Good writing keeps FF from getting mired in the muck
Spider-Man dons his new duds as part of the Future Foundation; however, one of their first adventures just happens to be a retread of a Fantastic Four tale!
The Good
I'm a big fan of Dan Slott; he's one of the few writers that can make the Fantastic Four's world seem interesting to me. He writes some amazing Spider-Man/Thing dialogue in this issue, including some Beastie Boys references (which I can never complain about). He also manages to make Sue and Reed seem like actual people, which is a feat in itself.
This issue harkens back to Doctor Doom's first appearance where Ben and Reed and Johnny get sent back to the age of Blackbeard, and the Thing dresses up like a pirate. They were supposed to get some mystical gems for Doom, but they dumped them overboard to protect them.
Fast forward to the present day, and those gems have been discovered again. By the Sinister Six. Who have control of a zombie army. Alright, I can roll with this.
The Bad
I don't like children as heroes; especially super-smart ones. They suffer from Wesley Crusher syndrome, where in the event that they do save the day, it only serves to make the adults look like complete idiots. Otherwise, they're fodder for being captured since, well, they're children. Since that's kind of Franklin and Valeria's purpose in FF books, I can't say I'm too happy with that.
The Verdict
This issue is great because it's roughly 65% Spidey and 20% Future Foundation: the inclusion of Spidey villains and a healthy amount of quip-age saves this from turning into an extension of a team book. The remaining 15% is devoted to side stories and backup features which help to disperse the action. I have no problem with this, especially since this storyline is supposedly two issues long; it means we won't have to worry about the writers not getting to the damn point
