Black Bolt returns to the Marvel Universe after a long period of exile. How will the Inhumans' return to Earth affect the current FF?
The Good
Black Bolt being back in the Marvel Universe is always a good thing. I'm a big fan of Cosmix Marvel, and seeing him return (especially to five wives!) was a good step in the right direction for classic FF.
I like the Supreme Intelligence espionage that's going on right now, as he's a great "behind the scenes" villain that I think the FF needs. With all of their normal enemies banding together to help the team, we need a threat for after that story wraps up.
The Bad
It's kind of weird; nothing that was advertised in this issue actually happened, besides Black Bolt returning. We get no FF, no fight between 'Bolt and an accuser and no real progress on the "fake Reeds" storyline, which makes me a bit frustrated. This isn't to say that nothing happened - it just wasn't what a lot of us were expecting. They kind of dilly-dallied on this issue, and I hope things go back on track with #8.
Since when is Medusa okay with Mr. Boltagon gaining four more wives? Did I miss something?
The Verdict
Like I said above, this issue is very slow; we see a lot of set-up that's being continued on from the previous issue, but little in the way of actual progress. It's like issue #6 was preparing for Black Bolt's return, and #7's entire story was devoted to it actually happening. Seeing such a shift from a FF-centered storyline to a "Kree and Inhumans"-based one was a bit jarring. I'm not sure what to think of it.
Ultimately, I think this issue is meant to kill some time while Fear Itself is still going on. However, since the shift in storyline is so sharp, there just seems to be no room for the events of Fear Itself to take place and the wrap-up of this "anti-Reed" storyline to occur. I'm curious to see how Hickman will turn this around and keep it logical.
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