Fantastic Four 112
“Battle of the Behemoths!”
Published: April 1971
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Buscema and Frank Giacoia

Synopsis

As the Thing battles the Hulk in mid-town Manhattan, Reed and Johnny work frantically to find a cure for Ben’s mind-altered state.

What’s going on here

For some, this is an iconic comic and could be viewed as the real launching point of the Bronze-era FF. It’s the third fight between the Hulk and Thing (the others coming in FF 12 and 24-25) and to date the most sustained slugfest between the two. The cover is an absolute classic, and all those elements together combine to make it prized by collectors (it sells for five to 10 times more than the surrounding issues).

Unfortunately, I’m not sure the story lives up to the issue’s reputation. As mentioned previously, the conflict with the Hulk comes out of nowhere (Reed summons Bruce Banner in the closing panels of last issue) and there’s almost nothing at stake here. Ben and the Hulk are fighting for the sake of fighting, and while it’s a fun brawl that take up essentially the entire issue, it begins to feel repetitive. The real tension in the story is between Reed and Johnny arguing about how to save Ben—Reed accuses Johnny of being a hot head, Johnny accuses Reed of lacking urgency—and that conflict feels pretty familiar.

What I liked

It’s hard to deny the power in Big John’s layouts of the fight scenes. No one really does it better.

I also liked this quieter, almost ethereal scene with Sue and Agatha Harkness.

What I didn’t like

While the story as a whole is pretty lackluster, the end is really disappointing. Ben is distracted by Alicia, the Hulk knocks him out (and disappeared as abruptly as he arrives) and Reed and Johnny arrive too late. It just feels anticlimactic.

Anything else?

FF 112 features an Irving Forbush cameo (or maybe one of his distinguished ancestors).

Overall

You can’t judge a book by its cover.