Fantastic Four #48
As Oubliette gets closer to her goal, the Fantastic Four do what they do best in Fantastic Four #48, by writer David Pepose, artist Juann Cabal, colorist Jesus Aburtov, and letterer Joe Caramagna. Pepose and company tie up their two-issue story wonderfully.
As Invisible Woman gets closer to Oubliette, she unleashes her new weapon against Sue: Space Boy, a twisted genetic copy of Noh-Varr. Meanwhile, with the help of a local mechanic, Human Torch figures out how to use his car to break through the forcefield, and the Thing prays for the strength to go on. Space Boy tries to trap Sue in a pocket battlefield but fails completely, with the Invisible Woman breaking through to confront Oubliette. As the villain forces Sue’s surrender by threatening her hostages, Human Torch speeds forward in his flying car, and the Thing is found and rescued. Invisible Woman tricks Oubliette and activates the security system, freeing the hostages. As Oubliette attacks her, Human Torch breaks through the forcefield and hits her with his car, and the Thing shows up as backup. Sue convinces Oubliette to give the whole thing up by revealing a hard truth to her, and Reed finally comes out of his think tank, realizing why the Celestial let all of this happen.
Pepose is the kind of writer who seems almost tailor-made for team books. He does a tremendous job of balancing plotlines. Each member of the FF has theirs, and each one feels so well done. Reed has his narration, Ben has his prayer, Johnny uses his brain for once, and Sue shows her resourcefulness. Each plays into what they do best. Reed is solving the problem but realizes that the problem is different from what he thought it was. Ben is all about love, keeping the building standing and praying to see his loved ones again. Johnny is exceeding expectations. Sue is showing why she’s not to be underestimated.
Pepose balances it all while also showing a perfect moment of each member of the team and who they really are. On top of that, he throws in some cool unexpected stuff with Oubliette. She references getting dumped by Noh-Varr and her reveal of Space Boy - a clone she made of him - shows just how much it affected her as a person. It also explains why she’s been working with her father again after their falling out in Marvel Boy. It’s a wonderful little piece of character work that tells what happened to Oubliette and her changes in character by showing. Finally, how Sue beats her is perfect. She doesn’t fight her; she just reveals the truth about her and Doctor Midas. She shows Oubliette why this isn’t who she is. It’s all so great.
Cabal and Aburtov do an amazing job with the art. There’s a sense of fluidity and momentum to the art in this issue that makes it work. Every page is well laid out, and the character acting is superb. Aburtov’s colors pop off the page. He lights the scenes nicely and really helps bring out the detail in the pencils. Space Boy is basically just a negative of Marvel Boy, but it works so well for telling readers everything they need to know about him. This is just sensational art.
Fantastic Four #48 closes out this two-issue story perfectly. Pepose gets the Fantastic Four and shows that with every page. He even does great character work with Oubliette. Cabal and Aburtov were a terrific choice to draw this issue, giving readers detailed art that pops off the page. This is peak FF, from start to finish.
