1963: Act 2: Reed triumphant (the Kennedy era)

9

Issue 9: Reed is humiliated. "Don't push me - I'm warning you"

Summary
After the triumph of issue 7, Reed takes too many risks and loses everything - almost including Sue. Reed's self worth relies on being Mr Fantastic, and if he can't even pay the bills then he is anything but. Here he tortures himself with blame, and comes close to breaking when Ben - the man he thought he had defeated - starts sounding smarter than him.

About the chart:
For simplicity the chart of Reed's life combines the early highs and lows as a single jagged line. There are in fact two major ups and downs: the first is issues 1-3: reaching space (a triumph), followed by the crash and then being public enemies, then being vindicated and having a triumphant headquarter skyscraper. That mirrors this second roller coaster period in issues 6-13, where triumph (defeating all enemies and saving planet X) is followed by bankruptcy and humiliation, and then Reed returns and reaches the moon. Being probably autistic (As will be discussed in later issues), Reed hates the uncertainty, so probably decides to make better use of alien technology, following Doom's lead (with Doom's space plane and grabber).

Sue saves the day again
Reed's mistakes drive them into the streets, whereas Sue's willingness to see the best (this time with Namor, causing him to love her) saves their finances. Contrast Reed's willingness to risk their home with Sue's maternal priorities, Namor's quest for his home, and Doom's obsession with his home: his castle, his heritage, his country, and perhaps even his name (see notes to FF5).

Alien tech
This is probably the point where Reed came to rely more heavily on alien technology, so he would never be without an instant patent ever again: Reed hates being humiliated. From this point, Reed began to patent everything he could, including alien technology, as this much later comic confirms. Is this ethical? You decide.

More about Reed's policy change
Until this point (and really until the end of act 4) Reed was an extremely proud man. His name "Mr Fantastic" says it all. He had achieved so much and no doubt believed he could do anything. But in FF9 we see him for the first time humiliated. He invested, his investment failed, he was mentally cornered. He said something like "you can only push a man so far" In the next issue he sees how Doom has leaped ahead technologically by making full use of alien tech (from the Ovoids). In the issue after (FF11) we see that he studies the planet X saucer. The issue after shows him getting friendly with the military and seeing their greatest secrets. Then the issue after is when he finally makes it to the moon, using the meteor. It seems to me fairly clear cut: before that (e.g. issue 3 and the roof elevator) he was far more proud of stuff he did on his own, but in issue 9 he seems to decide that he cannot afford that attitude: he has to focus more on stuff made by other people.

The themes again:

• Reluctance: Ben is happy to leave. Only Johnny never gives up on FF: he is the one who will one day lead the next generation.
• Confidence: Reed doubts himself and the team splits up.
• Equality: the team, following Sue's lead, treat Namor with understanding. He is well on his way to becoming an ally.
• The American dream: they are movie stars!

The Zeitgeist
Note the historical context:

• The stock market fell sharply in 1962: a 27% drop between January and June (it then recovered). This begins the story.
  
• In 1962 Hollywood was even more newsworthy than usual: in 1962 Marilyn Monroe died, Lawrence of Arabia was released, and Cleopatra was in production.

Realism
This is one of Stan Lee's favorite stories: when asked what makes the team special he often refers to how he likes the bankruptcy, because it's so down to earth.

Note that the original team was always fragile: being superheroes was never a given. In contrast, from the Franklinverse onwards, the team is always wealthy: when Mark Waid wrote a story about the team becoming bankrupt, they still had their fabulously expensive headquarters and equipment (by that point even more luxurious and remote from the average reader).

Who's who
The Hollywood scenes feature some of the biggest names of the time: the obvious ones are John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Alfred Hitchcock. The others are probably:

• Jackie Gleason (not Jack Benny as is sometimes stated: Gleason was big at the time, starring in "The Honeymooners" and that face was his trademark. Jack Benny had his own distinctive look in cartoons of the time, and this is not it.)
• Dean Martin (though some say it's Bobby Darin, the consensus is Martin.)
• Amanda Blake and James Arness from "Gunsmoke" (though some mistake Blake for Elizabeth Taylor, who was much better known in later years)
• The one mystery is the man with the eye patch. The consensus is that this is a generic unnamed extra. Some sites claim it's Charles Bronson but 1962 seems too early.  André de Toth, director of House of Wax, is possible: he lost an eye at an early age, and in later life always wore an eye patch. But he was never known to work with Hitchcock.
• Note a similar star studded list from the late 1970s in FF196.
  

As for the actress on page 10, the consensus is probably Brigitte Bardot. This is clearer in the original than in the reprints: we see heavier eye makeup, the hair color, etc. A second possibility is Ann Margret, but the moody look and bigger hair on top suggests Bardot. (A note to younger readers, if you haven't seen Ann Margret dancing with Elvis Presley you haven't lived.)

TV zeitgeist

Ben's psychology: why does he change?

• In FF9 Ben changes after being hit by lightning. But FF8 implies, and FF245 confirms, that his inability to change is caused by his unconscious fears. So what's happening here? Look at the context: he's just defeated Namor, a prince, a powerhouse, the man who threatens to steal Sue's heart. Namor says "what does it take to knock you out?" Ben must be feeling on top of the world! Whatever his unconscious fears they are nowhere to be seen at this point. So he should be able to change at will. The lightning was a great shock, and shock often knocks the wind out of the Torch, causing him to change back to normal, and the same happens for Ben.

• In FF8, Ben changes due to one of Reed's potions. This is to be expected: Reed could probably find a chemical to force himself to lose his stretching ability as well. This is the key issue where we see that Ben does not want to change because he fears he could lose Alicia, just like he lost Sue.

• In FF4, Ben changed when he was about to pulverize Johnny. He said he would "teach you who's boss, once and for all." Johnny was literally cornered. Ben was feeling extremely confident at this point, and he could easily relax as he would not need to use great strength. So at that moment he changed. Ironically, when he changes back he feels excited and full of personal energy... so he changes back. Then his default fatalism kicks in again.

• In FF2, Ben changed when he was panicking about being in the radiation belt again. He said "No! I Won't No!" and "cowers like a frightened child." He desperately wanted to not be The Thing, more than at any time before, and so he changed. Then soon after he feels so good about being human that he rejoices. No doubt the adrenalin flows with his excitement, so of course he changes back again.Then the deeper fatalism and victim-hood kicks in and so he can't change back.

• In FF1 he can't change back. Why not? Because he feels powerless. His rival for Sue's love has tricked him into the rival's spacecraft (no, worse, Sue herself made him come) and he's been turned from the handsome rival into an ugly pile of mud-rock. He's got to be feeling pretty low. The ability to change seems to be related to personal confidence, and that is something Ben has suddenly lost.

All of this is consistent with FF8 and FF245: Ben can change if he feels in control of his life, and feels it's OK to change. But he almost never feels in control.

Why the others change
In the first issue, all of the team changed in response to emotion.

• In FF1 story 1: Johnny bursts into flame when excited.
• In story 1, Sue becomes invisible when surprised.
• In story 3, they all change during the stress of the rocket flight.

Ben's anger
The Fantastic Four and the Hulk are the same in this respect: changing is a result of emotion. Bruce Banner changed to the Hulk when he was angry. Ben was the same: but he was always angry. Except with Ben the anger is bottled up, repressed, supporting the more visible layer: his depression. For more about Ben's psychological state see the notes to annual 1.

FF Finances: a short history

Special thanks to Kleefeld's old "FF Plaza" site for some details:

• Pre-FF1 (see FF): Reed's father, Nathaniel Richards amassed a fortune from his inventions. When Nathaniel disappeared, Reed inherited the wealth.
• Pre-FF1 (see FF271-3): The alien Gormuu invaded, and this persuaded Reed of the need to spend more money on rocket ship (using Gormuu's technology). Meanwhile NASA draws the opposite conclusion, to spend more money on military uses. So Reed invests much of his own money into this (still NASA based) project
• FF3: Reed spends most of the remains of his money on the Baxter Building
• FF9: Reed invests what was left, but the investments fail, and the team became bankrupt. The Submariner helped them past this point, and since then Reed has funded the team from his patents, mainly based on alien technology.
• FF160: Money is still tight, and Reed sold his patents to Interlocking Technologies, Inc. and was later able to buy them back at a discount.
• FF222: Reed notes that money is still very tight.
• FF244: the early 1980s sees a general growth in the economy. The team buys the entire Baxter Building (until then they merely rented the top floors).
• FF279 (click for details): The building is destroyed. yet strangely they then had enough money for a much larger replacement...

10

Issue 10: Reed and Doom: the comparisons begin

This is where we are first invited to make the direct comparison between Reed and Doom. Throughout the 28 year story, Doom will serve as a reminder of what Reed could become if he's not careful. For an overview of Doom's twenty appearances see his own page.

Relationship changes and the timing of this issue
Why did Ben notice and Sue didn't? Because at this point Ben is obsessed with Reed: in three issues' time Reed will finally win. So Ben is in mental turmoil about him. Meanwhile, at this point Sue is thinking more of Namor after the previous issue. So this issue could not have taken place at any other time.

Note the realism in this story:

• Stan Lee and Jack Kirby appear in the story (and on the cover!) The fact that the comics exist in the same world as the characters is a guarantee of realism: this is our world in every way. Although the events may seem impossible, plausible deniability is built into every event, so we can believe. (Plausible deniability will be finally abandoned with the events of FF322)
  
• The stories take place in close to real time: considerable time has passed since issue 6, long enough for Doom to spend time with aliens, return, and plan his next attack.
• Actions have consequences. The story begins with Sue investigating her invisibility: a subplot that is referred to again next issue, and bears fruit in issue 20 with dramatic results. Also, being movie stars has increased their popularity for this issue. This popularity reaches its greatest intensity in issue 14. It may seem that a movie would reduce realism, as these did not happen in the real world, but this is 1962: Hollywood release hundreds of "B" movies and it's easy to miss just one.

• Reluctance: Even after he opposed them, Sue is still considering powerful Namor instead of frustrated and controlled Reed, a decision which implies switching sides. Why prefer Namor? Because he shows her respect, whereas Reed just orders her around. She finally chooses Reed in later issues when it becomes clear that, as a prince, Namor is even more used to obedience than Reed.
  
• Confidence: note that character development with Doom: Doom is still learning, and can still show fear and admit defeat. Son after this he gains control over a whole world (Micro-world) and gains the supreme confidence we will see in later stories.
• Confidence and equality: Johnny is ready to rush into any situation, and it would have worked if Reed had not stopped him. The nuclear device is not in danger: Johnny has complete control of his flame, allowing him to shave the sub-Mariner without harming his skin (issue 4), or flaming on near gasoline without the vapors igniting (issue 1 and other times: gasoline itself does not burn, only its vapor burns). An FF run by Johnny could be just as effective as Reed's, but more action packed. Note that Johnny then says that Reed was always top dog (as Doom, with great symbolism, shrinks to nothing). Yet Reed spent most of the issue being helpless, and the previous issue was humiliated by his leadership failure. So Johnny is probably saying this to make Reed feel better, but it will have the effect of undermining Ben's confidence once again.
• Equality: Sue's judgment rests largely on her intuition. In this issue Sue sees how Alicia's intuition (and also Ben's) is so effective, while Sue tried to be logical like Reed. After this Sue places more reliance on her own.
• The American Dream: These guys are not just movie stars and famous in their own right, they also know they're stars of their own comic book!

Doom's armor: this is the key moment
Doom's technology is a story all of its own. I love how we can trace the story from issue to issue: every issue matters, no page is wasted. This issue is a prime example. Doom's technology has two main strands: robotics and armor. These reflect Doom's ego: his need to control (robots) and his self hatred (the armor: see analysis in the notes to FF 199). Contrast this with Reed's two great technologies: unstable molecules and (later) the sub-space portal. Doom is about control and opposition: Reed is about freedom and discovery.

This issue is the key stage in the development of Doom's armor. Until this point the armor was largely for show. It barely protects him: in this story Sue is able to knock him out with a blow to the head. But just prior to the story Doom gained access to Ovoid technology, in particular the shrinking ray. At the start of the story he still needs to carry a separate conventional gun, but has experimented with miniaturizing a ray gun to fit in his glove. The glove gun is clearly a prototype: the most it can do is destroy an ash tray! Obviously a miniaturized weapon tends to be very weak. But Doom would be working on ways to increase their power. Following this issue, Doom spends some time in a micro world of advanced technology. Clearly he uses that technology (or insights gained from it) to improve his miniaturized weapons. The next time we see him his armor is full of miniaturized technology. 

Criticisms:

• Maturity
  Why did Sue sound so immature with her "ladies first" comment? Immaturity is out of character for her, so she must have been intended it as humor.

Other points to note:

• Character development:
  Various characters develop in this issue: Alicia is shown as both Ben's girlfriend and a sculptress. Doom shows both his personal rivalry with Reed, inviting us to draw comparisons: Reed tries to be fantastic in every way even at the expense of putting those around him down.
• Ages
  Sue refers to Alicia as a child: see the notes to FF291 for their large age difference, and why Sue does everything she can to look young.
  
• Realism: how likely was the Ovoid rescue?
  Nathan Mahney says "Doom's rescue by the Ovoids is highly implausible, and the whole business with the miniature animals and Doom's shrink ray is pretty insane."  If we accept the existence of Ovoid technology then it is perfectly natural for Doom to experiment with it. But how did they find him so quickly? His suit could keep him alive for a while, but how did he attract the Ovoids? As noted in the commentary to annual 2, Doom already had a primitive ability to mind control inanimate objects that he created for the purpose. The Ovoids specialize in mind control, so would be interested in this: to them it would be a sign of intelligent life, just as humans search for electromagnetic signals. It is significance that the Ovoids could detect Doom when he was in deep space, away from the "noise" of a populated planet. Humans have space telescopes that can detect extremely low levels of signals from deep space, and no doubt the Ovoids are the same. But their science is "a million years" ahead of ours, so there won't miss much, and can no doubt travel very quickly to the source of that signal - perhaps even between galaxies. When they found a mind reader from Earth with a high tech suit, floating in space, they must have been curious. It is also likely that Doom changed the story: with information this valuable, would he tell the whole truth?
• Self belief
  Here we see that Doom's great power is an illusion. He likes to put all his efforts into dramatic gestures, like the space plane in issue 6. But here he is down to just a gun and some very specific stolen technology, and has to use a telephone to contact Reed Richards, and shows off his power by shooting an ash tray! Doom's appearance of always being super prepared is just part of his image, his confidence.
• Why shrink them?
  Doom's goal is not to kill the FF, but to humiliate them. See issue 17 for details. He wants to literally make them small: and tricking them into an absurd story about dinosaur brain sizes is just another way to laugh at them
• Flame and Science
  Johnny can "burn without heat." We already knew this, because in issue one he could burn through a car without igniting gasoline vapor. His power is not flame, but something that can look and behave like flame as needed. See the page on superscience for details.
  
• Why Doom doesn't mind swap more:
  Crissy wrote about body swapping: "What a tremendous number of story possibilities this opens up! Almost, one would think, to the point of being unmanageable."  But the answer t this is in the story itself: the rapidly improving armor. The new miniaturized technology makes Doom feel safe. Body swapping means giving somebody else his beloved armor! The only time after this that he body swaps is when his armor is disabled and he has no choice: he and his armor are seconds away from literal annihilation (FF 257 I think?)
  
• Who wrote these issues?
  When considering how much Stan Lee contributed to each plot, I had always seen FF10 as a slam dunk. Whatever else Kirby created, this seemed like one hundred percent Lee: he was the publicist, keen to make the people behind the scenes as famous as the characters themselves. Or I used to think that, until the Wonder Years book pointed out that the start of this issue is the same as Jack Kirby's Boy Commando's number 1, except that time it was the Sandman who walked in on Joe Simon and Jack Kirby at the DC offices. In a similar vein, I used to think that FF9 was another one that was all Stan Lee. After all, Stan had always wanted to work in Hollywood. But that one has the same plot as Jack Kirby's "Roman Scoundrels" in Fighting American (written in 1955, but not printed until 1966).
• Doom as an Overmind
  Note the comparisons with FF115: Doom, like Reed, uses an absurd story about giant brains. He knows that any scientifically literate person will know it is impossible. The fact that they do not spot it is a way of mocking them, showing that he is smarter and therefore destined to rule. Making the story abut giant brains is just a way of laughing at them. (In FF115 the fake Watcher talks of an impossibly gigantic planet where the minds are all combined into one over-mind: a concept that cannot work for several reasons, but none of the listeners spot this.)
  
  
  

11

Issue 11: prejudice and sexism: rejecting the gods who walk among us

The invisible gods
This classic issue has two stories of power. Power that is so great that other people cannot comprehend it. They cannot see how it works, or its potential: gods walk among us and they are metaphorically crucified. The first story is about a being who could solve all our problems: he just wants to use his power! He just wants to be our friend! And so we hate and fear him and drive him away. The second story is about the most powerful and intelligent member of the FF: Sue Storm, and how she is treated as some kind of weak burden, some sort of child to be the subject of condescension and protection because we are so kind. Both issues are an indictment of humanity.

Reed
This is the story where Reed defends Sue in a way that weakens her, just as he is gradually weakening Ben.

it's also the story where the Impossible man reflects another side of Reed's character - he only wants to do good, yet can unwittingly hurt others due to his inability to understand others' feelings.

But this story is really about Sue. Note the irony: the strongest character is treated as the weakest one. in the first story Sue is the only one who correctly understands the situation (Imply is like a child). Her compassion saves the entire world (as we shall see in FF 174) Reed uses the wrong approach, ignoring Impy: if he had listened to Sue he could have gained the greatest ally they ever had, but instead drives the being away. Compared with Sue, the other characters are incompetents, their significance (compared to Sue saving the world) is as mere footnotes to history. Yet they have such blindness, such irony! Because in the second story they act as apologists, as if this weak female needs defending! Their greatest ever mistake is to mistake Sue's humility for weakness. Sue's humility is her greatest strength, it lets her make alliances with the Atlanteans, the Inhumans, the Poppupians; the only one with greater humility is Alicia, who saves the world from Galactus (by converting the surfer in FF49, so Galactus no longer cares to fight). These humble females can do more than all the arrogant men put together.

Here are the themes again, for one last time:

• Reluctance: Sue says maybe she should not be in the team and Ben would like nothing better than to leave.
• Confidence: Reed and Sue inadvertently reinforce the message that it is bad to be the Thing. Yet he needs Ben's strength and later in Act 2 will force him to change back, ensuring that Ben always hates him and always hates himself. But also note that Reed does not intentionally undermine Ben: in this issue he even praises Ben's flying skills, but within two issues he will even unintentionally undermine Ben in this area as well.
• Equality: Reed says that Sue's main value is as inspiration for the men! With leaders like his, who need enemies? Reed is just not a natural leader, and as we see in this issue: he only sees himself as a leader because he was forced into the role by the draft into World War II. Being a leader fits his self image as "Mr Fantastic" but he's far more effective when he sticks to the science.
• The American Dream: "a visit with" is about their fame, living in their "skyscraper penthouse" yet they always have time for ordinary folk.

That's enough with listing every theme every issue: the point should be clear now: the emphasis on realism (between the incredible exploits) means individual conflicts naturally grow into epic themes.

The Impossible Man: tragic, inspiring, deep

Stan Lee hated the Impossible man. The (mostly young at the time) readers didn't like him at all, so Stan banned his use in any comic. Years later it took a lot of persuasion for Stan to let him have Impy used in FF 174. But the Impossible Man is one of my favorite characters. I love the guy.

The normal reaction to Impy is summed up summed up in this comment:

"To be honest, I have never cared much for him and consider him to be a joke. Then again, I guess some humor is needed at times, even in a Super-Hero comic."

My response:

"But that's the thing. I have never seen him as a comedy character. I take him seriously. I don't like most of his appearances for that reason, but I love him as a character. I think he must be very hard to write: very much like Lockjaw. I hate almost all of Lockjaw's recent appearances yet he's my all time favorite character for the same reason.

I think they are both examples of why comic readers should not write comics. It's too easy to see Impy as "bat mite" or some other irritating waste of space, and it's too easy to see Lockjaw as the kind of dog you see in a 1970s Hanna Barbera cartoon, just there because kids like dogs. No no no no no! To me (and I admit I am weird) they are like laughing philosophers: they can see the utter absurdity in the world and their only reaction is to laugh or to go in some completely different direction.

Hopefully the first and best Impy story will illustrate:

In FF11 it is the humans who are absurd from Impy's point of view.

Pages 1-6: To him, WE are the comedy characters. From his point of view he was acting perfectly reasonably and being helpful. Far from being a comedy character he came from a world of the greatest dangers, and came to this world to be fair and decent to others, a good will mission of hope and friendship.

Pages 7-9: he has a completely different morality: he has never known a danger he could not avoid, so it never occurs to him that having fun might be morally bad. That's a serious point.

Pages 10-11: he is actually lonely - he's like a kid who wants friends and will do anything for that. Then he's naughty just to get attention. Sue, as usual, got it exactly right, he's just like a little child. Except that without adults to care for him he can't grow up. He's a tragic character. The loneliest being in the galaxy. We later learn that his whole planet was just parts of himself - or he was a part of them - he has no concept of "others" or what their feelings may be. I have often speculated that Reed Richards is autistic, but Impy is far, far worse - he is just unable to relate to others except like a two year old. Yet, like the ultimate autistic savant, he has tremendous abilities that other people don't know how to make use of.

The loneliness of a clown

People say Galactus is the loneliest being of all, but at least Galactus has maturity. Galactus is like a lonely adult he has coping strategies,he can play a role in order to make friends of some kind, with his heralds, with the Watcher, with Death. But Impy is like a lonely child who lacks the skills to cope, and that, to me, is worse.

In the Galactus story in 172-175 we see Imply sacrifice everything for the hope of friendship. he gives up how whole world because years ago one person (Sue) once treated him like he mattered. He smiles inanely all the time and tries to be "fun" because he just wants to be loved.

The "Galactus gets indigestion" story is so out of this world that some people hate it, and Reed and co could only stand in silence unable to process the idea. But again such tragedy - Impy's life is so literally empty - he has no purpose, no ability to relate to others except in a way that irritates them, he can do almost anything yet he can do nothing. In 176 and later he just ends up watching TV all the time and annoying people. He's like a kind growing up delinquent. He's not bad, he's just different. He could be the greatest friend humanity ever had but we can't handle him. All he wants is a friend. Like a child he thinks anybody who treats him with politeness must be the deepest friend, and so he wears out his welcome so quickly.

I suppose it's the autism thing taken to the extreme. I was diagnosed with autism (mildly) and I've always felt like an outsider, supremely confident in my abilities yet frustrated that I can't seem to get my life together in the awesome way I think I should. The Impossible Man speaks to me on a very deep level. His name says it all. His physical abilities should make him "The Possible Man" - everything is possible. But his life as a man, as a conscious, thoughtful, emotional being is impossible. He can do absolutely anything, but his life can never work. he can change everything about himself, apart from himself. He is trapped in the most desperately sad way possible. His physical abilities mean his mental abilities have atrophied. He can do everything and because of that he can do nothing.

The Impossible Man is the sad clown. He smiles and jokes all the time because he wants to be popular. Whatever the problem, a joke or fooling around is the answer because he can't cope with anything else. He is like a two year old as a clown, always doing what he things are hilarious things, falling over, breaking things, making  a noise, and he cannot see why other people do not laugh. So he will laugh some more! He doesn't have the maturity to cope in any other way. he can't see that what he does is not funny, and might even be dangerous. To him he is hilarious. And because he thins so then other people must think so to, because other people are basically him, or at least that's how it was on Poppup. If a two year old (or certainly a one year old) cannot see you he thinks you cannot see him. he finds something funny then surely everybody must find it funny.

The Impossible Man evolved in a world of immediate threats and immediate solutions. There is no depth in his brain. There is no time for analysis on Poppup. In theory he could rewire his brain by copying others, but nobody takes the time to help him. He finds life genuinely confusing. He longs for somebody to help him understand, but everyone just finds him irritating. On his visits to Earth he becomes aware that there is more to existence than stimulus-response, stimulus-response. He becomes aware of lacking something. Perhaps he felt that way on Poppup: for his brain to survive endless attacks he must have a random element that embraces the unknown,. he must be curious, but he cannot handle complexity. He hungers but cannot be satisfied. A human who cared for him would be the answer, but he alienates every human he meets. He tries to embrace people but pushes them away. That must be frustrating, distressing. but he handles frustration and stress the only way he knows how, by grinning and being manic, trying some new random thing. it works on Poppup against the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, why can't it solve this new kind of problem? But all he can do is make his frustration worse. He has tantrums but no mother to help him.

Impy and the humans

I called him a philosopher before, but that does not imply high intelligence. "Philosopher" just means lover of knowledge ("philo - sophos" lover of knowledge). Impy wants to explore, to see new things all the time. he evolved for ever changing dangers, so his mind is always looking for what is new. So he came to Earth.

Now he has a terrifying new experience: people who out-think him. This is a danger he cannot immediately handle. But as a Poppuppian he must be able to handle every danger! In a split second! The existence of danger he cannot handle must be terrifying! But his mind cannot handle this kind of danger, of smarter people. For the first time he is weak and a Poppuppian can never be weak! Weakness is death!

Now his curiosity is focused on fixing this new danger. The danger is his own intellectual weakness. This is different from the dangers he is used to. His mind races to fill that intellectual emptiness inside, so he can be safe. Every second counts where he comes from! Art first he does what he does best - goes wild and crazy. But changing shape and learning new things does not work this time. He can do anything, he is acutely aware of his surroundings, yet he cannot understand and he cannot fix this problem: all he can do is be afraid of it, and grin manically, and try something even more random! Like a chimpanzee he grins because he is scared. He swings and screams and throws toys around because he wants to show how strong he is, so nobody will hurt him. He acts nonchalant so the beings around him will not suspect. He has learned that they like it when he does less.

In later appearances Impy likes copying famous people. If he looks like them maybe he will think like them too? But it doesn't work. And this just reinforces his need to be fun. Other people are a threat to him in a way he cannot handle, so "being fun will make them like me, right?"

Impy is a philosopher who sees but cannot understand. Worse, his great abilities make him an outcast. The greatest tragedy is the philosopher who is not smart enough to fit in.

People often tell me I'm super intelligent (not here - you know me too well and have seen my garbled attempts to create anything!) I have spent my life studying economics and philosophy at the most abstract and have some very radical ideas on a number of topics. Like the impossible man I can see that anything is possible, I can see spectacular potential everywhere I look, I see this world as a paradise of infinite wonders ready for the plucking. Yet I am not actually super intelligent, my mind works in a different way. Sure, I can see things other people cannot, but I also cannot see what they can see. I find social situations very difficult, I find communication very difficult, I find it hard to keep anything but the simplest job, and so on. There is saying that sums up autism: "wrong planet." The main autism message board is called "wrong planet." We feel that we are trapped on the wrong planet.

That is the Impossible Man in a nutshell. His own planet is lonely and pointless - just a billion extensions of himself trying to find something to do that has any meaning, but with no challenges how can anything have meaning? So he comes top this world as a good will gesture, he wants everything to be nice and fun, he wants to play with friends, but he basically has the mind of a two year old (to us) and two year old are such hard work. So sooner or later he wanders off, alone again, Still smiling in naive hope because he doesn't now what else to do. They call two year olds "the terrible twos" because it's an age of tantrums, where they are old enough to cause all kinds of trouble but not old enough to cope and control themselves. They have no idea of boundaries,and find it very difficult to imagine how others think. Impy is like that. In real life I think he would drive me crazy like he drives everybody else crazy, and I don't think I would have the slightest hope of communicating with him, but he's amazing and tragic and inspiring and innocent I love the guy.

BTW this probably sounds tremendously self pitying of me. yes, I was pretty miserable for several decades but I now have the most wonderful girlfriend in the world and we adore each other. That's what Impy needs, somebody who loves him despite everything. Not just an "impossible woman" who he created an extension of himself (how narcissistic and empty is that!) He just needs somebody to love him unconditionally and he will do anything in return.

I think a lot of desperately lonely people can relate."

Other points to note

• Sue's method:
  The story of the Impossible man is the clearest case so far that Sue's method works: you can defeat somebody by not fighting him.
• Following the zeitgeist: the story adapts to the audience:
  The "visit" story is a direct response to fans. "Again I marvel at how much the creators took the time and effort not only to pay attention to what their readers wanted, but also to make a point of letting those readers know, “We’re doing this for you.” This had to feel like so much more than a simple comic book to Marvel’s young readers. This had to feel like a cooperative effort. I can’t think of a better way to get your customers to keep coming back than to say to them, “What do you want? Tell me what you want, and we’ll do it. For you.” - Crissy The next issue continues this, with the Fantasticar being upgraded in response to reader comments. The Impossible man was later banned, also as a response to fans. In 1963 comics were still predominantly read by young people who want to see fights. Fans hated the Impossible Man, told Stan so, and he banned further use of the character. Finally by the 1970s the comics had a wider mix of fans, and Stan was persuaded to let him come back. Impy's return to the Bullpen (contrasting the bullpen seen in issue 10, just before his first appearance) is one of the greatest Fantastic Four issue ever, for its realism, art, and huge fun. I have to admit a personal bias here: the Perez run is my all time favorite run of the Fantastic Four, narrowly beating even Stan and Jack at their best. Your own mileage may vary.
• The cultural zeitgeist:
  In this issue the government could issue advice and nearly everyone would follow, just as the press ignored president Kennedy's affairs at the time. This kind of mass public cooperation would be impossible from late 1960s onwards.
  
• Ages:
  How old were Reed and Sue when they met? John Byrne wrote that Reed as at college and stayed in Sue's house when she was 12. But in FF11 Reed says they were children next door. This is easily explained if there is 6 or even 8 years between them, they could still be children at the same time. Young Reed might have liked the cute baby and watched her grow up.
  
• Before Star Trek:
  The humorous impossible to defeat friendly enemy predates Star Trek's "The Trouble With Tribbles" by several years. Some creatures from the planet Poppup even look like Tribbles.
• Before Jim Carrey:
  "As I was writing this, I realized how much of a debt Carrey’s MASK owes to I.M. not just in hue, but high jinks." (source)
  
• Continuity:
  The mailman, Willie Lumpkin, previously appeared in a newspaper strip by Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo (who later drew Archie) in 1960-61. It was set in the town of Glenville, the town where Sue and Johnny Storm were raised, and since Reed lived next door he must have been there as well. As Sean Kleefeld observes, the strip appears to be set years earlier, so presumably the team's parents could appear as bit-parts.
  

Sue Storm in issues 7-11

With Reed now dominant (his greatest confidence arrives with issue 13), Sue's independence is in decline, particularly after Reed's sexism in issue 11. In future issues Sue will try things Reed's way. She will become slightly infantalized like the others, taking on a subservient role and waiting for Reed to micromanage. She gives him his chance. But by Act 4 we will see that Reed's approach just does not work in the long term, and Sue will once again assert her independence.

12

Issue 12: Ben's last chance to feel strong: before Reed's FF is re-accepted by the military-industrial complex

Ben and power
Here Ben is at his finest, battling the Hulk for the first of many times. Ben still defies Reed sometimes, e.g. by smashing an uncooperative elevator. It seems clear in this issue that later Marvel editors are correct: Ben and the Hulk have equal strength except for the Hulk's slightly greater size. But Reed treats Ben and the others like children, e.g. Reed leaves the other three outside while he discusses business, and treats Ben like an idiot when Ben enters too early. Reed often plays the "you are a fool" card Reed's narrow intelligence is the only area where he is Ben's superior. Lacking confidence, Ben will not defeat old green skin (or gray skin) until he regains his confidence at the end of Act 5. (At that time Ben has a power boost, but that only affects his minimum power: his maximum power was always Hulk-level).

This issue is saturated by Cold War zeitgeist: the team help the troops, uncover a communist plot, and are rewarded with a military honor guard!

Anti-communist paranoia
As the excellent "wait-what" podcast pointed out, this is an odd, directionless story. There is no strong villain, no strong fight, but lots of time spent preparing and lost in tunnels. Why?

This unintentionally reflects zeitgeist, the spirit of the age: any story about commie spies is going to be unsatisfying because the concept of commie spies was unsatisfying. it made no sense. America was so suspicious of communists that such an advanced spy network was impossible. So the story, where they do not have a clear idea of who the Hulk is or what he can do, reflects how America felt abut Russia: what doe it want? What might it do? But the moment you see it, it might destroy you, as the Hulk did with the spy camera!

Sue: the most powerful member
This issue is the perfect answer to the previous issue's interest in whether Sue pulls her weight. How could Sue possibly defeat the Hulk? She modestly suggested that she could be of no help. Then it was Sue who noticed that Dr. Banner and Rock were convinced it was not the Hulk, which led the others to consider that possibly the Hulk might be innocent. Then it was Sue who spotted the Ray that alerted them to the existence of the Wrecker. And it was Sue who stopped the Wrecker's controller, Karl Kort.

One footnote to this: Sue appears to go invisible at fear of a picture of the Hulk. Clearly that is absurd, as she fought the Mole Man's hordes and Dr Doom with no problem. She hesitates to answer ("the-- the sight of that monster"). It sounds like this was the first excuse she could come up with. What is really going on here? What could she be thinking that would cause her to be distracted (and thus become invisible) but she could not tell Reed? The meeting was dull, the lights were down, so she was probably day-dreaming. What was she thinking of? Look at the context:

• The question revolves around whether Ben is stronger than the Hulk. But Reed is undermining Ben's confidence (as becomes even clearer in later issues).
• The previous scene involved Ben on a date with Alicia. The Hulk is compared to Ben more than once in this story. Ben used to have a crush on Sue. Was she thinking of this?
• Sue is being treated as weak. She is likely to be remembering someone who respects her: the other man who loves her, the other super strong being they know, the Sub-mariner.

Whatever the topic, Sue could not tell Reed, so had to think of a quick excuse. "I was scared!" Yes, he'll' buy that. Or maybe she was testing Reed - "does he really think I'm such a coward?" And he believed it.

Hair loss
The 1950s were run by men with receding hair lines. but the 1960s belonged to young men with long hair! This is reflected in the comics. All the early opponents had receding hair or no hair at all, except Namor and the Hulk, who were the epitome of health. (The Miracle Man appeared to have good hair, but he was old, and the master of illusion, so I highly doubt it. The angry police commissioner in the same issue was definitely balding.) We are not strictly told that Doom is bald, but a fiery explosion ripped past his face, which would normally burn off his hair: he certainly looks like he has either very thin hair or perhaps just scar tissue.

The first villain with plenty of hair was the Mad Thinker, who represented computers and the future. By the end of the 1960s a full head of hair was the norm.

The move from balding to full hair reflects Stan Lee's life. Were the early bald villains a sign of his own distress at his hair loss? Of course, the designs were by Jack Kirby, who always had great hair. Which makes you think. Kirby drew heroes with good hair and villains as balding authority figures (or in the case of Impy, figures of fun). What was Kirby unconsciously trying to say? But never fear: by the late 1960s Stan was looking youthful again.

(Stan photos are mainly from the excellent collection at the "MAST" blog, 9emeart.fr)

Other points to note

• The Marvel Universe
  The Hulk-Thing battle was the first ever modern Marvel cross-over, establishing the shared universe.

• Realism
  This issue was on sale in the same month as the final issue (6) of the original Hulk run. Why did the Hulk fail? Realism was the key to Marvel's success, yet the first Hulk series included stories that contradicted the reader's experience of the real world, such as global attacks by the Metal Master and Toad Men. Readers did not connect with these stories. The later series had smaller stories that the reader could believe were really "out there somewhere" and the new Hulk was a hit.

• Commie membership card?
  Some have criticized the plot point that Rick found a communist membership card in the bad guy's wallet. Except that he didn't. Rick Jones at the time was involved with teenage radio hams. He collated information from across the nation. He was in a position to recognize a "communist front organization" that even the FBI might not spot. This detail is about Rick's data mining, not about Karl Kort being a fool.

• Bald men
  In issue 3, 7, 8 and 11 (i.e. every single issue except were the focus is on the main enemies, Moe Man, Doom, Namor and the Skrulls) the bad guy is bald. (In issue 3 and here
  

13

Issue 13: "we choose to go to the moon":
Reed's greatest triumph; finally meeting a higher being

• Higher beings
  This is where they finally reach a higher being, a representative of all higher beings. See the page on the cosmic for details, and why this is crucial to world history and why the FF gained powers.
  
• The final triumph
  This issue is Reed's greatest triumph, where the alpha male takes over. After the failure in issue 1, he finally has a successful space flight. Later in his career he may be involved in bigger events, such as defeating Galactus, but Reed only plays a small part in those other triumphs. This moon shot is the one where Reed does it all himself. He wants it to be a one man show, but is forced to let the others along. However, he only pays attention to Sue, the girl he is trying to impress.

The Zeitgeist

The issue was written around the time of Kennedy’s famous “we choose the moon” speech. The Fantastic Four reflects that powerful meme: the nation is thinking of the moon, so that's where the Fantastic Four must be that month. The Red Ghost and Super-Apes are of course a blatant example of the zeitgeist of the time: early space flights were tested with animals like dogs and chimpanzees. Anti-communist scare stories implied that commies were bogeymen who could go anywhere, like ghosts. Sue compares the apes to the innocent Russian citizens, forced to serve their masters. Note that the story deliberately wants sympathy for the Russians - human henchmen would have gained no sympathy. The story ends with Reed moralizing about freedom (ironically while he dominates the others, but at least he's better than his enemies.)

The use of apes reflects the cultural zeitgeist:

• "You ape" was at the time a common (if mild) indicating physical strength but limited intelligence.
• Communism claimed to be the natural evolution of human society, but this story mocks it as going backwards (from man to ape)
• DC comics at the time had a fashion for apes as heroes, villains, pets, monsters, etc. This was because a single issue with an ape on the cover once sold very well, and the then editor decreed that apes should from thenceforth be everywhere. But that sales spike was never repeated and apes gradually fell from fashion.

The Watcher also reflects another zeitgeist: America's dilemma. The American founding fathers were isolationist, preferring to watch the old world from a distance (just as the Watcher observes from the moon) and not get involved. But when wars come to the western word (like communism coming to Cuba: in this case, communism coming to the moon), what should they do? Passively watch or interfere and risk making it worse?

Political commentary

“They are like the communist masses, innocently enslaved by their evil leaders.” "Wow! That was a significant moment in this story. Once again going back to 1960’s international politics, I remember an overwhelming agreement that ALL Commies are BAD. In grade school, as our thoughts would sometimes wander to the poor little Russian children in their cold, barren schoolrooms, reading their propagandist textbooks, we were encouraged to feel sorry for these children as victims of their own society. Once they got past a certain age, though (we were taught), the menace of Communism would take root in their souls, and no salvation would be possible. So I thought it was pretty big of Stan to separate for his young readers the reality of the communist people from the ideology of the communist party." - Crissy

Sue saves them yet again
Although this issue is Reed's triumph, once again we see how Sue's peaceful methods are superior. Her empathy for the apes saves herself, allowing her to save the others, and the now sympathetic apes later caused the Red Ghost's defeat. This was the Watcher's great test for mankind, so it is not too much to say that whereas Reed was focused on his own glory, Sue saved the world. Note that the boys' methods (rush in first, think later) would have led to their deaths. And again note Sue's bravery - either the apes or the ray gun might have killed her.

Realism
For the realism of a moon shot in 1963, see the discussion of the FF's origin. In short, this was a one-off, only possible because of a one-off rocket fuel discovery and astronauts with unique abilities. It was not the "giant leap for mankind" of 1969. This was like the occasional lucky visit to America before Columbus. Some critics argue why Reed didn't just use the captured Skrull craft or Planet X's UFO. Because Reed says the whole point is to test a fuel that NASA might be able to use.  Also, Reed appears to have already cannibalized the Skrull craft for the "Fantasti-car." As for the UFO, it appears to have been out of action until years later when Ben was kidnapped by the Skrulls (though it does appear in issue 11). There could be many reasons for this: it was already cannibalized for parts, or adjusting it was too dangerous, or it had some kind of security device and was only primed for a one way trip, etc.

A story of perspective
This issue is criticized on FFPlaza as having a weak fourth part. This is true if we expect comics to be just costumed battles. But as a morality tale this is superb: we see that though en enemy may appear fearsome, like the apes they are just ordinary people, with their own lack of freedom, and all they want is the same things we do, like food. The story ends with a reminder that no matter how powerful we are, somebody will be more powerful than us. The story is an appeal to be simple and human, and is simple contrasts are made clearer by setting it on the moon.

The Tunguska event

Reed refers to the meteorite that exploded above Siberia: the famous Tunguska event.

"The Tunguska event was a large explosion, caused by an asteroid or comet, which occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at about 07:14 (00:14 UT) on June 30 1908. It is classified as an impact event even though the object is believed to have burst in the air rather than hit the surface. It is the largest impact event on or near Earth in recorded history." (Wikipedia)

Trees were flattened for miles around.

Where does the explosive energy come from? "Meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere from outer space every day, traveling at a speed of at least 11 kilometers per second (6.8 mi/s). The heat generated by compression of air in front of the body (ram pressure) as it travels through the atmosphere is immense and most asteroids burn up or explode before they reach the ground." (Wikipedia)

The simplest explanation for Reed's discovery is that this enormous pressure could become trapped within the asteroid itself: so releasing it a little bit at a time would be like releasing a nuclear bomb a bit at a time, which would be enough to assist a space craft. This probably explains the ship design: a spherical payload for maximum protection in case of explosion, and a thin neck for maximum distance from the dangerous fuel.

How can the heat energy be contained within an asteroid? Through extreme compression when the asteroid was created.

“Hypervelocity impacts on meteorite parent bodies cause short pulses of very high pressures and locally high temperatures that melt and transform meteoritic materials into the same high-pressure phases that make up the deep Earth,” [...] By looking within shocked meteorites, scientists have been able to observe and categorize a few different deep-Earth minerals. But something from within Earth is obviously preferable. Earlier this year, for instance, scientists found the first naturally occurring sample of ringwoodite, which was trapped inside a diamond that had been expelled in Brazil. Ringwoodite is a mineral that is prevalent in the “transition zone” between the upper and lower mantles. Within that sample, scientists found trapped water, a finding that suggests there is a subterranean ocean that may hold more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined." (source)

The Fantastic Four is a great entry point into real world science.

Other points to note

• The computer planet:
  The Watcher states that his entire planet is a computer. This idea was later used in The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
• America and Russia compared: creativity needs freedom
  "The story goes out of its way to show us that while Reed employs his American ingenuity to invent things to aid the cause of the 'free people,' Kragoff is only capable of discovering and using the leftovers from the ancient jet engine. While Kragoff fires up a “pneumatic-powered car” he finds laying around, Reed invents a mode of transportation, using Torch as the fuel source. Later, Kragoff attacks with a disintegrator gun he discovers on a junk heap, but in the end, it’s the paralysis ray Reed designs that leads to the ultimate defeat of the Red Ghost." - Crissy
• The force field:
  Here Sue encounters a force field, and one issue slater she discovers she can create her own force fields. Did she feel something that gave her a clue?
• Ditko's Ben Grimm
  Steve Ditko inked this issue. Not everyone agrees, and occasionally the faces look a little odd, but overall this is superb. I am a huge fan of Ditko's early work, and I agree with the Wait What podcast: This is the best Ben Grimm art ever. Ben actually looks monstrous and terrifying: now we can see why he hates being The Thing.
• Secret Wars
  The same plot (a higher being gets two sides to fight on an alien world) was the basis for the original Secret Wars. Secret Wars was probably the most important crossover in the history of Marvel.
• Sue is the most powerful
  The super apes have similar powers to the FF. The Red Ghost is closest to Sue (who saves the others, as usual). This implies that the real power behind the FF is not Reed but Sue. This becomes clearer as the story progresses.
  
• X-Men 137 and Annual 18
  For why this issue is so important to the big cosmic story, see these scans or the notes to annual 18.
  
  

14

Issue 14: Reed returns in glory

Here Reed is living the dream. Note how at his moment of triumph Reed undermines Ben. The one intellectual area where Reed must admit Ben is better is in piloting (e.g. in issue 11). So What does Reed do? He designs a ship that does not need Ben. He seems to want Ben to be worthless. It is as though Reed, like Doom, likes to see Ben as just brainless muscle.

As Reed's life journey goes ever upwards, Ben's is its mirror, sliding farther and farther down to despair

The mystery of the Puppet Master

1. He died?
   Yes, the Puppet Master was effectively dead, or at least very seriously injured
2. The clay had AI
   See the notes to FF8: the clay was probably highly advanced technology left behind by the robot from planet X.Like the robot, it would have needed some kind of artificial intelligence to do its job autonomously. By interacting with the clay the Puppet Master would have created some kind of bond. (This is highly advanced technology so would naturally work through the mind.)
3. The clay saved him?
   So presumably the clay saved him: dragging his brain damaged body to the sanitarium. animating him long enough for him to gradually recover. Or perhaps the clay always controlled him from that point.
4. The fall disfigured his face?
   The fall may have smashed up his face, and the Uncle Fester appearance may have pre-dated the FF14 return.
   
5. The mental link
   Since then the Puppet Master has had a mental link to the clay
6. The permanent brain damage
   Since then the Puppet Master was incapable of detailed models, yet could rapidly fashion accurate clay models, almost as if the clay knew what he wanted to make and helped him. He is also incapable of highly developed thought, except the occasional robot - another side effect of using highly advanced organic technology.
   

• Why the Sub-Mariner again?
  Reed gained the money for his triumphant moon journey thanks to the Sub-Mariner (see FF 9), so it is fitting that he is here to see the result. Now he wants his reward: he wants Sue! Again in this issue the team are offered work - just as they were looking for work the last time Namor intervened, again showing how Namor has changed their lives for the better.
  
• Reed's personality
  Reed lacks Namor's nobility at this point (that will come in Act 3) Reed is frustrated that his sexism, aggression, lack of empathy and micromanaging is not enough to win Sue's heart. Reed hates not being in control!
  
• No deus ex machina
  The reliance on sea creatures with unending powers is sometimes mistaken for a deus ex machina, and thus a weakness. But these powers do not solve any problem, they create the dramatic tension: the set Namor up as unbeatable, so we can see that the only way to defeat an unbeatable foe is to find the real, hidden cause of his hatred, and become his friend.
  
• Real time
  The puppet master was cured "months ago" and since then has been biding his time. Yet the previous comic appeared only 6 issues earlier. Clearly the story progresses in more or less real time
• Realism: the moon flight in 1963
  There is no evidence that the public knew the four landed on the moon. The Four return as celebrities, but not major celebrities: they are only wanted for minor product endorsements. This is all consistent with the government releasing the story that this was simply a test flight. It would be politically embarrassing for America to say that they needed super powered beings and lucky discoveries: the race to the moon is to prove the superiority of ordinary Americans.
• Kirby's art
  If you ignore Stan's dialog, the art implies that the Puppet Master controlled the FF as well as the Sub-mariner. Kirby fans see this as one of many indications that right from the start Kirby plotted the story, then Stan added dialog that did not always go with Kirby's plans.
  

A1

Fantastic Four Annual 1: Reed almost causes World War III

The first annual is about equality: it contrasts Reed's methods and Sue's methods. Reed sees no choice but violence, but Sue has a better way.

Like Hamlet, Reed normally analyzes everything carefully, but sometimes acts too quickly. Here Reed almost causes World War Three by not listening to the bearded man's complaints (he is Namor in disguise). Sue's method, to take the other person's views seriously, would have prevented the war. It is true that Reed's war invention finally works, but it does not end the war, it just lengthens it or another battle, another day. Only Sue can end the conflict between the two species, human and merman, because only Sue understands that the issue is much bigger than Reed's narrow focus. It is not about conquest, it is about pride. Sue understands that. Reed does not. Where the big picture is concerned, Sue is usually smarter than Reed.

Meanwhile Reed continues to subtly humiliate Ben: The Torch starts a fight and Ben is supposed to just take the abuse. (Johnny grew out of that immature stage by Act 3, and it is a sign of the end of continuity that Johnny reverts to being a juvenile in the Franklinverse.) Ben is then treated like a naughty child for ruining some clothes. In reality Sue is partly at fault for not protecting them: the Baxter building would always be a dangerous place, and events like this lead Reed to gradually improve internal security.

Homo Mermanus

The great power of comics is their unlimited imagination. Not limited by words or pictures or budget. Some of their crazy ideas turn out later to be plausible, or at least exaggerated versions of the truth. Perhaps this story could also contain a grain of truth: according to Elaine Morgan's aquatic ape hypothesis, some of our ancestors did return to live in the water, just as Namor said. The only mammals without thick fur are those whose ancestors spent time in the water, and human babies still have the instinct to hold their breath when submerged.

(image by 'MasterFinally' on Wikimedia)

Whether some aquatic apes stayed there and developed gills is still pure speculation. :)

Stupid powers? Or missing the point?

Julian Darius singles out FF annual 1 as "stupid" because of a scene where Reed is stretched out like spaghetti, then squashed into a cone shape by Namor. This illustrates a fundamental question: are super powers the point of super heroes? Many people would say yes. Others, including me, say no. Super powers are merely a McGuffin, an excuse to allow a more interesting story. To illustrate, let's examine Darius' claim in detail:

First let's dismiss the "between panels" complaint. For some people, the super powers are the heart of the story. Therefore to skip over a super feat is unforgivable. But in the Fantastic Four, super powers are merely a way to tell a bigger story. This is the story of enormous egos: Namor rules more than half the Earth's surface, and is known for his ego. As for Mr Fantastic, the clue to his ego is in the name, "Mr Fantastic." The significance of this sequence is not in the mechanism of the act, but that one man humiliated the other.

As for the other criticism, the "complex maneuver" - the pictures suggest otherwise. When hit, Reed flattens out and resembles a stretched spring. He knew he was going to be hit, he knew he would likely be disoriented, so he no doubt tightened his form like a flattened spring, so he would immediately snap back, like a spring. Namor then saw the coiled form and immediately thought of a candle snuffer. Even if he had to deal with a floppy form (which seems unlikely) here is a guy who routinely handles giant eels, so he's in his element. But the point is that how he did it does not matter. This is not a story about the mechanics of super powers, it's a story about one man humiliating another, and super powers let us illustrate the concept more efficiently.

This little sequence matters because it's a theme repeated in almost every issue. If we focus on the powers we miss the point. They are just a way to emphasize the story. This is not a story about super powers, it's a story about people.

Reed as inventor

Ben's metanoia

This issue is notable for the worst example of childish behavior from Ben (at the start). What we are seeing is the peak moment in Ben's process of metanoia, or changing of the mind on a deep, painful psychological level. Metanoia is a kind of nervous breakdown, except the person is till able to function at some level. But the underlying depression and pain are the same.

Metanoia (from the Greek "changing one's mind") describes a process of fundamental change in the human personality. William James used the term metanoia to refer to a fundamental and stable change in an individual's life-orientation. Carl Jung developed the usage to indicate a spontaneous attempt of the psyche to heal itself of unbearable conflict by melting down and then being reborn in a more adaptive form - a form of self healing often associated with the mid-life crisis and psychotic breakdown, which can be viewed as a potentially productive process. Jung considered that psychotic episodes in particular could be understood as an existential crisis which might be an attempt at self-reparation: in such instances metanoia could represent a shift in the balance of the personality away from the persona towards the shadow and the self. Psychologist David Cooper considered that 'metanoia means change from the depths of oneself upwards into the superficies of one's social appearance' – a process that in the second of its three stages 'generates the 'signs' of depression and mourning'. The therapeutic community movement used the concept to support people whilst they broke down and went through spontaneous healing, rather than thwarting such efforts at self-repair by strengthening a person's existing character defenses and thereby maintaining the underlying conflict. In Transactional analysis, metanoia is used to describe the experience of abandoning an old scripted self or false self for a more open one: a process which may be marked by a mixture of intensity, despair, self-surrender, and an encounter with the inner void. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)

Symbolism: Ben's rocky skin
Rocky orange monsters reflect bedrock (see the commentary to issue 1 and all the monster comics of that month.) Ben's skin can be seen as a symbol of bedrock, whereas Reed is a symbol of change. Ben's old fashioned traditionalism is like the average older American facing the changes of the 1960s. All the old certainties were under attack: religion, the righteousness of war, old ways of life, etc. Reed Richards represents the rise of science and flexible thinking. Johnny represents the cockiness of youth, now challenging the older generation as never before. Many older people felt under attack, they lost their old status in society, and often lost their jobs to younger less experienced people. These changes were painful.

Symbolism: how Ben's rocky skin changed
Ben's metanoia covers acts 1 and 2. His changing inner self is reflected by his changing outer self: at first he was an almost shapeless pile of Earth...

..and gradually as he worked through his problems his skin took a more definite form. His appearance settled in hard plates, his armor against the outside world; while he had the general look of a harmless "orange teddy bear" as some Marvel writers later called him,

The stages of Ben's metanoia

Other points to note

• Rewarding bad behavior?
  Why does Sue apologize and Reed "reward" him with a vacation? Because Ben is not a child and Sue knows it. He is a grown man and she can see that he had reasons to act like he did. Reed cannot then criticize Ben without looking petty: he is courting Sue so wants to impress her.
• Why is Johnny immature toward Ben?
  Johnny was raised by his sister and has never had a male role model, except Reed (who insults Ben) and Ben (who gets insulted). Johnny is emotionally immature for his age, but Crystal will do a lot to help him grow up.
  
• Reed the soldier
  Reed plans to vaporize the water in the invaders' helmets could kill them: reminding us of his military past. After 1989 this past disappeared, leaving Reed as a two dimensional character, after the sliding timescale disconnected him from the draft) 
  
• Namor the monarch
  Namor's duty as a monarch, and the cost of leaving them to have fun, remind us of Henry IV: prince Hal and Falstaff.
  
• Khrushchev
  The shoe banging incident comes from Khrushchev, as does the fear of an invading empire.
  
  "Nikita Khrushchev's shoe-banging incident allegedly occurred at some point in autumn 1960 [...] at the United Nations. Some sources claim Khrushchev pounded his shoe on his delegate-desk in protest of a speech by Philippine delegate Lorenzo Sumulong. Others argue Khrushchev was responding to the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Though all parties are in agreement that Khrushchev was enraged by both Sumulong's and Macmillan's speeches, and loudly denounced them, there are no photographic or video records of the incident available. There is at least one fake photographic depiction of the incident, where a shoe was added into an existing photograph." (Wikipedia: the doctored photo is used here)
  
• Plausible deniability
  The entire invasion takes place in a few hours when civilians are kept off the streets. So it is possible to still believe this takes place in the real world, our world. No doubt the civilians were told it was a military drill, to avoid panic.
• Personalities
  regaining his kingdom removes Namor's rage and freedom that made him such a contrast to Reed, so Sue begins to lose interest.
• The tele-fish
  The tele-fish is clearly an example of genetic engineering. The Atlanteans are far in advance of the surface world, technologically, and would obviously have far more advanced genetic engineering than us.
• Reed's hubris
  When first taken underwater Reed assumes that Atlanteans are only at the same level as us, albeit focusing their technology on different areas. They then prove him wrong, by demonstrating a vastly superior technology: disposable space flight that begins at the bottom of the ocean!
  
• A watery theme throughout
  Note how soaking everything with water at the start foreshadows the entire story: how Atlantis wants to defeat the surface world, and how the Baxter building is again soaked with water (when the spacecraft deposits the team) but this time the water disappears, giving Reed the clue for how to defeat the invaders.
• Violence:
  Nick Caputo points out that the image where Namor pushes civilians aside seems to have been partly redrawn. The top half of Namor looks like it was possibly drawn by the inker Sol Brodsky (later production manager and star of "What if the original Bullpen became the FF"). It seems likely that the original image had Namor being too violent with civilians for the Comics Code.
  
  

Story 2: Spider-Man

Next: Ben's decline