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Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In the last issue, we were introduced to mysterious aliens called the Kree. This week, in issue #65, they’re already back.

Things begin strangely, with the FF floating in space somehow, being spoken to by a big green floating head. He claims to be the Kree Supreme Intelligence. He says he knows the FF destroyed the Sentry last issue. (He actually destroyed himself last issue. So much for “supreme intelligence.”) The Kree warns the FF that the Accuser is coming for them. Then, everyone wakes up. We get a lot of “roommates comedy” shtick as everyone wakes up from what they think is a dream. Not only are Johnny and Ben sharing the same room, but the same bed! How big is this skyscraper they all live in? Maybe this is just temporary because of how the building got trashed by Blastaar and the Sandman in issues 61-63. Anyone, our heroes share notes and realize they’ve all had the same dream.

Reed opines that their lives might be in danger from an evil somewhere out in the stars (taking a moment to exposit that Triton has left to rejoin the Inhumans), but Sue won’t have it. We get some uncomfortable battle-of-the-sexes stuff where Sue said she’s had it with fighting villains and wants a normal life instead. “I’m a woman!” she says. “I want feminine dresses and foolish hairdos!” Make of that statement what you will. Reed calms her down and promises to buy her a whole new wardrobe (!) and take her out for a night on the town.

Out in space, we meet Ronan the Accuser, a Kree, who has been sent to Earth by the Kree Supreme Intelligence. He teleports from his ship down to Earth, where he’s invisible thanks to his “negative aura.” He opines about how primitive and simple-minded we humans are. Then, there’s more comedy as Johnny is bugging Ben as Ben reads the newspaper, and Ben accidentally trashes the place while trying to snuff out Johnny’s flame. From there, we join Sue and Crystal out shopping. Crystal, an Inhuman, doesn’t know what to make of normal human clothes, and Sue bafflingly says “That brother of mine would like you in a barrel, Crystal!” Johnny shows up in his hot rod and takes Crystal for a ride, while Reed arrives and he and Sue lovingly discuss love at first sight.

Reed and Sue enjoy dinner at the most expensive restaurant in New York. (I looked it up, and the most expensive restaurant in NYC is Masa, located at 10 Columbus Circle.) Just as they sit down to eat, Reed and Sue vanish in a puff of smoke. Out in the countryside, a motorcycle cop pulls Johnny over for speeding, only for Johnny to vanish as well. At the Baxter Building, Ben receives a suspicious package from those pranksters in the Yancy Street Gang, but he vanishes before it can be opened. (The mailman is not Willlie Lumpkin, a missed opportunity.)

The FF reappear inside an “uncanny cone of invulnerability,” where they are confronted by Ronan the Accuser. True to his name, he accuses them of destroying the Sentry. They don’t sit there take it, and everybody fights. Ronan has a Thor-like hammer he smacks Ben with, and he absorbs Johnny’s flame. He further proves his superiority by hitting our heroes with a stun blast. Ben finds himself weakened to the point where he can barely crawl, but crawl he does in some hope of defeating Ronan.

We then cut to Alicia, who we haven’t seen since issue #65. She’s thinking of Ben, wondering where he is, when she hears a mysterious voice, one she says she’s been hearing a lot lately. A shadowy figure appears in her room and promises not to hurt her. We don’t see who this is, but we can see he’s got a cool red wristband. He and Alicia walk through the wall, as he tells her, “As long as my arm is around you, no harm can come to us!” he says.

Outside the “cone of invulnerability,” the police have arrived and are trying to blast a hole in it. “Not even Tony Stark has an answer!” one cop says. Inside, Ronan has found the FF guilty and is about to carry out his sentence. Then, Ben grabs him from behind, with help from Sue, who had turned Ben invisible while Ronan was distracted. More fighting! Ronan knocks Johnny unconscious, and then attacks Reed with a “whirl-ray.” Reed tells Ben to use “Stratagem 32.” Ben flattens Ronan, pinning him on his hammer (not a euphemism). This causes the weapon to discharge against Ronan. This defeats him and destroys the dome. The police move in to help our heroes. Reed theorizes that Ronan is not dead, but teleported back to his ship, and he hopes the Kree learned their lesson and will never return.

Unstable molecule: Reed gets thrown around real good by Ronan. The cops use a big laser-blaster thing that they say was built by Reed himself.

Fade out: Sue’s whining at the start of the issue isn’t exactly feminist, but she does a good job in the fight, tricking Ronan, protecting her teammates, and then knocking Ronan back with her force fields.

Clobberin’ time: Ben gets a big hero moment in this issue, fighting back against Ronan even after being driven to a weakened state. We never get to see what prank the Yancy Street Gang sent him.

Flame on: Johnny’s new hot rod is a stripped-down number with an exposed engine. He says it sounds “like a sonnet.”

Trivia time: Ronan the Accuser shows up from time to time in the Marvel Universe, most notably in the Kree/Skrull War arc and the Annihilation crossover. He’s recently made the leap from “villain” to “tortured anti-hero.” He’s played by Lee Pace in the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Commercial break: Not only does this ad promise kids they can master multiple martial arts disciplines in a single week, but what is going on in the illustration? Is one guy on the ceiling attacking the second guy with his butt? What kind of martial arts is that?

Fantastic or frightful? This is basically a romantic comedy issue that happens to have a superhero fight in it. That’s all right, though, because it’s character development. It shows these folks have other interests beyond punching alien invaders.

Next week: What’s happened to Alicia?

****

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. Issue #64 promises a new start, and an intriguing new villain.  

We begin in Reed’s lab, of course, where he and Ben are dismantling the Negative Zone viewer so that no more bad guys will escape from the Negative Zone and attack Earth (that’ll be the day). Sue is upset, though, because this is supposed to be their vacation and she wants to enjoy the spring weather. Reed apologizes, sort of, and agrees that it’s time for a vacation. Ben, Johnny and Crystal are invited, as is the inhuman Triton, who is still hanging around after last issue.

Elsewhere in a remote jungle, a professor leads a two-man expedition, saying he’s searching for the ruins of an alien civilization that once ruled the Earth “before the dawn of history.” They discover an opening in the ground, leading to underground ruins containing ancient alien machines. The professor deduces that this was once a spaceport operated by a race of aliens called the Kree. The explorers are then attacked by a metallic blue and purple fellow calling himself the Sentry.

Back at HQ, there’s some comedy shtick in which Ben chooses the team’s vacation spot by throwing a dart at a map while blindfolded. The dart lands on an island in the South Pacific. There’s some talk about whether they’ll fly by commercial airline or by their own Pogo Plane (if you owned your own plane, would you ever fly commercial?), and then Johnny, Crystal and Triton say they’d rather stay in New York. Ben, although briefly referencing Alicia, decides to come along.

Back in the jungle, which we know see was on an island, the Sentry sets up a “vibro-screen” to prevent any other outsiders from finding the place. Wouldn’t you know it, the FF’s Pogo Plane happens to be flying overhead as he does this. The plane is in danger of crashing, but Sue helps right it by surrounding it with a force field. It’s revealed that the Sentry is a giant. He grabs a hold of the plane, our heroes fall out, and… fighting! The Sentry insists that he not a robot (he does not like being called a robot), and that his strength is able to increase until it matches and/or surpasses any opponent. He proves this by giving Ben a pounding and then threatening to drown him.

Reed says he wants to get back to the plane and call Johnny for backup. Then he does that thing where he stretches into a slingshot shape and flings himself through the air. After struggling with the Sentry, Reed is flung into the ocean, where he hopes to rescue the drowning Ben.

Back in New York, Triton is taking the FF’s jet cycle for a spin, giving Johnny and Crystal some alone time. Before anything steamy can happen, their lovin’ is interrupted by Lockjaw, who teleports into the room. That’s when Sue contacts them on the “vidio [sic] scanner” and fills them in. Crystal suggests using Lockjaw to teleport to the island, but the big dog doesn’t seem in the mood anymore.

At the island, Reed succeeds in pulling Ben out of the ocean, but both are vulnerable from attack by the Sentry. Sue helps by turning them invisible, but the Sentry responds by creating a tidal wave that threatens to destroy everything on the beach. Johnny shows up just in time, burning a trench in the beach that traps all the water (guess it wasn’t that huge of a tidal wave). The Sentry tries burying Johnny in the sand, but Johnny’s too skilled to let that happen, saying he’s learned from all the times he’s fought the Sandman.

As the fight intensifies, the entire island starts to fall apart. Reed and Sue find the explorers from earlier and rescue them. Everybody gathers around Lockjaw, who teleports them away. Then, we get a strangely downbeat ending. The Sentry admits his defeat, and, acknowledging that he hasn’t heard from the Kree in ages, he destroys the island, calling this his “final report.”

Unstable molecule: In his big hero moment, Reed says that “headline writers from coast to coast” gave him the name Mr. Fantastic. But, no. He gave himself that name way back in the first issue. Here we see Reed’s ego getting out of control, something a lot of readers have accused him of over the years.

Fade out: Sue starts out the issue in “nagging wife” mode, but she later twice saves Reed and Ben with her powers.

Clobberin’ time: This isn’t Ben’s finest hour, as the Sentry pretty much beats the crap out of him. There’s a mention of Alicia, who we haven’t seen in almost ten issues, bringing up the question as to whether they’re still a couple or not. We’ll get more of this in the next issue.

Flame on: Johnny shows some real growth by not allowing his fire to be put out so easily by sand. He’s no longer the “kid,” but has a real newfound confidence with his powers. You don’t suppose we could pin this change on Crystal’s presence in his life, do you?

Trivia time: This Sentry is not related the current Marvel character by the same name, who had a short-lived run among the Avengers and who was controversially retconned into Marvel history in his origin mini-series.

The big deal with this issue is that it’s our first mention of the Kree. Although established as a dead race in this story, that’s not the case. The Kree’s ongoing rivalry with the alien Skrulls has led to some of the most famous tales in Marvel history.

Commercial break: This nightmare fuel:

Fantastic or frightful? Basically a generic fight scene, the issue succeeds in its smaller, character-based moments. Not many comics can get away with lengthy scenes of vacation planning, but it works in Fantastic Four, because this group really does feel like family by now.

Next week: Girl trouble.

****

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. At the end of the last issue, Johnny and Crystal were reunited, while the evil Blastaar came out of the Negative Zone and teamed up with the Sandman. Now, in issue #63, they make their move.

The caption on the splash page tells us that only two seconds have passed between this previous issue and this one. An unseen force smashed a hole in the roof of the Baxter Building. Reed immediately deduces that someone else came back through the Negative Zone portal when he did. Reed tries to look through the hole and gets blasted. The Inhuman Triton, still hanging around after last issue, flies through the hole with his trusty “air gun,” and shows how awesome he is by fighting Blastaar. Then Sandman distracts Triton, allowing Blastaar to knock him out.

Blastaar calms down just long enough to explain his deal: He’s a power hungry conqueror, and now that he’s discovered Earth, of course he wants to rule it. He describes Sandman as his guide to this new world, but Sandman keeps calling Blastaar his partner. The two of them descend from the roof into the Baxter Building.

Out in the city, Johnny and Crystal are leaving a restaurant (they got pretty far in those two seconds), where they see a bunch of cops on the move. Blastaar and Sandman are now casually walking down the street, duking it out with the cops (How they got from the Baxter Building to here I have no idea). The police have a special “cement gun” that traps Sandman, only to have Blastaar set him free. Johnny flames on and joins the fight. In a full-page spread, Blastaar brags about how powerful he is (he’s rather boastful, this Blastaar). While the bad guys concentrate their attacks on Johnny, they’re attacked from behind by the Thing. Sandman escapes into the sewer, but Blastaar fights on, spending the next couple of pages duking it out with Ben.

Back in HQ, Reed tends to Triton’s injuries, and then checks in on the battle with one of remote viewing devices. He says it’s up to him to whip up some science to stop Blastaar. Outside, Sandman bursts from under the street and attacks Ben, while Blastaar, er, blasts at Johnny, only to have him absorb the heat of the blast and send it back to Blastaar. At one point, Blastaar tries to grab a hold of Crystal, only to have her summon a tornado out of nowhere (!) in defense. OK, what are her powers?

Sandman and Ben end up by the ocean, where Sandy hurls Ben off of a dock. (I see this a lot in movies and comics, where New Yorkers can access the ocean just by going to “the docks.” Is this a real thing?) Sandman thinks he’s defeated Ben, but Ben smashes the pier and pulls Sandman into the water with him. With one all-powerful punch, Ben dissipates Sandman’s sand, spreading it out among the tide. (So if you were reading this for the first time in 1967, you’d think Ben just murdered Sandman, correct?)

Reed and Sue show up, as Reed has invented a helmet that can stop Blastaar, if only they can get it on his head. It’s another few pages of fighting before he, Sue and Johnny manage this. Once the helmet is on Blastaar, he loses all his powers, making him as vulnerable as an ordinary human, so Reed’s the one who takes him out with a single punch. Reed says they’ll put Blastaar back into the Negative Zone where he belongs, and Ben shows up to make a joke about how hard it is to find a cab in New York. No cliffhangers this time, just a happy ending for all.

Unstable molecule: It takes Reed several tries before he gets his new gizmo to work, at one point proclaiming, “I’ve failed!” But then he delivers the final blow.

Fade out: Sue helps out here and there with her force fields, but mostly sits this issue out.

Clobberin’ time: Ben’s fight against Sandman is a highlight, showing his resourcefulness as equal to his strength.

Flame on: The caption tells us that while Johnny and Crystal were at that restaurant, they were “talking about the things that all young lovers have talked about since time immemorial…”

Trivia time: By this point, we still have no real explanation of what Crystal’s powers are. In her first appearance, she ran over some flames without being burned. Many issues later, she controlled a campfire with her mind as some random soldier declared, “She can control the elements!” Then, in this issue, she summons a tornado out of nowhere with the power of her mind. Will they ever take a second to stop and tell us what her powers are? (Yes, I know I could just look her up on the Marvel wiki, but I’m more interested in how and when this will be handled in the stories themselves.)

Commercial break: A lot of comics of this era ran this ad for a male baldness cure. Because comics are for kids!

Fantastic or frightful? Blastaar is kind of like a professional wrestler, spending more time talking about how much he kicks butt than actually kicking butt. There’s some nice action beats, but overall, this issue doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

Next week: Standing watch.

****

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