Welcome back to the column, friends! Last week we had what may be a Tufts Daily first, a story recap and review so massive it requires two parts to do it justice. In light of this, make sure you catch up with last week’s installment so you won't get lost.
Despite tensions running high with Sue, Reed continues to spend more and more time at the multiversal headquarters of the Council of Reeds (see, I told you that you needed to be caught up). After weighing his options, Reed plans to become a member of the Council, take his problem-solving abilities to new heights and be all that he can be. That is, until the Celestials attack.
Celestials are essentially the Marvel Universe’s final boss, a race of almighty god-beings who sculpted life across the stars (and made a brief appearance in James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)). Here, though, they’ve abandoned their creator roles and have come to destroy the Council and every world in the multiverse.
The battle between the Council and the Celestials is spectacular, rendered in delightful detail by the artist, Dale Eaglesham, who pulls double duty on pencils and inks while the colorist, Paul Mounts, makes each member of the Council vibrant and unique. The Reeds and the Celestials do battle with all manner of weapons, from a “universal entropy gun” to an alternate universe-powered Infinity Gauntlet. The fight is a dazzling display of classic, cosmic, superhero fun.
The fun comes to an end as the Celestials retreat. The Council’s hideout is in pieces, many members lie defeated and one Reed (the one through which the Celestials gained the location of the Council) has lost his increased intellect. “It’s gone, Reed,” he says to our hero. “My gift ... how my mind worked ... gone.” In a moment of despair, the depowered Reed begins to describe the real price of a seat on the Council in a chilling monologue.
“The cost of solving everything is everything ... The work will consume you ... Susan will stop understanding ... Your children will resent you because you work too much and love too little... All you will have left is this.” And our Reed rejects him, rejects the Council and then leaves. He goes back to his reality, to a waiting Susan. I would argue that this moment illustrates what makes our Reed the best one in the multiverse. He doesn’t seek solutions that still leave some people with problems; he believes that everyone deserves a chance at equal happiness.
It would be easy to spend your days with those that understand you exactly as well as you know yourself — to stay in an eternal comfort zone. This arc illustrates that Reed knows better than that — even the smartest man on earth always has room to learn, and to learn you have to be willing to think outside of your own thoughts.
Next week we’ll check in on the Human Torch and the Thing as their vacation to the mysterious Nu-World goes awry.
