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1961 was quite a year. John F. Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States. The Beatles perform for the first time at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go to space. It was a year in a decade that brought about major change in various forms of culture. Comic books were no exception.
Martin Goodman had directed one of his writers, Stan Lee, to create a comic featuring a team of superheroes. Goodman had noticed the success of DC's team book, Justice League of America, and wanted a piece of that team book pie. Lee, after years of writing comics, was growing tired of the medium. Inspired by his wife Joan, and wanting to leave comics anyway, Lee decided to write this team book the way he wanted, creating characters that were quite different in attitude from other heroes of the time: They had flaws, they didn't always get along, they had feet of clay, they essentially acted more like real people. Kirby had his own recollection of the creation of the FF, but it's generally considered that the FF were co-created by Lee and Kirby together, details not withstanding.
When the comic was released, it was a hit. The success of the comic convinced Lee to stay with comic books, and he and Jack Kirby would collaborate on the first 102 completed issues of the title, a collaboration record that stood for decades in the comic world.
The cover's image has become iconic. A giant monster erupting from the city street, grabbing the Invisible Woman (Then the Invisible Girl), The Human Torch flying across the monster (He doesn't look like he's actually attacking it, though), Mr. Fantastic struggling out of some bonds with his stretching powers, and the Thing shoving a car out of the way. The cover also shows something we don't see a lot on comic covers any more: Speech balloons. Yup. Many covers these days often show a character or characters posing. This one shows the characters actually doing something, giving the feeling that this is an action-packed story, that it has so much action that the inside of the comic CANNOT CONTAIN IT. The box on the cover announcing the names of the four members of the FF "together for the first time in one mighty magazine" gives it a dynamic touch.
The cover has a lot going on, but it does not feel crowded. All the action is centered on the monster, eye-catching and making the observer wonder what it is, and how our heroes are going to stop it. Shame that the monster is not the major villain of the issue.
The comic opens up with a cloud over a city, the cloud having the words "The Fantastic Four" on it in big red letters, a prototype of another moment known to FF fans, a flare in the sky that would take the shape of a "4". A crowd of people watching the cloud get nervous, wondering if it heralds an alien invasion. Yup, another Marvel tradition starts here: The panicked crowd. A mysterious figure is revealed to be behind the cloud, inside a building and holding a gun. A caption reveals that this man is the leader of the Fantastic Four, and the man himself remarks that this is the first time he has had to use the flare gun to summon the rest of the Four, and he prays it will be the last. Unfortunately for him, over the next fifty years, he'll have to fire the flare a lot more.
We then next focus on Susan "Sue" Storm, who is enjoying tea with a friend. The friend notices the signal and wonders what it is. Sue realizes she is needed, and decides to simply turn invisible and leave the house, leaving her friend confused. Sue doesn't even tell her friend that she had to get going. What she couldn't think of an excuse? Say she wasn't feeling well! Gah!
There is a bit of a funny moment as an invisible Sue runs through town, and uses an unknowing cab driver to take her to where she wants to go. Yup, he has no idea, because she's still invisible.
Next, we switch to a clothing store, where a nebbish-looking clerk is telling a rather bulky-looking man in a trenchcoat, sunglasses, and hat. The clerk tells the bulky man that he has no clothing in his size. Evidently in 1961, there were no Big & Tall Stores. The man sees the signal and removes the clothing, revealing the Thing, who here looks more like a walking lump of clay than the living rockslide we know him as. This is no mistake. Early on, Ben Grimm was meant to have a lumpy hide, but it eventually evolved into the rocky plated hide we know and love today. Ben Grimm, the Thing, bursts his way out of the building, panicking the citizens (Seriously Ben, couldn't you just at least TRY to not make such a scene), and him getting shot at by some cops. However, Ben decides to not pick a fight and flee through the sewers. He ends up riding the sewer water...the filthy, filthy sewer water, to his destination. The cops, who tried to chase Grimm, end up losing him, and they wonder what all the sightings of "monsters" are leading up to. All I know is Ben is going to end up rank after his little sewer swimming session.
We then cut to a garage, in which we see Johnny Storm in a garage, tinkering with a hot rod alongside his friend. He sees the signal and flames on, becoming the Human Torch. The Torch flies out of the garage, and evidently his flying to the FF's meeting place causes a mass panic. The Mayor of the city actually tells a guy to call the governor to get the National Guard. Wow, all of that just for a GUY ON FIRE WHO IS FLYING! The National Guard responds by sending jets after the Torch. Yeah, they really got mobilized quickly. The jets try and engage the Torch. Yup, they don't even give a warning or an opportunity for the Torch to explain himself, they just fire a Hunter Missile at them.
Are Hunter missiles a real missile? Anyway, Johnny exclaims they have a nuclear warhead at him.
Yeah, a nuclear warhead. A nuke. They fired a NUKE at the Human Torch. Oh yeah, that's a weapon you want to use in a CITY full of PEOPLE. Wait, do the National Guard even HAVE that kind of weaponry in real life? Anyway, before the National Guard can end up looking like nuke-happy morons, a pair of stretched out arms grabs the missile, saving Johnny. The arms throw the missile into the ocean, where it harmlessly explodes...yeah, that was a nuke. I can imagine that that thing unleashed a lot of radiation in the water. Not to mention the owner of the arms must have INCREDIBLE strength in order to pull off that feat. I don't know the exact weight of a nuclear missile, but it's not exactly light.
Anyway, the arms are revealed to belong to Reed Richards, who manages to use his stretchiness to get Johnny back inside the building. Once gathered, Reed reveals that the group has a mission. However, before that is revealed, the story cuts to...a telling of the Fantastic Four's origins. Yeah, I feel this should've been done at the very beginning of the comic.
The origin story starts with an angry Ben Grimm as a human confronting Reed, stating that he can get another man to fly a ship into space, since the risks of the cosmic rays out in space are far too unknown, and they might even die from the rays. Sue reminds Ben that they have to take the risk, otherwise the Communists will get to space first (This comic is from 1961, folks), and she calls him a coward. Ben smashes his fist on the desk, saying that he is no coward, and that he will fly the ship. Wow, Ben Grimm. Willing to take risks just to show he's no chicken. Jeez.
The foursome then take a car to the spaceport (evidently the FF were in Cape Canaveral during their origin), and they mange to sneak their way into the spaceport...evidently, the security is lousy in this spaceport. Want further proof? They don't seem to notice when the rocket actually takes off. You'd think they'd at the very least they'd hear the noise of the rocket's jets firing!
Anyway, the crew manages to reach space...only to end up flying right into the heart of the cosmic ray storm. The gang suffer through various ailments thanks to the rays, like Ben feeling heavy and Johnny feeling feverish and burning up, foreshadowing their powers. For some reason, the rocket turns around and roughly lands back on Earth. The future FF emerge from the rocket, concerned about the effects of the rays.
Sue is the first to manifest her powers, briefly turning invisible and back. This triggers an argument between Ben and Reed, in which Ben manifests his powers, transforming into the Thing for the first time. He takes a swing at Reed with a tree (awesome), but Reed is able to restrain him with his newly-manifested stretching abilities. Johnny is the final member of the FF to manifest powers: The ability to transform into a being of flame. Reed convinces the group that they should use their powers to help benefit mankind, and the Fantastic Four is born.
I'll be honest with you all. This first part of the story, by modern standards, can be a bit of a slog to read. Keep in mind, this was made in 1961, and I will admit, it has not aged well in many ways, including dialogue and the reference to the fear of the Communists going to space first. The comic was made to entertain a young audience in 1961, not a thirty-year-old comic reader in 2015.
However, it is still an important story, as it is the story that helped give birth to the Marvel Universe as we know it. The story has been expanded on and retold over the years, but there is something about seeing the origin in its original form. It's neat to see what it was originally like, so the changes and updates can be tracked.
Yes, by today's standards, this story is somewhat stilted and dated, but it's still a neat read, and something that should be read to see the imaginative spirit that both Lee and Kirby had. I do recommend reading this story, just as long as you know what you are getting into. In Part 2 of this review, we'll look at the second chapter in this issue. The Fantastic Four, the first heroes of the Marvel Age, will take on the first supervillain of the Marvel Age...the Mole Man!
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