Writer: Ryan North
Artists: Cory Smith & Oren Junior
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Joshua Cassara (Cover A)
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 30, 2025

(Legacy issue #724) “THE FANTASTIC TWO”: In this One World Under Doom tie-in, Ben Grimm is struggling to adapt to his loss of powers via Doctor Doom. But the family has an idea on how to get them back. It just involves an all-too-familiar launch into space.

Plot Summary

We open with a classic shot of the family in space just before they originally got hit with the cosmic rays. Then we switch to Valeria Richards in the present day talking about how this all happened, how it started with her godfather Victor Von Doom. Doctor Doom claimed to be giving Ben Grimm what he really wanted when he restored ol’ Clobby to his human form. But what’s the betting there is an ulterior motive behind it all?

Well, Ben Grimm wants his powers back, not just for himself but also because he’s worried about how it’ll affect the other family members’ powers. If one of them loses their powers, the rest could become powerless, too. It has happened before. There’s an editor’s reference to Chip Zdarsky’s Marvel 2-in-One here. But Alicia reminds Ben that it was probably due to Reed and Sue being in a different universe at that time. I’m getting a bit lost here, folks. Are you still with me? Okay.

Next, we switch scenes to a fight between Devos the Devastator, Johnny, Sue and Reed. It’s high up on top of a skyscraper. Johnny’s powers suddenly fade and he’s falling like a stone. Luckily Reed is there to catch him in his stretchy hands. Sue deals with Devos and they’re safely back on the ground. Worried about his reputation, Johnny makes sure Devos hears him saying, “Ha ha! You fell for the ol’ ‘I lost my powers’ trick, Devos!” Like it was deliberate. Sue rolling her eyes in the background made me laugh here.

That night, they are all having a family dinner together and figuring out what to do. Jo (Jo-Ven) and Nicki (N’Kalla) suggest their “Dad” simply exposes himself to the cosmic rays again. It’s a crazy plan but it might just work! Until Reed declares that they would need to be the exact same cosmic rays as in the original blast. Franklin brings up the Multiverse and Reed seems excited by this idea. Then they wouldn’t interfere with their original exposure, which would severely reduce the risk of them messing everything up by preventing the Fantastic Four from being metaphorically born. Phew! It’s hard work trying to summarize a crazy plan. I need a drink! “To the Baxter Building, now!”

They manage to locate an alternate universe where the Fantastic Four are just starting out and Ben gets hit with the cosmic rays. Frustratingly, nothing happens. He remains human Ben Grimm. They repeat the process in different universes, but it just won’t work. During these attempts, we get to see alternate versions of the Fantastic Four including one with a stretchy Wolverine and a flaming Hulk! It’s pretty cool.

It becomes clear that it has to be their original universe and those same cosmic rays or nothing. Ben plots in the course without alerting the others and takes in the rays. It appears to be working and we see him change. But wait a minute. What has happened to Marvel’s first family? We see them back on earth emerging from their rocket ship. OH NO! They are unchanged. Somehow Ben from the future has absorbed most of the cosmic rays meant for them all. As he floats in space as the Thing, the rest of the Fantastic Four from the future pop out of existence.

Sharp Points

If you ignore the problems that come with the whole concept of Ben wanting his powers back more than anything else, it’s a compelling tale of just how he might achieve that. There are some funny moments involving Johnny dealing with his loss of powers. The art and coloring looks good throughout.

Dull Points

Accepting that Ben would be so reckless and selfish to endanger his friends in his quest to get his powers back will be a problem for a lot of readers. Time travel tales are always complicated and this is no exception. If the Fantastic Four members who travel with Ben from the future all blink out of existence, then why doesn’t he? Now there are two Ben Grimm Things clobbering around in this timeline.

Final Thoughts

There are some good ideas in here, but it’s difficult to get beyond the flawed premise of Ben Grimm being so reckless and selfish. Is this how he would really act if he’s being written in character? Surely he would never risk his family or friends’ lives in this way.

6.5/10

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About the reviewer: Wakizashi Gray has a YouTube channel where he reviews comics. It has the rather bizarre name of Wakizashi’s Teahouse. He also keeps a WordPress blog called Wakizashi Teahouse Blog.