What If # 6
What If #6 WHAT IF THE FANTASTIC FOUR HAD DIFFERENT SUPERPOWERS ***1/2
The Turning Point :
When the Fantastic Fours Powers manifest, they end up with different abilities.
Story:
The issue begins with the FF foiling a robbery by a gang of armed Thugs. It goes as you would suspect , after wards Johnny Storm poses the question “What would have happened if they all had different superpowers .
This leads us to the Watchers explanation of how the Fantastic Four got their powers, and leads us to the point where everything changed. In this case Ben Grimm gets dragon like wings, Johnny Storm becomes a Colossus like metal man, Susan gets Reeds old stretching ability, and Reed Richards becomes an actual big brain, making his romance with Susan very impossible.
We are given a glimpse into the differences of the battles with Mole Man and the Skrulls would go, only to get to the meat and potatoes of the story. Their encounter with Doc Doom. Doom realizes the brain is Reed Richards and wanting revenge on him plans to use his new powers to turn him into a thinking computer, bound to the “whims and will of Victor Von Doom”.
Art
Jim Craig gives us an exciting looking book. There is not a boring panel in the issue. Character designs outside of Ben Grimms wings aren’t anything special. I liked the layout more than designs.
COVER:
The cover in my opinion is kind of dull. It shows us the different powers, but has nothing to do with what is in the book. This would have been a good issue to have a team introduction cover.
Over All:
If I were to create an Order of how good the first 6 issues were, this would probably be second. Right after the Captain America issue. It is easy to see that Roy Thomas has a handle on the characters, and manages to add a different dimension to them given their new abilities.
It is still the case where certain powers only work the way they do because a script says that is the way they should. However, it is few and far between, and does not stand in the way of making this issue quite enjoyable.