One of the interesting things about the Fantastic Four is they all live separate lives independent from the team. This is a superhero group that breaks up and gets back together more than your favorite band. And while they all are heroes in their own right, deep down we all know, just as they do, these four are best together.

In the 15th issue of the FF, a villain with intellectual prowess has a plan to separate the group and defeat them. The Mad Thinker makes his first appearance but is he enough to defeat the smartest man in the world, Reed Richards? Don’t count on it.

Before I get into the plot of the issue, let’s just take a moment to appreciate the cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. I love this cover. The artists not only convey a frenetic sense of movement with our heroes pinned down in what looks like an impossible position, it’s also as if this action is so intense it has literally broken through the cover of the comic itself. It’s a visual 4th wall break and man does it work. Say what you will about artists today, Jack Kirby in his time was a true innovator.

As for the issue itself, the first page promises a showdown between the Fantastic Four and someone called the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android! While the FF have gone up against quite a few foes already, naming a character “The Mad Thinker” makes me think he’s meant to be a match for Reed Richards specifically.

The story shows us the Baxter Building in New York where Reed fires off his signal gun. This device unleashes a fiery 4 in the sky to call his team home. And at this point the team is famous enough, the pedestrians on the ground know this is a red alert for the super hero group.

The first of our heroes to see the signal is Johnny Storm who is on a date with a girl named Peggy. This is her first official appearance but it won’t be her last. She’s upset with the interruption of the date as ol’ flame head flies off. This seems to be repeat behavior on Johnny’s part but hey, a super hero has obligations.

We then move on to Sue Storm who is getting her hair done with one of the most sought after hair stylists in New York, Pierre. He’ll return to the pages of the Fantastic Four as well. Sue decides to turn invisible for what, in my opinion, is a pretty silly reason. She doesn’t want anyone to see her with curlers in her hair.

The last member of the group to see the signal is Benjamin Grim, aka, The Thing. He’s on Yancy Street where the Yancy Street Gang is making fun of him. Yancy street has been mentioned a time or two so far but this is the first direct showdown between The Thing and the Yancy Street Gang who grow to be a consistent rivalry for Ben. Why is Ben mad at these guys? They sent him a drawing of himself in a tutu. We don’t actually see the faces of any of these guys but they do taunt Ben and throw flowers at him. In response, the Thing picks up a bulldozer and is about to hurl it at them when he sees the emergency signal. He abandons the fight to help his friends. Of course this makes the Yancy Street Gang think he’s scared of them and they taunt him further on his way down the street.

The three members who have been summoned to the Baxter Building express their displeasure with being interrupted. But Reed says he didn’t want to stop what he was doing any more than they did. Reed was experimenting with D.N.A. and has “managed to create a primitive form of one-celled life which lived for a few seconds!” He asks, “Do you think I feel like stopping now?” Hmmmm…. I don’t know Reed, I feel like this whole line of experiments might come back to bite you in the end.

Anyway, the reason Reed summoned everyone is he got a tip from the chief of police. It seems a bunch of big shot “mobsters and gang leaders” from all over the country have converged on New York. And the police chief wants the FF to keep an eye out. I’m not sure the FF is actually the right team for this job since they tend to deal with things on a more cosmic scale but they should be capable of stopping a little crime right?

We’re next introduced to our villain. The Mad Thinker declares down to the half second when his visitors will arrive. Sure enough three tough looking thugs walk through the door. Apparently the Thinker has summoned these folks to help him create a “kingdom of crime.” And who’s to lead this kingdom? The Thinker, naturally.

He lays out a plan to take over New York, going so far as to imagine himself making treaties with other cities to negotiate terms of trade. But, of course, the mobsters want to know what will be done about the Fantastic Four. They all describe how any one of the members of that team could defeat the Thinker.

The Thinker flies into a rage and shows them all his huge computer array. With it he’s figured out a way to break into the Baxter Building and take over the heroes’ headquarters. He even claims his computer not only knows everything that ever has happened but can also predict everything that will happen. And he goes on to describe some crimes he’s committed with impeccable timing because he knew of strange incidents that would happen at precise moments. He got away because of a hot dog cart, a water main bursting, and an organ grinder’s monkey starting a fire. All things his machines predicted.

One of the mobsters isn’t buying it and decides to leave. The Thinker says he knew that would happen and that the mobster would regret it in 18 seconds. Eighteen seconds later the mob boss is arrested by the police and does regret his decision. Now, it could be the Thinker’s machines truly predicted this but as a skeptic myself, I think the safer bet is the cops saw famous mobsters come into their city and followed them, waiting for them to come out to be arrested. That’s just my hunch though. But it’s enough to convince the rest of the gangsters and thugs to join with The Thinker.

The Thinker’s plan to defeat the famous super heroes boils down to a divide and conquer scheme. He’s got plans for each one of them.

First, The Human Torch is visited by his cousin, Bones, who runs a circus. Business has been bad for Bones and he needs a sensational act to bring the audience back.

Next, the executives at General Electric need someone to head up their electronic research division. A well placed magazine makes them decide to reach out to Reed Richards himself with the job offer.

The Thing is offered a chance to wrestle someone named Fatal Finnegan who also happens to be the idol of the Yancy Street Gang.

Meanwhile, Sue Storm is spotted by a director working on a new show and wants her to star.

All of these offers are enticing for our heroes. And ultimately they decide what they need right now is a little vacation from each other. This isn’t the first and it’s far from the last time the group splits up but it is notable because they aren’t splitting up out of anger this time. It’s not just an impulsive decision, it seems more calculated. And like fate has dealt them the perfect set of circumstances for this to happen. Of course, this is true because the Mad Thinker has been putting these plans into motion for months.

The four heroes go their separate ways to pursue their interests. The Mad Thinker knows a meteor is about to strike the waters of New York’s lower bay. This causes a temporary panic in the city and in the confusion the Thinker is able to enter the Baxter Building because the electricity is out.

Meanwhile, Johnny is a sensation at the circus but he is getting tired of doing the same old act day in and day out. Sue Storm is making her movie but finds it tedious as she has to do take after take. Reed is great at his job but has unorthodox methods and realizes he’s not happy working for anyone but himself. The Thing is in a fairly even wrestling match but his opponent has his eye on Alicia, Ben’s girlfriend. This enrages the Thing who puts a quick end to the wrestling show.

All of our heroes return back at the same time. But things are different here. The building has been transformed into some kind of impenetrable crystal. As the group tries to figure out a way in, the Mad Thinker projects an image of himself onto the building. He tells the team he’s used, “an electronic hypno-ray field around the building!” so the general population doesn’t notice the changes. He introduces himself to the team and says they are to be his greatest conquest because once they are defeated no one on earth can stand in his way.

While quite a few foes have challenged this team already, the Thinker does have one advantage here. He’s got Reed’s scientific research. He allows the team to enter, assuming he will be able to defeat the team. Johnny melts some traps waiting for them at the entrance. But then the mobsters show up with, “vibra-guns.” Things look bleak until the Thing wraps up the mobsters by bending steel walls around them.

The Thinker tells the group he expected them to pass their first test but tells them they need to get to the 35th floor. They head up the elevator shaft when Thinker tosses some canisters at the group. It’s something of Reed’s making and it gives Jack Kirby another chance to show off his art skills with a bit of distortion. The gas is meant to be non-lethal and make you lose balance while everything you see becomes distorted.

Sue gives Ben the idea of twisting up Mr. Fantastic’s body and letting him go so he acts like a giant fan. This does the trick and the team ends up on the 35th floor. Once there, the team is confronted with the living android that was promised on the cover. The Thinker has used Reed’s research to create this thing. Johnny attacks it but it blows out his flame. The Thing tries to stop it next but when Ben punches it seems to absorb and adopt the properties of The Thing himself. Reed feels responsible so he tells the team to stay back while he tries to find a way to nullify its power. Sue turns invisible as Reed wraps himself around the android. Reed tells her where to push to turn off the computer terminal of the android and she does.

When the team finally makes it to the Mad Thinker he’s not surprised. Johnny threatens him with flame but Thinker is confident. He’s got a gun that shoots a chemical which can douse Johnny’s flame. Even worse, he’s got anti-matter shells zeroed in on all the heroes. This is an invention of Reed’s making so it’s likely to work. But at the exact moment Thinker believes he will win, the shells misfire and Reed and team grab and deactivate them.

The Mad Thinker is left to wonder how he was beaten. Reed explains Thinker didn’t think of the x-factor (hmm sounds like a good name for a future comic) that can’t be accounted for. When Reed and friends saw their building they communicated to the postman Mr. Lumpkin and asked him to ring a special bell at exactly four o’clock. This button is an electrical circuit breaker meant to render all of Reed’s equipment useless. He rigged this knowing it was a possibility someone might take over his lab someday.

The Mad Thinker is taken off by the police vowing that next time he’ll take into account the x-factor. And with that the heroic family is back together once again.

The ending here is definitely a bit of a deus ex machina but at least Reed rigged it up ahead of time. Off panel of course.

The Thinker will go on to be a repeat villain and he does have some good tricks up his sleeve. He never will quite reach the levels of a Dr. Doom but he’s an interesting foil for Reed in particular and he’s no doubt dangerous. The issue cements further the bonds of family and friendship in the team. It’s a good issue but it does not have the flair of one of the great FF stories. It’s adequate but the drama is a bit slow. However, the artwork is, for lack of a better word, fantastic in this one.

We’ll have plenty more adventures to talk about with this team but for now they are relatively safe and happy all together.

Next up on the reading list we’ll be checking in on Johnny Storm’s own adventures in Strange Tales #111 [A story] quickly followed by a run in with Dr. Strange in Strange Tales #111 [C story].