macmcentire

Rereading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. We’re nearing the end of the “middle years,” after Jack Kirby but before John Byrne. This week, we’re going to space, going to school, and hanging out with an Avenger.

Issue #201: We follow-up to the previous issue, establishing that Latveria is now a democracy without Dr. Doom, and the people are celebrating. The FF return to the Baxter Building, to find that not only has no one purchased it since it went up for sale a few issues back, but no one wants it for fear of supervillains attacking the place. Ben basically bullies the landlord into letting them back in the building at a lowered rent, and our heroes are home again. We get another one of those great cutaways of the HQ:

After moving back in, things get weird. An experimental microbe in Reed’s lab grows into a big blob that attacks Reed. A high-tech exercise device traps Ben, laser guns attack Sue, and Johnny gets trapped in some fireproof foam. After some running around and rescuing each other, Reed says that in order to stop the attacks, the FF must fight the way through their own security devices into the building’s central power core. These security devices include poison gas and killer robots. Sue and Johnny eventually make it to the core and blow it up, saving everyone. The FF celebrate being a team again.

Issue #202: Reed tries to figure out why the Baxter Building’s computers went haywire, when Iron Man shows up. Without saying a word, Iron Man attacks, and there’s several pages of him fighting the FF. Iron Man throws everyone out of the building and makes his way to its “uncoupling lever.” He pulls the lever, and get this: The whole building transforms into a spaceship! It blasts off, stranding the FF in New York. Believing Iron Man to be Tony Stark’s bodyguard, the FF pay a visit to Stark, who says it’s impossible for Iron Man to have been there, because he was busy with other stuff all day. The FF leave, and it’s revealed that Tony actually is Iron Man. He suits up in the armor, meets the FF, and says the man who attacked them was an imposter.

The FF and Iron Man use a “proton tracer” to find the Baxter Building, now relocated to a deserted tropical island. Inside, Quasimodo is waiting for them. Quasimodo, you’ll remember was originally a sentient computer created by the Mad Thinker, who was later given an indestructible body by the Silver Surfer. He says some nonsense about how his “salvation” is in deep space, and that he’s using a fake Iron Man because he’s lost the ability to move. Then, however, he’s able to move just fine, attacking the FF. Iron Man defeats his double, but Quasimodo manages to escape in the FF’s rocket. In space, he finds the coordinates he wants, to discover he’s not looking for a planet, but another ship. The ship is now long gone, leaving him alone.

Issue #202: We begin with a family whose son was exposed to cosmic rays while in the military. (A cosmic ray bomb, specifically.) A doctor, who is one of Reed’s former teachers, asks Reed to consult. Reed puts the kid, Willie Evans Jr., into a device called a “comatron.” Willie is partially lucid, and he murmurs “Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four,” over and over. His eyes glow yellow, and four FF lookalikes appear out of nowhere, but with bizarre, twisted faces.

While hanging out at home (I guess they flew building back to New York), the FF hear about the lookalikes. They jump into action, fighting their own doppelgangers for several pages. All the while, Willie struggles in his psycho haze. Just when the doppelgangers are about to win the fight, they disappear when Willie wakes up. Back at the hospital, Reed says Willie is a mutant, with “duplicate creation” powers. Reed gives Willie a business card with Professor Xavier’s number on it.

Issue #204: This one begins with a lot of techno-speak as Reed thinks something in outer space is draining energy from the Baxter Building, and everyone wonders if Quasimodo is doing it. Reed fires up a “syphoning beam” which brings an alien woman to the building. She’s followed by a Skrull, who attacks. Reed knocks him out with a stasis ray. The woman, Princess Adora, says she’s from the Anrdomeda galaxy, where a Skrull intruder once destroyed her world to consume its natural energy. Her people started a new life in space. The invader strikes again, just in time for the planet’s scientists to find Reed’s ray. Adora’s lover, the heroic Tanak, is going to travel to Earth and seek help, but the Skrull attacks again. In the fight, Adora is the one sent to Earth.

Johnny is out on a date with a girl named Lanie, who dumps him for being dull. He then runs into Frankie Raye, who still gives him grief about how she doesn’t want to date a superhero. He rejoins the team, but says he wants to stay behind while everyone else goes into space to help Adora. The story follows Johnny instead of going to space, where he bums around New York and considers going back to college. He gets a letter from “Security University.” He arrives there, just in time for disaster to strike the school’s science lab. Johnny saves everyone, not knowing that he’s being spied on by… the Monocle! (He was that D-list baddie with the magic camera from issue #97.)

Issue #205: We join Reed, Sue, and Ben in space. They arrive at Adora’s world right in the middle of a huge battle. The FF drive the Skrulls back, angering their leader, Emperor Dorrek. He dispatches an army of Skrulls to attack. Back on Earth, Johnny gets settled in at his new school, while the Monocle reports to his mysterious employer (seen in shadow) that he has Johnny Storm. At night, all the students are put under mind control.

In space, we get a very confusing back story about the war, and that it’s between the Skrulls and Xandar. The Skrulls are after the great computer of Xandar (so… is this planet Xandar or not? I don’t get it). The Skrulls attack, and the FF join the fight (are these guys the Nova Corps or not? I don’t get this either). After a lot of fighting, the Skrulls take Reed, Sue, and Ben captive. The Xandarians, who on the last panel finally confirm that they are Xandarians, say that without the FF, there is no way to defeat the Skrulls. To be continued in Nova #25.

Issue #206: Dorrek gloats about having captured the FF, and he plans to put them on trial in front of the entire Skrull empire, in the center of huge arena. Reed and Ben are shot, and Sue fears they are dead. While the Skrulls continue their attack on Xandar, Xandar’s leader, Thoran Prime, communes with the computer, which transforms him somehow.

Reed and Ben wake up in jail. They’re not dead, but were hit by an aging ray, with them rapidly getting older. They escape from jail and fight their way to an escape ship. Dorrek and Skrull Empress R’Klll argue for a few pages. Then Nova arrives, in his ship with a whole crew of super-sidekicks: Sphinx, Crimebuster, Comet, Dr. Sun, Condor, and Diamondhead. Thinking the FF’s escape ship is full of Skrulls, they attack, seemingly killing our heroes.

To be continued!

Unstable molecules: Reed predicts the omnipresence of cell phones in a big way when he belt radios, attached to each of the FF’s belts, so they can communicate with each other at any time.

Fade out: Sue, not Reed, is the one who powers down the Baxter Building’s malfunctioning computer, and then uses her force fields to contain the explosion.

Clobberin’ time: Ben wants to fly Iron Man’s Avengers Quinjet, but Iron Man won’t let him, saying the controls are “a bit shaky.”

Flame on: Johnny decides he wants to go back to college, but doesn’t know what to study. Aside from being a superhero, he says, the only thing he knows is how to fix up cars.

Four and a half: Franklin definitely graduates from “toddler” to “kid” in these issues. He goes through his always-wears-a-cowboy-hat phase, and he sneaks cookies even after being warned that they’ll spoil his dinner. Agatha Harkness is no longer is nanny but his tutor, stopping by on a regular basis to give him “lessons.”

Commercial break: This was the year that the Fantastic Four TV cartoon debuted on Saturday mornings, featuring H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot (we’ll get to H.E.R.B.I.E. soon enough). Also, how hot is Jana the Jungle Girl?

Trivia time: The original Nova comic had just been cancelled, so his appearance in this story arc is meant to resolve all the dangling plot threads that had gone unfinished in his own book.

Willie Evans Jr. barely appeared in Marvel Comics after this, apparently never having gone to the X-Men. He is, however, prominently featured in the 1986 Marvel Super-Heroes roleplaying game, which includes him in several campaigns and goes into much more detail about how his “duplicate generation” powers work.

We’re not told in issue #201 how Reed defeated the alien microbe, so in issue #204 they drew a panel of him explaining how he did it, with instructions on how to cut out the panel and glue it inside your copy of #201 so the makes more sense. It’s interactive media!

Fantastic or frightful? After the excellent issue #200, we go back to confusing, frustrating stories. The interaction between the FF and Iron Man is quirky fun, but this space story with the Skrulls and the Xandarians is impossible to follow, constantly jumping around plot-wise, and with a ton of characters to follow — and it’s far from over.

Next week: You will never rule Xandar!

****

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. Making our way through the “middle years,” after Jack Kirby but before John Byrne, this batch of issues takes up to the historic issue #200. Issue #197: In the previous issue, Sue, Ben, and Johnny learned that Reed’s mysterious new employer is really Dr. Doom. Reed doesn’t know this yet, though. As this issue begins, Reed is preparing to take a test flight into space, which might restore his missing super-powers. He’s told he has to take the flight, or else his teammates will be destroyed. Making a few last-minute calculations, Reed flies through the cosmic rays and it works! He can stretch again. Unfortunately, this somehow reconstitutes the Red Ghost, who also gained his powers from the cosmic rays. In Latveria, Doom has Sue, Ben and Johnny attached to death traps that negate their powers. He brings Alicia into his palace, parading her in front of his captives. Doom wants her to create a sculpture of him… without his mask! Because she’s blind, she can sculpt the “real” him. Doom then reveals that Reed’s new employer is none other than his own long-lost son! In space, Reed and the Red Ghost fight, until the Red Ghost traps Reed between two floors, and then threatens to burn up their ship in re-entry to orbit. The Red Ghost escapes, because the vacuum of space can’t harm his immaterial form, and Reed barely manages to get the damaged spaceship through the atmosphere for an ocean landing. He’s rescued by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., and somehow deduces that Dr. Doom is behind all this. Issue #198: Reed flies the FF’s pogo plane, which S.H.I.E.L.D. had in storage for some reason, straight to Latveria, where he launches a one-man assault on Doom’s fortress. There are several pages of Reed fighting wave after wave of Doom’s henchmen (I guess Nick Fury got called away on other business). Reed is finally knocked out when a Doombot self-destructs. Doom gloats, because that’s what he does, and he’s preparing a huge celebration in his own honor. Turns out the guys who captured Reed aren’t working for Doom. They’re with Zorba, a one-eyed man with a scarred face. He is leader of Latveria’s secret freedom fighters, who want to restore the country’s rightful king to throne. They’ve recently learned that Doom has an heir, which accelerates their plans. In the palace, Alicia works on the sculpture, and Doom announces plans to transfer the FF’s powers to his son, which he believes will humiliate Reed. Reed, Zorba, and Zorba’s men infiltrate the palace, confronting Dr. Hauptmann, the brother of the man of the same name Doom killed back in issue #85. Reed uses his stretching powers to disguise himself as Hauptmann, but Doom sees right through it. He blasts Reed with knockout gas, and begins the transference. He also reveals his son’s name is Victor Von Doom Jr. Issue #199: While the transference process continues, Doom addresses his subjects, only to be booed and yelled at. Zorba is now among the crowd outside, saying he’s read Doom’s diary (!) and knows the truth about Doom Jr. Doom fires on the crowd, but then apologizes. Reed wakes up and interrupts the transference by smashing up all of Doom’s equipment. Ben proclaims, “We’re a team again!” and newly-reunited FF raise hell as the fight Doom’s henchmen and Doombots for several pages. Doom holds Alicia hostage, stopping the battle and ensuring the FF’s compliance. Doom addresses the angry mob again. He says he knows the people think of him as a dictator, so he’s turning the throne over to Junior. Zorba, whose artificial eye shoots laser beams, gets back inside and frees the FF. Everybody confronts Doom in front of the mob and Zorba reveals that Junior is not Doom’s son, but his clone! Junior flips out and attacks Doom, using the combined powers of the FF. Doom fights back, using his armor’s “electro-magnetic amplifier” to kill the clone. Furious about having to do this, Doom then attacks Reed. Issue #200: Doom blasts the FF with a wave of energy and retreats into the castle, with the clone’s body. Doom prepares his backup plan, which is to send troops to the United Nations and take it by force (!), but he’s interrupted by Zorba, still leading the angry mob outside. Doom fires a vortex machine at the crowd, sending everyone flying. Doom puts Alicia’s statue on board his private plane, and then he flies off. (Doom’s plane has a big “D.D.” painted on the side.) The FF and Zorba find a scroll (!) with Doom’s master plan on it, and Ben frees Alicia from Doom’s dungeon.

The FF fly to Doom’s laboratory in upstate New York, where Doom has already landed. They fight through Doom’s defenses, and Reed ends up in Doom’s lab, confronting Doom face to face. Doom takes the time to re-tell his origin, emphasizing that his main goal in life is to destroy Reed, his most hated foe. There are several pages of Doom and Reed fighting, where Reed uses his powers to counter Doom’s many weapons and deathtraps. Doom talks a big talk about being superior, calling Reed inferior. It’s not just talk, though. Reed starts to struggle against Doom’s might, barely able to hang on when the floor opens under him revealing a fire pit underneath.

Then we go to the United Nations, where there’s going to be a vote on whether Latveria is guilty of “gross negligence in the field of human rights.” The Doombots interrupt the vote, wheeling the statue into the main hall, saying it’s a gift from Doom. This action distracts Doom from tormenting Reed, allowing Reed to escape the fire pit by squeezing himself through a gas nozzle, pushing his powers farther than he ever has. Doom enters his “Solartron,” the room full of mirrors we saw back in issue #196. There, he learns that Sue, Ben, and Johnny followed the Doombots to the U.N., where a fight has broken out. Reed has a device which can short-circuit Doom’s armor (Why’d he wait until now to use it?), and he zaps Doom with it. Powerless, Doom fights Reed with naught but his two fists. The two of them just pound on each other, but the real battle is in their words. Reed chides Doom on using his genius for vengeance instead of bettering the world, while Doom says it’s not about revenge, but about claiming a birthright that has been rightfully been his all along. Doom says Reed is a scientific genius, but lacks understanding of “human motivation.” Doom gets his refrigeration weapon running, and freezes Reed. At the U.N., the statue’s eyes glow with an eerie light. This is Doom taking over the minds of the world leaders, and he convinces them to attack the FF.

Doom proclaims that he has finally conquered the world, when Reed breaks free of the ice and they start fighting again. Doom beats the CRAP out of Reed, insisting that Reed admit that Doom is superior. Doom finally breaks down and reveals that his hatred of Reed is because he blames Reed for the accident that scarred his face, back when the two of them were students. With Doom’s hands around Reed’s neck, Reed insists he never sabotaged Doom’s work, and he was only trying to help. Reed then undoes the locking mechanism on Doom’s mask, pulling it off. Doom looks up and sees his disfigured face in all the mirrors, staring back at him. The sight of his own face drives him mad, and he falls into a catatonic state. This frees everyone at the U.N. from his control.

Later, Zorba takes control of the Latverian government, promising to institute democratic elections. The comatose Doom is locked up in a padded cell, and the FF return home. The last few panels show the Doom statue crumbling back into clay.

Unstable molecule: The ongoing subplot of Reed losing his powers has been going on for more than 40 issues, only to be wrapped up abruptly in these issues. To this day, it has never been revealed where the power loss came from. Some fans say it was stress, others say he got it from Annihilus, but the text has never been clear.

Fade out: Before Reed runs off to confront Doom, Sue insists that he take a minute to give her a kiss. It’s actually a cute moment for them.

Clobberin’ time: After almost a year’s worth of comics in which the Fantastic Four had broken up, it’s Ben, not Reed, who officially gets the team back together again.

Flame on: Johnny uses his incredibly powerful nova flame to get through the missiles Doom fires at the team when they approach. This wipes him out so much that Sue has to catch him in one of her force fields before he drops to the ground.

Commercial break: This ad was everywhere in late ‘70s comics:

Trivia time: Although Dr. Doom takes off his mask in front of the FF in these issues, later issues will retcon this so that they never actually saw his face, despite what it looked like. Later comics will also establish it wasn’t just the sight of his reflection making Doom comatose, but the radiation in the room as well.

The Red Ghost was dissipated into non-corporeal form out in space back in Iron Man #83 (the infamous story in which Tony Stark’s pal Happy Hogan wore the Iron Man armor).

Zorba was named after the classic novel Zorba the Greek, later adapted into a hit film in 1964 and a Broadway musical in 1968. I haven’t read/seen any of these, so I don’t know whether the original Zorba had a cyborg laser eye.

Issue #200 was Marvel’s first-ever double-sized regular issue. Jack Kirby ended his short-lived ‘70s return to Marvel by drawing the #200 cover, uncredited. It was the last thing he drew for Marvel.

Fantastic or frightful? Issue #200 really divides fans. Some think it’s epic action, but others think it’s hokey and overwritten. Me? I love it. The battle between Reed and Dr. Doom starts out with plot, over stopping Doom from taking over the U.N., then it becomes about their differing philosophies, until finally it becomes personal, so that the whole fight is, on its deepest level, their old school rivalry — and all this while they’re brutally beating on each other. Not only is this one of the best FF comics of the “middle years,” but one of the best FF comics of all time. This sort of high adventure and big emotion is what we need to see in a Fantastic Four movie.

Next week: Homecoming.

****

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. We’re still in the “Middle Years,” after Jack Kirby but before John Byrne. The thing about superhero team books is that, every once in a while, the writers can take one member of the team and give them a solo adventure. That’s where we find our heroes in this bunch of issues.

Issue #190: So the Fantastic Four have officially broken up, and everyone’s gone their separate ways. Ben is staying with Alicia (sleeping on her couch, it’s implied).

Ben and Alicia have an issue-long heart-to-heart where he reads from his diary (!) so we get an entire issue of flashbacks to previous FF adventures. It’s like a “clip show” but with all-new art. Ben destroys the diary at the end, saying he’s never going back to the FF.

Issue #191: Continuing with the breakup drama, Reed is dismantling his lab with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Parnival. The landlord, Collins, is still threatening a lawsuit, and mailman Willie Lumpkin makes his since-forever return for a teary-eyed goodbye. Sue gets offered a part in a Hollywood movie, and Ben chews out some reporters who think the breakup is his fault.

Parnvial’s workmen try sneaking some vibranium out of the lab, and Reed stops them. Turns out Parnival is really a supervillain named the Plunderer. Reed gets knocked out, but not before firing the team’s “4” flare into the sky. Reed, Sue, and Johnny come running, as Ben declares, “The Fantastic Four are back!” Then of course we get several pages of the FF fighting the Plunderer’s henchmen, and the Plunderer is actually pretty capable, with gadgets on hand able to counter the FF’s powers. Reed, although he still has no powers, manages to outsmart the Plunderer and punch him out. Reed says the breakup is still on, and he puts a “Now renting” sign in front of the Baxter Building.

Issue #192: Johnny has traveled out West, where he reunites with his Native American pal Wyatt Wingfoot. Here’s there to participate in a cross-country road race. Johnny flirts with rival racer Rebecca Rainbow, and he’s being spied on by a mystery man going by “Agent T,” spying on Johnny and reporting an unseen employer. In a subplot, a wealthy man named Arthur Thornhill offers Reed a position in his company.

The big race begins, only to have everyone attacked by the Texas Twister, whose wind powers are a good match for Johnny’s fire powers. With Wyatt and Rebecca’s help, Johnny manages to defeat the Twister. The race promoter, Thaddeus Longhorn, is so thrilled by all the media attention from this that he offers Johnny a lucrative new job.

Issue #193: Ben has offered his “services” to NASA. He’s there when the place is attacked by Darkoth the Death-Demon. (Darkoth, remember, was a guy experimented on and turned into a monster by Dr. Doom.) Darkoth and Ben fight, only for Darkoth to escape. Ben is there to test fly NASA’s new “Solar Shuttle.” That night, he gets an anonymous phone call saying the shuttle has been sabotaged.

Ben meets with the NASA colonel who tells him that Ben’s old flying buddy Desmond Pitt is wanted as a traitor. Ben is upset to hear this, because Pitt once saved his life. Cut to Darkoth, who reveals that he’s been Desmond Pitt all along. He’s hiding out with Diablo, the master of alchemy, who has Darkoth under his control. (Good lord, this is a lot of plot.) Ben takes off in the Solar Shuttle, and things seem to go smooth at first, but then he gets trapped in an energy field. Diablo has trapped the shuttle, but Darkoth helps set it free. Ben tries to land the shuttle, only for it to crash in a fiery explosion.

Issue #194: Everyone thinks Ben is dead, but we wakes up in the middle of a desert. In his hideout, Diablo speechifies a long-winded explanation for how we returned from the future, where he was banished in an issue of the generically-titled Marvel Super Heroes comic, and then got Darkoth to work with him by drugging him, basically. Diablo sends Darkoth out into the desert to attack Ben. They fight for several pages, until Darkoth finally reveals that he’s really Ben’s old pal Desmond Pitt.

Ben finds Diablo’s hideout and they fight. Darkoth catches up to them and switches sides, destroying Diablo’s equipment. Darkoth sacrifices himself to stop Diablo and save Ben. The NASA guys find Ben in the desert, and he mopes about how Pitt saved his life yet again.

Issue #195: Sue is on her own, in Hollywood, making a blockbuster movie. Impossible Man has followed her there, for no reason. A publicity guy escorts Sue to a room where Namor the Submariner is waiting for her. (Strangely, he actually still owns the movie studio he ran way back in issue #9!) Namor says that although he has once again become king of Atlantis, he feels alone. The Atlanteans started worshipping him as a god, so he fled.

The next day, on set, filming is interrupted when a bunch of robots attack. They are the Retrievers of Atlantis, and they’ve come to take Namor back home by force. Sue and Namor fight back, and Sue figures out one of the robots is the power source for all the others. She knocks that one out, and they all go down. Namor flies off, saying he can no longer forsake his heritage. Sue wishes him the best.

Issue #196: Reed has started his new job, working on a top-secret science experiment. At night, he has nightmares about killing his former teammates. Turns out that while Reed sleeps, he’s being monitored by a Dr. Hauptmann. (Longtime readers might remember that name.) In Hollywood, Ben and Johnny pay Sue and Franklin a visit. Sue says she’s worried because she hasn’t heard from Reed. They’re secretly being watched by a masked man outside their window.

Sue, Ben, and Johnny go out for dinner at the Brown Derby (because it’s Hollywood!) where they experience strange hallucinations. The visions are caused by the Invincible Man (who, way back in issue #32, was really the Super Skrull in disguise). With the heroes mesmerized, the Invincible Man takes them captive and transports them to New York. His boss reveals that the Invincible Man’s new identity is… Reed Richards! Reed is under mind control, and has no idea what he’s done.

Sue, Ben, and Johnny are affixed with devices that cause them pain if they try to use their powers, so Reed cooperates for now. His new boss, whose name is not revealed, shows Reed a special solar chamber, filled with mirrors used to capture solar energy. Sue uses her force fields to undo the devices, and the FF break free. They fight their way through a bunch of robot guards, only to discover the real mastermind behind all this is… Doctor Doom!

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Reed is dissatisfied with his new job, because it’s continuing someone else’s work and not creating new ideas of his own.

Fade out: We’re never told just what movie Sue starred in, but based on the costumes, it was some sort of Robin Hood/Three Musketeers type of thing.

Clobberin’ time: While at Alicia’s, Ben gets a ticking package in the mail. It’s not a bomb, but a retirement watch — another gag gift from the Yancy Street Gang, something we haven’t seen in this book in ages. Also, Ben’s past as a test pilot is prominent in the plot.

Flame on: Johnny’s love of race cars makes a return. He still pining for Frankie Raye in one issue, but then gets a new potential love interest in Rebecca Rainbow in the next. We’ll circle back around to Frankie soon enough.

Four and a half: For most of these issues, Franklin is being baby-sat by supernatural nanny Agatha Harkness. Why did they hire her again, after all the times she’s abducted the kid?

Fantastic fifth wheel: Impossible Man joins Sue in Hollywood for some comic relief. Thundra watches a news report about the team’s breakup, still pining for Ben. Medusa is prominently featured in the flashback issue.

Commercial break: I’d estimate that about one out of every five ads in these issues is peddling Star Wars merchandise:

Trivia time: The Marvel Wiki informs me that Rebecca Rainbow previously appeared in Marvel Two-In-One #8, a.k.a. the “Ghost Rider Christmas” issue. There is an unnamed Native American woman in that story, but I don’t see anything connecting that character to this one.

Fantastic or frightful? This is actually a fun batch of issues! Giving each character a solo tale offers some great character development, and it gives the creators a chance to do something different. A definite improvement over all the clueless wheel-spinning of previous issues.

Next week: The big two-oh-oh.

****

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. We’re still butt-deep in the “middle years,” after Jack Kirby but before John Byrne, getting pretty closer to the landmark #200.

Issue #184: We begin with several pages of housekeeping after the last few issues, with all the characters messing around in the trashed Baxter Building lab. Reed is in a coma, and still without his powers. Ben rejects the flirtations of both Thunrda and Tigra, saying Alicia is the only woman for him. Johnny flies off, hoping to reunite with Frankie Raye, but he’s shot down by a mysterious sniper. Reed wakes from the coma, and Sue finally tells him that Franklin was abducted. She gives him his old uniform back, and says he doesn’t need powers to lead the team, just his genius.

Reed, Sue and Johnny visit Whisper Hill, home of Franklin’s supernatural nanny Agatha Harkness. The place has fallen into disrepair without Harkness’ magic keeping it up and running. They find Johnny inside, and then they’re attacked by a giant red guy, the Eliminator. He says his “masters” have taken Franklin. Everybody fights! The Eliminator succeeds in defeating the FF. Then, with his directive concluded, he sets himself to self-destruct. Just before he goes boom, it’s revealed that the FF faked their deaths with the help of Sue’s invisibility. Whisper Hill is destroyed, and Reed promises to keep searching for Franklin.

Issue #185: Back in Reed’s lab, which is now completely rebuilt, he tracks the clues from Whisper Hill to a remote spot in the Colorado Rockies. Sue worries that he’s coming apart at the seams, and Reed uses the artificial stretching arms he invented back in issue #39 to recreate his lost powers. The FF travel to Colorado, to a town so small and remote that it’s not on any map. The town is New Salem. The FF, dressed incognito, are greeted by Mayor Nicholas Scratch. Harkness is inside a nearby building, held captive along with Franklin. The FF try to leave town, but are blocked by a huge wall of flame.

The town’s residents reveal themselves to be hooded wizards, and that they’re holding Franklin and Harkness captive. They summon a bunch of stone gargoyles to attack our heroes and… more fighting! The wizards — oh, sorry, they call themselves “witches” — use their magic to take control of their powers. The issue ends with the FF defeated.

Issue #186: The FF are in a big jail cell, where they’re finally reunited with Franklin and Harkness. Harkness says she took Franklin in the hopes of keeping him safe from Scratch, but she was too late. Scratch shows up and says Harkness will be executed for treason. His people teleport Franklin away again, so the FF will comply. Harkness’ crime is that she revealed the existence of New Salem to the outside world. The FF decide to escape, with Sue using her powers to overcome their guards. This puts them in the path of New Salem’s superhuman protectors, Salem’s Seven!

Roll call: 1) Brutacus, the big hairy guy. 2) Hydron, the water/fish guy. 3) Thornn, the yellow spikey guy. 4)Vakume, the robotic walk-through-walls guy. 5) Gazelle, the acrobatic jumping lady. 6) Reptilla, the crazy snake lady. 7) Vertigo, the dizziness-causing lady (who is different from Marvel’s other dizziness-causing lady named Vertigo). There’s several pages of fighting so these new characters can show off their powers. Reed’s artificial arms cause the Salem’s Seven to lose their powers, because they can’t fight anything artificial. The FF then interrupts the execution ceremony, where Reed tells the people of New Salem that Scratch is the real traitor, in that he orchestrated the whole thing by abducting Franklin in the first place. They zap him with the “spell of eternal banishment,” and they let Harkness and the FF leave. Harkness reveals that Scratch was really her long-lost son.

Issue #187: The FF return home to find the Baxter Building has been trashed, and they have an intruder. It’s Klaw, the master of sound! He fights Ben, and Ben discovers Klaw is not alone. He’s working with the Molecule Man, who defeats Ben. Klaw has infiltrated the building to get his hands on Reed’s psi-amplifier, or “psi-am,” so he can transfer his brain into the Hulk’s body (he had just recently fought the Hulk). There’s a flashback explaining how Klaw and Molecule Man met and how M.M.’s powers were restored, and then the two villains fight and defeat the rest of the FF.

Impossible Man, who is still living with the FF for no reason whatsoever, helps fight the villains. While he defeats Klaw singlehandedly, Molecule Man hooks himself up to the psi-am. It looks like it doesn’t work at first, but then we’re shocked to learn Molecule Man’s brain is now in Reed’s body!

Issue #188: Molecule Man goes nuts with power, rampaging all over the place, all while Reed’s brain is trapped in M.M.’s wand. (I don’t even know. Just go with it.) The Watcher shows up, but doesn’t say or do anything. He’s just there to… watch. Molecule Man brings a skyscraper to life, transforming it into a giant monster. There’s a lot of fighting and running around. Reed’s personality starts reasserting itself, and the Molecule Man’s power burns itself out (or something like that, it’s confusing) and Reed is himself again.

Then there’s a lot of drama as Reed announces that he’s officially resigning as a member of the Fantastic Four. “I’m just a man like any other,” he says. Sue leaves as well, saying she’s not going to abandon her husband. Ben and Johnny are left behind, not sure what will happen next.

Issue #189: The issue reprints annual #4 in its entirety, with no new material.

Unstable molecule: Way more drama about Reed losing his powers. First he tries to cope with mechanical arms, but ultimately quits the team. The point is made over and over that it’s not the powers, but his great mind that makes him a hero, but he doesn’t seem to take it at heart.

Fade out: Sue continues to develop new uses for her powers, and manages to single-handedly defeat the Eliminator by faking him out with her invisibility.

Clobberin’ time: After several issues of other women chasing Ben, he turns around this time and says Alicia is the only woman for her. (Does Alicia know this?)

Flame on: Johnny keeps flying off to check in on Frankie Raye, no matter how many times she keeps brushing him off. This perhaps foreshadows the FF breaking up, with everyone feeling pulled in separate ways.

Four and a half: Franklin only exists in these issues so he can get abducted over and over, so the FF can have something to chase after. Agatha Harkness is apparently no longer officially his nanny, as Alicia was watching Franklin the whole time the FF were on Counter-Earth.

Fantastic fifth wheel: Impossible Man keeps walking off and saying he’s never coming back, only to reappear in later issues still living with the FF. He’s more “comedy sidekick” than he is an alternate member of the team, but he defeats Klaw easily enough.

 Commercial break: Own a Texas ranch! (Sort of.)

Trivia time: Future comics writer Kurt Busiek had a letter published in issue #186, where he argued that Sue’s force fields could be used as an offensive weapon, and not just to defend her and her teammates from trouble.

Fantastic or frightful? The series continues to improve, mostly thanks to some great artwork from a young George Perez. Here we can see him transitioning from the Marvel house style to the meticulously-detailed work he’s known for today.

Next week: The big break up.

****

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 self-flagellating our way through the mediocrity of the “middle years,” after Jack Kirby but before John Byrne.

Issue #177: The FF return from their previous adventure in space, with the Impossible Man tagging along for no reason, only to find that the Frightful Four have broken into the Baxter Building and are waiting for them. The Wizard, the Sandman, and Paste-Pot-Pete um I mean the Trapster all fight our heroes while promising that their new fourth member will soon arrive. After several pages of fighting, the Frightful Four takes the FF hostage, and announces tryouts for a new fourth member. A whole bunch of villains are waiting in the Baxter Building’s lobby, all wanting to audition for the part.

The candidates: Osprey, who can fly. Texas Twister, who has wind/tornado powers. Thundra, returning from issue #153, who is super-strong. Captain Ultra, who has tons of powers but faints at the sight of fire. Finally, there’s future Avenger Tigra, who pretends to be a criminal only to rescue the FF. The FF fight all the villains, including a big purple Hulk-like guy named the Brute. Ben fights the Brute into the room with the Negative Zone portal. The Brute opens the portal and sends Ben into the Negative Zone. The Brute transforms into a human, revealing that he’s really the Counter-Earth version of Reed!

Issue 178: Ben confronts a snake monster in the Negative Zone, only to be abruptly returned to Earth, held captive with the FF, Tigra, and Thundra. The Brute gives his origin, in which he, like Reed, traveled into space and was exposed to the cosmic rays. He and the Frightful Four announce that they’re going to hold the FF for a $1 billion ransom. Then, real life bleeds into the comic, when NYC mayor Abe Beame contacts then-president Jimmy Carter, former president Gerald Ford, and, presciently, future president Ronald Reagan, in hopes of saving the FF.

The Impossible Man has been watching TV all this time, fascinated with Earth pop culture. When the TV goes out, he starts running around the Baxter Building causing trouble, which frees the FF. Everybody fights! In the middle of the battle, Reed discovers he’s completely lost his stretching powers. With Thundra and Tigra’s help, the remaining FFers capture the Frightful Four, with the Brute falling through the Negative Zone portal. The FF agree that powers or no, Reed is still their leader. But, there’s a twist! That’s the Brute, who took the real Reed’s place during the battle.

Issue #179: Alone in the Negative Zone, Reed manages to fight off some monsters and seeks shelter on a floating asteroid. The Brute, who had no alternate Sue on Counter-Earth, plots to keep impersonating Reed long enough to dispatch of the FF and run away with Sue.

Ben and Tigra go out for a fancy dinner (!) only to run across a robot, the Metalloid, robbing a nearby bank. The U.S. Army is called in, just for Ben and Tigra to fight the robot in the water out on a garbage barge. The Coast Guard takes away the robot. At home, Sue suspects something is up with Reed. The real Reed, meanwhile, wakes from his Negative Zone slumber to find that Annihilus has found him.

Issue #180: This one merely reprints issue #101 in its entirety, with no new material except the cover.

Issue #181: Annihilus says he wants revenge on Reed, but, after some fighting, Annihilus discovers Reed has lost his powers and offers to help him. The FF, with continued help from Tigra, Thundra, and Impossible Man, helps the Coast Guard look underwater for the Metalloid. At the Baxter Building, Sue confronts Reed and is convinced that it’s not really Reed, so she leaves. She visits Alicia, who has been watching Franklin this whole time. While they have girl talk, Franklin’s supernatural nanny Agatha Harkness teleports into the room and abducts Franklin.

Johnny visits Frankie Raye, only to find her on a date with another guy. She says she can’t stand fire, and that she wants him to leave her alone forever. Back in the water, Ben and company have succeeded in bringing the robot to the surface, where they’re refusing to turn it over to the Coast Guard. A cop interrupts them, saying the robot wasn’t robbing the bank vault, but escaping from it. In the Negative Zone, Annihilus explains that he’s lost his cosmic control rod, so he’s enlisting Reed to get it back. Reed and Annihilus are then attacked by a giant monster, only to learn it is being controlled by… the Mad Thinker!

Issue #182: The Brute, still disguised as Reed, sends Johnny and Ben into the Negative Zone, by tricking them into thinking the robot’s origins are there. At Agatha Harkness’ house, she and Franklin are attacked by mysterious strangers. Sue and Alicia arrive only to see the strangers teleport Harkness and Franklin away. In the Negative Zone, Ben and Johnny catch up with Reed and Annihilus, and everyone fight’s the Mad Thinker’s monster, which is actually a new android of his. Ben and Johnny aren’t convinced that this Reed is the real Reed, and they discover that they’ve been cut off, unable to return to Earth.

At home, Sue tells the Brute that Franklin has been kidnapped. When he doesn’t react, that’s when Sue calls him out, saying she knows he’s not really Reed. The Brute transforms into his monstrous form and attacks Sue. She puts up a good fight, but he overpowers her, and throws her out a window.

Issue #183: Tigra, Thundra, and Impossible Man, who are out and about in New York, save Sue from falling. In the Negative Zone, Annihilus explains that the Mad Thinker’s android absorbed all the power from the cosmic control rod, thus robbing Annihilus of his immortality. Reed proposes working together, using Annihilus’ ship to fight back. In New York, the Mad Thinker says his calculations have shown that all this would happen, and he’s using the fight against the Brute as an excuse to steal all of Reed’s inventions. Impossible Man wanders off, leaving Sue, Thundra and Tigra to storm the building.

The android comes through the Negative Zone portal and attacks the Brute. The android bombards the Brute with cosmic rays, turning him human permanently. In the Negative Zone, Reed fashions a device to find the way back to Earth. They make it, and the FF are reunited. By working together, our heroes defeat the android. The Mad Thinker, who’s been watching all this from a distance, frets about too many x-factors throwing off his calculations, and he runs off. The Brute, who says he’s no longer evil, enters the Negative Zone to return the cosmic control rod to Annihilus, because Reed gave his word to do so.

Unstable molecule: Reed loses his stretching powers, with the argument made that his genius is his “real” power, so he never needed the stretching to begin with.

Fade out: Sue is well on her way from transitioning from damsel to toughest member of the team. First, she’s the one who deduces the Brute’s plan. Then, she fights the Brute by herself, and later leads the fight through all the Brute’s deathtraps in the Baxter Building.

Clobberin’ time: Ben is quite the ladies’ man! In addition to his still loosely-defined relationship with Alicia, both Thundra and Tigra put the moves on him.

Flame on: Johnny’s romantic interest Frankie Raye is now afraid of fire, instead of people with super powers. Many have argued that Frankie’s storyline changed dramatically from what she was originally intended to be, and here we see a sign of that.

Four and a half: Poor Franklin gets kidnapped twice! He’s also being drawn less like a toddler and more like a young kid.

Fantastic fifth wheel: It’s the Fantastic Seven! After the fight with the Frightful Four, Thundra, Tigra and Impossible Man all start living at the Baxter Building and joining the FF on their adventures for no reason whatsoever. It’s reminiscent of Steve Gerber’s then-recent run on The Defenders, in which the “team” consisted of whoever was hanging out in Dr. Strange’s house at any given time.

Commercial break: Bionic battle!

Trivia time: Tigra had recently had a short-lived solo series in Marvel Chillers, and editorial wanted to keep the character around, hence her appearance here. She’d later become a mainstay in various Avengers comics.

This is actually not the first time the Brute appeared. He was previously introduced in an issue of Warlock.

The Mad Thinker’s android is in the Negative Zone, because the FF stranded it there back in issue #71.

Captain Ultra is one of those obscure characters who keeps popping up from time to time in the Marvel Universe. It’ll later be revealed that Captain Ultra is a plumber whose innate superhuman potential was unlocked by an extraterrestrial hypnotist. During Marvel’s “Initiative” storyline, S.H.I.E.L.D. assigned Captain Ultra to be the official superhero of Nebraska.

Osprey doesn’t have as many appearances in Marvel Comics, but for some reason he’s prominently featured in the late ‘80s Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game.

Fantastic or frightful? While still not the best, these issues are another step in the right direction, with a lot of action and twists, and some nice character growth for Sue.

Next week: Lords of Salem.

****

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