Fantastic Four #13: The Dino and the Doctor

One universe isn’t big enough for two Dooms. Fortunately, there are two universes. For now. Fantastic Four #13 could be the end of both of them. North’s Fantastic Four run has done poignant and smart very successfully. Now it’s time to be fun–and maybe a little silly.

Ben arrives back in his own world as Fantastic Four #13 opens. He’s carrying a device that will swap the two Fantastic Fours back into their own universes and ultimately save both. Everything is set to go until Doctor Doom and Dino Doom interrupt. The two harnessed power from the interaction of both universes and fashioned it into a weapon capable of destroying any of the heroes who stand against them. The two Dooms’ plan is to combine the universes, ultimately creating one that is larger than both which they will rule together. And as unlikely as it seems, the two Ben Grimms are the only ones who stand in their way.

North has a lot of fun with this one. His Fantastic Four issues to the point have gone a little heavy: exploring characters, building up the family dynamic, and considering scientific concepts. Fantastic Four #13 is light on all of that. But it’s not to the issue’s detriment. The stakes and goal are obvious: get the dinosaurs back to their world and the Fantastic Four to ours. In accordance with one of the great comic book tropes, the dinosaurs and humans fight each other before becoming friends and facing Doom together.

The Dooms in Fantastic Four #13 are also in that lighter vein. They’re very arch. Their plan is literally universe-sized as is appropriate for a pair of Doctor Dooms. And their egos are truly indomitable. Four words sum up this issue from beginning to end: “Doom will be Doom.” And in the collection of Fantastic Four issues defined by that phrase, this is one of the best. The end of the issue is simultaneously logical and hilarious.

There is something poetic about Ben being smart enough to find the simple solution that no one else could.

Coello’s art is as strong as always. That said, he does have a strange tendency when drawing Ben, and it’s been the case now in several issues. Ben’s head frequently looks like it’s floating above his torso, especially when he’s depicted in profile. It’s not a glaring issue, but it is a strange choice.

The dinosaur designs in both this issue and the previous one are a lot of fun. But nothing beats Dino Doom. Coello’s design for the character is almost the opposite of Doctor Doom. Whereas the other dinosaur characters feel reasonable (despite being somewhat silly), DIno Doom is almost absurd in his full body armor. But in this case absurd works really well. He’s a good visual balance to the seriousness of Doctor Doom.

Fantastic Four #13 might be the most vivid issue yet (in a series that is already rich with color). Energy blasts fly about. Every dinosaur has a different look with different coloring. Aburtov’s work in this issue is as close to literally energetic as two-dimensional still art can be.

North’s script calls for more sound effects than is typical for the series. Caramagna makes almost every one of them visually explosive. His color choices are spot on in coordination with Aburtov’s own work.