Fantastic Four Annual 3

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: 1965
25 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Vince Colletta
Lettered by: Artie Simek
23 pages

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	POSTLUDE	Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1
Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B	Reading order	X-Men #14
Fantastic Four Annual 2, Story C	Fantastic Four Annual	Fantastic Four Annual 4

I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss your bride!

It’s the wedding of the century. Today’s the day. Half the Marvels have been invited! And the rest of them are turning up anyway!

This issue represents by far the largest gathering of heroes and villains yet, forever binding these disparate characters into a universe.

This issue represents the idea that there is no status quo, that these characters are at their best when they change and grow. Forward momentum is an essential ingredient to storytelling. Genuine, non-illusionary, change.

This is the most significant moment in the early Marvel Universe.

I think I’d have come up with a better title than “Bedlam at the Baxter Building”.

I wish Chic Stone or Joe Sinnott had been the inker. A few months too late to have Stone and one month too early to have Sinnott. Also, Colletta is uniquely suited to a long special issue with many characters because he’s famously expedient.

I appreciate that the headline takes for granted the public knows who Reed and Sue are without the need for surnames or superhero identities. The cover does the same for its audience.

Pretty cool this worked out to be the 400th story in our reading order. Currently on track to also have the 500th story be a particularly special issue of Fantastic Four as well. When we read Avengers #1, it was the 100th story, but then I went and retroactively mucked with the ordering.

The plot is pretty simple. It’s Reed and Sue’s wedding, and almost every superhero has been invited to attend: the Avengers, X-Men, SHIELD, Dr. Strange. Even Spider-Man showed up (invited or not). Daredevil was present, though perhaps it’s his alter ego, Matt Murdock, attorney to the Fantastic Four, who got the invite.

Dr. Doom intends to mess everything up, so he uses an emotion charger ray to influence a plethora of super-villains to attack. Leading to by far the biggest superhuman battle yet seen in these pages.

Unfortunately the chaos leads to Reed seeing Sue before the wedding, unconcerned with tradition. Sue could have at least turned invisible to avoid the unfortunate situation.

Is that Diablo I see in the background under Reed’s arm? Who do we think that bald dude in the corner with the mustache is?

Bald dude. Bald dude. Weird mustache. Ringmaster, Wizard, Mastermind, and Kraven all have odd mustaches but more hair. Mr. Gideon has a neater mustache. I see Mandarin and Executioner elsewhere in the picture. I think I see Diablo elsewhere. Help?

Perhaps it’s not a bald guy. Maybe the finishing artist took some artistic license and left out some details like the character’s hair. Colletta does have a reputation for, err, expediency.

Despite that whole pesky oath that the Watcher mostly treats as a suggestion, he steps in to save the day. Here’s one of those cool photo collages depicting the Fourth Dimension.

A bit of a deus ex machina, that Watcher.

Finally, the big event. All the villains have been defeated. Only two more unwanted guests trying to crash the festivities…

If Dr. Strange is in the comic, I feel like I should note his invocations for the record. But he only makes one, an oldie: By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!

I do want to record the match-ups I observed, because many represent unusual pairings. Which heroes fought which villains? It’s sometimes not precisely clear-cut due to a couple crowd scenes or very quick partner-swapping. Treat this as a sampling.

Match-ups:

• SHIELD vs. Puppet Master
• X-Men vs. Mole Man
• Dr. Strange and FF vs. Red Ghost
• Thor vs. Super-Skrull
• Daredevil vs. Hydra
• Captain America vs. Cobra, Executioner, and Enchantress
• Hawkeye vs. Mr. Hyde and Enchantress
• Angel vs. Black Knight and Mandarin
• X-Men vs. Electro, Mandarin, Unicorn, Melter, and Beetle
• Iron Man vs. Mad Thinker and Awesome Android.
• Quicksilver vs. Human Top
• Daredevil vs. Attuma

Now let’s make sure where we agree where this issue fits in with everybody else’s stories.

Continuity notes:

• They are pretty clear this story takes place between Fantastic Four #43 and #44. After the battle with the Frightful Four and before the Inhumans Saga. Dr. Doom had a cameo in issue 43, vowing to use his emotion charger machine to get revenge on the Fantastic Four, the machine he uses in this issue.
• This comic was published one week before Strange Tales #137, and we choose to read it there. This has an odd effect, as it is then here we learn that Gabe Jones and Dum-Dum Dugan survived the Korean War, and eventually joined SHIELD. Within the main series, we first see them working with SHIELD in Strange Tales #137. The “Hydra Saga” is Strange Tales #135-141, but we can’t read it all together, as this story is explicitly in the middle of the Hydra Saga, as is Avengers #19. The wedding needs to take place after Nick Fury joined SHIELD in Strange Tales #135 and before the defeat of Hydra in #141. There is a nice break in the Hydra Saga between #136 and #137 that we use to have the characters attend and provide security for this wedding.
• We read this story before X-Men #14, but believe it takes place in the middle of X-Men #14, somewhere between page 4 and page 7. The X-Men story is pretty complicated and difficult to reconcile with the other titles. The X-Men attended the engagement party in Fantastic Four #36. Later, in X-Men #11, the Stranger captured Magneto and Toad, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants disbanded, and Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch reformed and decided to retire from adventuring. In Avengers #16, they changed their mind, and decided to join the Avengers. But they’d already moved to Europe between the two stories. You have to imagine at least some passage of time there. However, the X-Men battle the Juggernaut the same day they battled the Stranger in X-Men #12–13. Human Torch teams up with the X-Men to defeat Juggernaut, and refers to being on guard for foes who may try to disrupt the wedding. This implies the wedding hasn’t happened yet, but is soon. We’ll have to stretch the meaning of soon, and imagine Reed was preparing the team well in advance for wedding day dangers. We imagine that after this adventure with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four had two epic battles with the Frightful Four and an epic battle with Dr. Doom, and spent some time lost at sea and some time without their super powers. All before the wedding. On the other hand, X-Men #14 begins a multi-part adventure with the Sentinels, which itself bleeds into their next adventure, so there is no time for the X-Men to attend a wedding. X-Men #13 ends with the X-Men badly injured. So they must attend the wedding in the middle of issue 14, after their bandages have come off but before getting captured by the Sentinels. There is only a gap of a couple days between these two events. Kurt Busiek noted this fact and made it the central theme of Marvels #2, that the public would treat the Fantastic Four as celebrities, while fearing mutants enough to want to see them destroyed by killer robots. Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1 will explore the same theme.
• Dr. Strange gets embroiled in a complicated saga, the “Eternity Saga”, that runs Strange Tales #130-146 and leaves little room for a wedding. The MCP disagrees and thinks the wedding takes place after Strange Tales #144. The CMRO agrees with me and places the whole saga after this wedding, as we will. Dr. Strange also had an appearance in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2 that I think should be before the Eternity Saga. Dr. Strange shares his title; for the beginning of the saga, he shared it with Human Torch and Thing. And those stories definitely took place before the wedding, leading me to split up the title. Starting with issue 135, Dr. Strange began sharing the title with Nick Fury and SHIELD. That story explicitly takes place before the wedding. We will get Strange Tales back in alignment starting with issue 137. It won’t be easy, as Iron man appears in the Nick Fury stories, and needs to be aligned with Avengers, and Iron man shares a title with Captain America, which also needs to be aligned with Avengers, and Avengers will need to line up with Thor in a way that almost breaks everything…
• Avengers is mostly an easier title as it still is focused on shorter arcs. Issues 17 and 18 stand alone and don’t affect the continuity much. Avengers #19-20 features Hydra, which places it in the middle of the Hydra Saga, Strange Tales #135-141, and it references being in the middle of the Titanium Man Saga with Iron Man, from Tales of Suspense #69-71, which Marvels #2 notes explicitly is after the wedding. And anyway the wedding fits best before #69 (or in the middle of #69 as the MCP tries to place it).
• Captain America stories through issue 71 are still set in World War II, so we don’t need to worry too much about how the wedding aligns with them or the Sgt. Fury WWII stories.
• Thor’s title is a mess. He learns the Avengers disbanded and meets the new Avengers in issue 120, so the wedding should be after that. His best gap is after 123, where the MCP places it, and where we are reading it. However, a reference in Avengers #22 will suggest that arc is concurrent with Thor’s journey to Asgard to face Absorbing Man in issue 122, which means I think the wedding needs to take place in the middle of 122, after Jane’s rescue, while Jane is recuperating, and before Thor travels to Asgard with Harris Hobbs to face the Absorbing Man.
• Daredevil, Foggy, and Karen last appeared in Daredevil #9.
• Spider-Man and Dr. Strange last appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2. Spider-Man has already graduated from high school, so presumably the Torch has as well by this point.
• Giant-Man and Wasp have retired from superheroing, as seen in Avengers #16 and Tales to Astonish #69. When next we see them, they’ll be working on a research project in the middle of the ocean. They don’t appear in the issue and I don’t believe they are at the wedding. The MCP thinks they are present off-panel.
• Sub-Mariner is currently engaged in his quest for Neptune’s Trident we saw in Tales to Astonish #70–76. The events of the wedding are approximately concurrent with Tales to Astonish #72. Namor does not appear at the wedding. Nobody wants to attend the wedding of their ex-girlfriend. The narrator notes that Dr. Doom’s ray missed Namor because he was so deep in the sea, but attracted Attuma. Attuma last appeared in Tales of Suspense #66.
• The narrator notes Hulk is not affected by Doom’s ray because he is in the Leader’s lair in Tales to Astonish #72. Presumably the same explanation applies to the Leader. In issue 73, Hulk will be sent to Watcher’s world to face the Watcher. The Watcher’s appearance in this issue must therefore be before his appearance in Tales to Astonish #73, although we read that first. Watcher’s prior appearance was in Strange Tales #134.
• J. Jonah Jameson doesn’t appear, but he is present at the wedding, as will be seen in Heroes & Legends and in Marvels. He last appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #28.
• Puppet Master is complicated. Strange Tales #133 is one of those stories where the art and script seem to not be telling the same story. It features a villain who looks nothing like Puppet Master and has an entirely different modus operandi. But who the script explains is Puppet Master, after plastic surgery, and developing new methods. I’m confident Puppet Master was not the villain when Bob Powell drew the issue, and became Puppet Master during the scripting phase. That new face is never seen again. He’s back to his old face now, perhaps having reversed the plastic surgery. I think Strange Tales #133 is one of those stories that it would be best if we all pretended never happened, making his last appearance Strange Tales #126. However, Strange Tales #133 is notable for being the final appearance of Doris Evans, who may or may not be in the background of this story.
• Red Ghost last appeared in Avengers #12. The Super Apes last appeared in Fantastic Four #29.
• Mole Man and the Subterraneans last appeared in Avengers #17.
• Mandarin last appeared in Tales of Suspense #62. No explanation is offered for why he is in America now.
• Black Knight and Melter last appeared with the Masters of Evil in Avengers #16.
• Kang is a time-traveler, so who knows what it means to order his appearances, but we last saw him in Avengers #16.
• Grey Gargoyle last appeared in Journey Into Mystery #113. No explanation is given for how he escaped custody after his stone molecules were fused together.
• Super-Skrull last appeared in Fantastic Four #32. The Skrulls last appeared in Fantastic Four #37. No explanation is given for why they are on Earth, or why the presence of this seeming invasion isn’t more concerning.
• Cobra and Mr. Hyde last appeared in Journey Into Mystery #111.
• Executioner and Enchantress last appeared in Journey Into Mystery #117.
• Electro is the only Spider-Man foe to appear. He was last seen in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, fighting alongside the Sinister Six.
• The only prior appearance of the Unicorn is in Tales of Suspense #56.
• The Beetle last appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #21. [I realize it’s a bit confusing that I just referred to Electro as the only Spider-Man foe present; Beetle was introduced as a Human Torch foe.]
• The Eel last appeared in the service of Mr. Fear in Daredevil #6.
• The Mad Thinker last appeared in Strange Tales #131 and the Awesome Android in Fantastic Four #28.
• The Human Top last appeared in Tales to Astonish #69.
• The Porcupine last appeared in Tales to Astonish #53, where he shrunk into nothingness. No explanation is offered for why he is here. Did he escape the microscopic realm? Is that an impostor in the Porcupine suit? Dr. Doom had once shrunk to nothingness, but ended up in a micro-world, which he was eventually able to escape. Maybe Porcupine has a similar untold journey.
• We have been keeping three sets of titles separate in our reading, mainly for my convenience. We have been reading the superhero titles alongside Marvel’s one current war title, Sgt. Fury. We have been skipping the western titles and the romance titles. Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe were introduced in Miss America Magazine #2, 1945. Patsy then got her own series, Patsy Walker, in which Hedy was her friend and rival. That series has continued until the present. This wedding issue was published after Patsy Walker #122. The series will come to an end soon with issue 124. Patsy also had a 1957 one-shot, A Date with Patsy. The Patsy & Hedy series began in 1952 and continues to the present; the last issue was 102, and the series will soon end with issue 110. Patsy and Hedy will both show up again in superhero comics, and Patsy will one day become the superhero Hellcat, and a member of the Avengers herself. That makes the Patsy comics relevant to our reading, but it’s two extra series going back 2 decades.
• Millie the Model was introduced in 1945 and her series will continue until 1973. She had a short-lived spin-off series, A Date with Millie, 1956-1957. She got a long-lived spin-off in 1959, the title of which has evolved from A Date with Millie to Life with Millie to Modeling with Millie. This series will continue until 1967. Millie appears off-panel because Hedy notes she was invited. I can’t find that she actually appears in the issue, though the MCP says she does.
• Jack Kirby last appeared in Fantastic Four #10. Stan Lee likely last appeared in Strange Tales #123. He also appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, but that story may not have been in-universe. That might have been a story about the Stan Lee of our world, rather than the Stan Lee of theirs.

Some characters on the cover who don’t appear in the issue:

• Scarlet Witch
• Wasp
• Giant-Man
• Sub-Mariner
• Hulk
• Rick Jones
• Medusa
• Wizard
• Red Skull
• Crimson Dynamo
• Leader
• Loki
• Kid Colt

Notice Nick is on the cover twice, both as Col. Fury of SHIELD and Sgt. Fury of the Howling Commandos.

Finally, let’s compare my observations with other major websites, the Grand Comic Database, Marvel Chronology Project and the Complete Marvel Reading Order.

The GCD claims that’s Two-Gun Kid on the cover. The CMRO claims it’s Kid Colt. You have to squint and remember coloring mistakes are rampant, but I’m inclined to agree it’s Kid Colt. Even if we ignore the coloring, the character doesn’t seem to be wearing a mask like Two-Gun Kid would be.

The MCP notes Doris Evans, J. Jonah Jameson, and Scarlet Witch are present at the wedding but unseen.

The unseen presence of Scarlet Witch is a reasonable extrapolation, given that the rest of the Avengers appear and that she’s on the cover. It’s confirmed by a retelling of this story in Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1 from 1996 and Marvels #2 from 1994, both of which we will read.

Jameson’s presence will be confirmed by those same comics, and his presence makes sense. This is too big an event for one of his ego to miss.

Doris Evans is trickier. Last we saw her, she was Human Torch’s girlfriend. That was back in Strange Tales #133, published 4 months earlier. But in the next FF arc, starting next month, he’ll fall in love with a different girl. Presumably, at some point, he and Doris go their separate ways. So it’s not clear they should still be together for this wedding. Now, they were together when Reed and Sue got engaged, so she may have already RSVPed as his +1, and that’s sometimes an awkward situation. So her presence is plausible, but I don’t see evidence to confirm it.

The MCP claims Millie the Model appears. Patsy and Hedy appear, and claim she was invited, but I don’t think we actually see her.

The issue also includes reprints of Fantastic Four #6 and #11. Fantastic Four #11 reveals Reed has been in love with Sue for at least 20 years.

Rating: ★★★★☆, 75/100
Significance: ★★★★★

I read this story in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 2.

Characters:

• Dr. Doom
• Thing/Ben Grimm
• Tony Stark/Iron Man
• Hedy Wolfe
• Patsy Walker
• Puppet Master
• Nick Fury
• Red Ghost
• Professor X
• Mole Man
• Cyclops
• Marvel Girl
• Angel
• Beast
• Iceman
• Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
• Susan “Sue” Storm/Invisible Girl/Sue Richards
• Alicia
• Human Torch/Johnny Storm
• Mandarin
• Black Knight
• Kang
• Awesome Android
• Grey Gargoyle
• Super-Skrull
• Thor
• Matt Murdock/Daredevil
• Karen Page
• Foggy Nelson
• Iron Man
• Captain America
• Quicksilver
• Cobra
• Executioner
• Enchantress
• Mr. Hyde
• Hawkeye
• Spider-Man
• Electro
• Unicorn
• Melter
• Beetle
• Eel
• Diablo
• Mad Thinker
• Human Top
• Attuma
• The Watcher
• Porcupine
• Reverend Miller
• Gabe Jones
• Dum-Dum Dugan
• Stan Lee
• Jack Kirby

Story notes:

• Daily Press announces Sue and Reed’s wedding day. Paper costs 5 cents; published by W.F. Headlines, Inc.; “A newspaper dedicated to worldwide unity and interest”; Dated 1964-65.
• Dr. Doom uses emotion charger to encourage hatred in many villains.
• WBC TV News covers wedding.
• Brooklyn Chapter of Fantastic Four Fan Club at rally outside.
• Crowd chanting for Irving Forbush.
• Millie the Model invited to the wedding. Hedy eager to catch sight of her.
• Puppet Master looks like his old pre-surgery self.
• Puppet Master had planned to have man poison Thing; stopped by SHIELD.
• Puppet Master had vowed never to attack the FF again.
• Dr. Strange banishes Red Ghost and Super Apes to distant Nether World.
• Dr. Strange notes FF have aided him in the past.
• Hydra agents seek to use Vortex Bomb.
• Mandarin’s Nerve-Ray Ring attacks Angel.
• Thor shouts, “Avengers Assemble!”
• Quicksilver faster than Human Top.
• Emotion charger didn’t reach Sub-Mariner, as he was too far beneath the surface in his quest to retrieve the Trident.
• Hulk not affected as he is in Leader’s lair.
• Watcher takes Reed to his home and gives Reed a weapon: the sub-atomic time displacer.
• All villains return where they came from with memory wiped. Dr. Doom will also forget the entire incident.
• Stan and Jack not allowed in to wedding.

Previous	#400!	Next
	POSTLUDE	Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1
Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B	Reading order	X-Men #14
Fantastic Four Annual 2, Story C	Fantastic Four Annual	Fantastic Four Annual 4