Fantastic Four "And A Blind Man Shall Lead Them..." Talkback (Spoilers)

[Spider-Man]

ABC Family airs this episode yet again. There are 26 episodes available ABC, maybe you should air the other 22.

I have noticed this seems to be a popular episode for the network. I remember earlier this year they aired it on both Saturday and Sunday of the same weekend. Now I don't mind the episode but they do seem to air this one quite abit. Then again maybe they just don't want to air the first season episodes more than they have to and are dipping into the second season ones more and more.

 

[Caswin]

Great job introducing the new batch. Within the first five seconds of this episode, we finally see a decent Thing design.

Thirty seconds, and we're introduced to new, smooth animation that allows Ben to throw more than one punch every five seconds. Oh, and Reed's sweet gauntlet-punch.

Two minutes... Doom! And he's cool now!

Twenty-two minutes later, well, it ain't Shakespeare. There were some pacing issues, as well as a few implausible things still hanging around (elevator bomb - not so good). I actually wonder how good a reception this would have gotten were it in the first season, animation, voices and all.

Daredevil's guest appearance and Thing's crisis say: maybe not fantastic, but just fine, thank you.

 

[Tinytooncrazy]

I was surprised to find out that this episode is actually based off an old issue of the Fantastic Four comic. I stumbled upon the cover art and some small interior shots when flipping through the last Starlog magazine. I wonder how true to the story they kept it. It's a pretty enjoyable fluff episode and it a good way to spend 20 minutes.

It is pretty much faithful the only difference I think is that the frightful four caused the four to lose to their powers

 

[Juu-kuchi]

Not too shabby. Seemed a little rushed for the beginning of the better season, sortof like what I felt about the first episode of Iron Man.

Is it just me or in the new opening, they 'frolic' to the space shuttle?

 

[Stu]

Jetix air's this episode today as part of thier Fantastic Four marathon.

Anyone have any comments on the second season premiere? What did you think of it back when it originally aired?

 

[Rick Jones]

This episode is awesome
I remember that I used to rush to see the first season of FF and Iron Man, and while I thought Iron Man was pretty silly, I liked FF. Probably because that show actually had stories, poor attempts to adapt classic stories I didn't have a chance to read as yet, but still better than watching the same heroes and villains play fight for 22 minutes. I didn't even think that they'd ever do new episodes of the shows, figured they'd re-run the old ones until they got other shows.

I was pretty much done waking up Sunday morning to watch Iron Man, which came right before FF in NY, but I just wanted to see the Sub-Mariner episode of FF that I kept on missing so I tuned in. From the second I saw that intro with the close-up of the Thing punching the head off of Doom's robot, my mind was blown. In five seconds, I'd seen the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in a cartoon series at that time. The animation was perfect to me, the action and everything else was just right. I had no idea how bad the first season was until I'd seen this.

Another thing that surprised me was how cool Doom was. He was funny and menacing and sophisticated unlike the clown from the first season. Daredevil was another great surprise. I like him here a lot more than I did when he eventually showed up in Spider-Man, both appearance and voice wise. This swashbuckler was the version I first knew from reading my uncle's old comics in the attic, before he became the tortured soul he was during the Miller era. The story was pretty great to me especially Ben's heartbreak at the end. the characters were shown as people and not just the caricatures they were before. I really can't describe how much I loved this season of FF. I'm about ready to pop in the dvd's right now.

 

[Hypestyle]

cool episode... I'll have to cop that boxed set before it goes out of print...

 

[Movie06]

Personally, I like how Dr. Doom is portrayed in this episode. He's exactly who Dr. Doom is in the comics.

 

[Caswin]

cool episode... I'll have to cop that boxed set before it goes out of print...

Might want to hold off on that - Liberation Entertainment is making a new set, uncut this time.

 

[Antiyonder]

Personally, I like how Dr. Doom is portrayed in this episode. He's exactly who Dr. Doom is in the comics.

Almost. The only thing that he lacks is the well intentioned demeanor which are incorporating in the 1981 Spider-Man cartoon and his appearance on the Secret War's third part on the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon.

 

[Caswin]

Almost. The only thing that he lacks is the well intentioned demeanor which are incorporating in the 1981 Spider-Man cartoon and his appearance on the Secret War's third part on the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon.

Actually, he's even got that going for him. Once he gets back to his castle, for example, he tells Boris how he plans to "bring order to a world gone mad" now that the Four are gone. Later on, in "Doomsday" (in what's less of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment), when he hijacks the Silver Surfer's power, he makes a speech about how he can use his newfound power to end hunger, disease, crime, and all those other terrible things... "Under the benevolence of my iron will!", just in case you forgot he was the bad guy.

So yeah. Really great Doom they've got here, bit of a shame he's only actually in a few episodes.

 

[Antiyonder]

Actually, he's even got that going for him. Once he gets back to his castle, for example, he tells Boris how he plans to "bring order to a world gone mad" now that the Four are gone. Later on, in "Doomsday" (in what's less of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment), when he hijacks the Silver Surfer's power, he makes a speech about how he can use his newfound power to end hunger, disease, crime, and all those other terrible things... "Under the benevolence of my iron will!", just in case you forgot he was the bad guy.

True, but his Spider-Man appearances (Amazing Friends aside), imo, do more with him trying to do good for the world. Heck, it's almost hard to see him as the big villain in the early half of Secret Wars Chapter 3.

 

[Movie06]

So yeah. Really great Doom they've got here, bit of a shame he's only actually in a few episodes.

Yeah, I like this Doom better than all of his other animated appearences. Not to mention he had a cool design.

 

[Manhunter]

Personally, I like how Dr. Doom is portrayed in this episode. He's exactly who Dr. Doom is in the comics.

The first few lines of dialogue he has in this episode are my favorite part:

"Yes, I'm so sorry to involve you in the timeworn damsel-in-distress cliché, Mrs. Richards. I fear the only thing missing is the onrushing train! However, sometimes expediency outweighs originality. Now, with your permission... "

 

[Movie06]

The first few lines of dialogue he has in this episode are my favorite part:

"Yes, I'm so sorry to involve you in the timeworn damsel-in-distress cliché, Mrs. Richards. I fear the only thing missing is the onrushing train! However, sometimes expediency outweighs originality. Now, with your permission... "

I love that line, in fact Dr. Doom in the second season got all the best lines since well, he's Doom.

 

[Hypestyle]

Might want to hold off on that - Liberation Entertainment is making a new set, uncut this time.

ah... interesting..

 

[AlgeaX]

The first few lines of dialogue he has in this episode are my favorite part:

"Yes, I'm so sorry to involve you in the timeworn damsel-in-distress cliché, Mrs. Richards. I fear the only thing missing is the onrushing train! However, sometimes expediency outweighs originality. Now, with your permission... "

God I love the Simon Templeton Doom, easily the best non-comic version of the charachter.