Fantastic Four 184
“Aftermath: The Eliminator!”
Published April 1977
Writer: Len Wein
Pencils: George Perez
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Len Wein
Cover: Perez and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four regroup in the Baxter Building after last issue’s battle, and Sue explains to Reed that Agatha Harkness abducted their son, and then both of them disappeared from her home of Whisper Hill. The Fantastic Four go to investigate, when they are attacked by an armored creature called the Eliminator, which calls itself an enemy of Harkness. The FF trick it into destroying itself, but they are no closer to finding Franklin.

What’s going on here?

For the last handful of issues, we’ve been promised Len Wein would take over as writer. And now that he finally has … it was worth the wait. I don’t know what his future issues promise, but this one, at least, is one of the best written and enjoyable Fantastic Four comics in quite a while. There’s no real magic to it, and Wein sticks to the tried-and-true Lee / Kirby formula: some Baxter Building hijinx, some interpersonal dynamics among the team and their loved one, followed by a slow build-up toward an action-packed finish. But while it’s a familiar structure, Wein breathes new life into it, scripting a fun love-triangle between Ben, Tigra and Thundra; introducing new introspection to a now-powerless Reed; and crafting a genuinely suspenseful plot that culminates in a fun fight.

Of course, none of it would be half as interesting without the pencils of George Perez, who returns from a five-issue absence and delivers his best work on the Fantastic Four to date. The steadying presence of Joe Sinnott’s inks are still evident, but this issue feels like the first where we can really see Perez’s mature style and his signature combination of exquisite detail and powerful panel designs. It’s a treat to read.

Most notable in this issue is this incredible, 12-panel design spread over two pages, something rare at the time:

Also worth mentioning are the colors turned in Glynis Wein, then married to Len. The Whisper Hill sequences are particularly eerie because of her colors, and I wonder if sharing a home with the writer helped her better understand the story and what Len hoped to convey.

What I liked

There’s just a ton of great Perez art, like on these pages:

And this is an amazing panel (The Eliminator is a great looking villain, and his speech bubbles are a fun effect):

I liked this by-play between Ben, Tigra and Thundra:

And this scene with Reed and Sue:

What I didn’t like:

The big reveal of how the team fooled the Eliminator wasn’t all that revealing, and didn’t add much to the story.

Also, vacuum vent boots are very convenient way to defeat the Human Torch:

Overall

One of the best since the Kirby / Lee era.