Fantastic Four #5: A Weak Tale of Friendship

Fantastic Four #5 is a departure from the series’ typical storytelling qualities. North doesn’t lean on any established science or even theory. Nor does he center the story on relationships within the team and their larger family. Fantastic Four #5 instead centers on Sue’s relationship with a guest character.

There are essentially two stories at work in Fantastic Four #5. The seemingly more important of the two is the character drama between Sue and Felicia. The nuts and bolts plot that that drama gives rise to is a detective story. North has put Sue front and center as a leader and problem solver many times during his Fantastic Four run, and he makes good use of her here as a criminal investigator. The mystery is also a well-conceived one. Though it’s extremely unlikely the reader will make the logical leaps Sue does and solve the mystery before she does, North does put the clues out where the reader can see them. The solution isn’t one that Sue invents based on knowledge the reader has no access to.

This detective plot outshines the character story between Sue and Felicia in Fantastic Four #5. It’s surprising given North’s felicity with character development. The character angle largely boils down to Sue discovering the virtue of friendship and not pre-judging people. The simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it’s delivered in such a way that Sue comes off as lacking in self-awareness.

Ramos’s art in Fantastic Four #5 doesn’t effectively service either of these characters. Indeed, during one exchange Felicia and Sue’s faces are nearly identical; the characters are distinguished largely by hair colors–not style as their hair is also very similar. Their expressions are also quite broad and lacking in nuance. To the extent that North’s character story works in a narrative sense, however weak by this series’ high standards, it is undermined by the wide eyes and over-collagened lips of all three female characters (Sue, Felicia, and Alicia).

The remainder of Ramos and Olazaba’s work is sharp. They use crisp lines for folds and detail rather than excessive shading. The brief action sequence in the latter half of the issue is effective, giving the detective story a fun energy to close it out.

Delgado’s brighter color scheme for Fantastic Four #5 is a strong complement for Ramos’s overall style. It doesn’t do much to uplift Ramos’s relatively weak work where Sue and Felicia are concerned. Indeed, the two women seem strangely shiny on top of their other visual shortcomings. But it’s effective elsewhere, especially during the brief action sequence late in the issue.

Sue’s point of view moves Fantastic Four #5 along. Caramagna uses a light gray font on a pale background for the caption boxes containing Sue’s internal monologue. It’s an effective contrast to Delgado’s color scheme, but light enough that it isn’t the best choice for a large amount of text.