Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover: 1963
25 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Steve Ditko
6 pages
This is a very odd story. Something of a remake. It takes pages 2-4 of the second story from Amazing Spider-Man #1 and redraws them, expanding the story to 6 pages. This time, drawn by Kirby and inked by Ditko.
I don’t know why. The opening editor’s note claims it’s because fans demanded it, but Stan Lee always claimed that fans demanded everything. In the original, each member takes one go at Spidey. This time, each gets two.
Sue has a different haircut and each artist renders her invisibility differently. Ditko makes her shape clearer. In contrast, it’s Kirby who more clearly renders Johnny’s outline when he’s aflame.
Rather than offer any commentary of possible general interest to a story we’ve already talked about, I’m going to focus on the academic, and just give a full comparison of the stories. Some dialogue is copied, some slightly changed, some original. Some panels are new, while others closely match original panels. All seem redrawn from scratch.
The scans for the Fantastic Four version of the story below are taken from a reprint in Amazing Spider-Man Special #6, from 1969. The scans for the original Amazing Spider-Man story are from a reprint in Marvel Tales #138, from 1982.
New, Page 1 
Original, Page 2 
New, Page 2 
Original, Page 3 
New, Page 3 
New, Page 4 
New, Page 5 
New, Page 6 
Original, Page 4 
Original, Page 5
In the table below, we break down each panel of the new version, and note what panel of the original it relates to. We include notes on the art similarity, and notes on the dialogue, unless the dialogue is identical.
| New page | New Panels | Orig. Page | Orig. Panels | Art Notes | Dialogue Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | New perspective | Dialogue inspired, but not identical to Page 2, Panels 1 and 6 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | Similar posing. Different hairstyle for Sue. | |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Different posing, similar perspective. | Dialogue truncated from Page 3, Panels 1-2 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | Thing’s posing is similar. Spider-Man’s posing is different and quite bizarre in new version. | |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | Similar posing for Thing and Spidey. Torch in original picture and removed. | Similar dialogue. Mild changes.”Don’t forget…!” from “Did ya forget…?” “Nuts!” from “For cryin out’–!” and “pulling” instead of the abbreviated “pullin'” |
| 2 | 6-8 | new | |||
| 3 | 1-4 | new | |||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 3 | 7-8 | new | |||
| 4 | 1-4 | new | |||
| 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | Invisibility rendered differently. | |
| 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | Minor dialogue changes. “Must be…” from “Wait! It must be…”, “spin” instead of “whirl” | |
| 4 | 7-9 | new | |||
| 5 | 1-4 | new | |||
| 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | Torch rendered differently. | Minor dialogue changes. “The party’s over…” from “That’s it…”; Torch’s line “Fun’s over!” is omitted. Spider-Man’s line, “The Torch!” is omitted. |
| 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 7-8 | new | |||
| 6 | 1-3 | new | |||
| 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | Good Spidey rendition by Kirby. | Minor dialogue changes. “I want to join the Fantastic Four…” from “I came up here to join with you! I wanna be a member of the Fantastic Four!” |
| 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 6 | 8 | 4 | 9 | New narration added. |
The final panel of the original story, Page 5, Panel 1, is omitted in the new version. That gives a softer ending that the new version lacks.
Rating: ★★½, 45/100
Significance: ★☆☆☆☆
I read this story in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. You can also find it in Fantastic Four Epic Collection vol. 2: The Master Plan of Dr. Doom or Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four vol. 2. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
- Ben Grimm/Thing
- Johnny Storm/Human Torch
- Sue Storm/Invisible Girl
#95 story in reading order
Next: Sgt. Fury #3
Previous: Fantastic Four Annual 1
