The End if Fourever…ish.

According to Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso and writer James Robinson, Fantastic Four #642 will be the very last issue of the fabulous foursome four the fourseeable (sorry) future. Marvel made the official announcement at New York Comic-Con today to unanimous scratching of chins. Robinson had this to say:

The book is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I’m moving towards the end of ‘Fantastic Four”…I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth…

“For a while” being the operative phrasing here. If Robinson is planning on killing off each of the Four (unlikely, I’d say), they won’t stay dead forever. With Uncle Ben being the only Marvel character to die and never be reborn again in one way or another, it seems likely that Marvel’s First Family will punch their way through six feet of dirt in no time at all.

Still the timing of the announcement begs a few questions. Is this a move designed to take the proverbial wind from the sails of 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot before any earnest buzz begins about the movie? Marvel could be saying, “this property is trash, no one wants it” in a rather cynical effort to basically remove “official” Marvel support of the reboot.

On the other hand, Marvel could merely be responding to FF’s poor sales record, not to mention the book’s scattered plotting, and exceedingly dark tone, for the past few years. Marvel may be trying to put the property on the bench before they irreparably damage it.

What do you think? Is Marvel masterminding a revenge plot against 20th Century Fox? Or are they simply counting their losses?