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Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Just what does it mean to be Dr. Doom? What goes on inside that armored head of his? Delve deep into the psyche of evil in issue #87. 

After a quick recap of the previous issue, which reminds us that the FF have their powers back but are still trapped in Latveria, and all the Latverians managed to escape the big explosion safely. Ben decides to take the offensive by tossing a piece of wreckage at Doom’s castle. This maybe wasn’t so smart, because now everyone inside knows the FF have survived.

 We then cut to inside, where Doom’s toady Hauptmann is talking to the artist, the one who was painting Doom’s portrait earlier. The artist says Hauptmann is the true evil, because he revels in Doom’s tyranny rather than be afraid of it. Hauptmann has the artist locked up and reports to Doom, who says he’s already aware the FF are alive. He says the guards are only to offer “token resistance,” because he wants Reed to enter this room. It’s Doom’s piano room, and he’s written a special concerto to play for Reed, on a special piano that uses “hyper-sound.”

Outside the castle, Sue and Crystal fall through a trap door, drawn downward by a “cushion of air.” (As opposed to… gravity?) Then there are a few pages of Reed, Ben and Johnny fighting the castle’s outer defenses, including a high-tech turret gun. Similarly, Sue and Crystal end up in a glass-walled prison, which Crystal easily shatters with her powers, represented here by yellow lasers coming out of her hands. Sue and Crystal then spend a couple of pages fighting their way through Doom’s guards before confronting Doom. Except it’s not a battle. Doom has prepared a fine meal for his “guests,” and he does a great villain speech about how they are indeed his guests, and the evening’s festivities will decide the fates of them all.

Remember that subplot from a few issues back about the mysterious underground house with the metal hatch opening? We’re back to that for a few panels, when a bunch of kids go nosing around the house and get scared off by a spooky noise. Where’s the Scooby Gang when you need them?

In Latveria, Reed, Ben and Johnny fight their way through wave after wave Doom’s guards, making their way inside the castle. Inside, Sue and Crystal actually sit down at the table and enjoy the meal. (Free food always tastes better, I guess?) Doom tries to play the “I’m really a nice guy” card, by saying that Latveria is a peaceful nation, and that mankind has no reason to fear him because he already has anything he could ever want. He sits at the piano, bragging about his world-class art collection. Speaking of which, that’s where Ben, Reed, and Johnny find themselves, in the art room. Reed suspects that Doom got the art by looting museums. (Harsh, Reed.)

In one corner of the room, we catch up with Hauptmann and the artist. Hauptmann is now decked out with a flamethrower, saying he has discovered the artist is really an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. The artist pleads for him not to attack, because the fire would destroy all the artwork, but Hauptmann doesn’t care. “What do I care for art?” he says. “Think of how I will be rewarded!” Reed approaches Hauptmann, who blasts the fire right onto Reed’s chest. Reed doesn’t so much as even say “Ow,” and instead tells the artist to take cover and orders Ben and Johnny to find Sue and Crystal.

 Doom is still sitting at the piano, which conveniently has a little TV screen showing him what’s happening. He does not approve, saying, “What are a few vulnerable lives compared to the immortal art that might be destroyed? It must not happen! It will not happen!” He plays the piano, which sends its deadly sonic waves directly at Hauptmann. Hauptmann drops dead (!) right in front of Reed. (This is often referred to as the first time Dr. Doom ever actually murdered someone. Has anyone done the research and know whether that’s true?)

 With that, Doom decides to let the FF go, giving them free passage out of Latveria. Crystal still doesn’t trust him, but he insists that he is many things, but not a liar. After all that business earlier in the arc about trapping the FF in Latveria, why does he let them go? The only spoken reason is one line, “I am weary of this game,” but perhaps Doom subconsciously knows he’s been beaten. His green Doombots are destroyed and the FF invaded his castle. On the other hand, this whole arc has had Doom declaring that he’s already won, and that he’s so sure of himself and the rightness of every action, that it doesn’t matter to him what the FF does. In his mind, he’s so much better than them, that he doesn’t care what they do, Doombots or no. Still, the issue’s final panel has Doom promising to fight again another day, so our heroes are somewhere on that dark mind of his.

Unstable molecule: Reed is so badass that he takes a blast from a flamethrower to the chest, and it doesn’t even faze him. I suppose it’s likely that the FF uniforms are fireproof with Johnny flying around all the time, but still, not even an “Ouch” or a “Watch where you’re point that thing.” Earlier, he squeezes through a keyhole as part of the assault on Doom’s castle.

Fade out: Sue handles Doom’s deathtraps with ease, and manages to disarm a Doombot while invisible.

Clobberin’ time: Ben is definitely the muscle in this issue, bombarding Doom’s forces by throwing huge objects at them.

Flame on: The Doombots have an air-gun on a turret, specifically designed to take out Johnny’s flames, but he avoids their attacks long enough for Reed and Ben to take down the Doombots from the inside.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Crystal doesn’t put up with any crap from Doom. As part of a royal family herself, she’s not impressed with his regal nature.

Commercial break: These Lee Jeans ads were a comic-within-the-comic starring boy hero Jim Driscoll. Anybody else think they’re just a little too butt-centric?

Trivia time: Many people have compared the Doom dinner scene to a similar scene in The Empire Strikes Back, in which Darth Vader reveals his presence at a fancy dinner table. Doom killing Hauptmann in this issue is also similar to Vader choking his underlings with the Force. Both George Lucas and Stan Lee have been playfully evasive in interviews over the years as to whether Vader was inspired/influenced by Dr. Doom.

Ben complains that Doom’s art room doesn’t have a single pin-up or Raquel Welch. Do I really need to tell you she is? An actress and model, Welch was one of the biggest sex symbols of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, with posters of her adorning many teenage boys’ rooms (and Ben’s too, apparently).

Fantastic or frightful? People say Jack Kirby had one foot out the door by this time, but, after re-reading this issue, I just don’t see it. His work is stellar, and the fact that this issue combines action, with the guys’ storming Doom’s castle, and character development, with an emphasis on who Doom is and what makes him tick, makes this one of the best Fantastic Four comics ever made. Yes, you could nit-pick it to death, but it’s nonetheless a historically important issue, one that opens the door for more sophisticated art and storytelling that we’d ever seen in the Silver Age. In short, it’s a true classic.

Next: House hunting!

****

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. We’re still in Latveria in issue #86, with more machinations of Dr. Doom.

Picking up where the last issue left off, the new and improved Doombots, the green ones, are marching toward the Latverian village where the FF are trapped. Our heroes can’t fight back because they’ve secretly been hypnotized into thinking their powers aren’t working. Got all that? The Latverians drop their happy-to-see-you act and ask the FF for help. Reed, ever the hero, decides that the FF will be the first line of defense, offering the Latverians at least a few seconds of relief as they attempt an escape. One of Doom’s monitors pops up and he addresses the people. This speech is good that I’m going to quote it in its entirety: “My robot army, which I created for your protection, is temporarily out of control! If you perish due to this regrettable accident, let it be known that your sovereign proclaims you heroes of the realm!” I love it.

When confronted by Reed, Doom further speechifies that he’s giving the FF the privilege of dying among his subjects. Then, once he’s alone, Doom admits that the green Doombots are indeed out of his control, but, as unstoppable as they seem, they have a weakness known only to him.

The green Doombots reach the village. Ben declares that even without his powers, he’s no pantywaist, and he fights back, discovering that he still has his powers after all. Even with his strength, though, the green Doombots are tough, and we get a bunch of panels of them fighting. Johnny fights back as well, his fire starting to return. The Latverians join the fight, having discovered a cache of weapons hidden by Doom (that was convenient). Reed believes that Doom wouldn’t have built the green Doombots without some sort of failsafe to stop them.

Inside Doom’s castle, Doom enjoys a fancy dinner while the battle rages outside. Doom’s toady Hauptmann, tells Doom not to overestimate the FF, but Doom won’t hear it. Back outside, Reed gets his powers back, correctly assuming that he’d been hypnotized. While escaping from the green Doombots, he discovers a hidden control unit inside one building. He uses it to switch all the robots off.

In true Bond villain fashion, Doom has a big model of the village, revealing that he’s placed huge explosives underneath it (the village, not the model, which Doom has to explain to Hauptmann). A second wave of Doombots is on the march, heading toward another part of the village. Reed flips a switch on another control device, which, instead of turning the robots off, activates a giant fan that blows them all out into the ocean. (Seriously? A giant fan?)

Doom sees this and he goes nuts. He throws a switch, activating the bombs. Hauptmann reminds Doom that his subjects are still out there, and Doom says “I forgot!” How could he forget his own subjects, after talking about them a few pages earlier? I suppose we’ll have to chalk it up to him being totally self-absorbed. Then, Doom sees that part of the village wasn’t destroyed, but miraculously saved. It’s Sue, who made it to Latveria courtesy of Nick Fury, just in time to save everyone. She says Alicia is watching the baby, but she makes no mention of the mysterious underground house subplot from the last issue. Now that the villagers have been saved and the FF (all five of them!) are reunited, Ben declares, “Let’s tackle Doom!”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed discovers the Doombots’ weakness mostly by accident, but he figures it out pretty quickly. He shows his courage by taking a stand against the robots to save the villagers.

 Fade out: It’s kind of random that Sue would show up out of nowhere like this, but it’s nice to see her being the hero and saving the day.

Clobberin’ time: Ben is the one who overcomes the hypnotism, merely by jumping into the battle. His fight with the Doombots is some great Kirby action.

Flame on: Without his powers, Johnny climbs to a rooftop and acts as lookout. Even when powerless he finds a way to be the one in the sky.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Cyrstal barely appears in this issue, with an uncomfortable line of dialogue telling us she’s with the “women-folk.” Sigh…

Commercial break: So, this thing’s just a big kite, is it?

Trivia time: So just who is the Hauptmann guy? It’s Gustav Hauptmann, who formerly worked for the Nazis and for the Red Skull (WWII was still recent enough that stories could have characters like this). He’s the first of several members of the Hauptmann family who’ll show up here and there in Marvel history, usually causing trouble with mad science.

Fantastic or frightful? The fight against the Doombots is exciting, but the “control devices” are too simplistic a way to defeat them. (A giant fan?!?) What’s really great about this arc is the insight into Doom’s character. He’s completely full of himself and absolutely certain of his victory, and when things don’t go his way he loses his mind. It’s not his scientific wizardry or even his ambition that makes Dr. Doom dangerous, it’s his pride. We’ll see even more of this in the next issue.

Next: Organ harvesting.

****

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. Issue #85 gives us more insight into Dr. Doom and his boastful ways.

When we last left our heroes, Dr. Doom had captured them. They’re in a peaceful, idyllic European village where everyone is happy. Sounds nice, but except they can’t ever leave, and this is Doom’s triumph over them. This issue begins with the FF still in the town square, surrounded by Doombots. Dr. Doom, communicating with our heroes via monitors he’s placed everywhere, gloats that the FF can’t leave, and that he’s removed their powers. Ben tries to clobber the Doombots, but without his strength he gets knocked back easily. Reed reminds Johnny (and the audience) that Nick Fury sent them to Latveria to find and destroy Dr. Doom’s secret army.

Inside his high-tech lair, Doom gloats some more, saying there are sedatives in the FF’s food, which will make them more susceptible to his “hypno-persuader” which has removed their powers. Doom is joined by his right-hand-man, Hauptmann, and says it’s time for a demonstration. He’s going to reveal his new army to the world. A couple of thugs are fighting the Doombots, to test the robots’ strength. The two guys make a run for it, hijacking one of Dr. Doom’s armored vehicles Doom lets them go, saying this is the perfect test for his new army. It’s a newer, nastier breed of Doombot, a green one, which tears apart the vehicle and seizes the fugitives without any trouble. Doom gloats again, saying he’s invincible, and that he’s going to use the new robots to destroy an entire village as their next test.

The FF have lunch at a sidewalk café, noticing that although the people look happy, there’s an underlying fear and paranoia to them. The sedative in the food knocks them out, and Doom’s henchmen hook them up to the hypno-persuader, which mentally blocks their powers as they sleep. Reed fights back and is almost able to resist, thanks to his love for Sue.

Speaking of Sue, we then check in with her. She and a real estate agent are checking out homes, nice suburban houses to raise a child. (Where is the baby? God only knows, because he’s not mentioned.) Sue meets some fans, and then the real estate agent takes her into the woods to show a house off the beaten path. It’s a futuristic metal contraption that’s actually the roof, with the rest of the house underground. The agent says the house was abandoned years ago and the locals are afraid to come here. (You’d think that’s the sort of thing not to tell a potential buyer.)

Back in Latveria, the FF wake up from their hypno-conditioning, which has also programmed them not to be violent, causing them to recoil in fear at the very thought of fighting. Doom gloats some more, as he’s getting his royal portrait painted. Get this – it’s a painting of him without his mask! He feels he can now go without it, and he further declares that his horribly scarred face will be the new standard for masculinity around the world. (We of course don’t see his face, as some things are best left to the imagination.)

The artist and Doom have an agreement, that Doom will give the artist his freedom if Doom likes the portrait. But Doom goes back on the deal, saying he has absolute power and can do what he will. To prove his point, he unleashes the green Doombots on the village, and have them destroy everything. Conveniently, this is the same village where the FF are staying. Then there’s an odd bit of business where the green Doombots go on a rampage. We’re told they’re not following anyone’s orders, not even Dr. Doom’s – but then a few panels later it says they are following Doom’s orders, even though he’s not in this scene. The issue ends with the FF powerless, helpless, and in the Doombots’ path.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Again, Reed’s brain is superhumanly awesome, able to put up a fight against the hypno machine.

Fade out: Sue looking for a new house seems odd. For one, it’s been established that the FF owns other houses and apartments, even if we rarely see them. Second, there’s no mention of who might be watching the baby. On the plus side, this does nicely foreshadow the “they move to the suburbs” plot from John Byrne’s ‘80s run on the book.

Fantastic fifth wheel: While the others are focused on getting out of this predicament, Crystal is the compassionate one, who shows concern for the Latverians, trapped just like the FF.

Clobberin’ time: After getting roughed up by the Doombots, Ben starts to be OK with his captivity. He says the Latverian food is better than a Yancy Street pizza joint. (Blasphemy!)

Flame on: Instead of convincing Johnny he’s lost his powers, the hypno device instead tells him he’s afraid of fire, which is an interesting little detail.

Commercial break: For all the comic-reading kids who dream of becoming accountants someday:

Trivia time: The painting of the unmasked Dr. Doom returned (or did it?) in a recent Superior Foes of Spider-Man story.

Fantastic or frightful? This story arc has often been compared to the 1960s TV show The Prisoner. Hey, if you’re going to steal, steal from the best. It seems like this issue is more set-up, but there’s a lot of cool character bits. I like how Doom is acting as if he’s already taken over the world before actually taking it over. I also like how our heroes aren’t panicking or over-reacting to their predicament, but instead just sitting down and figuring things out, like pros. More good stuff to come.

Next: Doombot roll call!

****

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