Something is terrorizing the team, and they don’t even know it.  It’ll be up to an unlikely member of the family to save the day. Your Major Spoilers review of Fantastic Four #4 awaits!

FANTASTIC FOUR #4

Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher:  Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 22nd, 2025

Previously in Fantastic Four: Alicia has returned from a sculpture convention to discover the Fantastic Four have a new pet, an adorable new dog that everyone tells her she’ll love. But when she first touches the creature, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s slimy, and it’s wrong, at least until a moment later, when suddenly, she feels the warm and soft fur she’s expecting.

SEEING FACES

Fantastic Four #4 starts as Alicia Masters comes home to find out that the Fantastic Four and the extended family have adopted a new pet dog named Jellybean.  She reaches out to pet it, but is shocked to find it feels wrong.  But a moment later she envisions the little dog in her mind just like how everyone else sees.  Later on, she can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong about Jellybean, but she’s interrupted by Ben Grimm, who arrives with Jellybean in his arms, which is actually a giant alien tentacle monster.  Alicia then goes to Reed and asks him a hypothetical question about seeing things that aren’t there.  He goes into a lesson on pareidolia.  At night, Jellybean comes to Alicia and speaks to her, telling her that she will require more control.  In his lab, Reed ponders why Alicia would ask him the question she did and begins to experiment with altering the pareidolia around him.  The next day, Reed uses a newly invented device and begins to see the truth around him.

GIVING SOMEONE ELSE THE SPOTLIGHT, FOR A COUPLE MINUTES AT LEAST

Some of the best comics are the ones that let someone other than the main characters take center stage and shine.  Fantastic Four #4 starts off by giving Alicia Masters the focus and sets things up to let her save the day, but then takes the easy way out.  In terms of setup and concept, this comic has a lot going for it.  The story provides a scenario that is uniquely designed for Alicia’s blindness to be an advantage, and in the first half of the issue, this is the main focus.  But then, at about the halfway point, things shift, and it becomes a generic “Reed builds a gizmo and saves the day” Fantastic Four story.   At least the antagonist of the story is interesting, rather than being some sort of destructive alien force; these invaders take a more subdued and sinister route.  The best part of this issue, though, is actually the characterization of Reed Richards.  He’s depicted as being somewhat not great with social interactions and comes off as borderline creepy, but in an accidental way, in a few instances, that was a lot of fun to read.  While it would’ve been nice to see Alicia remain the main character throughout the issue, this still ended up being a nice and neat little one-and-done story.

GOOD BODY HORROR, NOT SO GOOD IN OTHER PLACES

For not being a full-blown horror comic, Fantastic Four #4 does have a few unsettling moments.  First, there’s the creature itself.  The real form of the furry little dog is actually a formless monstrosity of teeth, pink tentacles, and goo.  It comes off as a mixture between The Thing and The Blob.  The other moment that borders on horror is during the conversation between Reed and Alicia, where he explains how no matter how distorted he makes his face, it’s still recognizable as one.  This effect is somewhat terrifying, and it’s only when coupled with Reed’s personality in this issue that it becomes kind of comedic.  This issue also, unfortunately, highlights Ramos’s problems with making characters that have different facial features.  The only thing that differentiates Sue Storm and Alicia Masters is that the former has traditionally blonde hair while the latter has reddish blonde hair.  But their faces are identical.  This actually goes for Sue’s daughter as well, who looks like her identical twin, just miniaturized.

BOTTOM LINE:  HAD A LOT GOING FOR IT, BUT FUMBLES

On paper, this issue should’ve been a home run: A plot that is designed to put an unlikely character in the forefront, possibly severe stakes, and a threat that requires more than fists to fight.  But then, at the end, it decides that it is none of those things, but instead just a run-of-the-mill evil alien plot that is easily defeated via a nondescript techno gizmo.  All in all, this issue can be simply described as disappointing. 3 out of 5 stars.

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FANTASTIC FOUR #4

60%

60%

You'll Get Your Chance One Day, Alicia

Fantastic Four #4 positions itself to be the one where traditional side-character Alicia Masters gets her chance to shine and save the day. But by the end it can’t commit to this and becomes a paint-by-numbers Fantastic Four story.

• Writing

  6
• Art

  6
• Color

  6
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