Comic Book / Ultimate FF

They are Four! It's Fantastic!

Ultimate FF (FF as in "Future Foundation", not Fantastic Four) was a 2014 comic book, set in the Ultimate Marvel universe.

Earth had successfully survived the coming of Galactus in Cataclysm, but Captain America died and Thor got stranded in the Negative Zone along with Galactus, which caused The Ultimates to break up. Even more, SHIELD was closed as well. But there are still weird threats out there, including incursions from other universes, so former SHIELD agent Phil Coulson arranges a team with the most intelligent people around: Dr. Sue Storm (from Ultimate Fantastic Four), Tony Stark (from the Ultimates), Machine Man and Sam Wilson, as well as a 5th member that joins them at the end of the first issue.

Tropes

• Actually a Doombot: Used to explain Doctor Doom returning after his death at the end of Ultimatum. Victor Van Damme is genuinely confused when Namor says he saw him die, and when Tony says he tried to destroy the world. He reveals he had Mary Storm pose as him during his time away from Earth-1610 as a contingency plan.
• Animal Superhero: Miles Morhames, the Ultimate Spider-Ham, who is a humanoid pig from a decidedly less cartoony version of the Spider-Ham universe.
• Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation: The heroes from the Spider-Ham universe.
• Anticlimax: Sue's baby is born, Ben and Johnny are there with her... and a bizarre cyclops monster storms into the room.
  Johnny: Can't we have one major life event in this family without a villain-monster-whatever charging in to...?
• The Atoner: Reed is very sorry for the actions he did as the Maker.
• Atop a Mountain of Corpses: The cover of issue #2
• Avengers Assemble: Machine Man sends a global warning about an incoming incursion. It was received by the Captain Europe headquarters, the X-Men in Utopia, Nick Fury at a classified location, and the New Ultimates in New York.
• Back for the Dead: Namor, who was last seen in Ultimatum, returns. He dies a short time later.
• Badass in Distress: Sue can not defend herself from the alternate dimension cyclops monsters while she is giving birth, for obvious reasons. So everybody is out there to protect her.
• Bait-and-Switch: The discussion between Coulson and Machine Man, about the man to send to help the team. If you thought they were talking about Reed Richards, you were wrong: they were talking about Victor Van Damme.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: We can see Van Damme without the green hood at one point. His body is a completely plain grey mass. No penis, no nipples, no hair, no belly button, no nothing.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Subverted. Without more ideas, the team wishes that Reed was there. Then, Coulson sends the cavalry. Sue fears that it is Reed, but no: it is actually Victor Van Damme.
• Big "NO!": Sue is about to cut Reed' stones with a scalpel, and without anesthesia. Next scene, the point of view gets out of the building. Ugh, that's gotta hurt!
• The Bus Came Back: This is Victor Van Damme's first appearance since he was left for dead in the Marvel Zombies universe at the end of the "Frightful" arc.
• Butterfly of Doom: There is one thing that determines which universes live and which ones die: in those that live, Reed and Sue had a child.
• By the Lights of Their Eyes: The cover of the first issue.
• The Cameo: It seems that, at some point, Rick Jones has met the Carol Danvers from the other universe.
• Comically Missing the Point: The home universe of Miles Morhames, the Ultimate Spider-Ham was destroyed. The end started with the coming of Galactypus. Simian Richards ended her relation with Ben Grizzly, and fell in love with Duck-Tor Doom instead. They kissed, and their universe died. Oh, that's horrible! A duck and a gorilla making out? Gross!
• Compliment Backfire: Namor: "Say what you want about me, but watch your mouth around this beautiful creature!"
• Composite Character: Machine Man is Danny Ketch, infected by the Gah Lak Tus nanites, not a robot as in 616 continuity. And Danny Ketch is supposed to be Ghost Rider II, so this makes him a stand-in for the cyborg Ghost Rider 2099, as well.
• Continuity Nod: The history of Miles Morhames' home universe is a recap of the story of the Ultimate Marvel universe, told with a bizarre Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation.
• Continuity Snarl: While revealing that the Doom who kicked off the events Ultimate Power, The Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum and died was really Mary Storm, a new one was created: namely Doom calling out for Storm in the last of those events after Magneto's actions resulted in Latveria being frozen. The reason this is considered a snarl is because Mary Storm is still alive and well during her ex-husband's funeral, attended by her would-be killer Ben Grimm after he's stated to have killed Van Damme.
• Deadpan Snarker: The entire squad with the exception of Sue and Victor are this. It is to the point that they go into full snark-fests with each other and Tony cannot go a panel with out saying something irrelevantly humorous.
• Distracted by the Sexy
  Iron Man: Step away from her, you... extremely attractive fish lady. Hello there!
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Doom sacrificed himself by going into the zombieverse, to prevent that deadly virus from spreading into the world. He thought that he would be revered as a hero. Instead, he was reviled and forgotten.
• First-Episode Twist: Victor Van Damme is the 5th member of the field team.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: When they won, Reed wants to hug everyone in celebration. Coulson steps back in horror.
• It's All About Me: When the cyclops monsters disappear, Van Damme congratulates himself for saving everyone yet again. Problem is, it was not him. He and the others were stalling the monsters while Sue's baby generated energy that drove them away.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Sue can not stand Van Damme's infinite self-pride, but, as Sam pointed... he did sacrifice himself.
• Leave Him to Me!: Namora wants the Atlanteans to kill all the team, but leave Namor's concubine for her. Sue wonders, why does everyone keep thinking that Namor is her boyfriend?
• Leeroy Jenkins
  • Namor does not care and does not wait for anyone.
  • Stark checked if Rick's portal worked. Yes, it did, but... Doom does not want to listen, and goes, while Stark cries "I said, 'But...'!". So they all had to follow him him ASAP, before he gets blown up to pieces.
• Misery Poker: They had one in the pocket universe where Rick Jones was trapped with the Gah Lak Tus swarm.
• Mistaken for Racist: Van Damme gets into the interrogation cell, grabs Miles Horhames and says "tell the truth or die, swine". Miles thought that was racist.
• Motor Mouth: Rick Jones interrupted Iron Man to ask if he talks just to hear himself talking.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ben Grimm thought he had killed Dr. Doom. He had killed Mary Storm instead.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: By the time the team returns to earth, all the military is at the other side of the portal, aiming at them. They have to prove that they are themselves, and not dopplegangers from some alternate universe.
• Not Me This Time
  • Namor blames Victor Van Damme for trapping him inside a tube for study, back in Ultimatum. It was not really him.
  • Namora blames Sue, who can generate forcefields, for the toxic waste that was being dumped into her universe. It was the scientists in the dome.
  • Ben blames Van Damme for the actions that led to Ultimatum; but it had not been him. It was Mary Storm ruling in Van Damme's stead and with his armor, while he was still lost in the zombieverse.
• Oh, Crap!: When they first get into the alien dome. Tony even throws up inside his helmet.
• Readings Are Off the Scale: Sam tries to get readings of the mutated workers inside the dome, to no avail.
• Sadistic Choice: Doom leaves the team with one. Save the army of murderous fishmen from an alternate reality, or themselves?
• Screw Destiny: The fate of the universe depends on Sue having a baby with Reed Richards. Fine. She will do it... but nobody said that she had to have sex with him. Let's just restrain him, create some forcefield scalpels, and extract the required fluids for an artificial insemination.
• Self-Duplication: Machine Man, being made of Gah Lak Tus nanomachines, is able to duplicate himself.
• Shout-Out
  • Tony Stark has never heard about the Lemuria dome, and he's very rich. Sam tells him "Maybe you can ask at the next Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo meeting, Tony"
  • Agent Coulson has a BFG, and he's not sure on what does it do.
  • In the last scene, Tony proposes to eat shawarma.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Tony Stark is still Iron Man, but he's using a new armor now. The old one reminds him of the Ultimates.
• The Smurfette Principle: Sue is the only woman of the team. At one point, when Tony and Sam are unconscious and she's the only one still standing, she thinks that she should have organized an Amazon Brigade instead.
• Something We Forgot: Back in Ultimatum, Van Damme had Namor trapped inside a test tube for study. Then the Thing shows up and kills him, and ignored Namor. Here, we find out how he was released, days after that.
• Spiritual Successor: In-Universe, the Future Foundation is specifically designed to be one to the Baxter Building think tank.
• Straw Feminist: Sue's ex boyfriend was the infamous Reed Richards. Her other (sort of) ex-boyfriend is Namor, The Berserker, and she had to interrupt both him and Doom from killing each others. Then, she realized it: All men are morons!
• Testosterone Poisoning: Sue complains about this after teaming up with Namor.
• This Cannot Be!: Ben Grimm just refuses to accept that he killed Mary Storm.
• Time Skip: Issue #6 takes place 9 months after issue #5
• The Tooth Hurts: Back in the Zombieverse, Luke Cage tried to bite Van Damme. He broke all his teeth by trying that.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Rick Jones is the only one to be properly surprised of talking with a pig-man. All the others have Seen It All.
• Unwanted Harem
  Sue: Why. Does. Everybody. Think. He's (Namor). My. $%&/()!. Boyfriend.
  Nest Time: Battle for New Atlantis. Also more people who think they are Sue's boyfriend.
• What the Hell, Hero?
  • Van Damme and Namor are about to kill all Atlanteans. Sue does not approve.
  • Machine Man has powers from the Gah Lak Tus swarm. Rick Jones does not approve.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: When attacked by the Atlanteans, Iron Man proposes to alter some chemicals to make a dangerous gas. Doom said "You'll kill them all! Doom approves"