Things go from bad to fucked for Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm in Fantastic Four #36. Written by Dan Slott; Drawn by Nico Leon; Colored by Dono Sánchez-Almara; Lettered by Joe Caramagna.
I am becoming increasingly convinced that Dan Slott doesn’t know much about real emotions. He’s just seen them on TV.
In the aftermath of “Bride of Doom” and the 60th Anniversary issue, Fantastic Four #36 FINALLY puts Johnny Storm center stage in a lithely rendered and sunnily colored single issue experience. Spurred into action by his new constant nova state, the Richards family closes ranks inside their new Baxter Building in order to work toward a solution for Johnny’s inability to flame off. But his “soulbond” with Sky still must be addressed. As must his philandering actions in Latveria.
On the surface, issue #36 delivers some sorely needed follow up on some still hanging plot threads. I theorized in an earlier review that Sky would have probably been able to “feel” Johnny cheat on her during “Bride of Doom”. Here in #36 Slott goes ahead and makes that explicit, injecting an instant personal stakes and affecting cost into Johnny’s plight. Which also further has trickled into his ruined relationship with Sky as his “oversaturation” in cosmic rays has worked both ways. Juicing up Sky as well and seemingly amplifying her sonic powers tenfold.
But the execution and presentation of said follow up still leaves a lot to be desired. For one thing, Johnny still just doesn’t seem all that upset that he actively cheated on Sky. Or at the very least, he’s not being scripted like he feels any remorse about it. He’s mainly just sore people found out about it and are holding his literally flaming feet to the metaphorical fire of consequences.
This is explored a few times over in conversations with Ben, Reed, and Sky herself, but Slott never really makes it feel like Johnny is sad about how he’s hurt people. Just over-concerned about his nova-state and how long it will be before he can get back to normal. And willing to just snap off his and Sky’s shared cosmic artifact at a moment’s notice just because that’s what’s expected of him and in order to “be alone” (in a new underground bunker Reed has built to contain his heat).
There is also the matter of Slott’s continued tin-eared use of Alicia Masters-Grimm and her new adoptive Kree/Skrull children. As Johnny and the core cast struggle with Johnny’s feelings and immense heat, we are “treated” to another scene of super-domesticity wherein Alicia takes Jo-Venn and N’Kalla on a playdate with Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Like most things in this era of FF, the idea is solid. I really like when cape comics take these sort of mundane detours into everyday life for supers. But once again, Slott just can’t seem to get the balance right. Not even mentioning the weird “blind-card” line of dialogue [Ed. Note: The rhetorical technique of mentioning something by promising not to mention it is called “apophasis”], it just feels like a check-in with a bunch of characters Slott still doesn’t seem to have a real handle on. Aside from continuing to telegraph Alicia’s incoming heel turn, which is starting to manifest in truly bizarre and tonally dissonant flashes of body horror in between these scenes of kids playing.
On one hand, I am really glad Fantastic Four #36 is trying to deal with its ongoing plot threads. As a title, the FF always performs better when there is an element of serialization at the center of it’s narrative. But on the other hand, I wish Dan Slott and company took it more seriously. If only just to finally make the emotions they are slapping at feel real on the page. Not just turns that have to happen in order to get us and the cast to the next arc. Marvel’s “world outside your window” only works if that world and its inhabitants feel real and genuine. Right now Fantastic Four #36 doesn’t feel like either.
Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast “Battle of the Atom.” Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
