John Byrne was once one of the most prolific creators of comic books, making massive waves at both DC Comics and especially Marvel Comics. One of his biggest claims to fame at the latter was Fantastic Four, with his work on the First Family being considered some of their best stories. Byrne’s Fantastic Four comics were so great that they briefly continued even after the creator had left Marvel.
Danger Unlimited was an independent comic book that John Byrne wrote and drew for Dark Horse Comics. Though the series was short-lived, it featured many of the same concepts as Fantastic Four, albeit in fresher packaging for a new generation. Now long since forgotten, Danger Unlimited perfectly showcases the potential of The Fantastic Four.
John Byrne’s Danger Unlimited Was a Four Issue Epic
The story of Danger Unlimited begins in the 1950s, with the Carson family being exposed to a mysterious “gunk.” This strange substance gives them a variety of powers, including superhuman intelligence, illusion projection, control over heat and cold, and a tough, rocky exterior. One of the group’s members was Thermal, a.k.a. Calvin Carson, who was locked away in stasis after being critically injured by the team’s arch nemesis Umbra. Decades later, he’s awakened from his stasis pod, with the other members of Danger Unlimited having been forgotten long ago.
Now living in the future a century later, Thermal is forced to form a new Danger Unlimited with Teresa LaFayette and David Palmenter. The latter had been exposed to gunk with Thermal’s return, gaining the power of a rocky exterior and self-cloning, respectively. Unfortunately, the Earth had by that point been conquered by the alien Xlerii, with humanity being heavily policed and superhumans being elements of the past. As soon as the revitalized superhero team forms, they’re promptly sent on the run by their extraterrestrial enemies.
Danger Unlimited Remixed Fantastic Four In the Best Possible Way
The idea of a “family” of superheroes with elemental powers arriving in the “Silver Age” is quite like that of The Fantastic Four, especially considering that the team even includes someone with a stony body like The Thing. The stories themselves were only somewhat like the adventures of Marvel’s First Family, however, using the same basic concept to go on a wildly different journey. The idea of a conquered future full of alien invaders was somewhat removed from the more cosmic antics of the Fantastic Four, bringing the stars to the heroes instead of the opposite. This was a good way to modernize the concept without getting caught in the milieu and iconography, something which was likely helped by it not actually involving the real Fantastic Four.
Byrne himself wanted the book to appeal to younger readers and not follow the dark trends of ’90s comics, but Danger Unlimited was anything but a kid-centric comic book. The book had stakes and seriousness without being too risqué, achieving this in a way that The Fantastic Four animated series of the same era never could. Sadly, Danger Unlimited proved to be incredibly limited, as the series only lasted four issues. This was due to the speculator market drying up, with comic sales in-kind doing the same. Even though it never became a long series like Fantastic Four or even John Byrne’s other book Next Men, Danger Unlimited proved that even “knockoffs” could become the teachers and be just as good as their narrative source material. If it had lasted for more than four issues, it could have even surpassed it.
