Ultimate Fantastic Four #29 (Spoilers)

The issue was a good round up of the story... And it was successful in making Ben my favorite of the Four. Johnny's a *****. Reed's been dumbed down since Millar came on. Never really liked how Sue's been portrayed.

3/5.
 
Reed read like an extremely intelligent man when Ellis was writing... In the most recent issue, Reed says something to the effect of "Johnny, I want you to get really hot or something"... First of all, if Ellis wrote that, he'd give a certain temperature and replace "something" with something entirely witty, that would suggest how smart this guy is... Millar makes Reed sound like he's searching for words when he speaks. Bad form.
 
Goodwill said:
Reed read like an extremely intelligent man when Ellis was writing... In the most recent issue, Reed says something to the effect of "Johnny, I want you to get really hot or something"... First of all, if Ellis wrote that, he'd give a certain temperature and replace "something" with something entirely witty, that would suggest how smart this guy is... Millar makes Reed sound like he's searching for words when he speaks. Bad form.
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Funny, because "or something" was never said. Reed told Johnny to go hotter than he's ever gone before. A million degrees hotter.

:?
 
That's a very good point, Goodwill. While the specific example isn't correct... I agree. Reed doesn't feel as smart under Millar.
 
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Goodwill said:
In the most recent issue, Reed says something to the effect of "Johnny, I want you to get really hot or something"...
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I don't think he was dumbed down. I like to think of his words in context of the heat of battle. Even though he has powers and has been in fights before...Reed is not a warrior. So I wouldn't expect him to call out attack formations ala Cyclops. I expect Reed to tell Johnny to do something. Maybe not specific as in certain temp, because as we all know--Johnny is no genius. So it makes perfect sense for Reed to tell Johnny to "get hot".

Besides...with the whole brain stretching thing Reed has now--it won't be too much longer until his intelligence becomes omnipotent just like his 616 counterpart. But even with all his fancy booksmarts...I still expect him to say/do things as a normal 19-21 year old would.
 
I got that exact feeling when Ellis was writing it... He may have been a genious, but he was still a youngster. With Millar, I don't know how to read his character... Like, he's not coming off the same as when Ellis had him. Like, Ellis wrote the perfect Reed. Reed was my favorite character when Ellis wrote him... In the entire Ultimate Universe. Now, he's really nothing because his emotions and intellect are so broad that Millar could have him do anything as long as it helps him move the plot along... I'm just being a stupid fan boy. I apologize.
 
As for Millar's run being a bit dumbed down, I think there's truth to it. One of the things I thought was always so great about Reed is his ability to observe things no one else would notice and see the trap before it sprung. I think Millar lost some of that in Reed. In the Namor arc, he wasn't prepared to contain or control Namor. In the crossover arc, Reed assume zombie reed was trust worthy and transported over to him. In the President Thor, Reed doesn't believe their might be any ulterior motive behind the Skrull and when all the timetravel went on he was slow on the up take.
 
Bass said:
That's a very good point, Goodwill. While the specific example isn't correct... I agree. Reed doesn't feel as smart under Millar.
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Yes, thank you... Since I didn't have any of the issues in front of me I couldn't tell you what he said exactly. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has noticed this little problem with Reed... Or else I would've looked stupid. Again.
 
MaxwellSmart said:
As for Millar's run being a bit dumbed down, I think there's truth to it. One of the things I thought was always so great about Reed is his ability to observe things no one else would notice and see the trap before it sprung. I think Millar lost some of that in Reed. In the Namor arc, he wasn't prepared to contain or control Namor. In the crossover arc, Reed assume zombie reed was trust worthy and transported over to him. In the President Thor, Reed doesn't believe their might be any ulterior motive behind the Skrull and when all the timetravel went on he was slow on the up take.
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This was brought up before...you have to remember - and this is something that was established in Bendis's run and Ellis used it too - that Reed is extremely trusting and eager to please. It's his Achilles Heel. As smart as he is, that quality leads him to make some remarkably stupid decisions.

I love that about him...616 Reed doesn't really have that, and he's a little less interesting because of it.
 
E said:
This was brought up before...you have to remember - and this is something that was established in Bendis's run and Ellis used it too - that Reed is extremely trusting and eager to please. It's his Achilles Heel. As smart as he is, that quality leads him to make some remarkably stupid decisions.

I love that about him...616 Reed doesn't really have that, and he's a little less interesting because of it.
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Exactly. I think it's not a matter of "dumbing down"....but lack of human social interactivity. It's caused him to be naive. He might be able to build a helmet that lets him create whatever he wants from his mind...but he's still don't know people.
 
I know Reed is still a wide eye bushy tailed kid, but he's also one of the smartest men alive. Someone that smart should automatically prepare for every contingency in his mind. As a result, when s*** goes wrong he should already have a plan formulated. He should also be tremendously observent, when it comes to the actions of other. He should spot the irregularities in other people. I'm not saying he should turn into batman, but he should act a kid who takes candy from strangers.
 
MaxwellSmart said:
I know Reed is still a wide eye bushy tailed kid, but he's also one of the smartest men alive. Someone that smart should automatically prepare for every contingency in his mind. As a result, when s*** goes wrong he should already have a plan formulated. He should also be tremendously observent, when it comes to the actions of other. He should spot the irregularities in other people.
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Exactly...he SHOULD, but he doesn't. That's his problem. It's a character flaw, not poor writing.
 
E said:
Exactly...he SHOULD, but he doesn't. That's his problem. It's a character flaw, not poor writing.
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I agree that it's a conscious decision to make Reed seem more naive. My problem is that it's a frustrating character flaw that Millar could easily correct. I know it's important that characters not appear flawless. Making him seem naive is just such an easy character flaw that it comes across as bad writing in my opinion.

My favorite Reed Richard flaw I've read was that he's a man trapped inside his own brilliance. There by excluding the people he loves from his life. It just seems more deep and realistic.
 
Maxwellsmart said:
He should also be tremendously observent, when it comes to the actions of other. He should spot the irregularities in other people.
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Hmm, no.

This has nothing to do with being a genius. My Mom does that. My friend with a doctorate in Math (and who is so good that the scholarships he received allow him to rent an appartment in Paris without working* and who will probably be a full professor by the time he hits 30) doesn't.

Now, some brillant people do both, like the best Poker players in the world for example. But one has nothing to do with the other. Independant variables.

*If you don't get why it's a big deal, it's because you haven't noticed the exchange rate between CAN or US dollar and the Euro and don't realize how expensive living inside Paris is.
 
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