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Fantastic Four (1961)
Fantastic Four (1961-1998) #1
The Fantastic Four!
Meet Marvel's First Family: Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and The Thing. In this first issue, the FF must confront the menace known as the Mole Man and his giant underground monsters, as they attack atomic plants all over the world.
Meet Marvel's First Family: Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and The Thing. In this first issue, the FF must confront the menace known as the Mole Man and his giant underground monsters, as they attack atomic plants all over the world.
26 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 1961
51 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,561 books2,349 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
March 9, 2015
Obviously written for children by a man who thinks all children are stupid.
This isn't getting the 'from a simpler time' pass. It was published in 1961. Humanity had already rocketed some very expensive junk to the moon by this point. Humans had also proven time and again, over a course of centuries, their ability to craft sophisticated stories.
Why does the Invisible Girl turn invisible to rush to the Fantastic Four's rendezvous point? You'd think she would do so in order to sneak past any obstacles in her way, right? Nope. Apparently, she just did it to knock a bunch of pedestrians on their asses. It was almost as if she couldn't see them.
Quote from knocked down pedestrian: "Some-something rushed past me! Something UNSEEN!"
She sneaks into a cab while invisible. She opens and closes the back door to the cab, but the cabbie doesn't notice. The cab pulls away from the curb and takes her exactly where she wants to go. She gets out of the cab and dangles money in front of the driver's face and gets frustrated with the driver because he's stunned by the fact there is money floating in front of his face for no reason.
She's in a hurry, goddammit!
Then we meet The Thing. He's dressed in a fedora, sunglasses, and an overcoat to hide the fact that he's a big orange rock monster. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself. BUT as soon as he sees the signal in the sky for the Fantastic Four to assemble, he throws off his disguise and runs through the street in his underwear.
He rips a hole in the street, jumps into a sewer, and wades around for a while until he suspects that he may have gone far enough to be near his destination.
???
And, of course, he jumps up through the street and crushes a speeding car in the process. Oh, I forgot to mention that he jumped into the sewer to avoid the police firing bullets at him. He seemed worried about these bullets, too. But then he isn't at all worried about a fucking speeding car ramming into ass.
???
Then we see Johnny Storm. He's sitting in his hotrod at a service station talking to the mechanic while the guy fixes his engine. He's chatting with the guy about how much he loves cars. But when he sees the Fantastic Four signal in the sky, he doesn't step out of his beloved car to 'flame on.' He just melts the thing to slag and flies off!
(Remember, he was at a gas station, right next to a living human being.)
???
Jets are scrambled to take down this, this HUMAN TORCH. Johnny warns the pilots to not fly too close to him or their planes will melt and wonders why they aren't listening to him. It never occurs to him that they FUCKING CAN'T HEAR HIM.
Oh, and of course, the pilots, all of them, fly so close to the HUMAN TORCH that their planes melt because fighter jets typically swarm their targets like bees.
And it just goes on and on, with panel after panel of mind-crushing stupidity. It really does seem like Stan Lee thought to himself, "All right, I've got to demonstrate this guy's superpower. OK. I'll have him bust through a wall when he leaves this building. But, wait, the guy walked in the door without any problem and there is no reason he can't just take the door when he leaves. Well, fuck it, he's going through the wall anyway. Kids won't notice this shit. Kids are nothing but really dumb dwarfs anyway. Excelsior!"
Note: I like comics. I like the Fantastic Four. I like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. But this comic is shit.
This isn't getting the 'from a simpler time' pass. It was published in 1961. Humanity had already rocketed some very expensive junk to the moon by this point. Humans had also proven time and again, over a course of centuries, their ability to craft sophisticated stories.
Why does the Invisible Girl turn invisible to rush to the Fantastic Four's rendezvous point? You'd think she would do so in order to sneak past any obstacles in her way, right? Nope. Apparently, she just did it to knock a bunch of pedestrians on their asses. It was almost as if she couldn't see them.
Quote from knocked down pedestrian: "Some-something rushed past me! Something UNSEEN!"
She sneaks into a cab while invisible. She opens and closes the back door to the cab, but the cabbie doesn't notice. The cab pulls away from the curb and takes her exactly where she wants to go. She gets out of the cab and dangles money in front of the driver's face and gets frustrated with the driver because he's stunned by the fact there is money floating in front of his face for no reason.
She's in a hurry, goddammit!
Then we meet The Thing. He's dressed in a fedora, sunglasses, and an overcoat to hide the fact that he's a big orange rock monster. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself. BUT as soon as he sees the signal in the sky for the Fantastic Four to assemble, he throws off his disguise and runs through the street in his underwear.
He rips a hole in the street, jumps into a sewer, and wades around for a while until he suspects that he may have gone far enough to be near his destination.
???
And, of course, he jumps up through the street and crushes a speeding car in the process. Oh, I forgot to mention that he jumped into the sewer to avoid the police firing bullets at him. He seemed worried about these bullets, too. But then he isn't at all worried about a fucking speeding car ramming into ass.
???
Then we see Johnny Storm. He's sitting in his hotrod at a service station talking to the mechanic while the guy fixes his engine. He's chatting with the guy about how much he loves cars. But when he sees the Fantastic Four signal in the sky, he doesn't step out of his beloved car to 'flame on.' He just melts the thing to slag and flies off!
(Remember, he was at a gas station, right next to a living human being.)
???
Jets are scrambled to take down this, this HUMAN TORCH. Johnny warns the pilots to not fly too close to him or their planes will melt and wonders why they aren't listening to him. It never occurs to him that they FUCKING CAN'T HEAR HIM.
Oh, and of course, the pilots, all of them, fly so close to the HUMAN TORCH that their planes melt because fighter jets typically swarm their targets like bees.
And it just goes on and on, with panel after panel of mind-crushing stupidity. It really does seem like Stan Lee thought to himself, "All right, I've got to demonstrate this guy's superpower. OK. I'll have him bust through a wall when he leaves this building. But, wait, the guy walked in the door without any problem and there is no reason he can't just take the door when he leaves. Well, fuck it, he's going through the wall anyway. Kids won't notice this shit. Kids are nothing but really dumb dwarfs anyway. Excelsior!"
Note: I like comics. I like the Fantastic Four. I like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. But this comic is shit.
December 26, 2018
The Marvel Universe born here!
This is a facsimile re-print of the original "Fantastic Four" #1, that includes the original commercial ads published in the original issue, but also a gallery collecting all the tribute covers published in other comic book titles using the famous scheme of the cover of this very issue.
Creative Team:
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Jack Kirby
´Nuff said!
A FANTASTIC AGE BEGINS
Marvel Comics born with this very comic book issue, yes, there was Timely Comics, where precisely introduced the first Human Torch, along with Namor, the Submariner (re-introduced in this title some issues later) and of course, Captain America.
But...
...the Marvel Universe per se...
...began with these four characters...
...Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, Susan Storm aka The Invisible Girl (later re-named Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch (the second one to bear that name) and Ben Grimm aka The Thing.
A very curious thing is that they didn't started on New York City, since in this facsimile edition, re-printing the original dialogues and text, it's quite odd that their home town is called "Central City" (yes, Barry Allen must be shocked then!), of course, I'm sure that soon enough they were discreetly moved to the Big Apple.
Other curious fact is that Ben Grimm started as a kind of inner antagonist in the team, since in the origin issue is clear that he had feelings for Susan and he was too arguing against Reed, and reading some essays and notes included too in the facsimile edition, it was explained that indeed it was the very intention to use Ben in the dynamics of the team (like Dr. Smith in Lost in Space) but while I love the role of Dr. Smith in his iconic TV series, I am already used to have Ben as the loveable character that he isn't always agreeing with the team but never a traitor or insidious, so I am thankful that the initial intentions were soon enough corrected in the following issues.
It's fun to read about Mole Man and how he has "special senses" to avoid attacks, very much like the eventual Spider-Man, that it's obvious Stan Lee, took that skill from Mole Man to assign it better to your friendly neighborhood.
It's great to read the very first issue (finally!) that introduced in its own pages so many relevant characters like Doctor Doom, Black Panther, the Inhumans, the Skrulls, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Annihilus, the Marvel Zombie Universe (in its Ultimate Fantastic Four line), etc, etc, etc, etc...
They are heroes, adventurers, explorers, imaginauts, but...
...above all...
...a family...
...that gave birth to a whole universe.
Without them...
...the comic book industry wouldn't be so...
...FANTASTIC!!!!
The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!
This is a facsimile re-print of the original "Fantastic Four" #1, that includes the original commercial ads published in the original issue, but also a gallery collecting all the tribute covers published in other comic book titles using the famous scheme of the cover of this very issue.
Creative Team:
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Jack Kirby
´Nuff said!
A FANTASTIC AGE BEGINS
Marvel Comics born with this very comic book issue, yes, there was Timely Comics, where precisely introduced the first Human Torch, along with Namor, the Submariner (re-introduced in this title some issues later) and of course, Captain America.
But...
...the Marvel Universe per se...
...began with these four characters...
...Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, Susan Storm aka The Invisible Girl (later re-named Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch (the second one to bear that name) and Ben Grimm aka The Thing.
A very curious thing is that they didn't started on New York City, since in this facsimile edition, re-printing the original dialogues and text, it's quite odd that their home town is called "Central City" (yes, Barry Allen must be shocked then!), of course, I'm sure that soon enough they were discreetly moved to the Big Apple.
Other curious fact is that Ben Grimm started as a kind of inner antagonist in the team, since in the origin issue is clear that he had feelings for Susan and he was too arguing against Reed, and reading some essays and notes included too in the facsimile edition, it was explained that indeed it was the very intention to use Ben in the dynamics of the team (like Dr. Smith in Lost in Space) but while I love the role of Dr. Smith in his iconic TV series, I am already used to have Ben as the loveable character that he isn't always agreeing with the team but never a traitor or insidious, so I am thankful that the initial intentions were soon enough corrected in the following issues.
It's fun to read about Mole Man and how he has "special senses" to avoid attacks, very much like the eventual Spider-Man, that it's obvious Stan Lee, took that skill from Mole Man to assign it better to your friendly neighborhood.
It's great to read the very first issue (finally!) that introduced in its own pages so many relevant characters like Doctor Doom, Black Panther, the Inhumans, the Skrulls, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Annihilus, the Marvel Zombie Universe (in its Ultimate Fantastic Four line), etc, etc, etc, etc...
They are heroes, adventurers, explorers, imaginauts, but...
...above all...
...a family...
...that gave birth to a whole universe.
Without them...
...the comic book industry wouldn't be so...
...FANTASTIC!!!!
The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!
July 20, 2025
Not really too much I can say about this book that hasn't already been said. So I will just point out that the collaboration of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby should be studied by anyone aspiring to get into comics. Just one observation: Ben seems to be more aware of the possibility of danger that Reed is; which begs the question: who really is 'smarter' - the cosmic rays could very well have altered their mental state - four 'things' coming back to earth with a single drive to destroy...'what if' that had happened!
August 1, 2025
i’m not over the fantastic four going to space first because they had to beat the “commies” the writing is so insane
February 8, 2022
"And I’ll call myself… Mister Fantastic!"
How did no one bat an eye
How did no one bat an eye
May 19, 2021
The issue that "began" the Marvel universe!
Fantastic Four #1 was a fast-paced comic that gives you a brief look at the team's origins. Plus their first encounter with the Mole-Man!
It was interesting to see the team's dynamic and how they got along with each other. There was definitely a sense of more adventures to come for the FF and I am excited to read them!
Fantastic Four #1 was a fast-paced comic that gives you a brief look at the team's origins. Plus their first encounter with the Mole-Man!
It was interesting to see the team's dynamic and how they got along with each other. There was definitely a sense of more adventures to come for the FF and I am excited to read them!
April 12, 2020
I really didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. The characters were fine it’s just I feel like Stan Lee spent too much time attempting to showcase the powers of the heroes instead of making sure the actual storytelling made sense. There were definitely plot holes and parts of this issue that didn’t make any sense. I feel like after reading The Amazing Spider-Man I know he’s much better than this. It doesn’t mean it isn’t a classic but I’ve definitely read better. The artwork was great. I’m still getting used to the lack of color variation in the comics but for the most part it’s still interesting to see these artists work with such limited resources compared to today.
January 15, 2023
Como siempre en los cómics de aquellos años hay que hacer la vista gorda en sus modismos.
Todo hiper explicado, diálogos extra dramáticos. Pero claro, son lecturas apuntadas a infantes de más de medio siglo atrás.
Este es un cómic bisagra en muchos sentidos por lo que la concesión está más que sanada.
No sólo es lo que se considera el primer cómic Marvel, es el primero en dotar a sus personajes de características inéditas en ese entonces como la dinámica de grupo, problemas reales como celos internosny odio externo. Hasta el villano que debuta en este número es un marginado del mundo por su aspecto contrario a lo hegemónico.
Por relevancia merece cinco estrellas. Analizado en frío a setenta años de su publicación, sin contexto histórico, es una historia genérica que fue copiada infinitas veces.
Todo hiper explicado, diálogos extra dramáticos. Pero claro, son lecturas apuntadas a infantes de más de medio siglo atrás.
Este es un cómic bisagra en muchos sentidos por lo que la concesión está más que sanada.
No sólo es lo que se considera el primer cómic Marvel, es el primero en dotar a sus personajes de características inéditas en ese entonces como la dinámica de grupo, problemas reales como celos internosny odio externo. Hasta el villano que debuta en este número es un marginado del mundo por su aspecto contrario a lo hegemónico.
Por relevancia merece cinco estrellas. Analizado en frío a setenta años de su publicación, sin contexto histórico, es una historia genérica que fue copiada infinitas veces.
July 23, 2025
Ben Grimm makes me so happy
August 7, 2025
If I start perusing some marvel comics mind your business …….
April 26, 2023
Better than the first Captain America issue but nothing particularly special to read now. Age just isn’t too kind to some of the older comics.
May 12, 2020
Okay, I'm not going to be an iconoclast and say that the first issue of the Fantastic Fire is a raging dumpster fire. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby came up with a game changer, and they deserve credit for that. But there is one little detail that bothers me: Ben Grimm adopts the alias "The Thing" and his teammates don't try to be polite, or show any sensitivity to his feelings. Reed Richards simply responds, "And I'll call myself...Mister Fantastic!!" That code name is not very accurate. I can think of a few proper nouns for a guy whose hairbrained scheme turned his friend into a deformed monster, and "Mister Fantastic" is not one of them.
July 31, 2024
The Fantastic Four! #1
Ah, finally a little storytelling after all those Golden Age comics I've read. This story is mostly just setting up the Fantastic Four, and it goes exactly as you'd expect. We fight the Moleman and (briefly) the monster on the cover, before we lock Moleman into his subterranean kingdom. We assume he's gone for now, but even the writers know he'll be back. I love that Reed set off the "4" alarm saying "I hope this is the only time this'll be needed!"... Sorry Reed, there are like, at least 600 issues more.
Ah, finally a little storytelling after all those Golden Age comics I've read. This story is mostly just setting up the Fantastic Four, and it goes exactly as you'd expect. We fight the Moleman and (briefly) the monster on the cover, before we lock Moleman into his subterranean kingdom. We assume he's gone for now, but even the writers know he'll be back. I love that Reed set off the "4" alarm saying "I hope this is the only time this'll be needed!"... Sorry Reed, there are like, at least 600 issues more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2016
A classic, but poor story. Not enough time spent explaining the origins. Very quick conflict between the F4 and the villain in the story. Very rushed.
July 23, 2025
Bueno, con esto comienza mi pequeña preparación para ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’.
Este cómic aunque cuenta con una historia simple, no deja de ser significativo e importante.
Me gustó el grupo y sus conflictos personales, sobretodo entre Reed y Ben.
El hombre topo, no es el villano más popular de los cómics, de hecho, es un villano sencillo comparado con los estándares actuales, pero su presentación aquí está cargada de humanidad y su historia personal si es algo triste.
En general, está bien. Es un cómic entretenido que trajo consigo unos personajes memorables que marcaron la historia de Marvel para siempre.
Este cómic aunque cuenta con una historia simple, no deja de ser significativo e importante.
Me gustó el grupo y sus conflictos personales, sobretodo entre Reed y Ben.
El hombre topo, no es el villano más popular de los cómics, de hecho, es un villano sencillo comparado con los estándares actuales, pero su presentación aquí está cargada de humanidad y su historia personal si es algo triste.
En general, está bien. Es un cómic entretenido que trajo consigo unos personajes memorables que marcaron la historia de Marvel para siempre.
February 23, 2025
The F4 picking their names—in order:
Johnny whose friend called him a Human Torch seeing him burn for the first time. Fair.
Sue, that is just naming herself the obvious. She could’ve gone by Invisible Woman instead of Girl the whole time, but that was her choice I guess.
Ben is struggling with his grotesque appearance and being shunned by society simply calling himself what others do because he’s that self deprecating as The Thing.
Reed, immediately following Ben saying all of this, calls himself Mr Fantastic because he’s a dick.
Johnny whose friend called him a Human Torch seeing him burn for the first time. Fair.
Sue, that is just naming herself the obvious. She could’ve gone by Invisible Woman instead of Girl the whole time, but that was her choice I guess.
Ben is struggling with his grotesque appearance and being shunned by society simply calling himself what others do because he’s that self deprecating as The Thing.
Reed, immediately following Ben saying all of this, calls himself Mr Fantastic because he’s a dick.
January 1, 2026
Being the first Fantastic Four issue, it gives a good introduction to the four super-heroes, plus an excellent explanation to how they got their powers. The plot of this issue is good, but the finale is a little rushed.
June 26, 2023
Silver Age lets gooo
February 6, 2025
Off to a good start
February 12, 2025
"And so was born, "The Fantastic Four!!" And from that moment on, the world would never again be the same!!"
June 30, 2025
is this the best written comic? no. but it marks the beginning of marvel and for that, it's perfect ♡
October 8, 2022
The first Fantastic Four. Historical. I enjoyed the read but the characters have evolved quite a bit. This was fun reading. It wasn't the greatest but I tend to cut a lot of slack to the older comics as they laid the foundation for what we have available today. I've always been a fan of the Fantastic Four and its fun reading this first episode of their start.
February 22, 2024
Stan Lee'nin son kurşunu olarak yazdığı ve elde ettiği başarıyla Spider-Man, X-Men ve daha fazlasının önünü açan fasikül. Günümüzde okuyan kimseyi kendine veya süper kahraman serilerine aşık etmeyecektir ama dönemi içinde değerlendirildiğinde güzel bir hikaye.
Dönemin bol sözcüklü ve bol açıklamalı hikaye anlatımı yer yer sıksa da, kurguda tutarsızlıklar barındırsa da yarattığı etki ve FF hayranlığımdan ötürü puan kıramıyorum. Bu fasikülü bastığı için Felix'e de ayriyeten teşekkür etmek gerek.
Dönemin bol sözcüklü ve bol açıklamalı hikaye anlatımı yer yer sıksa da, kurguda tutarsızlıklar barındırsa da yarattığı etki ve FF hayranlığımdan ötürü puan kıramıyorum. Bu fasikülü bastığı için Felix'e de ayriyeten teşekkür etmek gerek.
February 10, 2020
This is it! The first appearance of Marvel’s first family, and really the entire Marvel Universe as we know it! Reed Richards leads his group into space, where an encounter with cosmic rays gives each one unique powers! They use those powers to seek out a threat targeting Atomic power plants across the world - the notorious Moleman!
Seeing these characters that I’ve known all my life in such a proto-form is kind of shocking and also really cool. There’s actually only the very groundwork of each character in place at this point - Ben Grimm literally develops and changes as the pages go by! At the beginning of the book his dialogue may as well be interchangeable with Reed’s, but he starts to develop his accent and more distinct manner of speaking by the end of story.
Storytelling was also so much different in 1961 compared to modern comics. The “done in one” concept of telling a complete story in one issue makes for a very brisk pace that leaves a lot of gaps and plot holes. I was actually surprised by how many leaps in logic or “convenient” events happened in just this single issue. Ben and Susan show up completely out of nowhere at one point to rescue Reed and Johnny, and there are just so many lapses in logic I just started to be amused by it after a while! You absolutely have to read this book understanding how much has changed in almost 50 years in the world and certainly in the comics medium. In spite of all that, it reads pretty easily and still has an overwhelming sense of fun.
I can’t say enough about Jack Kirby’s art. He has such a sense of action and placement and his style has completely influenced every comic to come after. The facial expressions and body language of the characters is so amazing - you really only need to glimpse the panel to understand a character in that moment.
Truly a pivotal moment in history here. You can see how it developed out of Marvel’s “monster books” but turned the corner on something new. Sure, you can see the influence and derivation from Kirby’s earlier creation of the Challengers of the Unknown, but Stan Lee’s influence brings a different flair to it.
A fun read and and an amazing snapshot of history in the making!
Seeing these characters that I’ve known all my life in such a proto-form is kind of shocking and also really cool. There’s actually only the very groundwork of each character in place at this point - Ben Grimm literally develops and changes as the pages go by! At the beginning of the book his dialogue may as well be interchangeable with Reed’s, but he starts to develop his accent and more distinct manner of speaking by the end of story.
Storytelling was also so much different in 1961 compared to modern comics. The “done in one” concept of telling a complete story in one issue makes for a very brisk pace that leaves a lot of gaps and plot holes. I was actually surprised by how many leaps in logic or “convenient” events happened in just this single issue. Ben and Susan show up completely out of nowhere at one point to rescue Reed and Johnny, and there are just so many lapses in logic I just started to be amused by it after a while! You absolutely have to read this book understanding how much has changed in almost 50 years in the world and certainly in the comics medium. In spite of all that, it reads pretty easily and still has an overwhelming sense of fun.
I can’t say enough about Jack Kirby’s art. He has such a sense of action and placement and his style has completely influenced every comic to come after. The facial expressions and body language of the characters is so amazing - you really only need to glimpse the panel to understand a character in that moment.
Truly a pivotal moment in history here. You can see how it developed out of Marvel’s “monster books” but turned the corner on something new. Sure, you can see the influence and derivation from Kirby’s earlier creation of the Challengers of the Unknown, but Stan Lee’s influence brings a different flair to it.
A fun read and and an amazing snapshot of history in the making!
October 1, 2020
Si bien el origen de Superman y otros personajes es anterior, este número es el que recoge todos los clichés que a uno se le vienen a la cabeza al pensar en la creación de superhéroes. Al fin y al cabo, la fórmula del contacto con radiación o similares (de una forma u otra) como desencadenante para la obtención de poderes se ha aplicado posteriormente a otros iconos de la editorial como Hulk, Daredevil o Spiderman. El cómic en sí es ramplón a más no poder, pero su importancia dentro del género es innegable.
August 3, 2025
Deciding to dive back into a bit of history in celebration of the fantastic four and wow what a chaotic issue. Somebody’s gotta tell Mr Fantastic never to use the fantastic four smoke signal again, apparently it has the unnatural effect of convincing all the members of the group that they can drop everything and use their powers to cause as much chaos as possible to get to the source of the signal, lol. Sue turns invisible right behind her friend, dips out, then gets in a cab while completely invisible and scares the cabbie to death when she tries to hand him money. The thing decides to just strip out of his trench coat, bust through the shopping center door, rip open the ground and start going through the sewers, then bust out in front of a car when he couldn’t find another man hole opening. Johnny straight up melted his car when he transformed and could have hurt the mechanic in the shop working on it. With a guy in flames flying around the military even scrambled jets, which were melted, and even sent a nuclear missile after Johnny! WHAT?! Over a major city?! And then Reed just grabbed it and tossed it in the ocean like it was nothing. Guys, it’s not that serious!! What has the smoke from reed’s signal done to you?
And it’s very apparent that whatever Reed had to get them together to say wasn’t that important, because we immediately cut over to get a recap on their origin story. Basically they had a chance to go into space, Ben was against the idea because of the dangerous “cosmic rays,” he then got reminded by Sue they have to beat the commies, even though historically the USSR was in space first on multiple counts, and that was enough to convince Ben to drop his perfectly reasonable safety arguments and go with them to sneak into their spaceport and steal their own rocket. They then immediately ran into the cosmic rays, started feeling the effects, crashed down to earth and started discovering the powers they got from it. As you can imagine, Ben’s permanent transformation immediately led to discourse between Ben and Reed. Cool to see that exists right from the start of their series. But after the dust settles and they calmed down, they realized that they can use their power to help mankind. They all decided on their names, kinda weird that mr fantastic chose last and kinda deviated from everyone else’s name choices describing their powers…kidding, I know fantastic used to be a more common synonym relating to his powers, lol. And thus the fantastic four were born!
So what does Reed have for them that it was necessary to destroy half the city to get to him?! Turns out it has to do with nuclear power plants, they are going missing! Just fully getting sucked into the ground! And using Reed’s sensors he just found that another one is due to take place! We jump over to Africa as an installation is taken into the ground to the surprise of the soldiers guarding the installation, and even more to their horror as a giant underground monster claws its way out. Completely shielded from any of their artillery. This could of course only be the work of the mole man! And Reed tracked the origin of the tremors to the rumored monster isle! Using their private jet, they flew out to the island and immediately came into contact with all sorts of monsters, three headed and such. But suddenly the ground opened and Reed and Johnny fell below into the dark! Suddenly a door opened and the blinding light that came from it literally forced the pair to black out. When they woke up they found themselves in suits, protecting them from the glow of the valley of diamonds, and they are now faced with the short mole man!
Before we continue that we need to check on the two who didn’t fall in, Sue and Ben. Ben has to jump in, and once again strip down out of his trench coat, to stop a monster from attacking Sue. Kinda surprised we didn’t get a Clobberin time from the first issue, wonder when that first comes up. Anyway, down with mole man he reveals that the rest of the world rejected him because of the way he looked, he went out in search of the center of the earth, actually found it but then when an avalanche got him up close and personal with it, he found that he may have survived the fall but lost his impact. He had. Scone a human mole, but he spent his time mastering the creatures and his abilities and building an empire. He now has super senses in the dark, like a mile and even has a natural radar system that allows him to evade dangers. His current big plan is to use the system of tunnels part of his underground empire to take out every atomic plant and then target the major cities! But he won’t be getting away with that with the fantastic four on the scene, now including Ben, who somehow has to take off another trench coat, and Sue! They make quick work, and Reed actually wraps up Mole man at one point. But with mole man’s forces on the horizon and chasing after them, Reed couldn’t keep a grip. And ultimately Johnny used his flames to heat the earth around them and trap the creatures inside. HAHAHA, they buried the underground civilization and then called it a day?! Seriously?! That’s so laughable, they will just dig their way out, or better yet just go to their next target directly. What a minor inconvenience. Kirby’s art is top tier, and I really haven’t read a lot of Stan Lee’s books, but if this is any indication…wow are they wild in the best possible ways.
And it’s very apparent that whatever Reed had to get them together to say wasn’t that important, because we immediately cut over to get a recap on their origin story. Basically they had a chance to go into space, Ben was against the idea because of the dangerous “cosmic rays,” he then got reminded by Sue they have to beat the commies, even though historically the USSR was in space first on multiple counts, and that was enough to convince Ben to drop his perfectly reasonable safety arguments and go with them to sneak into their spaceport and steal their own rocket. They then immediately ran into the cosmic rays, started feeling the effects, crashed down to earth and started discovering the powers they got from it. As you can imagine, Ben’s permanent transformation immediately led to discourse between Ben and Reed. Cool to see that exists right from the start of their series. But after the dust settles and they calmed down, they realized that they can use their power to help mankind. They all decided on their names, kinda weird that mr fantastic chose last and kinda deviated from everyone else’s name choices describing their powers…kidding, I know fantastic used to be a more common synonym relating to his powers, lol. And thus the fantastic four were born!
So what does Reed have for them that it was necessary to destroy half the city to get to him?! Turns out it has to do with nuclear power plants, they are going missing! Just fully getting sucked into the ground! And using Reed’s sensors he just found that another one is due to take place! We jump over to Africa as an installation is taken into the ground to the surprise of the soldiers guarding the installation, and even more to their horror as a giant underground monster claws its way out. Completely shielded from any of their artillery. This could of course only be the work of the mole man! And Reed tracked the origin of the tremors to the rumored monster isle! Using their private jet, they flew out to the island and immediately came into contact with all sorts of monsters, three headed and such. But suddenly the ground opened and Reed and Johnny fell below into the dark! Suddenly a door opened and the blinding light that came from it literally forced the pair to black out. When they woke up they found themselves in suits, protecting them from the glow of the valley of diamonds, and they are now faced with the short mole man!
Before we continue that we need to check on the two who didn’t fall in, Sue and Ben. Ben has to jump in, and once again strip down out of his trench coat, to stop a monster from attacking Sue. Kinda surprised we didn’t get a Clobberin time from the first issue, wonder when that first comes up. Anyway, down with mole man he reveals that the rest of the world rejected him because of the way he looked, he went out in search of the center of the earth, actually found it but then when an avalanche got him up close and personal with it, he found that he may have survived the fall but lost his impact. He had. Scone a human mole, but he spent his time mastering the creatures and his abilities and building an empire. He now has super senses in the dark, like a mile and even has a natural radar system that allows him to evade dangers. His current big plan is to use the system of tunnels part of his underground empire to take out every atomic plant and then target the major cities! But he won’t be getting away with that with the fantastic four on the scene, now including Ben, who somehow has to take off another trench coat, and Sue! They make quick work, and Reed actually wraps up Mole man at one point. But with mole man’s forces on the horizon and chasing after them, Reed couldn’t keep a grip. And ultimately Johnny used his flames to heat the earth around them and trap the creatures inside. HAHAHA, they buried the underground civilization and then called it a day?! Seriously?! That’s so laughable, they will just dig their way out, or better yet just go to their next target directly. What a minor inconvenience. Kirby’s art is top tier, and I really haven’t read a lot of Stan Lee’s books, but if this is any indication…wow are they wild in the best possible ways.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2023
All my "Where to start reading Marvel Comics?" Research kept leading me to this issue of The Fantastic Four. It certainly felt like a great place to dip my toes into Marvel. The art had a very cozy 60's flair (duh....) and the corny villain checked all the trope boxes. Nothing reads quite like a Silver Age comic. I'm excited to see where else this journey takes me.
October 4, 2020
Nice start. How different the torch is now right?
February 2, 2025
Fantastic Four #1, "The Fantastic Four!"
The comic that built the course of one publisher for decades to come, and shifted the entire landscape of American comics for a generation. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby began their monumental stretch of building the Marvel Universe with Fantastic Four #1, released in 1961. The team is introduced post-origin, with Reed Richards summoning the team by shooting a "4" into the air. The first third of the issue introduces the team one at a time, with Sue Storm showing off her invisibility whilst riding a cab, Ben Grimm stomping through the streets as a blocky monstrous being, and Johnny Storm scorching the sky in his flight towards Reed's signal. A missile launched at Johnny is stopped by Reed's elastic limbs, and a saved Johnny joins his three colleagues to address a situation involving the Mole Man.
Thus, the Fantastic Four is introduced to the world. Their origin story follows soon after, with a space mission gone wrong exposing the four cosmonauts to a mega dose of cosmic rays.
The newly minted superheroes are quick to form a team - the Fantastic Four!
Though the Mole Man makes for a now iconic cover for the series, he tends to be a bit more of a forgettable villain in many ways. What really makes this first issue stand out amongst the many treasures of the Silver Age was Lee and Kirby using contemporary issues like the space race, the Red Scare, etc. to craft a relatable set of sci-fi stories. These would go on to set the stage for much of the greatness of the Silver Age of Marvel Comics for years to come. Lee and Kirby would go on to deliver more than a hundred issues together on this run, a record that would stand for a very long time.
The comic that built the course of one publisher for decades to come, and shifted the entire landscape of American comics for a generation. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby began their monumental stretch of building the Marvel Universe with Fantastic Four #1, released in 1961. The team is introduced post-origin, with Reed Richards summoning the team by shooting a "4" into the air. The first third of the issue introduces the team one at a time, with Sue Storm showing off her invisibility whilst riding a cab, Ben Grimm stomping through the streets as a blocky monstrous being, and Johnny Storm scorching the sky in his flight towards Reed's signal. A missile launched at Johnny is stopped by Reed's elastic limbs, and a saved Johnny joins his three colleagues to address a situation involving the Mole Man.
Thus, the Fantastic Four is introduced to the world. Their origin story follows soon after, with a space mission gone wrong exposing the four cosmonauts to a mega dose of cosmic rays.
The newly minted superheroes are quick to form a team - the Fantastic Four!
Though the Mole Man makes for a now iconic cover for the series, he tends to be a bit more of a forgettable villain in many ways. What really makes this first issue stand out amongst the many treasures of the Silver Age was Lee and Kirby using contemporary issues like the space race, the Red Scare, etc. to craft a relatable set of sci-fi stories. These would go on to set the stage for much of the greatness of the Silver Age of Marvel Comics for years to come. Lee and Kirby would go on to deliver more than a hundred issues together on this run, a record that would stand for a very long time.
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