‘Fantastic Four’ #13 is a definite buy for dino and Dr. Doom lovers

Dr. Doom and dinosaur Dr. Doom take center stage.

November 15, 2023

The tricky thing about two-parters is that one part is usually better than the other. Like any good joke, you have to set them up to knock them down. So the question arises: is this week’s issue the best, or did the setup win out? As we saw in Fantastic Four #12, our First Family is trapped in a dinosaur universe, and they have a serious Tyrannosaurus Rex Dr. Doom problem. Writer Ryan North is known for his love of dinosaurs, and it all concludes this week.

Let’s stop to applaud Iban Coello’s art in this one, which somehow pulls off the dinosaur versions of major superheroes. Yes, it’s over the top and borderline ridiculous, but he makes me believe a dino Mr. Fantastic makes sense. It’s also tricky to capture the scale since they’re mixed in with regular-sized human heroes, but he pulls that off again. That and Hasbro better be manufacturing a Dr. Doom T-Rex ASAP.

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There’s also a lot of emotion in these dinosaurs, especially the Thing dino. You can tell it cares and is a blue-eyed kind of beast. The eyes are incredibly expressive. You can see it with the Dr. Doom dino, who almost looks bored when it says, “Both of us lead. Equally.”

How can you not love this?
Credit: Marvel

That brings us to the main thread of what this comic is about. Dr. Doom wants to lean into this double universe situation and expand things. Most issues of this series have served up a compelling science problem, and while this one doesn’t go too deep, North skirts the idea and what that could mean for the universe.

Much of this issue is devoted to the cover boy, Dr. Doom, but Thing plays a major role in this issue. Once again, he’s not taken seriously enough, and he uses that to his advantage. It’s nice to see North use Thing’s wits to help save the day, and it certainly makes sense since two Dr. Dooms can’t be stopped with blunt force.

Dr. Doom is the lead of this issue, though. North gets to supply plenty of dialogue for both Dooms, who bring the bravado big time. There’s a clever use of a gray caption box to add a third layer to Dr. Doom’s narrative. It’s just enough to establish a bit of conflict and relay to the reader what is happening.

This is mostly the Dr. Doom and Thing Show, which leaves one wanting for the rest of the Fantastic Four. That’s the biggest gripe I have with the issue and the lack of science mentioned above. There’s also a relatively quick final page that zips the heroes off on their next adventure that feels too tacked on.

Fantastic Four #13 is tons of fun, thanks to the art, the dinosaurs, and a healthy dose of Dr. Doom.