When the world’s greatest cat burglar shows up claiming she’s been set up, it’s up to Sue Storm to unravel the mystery, even though she really would rather not to.  Your Major Spoilers review of Fantastic Four #5 awaits!

FANTASTIC FOUR #5

Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’S Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Breevort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 13th, 2025

Previously in Fantastic Four: The men of the Fantastic Four family have decided to go on a boys’ trip to The Negative Zone, leaving Sue Storm and Alicia Masters to hold down the Baxter Building fort.  Felicia Hardy, also known as The Black Cat, is a world-renowned thief with the ability to cause bad luck in people.

SUE’S ON THE CASE

Fantastic Four #5 opens up with Sue and Alicia wishing the boys bon voyage as they head out for their fishing trip in the Negative Zone.  Not long after, the doorbell of The Baxter Building rings, and the video feed shows Felicia Hardy, covered in blood, surrounded by police.   Sue visits her in jail and hears her story of how she went to a bank to look at her safe deposit box, but while she was in the vault, an employee outside the door was murdered.   Sue is suspicious of Felicia’s claims but is willing to investigate.  After checking out the vault, Sue’s approached by a guard who says that there are some inconsistencies with what the bank’s story is and what the guards experienced.   Later on, Sue feels like she’s hit a dead end, but Alicia thinks that her prejudice against Felicia is affecting her.  Suddenly, Sue is struck with inspiration.  Armed with a hypothesis, Sue then sets out to prove Felicia’s innocence and catch the real criminal.

A SLOPPY BUT PLEASANT MURDER MYSTERY

This is the perfect comic for anyone who only enjoys the final monologue of murder/detective stories, where the hero lays everything out.  Everything in Fantastic Four #5 is very explicitly designed to make an interesting conclusion, for better or worse, and there are definitely a few things that fall into that “worse” category.  Sue’s sudden eureka moment is contrived and weak.  Also, the animosity between Sue and Felicia isn’t explained well, there’s no reference to past issues, or some sort of lingering grudge stemming from Felicia and Sue’s brother’s relationship, it’s basically described as “Black Cat is a bad guy, she obviously committed the crime”.  Alternatively, Alicia acting as the moral center of this issue doesn’t feel earned but is convenient.  Now, that may seem like a lot of things wrong with this issue, but I only point them out to say that the way this issue wraps up is legitimately fun, and the actual truth behind the murder is clever and utilizes everything from the issue well.  Also, beyond the conclusion of the mystery itself, the way the whole issue wraps up is fun and leaves things on a good note.  What we get here is basically a situation where the sum is greater than its parts.

BOTTOM LINE:  A ROUGH PATH TO A GOOD DESTINATION

For 70 percent of this issue, things are a bit rocky.  Fantastic Four #5 has some less-than-stellar character motivations, some convenient plot points, and poorly executed story beats.  But all these dented facets still manage to come together and are held together by a great conclusion that feels akin to some of the best conclusions to mystery and detective stories of the past—3 out of 5 stars.

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