It has reached the point where Fantastic Four isn’t just a superhero comic, but a revolving door of new ideas. Science fiction can sometimes feel stale in an age of countless dystopian tales or space aliens, and Ryan North consistently reminds us sci-fi is expansive and endlessly entertaining. Each issue features a different sci-fi problem to solve, with Fantastic Four #10 offering up a brand new one involving time.
Time is the central mystery in this issue, but it’s also a haunted house story. Surprisingly, though, the monster isn’t a threat to the Fantastic Four. This issue opens with a society of aliens zipping through space on their way to a new planet. An alien is awakened to find the person on watch dead, and on the wall is scrawled a familiar-looking enemy.
Much of this issue jumps through time in hundred-year chunks, focusing on the aliens trying to make sense of the threat outside their spaceship. The ship is stranded, and the aliens think they are in danger. North frames the story nicely from the start, making you question along with the aliens what is going on. Something that works so well in this series under North is how you’ve led along and get to piece things together as you go. As you do the detective work, you’re drawn into the tale.
Time to solve a problem.
Credit: Marvel
The Fantastic Four don’t enter the story until halfway through, and while that’s a bold choice, it works. The mystery is well crafted, and Leandro Fernandez keeps your interest through the framing of each scene. Clearly a haunted house sort of tale, Fernandez makes the space these aliens live in dark and expansive. A threat of any size and shape could lurk, further made scary when the perceived threat shows itself.
A common element that has made this series such a good Fantastic Four run is seeing our heroes’ powers in weird or uncommon ways. We get that here. To add to the weirdness, we don’t know it’s the Fantastic Four exhibiting powers at times, further adding to the mystery and horror aspect.
A couple of things didn’t quite work. One is how Thing is drawn, as he’s too lean and slightly off. Another is the drawing of the Fantastic Four. Given how the story plays out, it’s unclear how the aliens would have a good idea of what each one looks like. Nobody saw all four at once, so it’s a little misleading, albeit a cool touch.
I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but Fantastic Four continues to be exciting as it introduces new and inventive sci-fi problems for the heroes to solve. This issue is no different, with a clever storytelling structure and a fresh tale that pulls you in.
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