Fantastic Four #16
“Only a Hundred More Centuries”
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Cover Artist: Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado
Publisher: Marvel Comics
“It started with a crash landing on an alien world. It will end in our deaths—and a lie bigger than all of us.”
Hey DJ, Spin That Track
The Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Susan Storm-Richards, Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm) and Alicia Masters-Grimm have crashed on an alien world. The society appears to be rather Victorian—with the caveat that the citizens are blue or green. The Richards/Storm/Grimm family remain hidden while repairing their ship, so as not to adversely affect the evolution of this world.
That pledge goes out the window when Johnny purchases a primitive phonograph, and Alicia discovers that the clay pots on this world capture the sounds around them at their time of creation. They reveal this to the world, and soon people are hearing the voices of loved ones long lost.
Then the trouble starts.
The more messages from the past that are unearthed, the more fundamental beliefs the people of this world learn are wrong. Before long, the planet is on the verge of civil war…
Hidden Track
I'm a big fan of the Fantastic Four.
They're just such a great concept—sure, they're superheroes, but they're also scientists. Explorers. Challengers of the unknown, to borrow a phrase. And above all else, they're a family first and foremost.
Every run on Fantastic Four chooses different combinations of these aspects to focus on. For Ryan North's run, it's been science and family that have been front and center.
Fantastic Four #16 is all about the science. It's actually a story that wouldn't be out of place on an episode of Star Trek, although it's a lot more fun here.
I'm not sure if the concept of sound being trapped in clay as it's formed and cured is something that was hypothesized or discussed in real-life science (and apparently I'm too lazy to Google it), but it doesn't really matter. The story here does such a good job of explaining the concept and why it doesn't work on Earth that when it does work on the alien world, I'm already along for the ride.
They say the road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions, and the FF definitely demonstrate that here. At first they're so afraid of a "butterfly effect" situation that Ben won't even leave their hiding place, and then as soon as they make their discovery they're disguising themselves as locals and holding a press conference. I get that they were excited and thought they were doing something great for the people, but they should have shown a bit more caution.
After all, any society that appears to be similar to our own is likely to have the same problems as us: notably, it's really easy to make us be opposed to one another. Differences of opinion that should be solved with peaceful debate can instead incite conflicts or even wars. And don’t even get me started on if you mess with someone’s religion. As Johnny says in this issue, “Imagine if there was a recording of Jesus of Nazareth plotting to fake his death and resurrection.” The results would not be pretty.
So it's understandable that things get as bad as they do here.
One of the things that I love about the FF is that everything they do is in the name of science or curiosity. They thought they were doing something for this planet, so they ran with it. When things went south and the people were on the verge of violence, they said, "Prime Directive be damned," and revealed themselves, explaining what they had tried to do and why. When that went south and full-scale civil war broke out, they did their best to prevent anyone from getting hurt, and then they went with a third press conference based around a really crazy idea. And the whole family was all-in every time. No finger-pointing, no recriminations—just everyone working together to do the right thing, the only way they knew how.
Man, I love the Fantastic Four.
Play it Again, Sam
I used to associate Ryan North with more humor-driven books—Adventure Time, Squirrel Girl, that kind of stuff. He has quickly become a name to watch for, however, when it comes to stories that are packed with heart and humor. His current Flash run is a joy to read, and his Fantastic Four has been a highlight of my pull list for some time now. He has everyone's voices down to a science (no pun intended), and his pacing is, well, fantastic. This has been a run of largely single-issue stories like this one, and they never feel rushed or like he's leaving out important details. And under his pen, the FF feels like a family in a way that I can't think of them feeling in a long, long time.
The artwork by Ramon Rosanas isn't anything flashy, but it's solid work that fits a lower-stakes story like this perfectly. His FF are instantly identifiable, even in period clothing, and the alien beings look human enough that we can believe our heroes can pass among them (with some light-refraction camouflage) while still looking like they're not from Earth. There's not a lot of action in this issue, but what there is, Rosanas presents cleanly and makes easy to follow. This is an issue that is largely built around conversations, both in small and large groups, and he handles it well.
Edgar Delgado's colors are not as bright and glossy as some Marvel books I've seen lately, but that's not to say they're all dark and grim either. Bright colors are used, but it's a more subdued palette that fits the Victorian-style setting of the alien world. The alien people are presented in different colors and shades, showing the diversity of their world. And when the FF do have to use their powers, everything is bright and flashy as you'd expect. The colors here aren't going to win any awards or anything like that, but they're a perfect fit for the story and art presented in this issue.
Better on Vinyl
Fantastic Four #16 is another terrific stand-alone issue that shows how sometimes even the best of intentions can lead to trouble, and once you've broken something, it can be really hard to fix it. Through it all, the FF show why they are Marvel's First Family, working together every step of the way to make sure they don't leave the alien planet worse off than when they crashed there. The fact that I learned something in the process is just icing on the cake.