Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: January 10, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Sensational story by: Stan Lee
Astonishing art by: Jack Kirby
Incredible inking by: G. Bell
Lighthearted lettering by: S. Rosen
22 pages
I have no idea why it took us so long to get to something like this. It seems like such an obvious superhero story to me: a good old-fashioned slugfest. Take two very strong characters and just have them duke it out. Thing and Hulk are perfect for a brawl. They met before, but it wasn’t a brawl. There was a mystery and a Commie plot and all this stuff. This time, the rest of the team is quickly taken out of contention. And it’s up to Ben Grimm to hold his own against the Hulk.
Worth the wait.
We get some preamble. Hulk has returned to New Mexico with the Avengers in pursuit. Unbeknownst to them, he turned around suddenly and went to New York to find them. He read in the paper that Captain America had replaced him and thought Rick had betrayed him. He is off to finally destroy the Avengers. Of course, Rick never betrayed him. And the Avengers only replaced him because he quit.
With the Avengers in New Mexico, it will be up to the Fantastic Four to halt Hulk’s rampage. Unfortunately, Mr. Fantastic is sick, due to viruses he has been working with while trying to cure Ben’s condition.
Human Torch was on his way to the doctor when he saw Hulk’s rampage. He tries to help but is easily defeated by Hulk.
Invisible Girl arrives and tries to protect her brother with an invisible force field. But the strain of Hulk’s attack on the field is too great and she passes out.
Now Thing stands alone.
We then get 12 pages of the two titans duking it out. Buildings collapse in the wake of their battle.
Thing carries his witty banter throughout the battle. I think Stan writes the Thing better than any other character. “…because you made me mad! Me, who’s never been known to lose his temper before!”
It is clear that Hulk is more powerful. But Thing has something, a certain gumption, a certain resolve. He keeps fighting even when he should be beat.
In the end, Thing is too tired to fight, while Hulk seems stronger than ever. Hulk is bored of the conflict and decides to continue his hunt for the Avengers.
Thing can barely stand, but isn’t ready to surrender. He pursues the Hulk. And so ends our tale for now…
Besides being the best battle we have yet seen, this is the most cohesive the Marvel Universe has yet been. The events of Avengers #3-4 are unresolved and continue here in Fantastic Four #25. The Fantastic Four battle Hulk, referencing their previous battle in Fantastic Four #12. We see where the Avengers are and why they are absent. They finally make it next issue for the big battle royale which will carry over into Avengers #5.
It’s no longer just that these characters’ stories are set in the same world and that they sometimes meet. The titles now cross over, and the events of one title affect the happenings in another. You can no longer get the whole story just from reading one title. This is a whole universe of stories, tightly intertwined.
Some other notes about this issue. Thing rejects Mr. Fantastic’s latest attempt at a cure and destroys the serum. He has come to realize Alicia loves him as he is and isn’t sure how she would react if he changed. He says he would accept a serum that allows him to turn back and forth between his human form and his Thing form, but no longer wants to be permanently human.
In his own series, Hulk was always Bruce Banner. Since Avengers #3, Stan has pretty consistently been calling him Bob Banner. Stan tends to make names alliterative to help him remember them, but that only gets you so far.
Since Hulk is between series right now, we have to see his character arc play out across titles. When the series ended, Banner was pretty in control. He only changed back and forth with his machine and seemed mostly in control of his Hulk form. In this issue, Banner notes he’s been changing back and forth often and can’t control the changes; this is the new status quo since Avengers #3. The changes are becoming more frequent. He fears he may soon always be Hulk. It’s also clear his mind is no longer in control of Hulk.
Finally, some chronology notes. From a story perspective, this directly continues the story from Avengers #3-4. The story will continue in Fantastic Four #26 and then Avengers #5. My working hypothesis is that there was a gap of time between Avengers #3 and #4 in which many of the characters’s solo adventures took place.
The newspaper gives us our big clues about chronology in this issue. The headline implies Captain America’s return was yesterday. The press missed the news of Captain America’s first return because the Avengers turned to stone. They may have heard rumors from the police or criminals who encountered him. They must have gotten am Avengers briefing after the team’s return from the battle with Namor. Since it’s on the radio and in today’s newspaper, that battle must have been very recent, likely yesterday.
However, the headline implies to me that the battle on Gibraltar was also yesterday. That’s the alternate interpretation of the timeline that I have trouble fitting together with everything else, where all solo stories have to take place either before or after this extended Hulk saga.
“Avengers return to U.S., seek Hulk here after epic battle overseas! Hulk vanishes as Captain America replaces him in ranks of Avengers!” That really implies to me they just had an epic battle with the Hulk.
To fit my proposed timeline, the news story must be about how the Avengers battled Hulk and Namor a few weeks back, have been intermittently searching for them, just had a big battle with Namor, and are now continuing their search for Hulk. Either that or I’m misreading the headline. Maybe it meant to say they are seeking the Hulk after an unrelated epic battle overseas, the battle on the island with Namor.
Rating: ★★★★½, 86/100
Significance: ★★★★★
I read this story in Fantastic Four Epic Collection vol. 2: The Master Plan of Dr. Doom.
The scans are mostly taken from a reprint in Fantastic Four Annual 4 (1966). This comic reminds you to watch Marvel Superheroes on TV on the bottom of almost every page. A couple images are from the digital version. I trust you can tell which are which.
You can also find this story in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four vol. 3. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Human Torch/Johnny Storm
- Invisible Girl/Sue Storm
- Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards
- Thing/Ben Grimm
- Alicia
- Hulk/Dr. Bob Banner
- Rick Jones
- Captain America
- Thor
- Giant-Man
- Wasp
- Iron Man
Minor characters:
- Commissioner
Story notes:
- Full title: The Fabulous Fantastic Four Present: The Battle of the Century, “The Hulk vs. The Thing”
- Hulk demands ride in truck in New Mexico.
- Hulk suddenly changes to Banner.
- Hulk can leap miles.
- Hulk returns home to cave.
- Avengers hot on Hulk’s trail.
- Rick notes he’s heading for the secret underground lab; Cap deduces this implies he is a scientist and Rick realizes he has said too much.
- Hulk reads in paper that Captain America has replaced him; he deduces that Rick has betrayed him, and decides to head back to New York to destroy the Avengers.
- The Avengers and Hulk pass within one mile of each other in New Mexico.
- It takes Hulk 24 hours to reach New York.
- Hulk knocks Human Torch unconscious.
- Reed suspects Hulk is stronger than Ben.
- Police are considering atomic weapons in New York. It’s not clear they have that authority.
- Sue faints as Hulk squeezes the force field she put up to erect Johnny.
- Whitey Ford reference.
- Yancy Street Gang lends Thing a hand.
- Johnny taken to hospital.
- Battle continues in Hudson River and atop Washington Bridge.
#172 story in reading order
Next: Fantastic Four #26
Previous: Avengers #4
