1971: Act 4: Reed v. his family (Vietnam)

Summary
In the early 1970s the optimism of the 1960s had gone. This was summed up by Vietnam: things were not getting better, and nobody was winning: not the pro war people, or the anti war people, or Vietnam, not even Russia. The American government threw more and more at the problem and just increased the pain.

Act 4 summary
Act 4 of the classic 5 act structure is the crisis: where everything seems to go wrong. Just when it seems that things cannot get any worse, they get worse. Often there is a false dawn, where the heroes appear to have conquered and are about to walk off into the sunset, then the bad guy comes back, even more unbeatable than before. Act 4 of the Fantastic Four has all these features: things start going wrong, then Reed loses his health, then the marriage collapses. There is a false dawn when everything seems to go right, then it all falls apart and gets even worse. By the end of Act Reed will have failed as a father, as a scientist, as a husband, been on trial for genocide (and is guilty), and attempts suicide. Finally, when all hope seems to have gone, Reed will be humbled, and Act 5 will bring final redemption.

This page: the start of act 4
At the start of Act 4 the cracks begin to show. Things start to go wrong. Reed works harder and harder, and eventually his health gives way.

103

Issue 103: moral authority is lost

Other points to note

• They need Crystal
  FF100 had a flying craft pulled apart magnetically, and the situation was saved by Crystal. Here the same thing happens again, but this time Johnny insisted that Crystal stay home, so Sue was captured. This is one of the events that leads Crystal to realize that Johnny is not yet mature, and this will lead to their tragic separation. Also in FF100, Ben sees an artificial whirlpool, perhaps giving him the idea for his whirlpool trick this issue.
• No Kirby
  This is the first non-Kirby issue, but the story is bigger than the creative team, so there is continuity. Later, in the Franklinverse period, continuity will be effectively abandoned. Matt Guether notes the difference, writing on FFPlaza:
  "One might think the biggest thing about this issue is the loss of Jack Kirby, but since there wasn't a drastic shakeup in artistic style, the transition is smoother than expected. Nowadays it seems that every new artist reinvents the characters in a dramatic new style, somehow insinuating that the previous team just didn't get it right. The Thing is usually the biggest makeover, but Johnny has undergone quite a few looks of his own. Sue gets haircuts and her uniforms change. Reed gets a facelift or whatever the opposite of a facelift is, depending on whether the artist sees Reed as a young or old genius. But here it seems more like there is more of an attempt at maintaining tradition than asserting artistic ownership. Sure, you know it's not the King's work, but it is Kirby-esque enough and the story is rock solid."
• Coloring
  Personally I think the cover has bad coloring. Maybe it was done in a rush. So here's a better version: I think it makes the cover art look much better.
  
• Typo
  The very first page after Kirby leaves has a typo ("the the") and the cheesiest two dimensional villain imaginable. Oh the contrast! It does get better, though the title never again touches Kirby's concentrated creativity.
  

104

Issue 104: Reed feels like a slave

The title is "our world -- enslaved." Sue,. Ben and Johnny have to do everything Reed says. For his part, Reed always feels like a slave to circumstances: not just now, but throughout his career: everything is urgent and desperate, he always feels that he must act right now, or terrible things will happen. In his mind, circumstances force him to fight. He believes that he has no choice. Yet the irony is that he does not have to be that way: he enslaves himself. Sue has a better, gentler way: listen to her intuition, don't try to control everything, and don't always run and fight at every opportunity. The irony is that: Reed believes that he acting for peace, yet he just caused World War Three and routinely ignores Sue's superior peaceful intuition. But Reed is no villain. He does it because he sincerely cares for others. His tragic flaw is that he cannot accept that others might be just as good as him.

Criticisms (source)

• Why do the Atlanteans follow Magneto, who treated them so badly? Because he is a skillful persuader, a very powerful man, and they always had an uneasy relationship with Namor. They once left him en masse because they felt he betrayed them by siding with the surface world, and here he does it again.
• Why do Ben and Johnny keep antagonizing Namor? Because Reed spend the previous three acts infantalizing them, and now they follow his lead.
  
• Why are the women treated so badly? Because Reed and Namor have monstrous egos, and Reed is about to pay the price.

Other points to note

The later Franklinverse will have different characters, and this issue indicates a different Magneto as well. The later Franklinverse Magneto is powerful enough to turn the tiniest amount of metal against a person - even the iron in their blood! But the original Magneto can be stopped by a part-metal weapon. He is able to destroy Sue's craft (FF103) but not the Fantasti-car, suggesting that this Magneto's power has various limitations.

105

Issue 105: they lose Crystal

• Why does Reed ignore the disturbances in New York? Because he is so focused on his work. Why is he so focused? Because he feels guilty for turning Ben into a monster. (The irony is that Ben is not a monster, but feels he is because Reed has destroyed his self esteem.) Is Reed just naturally focused on any work at hand, or is he especially focused here because of pride? He sees Ben's rocky skin as a sign of personal failure.

• Why is Johnny so angry, lashing out at the energy ball before he knows what it is? Because he's just lost his girlfriend and feels trapped. He is a young adult of immense power yet is prevented from making his own decisions. Such frustration and anger! He just wants to lash out.

• How does Reed immediately recognize a rare chemical that links Crystal and Ben? Crystal is especially sensitive to air quality. She is also an elemental who controls air currents, earth, fire and water. it is rational therefore that Reed would start by studying the basis of her powers. Presumably Crystal has an unusual way of turning her powers on and off and that gave Reed an idea, as Ben's problem is an inability to turn his power off. As for how quickly Reed spotted it, he's been studying DNA for years (e.g. the work that the Mad Thinker stole in order to create the Awesome Android). Reed would instantly home in on the difference between normal DNA and super power DNA. He would also know that  all super powers are based on the same principles. So this simplifies the question. It is then highly plausible that Reed might spot some useful feature that might enable Ben to change. (We know of course that Ben's ability to change is ultimately mental, but the mental command must act through physical channels, and Reed can change these.)

• Crystal leaving
  For why Crystal was removed as soon as Kirby left, see the page that compares Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's treatment of women.
  

106

Issue 106: Johnny's potential

With Reed's weakness apparent we shift attention to Johnny Storm. He has tremendous ability, and is starting to learn responsibility after his immaturity contributed to him losing Crystal. This foreshadows the next generation: imagine a whole series with drama like this!

Johnny's fall from the sky symbolizes his inner doubts, and is a metaphor for his wasted potential. In the early days Johnny was the star, but he has assumed the role of almost being a child. By now Reed should be focusing on Franklin, Johnny should have explored all his abilities (including the amazing freezing ability shown here) and Ben and Johnny should be leading the team with Johnny and Crystal an item. But instead everything is going wrong.

Reed is building up to his most insane level of efficiency, taking on more and more responsibility, having to be better and better: this issue he saves Sue and Dr Rambow and Larry Rambow, and he works on Ben and he helps Johnny discover new abilities. He can't keep pushing himself harder and harder: something has to break. And it will.

Note that Reed's insane work load is self inflicted. He would not have to waste time "fixing" Ben if h had not caused the problem in the first place by undermining Ben's confidence.

Other points to note

• The Fantastic Four is a family story. This issue is about how a father's experiment caused his son to have dangerous powers: the father then devotes himself to his son. See the contrast with how Reed treats his son, sending the baby away out of sight, where he calls "dada" (FF110) but his father does not hear.
  
• The art in this issue is remarkably good. The image of Johnny absorbing heat, of Ben frozen, of Johnny leaving the Baxter building, and of falling from the sky, are all unforgettable... in my opinion.
  

Criticisms (source)

"Rambow has been following the ‘monster’ since the time he created it in his lab from his son, Larry, trying desperately to find a way to change him back — why does it take someone else to remind him of the fail-safe device he made?" It is unlikely that he tested his fail-safe device. With so much unknown energy around it might kill his son. He probably doesn't want to use it just in case, hoping that Reed will find a safer solution, but Reed persuades him to.

107

Issue 107: Sue thinks the unthinkable. Separation.

It finally happened. The pressure was building for years. Sue has given Reed every chance to do things his way: she obeyed him, accepted his ignorant comments, and respected his intelligence. And all the time he never respected her. Readers sometimes think that Sue was being weak, but we saw at the start that Sue was always the strongest character in terms of both bravery and outcomes. Sue respected him because the best outcome would have been for need to respond to her love and open his eyes to her methods. But he never did. Now she won't give him unquestioned loyalty any longer. She is planning the unthinkable: if Reed does not change then they must separate until he uses that brain and starts to see the effects of his actions, and starts to see other points of view.

Reed's control over the others has gone
Reed has lost the respect of all his family. Sue has given him five years of unquestioning obedience, but no more. Johnny sees the truth: in Reed's team he is a child and cannot be a man. The greatest change is in Ben. Whatever Reed did to change him affected the real cause of his problem: his mental state. Freed from any moral restraints all the resentment and hatred builds up and Ben goes to the opposite extreme: Reed is the enemy and Ben won't take it any more, as we shall see in later issues. Ben's change is the most extreme because his subjugation was so extreme. Like a piece of elastic that was pulled to breaking point in one direction, when the control is removed he flies to the extreme in the other direction.

And since we're comparing covers, here are some more. The Titans is probably my all time compilation comic. Sixty pages of the best Marvel comics for 9 pence!

(Yes, I know I got some of the Kirby-Buscema images the wrong way, but it's sort of funny so I left it)

108

Issue 108: "The Lost Adventure"

• Literary references
  The issue is based on the concept of Janus, the two faced Roman god who looks both backwards and forwards (see the splash page). Hence Janu-ary, the first month of the year. In this issue Ben also refers to The Thousand And One Nights: i.e. the Arabian Nights, the archetypal tall stories. These are also referenced in the story of the old man of the sea in FF11.
  

Changes from Kirby's original

This is the original splash page that was rejected, and the one that replaced it in FF108. Kirby's story is of "Mega Men" meaning men (plural) with great power. But when Kirby left Stan Lee changed it to "nega-man" meaning one negative man.

Stan kept this last Kirby FF issue for the month when Kirby began at DC, no doubt to dampen their "Kirby is here!" advertising. Ten months after Stan mangled Jack's story (cover dates March 1971 and Jan-Feb 1972), Kirby used a similar splash page to the one Lee rejected, with the disturbing stone bust as the foreground, amid old style furniture. But this time the bald art expert was "Funky Flashman", a thinly veiled attack on Stan Lee. Funky reaches into the statue's mouth to get money hidden in the old house by its creator, just as (according to critics) Stan plundered "the house that Jack built"

In the original penciled splash page for the Nega Man story (though toned down in the inked version in 1988) Crystal is at the center of the pic, and Franklin is reaching out earnestly. At this point, if Kirby had stayed, the team could have moved forward. Kirby has intended to kill off the gods in Thor (replacing them with the New Gods he ended up taking to DC), so major change was definitely on the cards. His Fantastic Four had begun to wear civilian clothes more often, Johnny was maturing, and Crystal was central to the team. Change was on the cards. But instead, when Kirby left, Lee immediately got rid of Crystal, kept Johnny on the team, and tried to return to old style stories. With Jack Kirby, Act four may have taken just a couple of years, But without Jack it took twenty years before the inevitable changes happened. And when those changes did finally happen the editors panicked so much that change was ended forever. But it was amazing while it lasted.

109

Issue 109: the emotional core of the 28 year story: love hurts

In the issue by issue review of the Fantastic Four we focus on Reed's tragic flaw (his need to control) because this drives the 28 year story. But it's important to see this in the context of the comics themselves: Reed is a hero: perhaps the greatest action hero in all fiction. He does everything for his family and for the world, as he sees it. he truly loves them and would give his life for them. Nowhere is that more clear than in FF109. The same goes for Sue: she loves Reed with all her heart, and it tears her up that they are drifting apart. This issue is all the more heart wrenching because it comes at a time when Sue knows they have to split up, it's the only way for Reed to come to his senses. yet she also knows that he loves her. It's powerful stuff. Just look at her face in this sequence. it's not just that her brother and husband are on the verge of death, it's that the family is breaking up, and she knows she has to be with Franklin, and once again, perhaps for the last time, she obeys Reed and pushes Franklin away. FF109 is the dagger in Sue's heart.

Reed's atonement

Why does Sue react so strongly? Because Reed seems to almost want to die: he seems a little too eager to embrace the danger. He has lost his gyro device - literally and symbolically lost his direction. But how did he lose it? He didn't lose the others' devices that he was holding. It was either careless or deliberate. He knows his glory days are passing and it's as if he wants to go out in a blaze of glory. See FF251 for a more serious attempt.

Real world parallels

In this issue (and a scene in FF107) we get a good view of the negative zone portal and its different chambers.

Their shape and description ("chambers" that must be sealed as you move through) reminds us of deep sea decompression chambers. The need for harnesses, the floating monsters, the darkness, the way that Triton was the best person to navigate, it all reminds us of the deep ocean.

The portal also reminds us of atomic power plants. This photo, via Wikipedia, shows lasers at the National Ignition Facility.

They both represent the dangerous yet unlimited frontiers of knowledge. With this in mind, the reality and excitement of these issues is visceral.

110

Issue 110: their last chance to understand

Sue's role in one image
This image sums up Sue Storm: torn between positive and negative, holding her family together. She is in the gut wrenching area where atoms are turned inside out, from positive to negative and back again. Why didn't they just use a rope or chain? Because atoms are being ripped apart and put back together in that field. Sue's forcefield energies meant that probably only she could survive being there for more than a split second. Though as a space between dimensions it would feel like forever.

The first clues to Franklin's power
Looking back we can see the great irony, that all the time they were pushing Franklin away, and Franklin could have saved them. This is the great message of family life: children cost us everything, they don't know anything, they get in the way... and yet they are the future. They are the most important of all, and we either learn that or we pay the price. The question is whether they could see it at the time. Yes, Sue's instinct was always to be with Franklin, but did they also have a clue that Franklin's power could defeat their enemies? FF110 gives them that clue. Just as the family is sliding of a cliff there are clues to Franklin's power:

• This story, for the first time, takes them back to Annihilus, the negative zone, the cosmic control rod: the circumstances of Franklins birth. In FF108 they spend some time rehearsing the story: it is at the front of their minds.
  
• The nega man reminds them of the almost infinite power that can be harnessed from the negative zone: enough to defeat any enemy if it could be controlled.
  
• They should remember that the almost infinite power of the cosmic control rod helped in Franklin's birth: some of that power is inside Franklin! It does not matte that the connection seems small. All they need is a conduit between a positive and negative universe and every atom that passes through brings vast energy with it.
  
• They already know that Franklin could possibly inherit his parents' power, and his parents power is to shape and twist and control (Sue's malleable force fields, Reed's body and mind). With the possibility that Franklin has cosmic control rod abilities he is surely at least worth investigating!
• Franklin knows Sue is there even when she is behind him and invisible (FF107).  In FF111 he knows the news even though he's nowhere near the TV and he is worried about his father even though he has no obvious way of knowing anything is wrong. Some people might say that a baby saying "dada" in his sleep means nothing, but Sues intuition says otherwise. Sue's intuition is never wrong, and later issues will prove she is right so it proves: in FF305 it is plainly stated that Franklin remembered and understood what was happening even before Crystal left.  This is crucial: not only is Franklin aware at this age, but at some level he understands.
  
• Reed is probably the smartest man in the world. If only he would turn his attention to his own son then he could figure out the stuff that is only made explicit in the comics in the following years.

Criticisms (source)

• How does Johnny throw an object surrounded by fire? He used to do stuff like this a lot in the early days, especially in his Strange Tales adventures. It illustrates how his power is not actually flame, it just has flame-like properties. See superscience for details. In the early days Johnny was more independent and creative, but as he fell more under Reed's influence he used his power in less creative ways. Now that Reed's influence is waning Johnny is thinking creatively again. In act 5, when Reed has gone, Johnny will finally begin to explore the limits of his power, (e.g. burning underwater). In FF322, against graviton, he moves his power to the next level: that moment appears to be the trigger that scares Franklin and flips the team into the Franklinverse. See how the 28 year story ended for details.

• Heat auras: How does Johnny's flame object know to stop at Reed's "aura"? As discussed in the superscience page, all these powers are variations on unstable molecules, and they react to what is around them. Johnny routinely tracked auras in the early days, e.g. forming flame doubles to float near a person wherever they go. Johnny used this ability again in FF17 when searching the city for Doom. More recently, in FF93 Johnny used that ability to track the radioactive traces of the departed saucer.

• Soft power
  This issue illustrates Sue's methods, as seen countless times before: she defeats the evil Thing through non-aggression

• Reed's pure heart
  This final demonstration of Reed's pure heart (by contrasting with the evil Thing) is necessary so we have sympathy with him during the following years of his hubris and long decline.

• Photo montage:
  This issue has the first non-Kirby photo montage. John Buscema deserves a lot of respect for putting in that extra touch. Though personally I am not a fan of his art (compare Romita's work on FF106: Romita's faces are not as good as Buscema's, but his layouts are far more exciting), Buscema went the extra mile with this issue and I'm grateful.

• A collector's item:
  This issue produced the first "variant" FF cover. Sean Kleefeld explains: "The cyan and magenta plates got mixed up for the cover. So everything that was supposed be blue was printed using magenta ink, and everything pink was printed with cyan ink. Consequently, we see the FF in pink uniforms, and the orange of the Thing (remember your old color wheel? yellow + red = orange) now looks green. Marvel issued a recall, and had corrected issues shipped out (I'm sure at the printer's cost, since it was their fault) but not before a good number of the error version had sold."
  
  

111

Issue 111: the dark side of the 1960s

The great argument against the swinging sixties was that it removed all restraint. The older generation said the greater rules of the 1950s were needed to avoid anarchy. But the counter argument is that the old prejudices were so harmful that change had to happen, even if the short term cost was great. (The same argument appears in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables over how the French Revolution led to the Great Terror of 1792). We see this removal of restraint in FF111. For nine years Ben was held back by Reed, and now when the restraint is released he doesn't know how to cope with it, all his repressed feelings take over and becomes obsessed on revenge, far angrier than he was at the start. But this had to happen. He had to get it out of his system.

Spider-Man is famously about 'Great Power brings Great Responsibility' but this applies even more to Ben Grimm: Spider-Man often wishes he had more power to defeat a particular enemy, but Ben's problem is that he has so much power he's scared of killing someone. Plus he fears losing his power and being unable to protect Alicia. FF111 shows what happens when he gives into his anger and frustration and abandons responsibility. See 'how strong is The Thing' for how strong he really is, and his deep psychological fears.

Other points to note

• Reed promises to put Sue and Franklin first - but only after the present crisis. This is always his line, and there is always some new crisis, some new excuse to keep him away from what really matters.

• This is one of the defining moments in the life of Ben Grim: we see how the problem of his inability to change is linked to some very dark repressed psychology.

112

Issue 112: two down, two to go

All of Reed's self image is unwinding. For all his life he has cultivated the belief that he is Mr Fantastic, the man who can do anything, the natural leader, and all others should listen to him. He treated Sue as weak and he treated the other men as children. But gradually it's all unwound. Crystal, being the last to join, was the first to fall. Now it's Ben's turn. Though he is not in fact literally dead, the old Ben is metaphorically dead. After this he will calm down but will never again treat Reed with deference. Nor will he get angry at Reed: Ben is older and wiser, and Reed has the worst thing he can imagine; he is no longer anything special in the eyes of his family.

Over the next year or so we will see Johnny leave, and then finally Sue. Mr Fantastic is gradually learning humility, but it will take him a long time.

Other points to note

113

Issue 113: Ben's turning point

Reed is losing control, as symbolized by "desperately trying to escape" then hitting a brick wall. Sue is literally and metaphorically above him, surveying the situation and fixing things. Johnny no longer buys the "you have to stay because..." argument, and tells Reed to his face. Ben finally realizes that Reed's attempts to "cure" him are a dead end and always will be. Reed is no longer holding the team together (if he ever was), he's driving them apart.

This issue is a milestone: when Ben smashes that machine he is breaking his reliance on Reed. From now on Reed cannot humiliate him. But note that deep down he is still scared of changing: the long psychological damage is done and it will take Ben years to recover. The main changes will come at the end of act 4 (when he takes his life apart, leaving Alicia, the team, and even planet earth behind) and the start of act 5 (when he puts his life together: new body, new girl, and Reed is entirely out of the picture).

• Ben is now thinking of romance
  Ben's new found relaxation is reflected in his joking. "There's a good joke here where they ask Ben where he's come from, and he replies "same place as everybody else", before asking if they knew of the birds and bees. I read this story to my grandmother, not getting the joke as a small child." ("Richard", on the FF board)
• The longest arc yet
  We are now entering the "Übermensch" (Overmind) arc. At four issues (113-116) it is as long as the longest stories so far (the visit to Latveria, and Ben being kidnapped by the Skrulls). But the final issue will be extra sized (FF116 is one of the extra long "25 cent" issues published just for that month), making this the longest arc so far
• The 100 issue cycle
  Although we can argue about when arcs begin and end, the only decisively longer arc will be exactly one hundred issues later: the Andromeda (Xandar computers) arc, FF204-214. It will have numerous parallels, and can be seen as the same story but with Reed having progressed to a new stage. See the notes to FF117 for details.
  

114

Issue 114: Hamlet's ghosts

The team hits a new low
Reed's decline continues and the public has noticed: the American people do not love the FF any more.  This happened once before, in FF7, but then it was due to alien mind control: when the control was lifted they were still immensely popular, enough to have a movie made two issues later (FF9). But the difference is that this time, once the mind control is lifted, the people still feel the same way (see FF121),. When the Over-mind leaves and Gabriel arrives, the ordinary people are eager to deliver the FF up to Gabriel. The FF no longer have respect. It's been a long time since they've saved the world in any obvious way: since things started going wrong in FF61 the team have caused as many problems as they've solved. For every time they have solved one problem (like defusing Rambow's son) they cause another (Like Reed opening the negative zone so Blastaar could get out).

He needs somebody to blame
Reed blames Ben for the unpopularity, saying it is because of Ben's fight with the Hulk. But the people know that the Hulk is unpredictable - why should that be the last straw? Perhaps they remember that just a couple of months previous, Reed Richards' bonehead decision plunged America into war! (See notes to FF102) Reed needs to blame Ben, but as of the previous issue he no longer has any hold over Ben. The spell is broken. Ben doesn't roll over and take it any more. What can he do? Reed's mind must be racing. Somewhere, deep in his unconscious, he needs a way out!

The Overmind

The following discussion includes images from more than just this issue: we need to see the whole Over-mind saga (FF113-116) to see what's really going on.

How convenient
With Reed under extreme pressure, suddenly the Over-mind appears. It seems like this is a cue for Reed to triumph again: another Galactus to defeat! The Over-mind specializes in mental power, which is right up Reed's street! Reed will beat this new threat, everyone will see how wonderful he is, and all will be well! How convenient.


O-oooooooookay. But nothing about this Over-mind guy adds up. It doesn't make sense. Everything is wrong. Here are the clues:

Clues

1. That's the Over-mind??????
   The biggest alarm bell is the difference between what the Watcher says, and what we see. The Watcher warns us of a grave threat to the universe. Then we get the full history of how awesome this guy is. Then Agatha Harkness warns the FF to flee, to save themselves. This guy is clearly Galactus level, or worse! But when he arrives he's kind of pathetic. His only proven power is the ability to influence minds (including the minds of animals).
   
   The whole Over-mind story is a huge anticlimax. Byron Brewer, Managing Editor of "Cosmic Book News" puts it this way. This guy is the expert on cosmic comic book heroes: "I remember the first exciting appearance of the Over-mind and how cosmically powerful he was. This is the second coming of Galactus, I thought to myself. We finally have a being to stand toe-to-toe with Big G that is not bound by vows like the Watcher. Well, needless to say, while fans even today talk about 'The Galactus Trilogy' and 'The Kree-Skrull War,' when was the last time you heard of 'The Over-mind Opus'? Probably not recently." (source)
   
   The much-hyped "Overmind" hides in a scrap yard and zaps stray dogs. He acts like a delusional hobo. But wait a minute... hiding in scrap yards... growling dogs... ultimately disappointing... power over minds, and the name "over mind"... does this remind you of anyone?
   
   The last time we saw somebody "unbeatable" like this, his only real power was a power over the mind, to make people believe he could do things he could not.
   

2. He's called a threat to the universe, but isn't.
   The Over-mind is clearly more powerful than, say, Paste Pot Pete, but there is no evidence that he can actually do what he says. Earth is the first planet he's visited: he has no track record. The FF have defeated more dangerous people before: Galactus, the Molecule Man, Annihilus, the Infant Terrible. This guy is not in their league. His main power is not even much of a power. His big selling point is that he combines a billion minds. So what? Ever heard the parable of the Emperor of China's nose? It goes like this: in ancient times nobody was allowed to look on the emperor of China. So nobody knew how big his nose was. So they took a survey of what every person thought: they took a hundred million replies, and averaged them all. The average was extremely precise, to a thousandth of a millimeter: but it was just as wrong as a single person's guess. The point of the story is that having more and more brains is not as good as having one brain with useful information. The only skill we see is hypnotism: he's like the Miracle Man from FF3. Sure, we also see him zapping people, but that's what the Miracle Man did, and it was an illusion.

3. Memories keep getting wiped.
   This is the smoking gun. When you're battling someone who keeps wiping your memory you should get very, very suspicious.
   

4. The Watcher? He doesn't sound like the Watcher.
   But wait, we have the Watcher to confirm that the Over-mind really is this great threat to the universe, right? Well maybe not. The Watcher at the start sure sounds like the Watcher: He says "beware the Over-mind" and says he can say no more.
    
   OK, that's classic Watcher behavior. So far so good. But then it gets weird: Agatha Harkness takes them to see "The Watcher" again and this guy then contradicts what he said ("I may say no more") and says a whole lot more. Later he contradicts himself again. He says that the FF cannot alter the course of events. Then after they alter the course of events he says, yes, you did it. This chatty Watcher is not so smart.
   
   
   This Watcher seems unaware of the rest of the universe. Why did he call this people the Eternals, when that is the name of a different group (that the humans would learn about five years later)? Surely the real Watcher would have different names for different groups. And then we have his description of the planet Gigantus as bigger than many galaxies. That raises so many physics problems... it just sounds like a made up story.
   

5. Parallels with FF10
   The science of Gigantus is so absurd (see next issue) that it sounds like a deliberate clue. Dr Doom did something similar in FF 10: he used an absurd story about gigantic brains (like the Over-mind's combined brain) to show that he was an over-mind: a man so much smarter than the idiots around him, that he was obviously destined to rule.
   
   

6. Sue ends up going to Doctor Doom!
   Agatha Harkness says that Sue should go and see Dr Doom. Why? Agatha could have put her in contact with anyone, including the Avengers, regardless of how busy they are: surely saving the universe is more important than whatever else they're doing? She could have put Sue in touch with...
   

   • Iron Man: he's pretty smart and has armor just like Doom, but unlike Doom he actually values Reed's life
   • Or Dr Strange? If Strange can beat Dormammu he can surely beat this guy who doesn't even have skill in magic.
   • Or Thor? If this Over-mind guy is as powerful and as ancient as we are told then this is right up Thor's street.
   • Or Lockjaw? Just bite the guy and take him to a distant dimension before he knows what's hit him (for someone with a billion brains he seems pretty easy to distract)
   • Or the Silver Surfer? He's plenty powerful, and used to dealing with cosmic types. In fact, why isn't he here already? If Gigantus was such a huge big deal in cosmic history, and if there is really an ancient prophecy about the Over-mind, surely the Surfer would have heard of it and come running?

The facts:

• Things are reaching a crisis.
  Reed has been under huge stress, and getting worse. He is heading for a mental breakdown.
  
• This is a tipping point.
  We suddenly reach a double crisis for Reed: two nails in his coffin at the same time. Ben finally declares his emotional independence from Reed. Meanwhile the mayor is announcing that the FF must be disbanded as a public nuisance. Subconsciously it's like kicking the last two supports from Reed's ego. Reed was at his lowest ebb: he is literally bouncing into walls.
• This is dangerous!
  If Reed ever had a nervous breakdown then he would be a threat to the universe: Reed Richards once held the ultimate nullifier and threatened to use it (FF50). He also opened a portal to the negative zone: an entire universe composed of antimatter, and full of beings like Annihilus, who would happily end all life, everywhere. Reed's actions cause distress to Franklin, and this attracts Galactus. Reed believes he is in control but he isn't. As Galactus observed, Reed is a child living in a tinderbox, and he plays with matches. It may not be obvious right now how important Reed is, but  read FF319. By unlocking super powers Reed is partaking of the power of the Beyonders. He is leading the planet into a higher state where anything is possible. His importance cannot be overstated.
  
• The Watcher brings a warning.
  He says "beware the Over-mind" and "I may say no more"
• Something strange then happens.
  We are told it's an alien called Over-Mind, but there is something wrong with that story. We apparently see the Watcher explaining his origin, but he doesn't act like the Watcher we know.
  
• Agatha Harkness is closely involved.
  She warns of the Over-Mind, she appears to take the team to the Watcher, and she finally tells Sue to go to Dr Doom.
  
• Reed's mind snaps.
  Reed has a mental breakdown. He is only saved by remembering the love of his family. 
• The situation is then resolved.
  Agatha Harkness tells Sue to go to Dr Doom. Then everything is sorted out, but it leaves many questions,
  

The Übermensch

The "Übermensch", literally  "over-man" is a concept from the German philosopher Nietzsche,

The concept is best known from his 1896 book "Thus Spake Zarathustra" (or in German. "Also Sprach Zarathustra").

In his defense, Nietzsche hated anti-semitism, and wanted all anti-Semites shot (which is itself a form of ideological violence). And far from being the model of a superior mind, Nietzsche found his philosophy to be overwhelming and ended his days in a mental institution. This of course is not in itself proof that superior people cannot exist, but there are good evolutionary reasons to believe that when the brain is tuned for one type of intelligence it has fewer resources for other areas. So people with great social skills are often very poor at mathematics, and vice versa. The whole concept of a general purpose "Übermensch" is a dangerous one.

1. You regain the respect of your family
2. Public dislike of you can be blamed on the Over-mind controlling their minds.
   
3. You can say and do what you want, and blame it on mind control
4. All this success makes you confident again, so you don't crack up.
5. And nobody will suspect what the Watcher really meant. You could even persuade yourself that this is the outcome the Watcher wanted!
   

Reed's plan

How do you manufacture a fake Over-mind at short notice? That's easy. Call on a super-hypnotist like the Miracle Man or someone like him: just make people think there is a major threat. But where do you find a Miracle Man who you can totally trust? Ask your old friend Agatha Harkness of course. She's a witch who calls on the powers of timeless fear and prefers to keep her methods secret. She could conjure up a fake Over-mind somehow.

.

Agatha can be contacted instantly and nobody will suspect anything if Reed speaks to her in private: people will think they are just planning how to keep Franklin safe. She can even arrange a fake Watcher to give the story credibility. But who could Agatha get to play the part of the Over-mind? Note the strong resemblance between the Over-mind and Agatha's son, the big pointy bearded mind controller, Nicholas Scratch. Just un-grease the hair, dye it red, shrink the mustache, and voila: instant bad-ass alien. 

We can't prove any of this of course, but it's the simplest explanation of the facts, and it explains the lame "Over-mind," the unconvincing second Watcher visit, the close involvement of Agatha Harkness, the choice of Dr Doom (see notes to FF116) and everything else. It also explains the events of the following year (Sue trying to fix the marriage then leaving, Johnny and Ben wanting to get away, the arrival of Galactus, etc.). It's just the explanation that best fits the facts.

115

Issue 115: infinite ambition: Reed's mind finally snaps

It didn't quite go to plan.  Reed was playing with fire, especially if Nicholas Scratch was involved. Reed threw himself into his role. But he underestimated his level of stress (and maybe he's influenced by Scratch). So he says too much.

Reed's only way out is to go all the way and act mind controlled, go crazy and leave the building. But is he really mind controlled or just having a nervous breakdown?

The plan could never work
Reed must know that plan can never really work. One success would not make people love him, it would not solve the underlying problems of being unable to cope, and what if the family found out? He is scared, angry, running, alone, cracking up. 

Gigantus as a metaphor
Gigantus is about a world that is unfeasibly big: about an absurd scale of ambition. it is a metaphor for Reed's own ambitions. it's a fabulous, amazing concept, but it cannot possibly work. At least not in this physical reality.

But this issue goes beyond the family drama. It makes us think about the scale of the universe. It's awe inspiring. For that alone, this issue is a classic. How big can a planet become before it collapses under its own weight, and the internal pressure causes nuclear fusion, turning the plant into a star? And how big can a star become before gravity prevents it becoming any larger? This Wikipedia image gives an indication.

It has been suggested that a super-giant planet could be created by forming a thin shell around a star. Imagine billions of satellites, all orbiting a star at the same distance. Then imagine billions more, until they all join up to make a solid surface. This is called a Dyson Sphere, but could even this be bigger than an entire galaxy?

Other points to note

• Star Trek
  Ben refers to Star Trek on page 6 as he humorously guesses the ending to the story.
• Tickles
  At the end we learn that Ben has a ticklish spot that only Reed can find! Probably because Reed can stretch into the cracks between rocks. The idea of Ben being ticklish may seem absurd, but makes sense. He is self conscious about his skin, yet nobody can touch it (the slightly more sensitive parts between the rocks). He has a stressful relationship with Reed, both loving and hating him in equal measure. It is easy to imagine that Reed could use the sensitivity and stress, and the fact that Ben cannot scratch any itch, to cause both gargalesis (gentle itchy tickling) and knismesis (harder tickling.)
• The first non Stan issue
  This is the first issue where Stan Lee did not write all the dialog. He shares writing credits with Archie Goodwin. Stan spent several months away from comics, writing a screenplay called "The Monster Maker." It never became a movie. Stan returned to the comics a few months later then left for good, finishing with FF 225.
  
  

116

Issue 116: only love can save him; and Doom's great turning point

Reed has a nervous breakdown. Nicholas Scratch (if it is he - it could be any mind controller) seems to be enjoying Reed's weakness. Reed sowed the seeds of his own destruction when he took this desperate gamble to involve Agatha and black magic: black magic has its own agenda.

Why does Agatha say to go to Doom? If we take the story on face value then it makes no sense: Sue could contact plenty of other better candidates (the silver surfer, Thor, etc.) but if in fact the Over-mind is a fake that got out of control, created by Agatha Harkness, then only Doom can save Reed. Only Doom has:

1. great intelligence, power and determination
2. AND an understanding of sorcery. 

But is it safe to expose Reed to his greatest enemy when he is so weak? Yes, but only if this is a story of Reed's genuine nervous breakdown. Doom's greatest need is to prove himself better than others. and especially Reed. Doom would love nothing more than to find Reed as a self-induced quivering wreck, then rescue him, and have Reed spend the rest of his life knowing that Doom was strong. If Reed was in fact just controlled by someone else than Doom would have no interest in saving him, except to destroy him again. But if Reed has intellectually failed, then Doom will want to preserve him forever.

Doom's turning point

This was not entirely satisfying to Doom: he was brought to his knees as well, and was not able to completely defeat the enemy (Scratch?) Once weakened, Agatha was able to take her "over-mind" away under the disguise of a quick deus ex machina illusion. However, after this point Doom never again bothered to humiliate Reed for its own sake. Doom had won. Before this he was obsessed with proving his superiority. From now on he only attacks the FF if they are in the way of his other plans.

Other points to note

• Doom and Reed
  Doom is Reed's mirror: Twice he temporarily replaces Reed in the team: 116 (against the over-mind, 318? (against the Beyonder). Each time, as with Reed, we find the ultimate power is not as ultimate as we thought, there is always something bigger (even the Beyonder is just part of a cosmic cube). For an overview of Doom's character and his development in his twenty appearances see his own page.
  

• Reed's relationships
  Sue and Franklin - are more powerful than his personal genius.
• Popularity
  In this issue the Fantastic Four are no longer loved by the public. This reflects the realization at Marvel that sales have declined steadily for three years now (at first they put it down to a temporary blip, but now it can't be ignored. But they fail to see the connection with 1968). 
• Page count
  This is an over-sized issue, with 30-something pages of art. This was the brief period when Marvel tricked DC into also increasing their page count. The price of course jumped (from 15c to 25c). Then Marvel quickly switched back (with a new rice of 20c). But DC had invested too much in the change, and took longer to change back. The higher cover price was a disaster and caused Marvel to grab a lot of market share and DC never recovered.
  

117

Issue 117: the last attempt to rescue the marriage

Note that the comic reports what the team tell the, and also has to be new reader friendly. Anything too personal and painful will be hidden, but their actions speak volumes:

• Reed and Sue need a vacation to try to rescue their marriage. As we shall see in FF127, these efforts are desperate attempts by Sue to paper over deep cracks.
• Johnny is in so much emotional pain that he has to get away. 
• Ben is depressed, as he has been since Reed became alpha male. But that is about to change.
  

Note the irony this is a family, a team, but each member is obsessed with their own problems (except Sue). The story of the FF is how they finally learn to put others first.

• Reed - considers ONLY his ideas have merit. In Act 5 he finally listens to Sue and realizes that there are other ways to save the world.
• Johnny - thinks the only solution is for Crystal to join "the team" meaning HIS team (she already did - but he never considers joining HER team. For other ways he lost her, see Crystal.html) FINALLY (214,285,300) sees beyond hot-headed fun.
• Ben cannot see past what he sees as his ugliness. "Do you want to be like me?" But in act 5 he will realize he isn't ugly,he's just different, and awesome! He will accept himself for who he is, and finally be happy.

Criticisms

• Is it an unlikely coincidence that Lockjaw teleports to Diablo? No: as we see in FF308, Diablo the master of alchemy has a natural connection with Crystal the elemental. Teleportation works by manipulating connections across dimensions, so this affinity is like a magnet.

• We are reminded here that Johnny can travel thousands of miles on his flame, whereas i the early days he felt he couldn't go far without rests. As with Ben, the limits to his power are largely in his head, and when he lets loose he can do far more than he realizes. In act 5, when he finally achieves peace, he finds he can even "burn" underwater and defy gravity (in FF322) - that last ability freaks out Franklin, who then shifts the entire Marvel Universe into a parallel dimension from which it still hasn't escaped, but that's another story.

118

Issue 118: "the goddess of making children"

• She left her people, yet her people love being isolated. It's in their genes.
• Crystal is open with her emotions, yet her people are all highly reserved.
• Crystal is deeply attracted to Johnny, when other girls are not (see notes to FF104): why does she see his potential when others do not?
• When Johnny fails her, she immediately marries someone else. This was not marrying on the rebound - Johnny still loved her, but something inside made her suddenly switch.
• When her husband then lost interest in her, she became susceptible to Maximus' mind control and grabbed the next man she could.
• The cheap and sexist answer is that "Crystal is a slut." But that contradicts everything we know about her (See her own page for details). She is pure, intensely loyal, and old fashioned. Yet sometimes a switch flips i her head and she has to grab a certain man. Why?

Some readers have pointed out an answer, in the nature of Inhuman society. The Inhumans are obsessed with genes. It's their obsession, they practically worship genetics. "By Argon's Genes" they say. But as a closed society genetic in breeding is a huge problem, particularly in their isolated royal family. So it has been suggested that every few generations Inhuman DNA will throw up a special being who's purpose is to expand the gene pool. A princess will be born who's role is to find the strongest genes she can outside of the Inhumans, and marry him and bring him back to ensure genetic health for the next generation. This explains why Crystal homed in on Johnny Storm: although he's forced into a junior role in the team, he;'s the only one who loves being a superhero, and his destiny is as the leader of the Fantastic Four: as we saw in his Strange Tales series, and whenever he works alone, he's pretty darn good at what he does. Johnny's natural value is finally confirmed in Jonathan Hickman's historic run, climaxing in FF600: the adult Franklin says that Johnny is his hero. So Crystal, genetically bred to find the greatest of all alpha male genes, homed in on Johnny.

When Johnny repeatedly showed himself unwilling to live with the Inhumans, Crystal's genes kicked in and she found another hero who would. She couldn't help it. She didn't really love Quicksilver, but her biological clock was screaming. However, Quicksilver's offspring Luna was born without any powers. Yes, she could be given power, but it shows that their genes are not really compatible, and Crystal made a disastrous mistake. it was at that low point that Maximus, fully aware of the power of hormones, clouded her mind, and in her desperate dream like state she hooked on to the next fertile male who appeared willing. A mistake she always regretted, but took full responsibility for, even though it wasn't her fault.

So we see that Crystal is a kind of goddess of fertility. This appears to be confirmed in this issue: she takes the role of Ixchel, goddess of childbirth.

About Ixchel

"Ixchel is the 16th-century name of the aged jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine in ancient Maya culture. [she is]  “the goddess of making children”   ( - Wikipedia)

Above: the ruins of Ixchel's temple, from Selkirk's blog.

Ixchel is also the goddess of the moon. The Inhumans ended up on the moon, and the transition fro the 28 year story to the next generation is when Johnny heads to the moon to be reunited with Crystal.

Crystal is the great link between the current 28 year story and the next generation. She represents the union of the four elements, whereas the Fantastic Four each represent just one.

The backup story: Ben starts to see Reed's point of view

This is an extra sized issue (Marvel was briefly experimenting with bigger comics: see notes to FF116), and has a superb back up feature. As a huge Lockjaw fan, and obsessed with the deeper feelings below the surface, this story is gold to me.

Our Reed is also a tragic figure, like Ben
In this story, Ben's eyes are opened. He's given a lot to think about: it will take him many months to process this: Reed is also a tragic figure. True, this is a parallel world Reed, but there are parallels. Our Reed is just as trapped, by is actions and inability to change. Our Reed does not know how to connect with his son or his wife or his friends. Our Reed is seeing his triumphs begin to crumble, and does not know what to do. He is just as trapped as if he had a rocky body. This foreshadows the rest of acts 4 and 5:

• Reed's depression
• Reed realizes that his great ideas do not always work.
• Ben sees another Thing who has it even worse than him: it foreshadows the She-Thing in Act 3.

Other points to note

• The two Things next meet in FF160: see notes to that that issue for more details.
• The cover shows Reed with a right hand on his left arm. This is part of a pattern. click for details.
• Zeitgeist: the splash page to "What mad World" is modeled on the (then popular) art style from Mad Magazine.
• Crystal had to leave because of pollution. There is less pollution in a central American jungle so she was in little danger of collapsing. Her home is cleaner still, so she heads there at the end.
  

119

Issue 119: racism

This issue, for those who missed the latter issues of Strange Tales, shows that Johnny and Ben can work well together. Reed does not have to be with them all the time. With Johnny and Ben on the case, they can handle it. This foreshadows the next generation.

The last issue dealt with Ixchel, and hinted at Crystal's role in uniting two race. So this naturally leads to an issue about racism. As the Great American Novel, and based on the political zeitgeist of the day, racism (and terrorism) had to appear.  Equality is one of the four permanent themes of the FF, and the one that Reed most needs to learn.

How this follows from previous issues
Just as Johnny had to get away, so does Ben. No sooner does Johnny come back than Reed finds an excuse to send them both away. Reed is feeling like a failure: true, he says he's working on a cure for Crystal, but he doesn't expect much success. He's just under stress and needs to be alone.

Ben and racism
Note that Ben's condition is itself a metaphor for racism. Ben is not ugly at all. he's just different. But as long as he believes his skin is wrong he will feel inferior. He won't accept his skin until act 5, when he meets one of his own people. Then he will no doubt be able to change at will, as he did on Battleworld. But to see Ben's skin as a problem, one that is fixed by becoming more like the dominant group, is racist.

Signs of great tension in the family

"The story opens with a typical bickering scenario between the Human Torch and the Thing." (source) Actually this is not typical at all: it's the first serious bickering since Act 2. It's a sign of great tension in the family. Reed asks Ben and Johnny to go. Helping Crystal is a convenient excuse: Reed and Sue need time alone.

A historic issue

Other points to note

• Leopards and panthers
  The Black panther calls himself the Black Leopard, to avoid any political statement about the Black panther party. A panther is a leopard, so in T'Challa's own language his name has not changed at all.
• Herbie
  The start of the issue features a robot called Auntie, an early version of Herbie (from FF209-217)
• Coincidence?
  Ben and Johnny choose to take a scheduled plane rather than their own transport, and then that plane is hijacked. Saving the plane gave Ben and Johny much needed credibility in Rudyardia. There are three possible explanations:
• Ben and Johny stumbled on the hijacker by chance? Highly unlikely.
• The Wakandans have probably the greatest tracking technology in the world, and are using it to watch what goes in and out of Rudyardia, desperate to find their king. If anybody was planning a hijack they would know it, and could alert Ben and Johnny. They do not want to be blamed if a plane is hijacked an then their king escapes: the events will seem to be linked.
• The hijacker and "victim" could be Wakandan agents using a fake grenade. After the agent is handed over to police he could easily escape using Wakandan technology and training. But capturing him would give Ben and Johnny much needed credibility in Rudyardia. 

• Kipling
  South Africa was not the only nation with apartheid in the early 1970s. This story foreshadows Rhodesia's rejection of apartheid (at least for a time) and its change to its original name, Zimbabwe. "Rudyardia" appears to be a thinly veiled version of Rhodesia, named after Cecil Rhodes, and gives me an excuse to show one of my favorite pictures, Rhodes measuring Africa for the Europeans.
  
  The country is called Rudyardia, presumably named after Rudyard Kipling. Kipling, author of "You're a better man than me, Gunga Din" may not have been as racist as people assume, but that's a topic for another time. 

120

Issue 120: the beginning of the end for Reed

This issue is the event (the coming of Gabriel) where Reed finally pushes himself over the edge, mentally. Starting at this point he won't stop until he collapses in FF224. He will push himself harder and harder, rushing from one crisis to another, trying to solve everything himself, until he finally collapses with exhaustion. This will give Sue time to think, and she finally walks out. The core problem is Reed's lack of people skills, which leads him to try to do everything himself when others are better qualified.

What else could he have done?
It may seem unfair to criticize Reed for taking on too much. What else could he have done? Well several things, if he had slowed down enough to think.

1. Franklin has the power to protect them. Granted, this is not obvious yet. it doesn't become really obvious until FF141 and FF150, but Reed is extremely intelligent. If he had spent the last three years getting to know his son as a father should, then maybe he could have figured it out. 
2. Gabriel acts like the surfer did: Reed doesn't know he's a herald at first, but it's a reasonable guess. Last time it was Alicia who talked the surfer round. Gabriel also acts like Namor, declaring war on the human race. Sue is pretty good at talking Namor round. Then the first response should be to talk to the guy: get the girls involved.
   
3. Gabriel has the power over air, and also likes to control water and other elements. Remind you of anyone we've seen recently? Yes Crystal. Why not contact her?
   
4. Gabriel is a sudden threat from outer space. We saw in FF51 that Reed likes to be prepared for cosmic threats like this. The obvious defense is to have a permanent way of contacting the Silver Surfer. After all, the Surfer said he owed hem a favor, and even if he didn't he's still a decent guy. Why not call him in?
   

However, all of these approaches require people skills. They are about communicating and friendship. Reed is not good at that. So rather than delegate to somebody who is (like Sue) he blunders into the problem and does no good at all. We see this at the very start., against the terrorists. Sue is plainly humoring him, letting Reed beat them so he feels good. But Sue could have defeated them with a forcefield in seconds.

The zeitgeist
FF119 and FF120 both feature terrorists: terrorism was always in the news on the early 1970s.

Other points to note:

• Ben no longer respects Reed as a leader (though still respects him as a man, a man with a heart of gold but feet of clay... much like the vain statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the book of Daniel). Before FF113 Ben's status was dependent on Reed's experiments. After the Over-mind debacle he no longer cares what Reed thinks. He sits in Reed's lab, chewing a cigar and reading whatever the heck he wants to, while Reed works. He's showing Reed what he thinks.
  
• On the cover of Ben's magazine: Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man. Although "pin up parade" suggests porn, Ben grew up in the 1930s and is more likely to be reading of a swimsuit models. But it does represent his low emotional state and the tragedy of his inability to commit.
• Note the Biblical element:the angel Gabriel announced the birth of Christ. This Gabriel is supposed to announce a good thing, from Franklin's point of view. Gabriel's color scheme is red and yellow: not the usual villainous green and purple. Franklin wants his parents to be together again, and Galactus is the one with the power who can maybe make it happen. Franklin is four years old (two in Marvel Time), so don't expect sophistication from his thinking at this point.
• Agatha Harkness warns the team, because Gabriel was summoned by a distressed Franklin and Agatha his guardian, would magically sense anything that close to her.
  

Criticisms (source and source)

• The silly start?
  Why is the first six pages spent on an easy to defeat threat? To demonstrate the team problems at this point. For example, "Why didn't Sue use her force field against the terrorists?" More than once the team has used a fight as a way to cheer each other up. These are easy to defeat, so Sue makes a point of only using invisibility, allowing Reed to be the hero at the end. She could have stopped them at any point with her force field, but the point of this interlude is not the silly threat. The point of this interlude is Reed's need to succeed at something. The remainder of this four part story will show Reed growing increasingly desperate. This is Reed's final attempt to be Mr Fantastic, Mr Wonderful, Mr I-Can-Fix-Anything. Once it's over he will collapse (FF124), Sue will leave (FF126) and his failure will be complete.
  
• "Worst of all was this particular piece of dialog after Reed gets bashed: 'Be careful, BEN! Anyone who could fell Reed so easily...' That would be Mr Fantastic, the human rubber band." But that's the whole point: anybody who can damage someone like Reed must have something more dangerous than Brute strength. A normal super powered impact would not harm Ben.
  

121

Issue 121: alienating their friends

This issue is about alienation.

Alienation of the public
In the Over-mind saga we saw ordinary people turn against the team. Then it was blamed on mind control. But it's wasn't, because they do it again now. Some readers see the public anger as sudden and unexplained, but it's been building since Reed caused World War III in FF103.

Alienation of Sue
Why have the FF made so many mistakes? They used to be popular with the public. The change may be because of Sue. Back in the early 1960s when Sue had a higher profile the FF were more popular. They had a minor B movie (FF9). Magazines would come to take their photo, and would focus on Sue. Sue is extremely likable. The team handled publicity well, and the people were on their side. But when Sue married Reed she became more submissive. Reed became the mouthpiece for the team, and he isn't good at communicating.

All of Reed's interactions are disastrous. For example, Reed tells Johnny to form a wall of flame. He literally inflames the situation! Reed would put a fire out by pouring on oil. There was no need for that wall of flame:

• If they hit Reed their hands bounce off.
• If they hit Ben he doesn't feel it.
• If they hit Johnny they burn their hands.
• If they hit Sue she has a forcefield.

The team is in no danger. They should talk, or leave. A wall of flame just confirms that they're dangerous.

Alienation of Franklin: why Galactus arrives
In this arc (FF121-123) Galactus acts like a spoiled child: he wears short trousers, shows poor reasoning skills, prefers fighting to talking, and plays with a giant train set. For why Galactus is now so childish see the discussion by FF74. This is a four year old's version of Galactus: Franklin wants to see his family defeat a bad guy. He learns about angels, so has his family beat an angel. His story even involves a fun fair with a roller coaster!

Alienation of allies
This problem only escalated because Reed is not on chatting terms with his allies (see notes to FF120).

Realism and Marvel comics
Why don't they rely on other super heroes? This is a strong argument that other super heroes being less numerous and less powerful than their own comics suggest. Within the world of the FF, only the FF report their acts to Marvel: other superhero stories are made up.

• This Galactus trilogy invites comparison with the original Galactus trilogy. The difference is that this is mostly by Stan Lee and the other was mostly by Jack Kirby. It helps us to see what each creator contributed: Jack's signature stories typically involve god-like beings and new ideas. Stan's signature stories are typically about human fallibility and are easy to read.

122

Issue 122: more haste, less speed

This issue sums up Reed's problem: he does not think. I know I overuse the word irony, but it so often applies to Reed. The smartest man in the world fails because he does not stop to think.

The cover to this issue shows a roller coaster: this is a roller coaster ride all the way. Crazy, childish, fun, pointless. If Reed used his brain a little more he might notice some things:

• He says  "No time to explain! We're not deserting them!" No time to explain? "Got to get to his ship" would have taken fewer words.
• "No time to explain" means Sue can't help. Reed acts as if she is brainless, but in big questions like this she is smarter than Reed. Reed is superb at physics, but he's a lousy strategist. In the past, Sue has turned entire races from enemies into friends (Namor's people, the Inhumans, the Poppuppians - as we shall see in FF170). Also, her intuition has never been wrong. So keeping her in the dark is stupid, and a huge waste of time (not to mention endangering the Earth)
• Spending more time communicating could have solved the problem long ago (see notes to FF120).
  
• Reed carries Sue, and this must surely slow him down. Why not encourage her to experiment with her force field? In FF232 she finds she can use it to fly. True, she has less power now, but with practice she could scoot along at a rapid pace. But she won't be able to practice until Reed's influence has waned (e.g. in FF171 after the near divorce, or in FF219 when Reed has lost all confidence)
• Johnny shows his amazing creativity, creating flame doubles of himself. Johnny could so some amazing stuff if only Reed gave him more control.
• The whole plan is mad: use Galactus's ship against him? If Galactus makes this so easy then Galactus must want it to happen. The reason with him instead.
• The whole problem has a simple solution. Galactus needs a herald. The surfer wants to fly in space again. In FF77 the surfer found a planet that could feed Galactus without murdering anyone: why not use that as the start for a new look at solving the problem once and for all, shall we?

So this whole issue is about Reed being too busy to think. it's an age old problem that every manager finds sooner or later. The Fantastic Four may feature space gods and super heroes, but it's really about the real world.

• "Galactus is goofy looking. I'm not talking about the helmet, which I really dig, or even his chest piece with its short sleeves. No, the thing which makes me cringe is his skirt/short pants..."  This makes sense when we consider the link with Franklin: see the discussion by FF74. Franklin is four years old at this point (two in Marvel Time), and four year old boys usually wear short trousers. The legs are recolored blue in some reprints, but Galactus' other behavior suggests he is child-like.
• How did Reed know how to control the ship? Reaching the ship was the Silver Surfer's idea, and he tried it first,. So he probably told Reed what he needed to know.

123

Issue 123: understanding Reed's point of view

This issue shows Reed at his most intense: in just a few pages he battles Galactus, he gambles the whole world, he defies the Surfer, he is shot, he speaks to every person on planet, he is hated then becomes a global hero, he then spends just a few seconds with his son and is then on his way to saving the world again. This is Reed's world! He has to run, run, run, to save everybody. Nobody is as smart as him! This is why he has no time, no sympathy, for those who don't do things his way! And any question of spending time with his son is absurd, don't we see the dangers? Isn't it clear that he does everything for others? People who know him will sacrifice their lives for him (see FF51 or FF183). How can anybody doubt that he's one of the greatest men who ever lived?

This is Reed's greatest triumph, saving the world (apparently) and being hero worshiped by all nations. Yet it leads to physical and mental collapse and his wife leaves him. Clearly there is more going on than "Reed is amazing and Sue doesn't see it."

The Great American Novel
The greatest novels reflect the real world, and show complex people. Reed represents every powerful leader ever. I am writing this in the week that Margaret Thatcher died, and she illustrates the case perfectly. Many of those who knew her, even her critics, were struck by her personal kindness and generosity of spirit. Nobody can deny that she changed Britain, and to some extent the world. Her supporters say she turned Britain from an economic laughing stock, a country in decline and on its knees, to a proud powerhouse and example to the world. Yet her critics say that any financial improvement was due to technological change that happened anyway, an unexpected windfall from North Sea oil, and short term banking speculation that later plunged the whole world into the recession we see now. The critics further point to homelessness (she sold off council houses) inequality (she crippled the unions), support for dictators, and a host of other perceived crimes. The point is that a person who is obviously a hero to one person is obviously flawed to another. The greatest novelists deal with this. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar explores this. Victor Hugo's Les Miserables has whole chapters on whether Napoleon was a monster who plunged Europe into war, or whether (as Hugo argues) he left a legacy of better laws and a weakening of corrupt monarchies?

The Fantastic Four just tells the story. It is up to the reader to decide what it means. Personally I am on the side of Reed as great hero. That is what makes his human weaknesses all the more interesting.

Foreshadowing the crisis of FF141
The surfer says Reed is "courageous" to entrust his son to a witch. It reminds us of the use of "brave" in the TV comedy "yes minister": "That was a brave decision, minister" is code for "that was monumentally stupid and anybody with eyes can see it." Reed claims they did not know she was a witch, yet he stuck to his decision. Agatha will soon betray their son to Annihilus.

The zeitgeist

• Here is Richard Nixon before his fall from grace. He's even on the cover, the only the that happened for a president of the United States. Supporters of Nixon could argue that his strengths (his economic policy, ending the Vietnam war, opening up China) were huge and his sins, principally Watergate, are far less than those presidents who create wars or destroy economies. They could argue a parallel with Reed Richards: whatever his weaknesses he is still a hero. Critics could say that Nixon was always untrustworthy, and point to parallels with the new Reed Richards and his actions in Civil War. Others, more cynical, could argue that ordering a hotel to be bugged was nothing compared with invading other nations and spying on the entire American public as later presidents did: they can further argue that his economic policies, his steps to ending of the Vietnam war and his visiting China are far greater than his mistakes. The prominent use of Nixon reflects the theme of this issue: seeing Reed as both villain and hero.
  
  
• "Do you suppose Stan's portrayal of the military as hot-headed and arrogant was a jab at our armed forces, representative of societal views of the day, or am I perhaps making a mountain out of a mole hill?" (source)
• At one point Nixon does something he thinks s not the best, because an election is coming. This indicates how the Fantastic Four was a reflection of the zeitgeist: that comment foreshadowed Watergate.
  

• The surfer is sometimes compared to Jesus Christ (with Galactus like the popular image of the destructive God of the Old Testament). In this issue the surfer is willing to sacrifice himself for mankind, preaches peace, and heals the sick, bringing Reed back from the brink of death and giving him the peace he needs. More Biblical parallels in the FF are here.
  

124

Issue 124: the fall of Icarus

• This two-parter is the last Stan Lee story. Stan is leaving day to day involvement with comics, only to come back for the occasional special project (such as "the Last Fantastic Four Story"). Sales have been declining since 1968, and the general mood was often pessimistic. An exhausted Reed baling out of the Fantasticar could represent Stan Lee himself.
• Johnny's flame shows his hair and facial details. Sean Kleefeld, on his FFPlaza site, speculated that this was due to Johnny experimenting with a thinner plasma layer. A thinner layer meant more could be seen underneath.
  
• Johnny's freedom to experiment, and Sue's more active role this issue, reflect the fact that Reed is no longer in control. The only one who does not show an increase in independence is Ben. Although FF120 showed a release of pressure, his depression is far deeper than the others' and will take longer to lift. Also Ben is sick, as will become apparent in the next story, with the Mole Man. Possibly his illness is a reflection of the uncertainty at this point: Ben is old fashioned in his views: he likes stability. Reed spent years undermining him, and now that Reed's credibility has gone Ben may be unconsciously wondering what happens next.

• FF120-123 is Galactus again.
  
• FF124-125 is the Monster from the Lost Lagoon again.
  
• FF126-128 is the Mole Man again.
• It is followed by a period where everything goes wrong (Ben is weak, then Johnny loses Crystal, and Sue leaves Reed.) The title will not feel confident again until Sue returns in 150, then there will be a brief flowering, superb original stories between 150 and 200, climaxing in the "final" defeat of Doom, but it will be a false dawn.

Repeating old stories reflects the theme of Act 4: a refusal to move forwards. This reflects Reed's decline, and attempt to hold on to past glories. It also reflects Stan Lee's decision to leave comics to try to make a living in movies: he does not realize that his talent is in comics, in moving forwards, Instead Lee lost interest in comics and tried to go back to the movies he loved as a child. But Stan's scripts did not impress anybody in Hollywood, just as rehashing the lost lagoon story does not stand up to the original (which ironically was itself a homage to the movie, but a single issue homage is delightful, whereas returning for a double issue repeat looks like a lack of imagination.) 

Layers upon layers...
So the story reflects Reed's mistake which in turn reflects Stan's mistake, which as the Great American Novel reflects America at the time: stuck in the past, with Vietnam as a longer and even worse copy of Korean war, and a leader (Nixon) falling from greatness.

• "The highly unlikely timing of Reed’s fainting" - or a story that was building for ten years. As previous reviews have shown, Reed has pushed himself too far. He only collapses because he finally lets himself relax: the adrenalin stops and the body has nothing else to keep it going.
  
  
• "Funny how she moved a boulder with a stick that held back that much water pressure; every other time it was her invisibility powers that saved the day." No doubt she used both. There was no need to add extra dialog for such a trivial point.
  
  
• "How did our Lagoon friend know the F.F. would turn up in the hospital?" This is answered next issue: the alien is highly intelligent, with advanced technology. He could easily track a flying car to a hospital. He knew the FF were good people, and had the power to survive any stresses he might place them under, so they were the obvious choice. In FF125 Sue implies that any other person could have helped administer the drugs, but this is not quite true - other people may have panicked or been injured by the trauma.
  
  
• "Mightn't the debris of flaming church spires and exploded water towers cause collateral damage?" It was just shown in FF119 that Johnny is careful to deposit the waste in a disused chimney near the Baxter Building. They probably pay the rent for that chimney for exactly that purpose.
  
  
• "At the hospital why does one citizen not recognize the Thing?" The nurse was thinking about another monster and suddenly saw Ben: she had no reason to expect him and it was a split second reaction, before she had time to think.
  
  
• "Why does another not know that Sue "Storm" has been married for seven years?" Sue was known as "Sue Storm" when she first became famous, and for another four years (1961-1965). Time began to stretch around the team in 1968, so this date (1972) only feels like four years later. Not everybody keeps up to date with every celebrity.
  
  
• "Why didn't Ben remember? He of all people should see things from the monster's point of view." (This criticism is from FF1by1.com). This illustrates Ben's self obsession. Whereas Reed is the obvious weak point, Ben is not able to rise up and take his place because he is too self absorbed and so he does not see clearly. That is the tragic theme of act 4: Reed is unable to lead, but he had infantalized the others so they cannot take his place.
  
  
• "How does Ben fix a hole by pulling the ends together? He is magically creating more wall to keep the other sides from ripping out?"  See superscience for the answers.
  
  
  
• "Then we get the treat of Crappy Torch flaming on inside the hospital and pissing off a doctor ... Johnny is an a-hole." This is a highly stressful time for the team, as these reviews show. Give him a break. Johnny was always the confident one but this is the time when he starts to have self doubts (particularly about his inability to do the right thing with for Crystal.)
  
  
• "Why does Stan call a hospital lab a 'private testing complex,' and why does it come complete with a hi-tech rack?" This is why Reed goes there. It is inconceivable that he would not have expected the team to be injured at some time or other, and would have funded a local hospital accordingly.
  
  
• "Why doesn’t Sue form a force field bubble to preserve precious air after she unwittingly floods the Monster's underground chamber?" It all happened in a split second. Sue states that she was trying to push the boulder back with her forcefield, but it was not enough. There was not time to push the boulder and also grab some air: Sue did not perfect two force fields at one until FF171.
  
  
• "Why’d they sub in an old Kirby panel of the Thing (P. 19, panel 1)?" A reason becomes apparent when we compare the page to the previous two.

• Conway's regular stint began with 133, cover dated April 1973, but his first Marvel work was 1970, so that narrows it down to anything from 103 to 132. I can't see Stan risking the flagship title in a complete unknown, so it won't be too early.
• Stan was looking for a different writer. Letting someone plot a story he was writing would let him examine their work and fix any problems.
• This issue has more visual action than before, of a different kind - a flood, sickness, etc.- it just feels different to me. But rewriting an existing story is exactly what we would expect from somebody trying out, Stan probably said "do a story based on X and I'll see what I think."

125

Issue 125: He only did it for Sue.

The creature from the lost lagoon is like Reed. He is not a monster. He only did what he did because he loved Sue. Although the rocket flight in FF1 was to beat the Russians, Reed only took Sue and Johnny because he wanted to impress his girlfriend, and since then his controlling ways are only because he wants to protect her. But like the creature he finds it so hard to communicate. The creature is a scientist, with his own rocket ship. Just like Reed in FF1, the journey has somehow affected the woman he loves. He tries to protect her by keeping her away from others (no feminism here). He is a genius, a creature who works and struggles to do what he thinks is right, and is so misunderstood.

The emotional end to Stan Lee's run

This was Stan's last story, and has such a powerful, poignant ending: we see Jack Kirby's last original creation for the FF (the monster from FF 97) blast into space, the endless universe. Sue talks about the distance between them making them strangers, just as Stan and Jack became strangers. And the team ends by remembering their kinship always.

It brings a tear to my eye.

Next: separation