Everything's going to be OK. Your family will keep you safe. Little lies we like to tell ourselves, or like to tell others, because to contemplate the truth, that your safety can be taken away, is too horrible to contemplate on a daily basis. In "Unthinkable," Dr. Doom shattered the illusion of safety surrounding the Fantastic Four, and in the aftermath, Waid and guest artist Casey Jones explore how the various members of the team pick up the pieces and move on. To Waid's credit, the book retains some of its light sense of humor even in the face of such a dark tone, but the overwhelming feeling here is the aftermath of a tragedy (or several, actually). It makes for compelling reading, and once again shows off that Waid understands these characters as few other writers have.
It has seemed in reading Waid's Fantastic Four that he has gravitated toward Reed Richards as the lead character of the book, and though there's definitely an ensemble feel, one gets the sense that Waid very much sees Reed as the center. This issue, he's mostly moping and obsessing over what Doom has done to him and his family, but even though he's the least active member of the team in the issue, the story is obviously about the effects it has had on him. Certainly Johnny taking Reed where he does is a test of Reed's moral character and heroic nature, a neat twist on the age-old "Hitler as a baby" question.
While Reed gets a fair amount of attention, though, this is still an ensemble piece. I love Waid's take on Susan Richards, as she looks very much like the strong core of the team, playing the role of mother figure, sister figure and if necessary ass-kicker and doing all three very well. The relationship that Waid has built up around Sue and Ben Grimm in particular is an interesting addition to the relationship dynamics of the book, and I enjoyed the banter between them in this issue.
I must confess, I missed Mike Wieringo's artwork on this issue. Casey Jones's work is solid, but it lacks Wieringo's stylistic flair and the fairly uncomplicated backgrounds and storytelling lead me to believe that it might have been done under a tight deadline. Jones does a good job on the characters, especially the Thing and a particularly young and cute-looking Sue Richards, but there's not a lot of room for more subtletly or expression in these faces. I was also a little let down by the look of Reed's new scars, which make him look more hangdog than scarred, not as impressive as Wieringo's initial designs from the previous issue.
One of the phrases that gets thrown around a lot in corporate super-hero comics is "illusion of change." Characters never really die or change, plots don't have huge effects on the characters, the status quo is maintained. I do think that eventually the Fantastic Four will return to its previous status quo, especially given the new creative team coming on the book later this year, but it seems clear from this issue that Waid had intended "Unthinkable" to have actual effects upon the team, and the result is a strong read that once again reinforces the potential in this writer's take on the book.
