The Invincible Woman, Part One

***Fantastic Four #6*** *(2025) by Ryan North, Penciled by Humberto Ramos, Inked by Victor Olazaba, Colored by Edgar Delgado. Cover Art by Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado*

In the wake of the “One World Under Doom” event that just wrapped up, Ryan North takes us on the first step (pun honestly not intended) towards a new adventure featuring Marvel’s First Family, this time with an arc that seems to focus predominantly on Susan Storm-Richards, the Invisible Woman. We’ll be jumping right into things with a full, in-depth review, and per the norm, there will be spoilers. So take heed, True Believers, and let’s get down to it!

SPOILER WARNING: This article will contain spoilers for Fantastic Four #6

Chaos in Central Park

Our story begins with the action already well underway as a group of extradimensional invaders representing the Supreme Hegemony announce their plans to claim our dimension for their own in the midst of Central Park. Their plan is pretty straightforward by comic book standards: they plan on using their aptly named World Engines to fixate onto Earth’s orbit around the sun, slowing it down so that one side of the planet will be baked in eternal heat and the other will be subjected to eternal frozen darkness, effectively ending the day and night cycle of the planet as we know it. Naturally, this kind of thing doesn’t sit well with our heroes, who quickly arrive on the scene. Reed is able to deduce that these invaders come from a molten environment, and the F4 act quickly to respond.

Ben arrives with a well-timed cannonball in the park reservoir in an attempt to expose the villains to cool water, but they’ve done their research and gloat as much as the water does little to impede them. Susan directs Ben and Reed to focus on their World Engines as she and Johnny take the fight to the invaders themselves, which is a nice little reminder to those who may not realize it. You see, in this iteration of the team, it’s Susan who is the team leader, not Reed. It honestly shouldn’t be a big deal given Susan’s role as the maternal figure and soul of the team, but needless to say, some folks have had big feelings about it. I can assure you it’s more than fine, and while Reed may not lead the team in the field, he is every bit the brilliant scientist he’s always been, and certainly isn’t made lesser for it.

Susan Storm, leader of the Fantastic Four.

The invaders manage to repel the efforts of the Fantastic Four as Johnny and Susan are blasted away and Reed and Ben likewise have little luck in dismantling their apocalyptic doomsday machines. But while the First Fam is down momentarily, they are most assuredly not out. Susan takes charge and addresses Hegemony directly, formally introducing herself in a way that manages to annoy the invaders. She casually remarks that while their World Engines are impressive feats of science and engineering, they are ultimately useless given the power that the F4 possesses. To drive this point emphatically home, Susan boasts that she can stop the Earth from spinning all by her lonesome as the very Earth vibrates and audibly grumbles underneath the Hegemony’s feet. With a gesture, she then says she can restart or reverse Earth’s orbit as day suddenly turns into night and then back to day almost instantaneously. The Supreme Hegemony soon have to make a choice in the face of the Invisible Woman’s awesome power.

And they GTFO.

A Collaborative Effort?

If this was Dungeons and Dragons, Susan rolled a 20 on her Deception check.

Now, before people start flipping out over how broken Sue has become or the power creep of comics in general, upon the retreat of the Hegemony, we’re soon shown that Susan just bluffed the hell out of them. As her family asks her how she pulled that insane feat off, she reveals in kind it was essentially smoke and mirrors, albeit on a grand scale. Her force fields can bend light, and if used properly, can be used to make the Sun appear elsewhere in the sky or vanish altogether. Furthermore, by using force field-like cones to amplify sound, it was a simple enough task to shake the ground beneath their feet and use the cones to produce a roar-like effect. I love when characters use their powers in innovative ways beyond just blasting people, and this was one of them.

Here’s hoping Maria will become something of a likeable character again.

It’s not long after this that the team is approached by one Maria Hill, who states that her previous goals in reforming S.H.I.E.L.D. were ineffective. She no longer wants to focus on ways that superhumans may turn their powers against the rest of humanity and be reactive (and unfair), but instead claims she wants to work with superhumans standing alongside them to build a better world. Case in point, she wants the Fantastic Four to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. to turn the organization into a new version of the Future Foundation. Johnny rightfully asks Maria how can they possibly trust her, to which the former second-in-command of Nick Fury retorts with the fact that they’re trusting the F4 more than vice versa. After all, three of the team members can end all life on the planet (except Ben, who is noted to still be cool). Maria takes her leave, very much leaving the offer on the table for the team to mull over.

Intruder Alert and a Dire Message

Inside the Baxter Building, the whole family is enjoying a brief snack while debating on whether or not they can trust Maria and S.H.I.E.L.D. But before they can get closer to one decision or another, the alarms start going off, prompting the Fantastic Four to get to the bottom of things. They’re greeted by perennial F4 villain, the Wingless Wizard, who has somehow hacked into Reed’s security protocols, something that while shouldn’t be impossible for Wizard, is highly improbable. Despite the fact that the team seems to be in dire straits and Roberta and H.E.R.B.I.E have both been hacked and reprogrammed to destroy the F4, Reed seems pretty unbothered and level-headed, which is charming in its own way. Before Wizard can claim victory, however, he falls unconscious to knock-out gas as it’s revealed that Val and the other kids are responsible for saving the day, and in large part due to Wizard not taking into account just how formidable the children of the Fantastic Four really are.

Breaking into the Baxter Building happens frequently and yet, it’s almost always a terrible decision.

Having saved the day again (twice in one issue ain’t bad at all), the team attempts to piece together just how on Earth the Wizard was able to break through Reed’s encryption. Reed explains in detail just how illogical the whole thing was given how it would take millions of years to crack every layer, citing cryptology as the primary defense—pure math. He tells Franklin and Val that his level of encryption is so high that without the proper key, it would take eons for even the fastest computers to try every possible combination to decrypt his programming. The kids follow Mr. Fantastic down to the basement as he explains how computers can’t truly generate random results. He introduces them to his Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Randomness Generation Chamber, which is probably the most ridiculous name for equipment I’ve seen in a hot minute, but it’s so…Reed, and as such, fits.

Of course Reed Richards has this casually sitting in his basement.

The world’s smartest man explains how cosmic microwave background radiation is what you hear when you hear a radio tuned in to a dead station or a TV turned on a dead channel. It’s relic radiation left over from the Big Bang: billions of years old, inexhaustible, random, and omnipresent through all space in the entire universe. Whereas most computers rely on deterministic algorithms to produce wildly different outputs, it’s the cosmic background radiation that permeates the actual physical universe that truly produces random numbers.

That is, until it stops generating random results. Reed and Val are able to work out that the shift in the background radiation was what allowed Wizard to hack into his security, as the encryption wasn’t random anymore, but to do so would require literally reshaping the universe. Further inspection from Reed deduces that there is an actual message embedded into the background radiation of the universe, the very fabric of reality itself. And that message is from the Devourer of Worlds himself, Galactus. The message?

Find Susan Storm.

A Closer Look

Reed Richards was named the executor and trustee of Victor Von Doom’s final will and testament, as seen in the final issue of One World Under Doom.

Now, before I get into my thoughts on the issue as a whole, earlier in the article I did mention how this takes place after “One World Under Doom.” And given the proximity between the Fantastic Four and their greatest nemesis, as well as the shocking events that occurred in the final two issues, you would be forgiven for thinking that the series is going to immediately delve into the aftermath of the crossover event. But for some reason or another, the story opts to briefly mention the event itself in passing, a simple acknowledgment of the role the Fantastic Four played in the events leading up to Doctor Doom’s defeat. Given Ryan North is responsible for both the event and the Fantastic Four ongoing series, I presume this is by design as well.

While I did enjoy the event as a whole, I did feel it overstayed its welcome with the length of core issues and all the spin-off tie-ins. As such, I’m glad to see that he obviously hasn’t forgotten about the event, but does have plans for the team beyond just dealing with whatever machinations Doom has in store for the executor of his Final Will and Testament in the form of Reed. Still, given what happened to Val, I kind of expected some sort of check-up on her given she had “died” and now her infamous godfather was dead in her stead.

Moving onto the issue itself, I enjoyed the framing of Susan as both a crafty individual and the field leader of the team. In my review of the previous issue of Fantastic Four, I mentioned how I enjoyed seeing Susan use her powers in inventive ways, and this issue builds upon that. And as what appears to be the norm with F4 books going forward—in no small part thanks to North himself—Susan’s reputation as a doctor is again mentioned: a friendly reminder that Reed isn't the only smart person on the team. As I mentioned above, Susan’s portrayal doesn’t make Reed any less formidable or important to the team, and I like the dynamic between them as they effectively co-captain the team and extended family, but Susan takes the lead in the field as of now.

The Fantastic Four has three members who could end all life on the planet, but at least Ben is cool.

While I can’t say I trust Maria Hill any more than the team does, I do think that the Fantastic Four being more proactive is always a good thing in my book. I also got a kick out of her casually labeling ¾ of the team as potential planet killers, which is technically accurate. The Future Foundation was probably one of the best concepts in Fantastic Four within the past decade and some change so seeing it return in some fashion would be a welcome sight.

The whole cosmic background radiation explanation was novel and injects enough real science into the comic to make it feel plausible enough of an encryption method for a guy blasted with cosmic radiation that can now stretch his limbs to impossible lengths. I did feel the deep dive into the phenomenon went perhaps a panel or two longer than I would have liked, but I also feel that is less indicative of the story telling and more telling of who Reed is as a person. He loves science and the only thing he loves more than science (outside of his family) is teaching science.

We’ve seen some of the most “fantastic” art from Reed courtesy of Humberto Ramos.

Humberto Ramos again brings his signature style to the book (including the divisive ‘stache on Johnny that is still going strong). Whereas I felt the previous issue was kind of muted and less over the top given it was a fairly grounded, stand-alone story, this issue enables Ramos to really play with the Fantastic Four and their iconic abilities. And while they’re all depicted well, it’s Reed that always seems to shine brightest here. This and the previous run of North’s Fantastic Four really push the stretching and elasticity of Mr. Fantastic to the limits, and Ramos always manages to have at least one scene that shows just how innovative Reed’s stretching can be, and in turn, just how brilliant of an artist he is by being able to portray it on the page. Victor Olazaba and Edgar Delgado round out the art team on ink and colors, respectively, and the effort pays off.

Final Thoughts and Review

Johnny Storm, Herald of Galactus, as pictured from Mark Waid’s Fantastic Four run.

Given the revelation at the end of the issue, I can’t help but speculate and wonder if this arc may hearken back to an older F4 storyline back when Mark Waid was on the title. It was in that arc that it was revealed that Galactus sought out Susan Storm due to her powers and wished to make her a herald of his, bestowing upon her the Power Cosmic. But due to a mishap involving Johnny and Susan getting their powers switched, it was actually Johnny who was chosen, and with Susan’s powers augmented to the nth degree with the Power Cosmic, the Human Torch was transformed into the Invisible Man. With the power to bend light and reveal things that even Galactus’ cosmic awareness would miss, it stood little surprise just how valuable—and powerful—Susan’s power set would be if amplified with the Power Cosmic.

Given that Galactus sent a message directly intended for Susan herself, it begs the question if this is the route North is going in the form of a throwback? Perhaps, perhaps not. But when the name of the arc is titled the “Invincible Woman,” it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to assume Susan will be the beneficiary of a temporary cosmic boost. But even if that’s not the case, and the name of the current arc is a red herring or means something else entirely, it still showcases the great and deep history between Galactus and the Fantastic Four. After all, he vowed to Reed never to consume the Earth (even if he’s kind of reneged on this vow a few times) and he’s destined to become a friend to an adult Franklin Richards as they survive until the end of the universe. It stands to reason there’s a good explanation as to why he needs Susan to be found. All in all, this is a solid start to a brand new arc of the series.

I wouldn’t say that this issue is a game-changing entry by any means, but the further development of Susan as team leader is welcome, and who doesn’t like a good Galactus appearance in their Fantastic Four comics?

Final Review: 7/10

The book opts to briefly recognize the biggest (and longest) Marvel crossover event in recent memory and double down on moving things along in a mostly self contained manner, which is a welcome reprieve from said event that seemed to drag on a bit too long anyway. It’s too early to tell and this first issue moving forward is a bit safe, but it has all the promise of an engaging adventure featuring Marvel’s First Family.