“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 154

Tags

1974, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 154, Marvel comics, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 154
“The Man in the Mystery Mask!”
Published October 1974
Writers: Len Wein and Stan Lee
Pencils: Bob Brown and Dick Ayers
Inks: Frank Giacoia, Michael Esposito and Paul Reinman
Letters: Artie Simek
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Gil Kane and Giacoia

Synopsis

White returning from their battle with Mahkizmo, Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch and the Thing are attacked by a mysterious villain, leading to a lengthy flashback from an incident when the Thing and Torch were lured by the same villain into a trap, only for it to be revealed to be Mr Fantastic trying to teach them a lesson. After battling the villain in the present, he is revealed to be Nick Fury testing SHIELD’s new weaponry on the Fantastic Four.

What’s going on here

This is an odd, interesting issue. Most of the comic is a reprint of 1964’s Strange Tales 127, from a run of stories that were nominally Human Torch solo adventures but in this case also included Ben and Reed. It’s a hugely silly story by Stan Lee and very much a Silver Age framing, where a hero tricks a colleague or friend to teach them a lesson (this plot was a staple of a great many Superman and Lois Lane comics from the era). The new framing device is almost as ridiculous, with the reveal that Nick Fury attacked the team over Manhattan to test some new gadgets.

An editor’s note helpfully, and abashedly, explains that regular penciler Rick Buckler couldn’t make his deadline, so new writer Len Wein and penciler Bob Brown stepped into to save the day with the framing sequence. I would love to know whose idea it was to use Strange Tales 127 as the filler issue; I wonder if Stan suggested it.

As I’ve explained, I chose not to include the Torch stories in Strange Tales as part of this blog, mostly because doing so would slow down my advance through the main book (and with 700+ issues to blog, this is a project that is already ambitious enough). But reading this story for the first time makes me wonder if I’ve made a mistake; there’s a goofy charm to these early stories that I miss.

This is Len Wein’s first issue as the FF’s writer. The note suggests this is a regular gig but he only lasts a few issues before returning a few years later. Notably, this issue is colored by Glynis Wein, whom I believe at the time was married to Len, making this the first FF issue with a married couple in the credits.

Gil Kane again did the cover, with inks by Frank Giacoia. One of his better FF covers, I think. The cockeyed angle of the city background adds to the action.

What I liked

Dick Ayers pencils are rough but his layouts have flair, and Paul Reinman’s heavy inks add drama. This is a great panel:

I liked this sequence too:

It’s worth remembering how early in the FF’s history this takes place, coming out around the same month as FF 33. Hence Ben’s appearance wasn’t locked down across Marvel:

Stan’s script is also light and fun, and Ben’s quips are quick and clever. There’s also a nicely poignant sequence where Ben and Johnny thinks they’re about to die:

In an effort to celebrate Jack Kirby and restore him to his place as major contributor to Marvel’s success, there’s been an unfortunate backlash against Stan Lee, to the point where he’s been denigrated as a mere figurehead and flim-flam man who coasted on Jack’s labors. Issues like this, where Jack has no involvement, reveal how talented Stan was at scripting these characters. The first 102 issues of the Fantastic Four were a true partnership between two creative powerhouses. We don’t need to tear down Stan to build up Jack.

What I didn’t like

It should be churlish to point out the goofiness of the two plots in this comic, given one is a Silver Age relic and the other is reclamation job. I will instead note that once again Sue is not in this comic, and she and Medusa are only fleetingly mentioned. There is also this puzzling sequence, and I am legitimately confused by what Ben refers to as “half’a the blamed Thing”:

Anything else?

There is an interesting letter in this issue, calling out a response to another letter in FF 150, where the Dull Competition was mocked for comics that lacked drama and instead told stories about “a reporter, say, whose biggest problem is that some schnook down the hall keeps playing practical jokes on him” — a clear reference to Superman. The irony is that Strange Tales 127 is basically a story about an elaborate practical joke.

In the response in 154, presumably written by Roy Thomas, blame is laid at the feet of Steve Gerber, who would later go on to great heights at Marvel before becoming one of its biggest critics. The two letters are below and are an interesting glimpse behind the scenes at some inter- and intra comic drama: