When you’re dealing with characters with fantastic powers, there is always an impulse to go bigger. Did your villain threaten the Earth? Guess the next one needs to threaten the Milky Way. A dangerous foe is trying to alter the past? Time to threaten reality itself. Sometimes it’s just nice to get back to basics and give your characters a chance to reestablish what made them work in the first place. A successful de-escalation can remind you why you love a book or a character. Do it well enough, and you can reinvigorate a title. Ryan North has achieved that in “Fantastic Four” #1, which is a spectacular return to form, allowing The Thing and Alicia the chance to do what they do best, explore.
Written by Ryan NorthCover by Alex Ross
Illustrated by Iban Coello
Colored by Jesus Aburtov
Lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna“Whatever Happened To The Fantastic Four?” It’s the start of a new era for the Fantastic Four…and they’re already in a ton of trouble. Something has gone terribly wrong in New York, and the Thing and Alicia are traveling across America to escape it! But when they stop in a small town for the night and wake up the morning before they arrived, they find themselves caught in a time loop that’s been going on since before they were born…That’s been going on since before they were born…That’s been going on since before they were born…
It’s important to remember that while the Fantastic Four has remarkable powers and save the multiverse from time to time, they are explorers. After the massive scale of Dan Slott’s story, North makes the wise decision to take things down a notch and tell stories of the Fantastic Four exploring a strange new phenomenon and figuring out how to help. It’s clear that Ryan North understands why the Fantastic Four works, from his fan page in the back to the interviews about undertaking Marvel’s first family. North wants to create a fun, adventurous comic that makes them encounter all of the weird phenomena of the universe. In interviews, North said he drew inspiration from Star Trek small, episodic stories where characters encounter a mystery and save the day. “Fantastic Four” #1 feels more like an episode of The Twilight Zone , but honestly, that’s just splitting hairs. The issue follows The Thing and Alicia as they explore Cedar, Pennsylvania, a town stuck in a time loop. It’s a simple premise, but North finds a way to make it feel fresh as Alicia and Ben get to know the town, experiment with ways to free the citizens, and even make some friends along the way.
One of the reasons that North’s time loop story works is his ability to pace out the comic. Watching The Thing and Alicia learn more about their surroundings as they put together the puzzle pieces is engaging and exciting. It is also a great blend of narration and art, as the panels of the first and last vignettes of their attempts to free the town get cut off. It’s an effective shorthand for showing the multiple loops the pair have gone through, and Iban Coello’s art captures the practical whimsy of the duos’ attempts to free the town. That’s true with Coello’s art, which perfectly captures the tone of each scene and panel. From the sleepy start establishing the time loop to The Thing’s clobbering time as the town disappears, Coello can capture the rapidly changing tone in “Fantastic Four” #1. Mind you; this isn’t a bad thing, just further proof that North is the right person for the job.
“Fantastic Four” #1 runs the gamut of emotions. Some moments are incredibly funny, some tense moments as the town threatens Aunt Petunia’s favorite blue-eyed nephew, and some action-packed moments as the Thing fights back. Still, every emotional shift feels genuine and earned, making the ultimate resolution all the more impressive. Alicia discovers the cause of the time loop; Sanford, a man going through a breakup who can make wishes. It should also be mentioned that (much like Trek or The Twilight Zone) the issue is very coy with the information it gives you. We never quite find out how many times Thing and Alicia attempt to free the town, we never find out how Sanford got these powers, and at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. What matter’s is the emotions that North captures so masterfully. Again, we see some humorous vignettes of the duo attempting to stop Sanford from wishing. Still, it ultimately falls to genuine, honest talk and the assurance that life gets better even though he’s sad. This also gives Coello a chance to shine, capturing some incredibly fun emotions in the characters. He captures The Thing’s wide range of emotions and captures some genuinely sweet moments between him and his wife. But the moment where the art shines is the three pages of Sanford’s life after releasing the town. It’s like the most compelling moments of any Pixar moments, a silent portrayal of a life well lived from a lesson well learned from two people just trying to do the right thing.
Maybe that’s what makes “Fantastic Four” #1 so impactful. There’s never a moment where we learn if the time loop has trapped our heroes. By all accounts, it seems like they can leave whenever they want to. That’s the thing, though, they don’t want to. They want to help. North establishes four rules at the end of writing Marvel’s first family. One of the rules is “The Fantastic Four are fun.” “No angst, having superpowers rules!” It’s interesting to start with The Thing, arguably the angstiest of the bunch, to have a solo mission because, at the end of the day, even with his angst and reminder of his monstrous form, he saves the day. He even, day after day, endears the town to him. He’s a good person with a good heart. It also helps that he has a kickass wife that works with him and loves him unconditionally. It’s just, overall, an outstanding return to form, reminding us why the Fantastic Four work, even if we’re only dealing with two members of the family. In that way, it’s almost reminiscent of Jonathan Hickman’s run. Sometimes you have to start them apart to remind us why they’re better together. Hickman’s run is legendary. North’s start looks just as promising.
Final Verdict: 10 “Fantastic Four” #1 is a phenomenal first issue, a perfect blend of humor, heart, and fantastic art. North is a must-read!
