Review: Dan Slott Pays A Found Farewell To Marvel’s First Family In ‘Fantastic Four’ #46
by Olly MacNamee
Summary
‘Fantastic Four’ #46 marks the end of Dan Slott’s time on the FF. And, as a reminder, we are given an issue that not clears the decks, but also acts as a walk down memory lane and some of the concepts and characters Slott has introduced. An issue that resets the status quo rather than delivers anything more dramatic, but then we’ve had plenty of that with the recent Reckoning War saga.
Overall
7/10As is customary when a series comes to a planned end and the creative team – or writer in this case – exits, it’s good manners to put all the toys back in the toy box and leave things as you found them. And that’s precisely what Dan Slott, with artist Cafu, does in his swan song on Fantastic Four. Although, he does return to some key characters and concepts he has weaved into the Fantastic Four mythos to remind readers what he has added to the legend. His legacy, if you like.
Like many of his previous issue in this run, Slott returns to a family centric story as ew are finally introduced to Reed’s half-sister, the equally intelligent and appropriately alliteratively names Joanna Jeffers. A half-sister soon introduced to the family before being whisked off to the planet Spyre where she meets up with Johnny Storm. After that, elsewhere, or rather Elsewhen, to meet the rest of the family before Reed gets into a heart-to-heart with his new found sibling and some sentimentality too. Hey, this is Slott’s last issue, so there was always going to be the odd heartfelt moment, right? Y’know, the importance of family and all that. It’s a theme he’s returned to time and time again.
And still there are even more moments to explore along with Joanna before the end of the issue and the end of an era. Yes, there have been new ideas as well as recons introduced into the Fantastic Four’s history, as Slott reminds us throughout this issue, like a proud father, but there is also a reset for the new creative team to come onboard without any baggage to contend with.
It was also nice to see Cafu on art. An artist who has been providing covers for a good number of recent issues coming in to tie-up the series solidly. Overall, an issue that won’t necessarily be remembered as a standout story, but one that served a purpose with some moments, I feel, feeling rushed in order for Slott to leave the ship seaworthy and all the decks clear. More of a whimper than a bang in the end.
Fantastic Four #46 is out now from Marvel
