Billions of years ago, the Big Bang birthed the Seventh Cosmos and cosmic powers as old as the universe itself: The Infinity Gems. Galactus. Abstract entities Eternity, Master Order, Lord Chaos, and Death. And… the Fantastic Four? Marvel’s first family have long been adventurers and explorers of the unknown, and their final adventure will end at the beginning — not Fantastic Four #1, which ushered in the modern Marvel Age of Comics, but the very beginning of the Marvel Universe.
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Marvel has been teasing that the Fantastic Four — Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Richards/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/the Thing — will be four no more in upcoming issues of Ryan North and Cory Smith’s Fantastic Four comic run, the result of an encounter with their archnemesis: Sorcerer Supreme and Emperor of the World Doctor Doom.
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The Four will fail to overthrow Emperor Doom in North and R.B. Silva’s One World Under Doom #2 (out March 19), a consequential issue that promises to change the course of the Marvel Universe. And Marvel’s First Family will never be the same.
Doom’s defeat of the Fantastic Four will then unfold over four issues of FF: the Fab Four will be reduced to three (in FF #30), then two (FF #31), one (in FF #32), and, finally, zero (in FF #33). Just as they rocketed to their destinies aboard an experimental space craft back in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s classic first issue, Fantastic Four Zero once more follows the foursome into the unknown: the Big Bang.
See Marvel’s solicitations counting down to FF Zero, what the publisher is calling a major turning point in North and Smith’s run as they take the book into a bold new direction just before Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie in July.
One World Under Doom #2 (of 9)
Doctor Doom has taken over the world, and Earth’s mightiest heroes have failed twice: first to stop him, and now to overthrow him. But the Fantastic Four know Doom better than anyone, which makes them ideally suited to take on Earth’s new Emperor…except for the fact that he knows THEM just as well. As Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and Sue and Johnny Storm prepare to face down Doom at the United Nations, Doom pays a secret visit to speak to the only person on Earth who holds both his favor, his respect…and his love. But can Valeria Richards change her uncle’s mind? And if she fails, what will stop Doom from visiting a shocking fate on the Fantastic Four that not even he can undo? And, as the Avengers reel from their losses, the course of the Marvel Universe will change – and Marvel’s First Family won’t be the same!
On sale: March 19
Fantastic Four #30 (Fantastic Three)
FANTASTIC THREE! After Ben Grimm has suffered a terrible (and very public) defeat at the hands of Doom, he’s left lost, adrift – and more vulnerable than he has been in years. And when a trip to New York goes wrong and his fate suddenly turns from bad to worse, Ben has never been more vulnerable – and soon takes a shocking shortcut he won’t be able to undo! This is one Thing and Alicia story you won’t soon forget!
On sale: March 26
One World Under Doom #3
The Avengers have faced Doom…and they LOST. But Earth still needs avenging – and it’s not just the heroes who dislike having Doom in charge. And so heroes and villains unite against Doom, intent on taking him down once and for all! But that’s not all: A simultaneous magic attack reveals the shocking truth of HOW Doom took over the world – with terrifying implications for how others might – or might not – take it from him. However, Doom’s mind – vast and cool and unsympathetic – is not the only one regarding Earth with envious eyes…
On sale: April 23
Fantastic Four #31 (Fantastic Two)
FANTASTIC TWO! As Ben recovers from what Doom has done to him, the Fantastic Four learn they’re losing their powers at the one time they need them the most desperately! If they can’t reverse the effect, they may be lost forever – and Doom will be unstoppable. But the family has an idea of how to get them back – and to do it safely. They need only recreate the circumstances that first gave them their powers. But when safety doesn’t get them results, there is a more desperate path available to the Four – and they take it. It all comes down to this! A young woman. Her kid brother. The man she loves. His only friend… and a desperate launch into space.
On sale: April 30
One World Under Doom #4
Sensing vulnerability, Dormammu has attacked Earth – and only Doom stands in his way! Dormammu has banished all other heroes to a pocket dimension, leaving Doom to stand alone against the Dark Lord of Chaos. But on the other hand…Doom has never needed allies in order to ensure that his will is done. It’s the ultimate showdown between two titans – with an ending you won’t see coming. As Earth hangs in the balance, it all comes down to DOOM VERSUS DORMAMMU.
On sale: May 14
Fantastic Four #32 (Fantastic One)
LAST ONE STANDING! “If you found yourself stranded somewhere in the universe with no knowledge of where you were, how quickly could you determine an answer to that question?” It’s a thought experiment Mr. Fantastic had often challenged his children with – but now it’s happening for real – to Valeria Richards! Valeria finds herself lost in a world where she was never made — where even the Fantastic Four have been taken from history! But how could a world without the FF have survived the myriad threats it must have faced? What does it mean that the only heroes left are Jean Grey and Namor, the Sub-Mariner? And what does her brother, Franklin, have to do with all of this? See Val make a shocking choice you won’t want to miss…with consequences that will last for the rest of this run!
On sale: May 21
Fantastic Four #33 (Fantastic Zero)
FANTASTIC ZERO! It all comes down to this! Thirty-three issues of fantastic adventure culminate in a final stirring adventure, back to the beginning… of EVERYTHING. When the solution to what Doom did to Ben can only be found in the past, the Fantastic Four must voyage back four hundred and thirty-six quadrillion seconds into the Big Bang! Of course, the tremendous energies there make it unsurvivable – unless H.E.R.B.I.E. is in control of the precise timing required. Action, adventure and big ideas collide in this monumental issue!
On sale: June 25
