Does FF stand for Fialkov Foundation?
Marvel Comics has been consistently rolling out new #1 issues since they first began their Marvel Now! initiative. They started with great books like Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy, moving into Silver Surfer and Moon Knight, and now with the Ultimate Universe- Ultimate FF. The fate of the Ultimate Universe was in jeopardy for quite a while, with the Cataclysm crossover storyline, and just recently wrapped up. I, admittedly, didn’t read much of that story, so I am woefully unprepared with what I’m sure is a lengthy backstory of the Ultimate Universe’s Future Foundation.
But upon first glance, this team is already something a bit more cerebral and more modern than the classic team that has been a Marvel Comics staple for decades. The members of this foursome are quite fantastic but don’t seem to have the standard muscle, or “bruiser”, character on the team. The team, as the cover lays out are Sue Storm (classic Fantastic member), Iron Man (who is on every team now, he even was a Guardian of the Galaxy recently), The Falcon (which is perfect to capitalize on with his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Machine Man, who I am not at all aware of as a character in the Marvel Universe. Agent Coulson even makes an appearance, who is basically the Stan Lee of S.H.I.E.L.D. (meaning he is LITERALLY all over everything Marvel right now) and the character revealed at the end of the book was a pleasant surprise as well (I try not to spoil any modern books, you should go out and pick them up and experience the revelation for yourself) and the book was really different than the James Robinson penned Fantastic Four book, while both look futuristic and have a definite cosmic feel to them, this one is definitely much darker (and that’s not just because this FF is in blue, and Robinson’s are in red…) as the Ultimate Universe typically seems to be.
This book is beautifully choreographed with two flying characters (Iron Man and Falcon) utilizing their aerial abilities throughout the action sequences, with Sue Storm using her psychic projections it made for a really well laid out fighting scene. The dialogue seemed very natural for all the different characters involved, and team books can often be a breeding ground for singular voices shared among many characters, but I don’t see that happening on this book. I really liked the different take on the FF in this issue, with a nice balance of punch fight and pithy back and forth dialogue, this book was a surprising gem in this weeks’ pick-up.
I would say to go out and grab this book, it is a pretty easy leap for new readers to get on-board, and it really is a new spin on the classic fearsome foursome, so it should have something for just about everyone. I will definitely be picking up the next issue, if only to see what happens after the reveal at the end. Go get this book, or you’ll be clobberin’ yourself, wishing that you had.
