Fantastic Four #1
Fantastic Four Vol. 4 #1 (January 2013) marks a deliberate tonal pivot for Marvel's First Family: arriving as part of the line-wide Marvel NOW! initiative, it replaced Jonathan Hickman's densely mythological run with a more intimate, character-driven approach by writer Matt Fraction, steering the team away from universe-spanning architecture and toward a story rooted in personal crisis — specifically, the quiet revelation that Reed Richards's unstable molecules are decaying. The issue also introduced Darla Deering, a pop-star love interest of Johnny Storm who would go on to become the new Ms. Thing, a recurring character whose arc across the companion FF series added a genuinely fresh civilian perspective to the Fantastic Four's extended cast. As the launchpad of a concurrent dual-title experiment (Fraction simultaneously writing both Fantastic Four and FF with different artistic partners), this issue demonstrated Marvel's willingness to run two tonally distinct but narratively interlocked books starring the same cast — a structurally ambitious publishing choice. Though the Fraction run was relatively brief, the issue stands as the opening statement of one of the more emotionally grounded chapters in the franchise's long publication history.
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The series launched in November 2012 (cover-dated January 2013) directly following the conclusion of Fantastic Four #611, which ended Jonathan Hickman's multi-year tenure on the FF titles as Hickman moved to write The Avengers and New Avengers for Marvel NOW!. Editor Tom Brevoort and assistant editor Lauren Sankovitch oversaw the transition under editor-in-chief Axel Alonso. Fraction, who had just won a 2014 Eisner Award for Hawkeye and was running multiple Marvel NOW! titles simultaneously, was paired with penciller Mark Bagley — a veteran of record-setting runs on Ultimate Spider-Man — whose facility with emotional character expression critics noted was well-suited to Fraction's more personal storytelling approach. Inker Mark Farmer, colorist Paul Mounts, and letterer VC's Clayton Cowles completed the core production team.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published November 14, 2012 (cover-dated January 2013); Volume 4 of the Fantastic Four series, launching at #1 as part of Marvel NOW!.
- Written by Matt Fraction; pencils by Mark Bagley; inks by Mark Farmer; colors by Paul Mounts; letters by VC's Clayton Cowles; edited by Tom Brevoort and Lauren Sankovitch under EIC Axel Alonso.
- The issue introduces Darla Deering — pop-star girlfriend of Johnny Storm — in her first appearance within the main Fantastic Four title (she had a prior cameo in Marvel NOW! Point One #1, December 2012, credited to Fraction and Mike Allred).
- The central plot engine: Reed Richards secretly discovers that the unstable molecules composing his body are breaking down (described across the run as a decay of his powers), a condition he conceals from Sue as he plans a year-long family journey through time and space to seek a cure in unknown universes.
- The issue establishes the dual-book narrative architecture of the Fraction era: the main Fantastic Four title follows the original team on their cosmic voyage, while the companion FF series (launching simultaneously, illustrated by Mike Allred) follows a substitute team — Ant-Man (Scott Lang), She-Hulk, Medusa, and eventually Darla Deering as Ms. Thing — guarding Earth in the FF's absence.
- Mark Bagley's assignment represented his first extended Fantastic Four run (Vol. 4 #1–13), bringing to the title a career closely associated with Ultimate Spider-Man, where he and writer Brian Michael Bendis set the record for the longest consecutive creative-team run in Marvel history.
- The issue directly follows the end of Jonathan Hickman's celebrated FF tenure (Fantastic Four #611 / FF #23), deliberately preserving much of the Future Foundation status quo — including Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Dragon Man, Leech, Bentley-23, and the broader cast of Future Foundation children — rather than resetting continuity to square one as other Marvel NOW! relaunches did.
- The entire Fraction run (Fantastic Four #1–16 and #5AU, plus FF #1–16 and related material) has been collected in the Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction Omnibus (ISBN 978-0-7851-9110-0), with the first three issues of each series also collected in Fantastic Four Volume 1: New Departure, New Arrivals.
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