Fantastic Four Ending … But It Will Be Back

I feel like a lot of my time is spent lately reassuring other comic book fans that there’s less to worry about when it comes to big changes in their favorite Marvel characters than it may appear. Sure, Thor is a mystery woman right now instead of the blond guy we know and love. Don’t sweat it. The nature of all super hero comics, at least those published by the Big Two, is to revert to the status quo, or at least something like it.

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That’s why reports about the “final issue” of Fantastic Four really don’t elicit much more than a shrug from me right now. It will be strange for there not to be an FF comic on the shelves, as we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about Marvel at all right now if it wasn’t for Reed Richards and family. But since Fantastic Four is rarely a big seller, this isn’t as big a deal as it seems. For better or worse, relaunches are almost the way to go in the current climate, and maybe some time away would actually benefit the inevitable Fantastic Four #1. Or, given what Marvel is doing with some of the Avengers right now, maybe there’s an All-New Fantastic Four #1 in the pipeline for next fall.

I also don’t think it matters much whether Marvel is doing this to lob grenades at Fox over its upcoming The Fantastic Four movie. I’ll admit that the timing of the de-emphasizing of the FF almost seems too coincidental to be real, but since the buzz on the film is mostly negative, it seems unlikely to me that Marvel would fear that having Fantastic Four comics on the shelves next summer would help a competitor in some way. I’m also just not a believer in conspiracy theories in general, no matter how entertaining they might be.

In the end, I look at it this way: the Fantastic Four monthly comic is ending, but you can almost bet the house it’s coming back at some point. It stinks if you’re a big fan, but we’ve all been through it, and we will again at some point. Marvel’s first family will be back, it’s just a question of when. Until then, enjoy whatever stories the characters are in, or just sit it out and wait for the return.

(via Comic Book Resources)