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Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Thirty issues in, and things are about to get diabolical.

The issue begins our heroes on vacation… in Transylvania. Ben wonders why they can’t just go to the beach like everyone else, and I’m thinking that’s a damn good question. The FF are lost in the woods, after villagers have warned them not to go wandering off. It’s as if the forest is alive, trying to trap them. They come across a giant abandoned castle. A fellow named Baron Hugo arrives, and exposits that this is the castle of Diablo, a local legend.

Hugo explains that Diablo was an alchemist, obsessed with finding the secret to prolonging human life. The castle is now under Hugo’s protection, and he invites the FF to stay the night. In the dark of night, a strange voice calls out to Ben. He follows it, not sure why, and comes face to face with a cloaked figure, Diablo.

The next morning, Reed, Sue and Johnny investigate the disappearance, and find Diablo transforming Ben into a new form that is half Thing, half human. Reed is suspicious, fearing that Diablo’s chemicals have affected Ben’s mind, making him perfectly loyal to Diablo. This proves to be correct, as Ben attacks Reed for besmirching Diablo. Rather than keep fighting, Diablo allows Reed, Sue, and Johnny to leave, as Ben stays behind. Reed manages to secretly swipe one of Diablo’s potions on the way out.

Word about Diablo’s prowess spreads fast, and people from all over the world come to him seeking his anti-aging formula. He makes plants grow in the desert, and he gives the military an impenetrable substance for defense. Back at Hugo’s castle, Reed experiments on Diablo’s formula and discovers it is a fraud. Hugo arrives, and admits that his ancestors sealed Diablo away in the castle for a reason all those years ago.

Ben sees Diablo meeting with generals and raising an army. Then, the potion wears off, and he becomes the Thing again. He tries to attack Diablo, but Diablo uses a sleeping potion and knocks Ben out.

Word gets out throughout the world that the effects of Diablo’s potions are only temporary, and everyone is outraged. Reed decides to move in before a full-blown world war breaks out. Fighting! First, Reed, Sue, and Johnny get past Diablo’s troops, and then past Diablo’s deadly chemicals. They make it past Diablo and find Ben, sealed up and trapped in an unbreakable glass cage. Diablo shows up again and knocks everyone out with more sleeping gas.

Ben wakes up, and summons all his strength to break free of the glass cage. (Hero moment!) Ben totally trashes the place, with Diablo on the run the whole time. He eventually destroys the entire castle, trapping Diablo under it and freeing his teammates at the same time. Johnny uses his flame to seal Diablo away from the rest of the world once more. (We’re not told what happened to Hugo and his crew. Hope they’re not dead.) As Ben apologizes to his teammates, there’s a laugh as they got lost in the woods again.

Unstable molecule: Reed gets beaten up a lot in this one, both by Ben and Diablo. He figures out Diablo’s trick, but so does everyone shortly afterward.

Fade out: There’s a funny bit where Sue turns Diablo invisible, and he nearly gets trampled by his own soldiers another example of Lee and Kirby always thinking of new ways for the characters to use their powers.

Clobberin’ time: This one’s a showcase for Ben. Although Diablo defeats the other three, he’s no match for Ben when Ben really cuts loose.

Flame on: When under attack by Diablo’s army, Johnny does the old “outfly-the-heat-seeking-missiles-by-making-them-fly-into-a-cliff-at-the-last-minute” gag.

Trivia time: This is the first appearance of Diablo. He’s appeared sporadically throughout Marvel history, but never became a major player.

Fantastic or frightful? It’s frustrating how sometimes Diablo’s potions work and sometimes they don’t, which caused for a “Hey, wait a minute” moment every couple of pages. On the plus side, though, the whole issue has this great Universal monster movie feel to it, which makes for a fun change of pace.

Next week: Not all origin stories are created equal.

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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 #28 is fourth in a four-part run of stories in which the FF meets other Marvel characters. It just wouldn’t be a Marvel crossover without a bunch of X-Men running around, now would it? (Note: I’ll be doing a bunch of these FF posts throughout February to make up for weeks I’ve missed. If all goes according to plan, that’ll put the blog on track to reach Galactus at the one-year mark!)

The issue begins as Alicia debuts her latest work, a life-size statue of the Thing, while Reed and Sue read a newspaper article about the X-Men, amazed that the young heroes have become famous in so short a time. Elsewhere, Alicia’s father, the sinister Puppet Master, walks through a door into the laboratory of the Mad Thinker, here still referred to as just “the Thinker.” So this isn’t just a superhero team-up story, but it’s a villain team-up as well. We’re also reunited with the Thinker’s Awesome Android, with a reminder that Reed invented the Android, only to be stolen by the Thinker. The Thinker has (of course) an evil plan in the works. He tasks the Puppet Master to creating one of his radioactive mind-controlling puppets in the form of Professor X, mentor the X-Men. The prof resists, so P.M. makes a stronger puppet, and this time it works.

The professor summons the X-Men. It’s the original five – Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman, and Jean Grey as Marvel Girl. This was during the time that Jean wore that weird mask with the pointy tips on the ends. The professor tells them to go and attack the FF. The X-Men don’t understand why, but they do as the tprof. asks. In their helicopter (the X-Men have a helicopter?), the X-Men arrive at the Baxter Building under the pretense of a friendly visit, only to attack once inside Reed’s lab. We then get several pages of fighting, as each FFer and X-Man shows off his or her powers. It ends with the FF defeated, locked away inside one room in their HQ. The X-Men take Sue hostage (sigh…) and depart.

Reed, Ben and Johnny regroup, and head out in pursuit of the X-Men. Along the way, there’s an interesting bit of business where Ben jokes about the Beast’s eloquent vocabulary, and Reed says, “You don’t fool us, Ben! You hold a college degree or two yourself!” Ben seems embarrassed by this, and asks Reed not to spread this information around.

The X-Men land on a rocky plateau out in the middle of nowhere, with the FF right behind them. Another fight breaks out, this time with trap doors opening up beneath them, as high-tech devices inside them help capture the FF. The Thinker and the Puppet Master emerge from hiding underground. The X-Men want no part of this, but P.M. uses Professor X’s telepathy to put them all asleep. (Why didn’t he do this to begin with?) The Beast, however, has enough mental wherewithal to stay awake long enough to crush the Professor X puppet under one of his huge, ugly feet. The FF fight their way back to the surface and free Sue, just in time for the Awesome Android to attack . (“It’s like Old Home Week for villains!” Johnny says.) The Android puts up a good fight, mimicking Ben’s strength and Iceman’s, um, ice. Professor X then comes to and shuts the Android down telepathically. The Thinker and the Puppet Master escape, giving the old “Until next time” speech. Instead of pursuing, the FF and the X-Men shakes hands, departing as allies.

Unstable molecule: Reed’s powers prove to be a match for Beast’s agility, as neither one gets the upper hand in the fight.

Fade out: Sue is made a hostage yet again, and is defeated by Angel when all he does is grab ahold of her and fly around. Later, she keeps Marvel Girl out of the fight with a force field.

Clobberin’ Time: I still can’t get over this “Ben has a college degree or two” thing. We know Ben was a test pilot and former football star. What else don’t we know about him?

Flame on: Johnny’s flames are no good against Cyclops’s optic blasts. He doesn’t do much else in this one.

Trivia Time: This is actually not the first time the two teams have crossed over. Johnny and Iceman already had a bit of a friendship/rivalry going on in the pages of Strange Tales, starting with issue #120. Many years later, Storm of the X-Men would become a full-fledged member of the FF.

Fantastic or Frightful: The plot is your basic “heroes meet and fight under a misunderstanding” that’s been done a million times. The X-Men are here just enough to give a sense of their personalities and powers before they take off again. There are a lot of smaller moments that are interesting, but this is not a standout issue.

Next week: It started WHERE?!?

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