"Ben Grimm is ashamed of his monstrous appearance" is a pretty played-out vein. Creators have been mining it for 60 years. Still, this issue tackled it with enough storytelling skill in the words and art that I was initially on board. It continued to look and sound good all the way through.

But the proposition that Ben Grimm is a weak man; the trite, Nietzschean theme at the end; and the gratuitous killings curdled my enthusiasm.

(Also, the absence of Johnny Storm--the team member BUILT out of anti-symbiote powers--was awfully conspicuous.)

I can't deny it's a story told fairly well. But I question if it should have been told at all.