Antebellum Marvel: Fantastic Four #537
Previously in The Amazing Spider-Man #531
I’m traveling the road to Civil War with Marvel so I can be caught up by the time this storyline hits the big screen. Please do not comment with spoilers if you’re familiar with this particular story arc, but you are welcome to provide non-spoiler answers to any questions I may ask in the review.
- Issue: Fantastic Four #537
- Title: The Hammer Falls - Part 2
- Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
- Penciler: Mike McKone
- Inkers: Andy Lanning, Cam Smith, and Kris Justice
- Letterer: VC’S Rus Wooton
Who’s In It:
Dr. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm (The Invisible Girl), Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), Ben Grimm (Thing), Victor von Doom (Dr. Doom), and Thor… maybe.
What Happens:
The team knows why Dr. Doom is on the scene: he wants to get Thor’s hammer, but they don’t know how he managed to crawl out of hell, which is where they last left him. Because he’s an evil villain, Doom starts monologuing, but only his head so we can see how an Asgardian battle tore through the fabric of dimensions and Doom was able to ride the wave of energy caused by the soaring hammer back to Earth.
He wastes little time gathering his army of DoomBots to attack the military operation researching the hammer.
Of course, out loud he says, “It’s far too long a story and it matters not.”
Okay, that’s cool. Ben will just commence to kicking your ass now, sooner than later. When Doom does get the upper hand, he makes a move for the hammer only to realize he’s so not worthy. That pull he felt didn’t really mean a damn thing. Whatever. He really didn’t want the stupid hammer anyway.
Doom can play it off like he didn’t really want it, but I know someone who does: the mysterious man buying a one-way ticket to Oklahoma. And I’m about 99.9% sure it’s Thor. Maybe.
Points of Note:
- Again, not a huge Fantastic Four fan so this issue didn’t do much for me. I found Doom’s narration over-the-top and couldn’t take him seriously as a threat.
- There were some funny beats, like Ben trying to pick up the hammer because why the fuck not, that’s why.
- Hopefully things will pick up when Thor arrives to claim what’s his.
