After getting into Claremont run, I decided to take a look at the various Fantastic Four runs and attempt to ranking them.
While I could easily just go through personal preference alone, in honor of the smartest man in the wo…
…I mean the SECOND smartest man in the world, let’s do this by math.
I will only look at runs that have a considerable number of issues with the same writer.
I’m adding one or two points for each category, either positive or negative.
Reed / Susan / Johnny / Ben: how much attention any of the members receive. +1 is fine, +2 is excellent, -1 is best forgotten, -2 is atrocious. If the character is just meh, that’s a 0.
Doom: if he’s used at all, based on how much well written he is. Same scoring scheme as the FF themselves, with 0 only if he doesn’t appear.
Other characters: how well written are other regular cast members. Zero points if they’re barely cameos.
Exploring the universe: how much the FF explore the universe, and how interesting the places are
First Family: how much the FF being a family is central to important storylines
Consequences: did anything important really happen?
Wildcard: in case anything outside of the above categories should be considered for the total score
This is the score table of the resulting 19 runs.
(please note most of these writers wrote OTHER issues, but I’m looking at complete runs here)
| Chronological Order | Writer(s) | Total Score | Reed | Susan | Johnny | Ben | Doom | Others | Explore | Family | Consequences | Wildcard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee & Kirby | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Conway | 3 | -1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Wolfman | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Moench | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Byrne | 18 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | Englehart | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Simonson | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | DeFalco | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 10 | Jim Lee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 |
| 11 | Claremont | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Pacheco&Marin | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Mark Waid | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Straczynski | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| 15 | McDuffie | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Millar | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Hickman | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Fraction | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Slott | 15 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -1 |
That’s too many to discuss every single one in detail, but let’s just see the the Top and Bottom Five.
TOP FIVE
This is just according to the rules above. If it came to personal preference there are several runs I loved that don’t get to the top… from the historic Simonson to the underrated McDuffie… but I had to draw the line SOMEWHERE.
#5: Mark Waid (Fantastic Four vol.3 #60-70, immediately followed by vol.1 #500-524)
I was honestly surprised he came up this low, as this was a VERY solid run.
Reed: +2
Susan: +1
Johnny: +2
Ben: +1
Doom: +1
Other characters: 0
Exploring the universe: +2
First Family: +2
Consequences: 1
Wildcard: 0
Total score: 12
But while his Reed is one of the best and Waid did solid work on Johnny (despite a shaky start), nothing he did with Susan or Ben blew me away.
His Doctor Doom is quite controversial among Doom fans, but I liked his interpretation.
The strongest point of this run was the exploration of the universe by the Fantastic Four, but compared to those higher on the list he loses points in the “other characters” category… Waid focuses very well on the FF themselves, but that leaves other characters with nothing to do.
#4: Dan Slott (Fantastic Four vol.6 #1-46)
A controversial run to say the least, but… I found most of the controversies dumb, because I haven’t enjoyed the series so much in years.
Reed: +2
Susan: +2
Johnny: +2
Ben: +2
Doom: +1
Other characters: +2
Exploring the universe: +2
First Family: +2
Consequences: +1
Wildcard: -1
Total score: 15
I enjoyed all the four members, while his Doom is just fine. But for me Slott shines in several categories: Franklin, Valeria and Alicia are just as interesting as the team if not more. The exploration side was really solid, but where Slott truly shines is in building up the family… quite literally, since we have the Richards kids growing up AND the adopted children of the Thing.
The “consequences” score might end up being higher, considering that apparently the status quo is NOT going to be reset… but it’s still too early to say, since at the time of this writing the run has just ended.
The wildcard is negative exclusively to avoid a tie with the next entry: the Slott run is too recent to properly judge.
#3: Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four #570-611)
This should probably considered an even longer run, considering the series was re-titled F.F. in the middle.
Reed: +2
Susan: +1
Johnny: +2
Ben: +2
Doom: +2
Other characters: +2
Exploring the universe: +2
First Family: +2
Consequences: +1
Wildcard: +1
Total score: 16
He might have killed Johnny for a while, but he also wrote some of his best scenes ever. Everything is solid throughout, though his Susan isn’t at the same level of her teammates. Lots of use of many, MANY side characters, some of the best exploration, plus a wildcard for being the first writer to really get to use Valeria as a character to her full potential.
#2: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby (Fantastic Four #1-102)
Blasphemy for not placing them at number 1, I know.
Reed: +1
Susan: +1
Johnny: +1
Ben: +2
Doom: +2
Other characters: +2
Exploring the universe: +2
First Family: +2
Consequences: +2
Wildcard: +2
Total score: 17
The ONLY blemishes are not entirely their fault, but their Reed and Susan haven’t aged particularly well and their Johnny feels a bit generic at times. The Thing holds up surprisingly well, however, and how could I not give them top scores on everything else?
Even with 2 whole wildcard points for INVENTING THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, there is STILL one run I place above them…
#1: John Byrne (Fantastic Four #232-294)
As if the guy needed an even bigger ego, I know, but…
Reed: +2
Susan: +2
Johnny: +2
Ben: +2
Doom: +2
Other characters: +2
Exploring the universe: +2
First Family: +2
Consequences: +2
Wildcard: 0
Total score: 18
With the advantage of decades to build upon, Byrne gets all the top scores from the Lee&Kirby run… but he also does unparalleled work on ALL the Fantastic Four.
Plus we have one of the best Doctor Doom ever AND She-Hulk AND phenomenal development for Alicia AND some of the best sci-fi ever seen on the series AND it’s a pivotal period for the entire family.
BOTTOM FIVE
#15: Tom DeFalco (Fantastic Four #356-416)
I’ve reviewed enough DeFalco stories that you knew this was coming.
Reed: 0
Susan: 0
Johnny: 0
Ben: 0
Doom: 1
Other characters: 1
Exploring the universe: 1
First Family: 1
Consequences: 0
Wildcard: -2
Total score: 2
Where do I begin? All the four are wildly inconsistent, but even when they are written well they aren’t particularly interesting. He does score SOME points: his Doom is occasionally fine, there’s SOME exploration and the family aspect takes center stage… not very well, but it does… and I miss some of his other characters, mostly his interpretation of Kristoff.
Two negative wildcard points for ruining Alicia’s characterization for YEARS thanks to that Lyja nonsense.
#16: J. Michael Straczynski (Fantastic Four #527-541)
Poor JMS. Being in the middle of Civil War seriously ruined his run.
Reed: -1
Susan: 0
Johnny: 0
Ben: 1
Doom:1
Other characters: 0
Exploring the universe: 0
First Family: 1
Consequences:0
Wildcard: -2
Total score: 1
It might not have been Straczynski’s idea, but Reed’s role in Civil War drags this down both for the character AND the wildcard. The Thing is the only team member he seems to get. His Doom is fine and at least he does focus on the family, but… what a missed opportunity.
#17: Roy Thomas (Fantastic Four #156-171)
Yet another case when the writer is not entirely at fault: everyone had serious problems writing Fantastic Four for DECADES after Stan Lee left.
Reed: 0
Susan: 0
Johnny: 0
Ben: 0
Doom:-1
Other characters: 1
Exploring the universe: 0
First Family: 1
Consequences: 0
Wildcard: 0
Total score: 1
I don’t think he does anything interesting throughout the run and his Doom is just abysmal, but at least Luke Cage was fun for a while.
In terms of points this is technically a tie with Straczynski, but I place Thomas lower because at least you can remember what JMS did.
#18: Doeg Moench (Fantastic Four #222-231)
This is ALSO a tie with Thomas, but I’m placing Moench lower because he doesn’t have any excuses.
Reed: 0
Susan: 0
Johnny: 0
Ben: 0
Doom: 0
Other characters: 0
Exploring the universe: 0
First Family: 1
Consequences:0
Wildcard: 0
Total score: 1
Yep, that’s almost a zero everywhere… Moench doesn’t seem to have any idea of what he’s doing. Plus this is the only run in the list where Doom doesn’t even show up!
The only point he gets is by focusing on the family, but even then it’s not like he does anything interesting there either.
So what DOES get a lower score than the most boring run ever?
#19: Jim Lee (Fantastic Four vol.2 #1-12)
Just because I consider this the best of the “Heroes Reborn” series doesn’t mean it’s good.
Reed: 0
Susan: 0
Johnny: 0
Ben: 0
Doom: 1
Other characters: 0
Exploring the universe: 1
First Family: 0
Consequences: -1
Wildcard: -1
Total score: 0
While the stories aren’t entirely badly written and Doom is even decent… the FF are bland and there are no other interesting characters to fill the void. They’re not even really a family!
Being part of Heroes Reborn, they get a -1 for consequences (everything is retconned) and also deserve a -1 wildcard for the entire concept behind this stupid reboot.
And that’s it: the best and worst Fantastic Four runs according to the completely scientific point of view I just made up.
There’s an argument to be made against basically every single point, I’m sure… after all, I’m absolutely certain there is ONE person who doesn’t like a single Fantastic Four run:
Bonus: as promised in the comments, here’s my recommended reading list for anyone getting into the Fantastic Four.
- read the Lee&Kirby run (#1 to #102), obviously
- skip everything until #199. You won’t miss anything important that isn’t explained in the story. You will miss a couple of good stories, but if they’re referenced you can just go back and read those individual stories.
- read the Woldman run, just from #200 to #214. There’s a nice space saga in there that will also get you a first glimpse of Byrne artwork
- skip until #231. You’ll thank me for missing the Moench run.
- read the Byrne run. This will take you from #232 to #296, with the last 3 by other writers but they end the storyline
- read the Byrne run again. It’s THAT freaking good.
- read #300, but other than that skip everything from #297 to #333 to avoid the Englehart run
- read the Simonson run, from #334 to #354
- skip from #354 to #416, skip volume 2, skip volume 3 from #1 to #53
- read vol.3 #54… that’s the story Valeria is born. It’s the finale of a 4 part story, but that’s the only one worth it
- read the Waid run, vol.3 #60 to #70 followed by vol.1 #500 to #524 (the series is re-titled)
- skip #525 to #542
- read from #543 to #588. That’s the great McDuffie run, the surprisingly fine Millar run, and the Hickman run
- To finish the Hickman run, read FF #1-11 then continue #600 to #611
- skip volume 4 and volume 5
- read volume 6 (that’s the Slott run)
- volume 7 is the current Ryan North one, so you’ve caught up!