Fantastic Four #38

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Jack Kirby
Inker: Chic Stone
Letterer: S. Rosen
20 pages

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My sincerest apologies, faithful readers. Been a few weeks now since we covered the epic battle between the X-Men and the unstoppable Juggernaut. That’s life nonsense getting in the way of my priorities. Let’s pick up our reading with the Fantastic Four.

I’ve teased for years now that at some point this title goes from “good” to “transcendentally great”. The precise transition point is unclear and I’ve repeatedly noted some key issues that seemed to step up the quality. I feel like that transcendentally great era is now here. I could maybe hear an argument it begins with issue 44, but I feel like it’s here now.

We’ll talk about 44 when we get there, as there is a notable change that issue. This issue also represents a change. This is Chic Stone’s final issue of Fantastic Four.

Stone has inked the last 10 issues of Fantastic Four, and it’s now hard to remember the title without him. Prior, it had been Roussos or Ayers, and the difference is just night and day. The only standout prior to Stone was the couple issues inked by Joe Sinnott. (Hint, hint.)

The art popped under Stone. He highlighted the melodrama Kirby was infusing the stories with. He didn’t soften the exaggerations of Kirby’s faces or poses. He outlined them; he leaned in to just how over the top–and larger than life– Kirby wanted this all to be. And you see this across titles, just as evidently in the Thor stories, for example. The action and tension and emotion and drama are all just illustrated to the max under the Kirby/Stone collaboration. It will be sad to see him go.

This isn’t goodbye forever to Stone. He did a couple other titles this month we’re yet to read, and he has the odd cover or fill-in issue still to come. But here we bid goodbye to his work on Fantastic Four.

The issue’s title is “Defeated by the Frightful Four”. I’ve made an assertion we’ll see bear out that such titles are usually 180 degrees backwards. The more a title highlights a villain’s triumph, the more likely it features their ultimate defeat. I think it’s a truism, but there are exceptions. This is one. The Fantastic Four really do get defeated by the Frightful Four.

The other thing to note before we dig into the issue is that this begins a new era for the FF in a very definable way: the stories stop ending. The first 37 issues of Fantastic Four were entirely episodic. Only a couple exceptions. Issue 14 begins where issue 13 ends, but tells an unrelated story. Dr. Doom is not defeated at the end of issue 16, so they fight again in issue 17, but these are really two complete stories. Issues 25-26 are a legitimate two-parter, but that’s it. Every other issue introduced and resolved a story. The only other exception is that there are background threads which reemerge. The looming threat of Dr. Doom; the love triangle between Reed, Sue, and Namor; Reed trying to cure Ben’s condition. So there have been threads which have taken us through these episodes, but it’s been entirely episodic.

That’s done.

This issue ends without proper conclusion. The unresolved plot threads feed both a 2-part story in 39-40, and then a 3-part story in 41-43. We then get perhaps our last breath, before an epic saga takes us from issues 44 to halfway through issue 48, at which point another epic saga begins taking us from 48.5 to 50.5, at which point they touch on numerous subplots which lead into 51 and etcetera. It all just becomes one saga. Lord forbid you miss an issue at this point. Other titles have been moving this way. Ditko pioneered the idea for Marvel with his Dr. Strange and Hulk stories; we are well behind on reading both because of how tightly tied together the issues are. Thor is just about to go deep into the saga concept as well, even with the backup tales.

It’s this saga idea that clearly marks this as the start of an era. (I say “clearly” yet really the plot continues from the inconclusive ending of issue 36…)

Enough preamble.

The issue begins with Reed studying photos of something on the Skrull world his ship was able to capture. Because this is the Fantastic Four, the photos are blown up to epic proportions.

Is Ben about to spank Sue? Is Reed okay with this?

Johnny plans to take Dorrie out for soda. We don’t actually see Dorrie, but this is the first time the FF comic has ever referenced Johnny’s girlfriend from Strange Tales, the sister mag they seem embarrassed by. Two issues earlier, I would have said there had been no acknowledgement in these pages that series exists. But then villains from that series teamed up to form the Frightful Four. And now Stan is willing to admit Johnny has a girlfriend in that other title, after over 20 issues.

Paste-Pot Pete has a new codename and costume. The Trapster. Medusa thinks it’s a good name. I do not. His repertoire now involves a variety of not-necessarily-paste-based traps.

Paste-Pot Pete at least had a certain audacity and bombast to it. Trapster is just boring.

We get a cool splash page where Wizard demonstrates his powers.

Medusa and Wizard made designs for Sue’s trousseau. Yes, I had to look up what that word meant.

At this point, Sue should probably be able to guess…

As we can see, the Fantastic Four really don’t win this one. Lured to an atoll where the Frightful Four have taken possession of an atomic bomb…

Action breaks out…

But then…

Wait… is Ben a human again?

Well, now I’m curious to read the next story right now! But… we won’t. Because while things are happening fast for the FF, they’re happening just as fast for everyone around them. There is tight continuity bringing together the events of this title with all the others. Human Torch teamed up with the X-Men against the Juggernaut, and it must have been before this story. The epic events of Avengers #15-16 must be happening almost concurrently. As must Thor’s adventures. The last few issues of Dr. Strange and Hulk stories must take place a little in the future still. Because somehow… in the middle of a dozen ongoing multi-issue sagas, all the characters need to have time to get dressed up for a wedding.

This really was a great comic. And next issue is one of my favorite Fantastic Four stories ever. But first we have to read one of my favorite Avengers stories ever…

Rating: ★★★★☆, 72/100
Significance: ★★★★☆

I read this story in Fantastic Four Epic Collection vol. 3: The Coming of Galactus. You can also find it on Kindle.

Characters:

• Human Torch/Johnny Storm
• Thing/Ben Grimm
• Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards
• Invisible Girl/Susan “Sue Susie” Storm
• Wingless Wizard
• Sandman
• Madam Medusa
• Trapster/Paste-Pot Pete

Story notes:

• Reed’s ship took several pictures from Skrull galaxy.
• Both narrator and Reed describe Skrulls as being in a different galaxy.
• Reference to “Monsters to Laugh With”, a comic that also exists in their universe as well.
• Paste-Pot Pete has new name: Trapster.
• Sue easily trapped and defeated.
• Quimby’s Mattresses.
• Reed searches for Sue with transhemispheric video network.
• Remote Pacific atoll where an Asiatic power had been making underground nuclear tests; Wizard salvaged an atomic Q-bomb.
• Trapster’s traps: remote control asbestos tape; paralysis paste.
• Johnny easily defeated by Sandman and Trapster.
• Thing injured Wizard’s arm.

Previous	#332	Next
X-Men #13	Reading order	Avengers #15
Fantastic Four #37	Fantastic Four	Fantastic Four #39