An intrepid group of astronauts: Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm originally received their powers after being exposed to an immense amount of cosmic radiation during a trip into space. Mutated and given strange powers by this exposure, they became the Fantastic Four and dedicated their abilities to the good of humanity.
Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting are about to bring death to the Fantastic Four. With the current storyline, THREE, someone is going to perish in Fantastic Four #587. Let me begin by stating that if you are looking for spoilers on that issue, you may have already heard them. Marvel has made it pretty difficult to avoid them.
Death is such a common event in comic books these days yet the events that are about to happen have been getting a lot of attention and coverage in other non-comic book media. Someone is going to die and things will never be the same. We've heard it all before but, I have to admit, there's a tiny part that always wonders what if this death will actually stick?
The Fantastic Four has always been about a family of superheroes. That is what has separated them from other teams. There has been discussion over who might be the one to die. Each death could have lasting repercussions. With everyone talking about this issue and comic stores being allowed to sell the issue one day early, will you read/seek out the spoilers or will you avoid them and read the issue for yourself? == TEASER == Will one of these be the new team roster or will there be another 'team'? For me, I don't want to be spoiled. I will do my best to avoid them until I get my hands on a copy. Not everyone feels that way. There are those that enjoy reading spoilers. They want to know right away. It might ruin the surprise but they're okay with that and will still look forward to reading/seeing the actual event occur. Some people enjoy being the one to reveal the spoiler. There is a sort of empowerment in being the first one with the information and knowing something that no one else does.
What's with this symbol? What we know is someone is going to perish. Next month's issue #588 will be the final issue of Fantastic Four. We will then see FF #1 by Hickman and Epting in March. My theory is FF will last eleven issues with the twelfth reverting back to Fantastic Four just in time for issue #600.
I've mentioned before who I think will/should die. You can stay tuned for some extensive discussion on this topic to see what me, Sara and Norm think including our reaction to the issue on Wednesday.
If you are going to spoil it or want to be spoiled, we just ask that you do it discretely. If someone asks, send them a pm. If you wish to post it below in the comments, please use the spoiler tag. That also means do not quote the post with the spoiler tag or it will be revealed to everyone.
More importantly, I'm curious about whether or not people want to be spoiled on this or if they're looking forward to actually reading the issue. The spoiler is out there, hours before comic shops even have a chance to open. If you got spoiled, was it by choice and who was it that spoiled you?
Edit
Looks like the cat's out of the bag. The secret is already out there. After debating, I've decided to go ahead and post the spoiler since Marvel has already released an official press release showing the cover and the identity of who dies. Still, if you want to avoid it, do not click on the spoiler tag below.
“FLAME OFF!” In a move sure to shock comic fans worldwide, Marvel unveiled that its ever popular super hero the Human Torch will meet his demise and die heroically in Fantastic Four #587, hitting stores tomorrow (Wednesday, January 26 ). Concluding the “Three” storyline that captivated the mainstream media and industry press alike, this issue and the death of such a renowned character from the First Family of comics signals the beginning of major changes for the Marvel Universe as the Fantastic Four lose one of their founding members.
“Jonathan Hickman [writer of Fantastic Four] came to us two years ago with a vision for evolving the characters and concepts introduced to fans 50 years ago in Fantastic Four #1 – and quite frankly his vision blew us away,” said Tom Brevoort, Marvel Entertainment SVP of Publishing. “The death of the Human Torch is the first major move in this incredibly exciting evolution of the legendary Fantastic Four franchise and a necessary part of the larger story we will be telling featuring the beloved characters moving forward.”
But the story doesn’t end there-- February’s Fantastic Four #588 brings the long running series to a conclusion as the Fantastic Four disband and the surviving characters must discover their new roles in the Marvel Universe. Just what’s next for the surviving members of Marvel’s First Family?
Fantastic Four #1 debuted in 1961, kicking off the “Marvel Age” of comics and dramatically increasing the popularity of super heroes. As the progenitor of Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four set a new tone for super hero comics with its nuanced characterization, reflection of real world fears and progressive depiction of super heroes. Through the years, the Fantastic Four have been involved in many of comics most important & memorable storylines, from the introduction of Galactus to the chart-topping Civil War and now the upcoming event Fear Itself.
I'd take the spoiler only because I'm interested and I don't care about the four enough that I will ever read the story.
If I had to guess on who I thought was most likely, I'd imagine it would be Mr Fantastic. again I haven't read the recent stories, but just based on the types of characters Marvel usually kills off, Reed seems most likely.
I want it to be Johnny, but I have a sinking feeling that it might be Sue or Reed... I highly doubt it would be Ben.
Oh. and to answer the question, I definitely like *confirmed spoilers... i rather not set my expectations too high and then be disappointed...i dont like surprises, i like to know where things are going to go lol
I can't believe they're already spoiling who's going to die as I'm a bit interested on who's going to bite it....and in a couple of years will come back.
I think it will be Johnny just because he hasn't been important in my eyes lately. Johnny 85% Mr. Fantastic: 10% Sue: 5% Thing: Not even part of my percentage lol.
" Someone is going to die and things will never be the same. "
Seven of the most over used words in comics. More so because it's always a lie.
Why do they promote these deaths as if they ever mean anything? They're always undone at some point and render all this pomp and circumstance as empty words. Death in the major publishers is a joke. Jean Grey has died so many times. After her revival and eventual re-death, the X-Men shouldn't have a funeral. They should start a office pool.
I just find this over-promoting death rather disturbingly morbid. More so that people seem to eat it up.
-Ben has died and gone to heaven once already, doesn't make since to do it again -Reed is too big a par of the Marvel universe to kill off -Sue for the most part holds the team together and without her I don't think they could last long or stay noble for long, I heard the other three leveled a skrull city when they thought they killed her
-Then there is Torch, the guy on the team who honestly starts more s**t then he helps fix, he's the most logical choice which is why I don't think it will be him. He is the person on the team I can see them moving on without him in their ranks but not anybody else on the team. I hope that if they do something like this it has bigger effects to it like Torch secretly living on to join the Secret Avengers or something and getting some real training and true time to mature.
Who cares? If they spild it than this is another stupid story that nobody would read if they hadn't spoil everything year before it happens. MARVEL's policy is so goddamn STUPID.
If i was invested in the story and had been reading it and was a FF fan i wouldnt want spoilers. But i'm just interested enough to want to know who it is.
Can't say I even begin to care. However, I think Marvel made a mistake in leaking the information willingly to news publications and spoiling it for the remaining fans of the book. Another reason to not make mine Marvel
Don't one of them die every 2-3 years then they always revert back to the classic roster! (and since there's a FF movie reboot in the works, I'm sure they'll go back to the classic team on time for it!)
but it doesn't matter....as with all deaths in comics...this person WILL return eventually.
Seriously I wish they'd take "death" in comics more seriously....as it is...no matter how well written the story is...once that person returns...it renders the entire "arc" of them dying as trite because it happens so often.
As it is who cares when someone dies anymore? give it a year and they'll be back.
I've decided to include the SPOILER in the original post since Marvel has insisted on spoiling it for me and the world. There are some IMAGES if you want to see what happens. But again, please do not type out or quote any posts revealing who dies, just in case there are still those managing not to get spoiled.
I read this news this morning when it was plastered on the front page of Yahoo.com, I was quite surprised to hear this since I didn't know it was happening. I was a great fan of the title back in the 80's and 90's, but I haven't read anything in nearly a decade. My first reaction is "Oh, geez another pointless comic book death." Then I read that there will reportedly be no #589. So, I can only assume they're going to reboot the whole she-bang. I'm not too surprised. Even in the Walter Simonson days that hooked me, the book was a second tier franchise behind the exceedingly overexposed X-Men. Two lackluster movies didn't help its image.
I went for the spoiler, since marvel spoiled it already, I figured it was going to be that person, well you know how death in comics go, that person will be back within a year, or whenever a new writer takes over the book.
If you can't tell I am being sarcastic, sure the death of Johnny is important to the F4, but to make a real impact in the Marvel U I think they missed the mark. Also I mean how much will he be missed by the F4, he really didn't bring anything important to the family. A death that I think would have truly rocked the F4 to the core would have been Sue. Then you would have had Reed become even more obsessed in his work, Ben would probably become an Avenger full time and Johnny would be even more of a hot head. Plus Franklin would probably become a major villain in the future because you know that's how a lot of villains are born. Heck he could be the next Doctor Doom.
" Someone is going to die and things will never be the same. "
Seven of the most over used words in comics. More so because it's always a lie. Why do they promote these deaths as if they ever mean anything? They're always undone at some point and render all this pomp and circumstance as empty words. Death in the major publishers is a joke. Jean Grey has died so many times. After her revival and eventual re-death, the X-Men shouldn't have a funeral. They should start a office pool. I just find this over-promoting death rather disturbingly morbid. More so that people seem to eat it up. "
human torch die as a hero in that issue sacrificing himself for the sake of the other three, and in the #600 like there is a big event for fantastic three (like challenging a final boss!) then suddenly TorchMan (yeah i assume that human torch actually gone practicing/gaining power/transform/whatever you call it instead of dying. then he changed into mature hero called....torchman! :D) came with his tremendous power giving aid to fantastic three. then *BAM* *BAM*...u know, hero always win...
The reason I've avoided the spoilers is that I don't care. I HATE the Fantastic Four. I am not aware of anything they've done of any importance since Galactus. They're totally not relatable and I can't get behind a character/team I can't relate to.
If I had to guess, I'd say Johnny or Thing dies. Johnny because he's totally superfluous. Thing is the muscle, Reed is the brains, and Sue is the heart; Johnny is a snot nosed jerk from what I remember from the failed 90s cartoon.
Thing is also a good candidate because he's the only one who isn't related to the rest of the team. He's the Joey of the group (that's right, I referenced Full House). There are plenty other strongmen in the Marvel Universe, and apparently Hulk brought back another giant rock-skinned alien from Planet Hulk (which i should probably get around to reading) so essentially a cross between Thing and a Conehead. Easily replaceable with no real personality traits.
I'm SURE they won't kill off Reed because that's what they did in the Ultimate Universe already, and the whole point of Ultimate Marvel was to be different from 616. And the only way they'd kill off Sue would be to replace her with Valeria or another girl, otherwise the sausage fest would get REAL old, REAL fast.
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