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Fantastic Four #16 takes a break from the monthly Fantastic Four science lesson for a monthly science lesson starring the kids of the Fantastic Four. It doesn’t go well.
Is Fantastic Four #16 Good?
For the love of Pete, could we get a Fantastic Four story that either wraps around a scientific concept presented accurately or a Fantastic Four story that springboards off the idea of a scientific precept without misrepresenting it? In Fantastic Four #16, you get neither, and you don’t get the Fantastic Four, so we may have to wait a while.
When last we left the Fantastic Four, they foiled an A.I. called MetaMind, who somehow gained sentience through a social media app. Before its creator destroyed MetaMind, the A.I. sent a signal into deep space in the hope of finding like-minded life. Oh, and the Baxter Building finally returned with the kids after a year-long absence.
Now, the Fantastic Four are no longer welcome in New York, so they move the whole family to Arizona (all of this happens between issues and off-panel). The kids start their first day of school by choosing to wow their teacher by making one of the famed scientist Robert Boyle’s uninvented inventions come true – a universal solvent. Of course, the kids succeed but fail to account for a method of containing a solvent that can eat through anything. Hijinks ensues.
Consistent with the entire run, North uses this issue as a thinly veiled science lesson with a little history thrown in for good measure. What’s the problem? Also consistent with the entire run, North accurately presents the idea of a universal solvent but does it in a way that negates the principles of solvents. Because so much of the story is focused on the science lesson(s), the story part of the issue feels like a series of shortcuts to make the science lesson work.
Why doesn’t the science lesson work? Solvents are not infinite. They can only dissolve in an equal ratio to the amount of solvent and material it dissolves, so the dissolving effect eventually runs out. If, however, the kids had created a solvent that replicates with the material it dissolves, the amount of destruction would be exponential, not linear. In short, North presents the idea but incorrectly, so the whole strategy of wrapping an FF adventure around a beneficial science lesson becomes moot. Oy!
What’s great about Fantastic Four #16? As much as I’m criticizing North’s strategy for this issue, the kids are amusing. When you take a collection of youngsters who are aliens, super geniuses, and more, and put them in a typical public school setting, you’re bound to see some humorous hijinks.
What’s not so great about Fantastic Four #16? This issue was an opportunity for North to reset the series after the weird year-long road trip designed to waste time while the Baxter Building was displaced from Time. Instead, we get a Fantastic Four-free issue with bad science. At some point, somebody from Marvel Editorial needs to step in and get a handle on this title. It’s not a silly YA book, so stop treating it like one.
How’s the art? No arguments, no complaints. Francesco Mortarino’s art style looks great. Ben Grimm looks oddly smooth and shiny, but everything else concerning the visual style is fantastic.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Fantastic Four #16 is a strange way to kick off the next volume in the series because you get a Fantastic Four-free issue focused on the kids’ first day of school in a new state. Ryan North’s strategy of creating a thin story wrapped around a science lesson doesn’t quite work because the science is poorly presented, but at least the kids are amusing in a fish-out-of-water kind of way.
6/10
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