by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief

This creative team didn’t just stick the landing. They rebuilt the launchpad midair, kicked gravity in the teeth, and made a formerly gag-character robot ghost-punch the Big Bang. Fantastic Four #33 is the kind of fantastic finale that reminds you why this team and this book still matter. 

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Official Description:
It all comes down to this! Thirty-three issues of fantastic adventure culminate in a final stirring adventure, back to the beginning…of EVERYTHING. When the solution to what Doom did to Ben can only be found in the past, the Fantastic Four must voyage back four hundred and thirty-six quadrillion seconds into the Big Bang! Of course, the tremendous energies there make it unsurvivable – unless H.E.R.B.I.E. is in control of the precise timing required. Action, adventure and big ideas collide in this special finale issue – which leads into our even more special new #1 issue, coming next month!

Previously on Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm is still depowered thanks to one of Doom’s patented “I win even when I lose” stunts, and because of this, Reed is quietly unraveling, and Sue and Johnny are losing their powers as well. Valeria’s solution? Harvesting cosmic radiation by sending a talking trash can to T‑minus-everything. It’s exquisite science: Science so dumb it loops around and becomes genius again. That’s the sweet spot Ryan North has carved out during his run: absurd logic, airtight character work, and enough emotional gut-punches to make you hug your Roomba.

This issue is so full of love, you may try and rework “Four Hundred and Thirty-Six Quadrillion” into that song from Rent. It kinda works if you include “seconds”.

Look, I didn’t have “weep for H.E.R.B.I.E.” on my 2025 comics bingo card, but here we are. North writes the little guy like a neurotic Starfleet ensign and a Buddhist monk rolled into one metal egg. I was kinda worried the whole time that he was going to turn against the FF, but no. His journey from comic-relief sidekick to cosmic hero hits harder than it has any right to. And no, I’m not crying, it’s just… baryons. In my eyes.

When we say goodbye to him in those final pico seconds of his existence, it lands. Because this run, for all its big ideas, never forgot the small ones. That family isn’t defined by genetics or proximity, it’s defined by love. And occasionally, one self-sacrificing A.I. 

Cory Smith’s pencils and Wayne Faucher’s inks have been solid throughout the run, but here? They are cooking. Splash pages of the early universe burst with chaos and color, perfectly complemented by Jesus Aburtov’s palette of golds and reds. The quiet panels hit just as hard: Ben watching his family risk it all for him? Silent masterstroke. Reed explaining how little can be done in such short a span? Brutal in the best way.

Also, shoutout to the sound effects team VC’s Joe Caramagna. The moment the universe says “KRAKOOOOM,” I felt that.

While it’s unspoken this issue, Marvel Earth is still living in “One World Under Doom”. Even in his absence, Doom’s fingerprints loom large. It’s North’s invisible mic-drop: the real “villain” of this arc isn’t some space god or negative zone despot. It’s Doom’s legacy of damage. Personal, psychological, irreversible… until it isn’t. And when Ben finally feels the cosmic charge crawl back under his rocky skin? You want to stand up and cheer. Or maybe just punch something really, really gently.

Gah, speaking of punching, I would really like Marvel to stop renumbering. Can we please go back to permanently using the legacy numbers? Please? Arrgh. 

So now we have yet another FF reset-slash-finale? Yes, this is technically the final issue of the current run. Just make no mistake, this is not a goodbye. It’s a reboot in disguise. Powers are back. Relationships are healed. And the Four? They’re Fantastic again. North leaves the board clean but charged, like he just handed the Fantasticar keys to the next writer with a full fuel cell. 

Oh wait, it’s still Ryan North next month? Sneaky. And drawn by one of our favorite artists, Humberto Ramos? Fine, I’m still going to read this every month, but I will still whine about the renumbering every time I review it. 

Ryan North didn’t just write a love letter to The Fantastic Four, he dropped it in a time capsule, shot it into the origin of the universe, and let a sentient love toaster deliver it by hand. Fantastic Four #33 is clever, heartfelt, and completely, unapologetically weird. In other words, it’s exactly what this team should be.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Fantastic Four #33 – 5 out of 5 Fantastic Finales. The best goodbye that feels like a new beginning. This latest FF run ends not with a bang, but with beautiful daddy-daughter time discussing how love saved—nay, created—the universe. 

Please take a moment to FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE to our updated ComicsOnline social channels.
We appreciate your support!

INSTAGRAM – COMICSONLINE
THREADS – COMICSONLINE
BLUESKY – COMICSONLINE
YOUTUBE – COMICSONLINE
FACEBOOK – COMICSONLINE

Keep spreading love in the universe with ComicsOnline.com for more comics, more reviews, and everything geek pop culture!