Even after two great movies behind their belts, the Fantastic Four are still going to lose a valuable member of their team! Frankly, I was very surprised to hear the news not too long back about Johnny Storm being sacrificed by Marvel, and that the magazine will stop (if not forever, then for how long?), especially after the fantastic (pardon the pun) performance by Chris Evans as the hot-headed (again, pardon the pun) flame-throwing playboy of FF. And even if the movie didn’t do as good as other Marvel, and even DC, movies ~ is killing off Johnny Storm really the right move to make?
Questions then arise: Will there be a third Fantastic Four movie at all? Or has the idea been suspended for a time? Or, better still, is the movie still on course, and will be seeing the light of day soon enough? Of course, the killing off of one of the heavy-hitters of the team [which one’s not a heavy-hitter, really?] may actually increase the interest to the theater attendees; and the appearance of the film will certainly beg the question of whether or not Johnny Storm will face a similar death in the third film as he did in the comics! . . . . Maybe, that was the plan the whole time with Marvel after all, and soon we will see an emergence of the Fantastic Four magazine in an even bigger stance on the new issues rack!
I remember the day well, way back in the 1990’s, when DC killed off Superman. And when I was selling my comics at a comic book convention not too long afterwards, I couldn’t help but notice that the “black bag” edition (that I had) was the very first comic that I sold that morning, which I had just moments before hung on the wall behind my comic booth. No sooner than I had turned around from placing it on the wall, then a young man asked me the price of the book. “Twenty-Five dollars.” I answered. And without batting an eye (and even though the book was nearly new), the man said “Give it to me!” Funny thing was, I was really underselling the book at the time, for some vendors and salesmen were pricing the book up to $75.00! When I was fresh out of “Death of Superman” stock, I couldn’t find anymore books anywhere to be had [Keep in mind, that this is before the convenience of the internet made life easier!], and so I began to desperately call around town (and out of town) to other comic shops, asking them if they had any copies left that I could purchase. Finally, one store came through for me, and said that they would have a late shipment of the book come in on Monday, which was only a few days away. “How much are you charging?” I asked the man. “Cover price.” was the VERY surprising answer! “Cover price?” I asked, almost in non-belief. “Yes, but it’s not the bagged edition.” he replied. Well, that was fine for me, bagged or not, that book was hot! Monday morning came, I made sure I arrived at the store somewhat before they even opened, and to my amazement, there was a line of people already standing outside the door of the small comic shop! And by the time the shop owner arrived, the line had increased to about thirty people ~ all waiting for their “Death of Superman” issue! I can still remember the gasping look upon the poor comic shop owner’s face when he saw the small crowd of people waiting outside his door!
Will this type of scene be repeated for the death of Johnny Storm? No, friends, I’m not expecting the event to be similar, for the death of Superman (the world’s first true superhero) was an event that will not be repeated, as DC reported the fastest selling book in their history; and I’m afraid that Johnny Storm is not big enough to duplicate the scene as it was in the early 1990’s . . . . But that’s not saying that Johnny Storm is not important, though, and I’m really not trying to belittle him at all! I just don’t expect for history to repeat itself with Johnny Storm as it did for Clark Kent.
Now, all that being said, I truly hope that Marvel gets the reaction that it is most certainly shooting for, and that is that they want all the Fantastic Four fans (and just comic fans in general) to rise up and demand their FF once again, and for Johnny Storm to (in some unknown and incredible way ~ as only Marvel and even DC can do) come back to life! If Marvel pulls this off, then I expect to see the FF to rise up and conquer once again in the comic book universe (where’s Stan Lee when you need him, aye?) . . . . Friends, I hope to see Johnny revived, and especially the FF magazine in general; and a third film will be nice as well!
Now, all that there is left to say is: “Flame on!”