Volume 51: Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

Capt America #25: Author: Ed Brubaker / Illustrator: Steven Epting
Fallen Son Miniseries: Author: Jeph Loeb (from a premise by J. Michael Straczynski) / Illustrators: Leinil Yu (#1) / Ed McGuinness (#2) / John Romita Jr. (#3) / David Finch (#4) / John Cassaday (#5)

"...[A]nd one day, it'll be different. The load won't feel as heavy. 'Course, then you'll hear a song or somebody will laugh or the wind will blow the wrong way...and the hole will tear wide open again."

A number of heroes died during the Civil War arc (Volume 50), and while every human life should be equal in value, it's a fact that those closest to us leave the biggest vacuum in the world, an absence that's immeasurable in size. For many of the superhero community the death of Captain America cuts deeper than any of the others because of how inspirational he was. He's the reason so many of those able to protect the innocent were moved to do so in the first place. Steve Rogers was a man, but his costumed self was an almighty symbol that had the power to speak in place of the person beneath it.

The stories of how the death affected those closest to Steve is structured like the Kübler-Ross model (aka The Five Stages of Grief, as observed by Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross), with each issue exploring one of the stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. The particular hero chosen to lead each issue isn't random, there's a method at play whereby the emotion will have a special resonance with that particular character.

Before we get to the Fallen Son issues, we're given the issue of Captain America in which the hero was killed (#25). It's a great issue, with the focus split between Steve's situation and the world around him, but favouring the latter, surprisingly.

Stage 1: Denial: Wolverine. No stranger to loss as one of the X-Men, Wolverine needs confirmation of the death before he can begin to heal. The sketchy lines and dark colours suit the tone.

Stage 2: Anger: the Avengers. The team who lost a friend and leader. While some grieve openly, some choose distraction. Choosing not to vent anger doesn't necessarily make it go away; it still affects but quietly, and can do even more damage in the long term.

Stage 3: Bargaining: Capt. America. It's named for Cap, for reasons that will be obvious upon reading, but it's mostly about Iron Man and one specific other. Without going into detail it was the best issue so far, by quite a margin. I loved how the chill of the rainy night adds to the cold reception.

Stage 4: Depression: Spider-Man. Another good issue. Peter carries the weight of the world on an ordinary day, but when his failures (real and imagined) gang up on him as one, past and present blur and the web-slinger aches like only he can.

Stage 5: Acceptance: Ironman. The acceptance doesn't mean an end to the grief, but allows reflection. The future is changed, but for the superhero community it must go on.

The book collects together Captain America #25; and Fallen Son #1-5 (i.e. Fallen Son: Wolverine; Fallen Son: Avengers; Fallen Son: Captain America; Fallen Son: Spider-Man; Fallen Son: Iron Man).

Verdict:

Volume 47: Fantastic Four: The End

Fantastic Four: The End

Author + Illustrator: Alan Davis

"No, Victor... please! They're just children!"

I know I'm enjoying a book when it feels like a twenty-minute read. FF's The End felt like a two-hour slog. It started out fine, actually it started out with a lot of potential, but, with the exception of one brief scene, it delivered instead too many cooks and not enough broth.

I don't want to detract from the achievement of Alan Davis, to write and draw a six-issue miniseries alone is an enviable accomplishment, but when the emotional heart of a story is compromised by having characters featured who are there for no reason other than to be seen, if they aren't included for a reason that's unique to them, then it feels like a wasted opportunity. If the books in the collection thus far have taught me anything, it's that I hate crossovers for the sake of crossovers, a feeling that The End compounds.

The highlight of the work comes in issue #1. She-Hulk speaks with Reed about how and why Marvel's first family aren't side by side like they used to be. Drifting apart from friends and family as years go by is something that most people can relate to (if you can't, then consider yourself very lucky). The exchange gives us a brief glimpse into the psyche of the man. How the conversation ends gives us another important glimpse, but we never get a satisfying follow-up, we never see the full picture and the story suffers as a result.

Thereafter we get literally dozens of heroes and villains thrown into the mix, many for no justifiable reason; the Kree, Ulton the asswipe, the Skrull, the Shi'ar, the Avengers, the Inhumans, Utau, and many more, all make an appearance. Even Chekhov would suffer exhaustion while trying to cull the irrelevant elements.

The book collects together Fantastic Four: The End #1-6.

Verdict:

Volume 31: Fantastic Four: Authoritative Action

Fantastic Four: Authoritative Action

Author: Mark Waid  |  Illustrators: Howard Porter / Norm Rapmund

"But let's not do th' right thing the wrong way–"

Note: Even though this post is dated just a few days after the previous one (Volume 30), in reality about three months have passed since I read both books. That's not usually a problem because my method is to write and schedule for later, except I forgot to write Part Two until now. Doh! Consequently, I've probably forgotten much of what I wanted to say, but I'll do the best that I can. :/

It becomes clear that the clean-up process after a tyrant is defeated doesn't stop when the villain is out of the picture; and that the change in control affects not just the new powers but also the citizens for whom the previous rule had become their way of life, for good or ill. Change can be difficult even when it seems to be favourable.

Doctor Doom's parting gift to Reed weighs heavily on the stretchy hero's soul; he's more short-tempered, less jovial. When the balance that exists between Reed the man and Reed the superhero is thrown out of sync, when the man is deeply troubled by feelings that are difficult to shake once they surface, then the whole package suffers.

It births dangerous questions: How far would you go to keep your family safe? Would you stop at preventing actual threats, or attempt to justify moving further afield to extinguish potential threats? What would you do to the world? What would you do to yourself? Those kinds of tough questions are what make the book most memorable.

Also of note is seeing how the remainder of the team deal with the difficult change in their leader. It's all well and good to say that as family we should support one another through thick and thin, but there's a line of acceptability that must be acknowledged, and it's one that may be placed differently for each individual.

I wasn't a fan of the real-world political references, the inconsistency in the art was distracting, and I'm not sure how I feel about the book's final chapter, but overall it's another strong Fantastic Four book that will remain in my collection.

The book collects together Fantastic Four #503-511.

Verdict:

Volume 30: Fantastic Four: Unthinkable

Fantastic Four: Unthinkable

Author: Mark Waid  |  Illustrators: Mike Wieringo / Casey Jones

"Have we discussed Newton's third law?"

Love is a hell of thing. It can hold even the vilest and most power-hungry individual in its steadfast grip, and it's the most common form of glue that binds a selfless family unit together. Both of those things are an integral part of a good FF story. The kinds of love that are manifested are as different as magic and science - except, if you frame it correctly, magic and science aren't really that different at all.

It begins with Victor Von Doom having a very human moment, something that on any other day he would more than likely see as a weakness to be exploited, something to help him gain the upper-hand. As Doom moves from place to place, revealing just a small portion of his story each time, only we as readers get the picture complete. It fills the first included issue and it's amazing! The Fantastic Four don't even feature in the conventional sense.

Of course, they do appear eventually, and even though the balance between the Four is well-considered it's Reed's emotional state that I was most aware of. He's a super-genius when it comes to science and technology, able to apply the scientific method even with his eyes closed, but when it comes to parenting he's at the mercy of hope and luck just as much as the next man, aware that good intentions don't always translate into good decisions. The memory of his past failure never goes away, influencing his every action. In some ways it makes him a better father, but in other ways it traps a little piece of him and prevents it from moving forward.

The scenarios that the team are exposed to and forced to bring to a conclusion are just as bonkers as the shit-storms that the X-Men get into, but the love that has been established as existing between the Four does a much better job at making all the weird stuff less overpowering than Xavier's squad can manage. That the FF's adventures are often part soap opera doesn't change the fact that it's a process better able to highlight what's important.

The book collects together Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #67-70 and Fantastic Four #500-502.

Verdict: