macmcentire

Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Let’s see, how to summarize this plot? The Thing is trapped on a planet of Skrulls who have taken the form of old-timey gangsters, who want him to fight in some gladiatorial games. Got it? Good. Here’s issue #92:

The “gangsters” collect Ben from his cell and say it’s time for him to train for the games. They take off his power-inhibiting collar, and he starts to wreck the place, but he can’t. Ben’s roommate/future opponent Torgo (no, not that Torgo) explains that they’re all under a “hypno-glow” that mentally prevents the prisoners from fighting back.

Ben’s first opponent is Magno-Man, and this is where we get this panel, which has become something of an internet meme over the last few years:

What you don’t see in this panel is that Magno-Man actually puts up a good fight, throwing Ben all over the gladiator arena. He nearly defeats Ben before Ben rips up the ground underneath him.

Back on Earth, Johnny and Crystal conclude that Ben is not in New York and that Reed was right about suspecting the Skrulls. Inside HQ, Reed is modifying the Skrull flying saucer, which the team took ownership of way back in issue #2. (!) Sue wants to join the team as they head into space, but Reed insists she stay behind to take care of the baby.

The Skrull gangsters continue to blast Ben with nerve rays so he doesn’t fight back, and they test his strength by putting him under a “Hydraulo-press,” which looks really painful. Later, word is spread throughout the planet that the great games are going to start. We’re reunited with Ben’s “owner,” Boss Barker, and his rival Lippy Louie. Louie is the one who has bet against Ben in favor of Torgo. There’s a weird bit where Louie sets off a bomb in Barker’s headquarters, which Barker takes to mean that Louie’s getting scared he’ll lost the bet. Barker travels to the games, where we get another mention of Machine Gun Martin, the Earth gangster who inadvertently inspired this alien society.

Inside Ben and Torgo’s cell, Torgo gets all robot-emo, saying he longs for freedom. Ben tries to convince him to fight against their captors, but Torgo won’t go for it. They start fighting, right there in the cell, before the gangsters break them up. They’re taken to the arena, along with a bunch of other kooky-looking aliens. Ben continues to argue for fighting back, but Torgo says that if any slave fights back, that slave’s home planet is destroyed. (Why is Ben just learning this now?)

The games begin, with the first fight between a “primitoid” and a “cat-man.” Ben watches, worried that there will be no escape. Elsewhere, Reed, Johnny and Crystal have taken off into space in the flying saucer, to the rescue.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed not only gets an alien spacecraft up and running, but uses the alien navigation system to find the planet Ben is on. Brains!

Fade out: Sue is sidelined again. And they still haven’t named the baby.

Clobberin’ time: Ben spends most of the issue in a weakened state, but he manages another killer put-down: “You got a real anti-social hang-up there, Melvin.”

Flame on: Johnny flies around not in his FF uniform, but in a sweater and jeans. We’re not told these clothes are made of unstable molecules, but we can assume that, right?

Fantastic fifth wheel: When speaking to Johnny, Crystal calls Reed by his full name, “Reed Richards.” Is this to remind us that she’s an Inhuman and still new to the outside world, or just clumsy exposition for new readers?

Commercial break: Man, I used to love these “new fall season” ads for the Saturday morning cartoons. Unfortunately, haven’t heard of most of these shows. Cattanooga Cats?!?

Trivia time: Torgo will show up a few more times in the Marvel Universe after this, getting his sci-fi back story fleshed out a little more. Basically, he’s from another galaxy, where sentient machines overthrew organic life. You know, the usual. The Marvel Wiki informs me that Torgo has “a bit of a sweet tooth.”

Fantastic or frightful? This issue is a tease, building up to the big games, and then cutting to the cliff hanger just as they start. So, it’s all set-up. The rumor is that although Jack Kirby was fed up with Marvel by this time, he loved drawing this gangster stuff. I can believe that, seeing a ton of Kirby’s trademark imaginativeness in the gangster/alien designs.

Next week: The brawl to end it all!

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.

Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. The end of the last issue had the Thing being captured by a Skrull and carried off into space. So why are there 1930s-style gangsters on the cover to issue #91? Let’s see…

We begin with those same gangsters (and their sexy moll) looking at a picture of Ben and talking about how the slave ship is bringing him in. The narrative caption spills the beans a bit too early by stating, “It isn’t a scene from The Untouchables! You’re actually on another planet!” The head gangster, Boss Barker, plans to buy Ben from the slaver and have Ben box a fighter owned by rival gangster Lippy Louie. On cue, Louie shows up to make the bet. He wagers ten “power stones” that Ben can’t defeat his slave, Torgo. (Torgo???)

The Skrull Slaver, who has apparently changed his name to Slave-Master, has Ben trapped in a big stone harness, and he again uses his nerve ray to put Ben to sleep if he tries to escape. They arrive at Kral, a planet on the outer edge of the Skrull galaxy.

Back at FF headquarters, Reed says no one, including police, has seen or heard from Ben in days. The team insists it’s not like Ben to just wander off. Johnny takes off, flying over the city in some desperate attempt to find his pal.

On the Skrull planet, Ben arrives with the Slave-Master and a bunch of other alien slaves. Ben is surprised to learn the planet looks just like New York during the age of prohibition. A bunch of punk kids throw a brick at Ben, he makes the obligatory reference to the Yancy Street Gang, and tries to fight back. More nerve rays from the Skrulls shut him up pretty good. There’s a confusing bit of business where Boss Barker pays his ten power stones as a “down payment” for Ben, with arguing over whether it’s actually ten stones or not. Whatever. He leaves with Ben.

As the aliens/gangsters drive Ben through the streets, we get the backstory. On Earth in the 1930s, a crook named Machine Gun Martin escaped from jail. In his fleeing from cops, he came across a Skrull slave ship, who brought him to Kral. Through him, and then through old gangster movies, the Skrulls of Kral decided to base their entire society on old-timey Earth gangster culture. The exposition is interrupted by an attack from a biplane, equipped with alien superweapons, which tears up the road in front of the car. The Skrulls/gangsters flip a switch, allowing it to fly, and to fight back with its own superweapons.

Ben is brought to the gangsters’ HQ, an old brewery, where Ben is introduced to the Slave-Keeper, who (I guess?) is different from the Slave-Master. He says it’s time for Ben to start his training, with “training” being fighting a giant monster. Ben tries to fight the monster, Taxtor, but his harness is making him too weak. The gangsters/Skrulls toss Ben in a cell, where he discovers he has a roommate. It’s Torgo, who announces he will kill Ben in the upcoming fight. Sadly, this is not the beloved goat-kneed Torgo from Mystery Science Theater 3000, but a big robot-lookin’ guy.

We then cut back to FF headquarters, where Reed deduces that Ben is in space. Because Ben was last seen with an imposter of Reed, Reed goes ahead and assumes the Skrulls have abducted Ben. Reed says to Johnny, “Ben is out there, lad, the captive of a Skrull!”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Not sure how Reed jumps straight from learning someone was impersonating him immediately to Skrulls, but, hey, he’s right.

Fade out/Fantastic Fifth Wheel: Sue and Alicia are only seen on one page, and have no dialogue.

Clobberin’ time: In addition to being the center of attention in this issue, Ben makes a classic put-down: “Yer fadder wears space shoes!”

Flame on: I don’t know what Johnny thinks he’s going to accomplish by just flying around randomly looking for Ben, but this desperate act fits his “hot-head” character.

Commercial break: Wrist bands that give you super powers? Is this the first appearance of Quasar?

Trivia time: The Star Trek episode “A Piece of the Action” aired a year before this issue, and it must have been an influence. It’s set on a planet where imitative aliens have adopted a lifestyle based on old-timey gangster fiction.

Fantastic or frightful? Although he’ll stick with the book for a little while longer, this “Gangster movie” arc is often considered Jack Kirby’s last great work on Fantastic Four. It’s certainly imaginative, with the 1930s-era vehicles suddenly flying and blasting each other with futuristic weapons. Stan’s script is a hoot as well, with all kinds of anachronistic gangster-speak. This was Stan and Jack’s last big hurrah, and it’s far from over.

Next: The first rule of Space Fight Club is…

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.

Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. This week, it’s the historic issue #90, in which… nothing happens.

After all that business with the Mole Man ended last issue, you’d think that the plotline about the mysterious subterranean house would be over, but no. Our heroes are still hanging out in the weird underground house. Reed and Sue reconcile over his almost dying in the fight with the Mole Man, and there’s some exposition reminding us they have a baby at home. Then, the house is rocked by an earthquake.

But, wait, it’s not an earthquake — Ben is tearing up machines the Mole Man left behind. The machine is booby-trapped, giving Johnny a nasty shock when he joins Ben. Ben and Johnny confront the Mole Man, who is tied up (!) as the FF’s prisoner. We then spend a couple of pages with the FF trying to get the Mole Man to talk, only to have him make a run for it. Even without his high-tech staff and blinded without his special goggles, the Mole Man is nonetheless spry, evading further capture. He escapes into “Subterranea,” his underground kingdom.

Reed and Sue get all lovey-dovey again over Sue showing compassion for the Mole Man, and Ben decides to take off, wanting to go back to the city and visit Alicia. In the woods outside the house, we’re reunited with the Skrull Slaver, whom we met last issue. He disguises his ship to look like a big rock, he speechifies about how he has a special gun miniaturized inside his glove, and he impersonates a passerby, making himself look human.

Still inside the mystery house, Reed says they won’t be living there (so why are they still hanging around?) and he hooks up the visophone. He contacts Alicia, who’s been babysitting, and we some cute “they’re a family” shtick where everyone dotes on the baby. Reed and Sue still haven’t chosen a name for the baby, though Sue suggests “Reed Jr.” The house is then rocked by an earthquake again. Our heroes flee as the Mole Man (everyone assumes it’s him) sucks the entire structure into the ground. Now stranded in the woods, Reed finally decides that everyone should head back to New York.

In the city, the Slaver tracks down the one human he’s come to Earth to find. It’s Ben, who’s on a street corner signing autographs for a bunch of pretty ladies. (Way to go, big guy!) The Skrull changes shape, making himself look just like Reed. He tells Ben that they have to stop an alien invasion. We then cut to the real Reed, who’s with the rest of the team at a police station (why?) unable to track down Ben. He calls Alicia, who says she hasn’t heard from Ben. Alicia frets over Ben, calling him “the strongest, yet tenderest, most wonderful man in the world.”

The Slaver leads Ben back out into the woods. (Where, exactly, are these woods just outside Manhattan?) In a ballsy move, the Skrull reveals his true form to Ben and announces that he’s there to take Ben prisoner. The Slaver re-bigs his gun, which is a nerve gun that can knock Ben unconscious. He loads Ben onto his ship and takes off for outer space, saying “We must not keep your masters waiting!”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed says they can’t take the Mole Man to the police, because there are no laws against trying to conquer the world. Let’s all try to remember this later on, when Reed will admit to She-Hulk that intricacies of law are like another language to him.

Fade out: Sue shows compassion for the Mole Man, which gets the house destroyed but, we’re told, is still a good thing.

Clobberin’ time: Ben signing autographs further shows how far he’s come — he’s no longer the monster, but accepting of who/what he’s become, just as others have.

Flame on: Johnny survives a point-blank attack from one of the Mole Man’s machines, saying it only hurt his pride. Either the machine was weak, or Johnny’s gotten a lot tougher.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Crystal makes a comment about “house-hunting.” Is this a thing among the Inhumans’ royal family, or does this show how well Crystal has acclimated to human life?

Commercial break: Baseball fans are CRAZY!

Trivia time: Lots of celebrity mentions in this one, including actor Dustin Hoffman, FBI bigwig J. Edgar Hoover, and televangelist Jimmy Graham, which provides an odd cross-section of 1969 pop culture.

Fantastic or frightful? I have no idea what to make of this issue. Why spend so much time dealing with the Mole Man and the strange house when that plotline is over? Is it just filler, or this more of Stan Lee’s famous “realism,” in that the heroes have to take time to pick up the pieces after a superhero battle? I don’t know. Either way, the whole thing exists as mere setup for the next issue, and it really could have been told in a few pages, not a whole issue.

Next: Planet Thing?

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.