Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: September 10, 1963
Cover: December 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: George Bell
22 pages
The cover tells me not to dare reveal Hate-Monger’s identity. I fear that I am going to have to do just that. Spoilers ahead.
This is George Roussos’ first time on Fantastic Four and the effects are noticeable. He makes less effort than the other inkers to smooth out Kirby, and if anything only emphasizes the sharp angles of the faces, creating a more exaggerated style. The first page is meant to show the FF looking angry and hate-filled, so perhaps is not the ideal introduction to his take on the characters.
The first page lets me know this will be the most unusual, thought-provoking tale I will read this season. Often, Stan uses hyperbole in these opening pages. But I think the ending (yes, the one I plan to spoil; you are warned) more than lives up to Stan’s promises.
Before we get to the rather unique villain, let’s talk about the interesting guest star. It’s Nick Fury. We’ve been reading his World War II adventures set 20 years earlier. He’s now a Colonel and working with the CIA. He greets Reed as an old friend. They refer specifically to their encounter on Massacre Mountain and imply that wasn’t their only meeting. This marks Nick Fury’s introduction into the modern Marvel Universe.
Hate-Monger stands atop a podium, preaching hatred, and the crowds cheer him on. “We must drive all the foreigners back where they came from!” he shouts.
In general, the series isn’t rich in metaphor, but I feel like we’re meant to read into this strange ending a little bit. It’s letting us know that anybody that stands on a platform and shouts words of hate, attempting to demonize any race or minority… is basically just Hitler with a different face.
I leave it to the reader to draw parallels to today’s political situation.
One thing history has taught us, and that recent American events have emphasized, is that Hate-Monger’s H-Ray is superfluous. The sci-fi gizmo is what makes this a Fantastic Four story, in the vein of the rest of the series; but it has the negative effect on the metaphor of letting Hate-Monger’s adherents off the hook. If they’ve been zapped by a device, they’re not responsible for their support of hatred.
The politics of the San Gusto situation are questionable. It would seem to equate these South American revolutionaries with American bigots. But the reasons for revolution can be complex, even revolutions against governments that promote US interests.
Still, Stan and Jack were doing their best. It’s September 1963. The Civil Rights movement is in full swing. The Civil Rights Act will be passed the following year. Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail had been recently published. It’s good to see the team take a stand against bigotry. This won’t be their last such stand.
Their ability to write female characters still needs work.
Your alarms atomize intruders, Reed? That sounds harsh. He hasn’t had time to make any changes to the alarm system, so he can’t blame the H-ray.
Rating: ★★★½, 64/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
I read this story in Fantastic Four Epic Collection vol. 2: The Master Plan of Dr. Doom.
I scanned reprints of this story found in Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics #15 (1968) and Giant-Size Fantastic Four #3 (1974). I also borrowed some pictures from the digital version. The coloring varies wildly across the versions. In particular, the Collectors’ Item Classics version makes Hate-Monger’s “H” and other outlines appear yellow. However, the binding made it sometimes easier to scan than the giant-size one. So the scans above are from a mix of the sources. I’ll put the source in the image title attribute for those who are curious.
You can also find this story in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four vol. 3. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Mr. Fantastic
- Thing
- Invisible Girl
- Human Torch
- Hate-Monger/Adolf Hitler
- Colonel Nick Fury
- Alicia
Story notes:
- Cover claims Sgt. Fury will guest star; depicts him in WWII outfit. It is actually Colonel Fury that we meet. Sans eyepatch.
- Mr. Fantastic notices tidal irregularities. Has the gravitational pull of the moon been affected?
- Human Torch has a Spider-Man picture on his dartboard.
- Reference to Liz Taylor Cleopatra film; second such reference. First was in Tales of Suspense #44.
- “He preaches class hatred, race hatred, religious hatred!” –Mr. Fantastic on Hate-Monger.
- Hate Monger has H-ray, short for “hatred ray”. H-ray causes FF to battle each other.
- Johnny notes it’s 1963.
- Reed notes he hasn’t seen Nick Fury since the end of the war.
- Nick Fury references Massacre Mountain adventure from Sgt. Fury #3.
- Nick Fury now works for the CIA.
- US has invested heavily in democracy in San Gusto.
- Republic of San Gusto in South America. Fictional country.
- Reed’s alarms atomize intruders.
- Hate-Monger killed.
- Hitler had many doubles.
#122 story in reading order
Next: Tales of Suspense #48
Previous: Strange Tales #115, Story B
