Fantastic Four 114
“But Who Shall Stop the Over-Mind?”
Published: June 1971
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Frank Giacoia
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Buscema and Giacoia

Synopsis

Out on bail from their arrest by the NYPD and facing eviction, the Fantastic Four confront the Over-Mind, only to have the fight erased from their memories by his mental powers. To help provide answers, Agatha Harkness contacts the Watcher.

What’s going on here?

This is a much more satisfying issue than the last, as the Over-Mind developed into a formidable foe with an interesting backstory. There are some plot holes, but overall the story moves briskly, the fight is well designed, and the sequence with Agatha Harkness is appropriately creepy.

What I liked

It’s the best issue from John Buscema to date, and maybe not a coincidence that it’s the first not inked by Joe Sinnott: Frank Giacoia inked this issue, presumably filling in. There’s no arguing Sinnott’s power and style, but Giacoia has a lighter touch, which perhaps lets Buscema’s style emerge more clearly. Here’s a panel I really liked:

And this sequence:

What I didn’t like

As mentioned, there are some plot holes. In this issue, the Over-Mind apparently encounters the FF for the first time, yet at the close of last issue we saw him manipulating the mayor to have the FF arrested. Also, there’s an oddly discordant note, when, in the midst of their eviction drama, Ben gets a package with a stink bomb from the Yancy Street Gang. Rather than lighten the mood, it just seems like an annoying distraction.

There’s also the continuing nonsense of the FF’s eviction. Comics and stories about business rarely mix well, and this is no exception. There’s a dozen reasons why the landlord’s actions don’t make sense, and while maybe the average FF reader of 1971 didn’t know them, this sub-plot all seems farfetched. (Yes, I know it’s a comic based on far-fetched events, which is why real-world subjects like commercial real estate law are better left outside its pages).

Anything else?

This issue kind-of, sort-of introduced the Eternals to the Marvel universe, as the Over-Mind discusses that he is following their commands. Initially these Eternals were not connected to the Eternals later introduced by Jack Kirby in his 1976 return to Marvel (these were instead supposed to be the “Eternals of Eyung”) but they were later retconned to be another branch of the Eternals, also created by the Celestials. It’s all deeply confusing, and had no real impact on this story.

Also, some fun ads in this issue, including one with a muscle-man who looks suspiciously like a former governor of California:

Overall

Solid!