglesham. Unfortunately, issue artist Neil Edwards just doesn’t compare.

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BLACKEST NIGHT #6 – Hal has assembled the flag-bearers/avatars from each of the corps (Indigo-1, Hal, Carol Ferris, Sinestro, Atrocitus, Saint Walker and Larfleeze) and taken them to Earth where Nekron has been revealed to be the big bad in the cross-over. Reclaiming all of the heroes and villains who have died and returned to life (Superman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Superboy and Impulse) have all been claimed by black rings. The also recently returned Hal and Barry are targeted as well, forcing Barry to grab Hal and run them one second into the future to break the rings’ connections. Current Blue Corps Guardian, Ganthet decides that the heroes are endanger of being overrun and triggers the Oan technology in each of the avatar’s rings to duplicate and deputize the nearest being filling the requirements of each corps. Ganthet claims the green, The Atom – the indigo/compassion ring, Barry Allen/Flash – the blue/hope ring, Mera – the red/rage ring, Wonder Woman – the Star Sapphire/love ring (it helps her break free of the black ring…), Lex Luthor – the orange/avarice ring and The Scarecrow – the yellow/fear ring. Wow. It was pretty cool seeing that crew show up as the cavalry, but after all is said and done, might be tough to take some of those rings back. I’ve run out of thing to say about Geoff Johns amazing writing on this and the Green Lantern title. Blackest Night is everything Marvel tries to do in a crossover but can’t. The last crossover that I enjoyed this much was Crisis on Infinite Earths. Maybe it’s the breathtaking art by Ivan Reis or the fact that Johns is one of the best writers in the biz – or both. But the bottom line is this: if you’re a fan of superhero comics… any superhero comics – Blackest Night should be added to your collection every month…

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X-MEN LEGACY #231 – Can this go back to just being “X-Men”? The Legacy thing only made sense when it focused on Charles Xavier getting his memory and powers back. Things get worse for the X-Men in this Necrosha-X tie-in as Blindfold starts to get more visions from her encounter with her resurrected mother, Destiny. When Blindfold makes it Cyclops to give him an update, he sends Rogue, Magneto, Colossus, Psylocke, Trance, Husk and Blindfold to Muir Island under the field leadership of Nightcrawler. Blindfolds visions have shown her that the X-Men’s enemies are on Nation-X, Genosha and Muir Island – forcing Cyke to split his forces. On the ride to Muir, Magento takes the time to try to rekindle any feelings Rogue had for him while they were in the Savage Land together (in the now classic Uncanny X-Men #273-275…). Once on Muir Island, they spread out and find that it’s been deserted for some time. Blindfold beings to touch things and people around her, flooding her mind with past experiences – causing her to panic and blindly (sorry…) run away from the rest of the team. Further into the facility, Blindfold encounters Destiny and begins asking her questions and then reaches out to touch her after being warned not to. Blindfold is instantly over taken by the reality-warping psychic entity known and Proteus. Oops. The more I read Mike Carey’s stuff on this title, the more I think that he and Matt Fraction should be the exclusive writers for all X-titles. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost’s work on X-Force hasn’t been that impressive and Duane Swierczynski’s stuff on Cable is inconsistent at best. Artist Clay Mann should get this title monthly – his stuff just “feels” X-Men to me. Add in superstar inker Danny Miki and we’ve got a creative team worth following every month. I have a feeling the Proteus thing has been in the works for a while from Carey and the Necrosha-X crossover just got in the way… it still fits into the “Legacy” angle of the title. Recreating the love triangle last saw in the Age of Apocalypse between Gambit, Rogue and Magneto is a nice touch since the romantic tension has left the X-Men since Jean’s death. This is a true bright spot in the Nechrosha-X storyline.

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HALO: BLOODLINES #1 – Delving more into the past of the HALO Universe, Bloodlines is the tale of Spartan Team Black, a group of four Spartans sent to sabotage any Covenant ships that capture the civilian ship they are on. When both they and a Covenant battle-cruiser encounter a message in space, they are ripped from slipspace and onto an unknown planet. Though I miss the characterization that Peter David brought to the previous limited series, Fred Van Lente (X-Men: Noir) has done a good job showing how multiple Spartans attack any given problem as a unit. While each still maintains their own unique personality, it’s how they interact that makes this series. Coupled with flashbacks of Spartan training camp, the action is great and another Forerunner device/base has made its presence known to both forces. Artist Francis Portella’s pencils are solid and give the title the look we’ve come to expect from the HALO universe. With the release of HALO Reach this fall, HALO: Bloodlines looks to shed a little more light on the time before the first HALO video game.

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Rating System: 0 to 1.5 stars = save your money unless you are just mindlessly collecting the title. 2 to 3.5 = worth a shot if you are up to trying something new or wanting to get back into a title. 4 to 5 = a must buy for any comic reader.

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