Scripters: Tom DeFalco
Artists: Ron Lim(p), Scott Koblish(i), Avalon's Rob Ro(c)
Publisher: Marvel
The final battle between Dr. Doom and Reed Richards plays out against the F5's decimation of Doom's robot army, and the MC2 universe is advanced in an unexpected way. DeFalco answers the question of whether or not the Torch and Lyja will form their own team, and the consequences of Franklin Richards' sacrifice become obvious by the story's end. Several members of the FF and the F5 do not reunite, and all their reasons make sense.
Not a bad issue at all. Doom's arrogance makes him do stupid things. The powers of Sue Richards prove to be deadly to the Doombots, and Lim's art keeps everything hopping. Lim doesn't only have a fine handle on the action but also the raw dramatic moments such as when Doom being a victim of his own nature crushes the fortifications of his castle.
Perhaps the most impressive emotional response arising strictly from the characterization occurs when Namor calls Mr. Fantastic "Reed." I don't believe I have ever heard Namor refer to Richards as Reed. This rarity accents just how much Namor really respects Reed Richards and how the urgency conveys his opinion about Doom's sense of honor.
The rest of the cast behaves as expected to the ramifications of the cover duel, but this shouldn't be interpreted as predictability. Rather the reader should see the behavior in the terms of a writer in tune with his characters.
The final battle takes a page from the Doctor Who episode "Brain of Morbius" as does Reed's paraphrasing of the Doctor's "While there's life, there's hope." The device's design however is pure Kirby inspiration, and the final chapter to the Fantastic Five was pure fun.
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