As you saw in my review of Volume 2, I enjoyed the last volume a lot. It was a big step up from the first volume and things were definitely getting high tier. The fate of the Earth hung in the balance and all of the villain’s were making their move. Unfortunately, this collection lacks a lot of what made the 2nd volume so great, but it was still end to the arc.
The last volume ended with the Marvel Universe teaming up to stop the Kree from destroying Earth, while the FF went to deal with the Inhumans. Well, none of that is shown in this comic. Instead we get a mild time skip and we see the kids land in the Arctic. They managed to translocate themselves to Dr Doom’s lair. Apparently they were attacked by Annihilus, so they were forced to escape. Dr Doom sends some Doombots to escort them to the mansion. Nathaniel is still talking tough and acting as if he’s smarter than Reed Richards. Albeit, it is a “fake” Reed so he’s not quite as smart. Dr Doom still has the collar around him, so he can’t defy Reed or he will basically become a mindless zombie. Dr Doom’s son is also around, but he doesn’t really get to help out.
A large part of the comic is Valeria having an inner monologue. She made several deals with various characters and continues to be a key part in ending this fight. She builds her own Lightsaber and the group gets ready to fight their ultimate battle. The Celestials have arrived and they aren’t here to have fun. Franklin holds them at bay for a little while, but then it’s time for Dr Doom and Reed Richards to give it a shot. In the meantime, the others take on one of the Celestial’s fingers. (Which can transform into a robot)
Reed Richards has the Infinity Gauntlet so he should be “All Powerful”. Not to mention that he also obtained the Ultimate Nullifier as well. Unfortunately, no gadget can make you obtain unlimited power (Unlike Bass, who possesses it normally) so Reed is defeated. Dr Doom holds his own for a few seconds, but the Celestials won’t be stopped. Finally, Franklin Richards of the future and Galactus come to even the odds.
After that, we get another time skip, so we don’t get to see the fight….which is pretty disappointing. The Fantastic Four and the Avengers are back home. They start to make repairs and also ground Valeria for saving the world behind their backs and not being very trustworthy. Spiderman takes it all in stride and heads off, but Human Torch decides that they should be roommates. The comic ends with Dr Doom finding something…interesting!
The Fantastic Four were absent for just about the whole time, so they looked pretty bad. The Celestials took them out pretty easily. The Celestials also didn’t seem to be that smart and while they’re “Really Tough” they just felt like really big Sentinels. I didn’t like any of the kids, but Dr Doom was cool. He kept his composure through the entire battle and met his end like a true her-villain. Franklin Richards (Future) was pretty good for the most part, and I’m glad that he’s actually fighting. (He should have stayed around for the Age of Ultron.)
This collection was good, but it was definitely missing a lot of things. It’s sad for readers of the series, since they skip most of the battles. Marvel expects you to transfer series (Or buy them both) to read the whole adventure. That’s pretty disappointing and the art also takes a major dip for the first half. The art gets better for the climax, but that definitely didn’t help matters. I’d still recommend it to the average fan, but don’t expect to see the Avengers or the Fantastic Four for very long. This story is really about the Future Foundation. Maybe that’s how it should have been all along…..or not. Either way, we still got to see the Dr Doom and Reed vs Celestials fight, which was pretty fun. One thing I’ve always liked about FF comics, is the epic dialogue. Reed’s definitely smarter than the other Marvel geniuses. So, hurry and check this comic out guys!
Overall 7/10
