Watcher and the Watchtower

First Look for December 17, 2017

Today I take a first look at JLA #4 and Fantastic Four #13 and both are pretty essential issues. The JLA issue brings to a conclusion the Hyperclan story arc and it’s nice to see the League turn things around. Batman really shines and shows he can kick some ass, but I seem to have a little bit of a flashback to the Fantastic Four #2 with the whole story arc. It’s still a lot of fun though. Fantastic Four #13 is another fun issue and one that does a good job introducing the Marvel fans to the Watcher.  The super-powered apes are a bit corny but its still a fun read.

JLA #4

Invaders from Mars by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter
A very nice finish to a good first story arc by Grant Morrison. I was impressed with how powerful the Hyperclan appeared to be and in this issue we fully see who they are and what they were planning. They may have had the initiative and captured the Justice League but they never got them all. The ones who remained free, Batman and Martian Manhunter turned the tide in this issue and Superman finally realized who these beings were. The 3 of them were able to get the pendulum swinging back to the good side and they won. With those 3 free, it was a simple task of disabling the Flower of Wrath and then the whole league was free to take on the aliens. I suppose when it comes down to it, this story arc was a bit like the old 1960s Marvel issues I’ve read where the aliens invade but since it was told so well across 4 issues this story was able to shine. It was really a fun read.

Fantastic Four #13

The Red Ghost and his Indescribable Super-Apes by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
This is an interesting issue with some really cool parts, some corny parts, and some parts that are important to the entire Marvel universe. The cool parts involve the experimental rocket fuel, the blue area of the Moon, the atmo-web suit for Johnny, and some of the well drawn fight scenes. The corny parts are the Commies, the apes, and the crazy Russian using a transparent ship to expose the apes to cosmic rays in the hopes they’ll get superpowers like the Fantastic Four. The important parts are actually also the best parts, in my view, and they are revolve around the Watcher. Considering I just read Marvel Point One from 2011 and the Watcher featured heavily in the framework story, its clear this character sticks around for at least 50 years and I barely knew anything about him. With this issue, not only is he introduced for the first time but we also learn a bit about his abilities and origin. It’s definitely cool to learn about and I’d call this issue essential for anyone wanting to better understand the Marvel Universe.