The Good

This issue is an Original Sin tie-in and thankfully, it doesn't interrupt the main story in FANTASTIC FOUR. Writer James Robinson gracefully works it into the currently story line, while the Fantastic Four deals with the fact they can't get into the Baxter Building and their kids were taken away after the court case of the century in the last issue. Readers still see what happens to the team when they get back and what is going on with Hammond and the kids of the Future Foundation.

As with every issue, Leonard Kirk, along with Karl Kesel on inks, and Jesus Aburtov and Veronica Gandi on colors, do a fantastic job on the issue, especially on the two-page spread with Sue going off on the Avengers, where we see two different perspectives of the event. There's a lot of larger panel work in this issue where Kirk really shines and readers get to see a ton of different characters in his style, and it all looks great.

The second half of this book is pretty awesome, as Dean Haspiel and Nolan Woodard take over on art for a moment when Johnny wronged Ben in a secret moment, unleashed by the eye of Uatu. The scene has this classic, bronze age art feel to it, and it's very cool to actually see the moment that was unleashed inside Ben's mind, especially when it's in a completely different art style, fitting to the era where it happened.

The Bad

The only real downside to the issue is that it readers have to wait another month in order to figure out what actually happened, since the full betrayal isn't given away here, unless the whole "betrayal" was just Johnny playing a practical joke, which the issue weakly makes that point. Either way, this isn't as fulfilling as it should be.

The Verdict

FANTASTIC FOUR #6 is a prime example of how to continue an on-going story line while also tying into the big event. This series has been an incredible amount of fun that embraces the history of FF, instead of pushing it off to the side. Normally, I'm not a fan of this team, but Robinson's run is a lot of fun and a great overall read. In addition, the way it works with Original Sin is very cool and I cannot wait to see everything about what happened to Ben in the next issue. Overall, I highly recommend this series.

"a fantastic job on the issue"

@inferiorego I see what you did there

I hope we get to see more of Sue's reaction in the next issue. The creative team is doing a great job so far in this run.

Spot on review, was a really good comic. I have been really enjoying this Fantastic Four run.

Now I have to wait a while for this next issue...darn.

I've fallen behind on this new FF but I have no desire to get back up to speed. I was interested by this months ago when the solicit came out, but I can't get over Robinson's writing and the disappointment of Original Sin so far.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this issue. All I've been hearing lately about this run on the FF is "Tearing the family apart" and things like that- Ben is one of my favorite characters, and I love the First Family aspect, so maybe I'm just a lil' touchy about this. I miss the Waid/Wieringo days- "imaginauts"- I've been missing that aspect for a long time..

anyone mind spoiling why the thing is apparently murdering the human torch?

@powerflux: Thing's murdering hasn't been revealed yet, not even in this issue and they never said who he murdered even in solicits. The cover is very misleading but like Mat and I also think it's a great issue worth reading anyway.

@iceslick:

I hope Ben isn't murdering anybody. Ben Grimm is a hero with a heart of gold; he's not a killer under any circumstance- like he said in an issue of Dan Slott's underrated Thing series: "I'm a hero from those days when it actually meant something." Yeah, he & Johnny have had slugfests, but I hope the covers are just an exaggeration. If not, it's the ruination of one of Lee & Kirby's greatest characters.

@winter_kills: Agreed, I really hope Ben doesn't turn out to be an actual murderer in this storyline. The things you've said already sum up why The Thing is a brilliant character with plenty of heart and for him to act in the way implied would be a major disrespect for the character. Though Robinson's run has been better than anything Fraction wrote for the FF, I also long for the Waid days too. That guy nailed the FF down to their core.

Poor Sue can't blame her man i would have been shocked if she didn't have the break down right here. Her daughter left she lost her home and now all her kids and then her so called friends aren't there to help i can't blame her to unleash one bit.

Poor ben never expected Johnny to do such a douche move, but i should not be surprised he did. I don't think ben will kill him, but there are not gonna be as close as they were after this.

Avengers being bullies as per usual

@lvenger:

I totally agree- Waid just had this great understanding of not just the FF as a whole, but what made each member of the team- the family- tick. Plus, the book had an element of fun that few comics have these days. FF is supposed to be "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine"- and I feel like it's been falling short of that for a long time, and long for the day when it'll earn that title again. Deconstructing the team/family & the individual members- especially Ben, who is considered one of the heroes with the most heart, courage and loyalty in the Marvel Universe- isn't the way to go. I've followed the FF since I was a kid, and Ben in all his outings, especially Marvel Two-In-One, and I hate to see anything destructive happen to any of these characters- especially Ben. They all feel like people I know, old friends and family, honestly. If they turn Ben into something he's not and never could be, I'd lose hope in the FF completely.

@jonny_anonymous:

Or the writers portraying the Avengers as bullies- lots of mischaracterizations going on I comics these days.

@lvenger: @winter_kills: Hickman >>>>>>>> Waid.

@winter_kills: Agreed, Waid did have the best understanding of the FF and how to put them in a modern context with stories and scenarios readers would enjoy seeing. Ben's heart of gold is also what makes him my favourite FF member and I hope Robinson doesn't sully his run by turning Ben Grimm into a killer when that's not in his nature. That would taint the relationship between the FF family greatly IMO.

You are reading Avengers and New Avengers right? Overblown, convoluted stories with empty characters only receiving generic portrayals thanks to Hickman. Plus Hickman is trying to be Marvel's version of Grant Morrison and failing miserably at that. I know you don't like Waid's Daredevil for good reasons but objectively speaking, it is much better written than anything Hickman is writing so far.

@lvenger: Are you seriously saying that Waid's DD is better than Hickman's FF?

Everything's subjective but no I won't say that. I will say it's better than his Avengers run though. Hickman can only work with limited characters. Give him too many and he doesn't do enough to define them.

I don't think he needs to define them, he has a story he wanted to tell (originally with the Imperial Guard but Marvel told him to do it with Avengers) and he's telling it. All these characters are getting defined in other books, be it their solos, in Avengers World or I would even say BP and Namor are getting good developments in New Avengers.

I definitely don't like Namor so I can't comment on whether he's well developed but Panther is only one example. Nobody else is a stand out character in his Avengers run at all.

Well like I said, it's about the stories not the characters.

@jonny_anonymous: True but good stories are also those that make you care about the characters. You need good characters to make a good story. Morrison can balance both very well. His JLA run is evidence of that much. Hickman has yet to strike that balance.

@lvenger: Depends on your point of view. I couldn't care less about most of the characters in Avengers and I still love it.

But if you don't care what happens to the characters, how can you care if they're threatened or nearly beaten sometimes? Even though it's often overrated, Snyder's Batman does make you care about Bruce because of his character so that his reactions to the story's events make you invested in him coming out on top.

This issue was midway good, I mean I enjoyed the story a lot until it became a tie-in to Original Sin. I like the event so far but the story seemed a little bit out of character for Ben here.

@lvenger: I already know who these characters are and what there about, all I want from Hickman is a good story that will entertain me.

Fair enough, I can see where you're coming from here. I just don't feel Hickman's Avengers writing. His FF stuff at least had nice characterisation to it which made it an entertaining read.

@jonny_anonymous:

That's a matter of opinion, which you're entitled to, as everyone is. Hickman's run had good points, but Waid provided everything that I wanted out of the FF. The whole "imaginauts" thing, family, & an element of fun- something a lot of comics are sorely missing these days. But, I did like Hickman's run better that this current run or Fraction's, & Hickman's work on the Avengers, which really hasn't resonated with me.