The Bargain... and the Betrayal!

With present-day Marvel super-teams having gone through a flurry of intermixing with each other in both conflict and do-si-do membership shuffles to a head-shaking degree, it stands to reason that readers of those titles might regard the 1987 limited series Fantastic Four versus the X-Men with little fanfare or even interest, since by their reckoning those bridges have long since been trampled on crossed. Yet for the most part, even today's readers may be drawn to the more traditional fare of this four-issue series with over thirty years of dust on it, yet remains an engaging read from start to finish--with a solid plot by writer Chris Claremont, and surprisingly engaging art by penciler Jon Bogdanove.

The lineup of characters, at least, should be extensive enough to hold an interest for practically everyone:

• The Fantastic Four, whose close-knit bond has been weakened by a recent discovery which points the finger of betrayal;
• Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, former FF member who is present when the team is approached by:
• Magneto--respectively, former enemy and arch-enemy of each team, and current Headmaster of the school for mutants founded by Charles Xavier;
• The X-Men, having barely survived a recent crisis that has left several members severely injured, and one who may not survive;
• Reed and Sue Richards' young son, Franklin, a central figure of this story whose premonition-based dreams are likely intended to build the story's momentum toward this situation's resolution; and, finally,
• Doctor Doom, who insinuates himself into Reed's intention to help one of the X-Men but also holds another card waiting to be revealed.

In a way, it's Franklin who is the driving force of Claremont's plot, given that just about everything that occurs happens under his "watch." (Franklin here has an astral self that manifests whenever he's asleep. I probably won't be devoting a post to that anytime soon.) All four covers of this series are symbolic representations of the dreams haunting Franklin's mind, representations of a conflict that will apparently take place between the FF and the X-Men.  Yet that development will be preceded by Sue's discovery of a seemingly-forgotten journal while unpacking storage crates that date back to a time before her marriage to Reed--an item which will trigger a schism to come.

 

As to how the X-Men become involved, we must skip ahead a bit to a point where Magneto has somehow discovered Reed's work on an experimental device (that's some grapevine) which may be able to reverse the deteriorating condition of Kitty Pryde, a literal ghost of her former self thanks to an attack by one of the Marauders. But with a rift that has now formed between Sue and Reed over what Sue has discovered in Reed's journal, Reed is hardly in a state of mind to turn his focus to something so crucial as saving someone's life; nevertheless, Magneto's plea to him to intervene convinces him to try.

But, en route to Muir Isle, it's clear that he's become preoccupied with whatever has been unearthed in his earlier writings--something that has so shaken him that he sorely lacks the confidence to be of any help to the X-Men.

And so upon arrival, after examining Kitty's state of molecular decay, Reed makes the startling announcement that her condition is too advanced for his device to be of any help to her, and declines to even make the attempt. That goes over with Wolverine as well as you might expect.

In the resulting scuffle, the Torch accidentally sears Storm's left arm, causing both Rogue and Psylocke to enter the fray--the former using her power to absorb the Thing's power and memories, while Psylocke telepathically drops the Torch. But the injured Storm is adamant about getting Wolverine to cease hostilities--and when she is successful, she implores Reed to reconsider his decision, only to hear him repeat that he's unable to help her teammate.

With tempers frayed, it's agreed that the FF should depart. But then, a new development occurs when an injured man retrieved at sea by Dazzler and Longshot and brought to Muir Isle sheds his human disguise and steps to the fore in order to transmit a holographic communication, which effectively seizes the attention of everyone present--not at all surprising considering the figure's imposing identity, to say nothing of his unexpected offer.

Thus rebuffed, Reed and the others board their plane and head for home, leaving the X-Men to mull over Doom's words and reach a decision on whether or not to accept his help, even realizing that a price will undoubtedly be involved despite Doom's words to the contrary. But with Storm's abrupt collapse, that deliberation must give way to supplying her with the medical care she urgently needs.

Back at the Baxter Building, however, Reed might soon find himself needing a few bandages himself, when it becomes clear that Sue has shared with the others the information in Reed's journal--an incredible rehashing of events which might very well tear the FF apart at the seams.

The reactions from the rest of the FF, which stem from the revelation that the creation of the Fantastic Four was premeditated on Reed's part, hinge of course on the presumption that these are indeed Reed's words that are being read, a conclusion that Reed appears to reject but doesn't outright deny. That will continue to be the case as this story progresses, and thus it's that level of doubt which will continue to be at the core of Reed's conundrum involving the treatment of Kitty's condition (assuming his options in that respect are still open). Yet that being the case, it requires that the reader also buys into the premise established here that Reed Richards, of all people, isn't certain of the veracity of his own thoughts at the time he put pen to journal, a difficult leap to make given the man's almost renowned attention to detail. Claremont's only method thus far of explaining Reed's lack of conviction here exists in a panel where he wrestles with the situation in private: "...who knows, whatever my conscious mind decided, could my subconscious have betrayed me?!" We have no choice but to leave it at that for now, however implausibly it comes across.

In the meantime, given Reed's refusal, the X-Men have agreed with Storm's choice to accept Doom's offer to save Kitty. Though in an unexpected gesture, Doom employs technology that fully heals Storm's injured arm--a remarkable feat, especially when considering that Doom's own ravaged features could benefit from the same treatment.

While it's fair to say that Doom, whether intentionally or not, has succeeded in diminishing Reed's status in favor of his own in the eyes of the X-Men, the story takes care to stress that the X-Men are unanimous in their mistrust of Doom, fully expecting that he will some day call in his marker with the team in regard to his efforts on Kitty's behalf. It also bears mentioning that, at present, Doom has no idea of the turmoil that has engulfed the FF, nor does he appear to be at all curious as to why Reed abruptly pulled his offer of assistance. Yet when it comes to Doom, it would be easy enough to attribute that lack of curiosity to ego, and the opportunity to humiliate Reed by demonstrating his greater intellect at saving Kitty's life, a task that Doom's rival has notably turned his back on.

And speaking of Reed, a touching scene makes clear that it will be his love for his son that helps him turn the corner in this crushing situation. And though questions remain and doubts persist, his decision to return to Latveria is the one thing that feels like a step in the right direction.

As if on cue, the Torch and the Thing appear and make it clear they're backing Reed, having put aside their doubts for now and making a leap of faith regarding their friend and teammate. And when Franklin learns of his father's decision, his astral self appears at the side of the girl who has become his friend, and relays the news. But both of these people have misgivings: Kitty, fearing another grim prognosis from Reed as well as a second encounter between the FF and the X-Men, while Franklin can't help but recall his latest premonition-dream that bespeaks disaster.

Before the FF's plane reaches Latveria, however, Doom completes his preparations for his own procedure for saving Kitty and prepares to act. Unfortunately, he must deal with complications in the form of Magneto, who, having been relocated to a site far from Doom's castle in order to prevent any interference by magnetic fields generated by his person, releases his power in a rage when he notes that he stands roughly 500 miles from Auschwitz, where his parents and sister were murdered by the Nazis--while due west is the city where he lost his daughter in a fire, even as the gathering crowd was witness to the display of his power as he saved his wife and grew agitated by the fact that he was a mutant. Doom reacts furiously to the blunder, and warns of dire consequences to Kitty should it be repeated; but with the arrival of the FF, Magneto makes matters worse by seizing their plane magnetically fearing their interference at this critical juncture of Kitty's treatment, which, true to Doom's warning, disrupts and damages the equipment controlling the procedure and temporarily shuts it down. This time, however, Doom blames Reed's reappearance, and the X-Men agree to deal with the FF while there is still time to salvage the experiment--resulting in six pages of battle scenes before tempers are cooled by a plea from Franklin to cease and desist.

As both teams make their way back to Doom's castle (including Magneto, who for some reason is now allowed inside Doom's lab even though he still presumably represents a danger to the integrity of the room's computer matrices), Doom recognizes that the moment is ripe to prove his superiority over Reed Richards by successfully completing the procedure; yet curiously, he seems to be particularly delighted by Reed's forlorn appearance, a state which seems to have been brought on by the journal the man clutches to himself which Doom seems to have knowledge of. It's a foreboding precursor to this final attempt to save Kitty--an attempt which Reed, incredibly, moves to halt while in progress, even as he continues to wrestle with his personal demons.

The timing couldn't be worse for Reed to again be besieged by the issues detailed in his journal which have cast his judgment and integrity in doubt. Did he truly sabotage the FF's space flight, or didn't he? Not even Reed, a man who can juggle complex equations in his head, is certain of his own penmanship, his own thoughts at the time--yet that observation requires a suspension of disbelief which the reader must adopt, if it is to succeed as the crux of this story's climax. Sue seems certain that she has deduced the answer--but, given the enormous pressure he's under at this moment, will Reed?

As we've seen, Claremont, presumably to heighten the drama, has expended considerable panel space to have various characters inject and reject the option of Psylocke reading Reed's thoughts to discover the truth--but realistically, how can that even be an option, considering that she was expending all her resources in an effort to maintain the coherence of Kitty's consciousness? Did she in any way look available to break away and probe Reed's thoughts? And did Kitty look to be in any shape to survive if that happened?

At any rate, Reed wins his battle with himself, by himself, and ultimately brings his peace of mind to the problem at hand--calculating the measures needed for Kitty's reintegration, allowing her to convalesce and heal at a more natural rate. From there, all that's left is for everyone to celebrate the good news, pass around a few apologies... and then to fall silent, as a lioness confronts the true villain in the room.

While the X-Men have received their due in and made a valid contribution to this story, it's arguably the FF's scenes and chemistry which will resonate the most with the reader when the final page is turned. (Nor does it hurt to see one of their members have the last word with Dr. Doom.) The other character of note here is possibly Magneto, the one who makes the overtures to the FF concerning Reed's device yet who remains distrusted and continues to teeter on the fence between the new leaf he's turned over and exercising his will when necessary. Later, the PPC will take a deeper look at how and why he eventually re-adopted the distinctive helmet which signaled his return to a more aggressive posture and agenda.