FANTASTIC FOUR #11: Shenanigans!

“A Visit With the Fantastic Four”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Art Simek

“The Impossible Man”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Art Simek

We’ve only had ten issues of The Fantastic Four, but in every one they’ve been so busy fighting super-villains, we haven’t had a chance to get to know our heroes, to find out where they came from and what they like to do in their spare time. On the splash for the first story, Stan says this is “the type of story most requested by your letters and post cards.” In fact, we see one kid excited, because his letter is on the fan page!

Again I marvel at how much the creators took the time and effort not only to pay attention to what their readers wanted, but also to make a point of letting those readers know, “We’re doing this for you.” This had to feel like so much more than a simple comic book to Marvel’s young readers. This had to feel like a cooperative effort. I can’t think of a better way to get your customers to keep coming back than to say to them, “What do you want? Tell me what you want, and we’ll do it. For you.”

After a short sequence where the FF play around with some kids, Mr. Lumpkin the mailman brings the FF a sack of fan mail and they go through it, answering the questions that inquiring minds most want to know.

YANCY STREET GANG
We start with a joke about Thing and the Yancy Street Gang. You know, I don’t think I’ve actually met the Yancy Street Gang yet. I know they are periodically mentioned, solely for entertainment value, as a great source of irritation to Thing. I have no idea exactly what Thing’s beef is with the gang, and I guess it’s not actually that important. All that matters is that, as Thing puts it, “They’re always trying to get my goat!” And whenever they do, we always get a little chuckle out of Thing’s over-reaction.

BEN GRIMM
We have another instance of Reed trying a new formula to change Thing back to Ben Grimm…and it works! They’re all delighted with the results, and if you ask me, Sue is perhaps a little too delighted, hugging Ben with her foot in the air, calling him a “living doll” and moaning, “MMMMM MMM!”

But Reed is standing right there and doesn’t seem to mind…so who am I to complain?

So Thing gets to be Ben Grimm again, hanging about in his blue shorts, and of course, when you are at last restored to human form, what’s the one thing you most want to do? Sit around and rehash the past! Sure! For the next three or four pages we have a plethora of scalloped panels (including a few non-scallops on the bottom of page 7 that should have been scalloped), taking us back to when Reed and Ben meet in college, serve in the armed forces, and going on to a retelling of the origin story. I think this must be the third or fourth time we’re revisiting the origin story. I’m guessing that the FF title must be picking up new readers with each issue, and this re-telling is being repeated in an effort to be sure that everyone is up to speed.

But the conversation is not only about the past. We also stop to review the status of the Reed/Sue relationship. Apparently Sue is still confused by “the shadow of Sub-Mariner” and Reed resolves not to say anything else until she makes her decision, once and for all.

As if this dilemma is not enough to distress the only female member of our crew, Sue reveals that she has an additional heartache, brought on by the very fans who claim to idolize the FF.

It seems there were some fans—and it must have been a good number, if Stan thought it necessary to address the issue—who felt that Sue did not contribute enough, and that the other three would be better off without her. To which I immediately say… what?

HELLO! Haven’t you been paying attention? How many times has Sue saved their butts already? Because of her invisibility, she has tremendous access to areas a visible person could never easily go. Reed reminds the readers of how Sue helped out with the Skrulls, and how she freed the other three from an airless chamber. There are numerous other instances Reed doesn’t mention, probably because space did not permit. After all, they have only thirteen pages to get this story done.

In a nutshell, none of the other three would be alive today, if it weren’t for Sue! When I read this the first time, it flabbergasted me, and when I read it now again, it still flabbergasts me. What were those readers smoking, to even think something like this, never mind take the time to put pencil to paper and pop a ten cent stamp on an envelope? What a waste of paper and stamps!

One possible explanation occurs to me. This is, of course, the 1960’s, and the idea of women as super-heroines was still kind of new, and perhaps being met with some resistance. These allegations against Sue seem to be nothing more than a sexist opposition based totally upon prejudice and not upon fact. The little boys writing these letters wanted to see themselves as heroes, not their mothers and sisters and aunts. So they simply ignored the fact that Sue’s contribution was invaluable and launched a campaign to get her ousted from the FF.

Well, Reed wastes no time in setting these little boys straight. Well, actually, he does waste a bit of time, first going off on a tangent about Abraham Lincoln’s mother which I didn’t actually understand. Sue is neither Abraham Lincoln’s mother, nor anyone’s mother, for that matter. The main point that Reed’s trying to make here is that girls can provide a lot of “behind the scenes” support for the men who are the actual heroes. You know, when I think about it that way, Reed is also being sexist. If he only went that far, with the Abraham Lincoln mumbo-jumbo, I might have a beef with him, but then he lists those examples of Sue actively contributing to their adventures.

Ben gets so angry about the fans reaction to Sue that he yells, “If you readers wanna see women fight all the time, then go see lady wrestlers!” And as he yells, the magic potion evaporates and he changes back to Thing, the “gruesome gorilla.”

But we’re not done with Sue and sexist remarks yet. Suddenly an alarm sounds, and they rush into the flying saucer they kept from their adventures on Planet X and…

DUM DUM DA DUM!!!
A birthday cake! For Sue! Their “Favorite” partner. Sue is so choked up she doesn’t know what to say. And Thing jokes, “First time I ever heard a female admit a thing like that!” Well, okay. It’s mostly a joke, and only a little bit sexist. I can let that one go by.

Then, as they’re all enjoying cake, “Lumpy” the mailman arrives with another overflowing bag of fan mail!

And the Editor’s Note promises that “from time to time in future issues we shall attempt to pictorially comment on other letters from you…our valued fans!”

I look forward to future issues where we can take a break from all the world-saving and villain-bashing and relax at home with the FF. We get to see our heroes more relaxed at home—though, if they really wanted to relax, they should change out of those blue jumpsuits. We also get some additional information we didn’t know before.

Here are 10 Things You Might Not Have Known About the FF Before Issue #11:

1. Reed has been smoking a pipe at least since college
2. Ben played football in college—though I’m not sure what position…maybe Running Back?
3. Reed and Sue lived next door to each other as kids
4. Reed is a millionaire’s son
5. Ben was “from the wrong side of the tracks”
6. Ben served in the Marines during World War II
7. Reed worked behind the lines, underground, for the OSS
8. The FF keep a bust of Abraham Lincoln in their HQ
9. The FF kept the flying saucer from Planet X
10. Johnny gets fan mail from girls who want to “go steady” with him

And finally, this is probably my favorite panel from this entire story:

Take a moment to look and read, and see how much is going on in this one panel. Kids are mesmerized by the FF. The FF are kind to their fans, and enjoying their celebrity. Well, except for Thing. But that’s so in character. And what’s also in character is this image of the family, side by side, arm in arm, out for a stroll in their Sunday Best.

Ah! If only every moment could be this peaceful and serene for the Fantastic Four! But no! Where would the fun be in that? We would get bored, and so would they. So let’s move on to their next adventure…

But wait! Before we move on, we inexplicably have a “Pin-Up Page” for Prince Namor, the Mighty Submariner! Interestingly, Submariner is one word, not hyphenated, as we’ve seen before. Also, Namor seems to be standing in his underwater apartment, which features television, books, fishing net curtains, a coffee table with seahorses as legs, some sort of dead-looking sea-flora ornamentation, and the “largest pearl in existence—blasted loose by Submariner from a 30 foot clam!” Admittedly, except for the TV and books, you don’t have any of these things in your house. Oh yes! And did I mention the prow of a sunken vessel? It’s all rather chic, actually. Still, I don’t think HGTV is going to be signing up Namor to host a decorating show any time soon.

THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN
But I’m not here to talk about Submariner (or Sub-Mariner), because as soon as we turn the page on the Namor Pin-Up we find that the FF have come back from their short break of answering fan mail and eating birthday cake and are now ready to take on the latest menace to society—the Impossible Man!

It’s a good name, don’t you think? The idea of the “impossible” conjures up all sorts of possibilities. But in fact, the Impossible Man is nothing more than an immature shape-shifter from outer space. With a “Pop!” he can instantly “evolve” into any form that suits his purposes. He knows nothing of earth customs or etiquette, and that contributes to his “Impossible” status as much as his shape-shifting.

The world is exasperated by the antics of the Impossible Man and nobody can figure out how to deal with him, until finally the brilliant brain of scientist Reed Richards comes up with the answer: ignore him. The Impossible Man is an intergalactic child who craves attention. When he doesn’t get it, he becomes frustrated and bored, calls them all a bunch of “Soreheads,” and leaves.

Wow. Could it really be that simple? Yes, it is.

One question remains though: is the Impossible Man really a child, or does he just act like one? And if he is a child, what might happen if he comes back to earth…this time bringing Mom and Pop with him? Would they have that same “I think I’m going to like it here!” attitude as their son initially did? If not, we could be in for some real trouble. Shape-shifting could be a dangerous power if wielded by cunning and conniving aliens.

But for the moment, this tale of the Impossible Man was little more than a diversion with a few moments of fun and imagination. I don’t think people are going to be talking a whole lot about the Impossible Man years into the future. I don’t see Joss Whedon making another Marvel movie any time soon with the Impossible Man as the villain. Well, unless it’s a comedy… or maybe a musical comedy….sort of like Dr. Horrible…

Hmmmm…..

Anyway, the Impossible Man is uncontrollable and unpredictable, but he’s not really evil. He is, at best, a distraction. However, the splash doesn’t treat him as such.

Notice the bold proclamation “At last The Fantastic Four meet a foe whose power is even greater than their own!” I think Stan was being mighty generous to the Impossible Man on this splash. But of course, it’s statements like this that sell comics. Who would buy if we were promised “The FF ignore a spoiled brat from outer space.” Well, I might buy it, if I had twelve cents, because that statement would be so different than all the other statements that come out of “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” and my curiosity would surely get the best of me.

MASTERWORKS
I read “The Impossible Man” in Marvel Masterworks, Volume 6: The Fantastic Four. I’ve mentioned the Masterworks before. They’re a great place to get your Marvel comics on clean tight pages, in living color. Another advantage of the Masterworks is that Stan Lee provides introductory remarks at the beginning of each volume, and if you thought his writing style was amusing in the comics, then you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

I was going to try to paraphrase what Stan said about his experience in introducing the Impossible Man, but why do that when his own words are so descriptive? Here’s Stan:

Now I’d like to share a little secret with you.

I don’t stumble often, but when I do I really fall flat on my face. Perhaps my biggest tumble had to do with one of the FF’s most offbeat villains, the Impossible Man. Personally, I loved the guy. I thought he was one of my cleverest creations. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a villain like him.

Well, that’s what I thought. The outraged hordes of Marveldom thought differently, and told me so in no uncertain terms. The mail poured in. The phone calls clogged our switchboard. Everyone swore I had gone off my rocker. In a way, it was a worthwhile experience. It should have taught me humility. It’s a pity that it didn’t! I still like the pinhead from the planet Popup. It’ll be fun to see what you think.

There you have it, folks, in Stan’s own words, a brief look into history. There’s lots more “behind the scenes” kinds of information in these Marvel Masterworks, so if you’re not already familiar with them, I would strongly encourage you to check them out!

As for what I think of the Impossible Man, Stan might be interested to know that I didn’t hate him, like so many of the readers of the day apparently did. He is, indeed, “offbeat,” and that’s fine for a diversion, but I’m interested in getting back to the real villains, in real stories of drama and heroics that show the FF in their best possible light, working together to save the world, despite what might sometimes seem to be nearly impossible odds.

After the Impossible Man goes back to his home planet, Johnny mentions that he’s gone….forever. Well, I don’t know about that. Nobody’s really gone “forever” in the Marvel Universe. We may have to deal with the Impossible Man again, but until then, there are plenty of other stories to capture our imaginations.

Next time, in The Marvelous Zone, we’ll journey into the mysterious workings of the female mind, when the marvelous imaginings of the fantastic are replaced by the mundane fantasies of the domestic. Intrigued? Confused? Stay tuned!

Want to read this comic on your computer? Marvel has a scan! Want to own this story? Buy the Masterworks!