Tags
1979, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 213, galactus, John Byrne, marv wolfman, Marvel, Marvel comics, Sphinx, Terrax
Fantastic Four 213
“In Final Battle!”
Published September 1979
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: John Byrne
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Ben Sean
Editor: Wolfman
Cover:Byrne and Sinnott
Synopsis
Aboard Galactus’s ship, Reed, Ben and Johnny confront Terrax, who wants his revenge after being humiliated by the team on his home planet. Ben, under the effects of the Skrull aging ray, is overcome, and Johnny defeats Terrax by freezing him in liquid oxygen. Meanwhile, Galactus battles, and defeats, the Sphinx for the rights to the Earth. In punishment, Galactus send the Sphinx to his past to re-live his long life again. Galactus can now consume the Earth, but is confronted by Reed, who again wields a version of the Ultimate Nullifier, this one of his own making. Galactus cannot read his mind, and so can’t tell if Reed is bluffing and so leaves Earth. Reed reveals was a fake nullifier, and the Watcher blocked Galactus’s mental probe of Reed. The issue ends with Reed collapsing from the aging ray, leaving the Torch alone.
What’s going on here?
As promised in the last issue, we finally get the big confrontation between Galactus and the Sphinx we’ve been headed toward for many months, and in truth, it’s a bit of a dud. I’ll get into particulars below, but broadly, it didn’t feel big enough to justify the build up. Galactus takes care of the Sphinx without too much effort, and the fight serves both to marginalize the Sphinx as a cosmic baddie and reinforce Galactus as someone you definitely don’t want to mess with.
The John Byrne/ Joe Sinnott art team does another solid job, and it’s very clear Byrne draws the best Galactus, bar none.
What I liked
The conclusion of the Sphinx / Galactus fight had some cool moments, like this:
Unfortunately, that great panel is just one third of a page. In a just world, it would have been a double-page splash (we got one last issue) but it seems there was so much story to cram into this comic that Byrne was tight on space.
This was also impressive:
I like how the Sphinx literally shrinks before Galactus.
And I enjoyed this sequence where Johnny calls the Watcher on his non-interference bullshit:
What I didn’t like
I’ve said this before, but my preferred version of Galactus is one who uses his power from an Olympian remove. He should be above the fray, god-like, dispatching his minions to fight on his behalf or zapping enemies with his eye beams. I don’t even think he should touch the ground, but should hover above it. So I’m always disappointed when writers pull him into physical confrontations, and this one was just silly.
Galactus in a fist fight? It’s … unbecoming.
There was also some weird stuff between Galactus and the Sphinx, which suggested they have fought before. Is this a possible reference to the time loop Galactus condemns him too? That seems too subtle and intricate for Wolfman. (This is another cool sequence from Byrne and Sinnott).
Reed’s Ultimate Nullifier gambit was also a big disappointment. For the last few issues we’ve been promised he has a secret means of defeating Galactus. But it turns out it’s just the same way he defeated Galactus the first time he came to Earth, only dumber. Also, how is Galactus supposed to recognize Reed’s new Ultimate Nullifier when it looks nothing like the device from issue 50.
After Ben is defeated by Terrax, Reed orders Herbie to fly him home. To New York. From Egypt. More than 5,600 miles, dangling from the air. And since I’m pretty sure that little robot can’t fly as fast as a commercial airline, that must have taken a very long time.
Lastly, I’m not sure this was intentional or not, but Galactus really can’t accuse the Sphinx of speaking in riddles. That’s his whole schtick!
Anything else?
It’s that time of year when the networks rolled out their Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Here are CBS’s and ABC’s (I think NBC’s was in the last issue):
Overall
A fairly predictable disappointment
Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more 
This one stands out to me because it was the one of two comics that I purchased for the first time in over two years. I was on an overnight trip in my first year of college and, liking John Byrne’s art, gave in to temptation to buy this comic and X-Men #129.
It was a good thing I’d purchased that latter comic or my return to collecting would have ended with this disappointing issue. Despite having the same penciller, in my mind, there was such an incredible difference between the two comics. This seemed “safe” – even bland with an entirely predictable outcome while the X-Men had an excitement and energy that insisted I stick around for the next issue.
Byrne’s artwork – no doubt aided by Terry Austin’s inks – seemed much bolder and dynamic as opposed to almost a “house style” for this issue.
Thanks for the trip back in time!
I always appreciate your thoughtful comments, Rick. In this case, I don’t think Byrne’s art is the problem with this comic, although Sinnott does make his pencils conform to the house style (which, at this point, is really the Sinnott style). Sinnott and Austin are both titans of their craft – don’t make he take sides! And comparing anything to that X-Men run is almost unfair.
Agreed. No disrespect intended to Joe Sinnott. He and Austin are the epitome of an apples and oranges comparison. I also agree that Byrne’s art was impressive in both. What I didn’t say is that this issue of the FF was the comic that caught my eye – having remembered the Sphinx from Nova. XM #129 was more of a whim.
Thanks for the kind words. Always enjoy your reviews. Like you, I can’t wait for JB’s run starting in #232!