The Kree-Skrull...Peace? A Casino Caper in Empyre #0: Fantastic Four!

The Fantastic Four are out of gas and in need of assistance out in space, finding themselves wrapped up in a combination coliseum/casino plot in this lead-up to Empyre! Writer Dan Slott, artists RB Silva and Sean Izaakse, colorists Marte Gracia and Marcio Menyz, and letterer Joe Caramagna bring us this far flung first family fiasco.

Mr. Chris Eddleman: So just like Bendis’s early event House of M, it’s looking like Empyre is structured with the double banner of two Marvel properties. In this case, said properties are Avengers and Fantastic Four. And who better than to cover Marvel’s first family than XF’s first family? That’s right, we’re bringing you nepotism to the max as the Chrises delve into this introductory issue.

Mrs. Christi Eddleman: As long as we’re drawing parallels I’d like to state on the record that there is no Reed Richards analogue in this relationship. We are both Sue, so please do whatever mental gymnastics required to accept that. Speaking of mental gymnastics, let’s talk about this issue, sweetheart.

The Kree-Skrull Peace

Mr.: So the Kree-Skrull war is a perma-conflict etched into cosmic Marvel. The two alien species serve as intergalactic Hatfields and McCoys, but in this event we’re finally seeing an end to the conflict. As we’ve seen in Incoming! and Empyre: Avengers from last week, this event is predicated on the end to that conflict, as they are brought together by the King of Space, Hulkling. While that’s kind of only hinted at in this issue, we get that permeating the background of our narrative. My dearest, did you think that was effective? [ED NOTE: Ugh. Get a room.]

Mrs.: This issue reads like one you might find in the midst of a Fantastic Four run, so you are correct, my dear, in that the core conflict we’re expecting from Empyre seemed like window dressing. While this may give us the opportunity to dip our toes in the pond of the narrative, I would have enjoyed a much deeper immersion. What ties us most to the conflict are the hints of the backstories of our two young gladiators. What isn’t said about them is perhaps more interesting than what is. The implied significance of their existence is fascinating. What do you make of the two newest additions to the family, darling?

Mr.: Their purpose needs to mostly be to introduce our newest Elder of the Universe- the Profiteer. She seems to share the common trait of several of the other Elders which is “makes superbeings fight for their amusement.” She’s taken over the Casino Cosmico, which formerly belonged to the Grandmaster. So our poor tiny gladiators exist solely to make her party to child soldiering, which as we know only bad people do (stares at Charles Xavier). They don’t get fleshed out very much, and neither does our villain. She voices some of the clunkier dialogue in this issue, and other than brutal pursuit of wealth (more on that below), she doesn’t seem to have a lot of driving traits. The Profiteer does, however, have a pretty great look, so kudos to the art team for our cosmic Cruella de Vil.

It’s Clobberin’ Time

Mrs.: For a team with two geniuses, running out of gas in the middle of space as the inciting incident is comical, at best, and convenient, at worst. Who does a team of superheroes call when stranded in space? Definitely not any of their many space-faring friends (two geniuses, remember). How do you feel about the circumstances which lead our heroes to become hitch hikers, sweetie? [ED. NOTE: Oh my god, you two.]

Mr.: Oh, it’s honestly fine, I suppose. I like the design of the ship that picks them up. It’s very comic booky in that they just put a giant thruster on a galleon. Some of the details in this scene are a little odd. Slott puts in pop culture references in a lot of his work, and for some reason it grates on me a little. I like work to seem more timeless, and a lot of his hyper specific stuff is just a bit much. We also get the indication that something (the Peace) caused all currency to be devalued, so they’ve all switched to barter. This story seems to remember and forget that at odd moments throughout the issue as the casino clearly has credits, and the Profiteer invokes a very clunky usage of “gold standard.” I think it was just another reason to make this plot happen.

Mrs.: I have to agree that not only is the design of the ship delightful, the art on each of these pages is fantastic. The art team has constructed a world I find more fascinating than the story itself. I could look at these pages with no dialogue and still have been told an incredible story. The framing of each panel during our gladiatorial battle is so dynamic. The beats of the battle itself are enjoyable as well. While Ben Grimm impulsively coming to the aid of two children is precisely the type of decision that makes us love him, Reed surprised me by making virtually no morally objectionable choices. Reed Richards has such a black and white sense of morality that it’s satisfying to see it steer him in a noble direction here. Just a good old-fashion FF battle where everyone got to play to their strengths. Did you have a favorite moment within this conflict, my dear?

Mr.: Johnny Storm: Hype Man led to some very sensible chuckles, especially how corny he sounded. This is not the first time that The Thing has been involved with cosmic wrestling/fighting and it’s one of my very favorite things about him. He is also the perfect hero in it, reluctant to fight, but perfectly willing to do so. We also get a nice reminder that he and Johnny are buds till the end, as they both step in to help in the conflict, and instead end up fighting some children. As you mentioned earlier, Reed gets to be an actual hero in this one, as he figures out the Profiteer’s plot to keep stability in the universe by keeping the Kree-Skrull War alive. Not sure why she needed to use kids but, maybe that’s a later issue thing. Was Reed’s plan to invoke a portion of the Kree-Skrull war where they united against heroes a good plot device, sweetheart? [ED. NOTE: I give up] I found it kind of funny that they had to specifically bring it up a few pages earlier, because no one was going to remember that story.

Mrs.: Giving Reed the opportunity to use his big brain for good is always a swell idea in my book, even if it’s execution was a bit clunky. While the execution of his plan begs the question as to why The Profiteer didn’t already have fail safes in place to prevent exactly this from happening, there’s a level of satisfaction from seeing our heroes easily come out on top without having to injure or maim children. The Profiteer really comes off as far less than competent at her job; it’s a wonder she’s an Elder at all.

Card Counting…in Space!

Mr.: So let’s move on to our B plot, which is the children precociously trying their hand at space gambling, since this is in fact, a gladiatorial arena stapled to a casino. This is kind of a fun little bit where apparently even Valeria’s supreme intelligence (no, not that Supreme Intelligence) can’t get them too ahead in gambling, and even ends up losing them some credits. This kind of shook my sense of verisimilitude, but it was at least a pretty fun part of the issue.

Mrs.: Two youngsters up to no good is a welcome bit of fun juxtaposed against the bloodthirstiness of our young Kree and Skrull. I both rolled my eyes and chuckled at some of Sue’s peak mom moments. (How many kids are lucky enough to get grounded in the Negative Zone?) When Reed calls Sue their ace in the hole, I didn’t imagine her triumph would be helping her children gamble. Sue’s not a regular mom, she’s a cool mom, and it’s shockingly easy for her to rig the system. The Profiteer is clearly bad at her job.

Mr.: Yeah, it all wraps up pretty neatly from here, with the kids leaving with the FF and the ship all fixed and ready to go. These kids remaining a fixture is interesting, and at least causes me to wonder where their narrative is proceeding. And as promised by the end of Empyre: Avengers #0, the FF end up in the very large armada making a beeline for Earth. I wonder who they could be? Christi my darling, how would you summarize your thoughts on this one?

Mrs.: This issue was beautiful to look at, and had its fun moments. If its release had coincided with Empyre: Avengers as originally intended, I might have felt better about it. I felt ready to delve more into the meat of this crossover and was left dissatisfied. While several elements of the plot felt too neat and convenient, some aspects didn’t make much sense at all. There are some neat ideas within this issue, but it didn’t land for me.

Mr.: I definitely love the art, the coloring especially. There are a few jarring transitions from Silva to Izaakse that took me out of the issue a bit. They’re both artists I enjoy but, their styles are just different enough to make it seem odd. I agree with you about the very neat, cute plot. We’ll have to see how important this issue becomes as Empyre goes on but, it mostly seemed necessary to introduce our pint-sized prizefighters and possibly the Profiteer. I think I preferred the weirdness of Empyre: Avengers, whereas this story seemed pretty safe and familiar.

Marvelous Musings

Mojo Jojo from Powerpuff Girls shows up in this issue and it’s maybe my favorite part.
Big ups to the random crowd guy who just shouts “KREE!”
There’s something about two rapscallion teens laden with gold and jewels that just tickles me.
Thanks to Nola Pfau for stepping in on editorial duty for this one. [ED NOTE: I carry regrets.]

Allison and Tony are back for Empyre #1!