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The Fantastic Four are the world's greatest superhero team, the book is entitled "the world's greatest comic magazine" and is often referred to as the flagship title, Marvel's First Family, and so on. The title spawned more new ideas than probably any other comic. The title began the Silver Age of comics The FF represent, in its purest form, what made Marvel unique and great: a connection with readers. The FF lived in the real world, in a prominent building on 42nd street, New York. They had no secret identities. They had to raise funds, deal with the media and the government, and do everything a real superhero would have to do. And they had a fan club where readers could write to them, and they met with Marvel Comics writers to discuss how their adventures would be reported. And they progressed in real time, reacting to real world events. Most other heroes simply cannot make sense. Apologies to the fans of Spider-man and the X-Men, but nonsense is built into their characters. Spider-man is still an angst-ridden kid despite defeating every supervillain in the book for nearly fifty years? The X-Men are still alive despite mindless cosmic-level violence every day for the past thirty years? Really? If superheroes really existed, they would have to be like the FF. They need a genius-level leader and powers that are actually useful. I mean, no offense to Cyclops or Spiderman, but a simple bullet would take out most superheroes. The FF are different. Ben is bulletproof. So is Reed (in effect). Sue and Johnny are bulletproof when in action, and even if shot at other times a little invisibility and forcefield surgery would solve most problems. Plus they both have the power to move very fast to the nearest hospital, and then not worry about secret identities. The FF's powers are extremely useful in the real world, and other characters' powers are often not. Really, everything about the FF makes them potentially believable, and that's what makes them different: they can connect with the real world, the world of the reader, in a way that other superheroes never can. I should also point out that the early stories were carefully designed so they could take place in the real world. Even when Galactus appeared, most people only saw a distant figure on a rooftop and thought it was a media stunt. When the Skrulls invaded, most people did not realize. You could really believe that this stuff was happening in your world, and that made it amazing! Of course, having Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott at the top of their game didn't hurt either. :) Of course this connection was broken a long time ago, but that's another story. If Marvel ever decide to connect with their readers again, the Fantastic Four are the perfect vehicle. That's what they were designed for. |
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Fantastic Four, Ultimates, Adventures, etc. Are you confused by all the different titles containing the words "Fantasic Four"? And the different numbering systems? Well you're not alone! Basically the title with the big numbers is the one that counts. Here's a guide to what matters: Special thanks to the Pier Four website (no longer maintained) for graphics and inspiration. Also, some of the material on this site is based on the web site "Four Freedom's Plaza" and is used by permission. Volume 1, the silver age, the classics. The 1960s Fantastic Four, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, was one of the greatest comic runs in the world. Ever. Everything else in the Fantastic Four is based on this. When they make a movie, or a new writer starts on the Fantastic Four, they often read the first hundred issues and ignore the rest. These issues are reprinted in the "Essentials" and hard back deluxe editions. In the 1970s Marvel Time raised its ugly head, and the characters stopped changing. A lot of old ideas were repeated, but there are a few great stories. Highlights are the George Perez issues (180s) and the Son of Doom saga (climaxing in 200). The only other memorable time was the mid 1980s under John Byrne. Most fans agree that issues 232 to the 260s are the second greatest FF run ever. |
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Stories you must read These are the classic stories that fans remember. They're all from the main title, since the other titles (Reborn, Ultimates, Adventures, cartoons, movies, etc.) tend to just adapt and retell the old stories. Warning: spoilers ahead! |
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Issue 1, 1961: the origin The Story: Four travellers explore a mysterious cosmic stream of energy, but something goes wrong and they return to Earth with fantastic powers. Now they decide to use their powers to the good of the human race and end up in adventures and battles with beings with their own fantastic powers. Thus was born the Fantastic Four. A family first and super heroes second, the Fantastic Four have always done what they believe is right and is always taking the world forward with their discoveries. From the origin to the classics 2: the Skrulls. Not a classic story, but the skrulls became very important 4: the Sub-Mariner 5: Dr Doom! 6: first team up 7: Planet X. Most people don't consider this a classic, but I do, since I first read it in large scale hard back format as a little kid, and I was deeply impressed. 12: the Hulk, the first of many battles between old greenskin and the Thing. 13: the Watcher (and the red ghost) Annual 1: Atlantis versus the surface world 25-26: First multi-issue crossover event 29: Yancy Street 32: the Invincible Man (notable for the story, not the character) 36: first Medusa and the Frightful Four 38: first major defeat Annual 2: origin of Dr Doom |
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The classic run, the 40s - 90s Annual 3: Wedding of Sue and Reed 44-47: Inhumans 48-50: Galactus (and Silver Surfer) - probably the greatest FF story ever 51: "This Man This Monster" 52-53: Black Panther 57-60: Doom steals the Power Cosmic 61-63: Negative Zone (and Blastaar) 64-65: Sentry (Kree empire) 66-67: Him (Adam Warlock) 72-77: Second Galactus saga (and Microverse) Annual 6: Birth of Franklin 81: Crystal joins the FF 84-87: Latveria 90-93: The Thing enslaved Between the classics and Byrne 105-116: The monster, the Thing amok, Janus, Overmind. A very enjoyable run. 132: Crystal leaves Johnny - emotional highlight of series. New red costume. 141: Reed blasts Franklin: Sue leaves (marital problems started in 130) 142-144: Doom, Latveria, Darkoth, Alicia - a classic arc 150: wedding of Crystal and Pietro 155-157: the Surfer and Shalla Bal (originally planned as a Giant Size special) 164-165: Crusader (Perez art) 168-170: Power Man (Perez art) 176-179: Impossible Man, Frightful Four, Brute (Perez art). 188: Reed resigns, FF break up (Perez art) 198-200: son of Doom, and Latveria is freed |
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John Byrne 232: Diablo (first all-Byrne issue, complete story, "back to basics" in many ways) 236: Terror in a Tiny Town (triple sized 20th anniversary issue) 238-239: Frankie Raye and Aunt Petunia 240: Inhumans leave for the Moon 242-244: Reed saves Galactus, Galactus takes a new herald 245: Franklin grows up, needs mental dampers 246-247, 258: return of Doom 260: annihilation of doom (literally) - returns in 288 262: trial of Reed Richards 265: return from BattleWorld (Secret Wars 1); She-Hulk joins 267: "A small loss" 271: Gormuu (affectionate tribute set before FF 1) 272-273: Nathaniel Richards (Reed's father) 277: the Thing returns, discovers Alicia and Johnny, leaves the FF 278-179: Kristoff becomes Doom; destruction of Baxter building 280-281: Malice 285: "Hero" 286: return of Phoenix 289: new headquarters, Four Freedom's Plaza |
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Between Byrne and Heroes Reborn 296: the Thing returns to the FF. Not really a classic (his changed appearance is quickly retconned) but a giant anniversary issue by many artists, and ties up some loose ends from the end of his own book. 300: wedding of Johnny and Alicia 310-311: Pineapple Thing; Ms Marvel becomes She-Thing 318-319: Dr Doom and the Beyonder (climax to Secret Wars II) 320: the Thing beats the Hulk (briefly, under unusual circumstances) 337-341: Walt Simonson at his best! 'Nuff said. 347-349: the New FF! This is a "must have" arc (by Simonson) 350: Doom returns and retcons most of his appearances (Simonson) 351-354: time stream, last of Simonson's run, Ben back to normal Thing 357: Lyja! 374: Wolverine scars Ben's face 376: teenage Franklin from the future 381: Reed apparently dies 407: Reed returns 408: Hyperstorm (who then fixes Ben's face) 413: Franklin is young again |
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After Heroes Reborn 414-416: Onslaught (preparing for Heroes Reborn) 417-429: Heroes Reborn (numbered as volume 2, 1-13) 431-472: Heroes Return (numbered as volume 3, 1-41) Annual, 1998: Ben visits the Real Time FF. 450 (vol 3 issue 21): Valeria 454-460 (vol 3, 25-31): Reed, trapped in Doom's body 463-478 (vol 3, 34-49) Pacheco art and story. Very nice indeed. 467 (vol 3, 38): The new Baxter Building 485: Ben Grimm and Yancy Street 489: The 9c issue, an introduction to the FF as they are now 496-500: "Unthinkable" - the FF and Doom in Hell. 503-508: "Authoritative Action" - and Ben dies at the end 509-511: "Hereafter" - the Fantastic Four journey to heaven to rescue Ben 543-544: Sue and Reed leave to fix their marriage, Storm and Black Panther join Mark Waid is generally considered the high point among recent FF writers. Many put him third behind Lee/Kirby and early Byrne: praise indeed! Since then, well, it's too early to say which will be considered classics. Only time will tell. |
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The 1990s: volume 2 (Heroes Reborn) and volume 3 The original Fantastic Four ended at issue 416. For one year they had volume 2, "Heroes Reborn" with new, different versions of the early stories. Then it was explained that this was a kind of dream, and they returned to the original world with volume 3, "Heroes Return." Eventually the original numbering came back, around issue 500. |
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2000s: The title splinters into many parts The regular "Fantastic Four" carries on as normal and is now at issue 550-something. The stories are now spread over six issue at a time, so they can later be sold as trade paperbacks. A new series, "Ultimate Fantastic Four" started again with slightly different (and younger) characters , different origins, etc. None of this appeals to the kids, so there is another series, "Fantastic Four Adventures" which is more like the cartoons. Other retellings include the 2099 series (set in 2099), the 1602 series (set in 1602), Marvel Zombies (where the characters are zombies), and so on. And the cartoons and movies of course provide even more variations. That's about it. The newer stories are sometimes good, but Marvel Time forbids them from ever doing anything memorable. So if you miss them it doesn't matter. Maybe that will change in the future, but until then, we older fans can re-read the older stories and live in hope. |
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And one more thing... How Strong is Ben Grimm? I just want to clear up a common misconception. Back in FF 129 and FF132, Thundra (a seven foot super-strong female from a parallel world) appeared to defeat The Thing. Ever since then, people have treated The Thing like he's second rate in the strength department. Noticeably weaker than the Hulk, weaker than Wonder Man, weaker than Hercules or Thor, and so on. Is this fair? First, it is true that the Hulk generally beats the Thing (except one time with Pineapple Thing versus Gray Hulk, but that's another story.) This could be because the Hulk has unlimited strength (he gets stronger as he gets angrier). But it could also be because the Hulk is pretty brainless and can become savage. He never pulls his punches. But the Thing is a decent, caring guy. He doesn't hit ladies, he doesn't draw blood, he won't do anything to genuinely hurt someone. He's a sensitive Jewish kid and he always pulls his punches. One thing you have to understand about The Thing is his psychology. For many years he hated himself as a monster. And even after that he was unable to change back to Ben Grimm, simply because he was subconsciously afraid that his girlfriend Alicia would not like him as human. The point is, Ben Grimm has deep psychological blocks in place. It is quite likely that, on an unconscious level, he never lets himself get angry enough to exert his full strength. He may even believe that his strength is limited. But his belief may be misguided. Lets' take another look at when Thundra "beat" The Thing. Ben Grimm tries not to fight back against women. But more important, BEN GRIMM WAS SICK. It all started back in FF 124. Reed Richards collapsed, unconscious, and had to go to hospital. it was diagnosed as severe exhaustion, due to recent battles. Over the next few issues Ben acted weaker than usual, and was beaten quite easily several times. He held his arm in pain after escaping a cage, and more than once he collapsed. Sue said that Ben had the same exhaustion problem that Reed had. Soon after, Ben was defeated twice by Thundra. (Both times was by a severe blow to the head - perhaps that was significant.) But the point is, BEN WAS SICK and he was AVOIDING FIGHTING BACK because he doesn't hit ladies. This is NO WAY a reflection of his normal strength. In case you missed those issues, these scans are key frames from issues 120 to 133. |
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So how strong is he really? In FF issue 39 the Skrulls estimated that Ben could not lift more than five tons. At around the same time, in an early issue of Strange Tales, he is tied to a ten ton object that he is able to move, but only just. But his strength appears to have grown steadily during the 1960s, at the same time as his appearance changed from "lumpy" to "rocky." Probably his greatest feat of strength took place on FF 92, on a Skrull planet. Here is the sequence in question: |
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The last frame makes it look like the hydraulo-press was carried by a car, but this is an elien world and looks can be deceiving. It clearly isn't just a heavy pile of metal, or the Thing could have just knocked it over sideways, or lifted it without crumpling it. Clearly it has some special kind of force (magnetic? gravitational?) to give it the power it needs. How strong was this hydraulo-press? The hydraulo-press loks like ane arth pile driver, but is designed to push through planets. Earth based pile drivers typically have a ramming force of between 80- and 500 tons. they achieve this by weighing maybe 20 tons and being dropped from several feet. (It appears from the pictures that the Skrull hydraulo-press does not need to be dropped to have its force varied, so it probably operates on a different principle. It appears to be vibrating.) If earth based presses can achieve 500 tons, and the Skrull press could achieve much more than this, then it appears that The Thing can lift over a thousand tons when he has to, when pushed to the limit. Notice that at this time he was influenced by a "brain blast" mind control ray, and was highly frustrated at not being able to escape previously. So the usual psychological blocks probably did not apply. Bottom line: The Thing can lift (press) a thousand tons... if psychological restraints are removed. At other times he is seen pushing less than a hundred tons, so clearly a lot depends on his frame of mind. Ben Grimm is known more than anything else for being a nice guy who never gives up. It seems that, like the Hulk, the Thing can call on almost unlimited strength when under extreme stress. But unlike the Hulk he's a nice guy. Too nice to ever really let himself go. The Hulk always gets angry faster, and doesn't get tired. That may be the only reason the Hulk tends to win when they fight. |
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