Many fans may not realize that DC Comics has its own version of the Fantastic Four, who were brutally killed by Grant Morrison off in a subtle parody of one of Marvel Comics’ most controversial events in the pages of 2014’s The Multiversity.
The Multiversity is not only writer Grant Morrison’s ultimate statement on the various worlds of the DC Multiverse, but all of comics in general. Morrison utilizes the various universes contained therein to comment on classic DC characters, as well as the famed heroes and villains of other companies – most obviously those of Marvel Comics. There has always been a long history of both companies paying tribute to each other, such as Marvel’s Squadron Supreme standing in as analogues for the Justice League. Morrison continues this proud tradition, establishing Earth-7 and Earth-8 as the DC Multiverse’s version of Marvel. In a clever twist, the two Earths are meant to be representative of the classic 616 Marvel Universe and the updated Ultimate Marvel Universe. As such, Morrison is able to use this event series to comment upon perhaps the most controversial Marvel event of all time: Ultimatum, which drastically affected the Ultimate Marvel titles in 2009 – for the worse, in many fans’ eyes.
The story kicks off in Grant Morrison, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado’s The Multiversity #1, whereupon protector of DC’s Multiverse Nix Uotan answers a distress call on Earth-7, only to find a somewhat-familiar quartet of superheroes lying defeated in the ruins of their world. Morrison describes the scene in the most recent edition of their Substack newsletter, stating that this version of the Fantastic Four “are the Earth-7 ‘Essential’ Universe versions of their more traditional Earth-8 Marvel counterparts! The Essential Universe being my take on Marvel’s own Ultimate Universe.” Morrison further elaborates how this ties in to the Ultimate Marvel crossover Ultimatum, referred to in later issues of The Multiversity as the not-so-subtly named “Essential Genocide Crossover”:
“The Ultimate Universe – carefully assembled and established primarily by Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis to plausibly tie into real world politics and entertainment – had recently been laid waste during what seemed an ill-judged stunt by writer Jeph Loeb and David Finch in 2009. Ultimatum was a series that rejected the grounded realism and geo-political credibility of The Ultimates in favour of widescreen disaster porn spectacle more reminiscent of The Authority.”
The way the “Essential” version of the Fantastic Four (here called the “Future Family”) are dispatched certainly matches the cynical, grim tone of Marvel’s most controversial event. The Future Family’s version of Sue Storm can be seen as a dematerialized, vaporous form trapped in the apocalyptic clouds of the sky. The analogue of Reed Richards is stretched-out and distended, his limp form draping the city ruins like an old sheet, whereas the team’s version of the Thing has been horrifyingly fused to the very buildings and streets of the city itself. And the Future Family’s version of the Human Torch? Only Morrison themselves can do the description justice: “While in the sky can be seen a flaming sun representing Earth-7 Future Family stalwart Fireball – now entombed as a living suffering consciousness chained to the deformed and dying sun!”
The grim fates of this version of the Fantastic Four act as the perfect commentary on the high body count and senseless violence that made Ultimatum such a controversial story in the first place, proving that no one understands comic book superheroes better than Grant Morrison, whether they come from Marvel or DC Comics.
