FANTASTIC FOUR #262

"THE TRIAL OF REED RICHARDS"
Story and Art: John Byrne | Letters: Jim Novak | Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Michael Higgins | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: John Byrne and assistant editor Mike Higgins discuss the next issue of FANTASTIC FOUR over the phone. Following their call, Byrne is abducted by the Watcher and taken to observe the trial of Reed Richards. Lilandra of the Shi’ar conducts the trial with the Watcher serving as Reed’s defense counsel.

A Skrull warrior testifies for the prosecution, condemning Reed for his indirect role in the destruction of his home planet. The Watcher then calls Odin of Asgard as his first witness, and Odin explains that Galactus is a force of nature, a test all planets in the universe must face sooner or later. Next Galactus appears and together he and the Watcher summon Eternity, living embodiment of the universe. Eternity allows all present to see through Galactus’s eyes, and they realize that he has no free will; he is indeed a force of nature which the universe needs.

Later, Byrne prepares to write and draw the scene he just witnessed and the Watcher urges him to do it quickly, as knowledge of the trial’s specifics will soon fade from the minds of all involved.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: This issue was FANTASTIC FOUR’s contribution to Marvel’s “Assistant Editors’ Month” stunt, wherein the various titles were ostensibly turned over to their assistant editors while the actual editors were away at a comic convention. Some books went quirky for the stunt, others went poignant. FANTASTIC FOUR plays things relatively straight, except for Byrne inserting himself into the story as a POV character.

John Byrne’s then-wife, Andrea Braun (to whom, rumor has it, Byrne was introduced by Jim Shooter), puts in a cameo appearance right after Byrne is spirited away by the Watcher.

Lilandra’s ultimatum to the Richardses, as seen in X-MEN 167 (and discussed here last time) is revisited by Byrne.

Sue has never struck me as the type to sleep nude. She seems more like a "frilly nightgown" girl.

Lilandra declares herself “Majestrix Shi’ar” and is flanked by Gladiator throughout this issue. However at this point in continuity, Lilandra was deposed as the Shi’ar empress by her treacherous sister, Deathbird, and Gladiator was sworn to serve Deathbird instead. I’m uncertain if this hiccup has ever been addressed anywhere.

Odin describes Galactus’s origin as was told to Thor by Galactus himself. There’s no footnote here, so I don’t know when exactly this origin was previously revealed. At any rate, the idea is that Galactus was once a scientist named Galen, the sole survivor of the universe which existed prior to ours. Reborn in our universe, he became Galactus.

Byrne reveals here that the version of Galactus we know, as originally designed by Jack Kirby, is the way humans see him. Every race in the universe processes Galactus differently. (Fun fact: movie director Tim Story sees him as a giant cloud.)

Reed notes that Doctor Strange has told him about Eternity. (The character was created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee in their original Strange tales from the sixties.)

Is It Clobberin' Time? No, Ben and his teammates are busy acting as a peanut gallery this issue.

My Thoughts: This issue is generally considered a classic, but I have to confess that after reading it (for the second time overall), I’m unsure why. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, but for me it’s just sort of… there. It’s implied that Galactus’s origin was already revealed in an issue of THOR, so it’s not like there’s any new information coming out of these proceedings. The trial goes nowhere, as when Eternity arrives he puts an end to things with his mind-link trick and then everybody just (in Byrne's own words) "drifts away." And Byrne inserting himself into the story, while cute, kind of robs the proceedings of some of their gravitas.

About the only new revelation (as far as I can tell) is the fact that everyone perceives Galactus in a different way – which is cool, but isn’t enough, from my perspective, to earn this issue the legendary status it carries. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. It resolves the storyline begun in issue 244 when Reed saved Galactus’s life, and puts to bed once and for all the exact nature of his purpose in the universe.

Byrne has said that when he first took the FF assignment, he was tasked by Jim Shooter to restore some of Galactus's grandeur, which he felt had been lost over the decades since his debut. And I won't argue that Byrne has done an excellent job carrying out that mandate over the handful of Galactus appearances he's turned out so far. But he's done a better job of it elsewhere, building up Galactus through his actions. Here it's a case of "tell, not show" in a very clinical fashion with the FF serving as spectators, rather than participants, through most of the action.