Welcome to the land of "reality", where scientific experiments, accidents, genetic heritage, and alien influences affect the lives of ordinary mortals. Join me as I observe the superhumans of planet earth and their struggles against equally powerful foes.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis isn't quite related to the other novels authorized by Marvel, but it doesn't have to be. For one thing, it would be too strange to have them all tied together, however loosely. For another, this novel introduces characters that don't necessarily have ties to those Marvel mainstays previously dealt with; namely, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, and their various nemeses. After all, all those characters run in different circles with only rarely overlapping foes: Spider-Man handles more localized threats, Iron Man deals with armored foes and powerful criminal organizations, and the Incredible Hulk usually clashes with gamma radiation-spawned enemies. The Fantastic Four, on the other hand, usually have their hands full with world-wide threats like Galactus or the Skrull empire...and any problem involving Doctor Doom is likely to affect the entire world. So naturally you wouldn't expect direct tie-ins to the other novels. Although Spider-Man does put in a brief off-screen cameo...
I can't say I've read Nancy A. Collins' other works--more's the pity since I understand they involve vampires--but if Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis is a representative model, then I'm probably long overdue. She shows a grasp of her characters' personalities and innermost selves that I hadn't expected, especially since she was dealing with such well-known characters as Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing. It would be so easy to make a single, minor mistake that would bring down the wrath of loyal FF fans. I'm sure the consultants at Marvel--and I'm sure there were those--would have caught any such and ordered appropriate corrections, but the bulk of the work must be Ms. Collins, and she does an excellent job of making them not just real, but acceptable to fans.
Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis is a great work of fiction and a welcome presence in the steadily growing body of Marvel-sanctioned novels. The author has my admiration for doing such a stupendous job of capturing much-beloved characters from the comics and transplanting them into page after page of enjoyable text!
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