Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

Once again, I felt that the first story arc was stronger.   That isn't to say that the second was bad, it was just a tad more disjointed, and while props to it for showing off how intelligent and courageous Sue Storm is, it felt a little derivative of the first volume.   In both cases, the second story arc spotlighted the woman as the savior figure, and while, yes, she is deserving, I'm not so sure she's more deserving than any other member.   They're all strong in their way, and they're all supposed to be equal partners in the team.   That's made clear in this series, as well, and yet the focus seems to be on the woman, picking her out for special treatment.   

Then again, Johnny gets his props, too, for sticking with the job that Reed was sure he would quit and Ben was sure Johnny wouldn't get.   So that was nice, and off balanced the focus on his sister.  I'm kinda hoping this doesn't turn into the Sue Storm show, because that would be sort of... obvious.  I'm hoping all of the team members do get to be equal, which means the man being shoved in the spotlight sometimes.   (Three men, one woman, so the whole 'Sue is the key, and Sue is the key again,' gets kinda obvious that there is some overcompensation going on here.)

That being said, I only knocked off half a star for the weaker aspects of that story.  Strong women is a pretty weak complaint, especially since complaints could be so much worse.   (Vampirella, and the butt-floss, I'm definitely looking at you!)

So the first story is about Namor pining after Sue.   It was fun because it focused on the family aspect of superheroing that FF does so well, even when it's only in Marvel Knights 4.   It played on the jealousy that Reed felt, and then diverged into a much more serious story about a missing child who had possibly fallen under some thin ice.   Namor ends up helping Johnny look for the child.   It went from a funny, superpowered fight over Sue - in which she held her own, and in which Namor presented some ugly potential truths - to a heartwarming coming together of everyone to help a distraught mother.   It showed how ugliness could pop up, cause tension between the group and their sometimes-allies, and how they put that aside and all came together to help a stranger in need.   It showed the FF at their best.   

I was hoping the second story would continue this amazingness.   It didn't.   It wasn't bad, but it was a rather ordinary story in comparison.   It didn't make you feel the way the first story did, where I found myself nearly in tears a couple times.   It was disjointed, as I mentioned before, although perhaps it only felt that way because I also felt as if it were drawn out to eat up three issues and fill out the second volume.   I felt as if is this volume would have benefitted more from another two issue story arc, and perhaps a story on Johnny who is doing a lot of growing up and whom I feel is getting shortchanged.   I mean, he is really growing and become more responsible and trying to better himself.   I'd like to see a little focus on that, and how, perhaps, the second story arc and him fighting beside his co-workers to keep themselves - and the city's citizens safe - might have endeared him to them.   They were really harsh on him at the beginning, and I feel like there might be some hint of respect for him now - but I'd love to see a little focus on this. (And this is what I mean by overcompensating for the lack of focus on women by being super focused on Sue.   I feel as if more changes are going on in Johnny's life, and quite frankly, I'm more interested in his story arc right now, but it's all about Sue saving the day!   I'm actually more interested in Johnny's every day life right now than I am in any of the fights the FF are getting into!)

Still, the story itself was passable, and I found myself more than eager to read more, but I ended up having a chance to see Age of Ultron with friends again.   I noticed the Jocasta AI this time, so, ah, sorry, FF, worth it.  Also, Vision.   Mmmm.  Vision!

I'll try to get in at least volume three of this tomorrow!  Oh, also, the other half star off because I thought the art was slightly weaker in this volume than in the first.