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[Punchy]

I’m really enjoying the looser, fun stories Hickman has been telling as his run comes to a close, and this issue was a great mix of silly action storytelling and darker stuff. The focus of the issue is that AIM have bought their own country, which is of course a problem that the FF have to deal with. We get a whole bunch of crazy rambling from The Wizard (is Hickman poking fun at himself with these portentous rants?), and the outcome is a surprising one. AIM let the FF capture The Wizard, and Reed Richards becomes the US Ambassador to AIM Island, which is a fantastic idea and one that’s ripe for future writers to play with. But the capture of the Wizard is where the darker side comes in, as he attempts to corrupt his clone, Bentley 23. I’m very interested to see what happens next in this story, and what choice Bentley will make. Was the scene where Thing notices that the AIM guys can’t eat in their suits a fight that was just for a joke, or is it a serious cliffhanger that will be picked up in FF #22? I couldn’t tell. Ryan Stegman’s art helped a lot with the lighter tone of this issue, I especially like his take on The Thing.

[Amoebas]

I liked how the President called in the Avengers AND Reed Richards to deal with a potential threat.

/AvX'd


I couldn't figure out what the "our covers blown" bit was all about either.

Art was pretty good but Hickman just ain't my cup of tea. The clone kid plot bores me probably because it riffed too much "Bentley clone kid, you do not yet realize your importance. You've only begun to discover your power! Join me, and I will complete your training! With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy."