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“Imperius Rex!”
Romanche Trench – 7,700 meters down inside the South Atlantic Ocean, Susan Richards expands her force field surrounding the Fantasticar to allow her brother a closer look at an ancient doorway recently discovered by her husband. With the press of a few buttons Sue activates a scanner module mounted in the nose of the craft. Her eyes light-up as the readings showed the massive iron doors were forged thousands of years ago when man was still living in the bronze age.
Reed Richards had uncovered the structure while exploring the trench with fellow scientist Walter Newell. The two men had dove on the site to gather specimens of microalgae with hopes of unlocking a new source of biofuel. Then, they just disappeared.
What Sue, Johnny, and Ben found when they arrived on the scene were remnants of Walter Newell’s submarine. The submersible now lay in pieces, scattered throughout the open doorway and along the seafloor. There is no way they could have survived such devastation, the real question was this an accident or something much sinister. Johnny moved into the dark chamber, his cosmic powered flames illuminating the rocky architecture inside.
As various fish swam past his protective force field his eyes locked onto a much larger figure swimming towards him. “No, it can’t be!” Johnny yelled in surprise. The being was no man or Atlantian either. Johnny’s first thought was Prince Namor, but the Sub-mariner was serving a life sentence at a supermax prison known as the Sea Cage. This being was some type of hybrid and it looked pissed off. The Human Torch called for backup.
Were Reed Richards and Walter Newell both casualties in a submarine implosion? Who built the underwater structure now open to the science of modern man? Will Namor help identify what lays in wait for the Fantastic Four? Collect the series to find out!
“Side-By-Side With The Sub-Mariner!”
Note: Reprint Story From The Fantastic Four #33, 1964
Civil War! A large army has just struck the underwater city nation of Atlantis. Its leader, the notorious Lemurian warlord Attuma, is more than a match for Prince Namor and his complacent subjects. As the host legion drives forward from the murky depths, their technology is in a league unknown to the Atlantian military.
In an attempt to save her true love from a complete rout, Lady Dorma makes a back alley pact with Lemurian General. The Noblewoman would grant Attuma access to Atlantis by an unguarded section of the city defense. Her only stipulation was her true love would be unharmed. Silly women and their flights of fancy! As the Lemurians begin to enter the gates of the submerged metropolis, Attuma’s men launch several high-explosive torpedoes at the Sub-mariner. In a flash of implosions Namor is no more!
Will Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four agree to help Atlantis stave off the Lemurian invasion? Can Lady Dorma guide the heroes’ submersible to the very center of the conflict? What can it take for Benjamin Grimm and Johnny Storm to end their quips long enough to stop Attuma? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
The Lemurians are back in this 2024 edition of Giant-Size Fantastic Four. With Namor locked away in the human prison called Sea Cage, will his underwater kingdom fall to a long forgotten foe? I don’t know, but there are some heavy political themes addressed here.
Current head writer of the Fantastic Four, Ryan North, was not assigned to this issue for some reason. Instead we get Fabian Nicieza, a writer I know little about. Call me crazy, however the war and devastation between Lemuria and Atlantis is eerily similar to what is going on between Israel and Palestine right now. Plus the whole submarine implosion seems to be a nod to the recent tourist submersible which went down near the Titanic. If this was the underlying intention of Fabian’s story, all I can say is “too soon, bro”.
Also included in this annual is the full reprint of Fantastic Four #33 from 1964. I have nothing but high praises for this issue, as it was produced by the legendary team of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chic Stone, and Artie Simek. If you are looking for a classic example of comic books done the “Marvel Way”, this is it. Stan Lee coined the term for a method of producing which in my opinion is sorely missed today.
All the classic Stan’isms are here. The crazy made-up scientific terms, the wild banter between characters, the overuse of exclamation points, they are all present in this early edition of the Fantastic Four series.
Let’s not forget the genius of Jack Kirby. His unique blocky art style inspired thousands of future artists, and drove the industry way into the early 1990s. His version of the Fantastic Four characters are still my favorite out of all the iterations. Jack’s art is one of a kind.
I give Fabian Nicieza story three out of five stars, and I strongly recommend that Marvel have Ryan North write all the Fantastic Four material. Leave the woke stuff to DC Comics. The reprint issue gets four out of five stars as it truly represents the core of the team and their values. As a whole, I give this Giant-Size book a loose four out of five stars. Until next time…
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