Publisher Pulls Superhero Team's Book
Review of the Fantastic Four Episodes "The Origins of the Fantastic Four Pt. 2"
NEW YORK CITY—The controversial book written by the Fantastic Four has come under fire for being "three hundred pages of lies and fabrication", claims one industry expert.
The book Fan 4 promised the full story of how Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm became the group known as the Fantastic Four. It details the origin of their superpowers as well as the team's early days and the many battles they faced against supervillains.
This is the latest in a long line of problems that the book has faced since its publication last month. It was originally announced during Dick Clark's Scholarship Drive, where the group's appearance was criticized for being "self-serving and painfully pompous", according to television critic Sam Rowe of the Daily Tempest.
The credibility of sections of the book were questioned, including how the four were even able to get in to space as neither Ms. Storm nor her brother Jonathan are trained astronauts.
NASA, as well as Dr Reed Richards' scientific colleagues, expressed their horror at putting civilians in danger. A spokesperson for the Agency said, "we will be speaking to Dr Richards and requesting that he think twice about taking untrained members of the public in to space again, regardless of how many tax dollars they've said they've paid in their life".
One entire chapter has been singled out as being false.
The minor riot at the new maximum-security state prison last year was heavily featured in the book. The Fantastic Four alleged that the inmates had taken hostages and were attempting a prison break. One page, narrated by Reed Richards, read:
"I instructed Ben and Johnny to take out the prisoners in the yard while Susan and myself headed for the hostages. Sue shielded them while I used my stretch powers to pacify their kidnappers. Without our powers, our skills, and our teamwork—they'd have been dead. But we stopped it. We saved the day. We were heroes. We were simply fantastic."
Diane Garfield, a news reporter who was at the scene of the incident, refuted the book's version of events. "A prisoner managed to get hold of a single gun. There were at least forty armed guards on duty that day. What do you think happened?"
In another fabricated claim, Mr. Fantastic said that a villain known as the Puppet Master was behind the prison riot, having created life-like miniature figures that apparently allowed him to control that person's mind and will. They suspected Philip Masters of New York City was the man responsible.
The Fantastic Four frequently hounded the elderly gentleman and broke in to his home twice. The Thing befriended his daughter Alicia and according to Moira Torrance, a close family friend, "Polluted her mind and turned her against her step-father".
Tragedy would eventually strike when an argument between Alicia and her father resulted in Mr. Masters falling out of their apartment window to his death.
When the superhero team arrived and discovered he had died, the Invisible Woman was heard to mutter, "Perhaps it is for the best."
The eye witness who claimed to have heard those words said, "If Johnny Storm is the hottest member of the Fantastic Four, then Sue Storm is surely the coldest."
During an emotional recollection, Mrs. Torrance praised the victim. "Philip was a popular member of the community who took care of his blind step-daughter after the unfortunate passing of her mother. He loved her almost as much as he loved his arts and crafts. He regularly donated the figures he created to orphanages and children's hospitals."
A nurse in one of these hospitals confirmed the story, adding, "Now the kids have no toys to play with. We gave them Fantastic Four action figures but they didn't want them. I painted one of the Thing figures green to pretend it was the Hulk, but the children threw it away. They knew—they knew what he'd done."
In response to the criticism, publisher Marvel has withdrawn the book from sale, citing "continuity errors and plot holes" as the reason.
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