Ben's being confronted by his childish inability to take responsibility for his own actions. It's convenient to blame Reed, his rocky body and everyone else for all his "problems", but, in the end, it's down to him.... He's fast learning that a frail, weak, human body is the last thing he really wants: He's got to wake up to the fact he's a SUPERHERO and he loves it. The fallen elements have to transcend themselves....
In fact, it occurs to me that it may not really be important what Doom told Ben. It's the fact that it played on Ben's willingness to be betrayed, to be able to blame someone else for his and everyone else's/everything's transformation, that's the real issue here.
This isn't a grim book: the only way for the four to escape being devoured by their negativities is for them to realize just how good they've got it.... how incredible they and their lives are: they're the FANTASTIC FOUR.
Remember Alicia's words to Sue:
"This is just a cycle you always go through. You do know that, don't you?........
All four of you went into space and came back different to everyone else. There's no way back to normal.....
Anyway, you'll be back from whatever new dimension he's discovered, telling me how much you love one another.... You'll sweep through the door in a flurry of newspaper headlines and circuit encrusted tiaras from a parallel reality...."
Fuckin' A! Can I have that lifestyle please?
If this is all Reed's doing, if he is involved (and that Puppet symbolism is there, isn't it? Cheers), then I think it's important to remember that, at whatever level this is all occuring, its clear that some kind of dark, dreamy healing process has been initiated - so it wouldn't be appropriate to describe the instigator (assuming there is one) as an "ice cold Niles Caulder" figure.
Antibodies, nigredo, immunisation, etc.......
Basically, this is the Four on Freud's Couch with a Reichian therapist on hand to fiddle the pressure points, forcing them to relive and scream their traumas out.
[ 10-09-2001: Message edited by: runt ] |
