Fantastic Four #16

 "The fools! They live in peace! They are contented and happy! But I'll soon put a stop to that!"

This issue is, obviously, bonkers. I mean, a tiny sub-atomic kingdom? An incredibly credulous society that Doom easily conquers due to their naivete? And, yes, a cover that proclaims a "special surprise guest star at the same time as announcing blatantly that it's Ant-Man.

Fascinating, is it not, that all Marvel crossovers so far have involved the Fantastic Four, who have interacted with the Hulk, Spider-Man and now Ant-Man. Will we get any crossovers not involving the FF any time soon? Still, I fear for Ant-Man. The Hulk's title was cancelled soon after he appeared in Fantastic Four #12. Can Ant-Man's tenure in Tales to Astonish be coming to an end? It would be such a terrible shame...! 

And, awkwardly, this issue is really rather good, and shows the FF, who finally seem to be morphing into explorers rather than crime fighters, to be better in stories involving shrinking than a certain Henry Pym. Ouch. I suppose he can console himself with the fact that Sue apparently fancies him... after earlier declaring that they "can't ever be sure that he really exists". First Hulk, now Ant-Man... the FF seem to be perennial sceptics when it comes to the existence of other super powered individuals.

This is a fun little romp, ending with the Thing literally batting away the invasion fleet of the Lizard Men of Tok, which is not a sentence I ever imagined myself typing. I'm enjoying Fantastic Four... and, oh goody, the next title in the Order is the next issue.