There is one story from this issue of the anthology Tales to Astonish that can be considered important to 616 continuity. Although, if you skipped this one, it probably wouldn’t make much difference. Still, Marvel counts this one as in continuity and there are a couple of things of note here.
The story that counts in 616 continuity is the one called The Girl in the Black Hood. This story is about a full grown woman, not a girl. This sexist titling is unfortunately common during the 1960s Marvel era. Nevertheless, the story is about a woman named May Dusa. She is a photographer who takes amazing pictures but never lets anyone see her face. A small time crook plans to rob her and get a good look at her face. In a twist that will surprise no one now but might have surprised some seven year old kids in the 1960s, the woman has snakes for hair and is Medusa.
It’s the kind of short, somewhat silly type of story that frequently appeared in Tales at the time and I can’t blame the creators for lack of cleverness. They were cranking out a huge volume at the time and not all stories can be winners.
There are two things I think are important here. First, Don Heck who will go on to do the Iron Man series is the artist and this is a nice example of his work. Secondly, the story takes place in the 1920s. Like the Sub-Mariner appearing in The Fantastic Four established the 616 timeline back to the 1940’s this issue takes us back to the 1920’s so we know 616 is at least that old.
To me it is not clear if this “May Dusa” is the prototype for Medusa that will appear in the pages of The Fantastic Four and other books or not. This story may set up the Gorgons but if so, I am not sure how this story accomplishes that. There is still plenty of reading to go though, so we’ll see when we get there.
The Incredible Hulk Issue #1, Photo Credit: Marvel
There are a few moments in the Marvel 616 universe that are pivotal moments. These moments change the world. One such moment is when four individuals attempted to explore space but flew threw cosmic rays and became four of the most fantastic people on the planet. Another is when a teenage science student attends a science lecture and is bitten by a radioactive spider. There is also an incident in which a young boy will save someone’s life by pushing a stranger out of the way of being hit by a car. This will make the young boy go blind but will also give him heightened senses that allow him to do the most death-defying daredevil stunts ever seen.
A key moment in 616 continuity that is constantly revisited is the moment when Bruce Banner tests a Gamma Bomb for the first time.
On May 1st, 1962, while the country is still worried about nuclear attacks from the Russians, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby unleash a man/monster upon the world who will go on to become one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time.
The issue establishes several essential characters who will not only feature in The Incredible Hulk but will become vital to the entire 616 universe. The events of the day are not in question but the moment Bruce becomes the Hulk will be revisited over and over. Context will be added, small details will be changed. But the basic premise will always remain. Bruce Banner was testing a new kind of bomb. Just before the test was about to happen, a teenager drives out to the testing field. Bruce races to the scene and saves Rick Jones’ life. This will alter the destiny of everyone seen in this first issue of the comic book.
General “Thunderbolt” Ross will dedicate his life to hunting down the Hulk. Betty Ross, Bruce’s love interest will wonder what the connection between Hulk and Bruce is. It’s almost as if she feels the change in the world as in one panel she says, “I feel as though we’re on the brink of some fantastic unimaginable adventure!” Rick Jones will feel he must repay Bruce by protecting Bruce and the Hulk at all costs. This will lead him to eventually connect with most of the Marvel 616 heroes at one point or another.
To this day, things from this first issue continue to be explored in Marvel 616. Hulk appears gray in this issue instead of his iconic green which leads to an epic story arc which will attempt to explain the different shades of color Hulk sometimes appears in. In one panel Lee writes the name given to Bruce Banner’s other self is, “A name which is destined to become–Immortal!” And now, there is a comic book with the title of, The Immortal Hulk, proving Lee to be correct.
What Stan Lee wanted to create with the Hulk was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide style character who would look like a man in human form but change to something akin to Frankenstein’s monster when he changed. For all of Lee’s boasting about The Hulk being a new character unlike anything we had ever seen before, he was truly just an amalgamation of Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein’s monster. At least, at the beginning. Somewhat more original was Lee’s take on the Dr. Jekyll side of the creation.
Bruce Banner was working for the good of the world. His G-bomb was going to be something that could defeat the Russians in the cold war and protect democracy. He was an intelligent scientist who had to coexist on an army base with a General who wanted results. Bruce had to be smart enough and tough enough to know who he could give information to and who he had to hide it from.
The only reason Hulk came into being is from Bruce’s altruism. Hulk is born out of a need to help someone else at a great cost. Much like the accident itself, which was no fault of Bruce’s, Hulk has been misunderstood in his pages since the beginning of the comic book.
In this first issue, Bruce, only changes form at night. This will evolve as the series goes on but Bruce does know he cannot allow Hulk to endanger anyone’s life when he changes.
There is an antagonist in this issue in the form of an Iron Curtain operative by the name of The Gargoyle. Like a good majority of Hulk’s enemies, Gargoyle seems insignificant in comparison to the epic rage and drama of the Hulk himself. The Russians are responsible for the test going wrong in the first place. This idea let Stan Lee tap into the fears of the country at the time. The Gargoyle is the leader of the ring of Russian spies responsible. For all his intelligence, The Gargoyle has been hideously deformed. Even his allies fear him. He quickly understands The Hulk could change the cold war in favor of the Soviet Union. He smuggles Rick Jones and Hulk out of the country and behind the Iron Curtain after shooting them with a special chemical to make them compliant. Little does The Gargoyle know that Hulk will change mid-flight back into Bruce Banner. Still, The Gargoyle is no dummy and he realizes he has in his clutches the leading atomic scientist from the U.S. of A,
What turns the issue and changes the story again is Bruce’s altruism. Despite Rick Jones’ protesting, Bruce offers to cure The Gargoyle. The procedure will make The Gargoyle into a normal man once again. It will be at the cost of his intellect but The Gargoyle is comfortable with that. The reason The Gargoyle is what he calls a freak is because of nuclear testing. The Gargoyle, like many of The Hulk’s enemies to come, is a reflection of The Hulk himself. Banner does help Gargoyle and in return, Gargoyle sends Bruce and Rick back to America on his ship.
This issue is memorable for a myriad of reasons. From Kirby’s kinetic artwork that has The Hulk performing amazing feats from crushing guns, single-handed to breaking through walls to the soulful nature of Betty Ross this issue masterfully sets up the corner of the Marvel 616 universe that has to do with atomic energy. Like the splitting of the atom itself, The Hulk is a force to be reckoned with. Used for good it can save humanity. Used for ill, it could be the death of the world.
In my mind, the question of the day readers must have had after this first issue is, “What will we do if the Hulk turns against us?”
It would have been a frightening thought for a kid living at the dawn of the atomic age during the cold war. Thankfully, for us readers, we can still read about the exploits of The Hulk and will continue to do so for decades to come.
There is one other thing I need to note here. With the introduction of Henry Pym in Tales to Astonish #29 and The Hulk’s triumphant yet troubled entrance, we now have 2 of the founding members of The Avengers solidly established in 616 continuity.
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Tales to Astonish is an anthology book and several characters make their debut for the 616 universe in the pages of these comics. In issue 30 there is a character appearance that will come to be important many years later. It is not The Thing From the Hidden Swamp. That Thing from the hidden swamp is not The Thing from the Fantastic Four either. The story we care about is also not the “Gorilla-man” who is shown on the cover either. Neither of those stories contributes to 616 in any way thus far.
The final story of the issue, the one we care about is called Quogg. This is an oddball story about a three-time loser who is a criminal. He is committing crimes somewhere near an African outpost. While looking for shelter he is told by the people of a native village he should not go past a fence in the jungle because Quogg lives there. The thief decides the perfect hideout would be behind that fence so he lies to the natives and tells them he won’t go in there. The next thing you know he is jumping the fence and sees a hut where he can take shelter. He builds some perimeter defenses and plans to live in the hut. Unfortunately for the thief, it turns out the horrible monster Quogg is the hut and the man is now trapped.
This story is almost completely irrelevant to 616 but Quogg will make a return way off in the future in Monsters Unleashed #3 in 2017. Until we get to that issue, you can forget about Quogg, he is not very important.
We are about to encounter a significant force in the Marvel 616 Universe though.
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here to tell you about the second film in the Fear Street series Fear Street Part 2: 1978.
This is the second film in a trilogy of movies based on author R.L. Stine’s series of books. These movies are much more mature than his better known Goosebumps series. So far, the films have been call backs to some of the better slasher films horror fans already know and love. I will be giving some mild spoilers for parts 1 and 2 in this review so before you take a bloody axe to my blog, watch the movies first if that sort of thing matters to you. You have been warned.
The second film in the trilogy is one I really want to like more than I do. My favorite type of horror to watch is slasher films and I have a strong affection for the teenage camp counselor variety of slasher film popularized by the Friday the 13th series. Fans of that series will definitely find a few easter eggs and references to smile at in Fear Street Part 2. But, if you’re like me, it may only make you want to go back and watch the originals.
This film finds us following Ziggy and Cindy, two sisters who have grown apart for reasons revealed later in the film. The story of what happened in 1978 at Camp Nightwing is delivered to us via flashback. We’re getting the story because the characters from Fear Street Part 1: 1994 have found the only survivor of the tragic murder spree at Camp Nightwing.
There are two vastly different towns in the Fear Street trilogy. Sunnyvale is a calm, safe place full of brightness and promise while Shadyside is dubbed the “Killer capital of the country.” Everyone knows Shadyside has been cursed by a witch and no one can get out of the town easily or safely. That doesn’t stop the two towns from being rivals.
In the first film the rivalry plays out at a football game, in this one it’s the “color wars” at camp. Basically a big game of capture the flag is going on between the two towns teenagers. This means there are tons of kids and teens running around in the forest after dark. The perfect setting for a low budget slasher film. (This isn’t low budget but they want you to think it is)
Since this is a slasher film, we know some murder is gonna happen. It doesn’t take long for the first murder to occur and we are left to watch the gruesome killings from there. Unlike a lot of slasher films, in this one we know who the killer is and even why they are doing it before the carnage really gets going.
We have all the usual characters and actions from most slasher films. There are stoners, nerds, teenagers who follow every rule, and we even get the requisite pranks gone wrong. I’m guessing you know who survives and who doesn’t. I sure did.
The main question is how one of the sisters will survive. We know she does because she is telling the story. The movie also gives us more background on the witch who has cursed the town. It seems there may be a way to stop the curse and with the characters from Part 1 learning the background, more of the puzzle is solved. We won’t know how right they are until Part 3 though.
Like virtually every camp slasher horror film there is a twist at the end but it was the most obvious twist possible in my mind so it really lost its oomph when it was revealed.
Also, it was clear from the beginning that there was way more than one survivor of this tragic night. This makes the impact of the story we are told feel much less important than it could have.
If you love slasher films you’d probably do better to watch an original. However, if you have seen all of those and want something a little more fresh and a little different, this one is serviceable. I’ll be sticking around for Part 3, mostly to see if they tie everything up well in the end. If they do then the reverse chronology angle might be a neat trick. I still don’t think it will put this above classic horror films but it’s a least trying something newer.
There is only one story in this issue of the anthology series Tales to Astonish that matters in Marvel 616 continuity. This is the story shown on the cover, that of the Space Beasts in When the Space Beasts Attack.
The story centers around a group of aliens who seem like they can overpower Earth easily. Their weapons can disintegrate buildings and tanks. Everything seems like it is going the alien’s way when it is discovered that the alien weapons only work on non-living material. The humans realize this and fight back. All in all, this would be a very forgettable episode in 616 continuity but it will come back to be relevant.
However, it’s going to take a lot of patience to know why. The Space Beasts will not appear again until the pages of The Punisher #12 in 2009. This is the one and the only reason this story is relevant so there is not much to say on the subject here.
When we get to that one, I will be sure to link back to this post to remind you who these guys are but it’s going to be a while before we get there.
In the fourth issue of The Fantastic Four, the Marvel 616 Universe gets a whole lot bigger and a whole lot older.
The start of the issue finds Reed, Sue, and Ben arguing over finding Johnny Storm who abandoned the team at the end of the last issue. There is a flashback to the last issue to set the scene. The three remaining members of the team split up to search the city to see if they can find Johnny. And while Kirby’s artwork has heavily hinted that this story is placed in New York, Lee’s text finally confirms it in this issue. This issue also establishes that every member of the Fantastic Four is famous across the country. Although some people at this point still think Reed and company are made up, thus implying people in the 616 are reading about Reed in Marvel comics.
Despite Ben and Johnny constantly bickering, or maybe because of it, they know each other well. The Thing knows Johnny will be working on cars in an old garage and he confronts Johnny. In this scene, Johnny demonstrates that he can control his powers effectively because he can have his heat at the right temperature not to ignite the gas where he is. Also, in this issue, for the first time, Johnny says his famous catchphrase, “Flame on!”
Also, once again, The Thing changes back to human form albeit for only a little while. This further establishes Reed Richards could find a cure for him. It’s something Reed is going to work for years on to no avail.
After Ben and Johnny have their fight, Johnny goes to the neighborhood known as The Bowery and finds lodging for the evening. Here we get another meta-reference in Marvel 616. Johnny is reading an old comic book from the 1940s about The Sub-Mariner. The Sub-Mariner is a character Timely comics, the predecessor of Marvel debuted in 1939. He is Marvel’s equivalent to DC’s Aquaman. Making this reference even more interesting is the fact that Sub-Mariner used to be one of Timely’s top three characters, the other two being Captain America and the original Human Torch. It’s perfectly fitting then that Johnny Storm, the most famous Human Torch is the one to find Sub-Mariner. Sub-Mariner is in a cheap hotel along with Johnny but seems to have lost his memory. The crowd at the hotel turns on Sub-Mariner but Johnny steps in to defend him. He then shaves Sub-Mariner and realizes this is the Sub-Mariner.
With the introduction of this character to Marvel 616, or maybe more accurately, re-introduction, the universe can now be dated back to at least 1939, although the Sub-Mariner’s adventures from that time period do not necessarily count in 616 continuity.
Johnny Storm knows Namor’s (aka Sub-Mariner) power comes from the sea. Johnny does what he thinks is the smart and merciful thing and tosses Namor into the sea. Namor certainly gets his power back. He quickly discovers his underwater home has been destroyed by Atomic testing.
This is a theme that will come back again and again in 616 stories. Atomic energy drives both good and evil depending on who uses it and how it is used. This is extremely relevant considering the cold war that continues for decades. Atomic energy is so important in these stories that the mutants in the X-Men comics will be given the title of, “Children of the Atom”. Sub-Mariner was able to give voice to those who could see the dangers of Atomic energy in the world at the time. Sub-Mariner will also become the most powerful and famous “frenemy” of The Fantastic Four.
After realizing his home is destroyed and the surface world is responsible, Namor calls upon a gigantic sea monster to attack the city and get revenge. At this point, Johnny signals the rest of the team by writing a giant 4 in the sky. This isn’t the first time the team has been signaled in the sky, but it is the first time that Johnny does it.
The team converges to stop the threat. This allows The Thing to strap a nuclear bomb to his back (again with the Atomic energy as both hero and menace) and enter into the mouth of the giant sea creature known as Giganto. The Thing has to fight a couple of creatures inside Giganto but he makes his escape.
While Johnny, Reed, and The Thing have some success fighting Namor, it’s The Invisible Girl who saves the day in this story. She is able to steal the horn Namor used to call the sea monster. Namor catches Sue while she is invisible and she decides since she is caught she might as well drop the invisibility. Namor falls in love with Sue Storm instantly. This sets up the first real rival to Reed Richards for Sue’s affections. Namor tells Susan if she will be his bride, he will give up his anger towards the human race. Sue Storm, of course, is willing to sacrifice herself for the good of the world. Namor realizes that she is consenting not out of love or attraction. He thought he was offering her marriage as an extension of honor and quickly rescinds the offer, although it is clear he still finds her attractive.
The team has to fight Namor to save the world. Johnny, realizing Namor’s power is bound to the water, creates a vortex of air that lifts Namor away from the water so he is weakened and deposits him far out into the sea. Namor again swears he will have his revenge and the setup of a decades-long relationship between him and the Fantastic Four has been set.
While the events described above are truly enough to be of major significance to the 616 universe, there is one other detail in this book I have not yet mentioned. Sprinkled throughout the issue every few pages is what surely must have been a mysterious yet exciting tease for something to come. Every few pages we see a question. “Who is the Hulk?” And we are told, “You’ve never seen anyone like the Hulk!”
To this day we are still trying to get the true answer to the question “Who is the Hulk?” The statement is a little less true but we’ll get into why that is when Hulk finally makes his 616 debut.
But before we get there we have a couple of short Tales to Astonish stories to discuss.
The third issue of The Fantastic Four introduces us to a few things that will come to define the team in the future. We are introduced to the Fantasti-car, a flying car that can separate into four sections and is docked at the top of a towering building in the city. While it is not named in the issue, this tower will be what is later known as the Baxter Building, and Reed and the team own it. Reed, the genius that he is, is able to build a dock on the roof that will hide the car so that no one knows who lives there. Also, Sue Storm designs the first costumes for the team. While Sue and Reed’s uniforms make perfect sense for them, Ben can’t stand most of his and The Thing goes on to fight mostly in the blue bottoms of the uniform. Johnny is shown in his costume but of course, it is not explained in this issue how this costume does not burn up when he flames on.
Also, we see the bickering between The Human Torch and The Thing increase. The antagonism gets so bad that by the end of the issue, Johnny Storm quits the team. This is the first time in the 616 universe anyone quits a superhero team but it will most certainly not be the last.
The issue itself deals with a rather forgettable villain by the name of Mister Miracle. He seems to be able to do all kinds of miraculous feats including taking a punch on the jaw from The Thing and making a movie monster come to life. Reed Richards figures out that Mister Miracle is simply an excellent hypnotist who can make a crowd think he is doing the things it looks like he is doing. Forgetting the fact that this is not at all how hypnotism works, we do get some scenes where the team gets to show off their powers. There is also another flashback to the origins of the team. This is the third issue and the third time we see the origin of the team. Lee and Kirby did an excellent job of making sure that no one could forget how this team started. We also get some hints of conflict to come. Ben is jealous of Reed for the fact that Sue is in love with Reed. Ben and Reed both blame Reed for the accident that gave them all powers. Reed tries to look on the bright side that at least they can help humanity but Ben would trade it all away to be normal again.
Once again, this issue is different from other comics on the stand at the time because the team fights among themselves. Ben sees his powers as a curse rather than a blessing. And with Johnny walking away from the team, Reed realizes Johnny would be a huge threat if he turned against the Fantastic Four. Other comics at the time were not posing the question of what would happen if one of their own turned against them. This is a uniquely Marvel trait and it works on so many levels that it becomes a staple in comics from then on. At one point or another, every member of the Fantastic Four will walk away from the team. They do come back but with this issue, the reading population would be left to wonder if Johnny was really serious and if he might even become a villain. It was groundbreaking in the fact that a hero could become evil and groundbreaking that Reed recognizes this as a fact.
While the most important things in this issue are more to do with the visual aesthetic, the costumes, the building, the radio transmitter the team uses to communicate, and the fantasti-car, the dynamic of the team arguing with one another is what propelled the universe forward. The story was not afraid to have conflict not only with the villain but with the team members. I can’t overstate how important this is to Marvel 616 comics. It’s what defines them. It’s so effective that in Marvel movies and movies like The Incredibles they don’t work if the team doesn’t argue with each other at some point in the movie. Next on the reading list is Fantastic Four #4
Tales to Astonish is an anthology comic book that has tales of terror, aliens, horror, and superheroes. This issue has four comic stories plus one prose story. There is a story about an alien trying to conquer a planet, a story about a mean jockey who learns his lesson thanks to a talking horse, the story of a cursed mirror, and the prose story tells about a boy who accidentally creates an unbreakable bubble.
There is also one more story. The first story is the only one that matters in 616 continuity. That is the first story that stars Henry Pym called The Man in the Ant Hill. This character will go on to fame as one of the founding members of The Avengers and will also have some extremely disturbing moments as in the future he abuses his wife. This troubled background is probably one of the main reasons Henry Pym is not the Ant-man used in the Marvel movies and instead, we get the much more likable Scott Lang.
Anyway, this story does introduce us to Ant-man, although before he has a suit and cybernetic helmet. A seemingly mad scientist, Henry Pym has created a solution that can shrink anything. This is a major triumph for Henry because the scientific community has thus far seen him as a crackpot. Henry imagines using his formula for military purposes like transporting an entire army in a single airplane. But first, he must test it on a human.
As any good mad scientist would do, he immediately uses it on himself. He is shrunk down to the size of an ant. He goes outside and realizes he can’t get back to get the antidote to his serum. Henry finds himself near an anthill and is attacked by several ants. He ends up in a pool of honey but a friendly ant pulls him out of it.
A group of other ants is about to attack when Henry finds a matchstick and uses a rock to light it. He then makes a lasso and climbs his way out of the anthill. But before he gets to the top a single ant attacks.
To me, this is the best part of the issue. Henry realizes, “But I have one advantage! A human brain…”
At this point, I am thinking, yes, he is a smart scientist he must have some intellectual way out of this dilemma. Then comes the next panel where Henry Pym proudly proclaims
“…which has learned the art of Judo!”
He throws the ant over the side and makes his escape.
A fortunate circumstance occurs and Henry encounters the ant who helped him before. The ant lets Henry get on his back and he makes it up to his serum and can grow to full size. Henry decides to destroy his serum and never let any human use it again. The story ends with Henry lying to the scientific community, saying he was wrong about his theories and notes that Henry Pym never steps on an anthill again in his life.
So what is significant about this story? Of course, Henry Pym will rise to become Ant-man. We also see a few things established about him. He has a temper, and this will become a theme for him. He is not highly respected in the scientific community although he is right. This is another theme that tends to follow Henry. And, we see that he has a relationship with ants. Almost as if he can communicate with them. This will be essential to his character in the future.
While this could have been a throwaway one-off story, it is significant in 616. Mostly, in the future things will be added to Henry aka Hank Pym, including the ability to grow large as well as small and a love interest. Ant-man, unlike in the movies, in the universe of 616 is a founding member of the Avengers and the universe does not move forward without this little story. Tales to Astonish will also, in the future introduce several other heroes so we are not done with this title yet. Not by a long shot.
Next on the reading list, we go back to Reed and company with Fantastic Four #3.
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here back to review another film. This time I watched Fear Street Part 1: 1994.
This is the first in a trilogy of films based on books by author R.L. Stine most remembered for his Goosebumps series of books. Fear Street is not a kids series and although elements of it might be considered “Goosebumps grows up” it’s got a distinctive slasher feel to it.
The interesting part of the series is that we will get three installments in reverse time order. We start in 1994 but in the next part we’ll be jumping back in time to 1978 and the third installment will bring us to 1666.
I may give some spoilers in this review so if you want to watch the movie before you read this go for it. Otherwise you’ve been warned.
The story focuses on a group of teenagers in a small town consistently plagued by murders called Shadyside. Their neighboring town is called Sunnyvale where it seems the streets are always safe and no one ever snaps and goes on a killing binge.
The opening scenes place us in a mall where there is a killer on the loose. It works as well as about any typical slasher film opening but there is nothing exceptionally surprising about it. Next we move to Deena Johnson a teenage girl who is heartbroken that her relationship has recently ended. Her brother is obsessed with the local legend of the witch Sarah Fier. There’s even a little rhyme to accompany the legend.
Considering this is a teen horror film, you can probably imagine a lot of what happens from here. Killers are on the loose in the town, teens have to figure out how to survive. Not everyone makes it to the end, adults don’t believe what is happening and buckets of blood are spilled.
The story was interesting enough to keep me watching and it left me with some nostalgia for some of the better slasher films but I’m not sure this one makes it up there with those. Still, it’s compelling enough I will definitely watch the next installment to see what happens. Or I guess what happened might be a better way to put it since the chronology is backwards. I’m not sure how well the whole thing will tie together but if it does, I may end up revisiting this film once I’ve seen the rest.
For now, I would say if you love slasher films, love music from the 1990’s (they put practically every song from that decade in this) or even if you enjoy shows like Stranger Things or Supernatural you’ll probably enjoy this. Just don’t expect it to be overly original.
While the first issue of the Fantastic Four birthed the Marvel 616 universe, issue two began to refine it. The issue starts with what looks like each member of the Fantastic Four committing a crime. The Thing destroys an oil rig. Susan Storm steals a diamond worth ten million dollars. Johnny Storm destroys a priceless statue and Reed Richards turns off all the power in the city. Of course, our heroes didn’t do any of these things. This is the work of the Skrulls from outer space. They are a group of villains that will be vital in the years to come. Skrulls are even in movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so they are still relevant.
These aliens are shape-shifters who through their natural abilities and with a little help from technology fake the crimes described above. The Skrulls wish to invade earth but because of the now-famous Fantastic Four, they know it will be no easy task. They have to stop these four humans before the invasion. They plan to get the authorities after the FF and then once they are dead, enter the planet with no resistance.
Newspapers show headlines of the Fantastic Four as declared enemies. Two of the papers will be staples in Marvel 616. They are the Daily Globe and the Daily Bugle. They become much more important in other series but this is where they are established in 616 for the first time.
The FF have hidden out in an isolated hunting lodge and are trying to figure out just what is going on. The Thing is angry and lashes out. It seems like he is full of anger and could become a danger to the human race if his power goes unchecked. Reed of course, still blames himself for Ben’s condition. We are treated to a flashback of the origins of the FF. This will happen over and over again in the early issues. It makes sense because so often these comic books were thought of as disposable. This gave the benefit of filling up pages, reusing artwork, and allowing new readers to understand the whole story.
While Reed is musing about the past, a group of soldiers captures the group. They are separated and put into cells. Sue Storm turns invisible and escapes. This is the issue that Johnny Storm meets his own kind of kryptonite – asbestos. Yep, that’s right. In those days asbestos was seen as a somewhat miraculous substance because of its ability to fireproof a room. It was not yet seen as the dangerous substance it is and so it appears in a lot of comics alongside Johnny Storm. Despite being put in an asbestos-filled room, Johnny finds an air vent and can escape through that. The group gets into a helicopter and escapes.
Back at a hideout of theirs, the FF argues about how to figure out who is impersonating them. Johnny and Ben fight with each other and this further establishes the dynamic that will exist between the two characters for years to come. Johnny goes to where Reed has assumed the next impersonation will happen. The FF captures the aliens and decides to go aboard the Skrull ship to tell them that Earth is just too hard to capture. Reed Richards shows the captain of the Skrull ship pictures of what he says are real pictures from Earth. This is where we get the first Marvel 616 meta-reference. Reed shows pictures from Strange Tales and Journey Into Mystery. These are both titles that Marvel produces. This means that Marvel comics do exist in the Marvel 616 universe. Reed effectively tricks the Skrulls on the ship but there are still four of them left on Earth to deal with.
On the way back, the ship passes again through cosmic rays, and Ben Grimm for a moment is turned back into a human. Alas, this is only temporary, but it does establish that there could be a cure for Ben’s condition. Reed will dedicate a lot of his life going forward to figuring out that cure.
Once they land the army is ready to take the FF into custody once again but Reed promises to explain the situation if they go back to his apartment. Of course, the Skrulls attack and the army sees that the Fantastic Four are innocent. Reed and company defeat the Skrulls and the only problem left is to decide what to do with the aliens from outer space.
Reed hypnotizes them and tells them they have to change into what he says for the rest of their lives and they are good with that as long as they get to have a peaceful and contented existence. So what do they change into? Cows.
This is a significant and important development in years to come, so way down the line when I have reviewed a lot more of these, don’t forget that there are Skrull cows.
I’m guessing Reed didn’t tell the Skrulls that beef is one of the most popular foods in the country.
The issue ends with a pin-up page of The Thing. Probably a lot of kids did rip this page out and pin it up. That means that any issues with this page intact are going to be much more valuable than those without.Next on the reading list is Tales to Astonish #27.
