Three: Who Will Die?

This week brings Jonathan Hickman's highly anticipated “Three” storyline in Fantastic Four. As the name suggests, after this arc is finished one member of the Fantastic Four will be dead. This is a major event: it has been stated that this will last for well over a year (which, frankly, is pretty long for a death to persist in comics), and will have repercussions throughout the Marvel universe. Tom Brevoort, when asked, said there won't even be a book called “Fantastic Four” at this time next year.

I've really been loving Hickman's run on this book. He has big plans and is willing to see them through. Reading his run so far, it really feels like everything he puts out has a purpose, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for the remaining three members. But, that's getting ahead of things. Who is going to die? One of the fun parts of reading comics is speculation, so let's take a look at who might die and why. Read on to see what I think the likelyhood is of each member dying in “Three.”

Sue Storm Richards — The Invisible Woman

I am almost 100% certain that Sue will make it through alive. She has been set up as a very important player in Hickman's run. She is the ambassador to the new Atlantian city, and future-Val told her she will be very important in holding everyone together through the tough times ahead. Also, she faux-died pretty recently, and that would be a little overkill to have her be the one to die here. I would be very surprised if she died.

Johnny Storm — The Human Torch

We haven't seen much of Johnny Storm so far in Hickman's run. It would be kind of cheap to have him die. There hasn't really been enough character growth to make a death here meaningful. It would feel like a waste of a life in some ways, and it doesn't feel like Hickman wants to go that route. Johnny is still a bit of a man-child — that wacky uncle who's never settled down — and he has so much potential for growth. It was also hinted that he'd have a lot of growing up to do, and I don't see all of that happening in one arc with his death at the end of it. It's possible, but unlikely.

Reed Richards — Mr. Fantastic

It may seem like Reed could not be the one to die because he's the leader — and his nickname is frikkin' Mr. Fantastic for gods' sakes — but I'm not so sure. He's come a long way in the past few years — from Civil War to Solve Everything to the Future Foundation — and his role as the brains of the operation could easily be filled by his Future Foundation (or just Valeria, really). On the other hand, future-Franklin and future-Valeria just changed history largely, it seems, to let Reed have a better life. Of course, that could also be a way to let him die contented.

Ben Grimm — The Thing

Okay, Ben is my odds-on favorite to die in “Three” largely because he's already the most tragic character in the group. He's finally going to have his week of being a regular human during this arc, and maybe I take in too much Joss Whedon, but what else would you do with that? He's finally getting his wish to be a normal person, but that means he's more vulnerable, so yeah, he'll die: tragic irony at its finest. The points against Ben dying are that he's a member of New Avengers (but it's been stated that after this arc he'll be either going through a lot emotionally or not in that book at all, so that lessens this point), and that he's the obvious choice. Like I said, he's the most tragic character on the team, so it seems most likely he would be the one to die, especially with what should be one of the happier times in his life fast approaching. But, most obvious is not always the worst.

Well, those are my thoughts. We'll find out a bit more on Wednesday, and I'll be lucky enough to be at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find where both Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting, the new artist starting with this arc, will be in the store for a signing. Sweet!