Fantastic Four (2025-) #1

by Ryan North, Humberto Ramos (Cover Art)

A NEW ERA FOR MARVEL'S FIRST FAMILY! The FANTASTIC FOUR return with a new issue #1, kicking off a whole new volume of their adventures through time, space, science and the human condition! When the Fantastic Four take on Doom, things go well until they suddenly go catastrophically wrong - and they're sent to four different eras in Earth's history! Alone and isolated in wildly different time periods, Reed, Johnny, Ben and Sue all have to fight to survive. Their only hope is to reach the Forever a mass of dense granite that happens to be one of the longest-lasting rocks on the planet, which - through a combination of obscurity and raw geological luck - has stayed both intact and accessible for most of Earth's history! Also featured in this extra-big, extra-special Ben Grimm fights a dinosaur! No other comic DARES to feature the Thing battling several Mapusauruses, but that's just where WE get started! And it's all brought to life by the incredible new series artist Humberto Ramos!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Science Fiction, Adventure, Comic Book

29 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 9, 2025

About the author

Hi, I'm Ryan! I was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and since then have written several books. You can read my Wikipedia page for more, or check out my author site at RyanNorth.ca!

I'm the author of the webcomic Dinosaur Comics (that's the comic where the pictures don't change but the words do, it's better than it sounds and I've also done crazy things like turn Shakespeare into a choose-your-own-path adventure, write a comic for Marvel about a girl with all the powers of a squirrel, or mess up walking my dog so badly it made the news.

I'm working on more stuff as we speak, hopefully it's good

Reviews

[Machiavelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read Fantastic Four #1 (Legacy #727, also #34 in 2022 run) by Ryan North and Humberto Ramos — and I was hooked from page one. The intro is fast and clean, the action hits hard, and there’s a wild time travel twist that completely pulled me in. The pacing is spot on, the art is dynamic and expressive, and the story balances big ideas with strong character work. This was so good — 5 stars and I can’t wait for the next issue.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was fun. a fun start to a new series. honestly, I'd just give 4 stars to Johnny Storm's mustache alone. what a fun creative choice for him :)

[Myles Gerber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[Hannah Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5/5

[Madison Head · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidentally bought this. Thought it was something else. Interesting start to a new series. Their solution is really funny and unfortunate for them.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

You CANNOT be doing this to me for my FIRST fantastic four comic, this is brutal! But omg I am so sorry to the invisible woman, I was not familiar with your game. I’ve always understood that she has been the heart of the team to really understand and bring everyone together, but I had no clue she could make mech suits out of her force fields!! That is so OP! But as I alluded at the start, this is not all fun and games with the fantastic four, pretty quickly they are thrown into the action. I don’t read a lot of marvel b Jr I’m verbally aware that emperor doom is sorcerer supreme now or something…so fighting him doesn’t seem like the best idea. And it proves not to be as they do her to knock him around a bit…only for Doom to throw all of them throughout time!

But of course the fantastic four have a plan in case this happens, and tech in their suits to help guide them. That doesn’t entirely help in Johnny’s situation, as he immediately finds himself on Earth before life evolved and the atmosphere barely has 20% levels of oxygen. He can’t become flame or breath of there isn’t any oxygen, but he soon finds that the rust in the ground can be super heated to release oxygen! It’s still not going to save him, but it’s just the oxygen boost Johnny needs to continue the contingency plan…get to the forever stone! Turns out the fantastic four know of a stone throughout time that has stayed there for everywhere they have recorded it. So if they are lost in time all they have to do is find the stone, then mark the exact time their suit computer gives them…then wait for pickup!

Johnny got to his forever stone, let’s check in on Ben who is having a fun time trying not to get ripped apart by Dino’s after dropping into their period. No clue how chomping at rocks can be tasty, but I think Ben is able to punch himself away without changing time to much. He is able to find the forever stone, but unlike Johnny slowly dying of oxygen deprecation…I think Ben has a bit more pressing matters with the Dino’s that have surrounded him!

Reed is teleported to 1266 CE and is able to glide away from a major battle to avoid any historical mishaps and then go on a small journey to reach the forever stone. Reed is able to see where Johnny and Ben made their marks…which means it’s all up to Sue to get them out. But that may be a little easier said than done, as Sue found herself on Earth millions of years in the future right before the sun collapses and consumes the world. It’s already heated up to evaporate all of the world’s oceans, and Sue has to restrict the spectrum of heat passing into her to stop from burning up.But other than all of those terrible things…she also can’t locate the forever stone. They didn’t map out where it was this far into the future as there is nothing here! So if there is no way back…then that means her entire family is dead and she will be joining them!! WHAT?! That’s how the first issue ends and I have to wait a month to see what happens!! You’re killing me!!

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting start to this "new run" of the series. The artwork is okay although it is weird to see Reed turning his hands into shovels, hammers, and chisels - I have never thought him capable of doing that - perhaps Ryan North introduced that ability in his "prior" run? and has some interesting images such as Sue wearing her forcefield like mech-armor. Unfortunately for me, this story ties directly into the One World Under Doom storyline that I have not been following, but at the same time, all that really matters is what happens in this issue Doom sends the four heroes back in time, and they must find a McGuffin called "the Forever Stone" to reunite and fight.

That is a crazy image of the dinosaur not only biting Ben's arm but actually wounding him as its teeth catches one of his .... I am not sure how to describe it, but a tooth catches an "indention" in Ben's arm and nearly tears a piece of his rocky hide off of his arm. I do not think I have ever seen that before. I think, in retrospect, that maybe the Hulk hit Ben hard enough to knock some of his skin loose in a prior issue a few years ago? And then you had the Ultimate issue where Ben is able to revert to human form and "pops off" part of his hardened skin for Sue to study and remember him by. In any case, that was a crazy image and part of me would love to see a longer sequence of Ben fighting the carnivores for survival.

Sue calls herself the leader of the Fantastic Four. I have always thought and assumed Reed was the "leader" since he has always been referred to as such (and Sue has more than once bridled at their relationship taking the backseat to his being a scientist and leader of the team). The only time I can think of when this change occurred was when everybody believed Reed had been killed by Doom back when (volume 01 issue 381) and Sue took over leading the team. But when they discovered Reed was still alive and brought him back to Earth, he took over leadership of the team. It seems like this was done to make the comic more in line with the new Fantastic Four movie where Sue is presented as the leader of that team.

The author states this storyline is a continuation of his prior run, so now I want to go back and find those issues to read, hahahah! We'll see if that actually happens. In any case, this is an interesting start to this new volume and we shall see how the story progresses. I suspect some changes were made to make this new volume more in line with the movie (such as the intro of Johnny's being "single and ready to mingle" quite reminiscent of how he is introduced in the movie as being very single and very available).

Overall, I will leave it as 3 stars (2.7 rounded up) due to its interesting beginning. We shall see if this momentum is maintained throughout the series or not.

[Scratch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very reluctant four stars. More like 3.5, because of the change in artists.

Look, Ryan North's last run of Fantastic Four was freakin' amazing. My favorite, aside from the fact I grew up on Tom DeFalco's run of Fantastic Four in the early-to-mid-90s, so have strong nostalgia love for that era. In terms of quality storytelling? Ryan North knocks it out of the park. He does an amazing job of telling very full, satisfying stories within a limited page count. He makes each member of the team feel like a real person, and I feel comforted hanging out with the FF.

Humberto Ramos, however, is my least favorite comic book artist. He always draws humans with his weird, misshapen proportions. Regular humans always look like they're melting. I can't stand it.

Why did we start a new volume of Fantastic Four that keeps the same amazing writer, and subs in an absolutely awful artist? Why couldn't we have kept the previous volume of Fantastic Four going? I never actually bothered to learn the name of the artist we had before, but his work was so good/serviceable I didn't feel the need to look him up. Whoever he was, I miss him. Please bring back the old artwork. Please bring Humberto Ramos behind the woodshed.

[luciddreamer99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story manages to be a One World Under Doom crossover without interfering too much with that event, and that's a brave move as North is the writer on that series, too. The story works as an FF adventure, though. Introducing a very interesting new-to-me story element to the team's adventures, the idea manages to be intriguing and believable for the team at the same time. Ramos's art is usually cartoonish in style (though that's not necessarily a bad thing for a comic book art style), though his art seems to be a little reigned in here, in a good way. The best artists adapt their styles over time, and to the series they're drawing, so maybe Ramos is changing things up for the FF. The result is a pretty good comic that I will likely continue to read. Recommended for fans of North's FF, and FF fans in general.

[Sam Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great issue of Ryan North’s FF, but I’m not sure that I love it as a new #1, honestly mostly because I’m left wanting more and have to wait a whole month for it. I think I sort of wanted this to be a self contained story in just one comic like the best issues of North’s previous run are, but this is very obviously at least a two parter.. great cliffhanger at the end, I shouldn’t be complaining at all actually, it’s really fantastic. Also, I’m usually not at all a fan of Humberto Ramos’ art style, but here he’s in such top form that I really don’t mind it at all. It suits the family friendly tone North is going for here well but I still would prefer a more realistic style.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan’s little note at the end where he says he writes FF with the intention that any issue could be someone’s first issue so it makes zero sense to make it so convoluted and that the FF are the types of heroes who bring a protractor to a gun fight ❤️

I also love that Johnny has never been a dumbass in Ryan’s runs. He’s always smart enough to make choices and form connections. You have to be when you’ve known Reed Richards for over half your life and your sister is Sue Storm. And that mustache! Thank the lord it is still here

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75
North's FF is very hit or miss for me, with mostly missing. But[ I have also enjoyed his One World Under Doom event.

In this issue, he had Doom say no one dared laid a hand on him since he became Emperor Doom, which is not even close to true.

I also don't like that their powers can become basically whatever they need for any given situation. Like the Bat-utility belt. Creativity with their abilities is good. But Reed turning his hands in a hammer and chisel is stupid.

The story is fine, as is the par for North FF.

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a new beginning, no I don’t think this could be called that. What it is, though is a great story. Every member of the FF is in trouble and there is no easy way to fix that. Sue has the unenviable position of being lost towards the end of the world, but shouldering the fate of the Four. Can’t wait for the next issue.

[Emmanuel Jamir · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was initially confused as to why johnny storm had a mustache, but then i found out that this is a continuation of ryan north’s 2022 run—this is more like issue #34. i went back to binge all six volumes of the 2022 run to get up to speed.

either way, i like what i’ve read so far and i’m on track to catch up right as we get into the new malice arc!

[Andy Waldron · Rating 5 out of 5]

putting aside my annoyance at marvel renumbering this series FOR NO REASON, ryan north is still firing on all cylinders. and ramos is killing it on interiors. looking forward to at least 4 more FF #1s from mr. north in the future

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent start. I enjoyed the premise of each character being sent to a different time and the tension at the end has me excited for issue 2. The art and colors are really good here too. This feels like a set up but a good one.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars. Very good. Ryan North know how to tell a story, which is something he's demonstrating on Under Doom. I believe Ryan North will do a lot more great things for Comics in the next 10 years and hopefully beyond.

[Brian D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome new start

Just in time for the movie as well! As an FF fan for over 50 years, these newer sites have been impressive, and this one starts with a bang. Read it!

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE UNCOMMON ERA
July 2025

pretty much to the point #1....Doc/Emperor Doom sends the FF back...way back in time ..on seperate paths.
I'm intrigued but not convinced..yet.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad.

A lot of fun. I had lots of fun reading this. Its not bad at all. Give it a try.

[Powerman61 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great start to another volume of the Fantastic Four.
Artwork and storyline is a work in progress.
It's going to be interesting to see how the story plays out.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that’s the most stressed I out I’ve been reading a comic in quite awhile 😅

[grace ⧗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love the premise of this run so far!! cannot wait for the next issue! i love when sue takes the lead on anything so im excited! <3

[⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ kyra ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars ⭐️

[Alex Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was dope !!

[Norrin Shearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan North nails it once again. I LOVE his understanding of these characters. This is such a fun setup to a new adventure. Also, I really enjoyed Ramos’ art. I usually do, and this was no exception.

[grimbamreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5


even apart, the fantastic four prove to be versatile, intelligent, and above all care about each other. great first issue