Issue(s): Fantastic Four #11, Fantastic Four #12
Cover Date: Sep-Oct 97
Title: "Hark the herald..." / "Doomsday!"
Credits:
Brandon Choi - Script
Jim Lee - Plot
Brett Booth & Ron Lim - Penciler
Tom McWeeney, Norm Rapmund, & Homage Studios / Tom McWeeney, Mike Miller, & Homage Studios - Inker
Ruben Diaz - Editor

Review/plot:
This starts the crossover that is sort-of the end of Heroes Reborn. I say sort-of for two reasons. First, issue #13 of each of these issues is a crossover with the WildStorm universe, which i don't intend to cover due to my standard cross-company crossover policy (the policy: i don't cover them). Second, because neither this story nor the Wildstorm crossover actually end the universe. I've noted that the last Avengers story, where Loki is pulling at the threads of this fake universe and the Heroes realize that they're trapped in a pocket dimension could have served as an end to the imprint. And this crossover, which features Galactus, could have also ended the universe (e.g. this Galactus eats the entire dimension and the heroes escape). Instead the return will happen in a separate, true Marvel (i.e. not farmed out to Image/Wildstorm) story called Heroes Reborn: The Return. We're not too far from that (the first issue has a Dec 97 cover date) but it's somewhat interesting that the end doesn't happen here. It certainly could have, with the end of this universe happening here and Heroes Return showing them Returning. I don't know if Wildstorm was just keeping the door open in case plans changed or what.

Actually, in terms of "keeping the door open", issue #11 has Sue telling Reed that she is pregnant, which is a weird thing to do if you know the series is ending (and aren't going to somehow use that development as part of the ending; imagining what a Grant Morrison or Warren Ellis would do with Sue becoming pregnant with Franklin in a pocket universe created by Franklin). I said at the beginning of these entries that i had come to the conclusion that the creators knew all along that this experiment was going to end. And it was based on two key data points:

1) The characters CONSTANTLY notice that they are, in fact, in an alternate universe
2) The plots race through classic characters and storylines like they were running out of time to use them all

As i've thought about it, though, i've run into some key counter-evidence. First there's the weird last minute need to "fix" things, like the revelations about Thor and Nick Fury, re-revisions to Cap's origin, etc.. And then there are the developments, like Sue's pregnancy, where there's isn't time to do anything with them unless they thought they were going to get more issues. (Another in this category is in the Iron Man book, where Jennifer Walters and Doc Samson are exposed to gamma radiation just in time for them to appear as super-heroes exactly once in that book's final issue.)

Anyway, issue #11 is basically a prelude to the Heroes Reunited crossover, which involves the coming of Galactus and his heralds.

Notice the introduction of a new Herald: Plasma. She first appeared in a subplot/build-up scene in issue #10. To my knowledge she's never had an analogue outside the Heroes Reborn universe. But there's always been a loose tendency to base Galactus' Heralds on the Classic Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water). It's never really taken off, i think because the original herald, the Silver Surfer, doesn't fit the model. Is he water because he has a surfboard? Air because he flies through the air or something? Nothing works. And that's a good thing. But Air-Walker, Firelord, and Terrax all correspond neatly to the Elements. So the temptation is there. It's solved here by having Galactus having no less than five Heralds at once, with the new one, Plasma, representing water, and the Silver Surfer being outside the classic elements as a kind of uber-Herald.

Nothing comes of this. I just have an interest in Galactus' Heralds so i thought i'd point it out. Anyway, at first it seems like having befriended the Silver Surfer earlier, which causes him to switch sides here, would be enough to defeat Galactus. But it isn't, and everyone dies.

Everyone except Dr. Doom, that is. We'll find out that he's used his time machine to go back and try again with the info he's learned.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is part one of Heroes Reunited. Part two is in Avengers #12. I should note that from a character tagging perspective, this crossover is a little weird. When Mr. Fantastic appears in the Avengers issue, for example, it's not after he appears here, but rather instead of. So technically i should probably only be tagging Dr. Doom until the final part, since that's the version that sticks. But i'm not going to worry about it.

References: N/A

Crossover: Heroes Reunited

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A