Fantastic Four #9

After blitzing through my outstanding pull list comics, I've finally reached the end with Fantastic Four #9.

Bringing closure to the story Ryan North and Ivan Fiorelli started in issue 8, this instalment sees Sue, Alicia, Johnny and 'Flame-O' facing off against an enthralled Reed, Ben and many other townsfolk now serving the alien wood creature, Xargorr, who seeks to maintain her newly gained life on Earth.

Now, I was originally concerned when this issue opened that this was going to be yet another Ben-centric episode (something I felt kind of burned out on during the Slott run). However, North really turned the tables on me and produced yet another great issue which really resonated when I discovered that it was actually Alicia's time to shine.

I think that's what I loved most about this issue because, North really showed off Alicia's strengths and skills and kind of took the time to give anyone wondering (maybe myself included) why she was getting a main credit within the 'Fantastic Four' the reason behind her being a part of the team. This issue proves (even to me) that powers don't maketh the woman and she is a true member of the team, not a tag along.

Of course, that wasn't the only great part of this issue as North and Fiorelli also took the time to really showcase Johnny and Sue's power sets. While initially shown in the prior issue, I did like how Johnny really can go hardcore when the need arises with his Pyro-like powers. However, what I really loved was Sue's seemingly new power uses (I mean, I've never seen them in this book) which looks to be directly influenced by Mark Waid's Invisible Woman mini-series.

As for the art, Fiorelli's style continues to be one that I love and remains solid work, but I really enjoy the panels at the beginning which depict the FF's in-universe comic, as he not only provides the standard look throughout the issue, but also this 'fictional' look. These comics, while still looking amazing, are just different enough that it's easy to see they are the 'fiction' of the world.

While the issue was still slightly underwhelming compared to the first part (and given this was the same thought for the Pepose two-parter, making me wonder if this is a thing relating to two-parters?), this is still a 'fantastic' conclusion to a 'fantastic' story (and, yes, the puns were intended). I can't wait to see what happens next as we wait for the return of the kids.