Adventures in the Marvelous Zone

Published: March, 1962

Before I start, I must make an observation about this cover. On the first three comics I’ve reviewed, the cost was listed as 10 cents. Now here it is, about six months later, and the price has gone up to 12 cents. Heavens!! But really…it was a 20% increase in price, so even though it might not sound like much to us today, back when a Nestle’s Crunch bar only cost five cents, some young customers may have suffered heavily.

These early comics came out before the boy who is now my comic-loving husband began collecting them, so unfortunately we don’t have the hard copy of the original books here in the house. If only he or I or our parents had had enough foresight to plunk down ten or twelve cents for one of these beauties and put it immediately in an airtight bag for the next forty or fifty years…sigh…No aunt of mine is likely to die and have a stash of these in a basement closet. Oh well. Life goes on, and we can at least enjoy these stories as scans on our computer.

BOLD STATEMENTS
There are so many important “firsts” in this third issue of The Fantastic Four. Even on the cover, Stan tells us this is a “great, collectors’ item issue” because of the “firsts.” And not only is it a great collectors’ issue, but Stan goes on to assure us, in bold letters in the upper right corner, that this is, in fact, “THE GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE IN THE WORLD!!” Wow…This is only the third issue, and already he is proclaiming it to be the greatest comic magazine in the world!

But don’t think Stan is going to stop there with declaring the current issue/story/villain/etc. is the best/most exciting/most terrifying/etc. you’ll ever see. No, each issue after this is very likely to declare that it is somehow bigger and better than the one before.

I always get a kick out of this. Stan and crew are in the business of selling comics, and they pull out all the stops in assuring their readers that their product is the best. When I see these bold statements, it makes me nostalgic for back when I was in high school or junior college, working on the newspaper or literary magazine, and having the feeling that we were writing our own rules about how these things should be done. Yes, I know we were supposed to be learning the proper way to produce these publications, but we were so full of ourselves, so bursting with self-confidence, that even if we didn’t actually proclaim “This is the greatest thing ever!” we certainly felt that way. The difference here is that Stan and crew are actually proclaiming it! With double exclamation points!! And they will continue to proclaim it, and those proclamations will get more and more audacious as time goes on, each one attempting to out-do the one before.

So I’m thinking this is so much fun, I’m going to create a feature in my blog called HYPERBOLE HEAVEN. I’m keeping a list! This is the first entry on that list, and as we go, I’ll add others, and see if in fact these affirmations do continue to out-do each other.

Now! Let’s start by opening the book…

We begin this story with our villain, the Miracle Man, who is, as far as I can tell, not much more than a gaudily dressed magician. There’s an audience, and Reed, Sue, Johnny and Thing are watching the show. The Miracle Man points them out as “celebrities in our audience” then goes on to mock them as he demonstrates all his own fantastic powers (turning to gas, becoming a giant, summoning thunder and lightning…)

Thing, of course, becomes irate and somehow gets called up on stage for a competition, which the Miracle Man easily wins (after all, it is his show.) Now Thing is even more irate, but he can’t seem to make a dent in the Miracle Man. As the four heroes travel home, Reed reflects that it’s a good thing the Miracle Man is not a criminal, because his powers are so great, they might not be able to defeat him!

Well, whattaya think? Of course he’s a criminal! He gets the idea to bring a giant monstrous statue to life “to strike fear into the heart of the public” and “make them realize that the human race is powerless against me!”

Meanwhile, back at Fantastic Four headquarters, Sue has designed costumes for them all, saying “if we’re a team, we should look like a team!”

They are trying on their new costumes when they see a TV news report that the statue has been brought to life and is attacking the city! Johnny sees the Miracle Man on TV, and they all jump to the conclusion that he must be behind this. (Of course, it’s a logical conclusion, and it just happens to be right, but it still was a “jump.”)

The Commissioner gets a handwritten note from the Miracle Man (“I, the Miracle Man, declare war on the whole human race!”) and authorizes the FF to do whatever they need to do to stop him. I think it’s interesting that the Commissioner immediately puts the FF to the task. Is there not a police force? Or is it obvious that the police are not equal to this task? As I mentioned before, this is only the third issue, and yet they have already risen to such prominence, command such respect, that when the chips are down, the authorities instantly rely on them.

The Four split up, each setting off in a hovering “chariot” sort of thing, and Reed spots the monster, stretches himself to make a net and captures it. But the Miracle Man knocks him out with a brick and rather rudely calls him a “rubber-limbed freak.”

Next, Torch battles the monster and burns him to ash. Story over? Not so fast. The Miracle Man blasts Torch with chemical foam. Thing steps up, but is unsuccessful in stopping the villain. Now it’s Sue’s turn. The Miracle Man is driving off with an atomic tank he’s stolen from the army, and Sue turns invisible and jumps on the truck.

Just before the others get ready to go out and find Sue and help her, we have another rehash of the origin story. This leads to some fighting between Johnny and Thing, as Thing is despondent over his condition. But Reed gets them all back on track and they head out.

Sue sees that the Miracle Man is hiding the atomic tank in a junkyard. A junkyard dog barks at her, and the Miracle Man figures out she’s there and commands her to become visible and summon the rest of her group. They arrive, they fight, the villain escapes, they pursue, and Johnny does his “Flame on!” thing to such an extent that the Miracle Man is temporarily blinded, and thus devoid of all his powers.

What? Yeah. It’s a very simple explanation. Which smarty-pants Reed has figured out and explains to the others. The Miracle Man is a hypnotist! This has all been nothing more than a case of mass hysteria. I’m not exactly sure why being temporarily blinded by Torch’s bright light suddenly nullifies the Miracle Man’s powers, but I guess if we are supposed to believe that a hypnotist could entrance an entire city, including people who are merely watching his shenanigans on television, then it’s not that big of a leap to believe that a bright light could take away those powers.

And now that the villain is devoid of all his powers, Johnny and Thing start squabbling again. Johnny flies off in a huff, saying he’s had it with the Fantastic Four. Basically, he runs away from home.

Which doesn’t strike me as so terribly dramatic, because teenagers are always pitching hissy fits and in most cases they get over it. But in the last panel, Reed wonders “what CAN we do, if…if he should turn against us?”

Turn against us? I didn’t get that from the story. Now, I know we’ve only seen the FF for a few issues at this point, but I haven’t seen anything yet about Johnny to indicate that he might secretly have a “dark side” that is so sinister, he could seriously consider turning to a life of crime and evil. I think if Stan really wanted us to consider that this might be a possibility, he should have laid the groundwork in the previous issues. But I don’t see any groundwork. This big finish moment simply feels like manufactured drama.

But I will say this: I don’t know if I’d feel the same way if it were Thing who was pitching a fit and running off. He’s a volatile character, always getting his ire up over any number of things. He’s so distraught over the hand he’s been dealt, having to live life as a rockman. The others have “cool” powers they can turn on and off and still go about leading relatively normal lives. But Ben can’t live a normal life looking like that! He’s really been handed the short end of the stick, and I almost wouldn’t blame him for being so mad about it that he would turn to evil.

Or maybe… a good deal of Thing’s irritability is simply due to the new “costumes” Sue has put together for the team.

The others look good in solid blue, but poor Thing doesn’t actually have a body for fashion, does he? At first, Sue gives him a blue mask, saying “this even makes you look glamorous!” Sorry, Sue. Nice try, but I don’t agree. And Thing complains “I ain’t gonna wear this fool outfit!” (Russ notes that Thing must have been channeling Mr. T, years before Mr. T ever came on the scene.) Later in this story, when Thing needs to go into action, he rips off the shirt, and in future issues he’ll get down to just shorts and boots, and after that, just shorts. I guess you can’t really keep an all powerful rockman wrapped up in an outfit that not only impedes his movements, but also attempts to hide what it is about him that makes him so totally unique and awesome in the first place! Let those rockman qualities shine! The shorts, I’m sure, are just for modesty’s sake.

Another first: We see the “Fantasticar.” To my eye, this looks like a giant floating gravy boat. Or maybe a bathtub. It’s got very round edges, not sporty looking at all. Sort of like your dad’s station wagon in 1962. But the cool thing about it is that it is “air-powered” and can FLY, and it also breaks apart into four sections, so they can each go off in a different direction, if need be. So, the Fantasticar doesn’t look like much, but it gets the job done.

Okay, I have to admit this up front: I love maps. I always have. To some degree, I think that’s why I’m so fascinated with this “cut-away diagram of the Fantastic Four’s secret headquarters.” It kind of takes you right out of the story when this diagram is presented at the bottom of page 5. I feel there could have been a better way to get this information across, without interrupting the story. But it’s information we need, to discover the extent of how fantastic these four really are.

Look at the things they have in their house! An observatory, a launch pad, a “hidden elevator,” a missile monitoring room, and in addition to the fantasticar, a fantasticoper and a pogo orbit plane (whatever that is!) These guys have all the toys! They are ready for anything!

And this brings up another point. How did they get all this stuff? They didn’t get it because of their super powers. No, it’s got to be because of their super WEALTH. This diagram is the first thing that really gives you a sense of how incredibly wealthy they are. Well, you might get a clue in the panel right before the diagram, when one of them says “and none of the tenants suspect that we own the entire tower of this building!” Yes, it’s great to have superpowers, I’m not denying that. But it’s also incredibly fortuitous that these superheroes also have the financial resources that allow them to have so much hardware at their disposal.

And how did they get all this stuff? I’m assuming it’s all Reed’s doing. Earlier I referred to him as a “smarty-pants.” I didn’t really mean to sound disparaging. (Well, okay…maybe a little.) But as best as I can figure, it’s Reed’s enormous intellect, work ethic, and dedication to success in all he does that has caused him to become this top notch rocket scientist, which in turn has provided all of them with these elaborate possessions and accommodations. Yea, Reed! Sure, you look a little goofy when we see you smoking a pipe…but go ahead, enjoy it! You deserve it!

Here we see Reed looking pretty much like the Reed Richards that we will eventually become familiar with. (Though, regrettably, a far cry from Ioan Gruffudd, the hunky actor who plays him in the movies.) But in a lot of these scenes, Reed doesn’t….quite….look like himself. And Johnny also has moments where you find yourself asking…”Who dat?”

Even Thing, on occasion, looks like he could be another Thing, from another group of superheroes. Which is my way of saying that in this early issue I feel artist Jack Kirby was still searching for the exact representations of these characters. If you’ve ever gone back to the pilot episode of one of your favorite TV shows, you might feel like you’re watching something that comes from an alternate universe. In the original pilot episode of Star Trek, “The Cage,” Spock displays a youthful eagerness, and even shouts his lines. You won’t see that in any of the later episodes, once they had a chance to refine his character. And who remembers The Simpsons, as they originally appeared on The Tracy Ullman Show in 1987? I feel like it won’t be very long, though, before the Fantastic Four characters tell the artist exactly what they look like.

VILLAIN EVALUATION
Now, one more thing, then I must go. In the first Fantastic Four issue, we met the Mole Man. Then we met the Skrulls. And now we meet the Miracle Man. Which is the most worthy opponent? Well, as our story starts out, Reed tries to make us believe that the Miracle Man “might be the one foe we could not defeat!!” but when push comes to shove, a bright light completely incapacitates him. And now that his secret is out (that his “superpower” is merely the power of mass hypnosis), how difficult will it really be to keep him under control?

One would assume that at the end of this story he is being carted off to jail. All they’ve got to do is periodically shine a bright light in his face, and he’ll never bother anybody again.

The Miracle Man is nothing more than an accomplished magician. He doesn’t have any “real” powers, it’s all done with smoke and mirrors. I give him a C as a villain. But then, I only give The Mole Man a B-. And of course the Skrulls are holding firm at the bottom of the list, just above complete failure with a D. I’m still waiting for a villain that will really knock my socks off.

But do not fear! There’s lot more to come from Marvel Comics. So stay tuned!

Published: January, 1962

As I’ve mentioned in my About Me page, I am not actually reading these stories for the first time as I sit down to blog about them. In fact, I had read about 200 or so Marvel comics before finally getting the idea that I should put down my impressions. So on occasion, at least at first, I’m likely to make a comment that will indicate I have more knowledge of the Marvel Universe than I could possibly know from the number of comics I’ve reviewed. This is only my second entry, and already, it’s one of those occasions.

The second Fantastic Four comic is entitled “The Fantastic Four Meet the Skrulls From Outer Space.” On the cover, we read that the Skrulls “had taken a deadly oath to destroy the Fantastic Four!!” So, here’s my question: the FF have only had one adventure thus far (as far as we know), fighting and defeating the Mole Man. How do the Skrulls from outer space even know about this, and why do they feel the FF are such a menace that they have taken a “deadly vow”?

Russ suggests that there may have been other adventures our heroes have engaged in, that have not been chronicled, and that is what has gained them a reputation so fierce that beings from outer space feel compelled to do whatever it takes to eliminate them. To that I say…well, perhaps. But if so…then I feel cheated! I want to know what happened in those hidden adventures! Not fair, Stan, not fair!

BRAVADO
No, I think it’s more likely that what’s happening here is tied into what I was referring to in my first paragraph: knowing more than I should know, if I were actually reading this Skrull story for the first time. And what I know is this: that Stan and crew have such a wonderful sense of…I want to say “self-confidence,” but it’s really so much more than that. There is this terrific self-assuranceness and excitement about what these new heroes can and will accomplish in the future, that Stan has no qualms about right now leading us to believe that villains everywhere are quaking in their boots over the sudden appearance of the FF, before they are barely even out the starting gate. This is not the first time I’ve seen this kind of bravado in Stan’s writing style. Everything he does is “over the top” and this is only one example. In another medium, this audacity would be at the least, suspect, if not just plain downright silly. But in the Marvel Universe, it works. And it works very well.

With that said, let’s get on to our story.

We begin with the horrifying spectacle of each member of the FF using their superpowers to cause destruction and/or commit crimes. What?? Can this really be? No, of course not.

We quickly find out that the Skrulls from outer space are impersonating the FF in an attempt to ruin their reputation. Once they are discredited, the Skrulls reason, their fellow earthlings will hunt them down. But why go through all this trouble? Because, according to the Skrulls, “once the FF are slain, no power on earth can stop the Skrull invasion.”

Events being what they are, the FF has holed up in a secluded cabin, trying to figure out what to do next. On page six, we have a brief rehash of their origin story, apparently for those kids who did not buy the first FF issue themselves, but heard from their pals that this new comic mag was the latest and greatest!

Now that everybody is up to speed, the army tracks down the FF, arrests them, and puts them in confinement. But each uses their unique power to find a way out.

THE PLAN
It’s a good reminder for readers of the first adventure, and an excellent demonstration for new readers, of exactly what the FF can do. The group assembles in one of their “many secret apartment hideouts” and comes up with this plan:

I have to tell you, I’m not entirely convinced that sabotaging a rocket is actually going to work. You’ll notice that Johnny says “they may think it’s one of THEM, and reveal themselves!” The emphasis is on THEM, but it ought to be on MAY. This is a pretty flimsy plan, if you ask me. But…what else have they got?

Of course Johnny and Thing fight about who’s going to pull off the job, and Sue steps in for some thirty-second psychotherapy, telling Thing, “I understand how bitter you are, and you have every right…but we’ll just destroy ourselves if we keep at each other’s throats this way!” I think it’s extremely diplomatic of her to say “we” when what she really means is “you.”

Johnny does his “Flame on!” thing and attacks the rocket, then is conveniently picked up by a couple of Skrulls impersonating Reed and Sue. They take him back to headquarters, and the leader, who is apparently a bit swifter than the other three, recognizes him as the REAL Torch.

I love Johnny’s confidence on page 13. First he says “You thought what I wanted you to think!” Then he says, “Mister, no matter what planet you’re from, I’m still gonna be too hot for you to handle!” Spoken like a true hero, with not even a hint of fear. Well, I guess if you could burst into flames at a moment’s notice, you’d probably be fairly fearless as well.

It’s also interesting to note that Johnny does not seem in the least disturbed that these guys are from another PLANET. I guess life on other planets is a given in the Marvel Universe? And visits from little green men are…par for the course? I wonder—has anything like this ever happened before?

Johnny shoots his flare gun to signal the other members of the FF, then wraps circles of flame around the three aliens to contain them. However, as he’s doing this, the fourth Skrull shows up, the one who is impersonating the Torch (with “the aid of the chemical cylinder which I have strapped under my shirt”). Torch is forced to flame off, and it looks like it could be the end of the line for Johnny…

But Thing bursts in to rescue him! Reed and Sue follow, and together they put an end to the Skrulls’ shenanigans. But I think it’s important to note that Thing was first on the scene. Even though he and Johnny fight quite a lot, when push comes to shove, they are there to help each other. Russ has told me many times that the model for the FF is a FAMILY. They may squabble and have their difficult moments, but in the end, they always stick together.

Now that the Skrulls are captured, these alien beings must admit the superiority of the FF.

You’ll notice that in this panel, Reed calls the Skrulls “Playmates.” This term is often used in Marvel comics, that always makes me chuckle. Who talks like that in real life? I mean…even in the 1960’s, did real people talk that way? What exactly is meant by “playmates”? Is this meant to ridicule the enemy? As in…“You were so inept as a villain, it was child’s play for me to defeat you!” Actually, that kind of makes sense.

THE SPINELESS SKRULLS
Reed demands to know of the Skrull’s evil plan. The head Skrull boldly proclaims, “No! We will never tell you anything!” Thing says, “Let me at ’em!” He begins to throw a piece of furniture…and they crumble. Like bacon over a hot flame. (“No! No! Keep that monster from us! We’ll tell you anything you want to know!”)

The Skrulls reveal that there is an invasion fleet waiting above the atmosphere, and Reed steps up, revealing why his super-brain is the leader of this group:
So the FF go to the mother ship, (disguised as Skrulls who are disguised as the FF…get it?) and inform the leader that the FF are too mighty, and cannot be beaten. Reed also tells a pack of lies about hidden mines and giant insects, and shows the head Skrull some pictures of monsters from the Strange Tales and Journey into Mystery comic books. Now the real question becomes…who is more ingenious: Reed Richards, for scaring away the Skrulls, or Stan Lee, for weaving some self-promotional material directly into his latest comic mag?

But this is the icing on the cake: the head Skrull says “Quickly! Unmask and join us as we leave this accursed planet forever!” But Reed says no, we will stay behind and remove all traces that our race has ever visited this planet. (“We shall sacrifice ourselves so that you will be safe!”) For this, the head Skrull awards them a medal of bravery. And leaves. Forever. Supposedly.

But we’re not done yet!

PATHOS
As the FF travel back to earth, they must pass through the same radiation belt that gave them their powers in the first place, and Thing is turned back into Ben Grimm. But then he changes right back. I’m guessing this happens to show the new readers who Thing REALLY is. And also to give poor Ben Grimm a glimmer of hope, only to have it immediately dashed, thus providing an ample supply of pathos in our otherwise adventurous tale.

As the FF land, they are arrested once again, and Reed tries to explain the situation, but the General is extremely skeptical (making some cynical remarks about Santa Claus…which, by the way, isn’t it possible a good portion of the original audience for this story were believers in Santa Claus? Wasn’t that playing kind of fast and loose with the Santa Claus reference?)

However, Reed convinces the General to take them to his apartment where they run into a trio of monsters, which they fight, only to discover that these monsters are actually Skrulls, thus convincing the General that Reed’s story is true.

Okay. Problem solved. Right? Except for one thing. What to do with the remaining Skrulls? Well, just as we saw earlier, they show remarkably little backbone:
So Reed hypnotizes them into forgetting their former identities, and they become cows. Really. Cows, grazing in a field.

That is the end of our story. But not the end of the Skrulls, as once again, I will mention that I’ve read ahead, and happen to know that there will be more Skrull adventures. But that’s another story, for another day.

HOW MANY SKRULLS?
But before we leave this tale, one very important issue needs to be considered. I didn’t catch it at first, but later on Russ pointed out to me that there were originally FOUR Skrulls (impersonating the four members of the FF), but at the end of the story, there are only THREE Skrulls who have been captured and turned into cows. At one point Reed tells the General that the fourth Skrull is “on his way to another galaxy, with the rest of his invasion fleet.” The only problem is…we never see that happen. And as far as Russ and I can figure, there is no moment in the story when the fourth Skrull could have escaped. So what actually happened to him?

I say that I’ve read ahead a little. But not as far as Russ, and he tells me that at some point in the future, maybe fifteen years down the road, some writer in the Marvel Universe is going to address this issue of the missing Skrull.

I can’t wait to get there.

VILLAINOUS SKRULLS
For right now, though, I should rate the Skrulls as villains. And I think you know what I’m going to say. In fact, I’ve already said it. No backbone. Crumble like bacon. And also, incredibly gullible, to be fooled by some monster pictures from a comic book! It’s fairly amazing, I think, that this race has perfected interplanetary travel. For the moment, they will have to be placed at Number 2 on my list, but this high ranking comes only because I’ve only been able to review two villains thus far. At the moment, #2 is the bottom of my villain list. And I have a feeling the Skrulls will remain at the bottom of my list for a long, long time.

So, we did not actually have a formidable foe in this second FF tale, but we did have a good opportunity to learn more about our heroes, see what they can do, and how they interact with each other. And because of the rehashing of the origin story, I think anyone who may have arrived late to the party, missing out on issue #1, will not really be that far behind at this point. We see each of the heroes doing what they do best, and coming to each other’s aid when need be.

WORKING TOGETHER
I guess you could say that I have “arrived late to the party” when it comes to superheroes. Growing up, of course I knew about Superman and Batman, and had even heard a bit about Spider-Man. I also clearly remember Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman on TV. But my first glimpse of the FF was in 2005 when the movie came out. At that time, I had no idea this group of heroes was an existing property. In fact, I probably had no idea what was meant by “existing property.” But most significantly, this whole idea that there could actually be a group of superheroes that WORK TOGETHER was a totally new concept to me.

I think that was part of what fascinated me about the FF movie, and made me want to go see it. Well that…and Ioan Griffuth. I admit, I’m a fan. So, that actor may have pushed me into the movie theater…but it was the interaction between the characters that so captivated me once I was there.

And it’s the interaction of these characters that continues to fascinate me, whether it’s in the movies, or the original comic book stories. The whole idea that superheroes don’t necessarily have to exist as strong, individualist pillars of strength. That they can have equals, co-workers, not just sidekicks. Yes, Batman has Robin, but (at least in my experience) he’s mainly there for comic relief, and is probably more of a nuisance than an asset. But the members of the FF are all there to help each other.

When I started reading the FF, it struck me that it must be significant that there are four of them. Four corners of the earth, four seasons…and Russ pointed out to me that each has a power that corresponds to one of the four elements. Johnny…fire. Sue…air. Thing…earth. And I guess you could say Reed is like water, the way he can move and undulate. So together their powers so perfectly complement each other. Together, they can do anything, they can do it all.

And that’s part of what I like about the FF — not so much that they CAN help each other, but that they DO help each other. Like a family. Each is an important part of a whole, and none of them is as strong alone as they are when they are all together.

I mentioned earlier that, as I write this, I’ve already read about 200 Marvel comics. A lot of them have been FF, but also many other titles, many other superheroes. In this time, I’ve developed my favorites, and those that are…not so favorite. And I don’t think you’ll find it any surprise that I consider The Fantastic Four to be among my very favorite superheroes.

Published: November, 1961

So!  Let’s start at the beginning.  Fantastic Four #1.  The origin story.  I love origin stories.  They give a brief glimpse into the characters’ past, a chance to see what they were like before they became who they are.

In the case of the Fantastic Four, though, it starts out as kind of a cheat.  We spend the first nine pages of the origin story meeting each member of the team in their superhero status, then Stan says “Let us go back to that momentous day …” And finally we get to the actual origin story.

Well, this is a storytelling device that works, right?  Big bang, right up front, this is who we’re dealing with. No kidding around here —this story is going to be about some very interesting characters. And it’s amusing, as well, to see each of our heroes displaying their superpowers in their everyday lives. Wow!  Look at these guys (and girl)!  What’s up with them?  How did they get this way?  Okay, Stan says, sit back, relax, and let me tell you…

I’m not going to rehash the plot.  (Not much, anyway.) If you’ve seen the movie, you know.  And if you haven’t seen the movie, suffice it to say they all go up in a rocket ship and get bombarded with cosmic rays, which changes their molecular structure.

WHY??
But now, here’s a question.  A good question.  One might ask…why did each one of them get the particular power that they did?  You know…Well, let’s see.  If I think about it just a moment,  I’ve got a few ideas.  Let’s see if they fly.

Johnny is a teenager, so he’s…hot.  Right?  He’s got hormones, he’s got energy.  Fire is a good element for him.

Ben, in my estimation, even before this all starts, is a “tough guy.”  Broad shouldered, big hands, confrontational.  (“A coward!!  Nobody calls ME a coward!”)  So it kind of makes sense that he would become a super-strong rock-guy.

Reed, the scientist, the brainiac of the group…super-stretchy?  Can’t really figure that one out, unless to say that he is now able to physically extend his body in all directions, even as he already extends his mind and his imagination into realms most people don’t even know exist?  Yeah, I guess that kind of makes sense.

Sue becomes invisible?  No-brainer.  It’s the early sixties, before women’s lib.  Good girls were supposed to blend in, be quiet, not make a fuss.  Being invisible is the perfect metaphor.  Sue’s “power” is very passive, not pro-active, like the powers the guys have been given.   What she brings to the group is a defensive capability, not offensive.  She is not meant to fight, only to protect.   And mostly that is the case, at least in these early comics.  I think that’s bound to change somewhat, though, as time goes on.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

OUR FIRST VILLAIN!
So here we are, four people suddenly bequeathed these super-powers, just learning what they can do, and now enters in their first foe…the Mole Man!

Okay, I have to stop here a moment to say that as I go through this blog, it is my intention to look at each villain and compare him/her to the villains that have come before, and try to figure out which villain is actually the most dangerous, the most fearsome.  I do this for two reasons.

One, because I want to know.  And two, because to tell the truth (and this might be something odd about me) in general the villains don’t generally interest me as much as the heroes.  I guess it’s because…I can’t relate to them?  I’m not saying I’m some kind of heroic wonderful person, but in general, I think I would have a lot more in common with Sue Storm than I would with the Mole Man!  I don’t spend my spare moments thinking about how to achieve world domination.  But I might, like Sue, wonder about the latest fashions.  I hate to say it, but as I’ve been reading Marvel Comics, I often find that I tend to forget a lot of stuff about the villains.  (This might be more a commentary on my age and my memory, though, than it is on Marvel Comics.)  So I think if I spend a few moments writing about them, it will help me to get a better sense of who they are and what they are all about.

But mostly, I think it would be fun to figure out who’s the worst (or best) of the bunch.

So, as I say…the Mole Man!  He lives underground.  He has huge scary monsters at his beck and call.  One is described as “a living three-headed nightmare” that resembles something out of Harry Potter.   The Mole Man himself?  He looks like Howard Cosell in a pair of 3-D glasses.   Not really very scary, in my estimation.  Kind of comical, actually.

Then he starts to tell his story, all about how when he lived “on the surface” the people of that world would spurn and reject him, because he’s so… damn… ugly!    So he separates himself from society, and eventually stumbles into this subterranean world, where he sets himself up as the leader of all the subterranean creatures.

As far as I can tell, his “superpower” is that he can sense things in the dark, “like a mole.”  At one point he says he “learned” how to do that, and a couple of panels later he says, “I possess a natural radar sense.”  So I’m not sure if it’s learned or natural, but that’s his superpower.    (“Compared to The Mole Man, you are slow..clumsy!!”)  Equally important, I think, is that all the monsters obey him.  They are much scarier than he is.

Very quickly, at the end of the story, the FF use their powers to defeat the Mole Man, and seal off his domain with a giant rockslide.  They fly away in their spaceship, hoping they have seen the last of him.  But as Russ has explained to me many times, if you don’t see a BODY, they  aren’t really dead.  So somehow, I think we may be seeing more of the Mole Man.

OUR HEROES…BEFORE THEY WERE HEROES
That’s the story, the first adventure. But now let’s go back for a moment to this issue of who the Fantastic Four characters were BEFORE they become fantastic.   I want to say they are “ordinary people, just like you and me,” but really…they’re not.  I’ve already mentioned that Reed is a super brainiac, and he’s invented a spaceship.  (Actually, he’s invented a lot more things, but at the moment this is all we know.   What???  Inventing a spaceship…not good enough for you??)

Ben is a pilot…or is he an astronaut?  Sue is apparently a “socialite,” and also Reed’s fiancée.  And Johnny is simply her brother, a high school kid.   In fact, that’s the only reason why Sue and Johnny even get involved in all this in the first place.

It kind of boggles the mind that the US government would allow the inventor, his fiancée, and her brother to commandeer a rocket.  Well…actually, the government doesn’t allow it.  We are shown that they sneak on to the launch pad because there is “no time to wait for official clearance! Conditions are right tonight!  Let’s go!”  and “before the guard can stop them” they are soaring into outer space.  So.  One guard.  Only one guard.  And they have plenty of time to blast off before anyone else can get there and stop them.

With a government like this…no wonder we need superheroes!

Now, one more thing of note in this first story:  the “colorful quartet” has not yet established their identifying look with their blue jumpsuits.  So they don’t yet really LOOK like superheroes.  But we’ll get there, in just a couple more issues. But one thing for certain, they certainly did behave like superheroes in this opening story.