The best ideas in comics, like in science, start with a question: what if? And few writers ask that question with as much wit and wonder as Ryan North. North uses Fantastic Four to explore science and problems that require proof, not belief, to resolve, carving out a unique title like no other in the superhero landscape. Fantastic Four #4 is no different, as North builds around that principle, transforming wild hypotheticals into puzzles of physics, biology, and human empathy.
That spirit is alive and squirming in Fantastic Four #4, a new standalone mystery that blends creature-feature horror with scientific curiosity. When Alicia Masters returns home from a sculpture convention, she’s introduced to the team’s adorable new “dog.” It’s a pet everyone seems to love… except her. To her touch, it’s wrong: cold, slimy, alien. But the moment passes, and the others insist it’s fine. Alicia quickly realizes she’s the only one who can perceive the truth, and the truth isn’t just unsettling, it’s intelligent.
True to form, North crafts a problem that only the Fantastic Four could face: part biology, part psychology, all wrapped in cosmic weirdness. It’s the kind of problem where you can’t fathom how they’ll get out of this one, making it all the more delicious to unpack as the problem resolves itself in this single issue. As always, the solution isn’t about brute force or blind luck, but observation, deduction, and imagination. Science is both a weapon and a wonder.
Creepy!
Credit: Marvel
Artist Humberto Ramos does a fantastic job making all the characters act so normal and happy around the “dog,” while making the dog truly horrific and scary. The thing has teeth everywhere and tentacles that seem to wrap around everyone. There’s an almost jump-scare nature to seeing the dog, then turning the page to see its tentacles all over the characters. There’s also a great bit of Mr. Fantastic transforming in weird ways, creating an uneasy and weirdness that’s unnerving.
On top of this, this story comes right in time for Halloween, with a story that’s got visual scares, but also a psychological one. Imagine for a moment a monster that you can’t perceive, but sits right in front of you. The very idea of what it could do to you, which is somewhat explored in the final pages, is haunting.
Fantastic Four #4 is another standout chapter in Ryan North’s run, proving once again that science fiction is at its best when it asks “what if?” and dares to find out. A blend of creature-feature chills and cerebral problem-solving, it’s an eerie, clever, and perfectly-timed Halloween treat that captures what makes Marvel’s First Family so timeless: curiosity, courage, and the conviction that every mystery can be solved. Fantastic Four #4 is a reminder that this team remains Marvel’s purest expression of scientific storytelling, and that in Ryan North’s hands, the best ideas aren’t just smart. They’re alive.
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