Empyre #0: Fantastic Four
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dan Slott
Illustrated by: R.B. Silva & Sean Izaakse
Colors by: Marte Gracia & Marcio Menyz
Lettering by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Even in space, you can run out of gas… the Richards, along with the Human Torch, and the Thing, find themselves stranded. But! Space isn’t such a lonely place, as there’s bound to be a ship passing by – and passing by one did! A proper ship, like a pirate ship, which would take them to a space casino, so the Thing can fight, win money, and be able to pay for their trip, and some more gas. However, they happen upon beings gambling on a fight between the last Kree, and the last Skrull… both of which, are just kids. While the Human Torch and the Thing try to literally knock some sense into the kids, Mr. Richards goes to have a talk with the casino’s owner, and, well, Mrs. Richards finds her kids gambling – and let’s just say her invisibility powers allows them to break bank. They’re probably in trouble regardless, but why not get some money and free those battling kids while at it?
This issue sets up an interesting new storyline where the Fantastic Four (along with the kids Val and Frank) are stuck in space with these two kids, raised with the intent on killing each other. I’m hoping they can mend their ways, and perhaps join the Fantastic Four, or, alternatively, join forces with Val and Frank to become their own team. Considering they’re free from taking orders, I do hope these kids learn to work with each other, rather than spend every moment hating each other for no reason other than that’s what they were taught.
The writing was well done, as each character had their moment in the spotlight, and it felt natural. It didn’t feel like there was a scene plopped in there to make sure you remembered a character was also in the story. Each appearance of a character was very organic to the story (remember, it’s six characters now, not just four).
All in all, it’s a nice jumping off point to a brand new storyline, as this was the introductory story, issue number zero, so before issue number one comes out, make sure to catch this issue to catch you up on the backstory!