Battle Of Behemoths: Fantastic Four #13 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Thing has less than an hour before he reverts to his regular old Ben Grimm form. That means he has less than an hour to put down the Immortal Hulk, currently under the control of the Puppet Master, and save Alicia and the other beach-goers trapped under the rubble of the hotel. The Hulk is stronger and more ruthless than he’s ever been these days, and he’s (more or less) a willing participant in this brawl with the Thing. Can Old Blue Eyes stop the Jade Giant? Or is this the Thing’s last round?
Fantastic Four #13 delivers the knockdown dragout fight between the Hulk and the Thing which we haven’t gotten for some time. What started as an already titanic tussle in the prior issue continues into a brutal battle for survival as Benjamin J. Grimm puts everything into this fight with the Hulk, meanwhile Banner seems to be barely breaking a sweat.
It’s a helluva good time, needless to say. Dan Slott devotes the entire issue to this cataclysmic conflict which shakes the very earth beneath its participants feet.
Puppet Master gets a fair amount of panel time and not just through the Immortal Hulk. Phillip Masters genuinely gets to give his unnerving smile and sadistic shots into frame even while he goads the Hulk into battle.
Sean Izaakse is a great talent, and it’s nice seeing him bring this classic rivalry back to the pages. The battle looks as intense and punishing as it should, and every hit shakes rocks off of the Thing. The impact is palpable, and the color work of Marcio Menyz compliments it all with a high-contrast color palette that injects plenty of energy into each panel.
Fantastic Four #13 is a heavy-hitting battle issue comprised of two of Marvel’s heaviest hitters squaring off in titanic combat. It’s fun, heartfelt, and paced very well. This one definitely gets a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Fantastic Four #13 comes to us from writer Dan Slott, artist Sean Izaakse, color artist Marcio Menyz, letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna, cover artist Esad Ribić, and variant cover artists Gerald Parel; Nick Bradshaw with Edgar Delgado and Mike McKone.
Final Score: 8.5/10