FANTASTIC FOUR #305 (1987)
by Steve Englehart & John Buscema
cover by Ron Frenz
Doctor Doom barely appears in this one, but as it sets the stage for the massively important following issue I’ll cover what will soon become important.
This is near the beginning of the Steve Englehart run: Reed and Susan have decided to leave the team to raise their son Franklin, and the Thing is going to be the team’s leader.
Since the Fantastic Four needs to have four members (duh), it’s pretty convenient that former FF member Crystal shows up at this moment.
The reunion is a little awkward for a couple of reasons… Crystal used to be Johnny’s girlfriend but is now married to Quicksilver, who she has cheated on, plus at this point Johnny has married Alicia, who used to be the Thing’s girlfriend… okay maybe more than a couple reasons.
The Fantastic Four are not only Marvel’s First Family, they are also its First Soap Opera.
Quicksilver is currently a prisoner of the FF after trying to kill them.
Also he’s a psycho.
Crystal is quite a powerhouse so she puts Quicksilver down rather easily. We also catch up with another prisoner of the Fantastic Four: Kristoff, who has been their prisoner since issue #279.
Quicksilver being in their custody makes sense, since he attacked the FF last issue and they’re just keeping him until the authorities arrive.
Kristoff is more concerning: what exactly is the legal basis of his presence here!? Obviously they can’t send him back to Latveria, but he’s a minor who believes himself to be Doctor Doom… shouldn’t he be in a mental hospital or something?
The issue ends with Doctor Doom showing up, but he’s not interested in his own adopted son: he’s here for Franklin.
And we’re going to stop here because the next issue is HUGE.
Doom significance: 0/10
If you’re not interested in the Fantastic Four shenanignans and you’re not doing a chronological review of all Doom appearances, skip this one.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
I can’t even begin to imagine divorce and cheating on your spouse being discussed in the Silver Age.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
I’m not the biggest fan of Englehart’s run, even though I appreciate the attempt to do something new with the team, but this is not a quality score: all it means is that you can basically do today nearly everything that happens in the comic. I would really, REALLY tone down the Quicksilver craziness, though (his continuity is absurd but I’m fairly sure he’s being influences by the Inhuman Maximus here).