Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four has set up several dichotomies and contrasts, some of which haven't played themselves out yet.
Richards and Van Damme are both brilliant and determined scientists who grew up with harsh fathers, but Van Damme has grown to see the art and instinct behind science, whereas Reed considers science to be cold and purely rational. Regardless, Richards and Van Damme are both extremely similar young men.
Reed Richards also has, in essence, two fathers: his biological father, who is never shown to actually care for or appreciate him, and his mentor Dr. Storm, who has pushed Reed forward while trying to protect him from dangerous situations. Richards is ambivalent about being forcibly separated from his parents after the accident, and assumes his parents feel the same. By comparison, Grimm is worried about how his mother is reacting to his extended absence. With the recent addition of Mary Storm, who abandoned her family to search for Atlantis, the theme of absent parents is being brought forward again.
A major point of separation between the Ultimate Fantastic Four and the original Fantastic Four is the background existence of other mutants. The original Fantastic Four were among the first major post-humans in the Marvel Universe, wherein groups such as the Avengers and the
X-Men didn't appear until later. The world of the Ultimate Fantastic Four already contains these groups; Johnny Storm aspires to be an
Ultimate and he admires
Spider-Man, who is already his good friend.
The Fantastic Four consider themselves super-heroes due to their powers. Dr. Storm believes they are not, that they should leave that to the "professionals" (The Ultimates,) and focus on pleasing the Baxter Building's sponsors. Ironically, the first person to dub them super-heroes is
Magneto of Earth 2149, when the group saved the few survivors of that world at the end of the Crossover story arc.
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Arc 1: The Fantastic (#1-6) by
Brian Michael Bendis,
Mark Millar and
Adam KubertCovers the origin of the Ultimate Fantastic Four, including how they gained their powers, and their first battle with the psychotic Mole Man.
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Arc 2: Doom (#7-12) by
Warren Ellis and
Stuart ImmonenIntroduces Ultimate Dr. Doom, who attempts to kill Reed along with the rest of the four using tiny insectoid robots manufactured from cell phone parts.
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Arc 3: N-Zone (#13-18) by Warren Ellis and Adam KubertWhile exploring the N-Zone via their spaceship Awesome, the Ultimate Fantastic Four encounter the bizarre and sadistic alien Nihil.
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Arc 4: Think Tank (#19-20) by
Mike Carey and
Jae LeeReturning to the Baxter Building after their adventure in the N-Zone, the Fantastic Four are attacked and kidnapped by Rhona Burchill, also known as the Mad Thinker.
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Annual 1: Inhuman (Annual # 1) by Mark Millar and Jae LeeThe Four run into the rogue
Inhuman Crystal, whom Johnny instantly claims he loves. They then attempt to break up Crystal's arranged marriage to
Black Bolt's brother. This was the first Ultimate appearance of the
Inhumans.
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Arc 5: Crossover (#21-23) by Mark Millar and
Greg LandReed receives contact from an older version of himself from an alternate dimension. After crossing over, Reed discovers he's been duped and that the entire world is infested with blood-thirsty zombies, looking for their next meal. Namely, Reed.
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Arc 6: Tomb of Prince Namor (#24-26) by Mark Millar and Greg LandWhile joining an excavation of Atlantis with Mary Storm (the previously thought dead mother of Sue and Johnny,) the four unearth the tomb of an ancient Atlantean named Namor, who may not be exactly who he seems.
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Arc 7: President Thor (#27-29) by Mark Millar and Greg LandUsing time-travel, the Fantastic Four attempt to erase the accident which gave them their powers. But there is a law of unintended consequences...
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Arc 8: Frightful (#30-32) by Mark Millar and Greg LandThe escape of the Frightful Four, Johhny has one week to live, and only Doctor Doom can help him.
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Arc 9: God War (#33-38) by Mike Carey and Pasqual Ferry
For a plot description, see
Ultimate Fantastic Four (story arcs)*Legendary comics creator
Grant Morrison was involved in conceptualizing
Ultimate Fantastic Four and was at one point set to write the series. However, he departed from Marvel for an exclusivity contract with
DC Comics before this could be finalized.
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Bryan Hitch designed the costumes for the characters, thus explaining their aesthetic resemblance to the costumes worn by
The Ultimates. Contrary to popular belief, Hitch was only tasked as concept artist and was never slated to draw the book when it debuted.
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Willie Lumpkin, the Richards' mailman in the 616 Universe, is portrayed in the Ultimate Universe as Lieutenant Lumpkin, head of security for the Baxter Building.
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Marvel Zombies (which is a spin-off series from Crossover) is set to tie-in to the upcoming story arc
Frightful, featuring the return of Ultimate Doctor Doom.
*The X-Men's
Kitty Pryde and
Jean Grey served as interns under Sue Storm during an archaeological dig in
Chile.
* There are two references to past issues of both Ultimate Fantastic Four and the original
The Fantastic Four comic book series on the cover art for issue number five. It shows
Sue Storm becoming invisible in order to avoid the
paparazzi, with a wide smile and a shrug. In front of the guard rail, six
tabloid newspapers flutter to the street. One of those tabloids is
The Daily Bugle, which is commonly associated with the
Spider-Man universe. The headline reads, "FANTASTIC FOUR FRENZY", and its supposed "photograph" is a quick sketch version of Ultimate Fantastic Four #1's
cover art. Also, the newspaper fluttering by Sue's right shoulder is called the Tatteler, and its headline, which is partially obscured by the semi-solid shoulder, reads "IS SUE EXPECTING?". This is an obvious reference to Reed's and Sue's first child in the original Fantastic Four universe, young
Franklin Richards.
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Official Handbook Description of the Ultimate Fantastic Four*
Ultimate Fantastic Four @ ULTIMATE X
