Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1 Review: A Marvel Comics Event 17 Years in the Making

A lot of planning goes into comic book events, with creators often spending years plotting the stories and figuring out just how many different characters need to be included. Few of these events, however, have been in the works quite as long as Marvel's upcoming Reckoning War. Writer Dan Slott is bringing chaos to his Fantastic Four run with Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1, a kickoff to an event that he has quite literally been planning and writing for the last 17 years. The first seeds for the Reckoning War were planted in the third issue of Slott's She-Hulk run, and the writer has been continuing to plant them in almost every series he has worked on since. The plan is finally coming to fruition in the Fantastic Four and Reckoning War is off to a decent start here.

Reckoning War Alpha #1, written by Slott and illustrated by Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz, and Carlos Magno, sets the stage for the event, gathering all of the players and offering readers the pitch. The long and short of the story is that the Watchers (a group of characters that are relentlessly difficult to make compelling) didn't always have a vow not to interfere with life in the universe. They originally tried to foster growth and evolution, only for the first civilization they helped to use Watcher technology for destructive purposes. This group, which comes to be known as the Reckoning, was walled off into their own corner of the universe by the Watchers, where they were left to die. Spoiler alert: They didn't.

The Reckoning return with a vengeance and their master plan begins with the destruction of the actual moon, likely killing Uatu and sending the world into absolute chaos. This is how the First Family and other important characters get involved. It should come as no surprise that both She-Hulk and Spider-Man are set up for pretty significant roles. The Fantastic Four, however, are the most important to the story, with Reed developing an exciting (and terrifying) connection to the Watchers in the third act. 

So much of what has happened throughout Slott's run on Fantastic Four to this point seems like it is going to have significant importance in Reckoning War, making it a great payoff to what has been a good overall series. That said, Reckoning War has a lot going on. The story the Watchers and the Reckoning alone is a lot to process, then 39 issues of Fantastic Four are being added to the mix, alongside a She-Hulk story from nearly two decades ago. Then toss in a confusing side plot with Silver Surfer, just for good measure.

Reckoning War Alpha #1 is a solid comic book, and utilizing multiple art styles feels necessary when juggling the different stories. In spite of that quality, the issue has moments where Reckoning War already starts to feel like a bit of a chore. The first issue does a good job with the narrative balancing act, keeping you invested from page to page. The key to a great event kickoff book, though, is its ability to excite you about what's to come, to get you hooked into the promise of an epic tale. Reckoning War's debut issue doesn't fully accomplish that. 

Perhaps 17 years of planning one event is a little too much time. It's clear that Slott is passionate about the tale, and that offers reason to be excited about what's to come. But almost two decades of teasing and clue-dropping might have piled too much on the plate. The challenge now is going to be incorporating all of the various threads and finding a way for them to matter without getting bogged down by exposition, callbacks, and needless details. Reckoning War Alpha offers reason to believe either outcome could be true.

Published by Marvel Comics

On February 2, 2022

Written by Dan Slott

Art by Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz, and Carlos Magno

Colors by GURU-eFX

Letters by Joe Caramagna

Cover by Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz, and Marte Gracia