FANTASTIC FOUR #16: Bad Things Come in Small Packages, Too

Published: July, 1963

I think it’s hysterical when Henry Pym gets really, really small so he can fight crime. I especially love the way he gets small first, then catapults himself across the city to the scene of the crime or danger. Like…why not just take a bus, wouldn’t it be faster? But no. With Ant-Man, every molehill has to be a mountain. These tiny dramas strike me as somewhat ridiculous, but oh, what fun!

And now the fun is increased fourfold, because our blue-clad heroes are forced into serving as diminutive do-gooders. I have no problem with the FF adapting to whatever circumstances they must, in order to meet the challenge of the day, but while their getting small is amusing, it’s not half as hilarious as the terrifyingly villainous Doctor Doom wreaking havoc once again…but at a size no bigger than an ant!

All of this getting small brings to mind Steve Martin’s 1980’s comedy routine, but I’m also reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when the gang encounters a horrible demon, only to discover he’s no taller than your average fountain pen, so they just step on him. Or how about Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who? And let’s not forget the great bit from Douglas Adams’ classic The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

It’s a delightful stretch to imagine worlds outside our own, and while the Marvel Universe has so far given us beings from outer space and under the sea, we have only once or twice ventured into a kingdom based solely on size. In FF #7, the fab four assisted the population of Planet X by shrinking them so they all fit inside two spaceships to escape their exploding planet. And of course, Ant-Man and his new partner the Wasp also bring us a refreshingly unique view of the world.

While Ant-Man and Wasp make a conscious decision to get small, and Kurrgo and the people of Planet X agree to it in a crisis situation, Doctor Doom had smallness thrust upon him at the end of FF #10. Yet we have to assume that Doom made a conscious decision to remain in the Micro-World, since at the end of the story, when a quick escape is desirable, he is capable of returning to the normal-sized world. He could have returned at any time after developing the enlarging ray, but instead chose to stay and lord it over the little people. Doom is so in love with power, he’ll take it wherever he can find it.

In the Micro-World, Doom has dethroned the king and his princess daughter. He’s “large and in charge,” but of course, he’s never going to be happy until he gives the FF their comeuppance. He taunts them from Micro-World until, in utter bewilderment, they call upon Ant-Man, the authority on all things small.

When Princess Pearla calls from the tiny universe to warn the four of Doom’s evil plans, what can they do but rush to the aid of the mysterious dismembered little voice? Once in Micro-World, they find Doom on the throne, and the despotic Doctor immediately shrinks them even further. Yes, they become smaller than small.

Doom plans to sell the FF into slavery to the evil Toks, and we are treated to imaginative narratives of how the Tok will cruelly employ our heroes’ fantastic powers. Now, I understand that these comics are not rated “X” and not even “R,” but still…the Tok could employ a little more creativity in their plans for the Invisible Girl. At the very least, she could easily serve as a spy. But no, they would rather make her a scullery maid.

Really now. How insulting. But I must say this: if Stan wants readers to respect Sue’s superpower, he’ll have to give us villains who recognize that her value exceeds her ability to serve slop to lizard men.

Of course the four have no intention of being sold into slavery, and as soon as they escape, Doom panics and flees in terror. Boy, that was easy. Doom returns to the regular world, so we will certainly meet him again.

Are we never going to be rid of Dr. Doom? Didn’t he die twice already? First, in FF #6, he was catapulted into outer space, presumably lost in the cold dark emptiness of the cosmos. Then, in FF #10, after being instructed by the Ovids, he returned with the power of body-swapping, and almost succeeded in destroying the fellowship. But Reed’s shrinking gun reduced him to nothing…or so we assumed. We learn now he simply shrank into the Micro-World.

This turn of events, however, does not dampen Doom’s spirits, which goes a long way in demonstrating his resourcefulness and resiliency. Upon arriving in Micro-World, Doom notes, “The fools! They live in peace! They are contented and happy! But I’ll soon put a stop to that!” Earlier I evoked the name of Dr. Seuss, and I’ll do it again: Doom is like the Grinch, who can’t stand to see anybody enjoying themselves.

But he certainly does know how to take care of himself. In any situation, he’ll not only survive, but absolutely flourish. He immediately sets about impressing the king with his scientific knowledge and gains the position of Court Scientist. With all the resources of Micro-World at his command, Doom devises the shrinking and enlarging rays that will once again put him face-to-face with his mortal enemies, the Fantastic Four.

I must stop here and ask: why does Doom so despise the FF? Merely because they have twice insulted his honor? Or do we need to go all the way back to his college days, when Reed was the only other student able to outshine him?

I think it’s both, and more: Doom is destined to walk alone. In this story, he seeks the hand of the beautiful princess Pearla, but she despises him. I wondered briefly if he only wants to marry Pearla because she’s a Princess, and marrying her would gain him the trust and goodwill of the citizens of Micro-World. But then I realized Doom is probably the last person in the world to give a hoot about trust and goodwill. In fact, Doom would rather rule with an iron hand, and be feared by his subjects, than gain their goodwill through agreeable actions. He’s already got absolute power, what more does he need? Bah! Doctor Doom despises weak concepts like trust and goodwill! And he certainly doesn’t need any woman to help him rule the land!

No, he doesn’t need a woman…but perhaps…he wants one? Perhaps he looks at Reed Richards and his lovely girfriend Sue Storm, and secretly yearns for the same kind of relationship. If he wanted Pearla, all he would have to do is take her; he could force her to be his wife. But he can’t force her to love him. And maybe that’s what he’s most after—unconditional love.

Going out on a limb here? I don’t know. I’ve said before that Doctor Doom has a plethora of angsty personality issues, and in this story we begin to glimpse a side of super-villains, the likes of which the readers of the day had never seen before.

Of course, we only learn that Doom wants to marry the princess from the princess herself, so it’s entirely possible that, as a princess, she makes the assumption that every man must want to marry her, so this whole issue could exist entirely inside her tiny little royal brain.

With that in mind, I’m putting myself on Doom Alert, on the lookout for any further evidence to support my outrageous hypothesis that this most detestable super villain is deep down, just a poor boy, yearning for affection and acceptance.

ATTRACTIONS
On the other hand, the FF have no problems expressing their affections and attraction to the opposite sex.

In addition to the main action between our villain and heroes, there’s a silly little bit about Johnny flirting with the tiny princess Pearla, and Sue’s attraction to Ant-Man (“He’s much too cute! I’ll bet if he were normal-sized…sigh…”). These are amusing distractions, but within the pages of this story, I found one distraction that was not amusing at all, and in fact, most disturbing.

Reed has just spoon-fed Thing a new magic potion that causes him to revert to handsome Ben Grimm, but girlfriend Alicia is not on board with the transformation. However, I think she would be even less on board, if she had been paying attention to this colossal Freudian Slip. Behold:

Did you catch the “Sue, baby”? Wha—? Wha—? What’s going on here? Could it be that Ben is secretly attracted to his best friend’s girl? Of course in the very next panel, Ben assures Reed, “I love Alicia and she loves me,” but is he telling the truth…or simply trying to cover up his faux paus? My gut tells me this was simply a case of inadequate proofreading, but I wonder if Sub-Mariner needs to be told there’s a new rival for Sue’s affections. I’m going to keep my eyes and ears open for further hints of yet another love triangle involving Sue and Reed. I don’t think I’ll really find it, but it will be fun to look for.

TINY WORLD
While reading and writing about this issue, I happened to run across internet images of beach sand magnified 250 times. It’s amazing how something as common and unassuming as sand can be so awesome and beautiful, when we take a very, very close look at it.

It made me realize anew that “not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it’s stranger than we CAN imagine” (Arthur Eddington). Above us, below us, within us, and within the very world we inhabit are other wonderful worlds, there for the exploring. Science is one way to explore these worlds, fiction another. But perhaps one of the best ways to open our minds to all the wonders of the universe is through science fiction, and fantasy, such as we find here in Marvel Comics, and in the Marvelous Zone.

Join me next time, when science fiction and fantasy meander into mysticism and magic, and the Marvel Universe truly does become stranger than we at first imagined.