When I saw this book listed in Marvel Previews, I was immediately drawn to it thanks to the Jim Cheung cover art, but that's about all that piqued my curiosity. The premise seemed a bit forced, and I realized this series was designed simply to get another FF trade paperback on the stands by the time the movie based on the classic comics property hit this summer. Inside these pages, you'll find some fun super-hero fare, but what you won't find is focus. Is this about a revenge scheme on the part of some FF enemies? At first, it seems that way, but that storyline is cast aside by the end of the issue. I honestly have no idea what the point of this limited series is from a storytelling point of view. I'm not looking for all of the answers in the first issue, but some kind of hook is needed here.
Two old enemies of the Fantastic Four gather together as many of the heroes' arch-nemeses as they can with a simple proposal: pooling their resources to bring Reed Richards's and his family to an untimely demise. To put it kindly, their scheme is met with limited enthusiasm... which is exactly what they had hoped for in the first place. Meanwhile, we meet Andrew Lewis, a middle-aged guy who runs a security firm that operates out of the Baxter Building, home of the Fantastic Four.
I enjoyed Cliff Rathburn's angular and exaggerated line art on previous projects, but it just doesn't always work in the context of this script. The Puppet Master permanently enraged facial expression is laughable, not intimidating, and I can't imagine why he's shown to be frothing at the mouth. The Thinker doesn't look right here either, and the backgrounds in several scenes are oddly sparse. I rather enjoyed Rathburn's take on the Thing, though, and the art reinforces the comedy of the villain assembly nicely.
Speaking of comedy, Kirkman's jokes are a lot of fun. From Sue Storm's divorce gag to the twist on the big villain team-up notion, the script had me smiling often. The Thing's quiet little prank on the Human Torch was especially amusing. The heroes' personalities don't fare too well in this script; the only one showing any degree of depth here is the Invisible Woman.
The plotting and pacing of this opening issue is baffling. I like the idea of introducing another Baxter Building tenant, but Kirkman really doesn't tell us enough about him to interest me. Furthermore, the whole villain plotline introduced here is abandoned by the end of the issue when the Puppet Master turns into an idiot, and Mr. Fantastic's revelation on the final page not only comes from out of nowhere but is silly as opposed to suspenseful. 5/10
