“The premise here is pretty great. The Fantastic Four is about to go off into some other universe or some such nonsense, and FOR ONCE they decide that, just in case, they better find some replacements to take their place.
It’s almost a running joke. Reed Richards has figured that due to some sci-fi magic-science-drunken-god stuff they should be gone a year, but on Earth it will be only four minutes. But JUST IN CASE something goes wrong, they’d better find replacements.
They keep saying JUST IN CASE and ONLY FOUR MINUTES, but it’s almost like the characters already know that something is going to be terribly screwed up. Because why else would you even seek out replacements?
What’s confusing is that this collects two different series, Fantastic Four and FF. FF concerns the replacements and what they have going on. Fantastic Four follows the quadro (is that like Duo except four?) we all know and love. Or…at least sort of like.
I have to admit, the FF stories were a lot more interesting. Watching 4 people try and fill those big, flaming, stretchy, sometimes invisible shoes was a lot more interesting than watching the normal characters do it. Fish out of water. “