Planet of the Apes versus Fantastic Four #3
Writer: Josh Trujillo
Artist: Andrea Di Vito
Colorist: Erick Arciniega
Doom has come to the Planet of the Apes.
Doctor Doom, to be precise.
Just when the currently-powerless Fantastic Four thinks things couldn't get any worse...
Anger Issues
Doctor Doom and the Red Ghost have come to the Planet of the Apes, where they have allied themselves with General Ursus (who still possesses the powers of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch). Together, the three of them plot to overthrow the government and place Ursus in charge - under the watchful eye of Doom, of course.
Outside Ape City, Doctor Zaius (possessing the powers of Ben Grimm, the Thing) is having some anger issues. Doctor Cornelius (with the powers of Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic) and his wife, Doctor Zira (who wields the abilities of Susan Storm-Richards, the Invisible Woman), are trying to calm their friend down, but it's not easy. It takes Zira finally gaining control over Sue's powers in order to stop his rampage.
Working together to combine their abilities, the allies are able to recover a long-buried human spaceship from the lake. While inspecting the ship, Reed shares a hypothesis: they are not on a strange alien world at all, but rather the Earth in the far future! Before he can share more, they are attacked by the Red Ghost's Super Apes, who dismantle part of the spaceship! Ben Grimm tries to enter the fray, but he is stopped by Zaius, who is much calmer now. Zaius cannot stand to see any more violence against fellow apes, no matter their breed.
Zaius may wish for peaceful coexistence, but the rebellion underway in Ape City right now sure thinks differently. Especially when General Ursus appears to confront President Gaius while clad in an ape version of Doctor Doom's armor!
Wings of Icarus
In the best multi-property crossovers, both parties get largely equal "screen time." This miniseries has been turning that on its head. The first issue was very much a Fantastic Four story, but issues 2 and 3 have been much more Planet of the Apes stories. I guess when you look at that, it's not a coincidence that I found the first issue to be the strongest of the bunch.
That doesn't mean that this issue isn't a solid read, because it actually is. The Doctors Zaius, Cornelius, and Zira all receive strong character development in this issue, especially Zaius. That he can go from berserker rampage at the start of the issue to voice of peaceful coexistence at the end, and it all feels earned, is really impressive.
Less impressive is General Ursus's characterization. Last issue, when he decided that he could use his newfound powers to "free" his people, it looked like there were plenty of places he could go. Instead, he's just another over-ambitious would-be conqueror, who is cosplaying Doctor Doom while standing side-by-side with the real thing.
The usage of Doom himself is a little disappointing, too. He has the hated Fantastic Four trapped on a strange world, with no powers or technology, and he decides to... give the evil ape a spare set of armor so he can play dress-up? I'm just not feeling it, guys.
With only one issue left in this miniseries, I'm really worried that we're going to have a really abrupt, Deus ex machina ending. Or else there's going to be a cliffhanger leading into another as-yet-unannounced miniseries. I hope that's not the case, and that there's a satisfying conclusion forthcoming.
You Say You Want A Revolution
Josh Trujillo's script maintains a pretty good pace this issue, keeping it flowing from one event to the next with minimal downtime. He gives the currently superpowered apes some good character moments, with the exception of General Ursus, who has been relegated to a generic would-be conqueror. His voice for Doctor Doom and the Red Ghost both feel authentic, even if I don't buy Doom's specific actions taken here. The Fantastic Four themselves are the weak link in characterization, as they hardly have anything to do with this issue. I guess that's why they get second billing in the title?
The art by Andrea Di Vito is strong as always, but I still feel like the quality of his work has diminished since the first issue. In that issue, his work was clean and detailed, like I remember most of his art being. In the subsequent issues, including this one, the art feels a little more rushed and sketchy, missing a lot of the detail that I normally associate with his work. I'm not sure if it's a change in style, just rushing to meet deadlines, or something else. He does draw an imposing-looking Doctor Doom, I've got to give him that.
Erick Arciniega's colors keep the same level that they have held throughout this series - they are bright and striking, but with an edge of dirt and grime to them that befits the Planet of the Apes.
Coexistence
Planet of the Apes versus Fantastic Four #3 is a decent issue that moves the plot forward, sets the stage for a chaotic conclusion, and gives our ape heroes good character moments, but unfortunately, at the expense of the Fantastic Four themselves. Doctor Doom's presence here doesn't feel earned, and his actions don't feel true to his character, but I accept that it's hard to have a new FF tale without him these days. You'd think he had a big movie coming out or something. I wish that General Ursus and the members of the Fantastic Four had more character moments and things to do, and I'm worried about the creative team's ability to wrap all of this up in one more issue, but overall I am having fun with this book - it's nothing new or really all that special, but it's entertaining, and sometimes that's enough.