Fantastic Four Week: Revisiting Crossover Classic ‘Superman/Fantastic Four: The Infinite Destruction’
by Tony Thornley
Everyone knows the story of the desperate scientists who blasted their infant son into space to save him from their doomed planet. What you may not have known is that that planet — Krypton — was victim of the insatiable hunger of Galactus.
With that surprisingly simple concept, Superman/Fantastic Four hit stands in 1999, teaming up the first superhero with Marvel’s first family in a massive story from Dan Jurgens, Art Thibert, Gregory Wright and Bill Oakley. With both concepts on the big screen at the same time for the first time, well, ever, it’s the perfect time to revisit it.
After a prologue revealing that Galactus was present at the death of Krypton (my word choice there is very deliberate, more on that later), Superman discovers a beacon left by the devourer that points to him being the cause of Krypton’s destruction. He soon crosses the universal divide to ask for help from the heroes who know Galactus best, the Fantastic Four. However, an evil presence has stowed away on the beacon, and the combined heroes are about to learn the reason for Galactus’s interest in the Man of Steel…
I’m not just saying what I’m about to say lightly. I’ve read a lot of cross-company crossovers. They’re one of my “things” when it comes to weird comics oddities. This might be the best one I’ve read.
It efficiently sets up the conflict, creates a B-plot antagonist, and then moves into the characters. Jurgens is one of the great Superman writers, so naturally his take on Superman is great. However, it surprised me how quickly he got the Four’s voices just right. I did a quick google search and as far as I can tell, this was the first and only time he wrote the Four (unless there’s a fill-in or one-shot out there somewhere he wasn’t credited for online).
Using those character beats makes the plot of Superman unwillingly becoming a herald of Galactus, then struggling against his control even better. The Four don’t take a backseat at all though, with the entire family — including Franklin — getting solid use and development throughout. Even the Cyborg Superman gets some moments to shine (and eventually get clobbered by an increasingly exasperated Ben Grimm).
There were also two small things that deepened the story as well. This is one of the few DC/Marvel crossovers that actually uses the twin universes to their advantage, instead of just pretending that they’ve always been in the same universe. It’s small, and not dwelled on, but it strengthens the plot significantly. (Also, as far as I can tell, this is the first time that Galactus is established as a multiversal constant.) Then, I also like that it doesn’t break canon by establishing that Galactus got to Krypton a few minutes too late to actually eat it, and the footage of him destroying Krypton was actually a lie created by Cyborg.
On the art side, this is some of the best that Jurgens’ art has ever looked. His cartooning is dynamic, with the slower character moments looking just as engaging as the action beats. But man the action beats are so great. The Cosmic Superman backhanding the Thing, and Ben knocking out Cyborg Superman both are exciting. He gives Sue a commanding presence on the page that shows why she’s widely considered to be the Four’s actual leader.
This is a super example (sorry) of what these crossovers are all about. I’m glad that I was able to snag it in the recent DC/Marvel crossover omnibus. It’s a fantastic story (sorry again), and really has the space to tell a great story featuring these two juggernauts of comics.
