Equilibrium and Thermodynamics have left you no other choice

[stubbleupdate]

I've wanted to post this for ages (well, since Fantastic Four #600 came out), featuring as it does my New Character Find of 2010 The Anti-Priest of the Negative Zone. He's the leader of a cult who want to bring Annihilus and the Annihilation wave into our universe, and he preaches at a club called the Other Side of Zero.

His quest to bring the Annihilation Wave into our universe was one of the threads that tied in to the War of the Four Cities
In the first story of Fantastic Four #600, Forever part 1, re-establishing him as one of the main players.
It was his attack on the Baxter building that forced the Future Foundation to abandon New York and relocate the top three floors to Latveria.



And the flashback from the second story

This is Johnny's flashback after Annihilus kills him at the door to the Negative Zone. I like the consistent letterbox framing in this instance. Ordinarily, it would make for visually dull comics, but here it serves a stylistic purpose. The speech is repeated verbatim from #578










To be totally honest, this is probably my second favourite comic book monologue, behind President Goblin.

Johnny takes the woman back to the Baxter building and shows off all of the cool stuff that the building has, while the woman continues to speak about what the Anti-Priest has told her.




And then a creature from the Negative Zone bursts out of her body announcing "...in the Negative Zone you can live."

And we think nothing more of it until #600, when Johnny is rudely awakened from death with Negative Zone bugs stitching his innards back together.

The letterbox format (and the speech of the Anti-Priest of the Negative Zone) is repeated later on in the issue. Annihilus and Johnny Storm fight as the Light Brigade attack the Annihilation Wave. As Johnny and Annihilus tussle, the Cosmic Control Rod, held on the end of Annihilus's staff, spins into the air.









So says the Anti-Priest. I like the way that the Cosmic Control Rod and the logo for the Other Side of Zero were one and the same.

But, that is not the end.








Now Johnny Storm holds the Cosmic Control Rod, and as such controls the Annihilation Wave. Just as he has lived again and again in the Negative Zone, so he has his new life.

I love this sequence. The letterbox framing echoes the negative sign/control rod, the actual speech from the Anti-Priest just sounds good and I do like seeing scenes revisited later on when they are dripping with meaning.

Comments

[icon_uk]

See, if it IS true, then it's only because of the AFAIK-never-once-mentioned-in-the-entire-history-of-the-MU-until-last-month "You can't die in the Negative Zone" schtick.

Also I'd be slightly concerned that he doesn't offer a "better" life, only an "endless" one. Not sure that's a tradeoff I'd want to make.

And aren't preachers and self-help guru's pretty much identical in style (in some cases). Both attempt to convince/harangue you to change your life. The only real difference is that one wants you to accept an outside force to help you, and the other wants you to use the DIY approach. And in some cases the former would claim the latter was STILL the act of the deity acting within you.

[nyadnar17]

lol I didn't notice he was promising immortality but not eternal happiness....need to read the fine print better.

I would say your assessment of self-help guru's and preachers is dead on. I also think that isn't the way it should be. I am a Christian of the reformation variety. I think its the pastor's job to tell you about an event in history(for Christianity this would be the crucifixion of a Jew name Jesus and his missing corpse three days later) and what that event means about your eternal soul. This information could make your life better, it could make it a lot crappier, as long as its true the preacher shouldn't care.

In my mind its the preachers job to tell you about how to succeed in the next life and the self-help gurus job to tell you how to succeed in this one. I personally don't believe those two things have anything to do with one another so it is a peeve of mine when the two professions sound alike.

[icon_uk]

I think (As a Catholic myself) there's a middle ground, the preacher's job can be to explain how the example of Christ and it's impact in living your life in this world can help you in the next. Thinking about the precepts of Christ may do my soul good, but if I'm not using that teaching to try and help make someone elses life better too, aren't I sort of missing the point? :)

To borrow a quote from St Francis of Assisi, "“Preach the Gospel at all times.... you can use words, but only when you have to”