Fantastic Four #10 – Earth Versus The Invincible Woman

Malice has been unleashed. The Fantastic Four have encountered a near impervious version of Sue Richards. Dubbed the Invincible Woman who destroyed her own universe, she seeks to force this universe’s Sue to unleash her full potential and realize her power as the strongest member of the Fantastic Four. As the Sue that feels no pain battles the Sue of this universe, New York has come under alien attack with Franklin and Valeria Richards leading the charge!

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Shawn!

Creative Team

Writer: Ryan North
Penciler: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Color Artist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

Writing

One thing I continue to enjoy about Ryan North’s run on Fantastic Four is his ability to blend the old and the new. “Earth is under attack” feels like just such a classic Fantastic Four line and I love that it serves as an opening salvo to this final issue in the Invincible Woman arc. I appreciate that North continues to give the Richards kids a moment to shine. The tie in to Will of Doom was a nice touch and helped the narrative of the story. As powerful as Valeria and Franklin are, North continues to remind us that they’re still growing and still learning alongside their famous parents. Valeria’s brilliant plan was a good example of that.

This entire Invincible Woman arc has been really enjoyable. Sue is such a special part of the Fantastic Four and I’ve really enjoyed North highlighting not only her power, but what it could look like if she lacked restraint. “With great power comes great responsibility” may be from Spider-Man but North is showing why that is true for all of our heroes in the Marvel Universe not just ole Peter Parker. For those who know me, it’s no secret that Ben Grimm is my favorite member of the Fantastic Four and he genuine affection for “Susie” has been front and center for this arc. With the end of this arc, North continues to remind us why his name will be in the lexicon among other greats in Fantastic Four history.

Art

I was really excited when I saw the creative team of Humberto Ramo, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado taking on this iteration of North’s Fantastic Four run. What I never expected was that we would be treated to an arc featuring killer body horror art. That’s really been the highlight of the art in this arc. We see some truly mind blowing and at times grotesque alterations of hero’s bodies through the powers of this alternate universe Sue.

It starts with just beautiful line work from Ramos. We are only ten issues in, and Ramos is already crafting some of the best line work we’ve see in a Fantastic Four comic book.Utilizing Sue’s Malice form for her alternate universe version has let Olazaba do some crazy work with shading and inks.

Edgar Delgado brings it all together with an awesome color palette that gives us being moments. Joe Caramagna gets a chance to shine on the VFW work and makes the art and writing blend effortlessly.

Final Thoughts

The Invincible Woman arc is honestly one of the most enjoyable arcs I’ve read in a while but definitely one of the top Fantastic Four arcs I’ve read. Using Earth’s other heroes in meaningful ways to battle alternate universe Sue was brilliant. This series has shown Sue’s true power is not her cosmic provided power but her ability to show restraint. This is a satisfying and fun series with a great creative team.

Overall Grade: 10/10

Did you enjoy the Invincible Woman story arc? Let me know in the comments below