Fantastic Four 34
“A House Divided”
Published: Oct. 1964
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Stone

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four are opening mail in the Baxter Building, including a package with a Beatles wig sent to the Thing. Meanwhile, the world’s richest man, Gregory Gideon, is entering negotiations with his rivals. Rather than wait three years to take over their business empires, he dares them to give him a challenge: If he succeeds, they sell to him in a week; if he fails, he abandons his takeover plans. They accept and challenge him to defeat the Fantastic Four.

Mr. Fantastic awakens to the workmen dismantling the team’s vehicles at the behest of Ben, who is convinced Reed is a Skrull. They begin to fight. Meanwhile, in Long Island, Sue arrives at the home she shares with Johnny and finds evidence he is a Doom robot. After fighting amongst themselves, the four eventually converge at the Baxter Building, where Gideon has set a trap: a time machine that will remove the FF from the present.

However, Gideon’s young son is a fan of the FF, and rushes to save them. He and Ben are transported back in time, and Gideon, coming to his senses after losing his son, renounces his ambitions. Ben and Tommy Gideon return, due to Reed turning off the device’s power source, and the Gideon family is happily reunited.

What’s going on here?

This is an odd issue. As Stan notes at the end, it’s “the first story in a dog’s age without a costumed super-villain.” Depending on how you count these things, it could be the first since FF 3, when the FF fought the Miracle Man, who was basically just a stage magician.

Despite the lack of super villains, FF 34 has its moments, especially when we spend time with Gideon, who, in his over-the-top plutocrat style, is sort of a combination of Daddy Warbucks, Richie Rich, and Donald Trump. This panel sort of says it all:

The story hangs together, but just barely, and like a lot of these early FF issues, depends a lot on coincidence, mistaken identity, and no one stopping long enough to ask what’s going on. It also relies on the FF fighting each other as its main hook, which would be novel if it didn’t happen almost every issue.

At some points, the story just falls apart. In one instance, Reed, in the middle of battling his teammates, grabs a ray gun left on the ground by Gideon’s henchmen, and fires it at his best friend and fiancee’s brother, without even knowing what it does.

Then there’s this exhausting two panels of exposition that answers questions we didn’t really care about (how did Gideon’s henchmen get in the Baxter Building?) and doesn’t answer the ones we do. (Where did Ben and Tommy go when they went back in time?) Gideon will appear once more, in FF 134-136, about a decade hence, before disappearing forever.

Plus this odd detail, which seems tossed in for plot purposes, and never returned to. But: Gideon owns the Baxter Building? That seems like a potentially big deal (and might also explain how his henchmen got in).

The sexist sixties

After about 33 issues of serving us Reed’s causal sexism, Stan and Jack now want us to see Gideon’s mistreatment of his wife as evidence of his villainy.

Speaking of sexist, check out this ad for a dubious karate technique, featuring the “pretty Japanese wife” of the instructor:

Krazy Kredits
Nothing too zany this month.

Suburbia

During these first few years of the FF, we’ve vaguely known Sue and Johnny still live at home in Long Island, although it’s rarely mentioned or discussed. Here, for the first time in the FF, we see their house.

Mid-century modern
Gideon, on the other hand, appears to live in a luxurious ranch house …

…with a carpet that could only have been designed by Jack Kirby.

Pop culture
Apparently Beatles wigs were a thing.

Let’s talk about us
It’s been a while since the FF comic referenced itself, but it’s Tommy’s reading material of choice.

On the subject of comics, it was a pretty good month for Marvel collectors:

The incredible Mr. Fantastic
Apparently he could turn his legs into wheels. Who knew?

They’re fighting again
And this is before Gideon’s machinations.

Dig that Kirby Krackle
This is a great panel:

So is this:

And this:

Mail bag
George R.R. Martin is in a cranky mood, and no fan of Millie the Model:

Pin up!
Dr. Doom lurking is a nice touch.

For sale
A mint (9.8) copy of FF 34 could cost you $13,000, while a Fine version will be about $100. I bought mine, listed at Very Good, for a lot less than that.

Next issue: Dragon Man!