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Off My Mind: Death In The Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four will become the Fantastic Three?

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Marvel is saying one of the Fantastic Four will fall and perish in the upcoming arc, Fantastic Four: Three starting in issue #583. We've seen death in comics many times but perhaps this will be different.  
 
Besides the promise of a death in this story arc, there are so many things coming in this title that has me excited. Fantastic Four was one of the first titles I got hooked on with issue #273 being the first that I bought. I know a lot of readers have a hard time getting into the title the same way they struggle with Superman comics. I believe the perception is these comics aren't as hip as some of the newer titles. The Fantastic Four has always been about a family going on adventures. It's simply so much more than that. Since Jonathan Hickman has started writing, that perception should change.  
 
Besides a possible death, why am I excited over this?
 == TEASER == 
With Hickman's writing since issue #570, the title has gotten better each month. With issue #583, Steve Epting comes on board as the artist. That alone is a reason for me to get excited. You'll notice that the cover is drawn by another of my favorites, Alan Davis. In the preview (below) you'll see mention of Kristoff.  
 
Kristoff Vernard, aka Kristoff Von Doom is the adopted son of Dr. Doom. When Doom seemingly died, a Doombot implanted Doom's memories into Kristoff and he believed he was the true Victor Von Doom. You can imagine the problems it caused when the real Doom eventually returned. There's also the possibility that floated around with Nathaniel Richards being Kristoff's actual father. It's going to be interesting to see why Doom will be summoning Kristoff and what he'll be like after all this time. 
 
Going back to the issue of a death, will a member actually die?  Death is so overused. Whenever there's a death in comics, it's just not a big deal, especially when it's a major character. You know they won't remain dead for long. Despite the tease for issue #583, there have been four different images telling us that one of the Fantastic Four will be gone. Which member will be the unlucky one?


We've recently seen the deaths of Cable, Nightcrawler and Sentry. Is Hickman and Marvel really serious about killing a member of the Fantastic Four? Part of me feels that with all these deaths, they have to start taking them seriously if we're supposed to start caring in the slightest bit.  
 
Just like I feel the death of Nightcrawler, Cable and Sentry won't last, I don't think whoever dies in the FF will remain dead for long. I am super excited for this story arc despite the possible death stunt factor. The combination of Hickman and Epting is going to make this great title even better. Check out the preview pages with Doom and a curious visit by Valeria Richards. Issue #583 is on sale September 22, 2010.

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159 Comments

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Ice Princess

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Edited By Ice Princess

This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why I find Marvel to be completely lame. All of these shock deaths are getting out of hand. Really, who will they have left to kill a year from now? They'll all be dead by then from these *gasp* *shock* "Oh no! They killed _____! *gasp* shock*
 
For the love of the Gods Marvel ... please stop killing everyone!!

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sora_thekey

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Edited By sora_thekey
@JoeRiccadonna:  What's that from?
Actually I have a hypothesis about this...
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oiHooliganismoi

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Edited By oiHooliganismoi
@Hamz: also thing is a big player in the MU... he has done a lot of things has impacted the MU
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gambitpryde1993

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Edited By gambitpryde1993

The Thing is the strongest superhero in the Marvel Universe. He's not gonna die any time soon, but I can see Doom taking down Johnny Storm. He'll probably do something stupid. Maybe Firestar can join the Fantastic Four in his place

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gui22

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Edited By gui22

The fantastic four shall remain four, i hope....

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tensor

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Edited By tensor

you are all wrong its the weakest link either johnny or ben will kick the bucket an maybe then we can have Franklyn come in  

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zzax

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Edited By zzax

Not sure who will die; but if Marvel editing staff keeps with the status quo, I am guessing their replacement will be either Deadpool or Wolverine. Or perhaps "Dark Deadpool" or "Dark Wolverine"

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Stormmagician

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Edited By Stormmagician

Something tells me that it will be the human torch, he hasn't really played an important role to the team for sometime, and i don't think it will be ben since he's in the new avengers.

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buns134

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Edited By buns134

hopefully sue i hate her
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Lvenger

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Edited By Lvenger

They can't kill off a member of the Fantastic Four. Fantastic Three doesn't have the same ring to it. They'll have to rename the team The Thrilling Threesome or something like that

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Mumbles

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Edited By Mumbles

kill thing

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baddie

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Edited By baddie

I'm not really bothered by death in comics. I'm bothered by death in comics done just to bring shock value to the table. Seeing how Hickman's run is going, I believe this death will serve the story pretty well. That being said, DEATH TO THE TORCH!

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ShirEPanjshir

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Edited By ShirEPanjshir

I'm thinking Sue or Torch.

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goldenkey

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Edited By goldenkey
@ShirEPanjshir: OH I CONCUR.  The Thing is one thats the front runner for not getting killed considering he's an Avenger and people want to see what's up with that.  Torch is expendable, but people just don't like Sue for some reason.
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Raddra

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Edited By Raddra
@neillius said:
" Lame, The killing off of characters in comics is starting to get boring. "
 
Especially when you know it won't stick. 
 
I'm kinda jaded on the whole killing off thing, when its done too much it loses its impact.
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Mbecks14

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Edited By Mbecks14

I feel like they always try to kill one of these guys. But for the fun of spectulation:
 
It wont be The Thing. 
And i'm pretty sure it won't be Human Torch.
   They're too popular
I'm guessing it'll be Mr. Fantastic since Sue is the token female and everybody expects her to die.

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Powerzone789

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Edited By Powerzone789

i hope reed dies...he annoys the shit outta me...
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logan48227

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Edited By logan48227

Is there any way they can just kill them all?
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Vrykolakas

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Edited By Vrykolakas

They should kill off Mr Fantastic. It would be one huge curve ball for all the good guys.

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goldenkey

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Edited By goldenkey
@tensor:   I can totally see Franklin coming in, but I don't see Ben since he JUST became an Avenger, and Johnny would the obvious choice.  Might be Reed since his daughter can take up the mantle of the SMART one.  It would seem unexpected too.  Isn't that point sometimes.  Ben no because of being and Avenger,  Johnny no because of it being obvious,  One would think Reed no becasue he's Reed, so that would leave Sue, but that would be just to easy.  I keep changing my mind except for Ben.  He's going no where.  To much to use in the Avengers and only Bendis is gonna kill someone in a Bendis book.
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ARMIV

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Edited By ARMIV

Probably Reed,maybe Sue.

 

But it doesn't make a bit of difference,guys. The ability to responsibly manage death and ressurection in comics is inert.

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Pacperson

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Edited By Pacperson

Please let it be Reed...and let Doom do the killing....

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deactivated-579fe0ae58107

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I picked up a few issues of Hickman's run. The covers by Alan Davis have been great. Stories were pretty good.  
 
I'm just worn out by creators killing off a character. It just becomes an episode of  Itchy and Scratchy, then. If it doesn't matter, then why should I bother? After 40+ years, is that the point that Fantastic Four has come to, to keep things interesting? 

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Crymsun

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Edited By Crymsun

Character death is so common any more, I really don't care.
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gmanfromheck

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Edited By gmanfromheck
@goldenkey: Maybe Thing joining the Avengers is a big smoke screen to throw us off. I doubt it but...
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leokearon

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Edited By leokearon

It doesn't matter since God will bring them back
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BenB

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Edited By BenB

I am more than a little tired of the Fantastic Four. It seems like someone is always kicking the bucket or they have another superhero stand in. I wish they would focus more on story and not on flash in the pan rosters

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Raddra

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Edited By Raddra
@Powerzone789 said:
" i hope reed dies...he annoys the shit outta me... "
Ditto. 
 
I can't stand his character.
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Blindside002

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Edited By Blindside002

I'm pretty certain it will be the Human Torch. I don't know why but it just seems like the one that will happen, cause if it is one of the others than they won't stay dead for long at all.

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Krakoa

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Edited By Krakoa
@AirDave817 said:
" I picked up a few issues of Hickman's run. The covers by Alan Davis have been great. Stories were pretty good.  
 
I'm just worn out by creators killing off a character. It just becomes an episode of  Itchy and Scratchy, then. If it doesn't matter, then why should I bother? After 40+ years, is that the point that Fantastic Four has come to, to keep things interesting?  "
So true.
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Jordanstine

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Edited By Jordanstine

Johnny Storm the Human Torch is going to die.  
 
--SPOILER--  (sorry but Java script don't work with my computer)  --SPOILER--     
 
The new story arc is going to have the remaining 3 living with the grief, with Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch, joining the team.   
 
This will of course cause quite some more drama and chemistry issues since he's nothing like Johnny. 
 
End of spoiler. 
 
 
 

 

 
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lostlantern13

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Edited By lostlantern13

I don't know who it will be, but it won't be Grimm or Richards. Hickman loves writing Reed (As stated in interviews) while Grimm's under Bendis protection.
 
If I had to put money on it....Johnny.

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Iron Fist Angel

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Edited By Iron Fist Angel

I'm guessing they'll kill off Reed again. Like it really matters though.

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Gylan Thomas

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Edited By Gylan Thomas

Real question is how long before whoever dies returns?

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Mr. Kamikaze

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Edited By Mr. Kamikaze

Johnny is my favorite of the four, and one of my top favorite from Marvel in general...but sadly I do think it will be him that will perish. 
 
Sue is a mom, and they won't take her away from her kids. Plus they have already teased the death of Invisible Woman (who was actually Invisible Woman from the future) and so on. So I don't think they will do that again or make her children motherless. 
 
Ben is part of the Avengers now, it is highly unlikely that they would put him on the Avengers just to kill him off on his first day. So I do not think it will be Ben either. 
 
Reed is everyone's go-to genius. He is almost vital to the Marvel Universe, he is the least coolest of the four, but he is the super genius of the universe and they need him around to do what Pym and Stark can't, which is almost anything. ("Reed...It's on bitch" classic) 
 
As for Johnny...what exactly is he doing? Nothing...he almost knocked some chick up in the most recent annual, and he did recently save a toy store from Arcade...and he did accidentally leave the portal to the Negative Zone open...if you're following, he hasn't done much of anything. So if they were to kill someone off, unfortunately, it would probably be The Human Torch.

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Cosmic Webhead

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Edited By Cosmic Webhead

Definitely think it's going to be the Human Torch "dying." If Spidey's joining the team, it just makes the most sense to have him replace Johnny.

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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Edited By Avenging-X-Bolt

Kill reed

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ArtisticNeedham

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Edited By ArtisticNeedham

Reed already died once, and was trapped in Doom's armor or something.  Have Johnny, Sue, or Ben died yet?

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vance_astro

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Edited By vance_astro  Moderator

They already did this with the death of another universes Sue Storm.They pretended Sue was going to die and then it turned out a Sue from other universe was the one who got killed.I don't care at this point who they kill off.Not one member is relevant to me anymore.I'm sick of the "who's going to die storylines"..Who cares? Do something meaningful for once.Kill Val in Franklin too if you want..kill the whole team off I don't care anymore.

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brendon277

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Edited By brendon277
@Serpent: I agree and sad thing about that is most of the issues are about him and he's really boring
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DeadlyWolverine

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Edited By DeadlyWolverine

Maybe the cover is misleading, maybe they have room for 4 coffins in that grave. :P 
That is probably why they all look frightened, something is probably gonna push them in. 
 
I love reading what everyone is saying about this, they are thinking logically, trying to find who has contributed the least, and how that will factor into their ultimate demise/kill off. However, death is supposed to be unexpected and can kill anyone at anytime. Death doesn't discriminate. 
 
RANDOM IS KEY.

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Fresh0133

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Edited By Fresh0133

If I had to guess I'd bet it's Reed.

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DavidRose

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Edited By DavidRose

  I have SO much faith in my prediction, I'm going to SPOILER WARNING it, because it goes into much detail. I haven't read any of the other comment's, so someone may have already touched on this... But here it is:

 In the most recent issue, on the Fantastic Mail page, or whatever it's called, Hickman teased that he was going to kill the kids, in response to a reader who wrote in and had made mention of the future arc that a member would die. Now, the current arc Hickman is doing has future Franklin and Val time traveling on an adventure -- y'know what, just buy the issue for full details. :) So I predict that might be what he teased of... He'd kill the 'older' Frank and Val. Personally, I don't believe he'll kill them. I think he teased of the children's death JUST so that we'd buy the nest issue... So, if I'm right in saying this, and the kids don't die -- I predict Hickman will kill Johnny Storm. Off what do I base my prediction? Glad you asked.  
 
 At the end of the arc, prime elements 4, Reed spoke to Johnny about how all of them were feeling 'something than hadn't felt before.' And were going through changes. And he warned Johnny, that something would happen and change him. I'm not going to say everything right here, even though I did spoiler warn this content. Again you'll just have buy the comics. :) #578 Is the issue to which I refer, so you can understand fully what I'm talking about. 
 
 So, I believe his death is going to be what Johnny 'goes through', as Reed forewarned him he would go through something. But worry not, true believers, for surely Johnny Storm shall return and yell "FLAME ON!" even louder than ever before! { if I may SO bold as to say a random prediction as to how he resurrects... He'll return via one of the four worlds Hickman introduced in 'the prime elements' arc... Again, just buy the comics. :) }
 
 Time will tell, and we'll see if I'm right. But keep my prediction in mind.
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davidkenneth

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Edited By davidkenneth

I think on of the kids might die.
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spideybat

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Edited By spideybat

i think that it wil be Reed or sue or maybe even the new dr.doom. you never know. 
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Mr. Kamikaze

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Edited By Mr. Kamikaze

I still think it'll be Johnny...but for some reason I wouldn't mind if he was resurrected and placed in the Marvel Cosmos with Nova and the Guardians and so on...make him one of Marvel's Cosmic Heroes. It's a stretch, a very big stretch, but for some reason, I find he might be cool up in space... 

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00 Raiser

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Edited By 00 Raiser

They better not do away with my boy the Human Torch. He makes the Fantastic 4 fun.
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daken_2513

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Edited By daken_2513

Reed will die
   

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The_Martian

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Edited By The_Martian
@00 Raiser said:
" They better not do away with my boy the Human Torch. He makes the Fantastic 4 fun. "
I think Sue and Ben make the team. Johnny is good for a laugh though.
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RedK

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Edited By RedK

kill the Thing, and when did Doom come back what happened with his new powers from Doom's master arc