At the end of Fantastic Four 586, all four members of the team: Reed Richards, Sue Richards, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm, were left in a state of peril. All four members of the Fantastic Four were placed at risk, so that one of them can be killed off. One of the Fantastic Four is going to die in issue 587, and supposedly they will be dead for real.
According to Fantastic Four executive editor Tom Brevoort, the cliffhanger is being used to “heighten the suspense while preserving the surprise as to which member doesn’t make it out alive.” He added, “It’s a story that will have a transformative effect on these characters – virtually nothing will be the same after the events of this story. And that was the reason to go this route – to bring about these seismic changes to the characters and to the series.”
To be honest, The Fantastic Four have needed something to happen to them that would change their team dynamic for years, and I mean something permanent. They’re one of Marvel’s most iconic comic books, but they’re so… bland. Aside from Ben Grimm, who everyone loves, the others are pretty boring at this point, as they’ve been mostly unchanged since they debuted. If I was killing one off, or betting which one would be killed, it would probably be Sue Richards-Storm, AKA the Invisible Woman. The Thing and Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch are too popular; Reed Richards is too important to the Marvel Universe at large as a go-to, default scientist. Sue is the odd woman out.
Tags: Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, The Human Torch, Reed Richards, Sue Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, one of the Fantastic Four will be killed off, comic books, Marvel, Fantastic Four member to die in next book, cliffhangers, issue 587, Tom Brevoort