Eradikus might not be the name of the team’s next big threat, but the design hasn’t changed. Visually, the similarities between The Griever and Astronomica are striking. Both are lithe, blue aliens with seemingly feminine traits. The dark lips and draped back grab also hint at similarities without being overt. Astronomica is also depicted as being roughly of human height in Fantastic Four #1, which lines up with what we know of the Griever from Humberto Ramos’ variant. So, visually, they’re extremely similar.

While that’s a compelling enough argument on its own, there are some extra details outside of Fantastic Four #1 that hint at Astronomica’s ulterior motives. One of those clues actually comes in the form of Dan Slott’s own clarification about The Griever’s name. At the time, Slott couldn’t reveal that the villain’s name was The Griever, likely because the reveal was being held for Comic-Con. He could only say that it wasn’t Eradikus. He chose to do so through song. Specifically, Slott quoted the Bob Dylan song “Brownsville Girl” with the lyrics: “The only thing we knew for sure about Henry Porter/Is that his name wasn’t Henry Porter.”

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The lyrics themselves likely don’t have a lot to do with the Griever, but it would be a curious coincidence for such a meaningful statement to be delivered in song when, in the first issue of Fantastic Four, a character who looks a great deal like a teased villain plays a pivotal part in the story via song. In roughly the same vein, it’s worth noting that the villain’s name, the Griever, may be linked to song. While the concept of song is typically associated with happiness, dance and other such positive feelings, song can also be a tool of mourning — grief. It might be that we meet Astronomica in Fantastic Four #1 before some terrible fate has befallen her, causing her to take on the persona of the Griever, a villain who uses song as a deadly weapon. Or, maybe she has been bad all along and playing the long con.

This is all just theory, and Astronomica might end up being nothing more than a strange footnote in Fantastic Four history, but it is worth asking, if that’s the case, why exactly is this story in Fantastic Four #1? Sure, it’s a good, fun yarn about the Fantastic Four in their heyday, but it also plays a crucial, though subtle, role. Astronomica left the piece of her Stellarex Stone — the name of which could be linked to a cosmic Captain Marvel villain from the ‘70s named Stellarax, who also wielded a deadly mace — that powers her scepter behind on Earth with the Fantastic Four, in case they got lost again.

According to Ben, Astronomica said that by using the stone fragment they would be able to find their way home. At recalling these words, Ben has an epiphany and slots the stone into a wedding ring that he uses to propose to Alicia. From a story perspective, that stone must be more than just a sign of Ben’s undying love for his longtime girlfriend. It would be all too fitting if the tool that helped the Fantastic Four return to Earth years ago was actually the means to their eventual undoing. It might be Astronomica — The Griever — who triggers the first blow.