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Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Things get serious in issue #21, in a tale of bigotry run amok, with one crazy surprise ending.

The issue begins with the four hanging out in HQ, which interrupted by what appears to be an earthquake, but no, it’s just Ben, clobbering a giant, high-tech punching bag. He’s upset because of a new type of fiend making headlines – the Hate Monger. The FF are helpless to stop this guy, simply because he’s not breaking any laws, just delivering speeches and getting people riled up.

While out and about in the city, the FF stumble upon one of the Hate Monger’s rallies, where he whips the crowd into a frenzy about wanting to drive foreigners out of their neighborhoods. Ben stops the riot by squashing the crowd underneath the bandstand (How was no one killed?) The Hate Monger responds by zapping the FF with his “H-Ray.” The FF then spend several pages fighting each other, forgetting all about the Hate Monger. They’re so incensed with one another that they go their four separate ways.

Reed returns to the Baxter Building to find Nick Fury duking it out with building security. Fury wants Reed’s help to quell political unrest in the formerly peaceful country of San Gusto. Reed says he’s on it, and takes off. Fury can tell something’s off with Reed. From around the city, Ben, Johnny and Sue see Reed taking off in the team’s pogo plane, and return to HQ, demanding an explanation. Fury fills them in, and uses a little reverse psychology to get them to head to San Gusto as well. They do, as the team’s personal ICBM makes another appearance.

The Hate Monger pursues with his henchmen in a sub-surface missile. An editor’s note then tells us, “This machine is not as imaginary as it may seem! It’s reported that even now the Russians are working on a similar vehicle, powered by the reverse thrust of a rocket engine!”

In San Gusto, Reed thwarts the efforts of the rebels, blowing up their ammunition, stealing their guns and rockets, and so on. He finds an underground passage, which blasts him with nerve gas, making him the Hate Monger’s prisoner. Hate Monger explains that his H-Ray can be bounced off the surface of the moon to hit anywhere on earth. Once he controls all the haters, he says, he will control the earth. Fury shows up with a machine gun and shoots up the place, forcing Hate Monger to surrender and give Reed the antidote to the H-ray. He then escapes behind some bulletproof glass. It’s a few more pages of the FF fighting each other, as Reed manages to trick each of them into taking the antidote.

At the dynamo that fuels the planetary H-Ray, Fury is attacking, but is almost out of ammo. Once his gun is empty, he fights back with his fists, referencing his time among the Howlin’ Commandos. The FF rescue him. The Hate Monger is about to fire another H-Ray blast at the FF, but Sue, while invisible, deflects his aim, and the ray hits HM’s hencmen, who turn against him. He’s shot (Dead!). Johnny and Sue round up the henchmen while Reed and Fury unmask the Hate Monger.

Ready for this twist ending? Hate Monger is really… Adolph Hitler in disguise!!! Although Reed does speculate that maybe it’s not Hitler but a Hitler lookalike. Either way, the H-ray is defeated. As the FF return home, Reed says, “Until men truly love each other, regardless of race, creed, or color, the Hate Monger will still be undefeated! Let’s never forget that!”

 Unstable molecule: Reed does a lot with his powers in this issue, using his body like a giant slingshot again, stretching his arms up into the sky to swipe missiles off of passing planes, and contorting his body deep into the ground in the shape of a plant’s roots to find the underground hideout.

Fade out: Sue gets a great hero moment when she’s the one who defeats the HM at the end. There’s also a funny bit early on where she tries on wigs, wanting to look like Liz Taylor in Cleopatra.

Clobbering time: Ben doesn’t do much in this issue, practically disappearing once everyone reaches San Gusto. He gets in some slapstick in the fight against Reed by tying Reed’s arms into knots.

Flame on: Likewise, Johnny doesn’t do much except fight with the others. His business at the beginning of the story is him throwing flaming darts at a picture of Spider-Man.

Trivia Time: Folks who’ve only seen the Avengers movie might be surprised to learn Nick Fury was originally a white dude, but I’m more surprised to see this is a pre-eyepatch version of Fury. I always thought that was a 1960s addition. From what I’ve been able to tell, the eyepatch was introduced shortly after this. Here, Fury is CIA agent, with no mention of SHIELD. Also, Reed and Ben are still WWII vets at this point in the series, and Reed mentions having fought alongside Fury in the big one. This is how they know each other.

Fantastic or Frightful: Here the book attempts to tackle important social issues (in this case, racism) with mixed results. The depictions of “bigotry” are cartoonish and the plot twist is way too on-the-nose. But there’s a lot of fun to be had, too. Fury, as written by Stan Lee, is a fun character, totally badass but also a wisecracker. It makes me wonder what Stan’s take on Wolverine would have been like.

 Next week: That’s not Hans, Moleman.

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. I was debating on whether to include the annuals as part of this re-read, but this first one is just too good not to. Strap in for a whopping 72 pages of undersea Atlantis action in Fantastic Four annual #1.

Since he first appeared in issue #4, Namor the Sub-Mariner’s whole thing has been his search for Atlantis, and his lost people. As the annual begins, he’s already found them and retaken his throne. This is told to us in three eye-popping splash pages in a row (a rarity in those days), in which Namor addresses throngs of loyal Atlanteans. He announces that his next step is to make the human race pay for its crimes against Atlantis. It’s here that we meet Namor’s long-lost beloved, Lady Dorma. We’re also introduced to Krang (No, the Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a different Krang), an Atlantis warlord who would’ve been heir to the throne if Namor hadn’t returned. He also has the hots for Dorma, which further complicates matters.

Meanwhile, at FF headquarters, we get the requisite the-heroes-have-an-excuse-to-show-off-their-powers-for-a-few-pages thing. It’s the classic bit where Johnny pulls a prank on Ben, Ben chases Johnny through the building, only to have Reed and Sue calm them down. Reed says the team is due for a vacation. Because this is Reed we’re talking about, his idea of a vacation is to head out to sea and investigate reports of a giant sea monster. They’ll be investigating while on board a cruise ship, though, so it’s all good. After more horsing around on board the ship, the sea creature makes an appearance, so the FF move to confront it not in one of their cool vehicles, but in a rinky-dink little rowboat.

More sea monsters of various shapes and sizes appear, trapping the FF in a giant bubble made of a membranous substance. (I just successfully spelled “membranous” correctly on my first try!) At the ocean floor, our heroes are confronted by Namor, who is now flanked by a bunch of Atlantean soldiers. By controlling the “swift jet current,” Namor sends all boats in the world back to shore, essentially trapping humanity on the surface. This bubble the FF are trapped in is actually a transparent water rocket, which transports our heroes all the way back to their headquarters. Reed places a call to the United Nations (he gets the number by dialing information first), and arranges an audience.

Next thing we know, Reed is addressing the U.N., telling them how dangerous Namor is. (There’s a funny bit where the Russian delegate smashes his shoe on the table, shouting “Nyet! Nyet! Nyet!”) The next person to take the stage is a Dr. Falton, who gives us a complete history of Atlantis. Homo Mermanus, he explains, went through a similar evolutionary process as Homo Sapiens, except with the ability to breathe underwater. The evolved, developed civilization, and so on. On one fateful day, a human, Captain McKenzie, encountered an Atlantean, Princess Fen. Romance blossomed, and along came Namor, described as “the first known mutant of our time.” Reed interrupts, saying that Namor must be stopped, and humanity must fight back. That’s when Dr. Falton reveals he’s actually Namor in disguise (shocker)!

Namor declares a full-on invasion on the surface, with Atlantean vessels popping up at New York’s docks, unloading hundreds of Atlantis soldiers onto the streets. They quickly take over, rounding up all the citizens and locking police up in their own cells. They launch an attack on FF headquarters covering the building in rubber cement (isn’t that the snot stuff that kids use in arts n’ crafts?). While Johnny breaks free and fights back, Reed reveals that these attacks are happening all over the world. Reed sends Ben outside to take some hostages, which he does by punching out the first few Atlanteans he sees. Reed figures out that the soldiers cannot breathe on the surface without their helmets.

Reed does his thing in the lab, inventing a device to take out the enemy, but there’s an accident, and, despite his stretchy powers, he’s nearly crushed under the heavy machinery. With him out of it, it’s up to Ben and Sue to operate the machine. They get it working. It evaporates the water inside the Atlantis warriors’ armor, sending them all back into the ocean.

Most issues of Fantastic Four would end right there, but this is an annual, and there’s a whole lot more action on the way. Namor is furious, and he goes straight for Reed. Despite his weakened condition, Reed fights back, and is soon joined by Johnny and Ben. They put up a good fight, but Namor manages to grab Sue and flee back the sea.

Namor keeps Sue hostage aboard Krang’s undersea craft, where Dorma is waiting for him. Both Krang and Dorma can tell Namor cares for Sue, and they don’t like it one bit. Namor leaves Sue with them, and flies off to fight Reed, Johnny and Ben. Our heroes pilot their new amphibious “U-Car” out the middle of the ocean, where Namor attacks them. It’s a long battle, with a lot of back and forth, and a lot of hard punches being thrown. Namor ultimately damages the U-Car, leaving the three heroes there to drown.

Aboard Krang’s ship, Dorma decides she’s had enough of Sue, and tries to drown her. Sue escapes from the ship, but gets tangled up a “clump of kelp,” and is running out of air. Ben and Namor work together to save her, but she’s in bad shape and in need of a hospital. Only Namor can fly her all the way back to the city fast enough. Reed and Ben do a quick repair job on the U-Car and head back to New York. There, they find Namor kept his word. Sue is in the hospital, feeling better.

In the final scene, Namor returns to Atlantis, finding it deserted. Feeling betrayed, Krang and Dorma have taken over and led the Atlanteans off to a new home, far from Namor. “Am I to be a king without a kingdom – a man without a home?” Namor asks. “A sea creature – yet less than human? Is there never to be a place for me – on the surface or the sea?”

Unstable Molecule: Reed’s genius helps drive back the Atlantis army, and he puts up a good fight physically, too. Even when injured, he managed to coil up like spring, bounce around like a ball, and even land a punch or two right across Namor’s jaw.

Fade Out: Yeah, Sue gets taken hostage again, but it doesn’t seem so bad this time, because the love triangle between her, Reed and Namor has been building since issue #4. She tries to see the good in him, even after all he does in this issue.

Clobberin’ Time: I love how easily Ben mops up the Atlantis goons when Reed asks for a hostage. He gives Namor a real good pounding during the big fight at the end.

Flame On: Johnny gets in on a lot of action, putting up a good fight against Namor. He uses his flame to ignite an undersea volcano as a weapon against Namor. He later somehow uses his flame as a type of radar (???) to locate Krang’s ship.

Trivia Time: This is the first appearance of Lady Dorma, whose on-again off-again with Namor will go on for several years.

At the beginning, Reed says the team has never encountered a giant sea monster. I count at least two they’ve met before, Giganto in issue #4 and the huge octopus in issue #14.

Not only do we learn that the name “Namor” means “Avenging Son,” but this annual also establishes the long-running joke of how Namor’s last name is actually “McKenzie.”

This annual is the first time Atlantis is mentioned by name in relation to Namor. Up until now we’ve all understood it to be Atlantis, but previous issues merely described an undersea kingdom, without stating its name.

Fantastic or Frightful: I know I said before that Namor isn’t my favorite character, and he still isn’t, but this is one of the best Namor stories – if not the best. It’s a big, rip-roarin’ adventure yarn, with a lot of action and surprising twists and turns. Despite all world-spanning crisis with Atlantis soldiers marching on the streets of Manhattan, the real crisis is personal at the end, with the dueling love triangles of Reed-Sue-Namor and Namor-Sue-Dorma. These conflicts build to a head in the final few pages where Namor makes a choice to save Sue, which comes back to haunt him. This is top notch Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four action.

Next week: Don’t be a hater!

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. In issue #20, we meet a nerd… with the power of the gods!

The fun begins in Reed’s lab, where the team is investigating a meteor recently fallen to Earth. Ben breaks the rock apart, only to discover dehydrated living matter inside. Reed says, “This proves some form of life must exist in outer space!” How many aliens have they met by now? There’s the skrulls, Kurrgo, the Impossible Man, the Watcher – who have I left out? (The Ovoids don’t count, because the FF didn’t actually meet them.)

The science lesson is interrupted when a glowing ball of energy shows up outside. The FF fight it, but their powers are mostly useless against it. They’re sucked into the ball, which transports them to another dimension, where they reunite with the Watcher. He gives his usual speech about how he wouldn’t be interfering except that the need is so great. He shows the FF an image of a laboratory tech how has the power to destroy worlds, galaxies, even the entire universe. There’s a lab accident, and this lowly guy ends up with lightning-shaped scars on his face. His boss tries to fire him, but, with a wave of his hand, the man covers his boss with ice. Knowing he can mentally control the shapes of molecules themselves, the guy renames himself the Molecule Man.

The Watcher returns everyone to Earth, where they discover their headquarters has disappeared. The Molecule Man has relocated their building to the center of Times Square. A fight breaks out. Molecule Man stretches Reed to his breaking point, and uses a shield to protect himself from Johnny’s flames. Ben fights though a number of Molecule Man’s obstacles, only to be forced underground, where Molecule Man makes the sewer pipes come to life and trap him. Johnny rescues Ben.

All this time, Molecule Man has been using a wand to control his powers. Sue tries to snatch the wand while invisible, but Molecule Man is too quick for her, wrapping her in newspapers (!?!) so she can be seen. With no other options, the FF flee the scene, in the hopes of finding a solution. With them gone, Molecule Man really goes nuts with his powers, trapping all of Manhattan in a huge force field.

The FF hides out at Alicia’s place, where Reed deduces that Molecule Man can only manipulate the molecules of inorganic matter, and not organic. Reed comes up with a plan. Out in the city, Molecule Man sees the team’s “4” signal in the sky and follows it – via a fun-looking slide made from dust particles in the air – to Alicia’s apartment. Inside, Molecule Man spots four sculptures of the Fantastic Four and immediately knows it’s them in disguise, except that his powers don’t work on the sculptures. Realizing that Reed has figured out his weakness, Molecule Man drops his wand. The Watcher’s energy sphere returns and takes Molecule Man away.

The Watcher reappears and explains, “I could not interfere with the battle, but now that you have won, I shall take the Molecule Man away.” If you think you can figure out the Watcher’s logic behind his interference/non-interference thing, you go right ahead and try. The Watcher also miraculously returns the FF’s headquarters to its rightful place, leaving them to discuss what they’d have done with the Molecule Man’s great powers.

Unstable Molecule: Reed is all about the science this time around, figuring out Molecule Man’s weakness.

Fade Out: Sue makes a good attempt at defeating the Molecule Man, but unfortunately it doesn’t work and she ends up having to be rescued.

Clobberin’ Time: Ben’s fight through the sewer is really exciting. Later, there’s some great comedic bits where the Yancy Street Gang helps him and the others get to Alicia’s place in secret.

Flame On: Johnny first rescues Reed from the Molecule Man’s attack, and then rescues Ben from the sewer. He’s also the first one to jump into action when Molecule Man makes his presence known.

Trivia Time: Personality-wise, Molecule Man is sort of a stock villain in his first outing. In future stories, he’ll become much more interesting. He turns his back on using his godlike powers in hopes of living a normal life. The fact that needs a wand to use his powers isn’t something that stays with him.

The Watcher last appeared in issue #13, establishing his home on the moon. His existing in another dimension in this issue can be explained how the inside of his home is beyond human understanding.

Fantastic or Frightful: Another action-heavy issue filled with eye-popping Jack Kirby art. Molecule Man is a great character, but his intro isn’t really him at his best.

 Next week: Atlantis… found!

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