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Episode 739 - HickMania 2: The Council of Reeds
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We get going on the Jonathan Hickman Fantastic Four run proper in this episode, and while there are clearly some seeds being planted for big future stories...it also really reads like a comic from 2009. It even seems to follow on the previous run more than we expected.
Covering Fantastic Four #570 - 574.
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Transcript
Introduction to War Rocket Ajax Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
This show is recorded using Zencaster. If you are a podcaster or you want to be a podcaster and you want to be able to record remotely, you can do so using Zencaster.
00:00:12
Speaker
They also have hosting options and you can let them know that we sent you. Follow the link in our show notes or in the episode description and sign up for an account on Zencaster now to start recording your own podcast.
Meet the Hosts: Chris Sims and Matt Wilson
00:00:28
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to War Rocket Ajax.
00:00:53
Speaker
and welcome to war rockcket ajax This is the Internet's Most Explosive Comic Book and Pop Culture Podcast, and we are your hosts. My name is Chris Sims. With me, as always, is Matt
Discussion on VTubers and Anime Personas
00:01:04
Speaker
Wilson.
00:01:04
Speaker
Matt, you're familiar with the concept of VTubers. Yes, i've I've played Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, so yeah you know all about them.
00:01:16
Speaker
yeah
00:01:18
Speaker
So, my question for you is, if you were to become a VTuber, okay What sort of anime persona would you adopt as your your face to the world?
00:01:35
Speaker
Now,
00:01:38
Speaker
there's a certain type of anime figure that is usually who shows up as in in VTuber videos, right? like I mean, you but...
00:01:52
Speaker
But you could be anything. Yeah. It's just that a lot of them... ah dragon or ah You could or you could just be like an anime Matt Wilson, which I think would be interesting.
00:02:07
Speaker
Sure. But you could very but the Matt, the sky's the limit on these VTubers. Anime Matt Wilson, very kawaii.
00:02:17
Speaker
ah It's just that a lot of VTubers... are our our in the same sort of type of ah of character. There is a certain design sensibility that does seem to be prevailing. Yes. yeah I would be an anime boxer.
00:02:35
Speaker
um I would be exactly like Hajime Noippo. Okay. i would I would literally be a dude in boxing gloves. But not Strong Bad.
00:02:47
Speaker
I was going to say like Strong Bad. I'd be like Little Mac, or or... I think his name is Ippo in Hajime no Ippo. um like I would go in a different direction and be a boxer.
00:03:02
Speaker
Okay. right what about you What about you? ah Anime girl. like Of course. Yes. like The most...
00:03:13
Speaker
but Like, just, you know, picture an anime girl. That would be me my VTuber persona. I would not change my voice at all. Of course. would it Would that character be in a schoolgirl uniform?
00:03:28
Speaker
No. No. I'm thinking, i'm i feel like I would go for more like the the like kind of elaborate fantasy costume.
00:03:41
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Like, I'm picturing a witch. I like that. a lot of VTubers, it seems like, are vampires. it It seems like they come in, like, three main flavors.
00:03:53
Speaker
Uh-huh. There's... girl in a schoolgirl uniform. A lot of that out there on these streets. There's, like... not a not quite furry, but, like...
00:04:09
Speaker
girl dressed up as an animal, like with animal ears of some kind. is that Is that a Gajinka? Or is that just a what they call it when it's Pokemon? You're asking the wrong guy.
00:04:21
Speaker
Okay. And then there's like, Monster Girls. so So you would be in the Monster Girl category? I would be i would be the hottest Monster Girl you've ever seen.
Transition to Fantastic Four Discussion
00:04:34
Speaker
Okay, great. With a big ol' witch hat. Love it. So kind of like Shirka. Yeah, but like like way hotter. Okay, I gotcha. I understand. Like an adult.
00:04:49
Speaker
Right, okay. Although it's hard to tell sometimes. With the anime girls. i don't like it for me I don't like where this conversation is going. um We have a great show for everybody.
Hickmania 2: Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four
00:05:03
Speaker
This is why I told you before we started. I said, well, I do have a question, Matt, but I don't know if I should answer it.
00:05:11
Speaker
ah We have a great show for everybody this week. ah It is Hickmania 2. Which means it'll be taking place in three different cities.
00:05:23
Speaker
That's right. So be prepared for that. I have a story about WrestleMania 2 that I might share when we get to the Hickmania 2 segment. Hmm. ah But what we're going to be watching – a shame that entire company was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
00:05:40
Speaker
I know. God, fuck that company. um But ah what we're going to reading – I said watching. What I meant was reading is the first five issues of the Jonathan Hickman run on Fantastic Four. That is Fantastic Four numbers 570 to 574.
00:05:55
Speaker
That is what is in the first trade paperback series. of Hickman Fantastic Four. um You have just sent me an animated GIF of what your... I think your VTube persona would be.
00:06:10
Speaker
And it is i ah exactly what I was picturing. I just did an internet image search for VTuber Witch, and that's pretty close to what I was imagining. She's got a little raven, which is cute.
00:06:22
Speaker
Yeah. Before we get to Hickmania 2, though... I cannot stress enough, I would not be playing a character...
00:06:30
Speaker
It would just be me.
00:06:33
Speaker
We have some
Patreon Support and Listener Engagement
00:06:34
Speaker
business to take care of. The first piece of business is thanking our newest supporters over on Patreon. That's right, Matt. These are the people who want to support the show.
00:06:45
Speaker
And they support the show by going to patreon.com slash warrocketajax, where they can kick in as little as a dollar a month. And with that dollar a month,
00:06:57
Speaker
you You don't need to to send it by check or money order. You don't need no kettlebells. You can just go there, sign up, and then help support this show.
00:07:08
Speaker
Comics Catch Up, Movie Fighters, Every Story Ever, her all that stuff. And every now and then, you might even get to take a trip all the way down 739 Gimmick Street while you help us pay those gimmicks they keep sending in the mail called Bills.
00:07:25
Speaker
If you join at the $15 level, you can join the Gimmick Street Preservation Society, which enables you to name what goes at an address on Gimmick Street.
00:07:45
Speaker
Currently, we have exhausted all of our submissions already. Which means, Chris, we have to say what's at 739 Gimmick Street. You gotta warn me, Matt.
00:08:03
Speaker
It's the Matt Wilson VTuber Boxing Academy. Of course it is. It's the bike so boxing gym run by me as a VTuber. And so all the instruction is given on video screens.
00:08:18
Speaker
Yeah. By Matt Wilson. Yeah, I'm talking, but it's an anime boxer who's giving all the instructions. That's what is at 739 Gimmick Street.
00:08:29
Speaker
Hey folks, if you're at the $15 level or higher on Patreon and you have not sent in an address for Gimmick Street, you're in the Gimmick Street Preservation Society.
00:08:42
Speaker
Send those in because whatever you send is going to be next. Just keep in mind that it will be across the street from the the ah Matt Wilson VTuber Boxing Academy.
00:08:59
Speaker
That's correct. Here, Chris, are our newest Patreon subscribers, Patreon supporters. Well, there's just one. It's Josh Bell. Well, thank you, Josh.
00:09:10
Speaker
If you would like to be like Josh and help us out here on the show, you can head over to patreon.com slash warrocketajax and kick in as little as $1 per month to make sure that we keep doing this show weekly, that we do Comics Catch-Up monthly, that we do Every Story Ever specials monthly, and that we do Movie Fighters and Snack Situation. the new snack situation ah about my and Marlene's travels in the Pacific Northwest recently went up.
00:09:38
Speaker
um In it, I implore someone in the Pacific Northwest to start a local soda. You gotta do it. Gotta start a local soda.
00:09:49
Speaker
As a patron, you get every episode of all of those shows that I just listed off completely ad-free on your own special Patreon feed of Klytus Media material.
00:10:04
Speaker
At the $5 level, you get bonus content. That is stuff that we record, especially for Patreon. That is outtakes that I cut out of the show and put on Patreon just for patrons.
00:10:15
Speaker
That is writing that Chris and I have done over on Patreon. There's a good amount of stuff over there on Patreon if you've never been at that level before. So I encourage people to... ah bump up to that level if they're not at it, and you can go through the whole backlog of bonus content that's there.
00:10:33
Speaker
At the $10 level, you get line-stepping privileges for our segments, which currently include Every Story Ever and 1 to 10 of sorts. At the $15 level, you join the Gimmick Street Preservation Society.
00:10:44
Speaker
And at the $20 level, you get a t-shirt. There are a couple of people who have contacted me about getting T-shirts who who didn't receive theirs. um I will do my best to get those sent out by the end of September, early October.
00:10:59
Speaker
It has been a trying month. But i will bundny do my yeah I will do my best to get those shirts out to the remaining people as quickly as possible.
00:11:10
Speaker
We are currently at 429 paid patrons on Patreon. um We would love to see that number go up. um If you can help it go up, please do. If you can't help us monetarily, we do understand ah why that might be the case. And look, we've been there before.
00:11:27
Speaker
So we get it. But you can help us out in other ways. You can leave us a five-star review on the podcasting app that you use, whatever it may be. Or you can give us some good word of mouth and spread the word about the show.
00:11:39
Speaker
Tell your friends and family about this podcast, War Rocket Ajax, and ah then tell them to join the Patreon. With that, Chris, it's time for some checks and recs. What do you say?
00:11:52
Speaker
Let's do it.
00:11:56
Speaker
Chris, what would you like to check in with this week? Matt, I'm still playing ah my way through Like a Dragon, colon, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
00:12:07
Speaker
A game that really makes you wonder why they renamed the franchise Like a Dragon. when They were just going to put yeah the word Yakuza in the title anyway.
00:12:19
Speaker
But I felt like I needed a little break. I counted today. i have played six straight Like a Dragon games. That's quite a commitment. Yeah. ah Including Infinite Wealth and Like a Dragon Gaiden, the men who erased his name.
00:12:35
Speaker
And while they're great and I love them, I don't want to get super burnt out. So when I started feeling that, I was like, I need something else. I need something kind of mindless. Something where I can just fuck around.
00:12:46
Speaker
So I am back to playing my... I don't know if it is my preferred ah kind of fuck around game. Because that's Vampire Survivors, but I have done everything you can do in that game.
00:13:01
Speaker
Fair. That is racing games. Yes, I am the same way. i I love to turn my brain off and play a racing game every once in a while. Yeah, because even when there's a story, and even when I appreciate that there is ah a story, ah the the object is generally the same.
00:13:21
Speaker
You try to go fast. Like that little hedgehog told you to. So I was playing a little bit of Need for Speed Most Wanted, which I wanted to bring up because i got that one on the cheap. It was on sale.
00:13:36
Speaker
And ah that game is not good because you have to unlock every upgrade for every car individually by winning races with that car.
00:13:53
Speaker
Which is a pain. Like, there's no, like, currency system. Okay. ah And also, the places where you acquire new cars are called jackspots,
00:14:07
Speaker
which I think could have used five more minutes in the meeting.
00:14:17
Speaker
Especially because there's like a loading screen note that's like, hey, whenever you're close to a jackspot, your controller is going to vibrate. Look, sometimes you've got to go to a jackspot and get a ride.
00:14:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. It's one of those words that fully makes sense. You see where they were going with it, but right just take it would to say it out loud to another person.
00:14:43
Speaker
right Before you name anything anything, say it out loud to another person. right That is our advice to you. ah So i played I played that for a little bit, and it's fun despite that. but ah Then I went back to Need for Speed Heat, which is a game that i I quite like, and is just the kind of... It's one of the perfect fuck-around games.
00:15:13
Speaker
And I made myself laugh because the last time I had played it I had done things I had forgotten about specifically to amuse myself. Like getting a Volkswagen Beetle and getting all of the maxed out parts for it.
00:15:29
Speaker
Making it hot pink and making the license plate say Batman, like Vegeta's shirt. uhah ah So that was pretty funny. And also I got Ford F-150 and put every dumb mod on it that I could.
00:15:43
Speaker
Like, it's got, like, an even bigger grill than normal and, like, a giant spoiler and just a bunch of nonsense. And the license plate just says truck with two Cs.
00:15:57
Speaker
So I'm having a good time. I'm having a good time revisiting these gags. And the racing is fun. I'm doing some high speed fucking around.
00:16:09
Speaker
In the old Need for Speeds, it's not my rec because I am pretty sure i have recommended those games before. Matt, what have you been up to this week? Well, Chris, as I said, it has been a trying September.
00:16:21
Speaker
i I spent my entire Saturday, last Saturday, driving my mom and aunt to see my other aunt who was in the hospital in Charlotte.
00:16:34
Speaker
And that was the whole day. that That took the whole day. ah And we ate at the hospital Panera Bread, which was the first time my my mom and aunt had ever eaten at a Panera Bread.
00:16:49
Speaker
ah So so that's that's what's going on in my life lately. That's why I can't send people t-shirts ah lately. um But I do want to take this opportunity...
00:17:00
Speaker
um To talk about something. By the time this episode goes up. um We'll be past the point. Of this being an option. um But. This is going to happen again.
00:17:14
Speaker
So. i Like. Look. I read our wrestling channel. On Discord. And there's still a lot of talk there about w WWE. And you know if people want to watch that. And that's what they like. You know. Fine.
00:17:30
Speaker
um And there's complaints about AEW, and I understand that too. But I feel like w WWE has reached like the breaking point.
00:17:45
Speaker
It's reached its WWE breaking point, yes. It has reached its WWE premium live event breaking point. Because Brock Lesnar came back...
00:17:59
Speaker
They're doing events like openly at the White House. Ugh. They... ah i think I don't think a black male competitor has won or but even been in a premium live event match in like six months.
00:18:18
Speaker
Really? Yeah. Yeah. ah They did at at at Bad Blood last year, which was in Atlanta, they got asked about that. And ah Triple H said, I don't i don't see color.
00:18:32
Speaker
I only see talent. Which was him saying that he doesn't think that any black men on the main roster have enough talent, I guess, to be on the shows. um That's WrestleMania 19 Triple h coming back.
00:18:43
Speaker
Yeah. um And then they announced WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia in 2027. Like, folks, we're there. Also, the counter-programming is out of control.
00:18:58
Speaker
So, I don't know i don't know about y'all, but I am going to order All Out on pay-per-view or on HBO Max.
00:19:10
Speaker
Not just because I want to watch it, but entirely as a protest maneuver. And I'm not going to subscribe to that stupid ESPN app and pay $30 for w WWE shows with Brock Lesnar on them.
00:19:27
Speaker
I'm not telling anybody else to anything that they should do, but I'm going to say what I'm going to do. And um I think it would be good if somehow WWE's bottom line started to hurt because of these actions that they're taking.
00:19:45
Speaker
Because it's it's too much, folks. I've been there for a couple of years now. It seems like other people are getting there, particularly with the WrestleMania 37 announcement.
00:19:59
Speaker
or Or 43, not 37. 43. But like it's just... Man, this fucking company. like Everything they do lately is just another what-the-fuck.
00:20:15
Speaker
um So i next time i'm but I'm buying all out, which will have happened before this episode goes up. But next time there's like a counter-programmed head-to-head AEW versus w WWE show, umm I'm not doing the w WWE And like if you don't like AEW for whatever reason, I understand and that's fine.
00:20:40
Speaker
They've made mistakes. But like support your local indie instead or other indie wrestling or whatever. Don't give wwe WWE your dollars anymore if you can help it.
00:20:57
Speaker
I said I'm not going to tell people what to do, but I am saying that.
00:21:01
Speaker
Tell them what to do, Matt. It's our show. Yeah, that's, yes. ah So, I don't know. that's what I've been thinking about it a lot lately. um i i don't know, man. i I see all these videos of people at WWE wwe shows booing.
00:21:18
Speaker
Like, they had they did Worlds Collide ah about a week ago, which was one of those combined w WWE AAA shows. And they showed a video package for WrestleMania in Riyadh.
00:21:35
Speaker
And the crowd booed and chanted, you sold out. But you still bought tickets to their fucking show. Stop. Stop doing that. Yeah, man, you got you gotta stop doing that. and Yeah, i've I've not watched ah Vince Jr.'s cartoon wrestling in coming up on five years now.
00:21:59
Speaker
Yeah, I dipped back in for a couple of Royal Rumbles, but boy am I not watching it in 2026 where it is taking place in Saudi Arabia. We're like, I feel like we're like two months away from Collision in Korea, too.
00:22:15
Speaker
We'll see. We'll see. All right, Chris, it's time for some recommendations. what do you have to recommend? Matt, I would like to recommend an anime. Ooh, okay. That was recommended to me.
00:22:29
Speaker
Unrelated to our VTubers. Unrelated to our VTuber situation. Okay. ah Matt, what if I told you? What if I told you, Matt, that you could experience a show that was essentially spy versus spy as a rom-com?
00:22:49
Speaker
I'm interested. I'm interested. Say more. Good. It is called Kaguya-sama Love is War. Uh, It is a show about ah two high schoolers at a ah a fancy, prestigious high school in Japan, ah both of whom have what they each have a crush on the other.
00:23:13
Speaker
ah But they believe that confessing your crush first means you have lost. i yeah You know what? i I can sympathize with this type of thinking.
00:23:29
Speaker
I don't want to – it was a romantic, but when I went to college, um I definitely had the sense that who whichever roommate contacted the other one first was the loser.
00:23:46
Speaker
and so And so I didn't. Yeah. ah but But yeah, this that that is the the premise of the show. ah They are the student council president and vice president, and so they're constantly interacting. And it it in the way of such things, it kind of starts as, ah oh, if I, you know, she forgot her lunch, but if I offer her mine, she'll know that I am secretly in love with her.
00:24:16
Speaker
And, oh no, if I accept his offer of his lunch, then he'll know that I am secretly in love with him. Like, that's like like the first season. And then, at the end of it, it's like, oh no, I cannot deal with the horror of being known.
00:24:32
Speaker
Because I have fooled everyone into thinking that I'm a good person, but I'm secretly terrible. Uh-huh. So... That was stressful. That was a stressful watch, Matt. I can imagine.
00:24:45
Speaker
It's very funny. The dub cast is really incredible. It is narrated by the same ah voice actor who plays Weiss on Dragon Ball Super, if you have watched that, which you should, because it's a really fun show.
00:24:57
Speaker
ah who does a really good job, lots of gags, and ah really fun characters ah that stay really strong and enjoyable all the way through.
00:25:10
Speaker
So ah check that out. Kaguya-sama Love is Warrior. It is on Crunchyroll. ah Matt, what would you like to recommend? I'm going to recommend a video game.
00:25:21
Speaker
It is a new video game. It is a long-awaited video game. It's a video game that people have been waiting on for eight years. And it seems like some people are disappointed with it for difficulty reasons.
00:25:38
Speaker
but But that's why I like it. Yeah, I was worried about that. It's Hollow Knight Silksong, which I started playing.
00:25:48
Speaker
And I don't even think I'm that far into it yet. I've fought a good grip of bosses already, though, um all of whom you have to fight probably 15 times to figure out their patterns and beat them.
00:26:07
Speaker
um You're going to get to a boss and you're going to think that you're underpowered for it every single time. You're going to be like, I missed something. There's an upgrade that I should have to fight this boss.
00:26:20
Speaker
But no, that's not true. That's not the case. You are as powered as you're going to be to fight this boss, and you just got to figure out how to beat it.
00:26:31
Speaker
um Look, it's a hard game. it's ah It's definitely hot harder than Hollow Knight, the original Hollow Knight. It is... This may be overstating it a little, but I don't think it's overstating it too much.
00:26:45
Speaker
If the original Hollow Knight is Super Mario Bros., then Hollow Knight Silksong is Super Mario Bros. 2, the Japanese one. Okay.
00:26:57
Speaker
Alright. There are parts of Hollow Knight Silksong
00:27:05
Speaker
that seem like... They are intentionally trolling you to punish you as a player. I feel like this is coming off not as a recommendation. and ah It's specifically not a recommendation to me.
00:27:26
Speaker
But we've talked about like the thing that I enjoy most about FromSoft's games, like the Dark Souls games and Bloodborne and stuff like that, is that they are...
00:27:39
Speaker
Extremely difficult, but they are also knowingly funny about it. like You will die in a situation, and you will laugh your head off because what happened was so ridiculous. like It was so you know silly, the way that you ended up dying in that game. Hollow Knight Selt Song has similar moments to that. There's one part. so you know like but Much like the original Hollow Knight,
00:28:07
Speaker
um The save points or the the the um you know checkpoints are benches that you sit down on.
00:28:21
Speaker
There's a bench in Hollow Knight Silksong that is not a bench, or at least it's not initially a bench. It is, in fact, a trap.
00:28:32
Speaker
And when you sit down on it, a giant swinging trap comes down from the ceiling and kills you. like That is what ah is going on in Hollow Knight Silksong.
00:28:44
Speaker
But it is just as well made as the original. It is so smooth and so like responsive to your play style.
00:28:54
Speaker
like it is not It does not cheat. It is just exceedingly difficult. um So I am having a great time playing Hollow Knight's song. It is doing all the stuff that gets the dopamine flowing in my brain from a Metroidvania.
00:29:15
Speaker
Where like you go far enough on the map and you get to an area and you see where it connects to another area you went to earlier and you go, oh
00:29:30
Speaker
I love that moment more than anything in video games. i love Hollow Knight. Hollow Knight, one of my favorite Metroidvanias, which makes it one of my favorite video games ever. Period, yeah. ah I love it.
00:29:50
Speaker
I not get Silksong when it came out, even though I've been kind of eagerly anticipating it. for ah you know like ah for a while.
00:30:03
Speaker
ah Because of this exact thing. yeah Because I'm like, I cannot buy this video game and immediately get mad. like That is not the life that I can live at this moment.
00:30:17
Speaker
Fair enough. And The...
00:30:23
Speaker
the It just, it I'm hearing a lot of things. It seems mean.
00:30:31
Speaker
Matt, it seems mean. I'll tell you this. That is a game where you better fucking be good at the move where you jump and swing your sword down.
00:30:43
Speaker
ah the one that you could use to sequence break in the original. Yes. it It was a sequence breaking move in the original. In this game, it is a requirement.
00:30:54
Speaker
Here's the thing, Matt. The Hornet was a boss. She was. In Hollow Knight. Yes. So how's this game going to be harder?
00:31:04
Speaker
Hornet is not more powered than the knight from the original game in any way. She's taller. Because she sure was. She sure was in the original game, but not not anymore.
00:31:17
Speaker
Also, the story of the game, like, Hornet was from the original game, but like, from what I can tell, so far, completely disconnected from the story of the original.
00:31:28
Speaker
Wild. Which I like. like i It's a very kind of obtuse, from-softy method of storytelling. and you know i'm i'm a I'm a sicko. I like that.
00:31:41
Speaker
Matt, you are indeed sicko.
00:31:46
Speaker
Chris, those are our recommendations. Also, Hollow Knight Silk Song is $20. Yeah, i can't I'm not even going to make myself mad for $20.
00:31:57
Speaker
Maybe one day I'll be in a better place. Yeah, those are our Checks and Rex. It's time to talk about some comics that came out this week. Let's do it.
00:32:08
Speaker
The texture's choice for this week, but in a but but negative, parentheses negative, parentheses negative yeah is Crypto No. 4, which led to you texting both me and Benito, and I quote,
00:32:26
Speaker
Ryan North, worst writer in comics. Worst writer in comics. i don't but i I think it's clear at this point. Look, I'm not going to say Ryan North's not a talented guy. That's foolish.
00:32:38
Speaker
I would never say that. Very talented guy. I've enjoyed a lot of the stuff that but he's done in the past. but I know for a fact, very imaginative guy.
00:32:53
Speaker
we had He has an imagination, matt And this is what he's using it for?
00:33:00
Speaker
To discuss what is in the issue. Uh-huh. By Ryan North and Mike Norton. Uh-huh. First of all, ah We compared the end of the the previous issue to The hulk the Incredible Hulk television series, which is our point of reference.
00:33:20
Speaker
um Many people did note that it is for a Canadian, ah reference – which, Ryan North is Canadian. Oh, Littlest Hobo? Oh, a reference to The Littlest Hobo, which is ah a TV show about a dog – Is that what it is?
00:33:38
Speaker
Is Canada so poisoned with thoughts of sad dogs?
00:33:48
Speaker
Because of this show? Is it a cultural thing? Where they think a sad dog is an okay thing?
00:33:57
Speaker
so but Perhaps. perhaps Unbelievable. Yeah. The events – okay, first of all, on the on the title page of this issue, there is a warning. It says, content warning. This is a sad one.
00:34:08
Speaker
Read it with someone to hug nearby. Well, I didn't have anyone to hug nearby because I read it while my wife was at work. You know who was here? My dog. I mean, I guess you could have hugged Biscuit.
00:34:19
Speaker
I did hug Biscuit, Matt. So what happens in this issue is that Crypto meets another dog. I think Crypto met that other dog in the previous issue.
00:34:30
Speaker
Yeah. No, it happens in this one. It happens in this issue. They're outside a soup kitchen. They meet up. They become friends. little Little brown dog.
00:34:41
Speaker
Then they meet up with some kids that give them names. And they call the brown dog Brownie, because he's brown. And they call Crypto Sweetie, because he's sweet. That's right. And they go on a little adventure in the woods with the kids.
00:34:55
Speaker
They're like out LARPing. And... They run into this robot who is a a brainiac robot who's been sent to Earth to essentially conquer it. You know, brainiac shit.
00:35:10
Speaker
A trash robot who sucks. Yeah. A trash robot that I hate. And... That was made up by an enemy. Yeah. The robot initially ah sees the children and the dogs as no threat, but um it begins to get agitated. The kids start hitting it with sticks, and the robot starts to attack.
00:35:32
Speaker
So Crypto and Brownie um both attack the robot, and the robot punches Brownie and apparently kills that dog? Yeah. Yeah, bud.
00:35:46
Speaker
Yeah. That's pretty rough. Yeah. i don't I don't mean that as a pun. That was not a pun. ah No, stop. No, no, no, no. That was not meant as a pun. ryan north Ryan North is out here being like, I don't think one sad dog's enough.
00:36:03
Speaker
I'm going to make another dog. I'm going to imagine another dog that a bad thing's going to happen to. And that is going to make the other dog even sadder.
00:36:13
Speaker
two ah Look, Matt, I am not i am not a a man of faith. ah But to misuse the God-given gift of imagination to create sad dogs.
00:36:31
Speaker
ah Crypto um absolutely destroys and wrecks that robot. Yeah, cryppt Crypto does go like fully bananas. Yeah. um And then the last page is, well, he like says goodbye to his apparently dead dog friend, and then um he falls asleep under the shadow of a Welcome to Kansas sign. Now, this has nothing this is not in the issue, but Ryan North told you personally, Chris, to wait to read four and five together.
00:37:07
Speaker
Yeah.
00:37:11
Speaker
I wonder if that means that Brownie's not actually dead. Oh, no. i think I don't think that's what that means. I think it means that that maybe we're to have a happy ending, but Matt, I don't think it's going to change the events of this issue.
00:37:26
Speaker
I'm holding out hope that maybe Browdy miraculously survived this incident. I'm not holding out that hope, because Ryan North has shown himself to be an im imaginer of sad dogs. well Mike Norton, by the way, Mike Norton, doing a great job. he didn He didn't write that script. He just drew them to good dogs.
00:37:54
Speaker
He enabled... he He drew the dog getting hit by a robot. Yeah, because that was in the script. Matt?
00:38:05
Speaker
All right, let's move on ah to Batman Deadpool number one, ah which is the first of the ah Marvel DC crossovers that are happening currently.
00:38:19
Speaker
um This is by Zeb Wells with art by Greg Capullo.
00:38:26
Speaker
Who, like, I mean, it looks like Greg Capullo art, but it it weirdly looks a little different from his Batman run, which is strange to me. um But...
00:38:39
Speaker
I am of two minds about this issue of comics. Okay. As a longtime reader of Batman and Deadpool, there's really nothing new here.
00:38:52
Speaker
Like, it is a very basic... Batman-Deadpool crossover story that ends up involving the Joker. And the gimmick of the story... So Deadpool gets hired by the Joker to take down Batman.
00:39:11
Speaker
um And he initially goes to Bruce Wayne and crashes through his window like that Bat did that one time um to ask Bruce Wayne if he has anybody he wants Deadpool to kill ah at the same time.
00:39:26
Speaker
And Bruce Wayne is like, no. um But...
00:39:34
Speaker
The Joker hires Deadpool to take down Batman. And... Batman uses that to his advantage to try to play Deadpool and the Joker against each other. To make the Joker, in particular, jealous of Deadpool.
00:39:51
Speaker
Because Batman starts being like, actually... ah ah maybe I can have an obsessive lifelong rivalry with this guy instead of you.
00:40:03
Speaker
um And it it becomes one of these things. And ultimately Batman and Deadpool work together to defeat the Joker. It's a again, it's a very,
00:40:16
Speaker
what you would expect a Batman Deadpool crossover to be. And so for me, it read as a little bit rote. Like, a little bit like basic, I guess you could say.
00:40:36
Speaker
But, I'm not who this is for.
00:40:42
Speaker
If someone who loves Batman and Deadpool movies, but had never read any comics before,
00:40:53
Speaker
was looking for a comic to read, I would not hesitate to hand this to them and say, this is a great first comic. Okay. So I think it serves that purpose very well.
00:41:05
Speaker
But for me as a reader, I didn't get a lot out of it, I have to admit. Interesting. um It's well written and well drawn, um but it is it is very kind of...
00:41:19
Speaker
Basic, seemingly intended to be a reader's first comic kind of comic.
00:41:29
Speaker
That's my takeaway.
00:41:31
Speaker
One last book we're going to talk about is one I haven't read yet. It is Uncle Scrooge, Earth's Mightiest Duck, number two. Yeah. Now, Matt, you recommended this ah to me specifically.
00:41:43
Speaker
The first issue. The first issue. Yeah. And I read it, and it's quite enjoyable. And I'll tell you what's great about the second issue is ah
00:41:57
Speaker
we're getting ah we're getting the team-ups that we never expected. When the Junior Woodchucks and the Beagle Boys are now on the same side.
00:42:10
Speaker
It is delightful to me that Jason Aaron, who is you know one of the best writers going in comics. Yeah, this is by Jason Aaron and like five artists.
00:42:21
Speaker
Yeah, including Isad Ribic, Pete Woods, Nick Bradshaw, ah Mirka Andolfo, and Ario Enendito. Yeah. oh Like... it's I love that Jason Aaron loves The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck as much as you and me love The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
00:42:41
Speaker
He really does. like this This is Jason Aaron doing like big, epic action-adventure comics with Scrooge, but very much through the lens of Life and Times.
00:42:56
Speaker
Yeah. ah Which is an absolute hoot. And I'm very much enjoying it. ah Scrooge being trapped in his own memories and then ah losing them is really good.
00:43:09
Speaker
i love, ah I know it was in number one, but Donald Duck's introduction in this comic is one of like is one of the hardest things I've ever seen.
00:43:20
Speaker
It's great, yeah. It's really good. ah So yeah, well worth checking out. ah Well worth giving a read. ah Just some really, really fun Uncle Scrooge comics.
00:43:33
Speaker
Well, that's it for our comic segment. i Talking about the worst writer in comics, as well as two pretty good issues. ah Now, Chris,
00:43:47
Speaker
welcome to Pickmania. He's American-made.
00:43:58
Speaker
Fantastic Four number 570 is is ah first official issue of the Jonathan Hickman run on Fantastic Four. It is by Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham.
00:44:11
Speaker
It says, above the title, What is the True Cost of a Man's Mistakes? Replacing the world's greatest comic book.
00:44:22
Speaker
Bold move. Bold move. I know that each of these issues has like a quote from the issue in that position on the title, but what if that was just on the masthead from here on out?
00:44:34
Speaker
that would It would be bold. It would be bold. ah yeah recover I like the cover. It is um the the the key four of the team. Reed, Johnny, Ben, Sue.
00:44:45
Speaker
And also ah Valeria and Franklin, um all standing in front of the Baxter building. I also like these costume designs for the Fantastic Four. I like that four with the drop shadow.
00:44:58
Speaker
um I don't like Reed's short sleeves, though. I don't like the short sleeves that Reed and Sue have. it's I don't know why, but I do not like it.
00:45:09
Speaker
I barely notice it on Sue, but Reed's short sleeves just look wrong. Well, the thing about the thing about it on Reed is that the sleeves have to stretch while being short.
00:45:22
Speaker
So it's he's got long sleeves that just look like they're too short when he stretches, like as he is on this cover. Dale Eaglesham draws Reed and all the men in this book With pro wrestler builds.
00:45:44
Speaker
He is a thick Reed Richards. And that also weirdly looks wrong to me. like he's He's got stubble throughout this as well, which is fine. Reed has stubble sometimes.
00:45:55
Speaker
But he is so beefy. yeah My guess is that... And I do not know this, and I don't want to necessarily ascribe motivations to Dale Eaglesham when I do not know the...
00:46:12
Speaker
oh the actual reasons behind his artistic choices, but my guess is that the thickness of Reed is a deliberate attempt to like so draw like a Kirby Reed. Because Kirby drew Reed with heroic proportions, and it's not you know until Artists After, like I think notably Byrne, that he becomes a little more lanky in befitting his powers.
00:46:39
Speaker
Yeah. oh And I think that's also where the stubble comes from, because if you remember, Matt, famously, in the Galactus trilogy, in Fantastic Four, number 50, Reed takes a break to shave.
00:46:53
Speaker
I do remember that, yes. So I think that's him doing like a like full, you know, this is Kirby's Reed Richards.
00:47:05
Speaker
Maybe so. i feel like in recent years, at least... Read with stubble always indicates a read who's overworked. Yeah. But I don't really get that that's what's happening here.
00:47:19
Speaker
um i mean, he's dealing with a lot. He is dealing with a lot. This cover, is this cover by Eaglesham or is it by somebody else? I think it's the cover that we have on here is a Cassidy cover.
00:47:31
Speaker
John Cassidy? Yeah. Okay. It looks good. I like it a lot. Yeah. um John Cassidy, good. um yeah RIP. Oh, no, it's Eagleship. It's Eagleship and Mounts cover artists.
00:47:43
Speaker
ah Cassidy and Martin variant cover artists. I don't think this is the variant cover, though. i think Look at that Sue face. that's ah That's a... That's true. That's a John Cassidy face.
00:47:55
Speaker
This is the cover that's on Marvel Unlimited, though. That's... Okay. Whatever. um But the I like the cover. It's it's good. um So the the issue... okay I have a theory about the start of this issue.
00:48:09
Speaker
um Because, well, first there's a flashback to Reed and his dad. Nathaniel Richards encouraging Reed to take a chance, essentially.
00:48:21
Speaker
And jump off of a high thing to let him catch him.
00:48:28
Speaker
And there's a whole thing in here. Okay. The first like mini arc of this run involves... Reed meeting with a council of other Reeds from all these different universes who all gave up their families to be in this council.
00:48:48
Speaker
And our Reed, 616 Reed, decides that he can't do that. He can't give that up. And it really feels like the stated reason for that is that he has a dad.
00:49:00
Speaker
I don't know if that's it. like i I think... the well that His dad was more nurturing to him than maybe some of these other Reed's.
00:49:10
Speaker
Maybe. We don't necessarily see that, but we definitely do get the yeah Nathaniel Richards kind of instilling values into Reed about like being Reed Richards, like using his gifts to help the world.
00:49:29
Speaker
Right. it Not just... so Sort of like ah valuing family in a way that some of these other reads don't. yeah um So anyway, ah we can get more into it in a bit when we get to that stuff. But um there is that flashback at the start, and then we get an action sequence at the start of this where the Fantastic Four is fighting four robots, all who have been specifically designed to a fight individual members of the Fantastic Four.
00:49:59
Speaker
um They have been sent by the Wizard, longtime Fantastic Four villain, the Wizard. And they're all piloted by clones of him.
00:50:12
Speaker
And I feel like this is ah an editorial edict of like, we got to have a action sequence at the start of this episode. At the start of this run. I don't think it is.
00:50:24
Speaker
Because one of those clones is going to be important later. And I think it's also kind of important for us to get the wizard, who's another super genius.
00:50:34
Speaker
Like, his interactions with Reed in this are like very kind of revelatory of what's going to happen in the story going forward. Yeah. It's not that none of this ends up tying into what comes later. Because it does.
00:50:49
Speaker
But it it does feel like we've got to start with an action sequence. Because Hickman – it's not that Hickman doesn't put more action in here.
00:51:01
Speaker
He does. But it's not what he's most interested in. i do feel like if Jonathan Hickman was doing the comic that Jonathan Hickman wanted to do – there would be 20 straight issues of Reed Richards thinking about things.
00:51:18
Speaker
Absolutely. Yes. um So Reed, coming to an understanding that the wizard is behind all of this, just teleports to where the wizard is and says, Hey, um look, and you're not doing good, wizard. I can tell.
00:51:40
Speaker
Uh, so you gotta stop doing this stuff. And, uh, but I'll make sure when they lock you up, uh, you get the very best care. And while he apprehends the wizard, there is just a child there who is one of the clones, like a wizard clone who is this like little boy.
00:52:02
Speaker
And then we cut to read with Valeria and Franklin in their bedroom Saying that he doesn't like to tell bedtime stories about their adventures all that much, but this time they'll talk about it.
00:52:17
Speaker
And they ask about this little boy ah that had to be rescued from the wizard. And Reed says, sometimes when children have bad parents, it makes things very difficult. Sometimes they need a lot of looking after.
00:52:33
Speaker
There's too much of that going on right now. And he implies to Franklin... implies to Franklin here that he's just gonna... The kid's just gonna, like, go into the system.
00:52:45
Speaker
Which is not what happens. but But it sort of reads that way. Right here, at least. Then we get a scene with Johnny and Ben.
00:52:57
Speaker
Now, I don't think it's explicitly stated... But Ben is feeling bad here because – well, Johnny does say you're ugly, you're lonely, and you've just had your heart broken.
00:53:12
Speaker
So this immediately follows the Mark – He's old. He's tired. Yeah. Works with children.
00:53:19
Speaker
This immediately follows the Mark Miller run on Fantastic Four. And one thing that happened in the Miller run at the very end – well – Throughout the Miller run, Ben meets this like teacher, and they get engaged.
00:53:38
Speaker
And right at the end of Miller's run, Ben leaves her at the altar, or or like stands her up at the altar.
00:53:49
Speaker
Or she stands him up? I can't remember which it is, but they don't get married. And so that's what this is about. This is why Ben is like so upset, and Johnny is like, I'm going to take you on a vacation.
00:54:04
Speaker
Pick one of these three envelopes, and it'll reveal the location of where we're going. And what he picks is three days and two nights on beautiful New World, where they're going to go together.
00:54:19
Speaker
So that's setting up stuff that's going to come later.
00:54:24
Speaker
Meanwhile, Reed and Sue are talking things out. ah Sue's like, I'm going to go to bed. And Reed's like, I got some work to do. And he's thinking about when he apprehended the wizard and the wizard being like, this world's going to end.
00:54:40
Speaker
We're both really smart and we've done the calculations and we know that it's doomed. So Reed goes to his room with all his ideas written on the wall.
00:54:53
Speaker
um his I think he calls it his idea room, right? Mm-hmm. and which Which includes idea number 101, which is solve everything. And then he goes into the room where he has rebuilt the bridge from that previous miniseries.
00:55:10
Speaker
And he meets up with the Reeds who he met earlier. One of them has human torch powers. One of them has invisible powers.
00:55:21
Speaker
And one of them just has like a suit. And hit that one says that he has no powers. he's just He's just a smart guy. And they all take 616 Reed to a place inside a fabricated pocket reality, which is the hall...
00:55:42
Speaker
That is the home of the Council of Reed Richards. Yes, which are only called the Council and not called the Council of Crosstheim Reeds. No. This part, like the part with all the different reeds, is some of my favorite da Dale Eaglesham art from the issues we got of his art so far.
00:56:02
Speaker
Like, there's one who's got, like, a gun for an arm. There's one who's made out of rocks. There's one who's, like, Captain Universe. There is one who is, like, Captain Universe, the hero that could be you.
00:56:12
Speaker
Yes. But I think he's ah he's he's, like, a quasar, maybe? Because he's got that yeah but symbol on him. But yeah, i I like that guy. I like the Reed Richards with the robot eye.
00:56:25
Speaker
I like the Reed Richards who's just, like, a big old beefy boy. Yeah, he's a big boy. In like a singlet. Yeah. ah There's one who's got like ah like a more superhero-y costume with a cape. There's one who's basically Professor X. Yeah.
00:56:40
Speaker
It's very fun. um There's one who's got like a kind of Aquaman costume. There's one with um like a chrome dome exposed brain. um i like all of these Reed designs.
00:56:54
Speaker
Very fun. There's one who looks like Ultimate Reed. um But we know that ain't the maker. so of The maker? That ain't the maker.
00:57:05
Speaker
um But yeah, that this that that like splash page with all the reads is real good. I like it a lot. It's very fun. ah There's a notification just as 616 read is getting there that a Galactus is invading on another Earth.
00:57:24
Speaker
And so they've got to march into action. And that's when he meets the three original Reeds who started this council.
00:57:36
Speaker
One who's wearing a suit, like a like a you know a regular business suit that's kind of cream colored. One who's got a superhero outfit, but it has a different symbol on the chest that looks like a Star Trek outfit.
00:57:54
Speaker
symbol? It does look like the old Starfleet Delta, yes. And then there's one who looks like a wizard. Yeah. He's a Reed with... and He's bald, but he has a beard that has Reed's hair.
00:58:09
Speaker
Like with the gray temples, it has like a gray streak down the middle. And he's got a sword. So he's from old times. And it's a big, like long beard. it's It's a wizard beard.
00:58:20
Speaker
And all three of those guys have infinity gauntlets. will learn that Infinity Gauntlets only work in their home universes, so they can't use them here. Which I believe was established prior to this.
00:58:32
Speaker
Yeah. Because that's an element in JLA Avengers. But boy, they got them. They sure do have them. sure do them. I do like how they're also standing there like holding them up, like, check these out. Yeah.
00:58:44
Speaker
Like, hey man. Check these out. I feel like if you have an Infinity Gauntlet, you gotta stand like that. ah That is the end of the issue. And so we move on to
00:58:59
Speaker
Fantastic Four number 571, which has our read on the cover with an Infinity Gauntlet standing on top of what looks like a dead Galactus. This does not happen in the issue.
00:59:11
Speaker
Well, it's going to happen in un-issue. Yes, but... it This doesn't exactly happen in this issue. um The quote on the cover of this one is, this morning I helped Keltle Galactus on Earth 2012. So it or so kind kind of happens.
00:59:29
Speaker
It kind happens.
00:59:32
Speaker
Eagleshim is on art in this one as well. Great splash page to start this one off of... 616 read surrounded by other reads like staring down this Galactus.
00:59:45
Speaker
Then there's a two-page spread that I looked at for a long time. Yeah. It is really cool. this like This is a gorgeous piece of art by Dale Eaglesham.
01:00:02
Speaker
ah To put all my cards on the table, I don't know if Dale Eaglesham was the right guy to draw this run. Yeah. But I think he was the right guy to draw this page. These two pages, yeah. like it's It's a bunch of reeds, kind of in the foreground, all holding ultimate nullifiers.
01:00:22
Speaker
Yeah. It's one, two, three, four silver surfers attacking them. Yeah. Matt, you know what they are? They're the Surfer Four.
01:00:36
Speaker
They're... A copper surfer, a silver surfer, a gold surfer, and a platinum surfer. that's Yes, that is what they are. And that fucking owns.
01:00:48
Speaker
ah And then Galactus behind them, just looking cool as shit. That Galactus drawing is perfect. I love it.
01:01:01
Speaker
Like, that is that is the coolest Galactus has ever looked, I feel like. It's close. It's very great. You know there's a you know there's a look but that Mobius drew him one time, that's right? i do I do know that Jean Giraud has drawn Galactus.
01:01:24
Speaker
But I love this rendering of Galactus. I think it looks so good. No, it it it looks cool hell. Yeah. And that is like basically the entirety of that sequence, where it's just like Reed says, I helped kill a Galactus on Earth 2012, and that's it.
01:01:42
Speaker
And then we cut to the Baxter building. um The FF and Valeria and Franklin are eating breakfast. ah They're talking about Franklin's birthday party, and he wants to bring Spider-Man to it. He wants to invite Spider-Man to his birthday party, and Johnny is jealous about that.
01:02:01
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Then there's a bit where they're like getting up for the breakfast table, and Johnny uses a word that I could not believe was in this comic from 2009. Yeah. ah yeah Not the first time that's to happen. That happens a couple of times.
01:02:17
Speaker
Yeah. ah this Johnny uses a word for little people ah to refer to Valeria and Franklin that I had to do a double take on.
01:02:29
Speaker
ah Because this comic is not from that long ago. Yeah, I mean, it's weird to think about this comic being from 15 years ago. And, you know, I was having a conversation. It's like, I don't know if it's just because we're the age that we are, but there are, like, comics from 2000...
01:02:54
Speaker
comics from two thousand don't feel as different from comics now as comics from 1975 felt in And comics from years ago don't feel as different as they do as they did like comics felt you know like even fifteen years before this come came out feels like a sea change from from this comic a while back
01:03:26
Speaker
I don't think it was that far back, though. Yeah. This leads into, like, Johnny and Ben and the kids leave. And this leads to a scene with Sue and Reed, where we are, like, immediately launching into the Sue is upset with Reed because he's off by himself too much.
01:03:51
Speaker
And this feels like it's happening kind of quickly to me.
01:03:59
Speaker
It's, I mean, it it didn't feel that way to me because I was thinking about like, but this is not, you know, the second issue of this run. It's the it's the sixth issue of this run.
01:04:12
Speaker
Right. but Yes. so if We did have the Dark Rain mini. Yeah. So it felt to me like it had been building up a little bit longer. um But yeah, if you're just, you know, the new era of Fantastic Four starts here, it does kind of come fast.
01:04:30
Speaker
this i mean This run is a run about Reed Richards. For sure. yeah It is not a run about the Fantastic Four. is not a run about Sue Storm. It is a run about Reed.
01:04:41
Speaker
There is a big Johnny moment in it. But yes. Other ones are in it Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, Reed picks up quickly on Sue's frustration.
01:04:58
Speaker
and says, give me a week.
01:05:03
Speaker
Then we go to a scene where Reed is back with the council, and he's with the Reed who's in the suit, and we find out that that Reed has like terraformed entire planets to make them breadbaskets, to make them planets that do nothing but grow food for people throughout the universe, which is cool and good.
01:05:25
Speaker
um That is a good thing for Reed Richards to do. Then we find out about the bad shit Reed Richards is doing.
01:05:35
Speaker
but Yeah. Okay, that place is called The Farm. Then we find out about – it's The Hole, right? It's called The Hole? Yeah, it's called The Hole. Where – especially Wizard Dr. Doom, but a bunch of the other Dr. Dooms – but Wizard Reed and all the other Reeds, just like enslaved Dr. Dooms.
01:05:55
Speaker
Yeah, they lobotomized Dr. Dooms and then put them in a basement.
01:06:02
Speaker
Yeah, they're not even enslaved, really, because they're not working. they're just like Yeah, they're like incapacitated and yeah in a basement. They permanently destroy their higher brain functions and then just put them in a basement. And Reed is like, whoa, man, this is wrong.
01:06:17
Speaker
And the other Reeds are like, yeah, but fuck that guy. Well, the one Reed in particular, the one who's bald and has the big beard,
01:06:29
Speaker
says that he's part Dr. Doom because Doom's DNA got spliced with his somehow. And he's like, you don't know you don't know what dr do who Dr. Doom really is and what he's capable of.
01:06:46
Speaker
And he says, I've got some Doom in me. And that's like the entirety of the explanation at this point. This is another place where I was like, is this already building to Secret Wars?
01:06:57
Speaker
If we weren't building the Secret Wars in the Dark Reign mini, I feel like it is evident from these four issues, or these five issues, that it's building here.
01:07:10
Speaker
Yeah. Which is wild to me, because we're six years away.
01:07:18
Speaker
Then we get a scene where 616 Reed is working with the – I'm just going to call him Star Trek Reed. Okay. Okay. um is working with Star Trek Reed to help save a sun.
01:07:31
Speaker
it's To essentially help save a solar system. And they work out how to do that ah on a big model. Or I don't even know if it's the model. It's just the sun, I think.
01:07:44
Speaker
um But they they work out how to do that. They save a bunch of people. And ah they talk about how are The Star Trek read is like, all right, are you ready to save everything now? Are you ready to solve everything?
01:07:58
Speaker
You've seen the best we do, and you've seen the worst we do. So um time to think big. Then we get a scene with si Sue and Reed in bed. sue ah gets up and and leaves.
01:08:11
Speaker
Then there's a flashback to Reed and Nathaniel again, ah where Nathaniel is kind of like... instructing him, Reed, that there's something special about him, but you got to use your ah your power, your ability wisely, because there's nothing you can't do.
01:08:35
Speaker
Then Reed goes back to the council and says, all right, I want to join. And just as he's doing that, the Reed we met earlier, who's in the suit, who doesn't have any powers, reveals that um a group of Celestials made him open the gate to their little pocket dimension.
01:08:57
Speaker
And so the issue ends with their little sanctuary being attacked by Celestials. You're so dismissive of it, Matt. Why am I dismissive? What am I being? Their little sanctuary. Yeah.
01:09:13
Speaker
All these little reeds with their dumb little sanctuary.
01:09:19
Speaker
ah ah Yes, the Celestials have shown up to take over this one this world and through it the multiverse. Some Celestials from some other universe. yeah yeah ah Fantastic Four number 572 has the entire Fantastic Four's fighting Celestials on the cover, which does not happen.
01:09:43
Speaker
um Correct. That does not happen. um But it's a cool cover. um Ben is punching the hell out of a Celestial on that cover. um And the pull quote on that one is, the cost of solving everything is everything.
01:10:00
Speaker
It's weird because it feels like that last everything is meant to be bolded, but it is unbolded. It is the only word that is unbolded. Yeah, it's ah it's it italicized and slightly bigger, but it is not bolted in the same way.
01:10:17
Speaker
yeah So it it does look weird. I wonder if noted graphic design fan Jonathan Hickman was a little was a little mad about that. A little annoyed? yeah Yeah, I wonder if that keeps him up at night, the way that Deadpool not saying Deadpool in the logo font keeps me up at night.
01:10:36
Speaker
Yeah. ah So we we go right into the big fight with the Celestials, and reeds are going down from the jump of this issue.
01:10:48
Speaker
One of them reeds gets his fucking head exploded. the ah A reed with a weird head? Who... Seemingly has some kind of mind powers. Got them get them telepathic powers, yeah. ah He gets his head fully exploded, yes.
01:11:04
Speaker
um Then some other ones get skeletonized ah by a beam for the Celestial. Not only other ones, but like our main council reeds.
01:11:16
Speaker
It's yes wizard reed and and ah farmer reed. Yes, suit read. um they They just get vaporized by Celestial, and 616 read barely avoids it.
01:11:28
Speaker
um That is another good Dale Eaglesham page, I gotta say. um but That's really well drawn. um Only Star Trek read of the three main reads manages to avoid that.
01:11:40
Speaker
um
01:11:43
Speaker
Captain Universe read or... Nova Reed, or whatever he's meant to be, attacks the Celestials. It doesn't do much. um A bunch of the reeds go off to the armory.
01:11:57
Speaker
And then Star Trek Reed says, gotta use the Infinity Gauntlet. So he gets a reed in a robe whose chest is like a dimensional portal to open up his dimensional portal so that he can partially be in his home universe to use the Infinity Gauntlet to get rid of the Celestials. Yeah. And that Reed is like, hey, this is going to kill me, though.
01:12:25
Speaker
And Star Trek Reed is like, well... I think he literally goes, you see another way out of this? Yeah, yeah.
01:12:37
Speaker
And he says, yeah, he says, I can't think of any other way. Can you? And the other Reed goes, no, I can't. Well, it's been a hell of a ride. Yeah. And, uh, that's it for him. But that doesn't even solve the problem. That doesn't get rid of the Celestials. It just holds them off for a while.
01:12:52
Speaker
So a bunch of Reeds can leave and go to their home universes to get whatever weapons they can. So, uh, 616 Reed goes through the bridge to go back home and brings the Celestial hand with him, uh,
01:13:07
Speaker
and And goes back and starts gathering up weapons. i do know I do love the way Dale Eaglesham draws the inside of the Celestial's hand as just like being 100% full of weird Kirby machinery.
01:13:22
Speaker
Absolutely. It's great. That's very cool. I love it. Yeah. um Meanwhile, Ben and Johnny are leaving for their trip. And Sue's like, yeah, go have fun.
01:13:33
Speaker
ah Take some time off. Don't worry about me. But Valeria and Franklin stow away. That bit is not my favorite bit of Dale Eaglesham art.
01:13:45
Speaker
No, as many artists do, Eaglesham seems to struggle with the ah very idea of children. Well, there's that, and then there's also, like, they, like, a attach...
01:14:00
Speaker
Like a hobby horse, like a super high-tech hobby horse to the Fantasticar. Because Franklin Richards wants to be a cowboy, so he's got a little horse toy. But like the sort of spatial sense of that but does not make sense to me in this sequence.
01:14:17
Speaker
It's a little hard to parse. Yeah. um and Not my favorite moment. To be fair, these are like... Six and seven panel pages.
01:14:28
Speaker
That's true. In a lot of it. So there's a lot going on that is not staged super well. So after Johnny and Ben leave, Sue goes to Reed's locked room.
01:14:43
Speaker
His room that has the sign that says, deep in thought, keep out. Like he's a fucking 15-year-old. Yeah.
01:14:51
Speaker
ah And she starts saying, like I miss you, but take however long you need. We'll be waiting for you when you're done. i need to apologize because I don't quite understand how your brain works and how you need to fix everything.
01:15:08
Speaker
i don't know. I don't love this Sue moment. i I kind of like it in contrast to the Reed moment that we get. Where Reed is like, look, I'm the smartest person in the world, and i am the leading authority in a million different fields of science, but I have not studied anything as much as I've studied you.
01:15:31
Speaker
yeah And I like Sue being like, yeah, look, and i know i know what your deal is. I know you're Reed Richards. I think part of it is, like I think I would prefer Sue to just be like, yeah, okay, I'm fine. Do what you gotta do.
01:15:48
Speaker
I can take care of myself, and I can entertain myself. Yeah, you wouldn't think that you would have to have the conflict at this point. But the sense here is that she's really like hurt and lonely and sad that Reed is off working all the time.
01:16:05
Speaker
Yeah. And like I get that. like That's not... a
01:16:11
Speaker
an unrealistic emotion. But I feel like if you're writing Sue now, yeah and this is you know this is just 15 years ago, but I feel like if you're writing Sue now, the sense would be that she's like absolutely fine on her own.
01:16:28
Speaker
yeah yeah I mean, again, it is very clear that she is not the main character of this story. yeah This is a Reed story. This is such a Reed story that there's more Reed's in it Yes, absolutely. there's more Reed's than members of the Fantastic Four.
01:16:43
Speaker
um So as she's saying this, Reed is gathering up a bunch of weapons and stuff ah from his lab to bring back to the council. I do love his fucking Costco cart full of Kirby guns that he's yeah he's carrying around. That shit's fucking funny.
01:17:01
Speaker
ah So he comes back to the council, and he he's brought like an entropy gun and a bunch of other stuff. And that is finally what turns the tide against the um invading Celestials.
01:17:14
Speaker
And star Trek Reed is like, hey, you're the one who helped us. You're the one who helped us like do this and get rid of these. Doesn't he say you're the only one who came back?
01:17:25
Speaker
Yes, that's what he says. And it's like, damn. Damn, Reed, most of you suck. Yeah, some of the other Reeds are like, Hey, um thanks for coming back.
01:17:37
Speaker
it's It's great that you're joining. um and And it's going to be cool that you don't have to worry about your family anymore. And 616 Reed is like, I'm sorry, what? Which, it seems like they would have said this earlier.
01:17:51
Speaker
Yeah, but it's not like it's not like a requirement. Oh, yes, it is. well Well, the what he says is, it's going to happen.
01:18:03
Speaker
like Yes. you're goingnna be yes Like, it happened to all of us. You're going to be doing this work. It's so much more important than anything else you're going to be doing bit that Susan is going to stop run out of patience.
01:18:17
Speaker
Ben and Johnny are going to leave. The children are going to leave. and this is going to be all you do. It's not like you have to, well, at least at at this point, it's not like you have renounce your family to join this council.
01:18:30
Speaker
It's just like, hey, this is what's going to happen. Right, because that this specific Reed, he's talking to the Reed who doesn't have any powers and just has the like fancy suit.
01:18:42
Speaker
And somehow in the fight with the Celestials, like his brain power... Got taken away. Like, he's not super smart Reed Richards anymore.
01:18:57
Speaker
And so he's like, yeah, I got nothing to go back to. And 616 Reed is like, what are you talking about? And so, like, it's not a requirement in the bylaws.
01:19:08
Speaker
But if you join, this happens. Yes. you lose your family. yeah And I do, like, the quote is on the cover. I do like that premise of the cost of of solving everything is everything. Like, yeah you can make, you can fix everything wrong with the world, but you personally have to give everything up.
01:19:33
Speaker
I feel like Reed's decision at the end of this is really interesting. Yeah. Right, because 616 Reed says, oh, I can't do that. I can't give that up. So he leaves.
01:19:44
Speaker
And the other Reeds tell him, you're going to come back. you will They always come back. ah Then we get another flashback to Rita Nathaniel.
01:19:56
Speaker
And Nathaniel says, the essentially the takeaway of that flashback with Nathaniel is that Nathaniel told him, your brain is really special and important, and you have a gift that will hopefully help a lot of people, but it means nothing without your heart.
01:20:18
Speaker
And sincerely, I feel like that is presented as the difference between this read and all the other reads. Yeah. And also there's like, I get I get the feeling, like my interpretation of this is that Reed is like, well, what, you know, it's not exponentially additive to have two of me or three of me.
01:20:49
Speaker
I'm Reed Richards. Yeah. You know, I got a Reed Richards. Anything those Reeds can do, i got, because I'm also a Reed Richards. But they don't have Sue and Ben and Johnny.
01:21:02
Speaker
I think Reed believes that he can fix everything with Sue and Ben and Johnny. Yes. And I like that. I like that a lot. But what he also does here is erase all of his writing off the walls in his office. um Because I think there's a sense that he is like, he thinks he's gone a little too far off the deep end.
01:21:28
Speaker
And... There's an nathaniel more of the Nathaniel speech where he says, i want you to be a better friend than I was, a better husband, a better father. And we see him with Ben and Johnny and Sue and the kids.
01:21:41
Speaker
And so that issue ends with Reed coming out of the idea room with Sue waiting for him outside. Which is nice. I like that final page.
01:21:53
Speaker
Where he's made the decision of, like, I choose my family. Yeah. And I think that's really interesting, because, like, I think the traditionally heroic choice would be, like, yes, I will give up everything to save the world.
01:22:05
Speaker
Right. But Reed's like, nah. Well, that's not what Fantastic Four is about. Yeah, no, it's it's not what Fantastic Four is about. but But I think that's, you know, that's cool, because that's not what Fantastic Four is about.
01:22:18
Speaker
Yeah. Fantastic Four number 573. ah has a cover of Ben and Johnny with Valeria and ah Franklin at like some kind of like galactic food court.
01:22:33
Speaker
who And there's a lady in like a space bathing suit walking past with big Vulcan ears. And it looks like Johnny is trying to chat her up, and Ben is trying to protect the kids from everything around them while they eat burgers. Mm-hmm.
01:22:48
Speaker
um It's a cool cover. It is not indicative of what this issue is about. No, this this scene does not take place in this issue. They don't actually go on vacation in this issue, but I guess it's like one of those covers where you can't give that away in the solicit.
01:23:02
Speaker
I guess. um This is by Alan Davis, by the way, this cover. Yeah. um yeah if if You couldn't tell by looking at that alien lady. yeah the The most Alan Davis-looking alien lady that has ever been.
01:23:15
Speaker
Ben's face is nuts on this cover. He's got an expression that I don't think I've ever seen Ben Grimm have, where he looks kind of like um scared and weirded out.
01:23:31
Speaker
um it's like It's a pretty good cover, but yeah it's not very representative of the issue. um Also, this issue the next two issues are going to have guest artist Neil Edwards, who is fine.
01:23:45
Speaker
Yeah. It's very Brian Hitchey. And
01:23:53
Speaker
this is going to sound unkind. I told you before we started recording that I have something to say that's ah a little unkind about these early issues of the run.
01:24:05
Speaker
But I think it's what Hickman was trying to do in some ways. There are times when these issues feel like a continuation of Mark Miller.
01:24:17
Speaker
I mean, yeah, but like...
01:24:22
Speaker
Look, do I think anyone should continue any story by Mark Miller? No. Obviously not. yeah But like, that is the job. Well, I don't just mean in like, content and story.
01:24:35
Speaker
I mean in tone a little bit. Yeah. Like, not so much in the first three issues, but in these next two issues... There's some Mark Millery shit that happens.
01:24:48
Speaker
Well, this is that story that I was talking about, right? Where they make a New Earth. like that is Like, that is a Mark Miller story. And so this is the sequel to that.
01:25:01
Speaker
When did New Earth first appear? Let's see New Earth Marvel. there's you just search for New Earth, a bunch of stuff comes up. um Yes, it was. it was it is It was a Mark Miller story from 2008 where they created New Earth.
01:25:22
Speaker
um Ted Castle is the founder of New Earth. Yeah, he's in this issue. What we learn right as this issue gets going is that New Earth has already – like gone straight to hell yeah it's real bad um failed immediately yeah um ted castle is on the run from um robots who are attacking him you find out they're ultrons yeah um and his wife question mark is now like in like a robot body where she's just a brain yep
01:26:01
Speaker
So so things things have gotten bad on New Earth. Yeah, and it turns out that there's a black hole. like The sun that New Earth was orbiting became a black hole.
01:26:13
Speaker
And so whenever the planet gets closer, time speeds up. ah Because, you know, relativity. Yep. Comics. Yep. And so it's been eight years instead of like... A few months. A few months, yeah. yeah And things got real bad. Turns out, things can get awful bad in eight years.
01:26:37
Speaker
Buddy?
01:26:40
Speaker
He was warning us all along, Matt. So Ben and Johnny and Franklin and Valeria show up and see how things how bad things are. And Ted Castle is like, where's Reed?
01:26:52
Speaker
and They go, but we don't know. He's at home. um He didn't come. we were just here on vacation. Yeah, it wasn't even a few months. It was two weeks. Yeah.
01:27:03
Speaker
It was two weeks um that was eight years on New Earth and things have gotten this bad. Yeah. so So yeah, the the black hole replaced the sun, and everything's been taken over by um these Ultrons.
01:27:21
Speaker
And who else is it? There's another villain involved. It's not Light Ray. No, but it's like it's a name like that. Light Wave, I think.
01:27:32
Speaker
Light Wave, yeah. I'm going to look it up just to be sure. Yeah, Light Wave and Ultron. Okay. And so... Everything's gone to hell and Castle wants to rebuild the sun, but it took a hundred people to do that before. And he's like, only Reed Richards can do that.
01:27:50
Speaker
Um, now. And also the portal back to 616 doesn't work. Yep. All the portals back to the 616 are broken and don't work. Um,
01:28:02
Speaker
Ben and Johnny fight off all the Ultron robots, but in the process, Ben gets kidnapped. ah So things are things are getting even worse. Also, the Ultrons and Lightwave have an omnipath named Natalie X, who can see everything that's going to happen before it happens.
01:28:25
Speaker
We get a scene with where Ben has been kidnapped in the capital of New World. And there's some talk between the villains and how they're going to use Valeria as like ransom.
01:28:41
Speaker
um Also, Ben, in his cell, ah meets up with not regular Hulk, Hulk Jr. This is Hulk Jr.
01:28:54
Speaker
ah This is the Hulk that eventually becomes the maestro. Okay. Okay.
01:29:01
Speaker
But I had to make sure it wasn't regular Bruce Banner Hulk, because this Hulk absolutely smashes a lady's head. Yeah, that's the most Mark Millery thing that happens in this story. One of a couple, yeah. like just It's like a panel from Berserk.
01:29:20
Speaker
It's it is just an explosion of blood. Yeah, like he put like he punches her jaw off. yeah Meanwhile, in the center of New World, which is where Ted Castle's like command center is.
Fantastic Four #574 and Character Dynamics
01:29:34
Speaker
um Valeria reveals that she's smarter than her dad and can fix all this. Yeah. And Franklin gives Ted Castle a sandwich. That's where they're at as as people.
01:29:45
Speaker
Yep. Johnny goes to save Ben along with Ted Castle's wife, who is a robot. That robot is destroyed by a woman named Psyonix, who is what her name is.
01:30:02
Speaker
um and And that robot like like collapses and the brain falls out, and then she steps on the brain. Psyonix steps on the brain with her foot. And that is also pretty Mark Millery.
01:30:12
Speaker
Yeah. And then as soon as she does that, that's when she gets her face punched off. Yeah. Hulk Jr. just punches her face right off. um And it is it is boy, it's graphic.
01:30:27
Speaker
It's pretty wild. I was surprised by it. um Now, this whole issue has been Franklin and Valeria telling this story to Reed.
01:30:41
Speaker
So we know that they get back okay. And it quickly goes from this woman, Psyonix, getting her face punched off to Valeria fixed everything and they came back.
01:30:53
Speaker
That's the part of the story that Valeria was telling. yeah the The lady getting her face punched off. That was part the story Franklin was telling. um Then the issue ends with it being after midnight and being Franklin's birthday.
01:31:07
Speaker
So. Fantastic Four number 574. Another Alan Davis cover. Really good. Really good cover. I like this cover a whole bunch. It's Franklin...
01:31:20
Speaker
um riding on Spider-Man's back through the city as he webs through the city, as the rest of the family is in a fantastic car, and Johnny flies behind them.
01:31:34
Speaker
ah Beautiful. Beautiful cover. Love it. Yeah, there's Alan Davis kids going places. ah The quote on this one is, the future must be avoided at all costs.
01:31:44
Speaker
Agreed.
01:31:47
Speaker
You ain't wrong. but its A this strong message for 2009 that
01:31:56
Speaker
but I think we can all agree with. I do want to point this out. So the Fantastic Four logo on all of these issues so far is like the 70s logo, hu which I don't mind. I hate that R. I hate it.
01:32:12
Speaker
I know. i don't mind that logo. But it's also surrounded by these circles that have the faces of Ben, Johnny, Sue, and Reed in them.
01:32:24
Speaker
isn Why did they pick these pieces of art of the characters? They're all by different artists, and I don't know what's going on with Sue.
01:32:35
Speaker
Are they all by different artists? Are those not all Eagashim? No. I think they were on previous issues, but this is like, that Ben is Hitch.
01:32:47
Speaker
I can't tell who the Johnny is by.
01:32:51
Speaker
They all look different to me and weird on this cover specifically. i mean, you're you're correct. Yeah. They do look weird.
01:33:02
Speaker
I don't know. ah Neil Edwards is back ah for this issue, and it's not the best. I don't love it. Valeria tells Franklin to come to his birthday party.
01:33:16
Speaker
There's no one there. But, surprise, everyone pops out. They were invisible, which you gotta expect. Yeah, you gotta have learned this by now, Franklin.
01:33:28
Speaker
um However old you are. How old is he supposed to be, like ten? Well, there's a line in here where Reed is about to say how old he is, and Sue cuts him off, so it's definitely like...
01:33:40
Speaker
like We know Valeria is, I think, three. Because she says, I'm three years old at one point, which is very funny. yeah ah I think maybe, Franklin is maybe like eight, nine, ten, something like that.
01:33:57
Speaker
ah but i think he's he's probably even younger. like I think eight is about it. yeah Okay. we We get a whole bunch of the like other characters who are here.
01:34:09
Speaker
at the at the party. Like, Dragon Man is here. um Leech is here. ah ah bunch of the Power Pack is here at the the birthday party. Artie Maddox is at the birthday party.
01:34:24
Speaker
Well, if Leech is there, you know Artie's there. ah of course, yeah. ah And so, they're all here for the surprise. And on that same page, there's one of two uses...
01:34:41
Speaker
Of Valeria calling Franklin the R word. Uh-huh.
01:34:49
Speaker
Again. Double take. Can't believe that's in here. Because that, by 2009, we,
01:35:01
Speaker
we like, even in South Carolina, we do. Here's the thing. It's not just a use of that word. It's a plot thing. necessary use of that word. It is a... it is a a It's relevant.
01:35:16
Speaker
It is key to the plot of this issue, which is bonkers. I think the only defense you can make is that sometimes kids are shitty, and these kids are being written as though they are realistically shitty.
01:35:33
Speaker
It does not seem like Valeria Richards say that. It doesn't. It's wild that that happens. Yeah. um so the part To be clear, don't think Jonathan Aikman would bust that one out today.
01:35:47
Speaker
Oh, i I'm sure he doesn't love that
01:35:54
Speaker
those two words that we've pointed out are in these issues. I bet he would change it if he could. yeah um There's a scene where Reed talks to Alex Power and he says, I think I got a job for you.
01:36:10
Speaker
So Reed has offered Alex Power a job. Then there's a scene where Sue goes to that wizard clone we saw back in the first issue of the run.
01:36:22
Speaker
And she calls him Bentley. And he says, that's not my name. My name is 32. ah Because i am the 32nd derivative of my father, the super genius, master intellect, Bentley Whitman.
01:36:35
Speaker
I have to earn the name, the wizard or Bentley. And Sue goes, all right, enjoy your cake, Bentley. Then Ben introduces Spider-Man. a guy in a costume comes out who is obviously not Spider-Man. A bunch of the kids say, that's not Spider-Man.
01:36:53
Speaker
That panel is dog shit. I'm sorry.
01:36:58
Speaker
that's why That's harsh. it it It looks bad. The the panel with Spidey on Ben's back? No, no, no. The panel of the kids saying that's not Spider-Man.
01:37:11
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Franklin looks like he's 85 years old. Yeah. That panel in particular is whack. Yes. Then the real Spider-Man arrives.
01:37:23
Speaker
ah And there's a fun bit where, yeah, Spider-Man's riding on Ben's back. And Franklin's really happy to see Spider-Man there. ah Spider-Man swings around with Franklin on his back.
01:37:38
Speaker
And Johnny's like, okay, I guess the kid's having a good time.
01:37:42
Speaker
Then Franklin gives everybody presents for his birthday. Which is nice. It is nice. ah Spider-Man gets a book that Johnny recommended called a Loser's Guide to Picking Up Women. A very 2009 joke.
01:37:55
Speaker
Leech and Artie are given keys to rooms in the best Baxter Building. ah So they can move in. ah So, you know.
01:38:08
Speaker
That's probably coming. and And everybody has a great time at the party.
01:38:16
Speaker
Then there's just... Then there's just a panel of the city that says, later. That feels like a Mark Millery transition, if I'm... ah feels like Powerpuff Girls transition.
01:38:31
Speaker
it It does, yes. Um... A portal opens up inside the Baxter building, and a mysterious figure with a like a a rat tail and a beard arrives and sets up a force field that the Fantastic Four can't get through.
01:38:50
Speaker
he like lifts up Franklin Richards with some like telekinesis kind of stuff and says something we can't see to Franklin.
01:39:00
Speaker
And then Franklin just like falls on the ground as if he's knocked out. And Sue is like, it doesn't matter if it takes the rest of my life. I'm going to find you and I'm going to make make you wish you had never been born.
01:39:16
Speaker
Another, I'm just going to say it, Mark Millery kind of line.
01:39:22
Speaker
For soon to say out of the blue. yeah ah Then this mysterious guy goes and finds Valeria and he's like, hey, Valeria, um I gotta give you a warning.
01:39:34
Speaker
There's gonna be a war between four cities. The future man must return to save the past and all hope lies with doom. And Valeria's like, why should I believe what you're telling me?
01:39:49
Speaker
And he this guy says, you sent me here. And then he's like, I gotta go. And then Valeria calls him the R-word again, revealing that this is Franklin Richards from the future.
01:40:04
Speaker
so So that's why. That's bonkers, man. It's pretty, again, like, it's weird to to read, like, again, because of the the age that we are, I'm like, right, this is a recent run.
01:40:22
Speaker
It is not. But it ain't that long ago. It ain't that long ago. The Fantastic Four is in the kitchen. They're talking about this invasion of the Baxter building.
01:40:34
Speaker
Reed says that the kids seem to be fine. ah we got And that Valeria ah does not reveal that that it was Future Franklin or that ah he said anything at all to her.
01:40:52
Speaker
yeah she's he's She's just like, oh yeah, I hid. And then he left. And then we see her in her bedroom writing on the wall like her dad.
01:41:02
Speaker
Then we get a last page and we get a reveal of what future Franklin told little Franklin. He says, rest and remember what you are. And the very last panel is Franklin making a little universe, having reignited his universe-creating powers.
01:41:23
Speaker
Which is going to be relevant in six years. Yes. I mean, it's going to be relevant before that, but ah but definitely relevant in six years. And that is where we're going to leave it ah for Hickmania 2.
01:41:39
Speaker
good Some good stuff in this run, and some stuff I didn't like all that much. some Some quite surprising stuff. Yeah. It's interesting to me how, like, instantly Hickman gets Reed.
01:41:58
Speaker
And I think that is the that's that's the pitch, right? Oh, definitely. is it's it this is This is a Reed Richards story. And how it's taken a bit of time for him to get especially Sue, but also I think Ben and Johnny. Yeah.
01:42:18
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, there's there's a disconnect there, right? like yeah like It's so much about Reed in the early going, because Reed is so much who Hickman obviously and clearly feels a connection with.
01:42:35
Speaker
Yeah, which, you know, like a lot of people say that Reed's the hardest one to write. Yeah, that's true. But, like, old boy got him. It's moment one.
01:42:49
Speaker
yeah you know this is This is one of the most interesting Reed stories, I feel like. yeah But the other characters aren't quite there. It yeah it is the some weirdly jarring jarring um uses of fast and loose language in this that I was not expecting.
01:43:12
Speaker
In true Hickmania fashion, we need that ah in true hickmania fashion we need that that ah Jim Ross. I want to apologize, ladies and gentlemen, for this crass language.
01:43:24
Speaker
Yeah.
Character Development and Future Storylines
01:43:28
Speaker
oh We apologize for what your're what what you just heard, audience. um But um I am excited to read more ah and for more read.
01:43:41
Speaker
Yeah. and And also Valeria, who I think Hickman also gets instantly. it it is just interesting read It is an interesting take on Valeria.
01:43:53
Speaker
um i don't I don't remember if Valeria was characterized like this before this. She may have been, but I feel like this is really the start of that.
01:44:09
Speaker
I think you may be right. Um.
01:44:15
Speaker
I remember like when Valeria was born, and that story, and how like Doom insisted on naming her and all of that. And like a lot of her connection to Doom was like ah the key part of her character before this.
01:44:28
Speaker
um But like being nearly exactly like her dad, or like a weird like combination of her dad and Doom. She's more like Doom, which I like.
01:44:39
Speaker
yeah um But nonetheless, ah we'll be doing more in Hickmania 3 soon to come. That's the big one.
01:44:51
Speaker
that's That's the one that's in the Superdome in front of 95,000 people. In front of 200,000 people. All right, everybody. ah Thanks for listening.
01:45:01
Speaker
um Thanks for for getting through these Hickman issues with us and continuing to stick with us through Hickmania. um There's a lot more to come. We'll be back next week with another episode as well.
01:45:15
Speaker
In the meantime, if you want to email us, you can send an email to warrocketpodcast at
Conclusion and Social Justice Affirmations
01:45:21
Speaker
gmail.com. That's our email address. ah You can also get in touch with us on Blue Sky. We're there as warrocketajax.com. We're on Tumblr at warrocketpodcast.tumblr.com.
01:45:33
Speaker
You can join our Discord. Ask us for an invitation to the Discord in any of the places I just mentioned, and you can join over there. um Or you can ask us on our Patreon for an invitation to the Discord, and we'll get that for you.
01:45:48
Speaker
Our website is warrocketajax.com and has every episode of the show that we've ever done. WarRocketWiki.com is the fan-run repository of all the information you can want or need about the show WarRocket Ajax. If you want to find me and my stuff, go to MattDWilson.net to find links to my comics, my books, my other podcasts, and my social medias.
01:46:06
Speaker
Chris, where can people find you? Everybody can find me by going to The-ISB.com. That is my website. It has links to everything that I do, and things that you can read and find and purchase and have all kinds of fun with.
01:46:22
Speaker
That does it for Hickmania 2. It's in the books, Matt. It's in the books. That's right. ah Until next time. Until next time. Do not forget, listeners, that black lives matter.
01:46:36
Speaker
Trans rights are human rights. As are abortion rights. Drag is not a crime. Cops aren't your friends. Free Palestine, we love you. We love you.
01:46:46
Speaker
Yeah!