The Fantastic Four and Avengers find themselves at the center of a war, between who? Find out in Empyre #1 by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia, and Joe Caramagna!
Allison Senecal: So, here it is! The big Marvel event of the summer! Not a prelude, not a #0, the REAL DEAL! Finally! And it was a pretty dang good opener…
Tony Thornley: That was a lot of fun!
When Youāre In Space, Youāre Family
TT: I adore that we get dueling narration here- Reed Richards in blue text and Tony Stark in red. It recreates that sense of the unreliable narrator that we got in Empyre Avengers #0 without going directly back to it.
The story picks up immediately after Empyre: Fantastic Four #0, with the Four popping out of hyperspace right in the middle of the unified Kree/Skrull fleet. I love the first line of spoken dialogue (check out the panel above). I always like when writers play with catchphrases, especially the Thingās extremely distinctive ones. It keeps them from becoming cliched.
AS: Canāt believe I got suckered into liking both Reed and Tony narration in this series. I gasped a little at the ā…and when youāre married to the greatest wonderā¦ā later in the issue.
I do love right off that the Kree and Skrull kiddos from the #0 issue give Franklin and Val a less awkward out (presumably to the main Fantastic Four series tie-ins) than just the usual āyouāre kids, this isnāt safe, parent stuffā.
TT: Me too! Itās a nice, mature touch. The banter here among the team is a lot of fun. Ewing has a really good grasp on the character dynamics among the extended Richards clan.
I really enjoy a lot of the touches that Schiti puts in here. Iāve liked Schiti since his Guardians run, but in the first few pages you see him adjusting to the characters that arenāt Ben Grimm. Once he gets his footing though? Itās good stuff. We see extremely confident Val, put out Franklin, Johnny seems scared, and Reed and Sue are just trying to keep it together. Thatās just from Schitiās art choices.
However, one thing stuck out to me. Has Sue always had that mole on her upper lip?
AS: Iām no Namor, but I donāt think so. Weird artistic choice. Canāt she change her appearance at will with her powers? Maybe she felt like a little drama for her space epic close-up. I judge all Fantastic Four art on Johnny content and there isnāt much yet, so Iām no use here. On a serious note, I do love Schitiās use of body language though, like you said. Just great, especially when we get to some of the Hulkling scenes.
And you were saying his Reed reminds you of Michael Sheen? Haha.
TT: Oh my gosh, yes. Itās not as blatant as, say, Salvador Larroca using Joshua Holloway as his model for Tony Stark, but Reed is TOTALLY Michael Sheen throughout the issue!
So pretty quickly after Aziraphale- I mean, Reed- gets the kids on their way back to Earth, they get spotted by the Super-Skrull even through Sueās invisibility. (This is the point that the issue switches over to the Avengers, but since those two storylines donāt connect for a bit, weāll get to that in a minute.) I really like the interactions we get here. The Four donāt know Hulkling, but they do know Klārt and Tanalth, and seem to at least know of the other two.
Allison, I recognized Captain Glory (or Gla-Ree) from Avengers No Surrender, but did you recognize the other Skrull? I didnāt.
AS: I did not! But I am extremely into the idea of a new Skrull sorceress. Please let her stick around.
All the interactions are really great. Iām not bored and donāt feel like Ewing is trying to shove as much trademark dialogue into an event-space as possible. Sueās…well, fantastic. I love that within two panels here we get Teddy using Benās āItās clobberinā timeā catchphrase and Johnny roasting him for the ārevoltinā developmentā one. Chef kiss. Sorry, Ben.
TT: Itās really fantastic! And then things go crashing into the Avengers side of the story…
The Moonās Mightiest Heroes
TT: So while the Four get kinda-sorta swayed to Hulklingās cause, we get to see things from the Avengersā point of view. Tonyās narration seems a lot more balanced than in Empyre: Avengers #0, doesnāt it?
AS: Definitely not as dreamy and full of wonder. More regular Tony with a dash of awe remaining for the Cotati. I do love the bit of foreshadowing with him saying heās been āitching for something simpleā. Good guys versus bad guys, eh, Tony? Ok. At least he realizes that isnāt the case as soon as Reed pops up in his feed with the Kree and Skrulls.
ALSO, Jenās back! Kinda! Thanks to some weird Cotati hammer, and apparently some meditation techniques she picked up. I hope this sticks.
TT: I hope so, but Iām also kind of nervous. I noticed something in the art. Half of the Avengers have part of their faces obscured the entire issue- Tony, Thor, and Jen. You and I felt like Tony and Thor were a little out of character in Empyre: Avengers #0, so maybe this is more of that. Or it could be just a stylistic thing Schiti is doing? Iām not sure.
BUT I am still feeling that this trio are being manipulated somehow. Even if theyāre a bit more in-character, you still see them acting off. Even Thor is uncomfortable with how quickly Jen is back to her old self, and heās one of the ones that I think is getting manipulated.
AS: Dang, that is true. Shoulda known if we didn’t get mind-controlled plant people in the X-books, we’d just get them somewhere else. Iām not sure if I think Thor is being manipulated so much as he was more immediately comfortable with Weird Space Plant %$#& as an Asgardian? But I could still see it.
Teddy seems to shift between being out of his element and trying to live up to his new position. I still want more background on what went down behind the scenes in Incoming! and just before this. Still donāt think we have the full picture, even now knowing the Kree and Skrulls were coming to exterminate the Cotati.
TT: Oh I didnāt even think of that. I hope thatās ground that the Emperor Hulkling one-shot covers. You make a good point there though. I really like that the script kept it vague WHY the Alliance fleet were coming to Earth up to the point that the Avengers became the aggressors.
I do really dig how sure the Avengers are that theyāre the good guys here. Theyāre so resolute that when Robbie jumps into the Quinjet to fight off the fleet, the Four join right in with their friends. Also, the Hell-Quinjet launching Penance Stare missiles rules SO MUCH. Also, so does TāChallaās Space Panther armor.
AS: I like that everyone seems to be taking the non-lethal route. Hulkling gives this command, and Tony begrudgingly launches his no-casualties plan as well. Do love the brief match-up between Robbie and Gla-Ree. Canāt think on your sins if you aināt got āem thanks to radical imperial conditioning. (I still often think about Ewing saying Glory was originally conceptualized as a Kree Captain America, so I like him way more than I should just from No Surrender.) This is easily a battle that would have seen collateral alien loss of life previously, but everyoneās being careful. If anything, it makes me even more curious about the Kree-Skrull motives. I mean weāve seen the end of this issue, but they obviously know a lot more about whatās going on than the Avengers or Fantastic Four seem to.
TT: Yeah, definitely! Theyāre not there for Earth (despite what Ewing and Slott said in the lead-up to this). Theyāre clearly here for something else, even if the text doesnāt make that explicit untilā¦ well. And here in the middle of this battle, we get a FANTASTIC Reed Richard narration monologue about awe. This is as Thor throws Mjolnir, and Hulkling kicks Mjolnirās ass with his space sword in what HAS to be the best panel of the entire 40ish page issue. Maybe the best Marvel panel of 2020?
And then we get Tony Starkās hubris. I love this. While Tony Independence Dayās the Alliance fleet with his Macbook and a virusā¦. We get the twist that you and I saw coming.
AS: EXCELSIOR!
Inevitable Yet Effective Betrayal
TT: Oh my gosh, the word āFloweringā has never been so sinister.
AS: Iām sure those little old ladies from X-Men absolutely could make āFloweringā worse, but for now, yes. Oh my god, yeah we saw this coming but itās still a fantastically powerful moment. Quoi reveals the Cotati are actually here for, gasp, vengeance.
And honestly, who can really blame the Cotati? I certainly canāt. I mean Iām a Kree enthusiast but I know theyāre objectively bastards. The Skrulls donāt tend to be much better no matter what the MCU makes you think. The Cotati have historically taken every lump you can as a cosmic race. And I think the imagery here is just evocative enough of some of Earthās Indigeneous peoples (not to mention the eco-aesthetics) to make most readers think āwell %&$#, is Quoi wrong?ā
Again, looking forward to that respective Lords of Empyre issue for more background and motivation.
TT: Quoiās transformation from a gentle monk-like look to the panel aboveā¦ DAMN. Seriously though, the Cotati definitely have some justified rage, and Iām very concerned what this means for Earth. I mean, this seems to mostly be a beef with the Kree and Skrulls and Earth is getting caught in the crossfire.
I am seriously worried for our heroes here. I mean, we see the Cotatiās attack drive all sorts of plant life nuts, including little bits of vegetable matter stuck to shoes. And that means BAD things for our heroes- especially Reed and Ben! Iām gonna go pour one out for the Thing hereā¦
AS: You see what happens to brick houses and sidewalks when the weeds and vines take holdā¦ pour one out for Ben, indeed.
Yeah, why Earth? Is it just because proximity to the Moon? Or what? I will say, I was super firm about only picking up the main series and the Lords of Empyre tie-ins (and X-Men, of course), but if anything, this first issue has made me intrigued enough to pick up some of the others. I want the full picture. Itās all super interesting, even if we did see the surprise ending coming.
TT: Very. Iāve read the FF tie-in (watch for a write up on that shortly), and Slott brings in a very interesting but obscure villain. I think this is going to be nothing but a crossover that surprises us!
Marvelous Musings
- Whose side is Swordsman going to end up on?
- What is Billy going to think of his badass fiance?
- When is Mantis showing up? Iām SO curious what her role in this is.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. Heās also very humble.
