Fantastic Four 81 “Enter — The Exquisite Elemental!” Published Sept. 1968 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: Artie Simek Cover: Kirby and Sinnott
Synopsis
Crystal, the Inhuman girlfriend of the Human Torch, appears in a Fantastic Four costume of her own design and makes the case she should join the team to fill-in for the Invisible Girl, who has just given birth. As the rest of the team expresses doubts because of her age, the Wizard attacks. Johnny rushes out to confront him alone, but is soon joined by Mr. Fantastic, the Thing and Crystal. The FF battles the Wizard, and Crystal demonstrates both her strategic savvy and power, subduing the Wizard almost singlehandedly. The Wizard escapes but the team welcomes Crystal as its first replacement member.
What’s going on here?
After a tense and momentous annual (Annual 6 – read all about it), and before another multi-issue arc begins, this issue feels like an opportunity for everyone to catch their breath. The Wizard is a useful villain for this sort of story: threatening enough to keep it interesting, but not so dangerous that he can’t easily be beaten in a few pages.
The introduction of Crystal as a member of team is obviously the big development here, and the story serves as a reminder she has considerable superpowers of her own. After spending most of the last year sidelined as Sue’s companion and nurse, it would have been easy to forget. Also worth noting is the great cover, which highlights Crystal.
A cast of thousands
Crystal is the first replacement member, but there have been many over the years. Here’s a round up of the most notable, both official and unofficial, new members.
Crystal’s cousin Medusa also replaced the Invisible Girl:
Fantastic Four 132 (1973, Thomas/J. Buscema/Sinnott)
Power Man, better known today as Luke Cage, famous replaced the de-powered Thing for a few issues:
Fantastic Four 168 (1976, Thomas/Buckler/Sinnott)
She-Hulk also replaced the Thing. after he elected to stay on Battle World following the Secret Wars:
Fantastic Four 265 (1984, Byrne)
Under writer Steve Englehart, both Reed and Sue were replaced, by Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura) and Crystal again.
Fantastic Four 307 1987 (Englehart/J.Buscema/Sinnott)
During Tom Defalco’s run, Ant-Man (Scott Lang) was hired by the team as a replacement scientist for Reed. I don’t recall if he ever became an official member, but he hung around for a long time.
Fantastic Four 384 (1994, Defalco/Ryan/Bulanadi)
After the Civil War, in which Reed and Sue were on opposite sides, the two took a leave of absence and were replaced by Storm and the Black Panther (who were married at the time).
Fantastic Four 544 (2007, McDuffie/Pelletier/Magyar)
And when Johnny apparently died—he was actually captured by Annihilus—Spider-Man stepped in.
FF 1 (2011, Hickman/Epting/Magyar)
The sexist sixties
Virtually this whole issue could qualify as an example of Stan and Jack’s casual sexism, starting with the title (“the exquisite elemental”). Sue never appears, and he decision to replace her is made without any discussion with her. Crystal is dismissed and condescended to throughout, up until the final panel where Reed asks her to join the team, and Johnny makes a “powder-puff” reference. The Wizard is particularly bad, though.
Fantastic Four 45 “Among Us Hide the Inhumans” Published: Sept. 1965 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Joe Sinnott Lettering: Artie Simek Cover: Kirby and Sinnott
Programming note: Before we dive into a big issue, this post marks a full year of blogging about the Fantastic Four. We’ve covered 45 regular issues and three annuals. Not quite the 52 posts I was aiming for but not bad. If all goes according to plan, the next few months will cover some of the biggest stories in comic book history, then the rest of the year will wrap up most of the remaining Lee/Kirby FFs. That’s the idea, anyway. But I’m open to ideas: What do you want me to write about? Should I continue issue-by-issue? Should I cover the FF’s appearances in other comics? Is there something you want more of? Or less of? Drop a line in the comments if you have thoughts. They would be very welcome.
Synopsis
Fantastic Four 45 picks off where FF 44 left off, on the crumbling roof of a Manhattan building. Dragon Man has flown off with the Invisible Girl and Gorgon has abducted Medusa. After Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch and the Thing are safely on the ground, Johnny flies after Dragon Man, who is eventually calmed by Sue and returns her peacefully to the Baxter Building.
A morose Johnny later takes a walk and finds himself in a deserted neighborhood where he encounters a young woman who disappears in a windstorm. After squabbling with the rest of the team, Johnny returns, and discovers the woman has powers. Mistaking him for a fellow Inhuman, she introduces herself as Crystal and Johnny then meets Lockjaw and Karnak. But when he is discovered by Medusa and Gorgon, the Inhumans try to imprison him. Johnny escapes and summons the rest of the Fantastic Four. The teams are about to square off when Black Bolt makes his entrance, ending the issue with another cliffhanger.
What’s going on here?
The introduction of the Inhumans is obviously the significant development in FF 45. They’ve been a major part of the Marvel universe ever since, appearing either in their own series or, more frequently, as guest stars in other books almost continuously since. Finding the backstory for the Inhumans has proven difficult, but at one point it seems they were destined for their own series before a change in plans led Stan and Jack to fold them into the FF. Did Stan and Jack have a full team of super characters in mind when they introduced Medusa in FF 36? It seems unlikely. Here’s Stan, in a 1967 radio interview he gave alongside Jack:
“I mean, we didn’t sit down one day and say let’s do a group of Inhumans and these are their names and we’ll present them in this fashion, as with everything we do. We just sort of stumble into them as we go along.”
Earlier in the interview, Stan explains the concept started with Gorgon:
“He started out as a villain. We liked him so much, I should say Jack liked him so much, that he kept using him. We figured he has to come from somewhere. We decided, let him come from some strange land over in Europe, where there are a whole group of people like him. And well, what else could you call them except the Inhumans. Then Jack had to create a whole bunch of Inhumans and I think he did a great job. All these characters are really very imaginative.
When it came to doing the leader, we decided, well, there was no need for them all to be villainous. And you’re right, I think we did have in mind that Black Bolt would eventually be a heroic type.”
It’s of course possible that Stan was talking out of turn, and Jack had it all mapped out, but it was a joint interview, and he didn’t contradict Stan.
FF 240 (1981) Story, pencils and inks by John Byrne
Who’s the new guy?
The other big development in this issue—technically it was issue 44, but I goofed and forgot to mention it last week—is it marks the beginning of Joe Sinnott’s legendary run as inker. Sinnott inked FF 5, then starting with issue 44 goes on to ink the FF for 16 years until issue 231 in 1981, stopping only when John Byrne took over the book and inked himself. Then, after Byrne left in 1987, Sinnott inked the FF for another two years.
Sinnott’s inks help create the classic Kirby look. The lines are bolder, the shadows are deeper, the forms are more defined. His inks give the Thing his essential rockiness and give the Kirby Krackle its explosive energy.
His presence on the book for so many years after Kirby departed gave the FF a smooth, consistent appearance, although it could be argued that his inks smothered the unique qualities of some up-and-coming artists on the book like George Perez and Bill Sienkiewicz, who later flourished with other inkers.
Meet the Inhumans
Medusa and Gorgon we already know. In FF 45 we are introduced to Crystal, who has the power to manipulate the four elements: fire, water, earth and air.
We soon meet Lockjaw, a giant dog with the ability to teleport:
And Karnak, who can find the weakness in any substance:
Triton, a water breather, is kept hidden, with the promise of a bigger reveal later:
And lastly, Black Bolt makes a dramatic appearance at the end:
Plus, one more: While Stan and Jack almost certainly didnt intend it, the portal Johnny and Crystal travel through was retconned by Johnathan Hickman into Eldrac the Doorway, “once a politician.”
FF 577 (2010, story by Hickman, art by Dale Eaglesham)
About Crystal
While all the Inhumans have an impact of the Fantastic Four, Crystal is the one perhaps most closely tied to the team. She becomes Johnny’s love interest, then, when Sue is on maternity leave, she officially joins the FF in issue 81:
She later falls in love with Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, an Avenger and son of Magneto. Johnny is not thrilled.
FF 131 (1973, story by Roy Thomas, art by Ross Andru and Joe Sinnott)
Crystal and Pietro eventually marry in FF 150 (as shown in this post) and Crystal gives birth to baby Luna, so named because she arrived just as the Inhuman city of Attilan was transported to the moon:
FF 240
Eventually, however, Quicksilver goes haywire and Crystal leaves him to join the AvengersAvengers 343 (1992, story by Bob Harras, art by Steve Epting and Tom Palmer)
Crystal eventually reconciles with Quicksilver, but then he really goes off the deep end, and she ends things forever:
Silent War 3 (2007, story by David Hine, art by Frazer Irving)
She finally winds up with Ronan the Accuser before she is forces to separate from him in a very complicated story by Johnathan Hickman:
FF 21 (2012, cover art by Mike Choi)
They’re fighting again
More like a battle of wits, but I’ll count it.
The sexist sixties
Crazy credits
It’s Clobberin’ Time
This is the eight time Ben has said the magic words, by my count.
The incredible Mr. Fantastic
Why turn into a ball when when you can be a cube?
Teenage blues
Just a great sequence by Stan, Jack and Joe of a moody Johnny
Weird science
“Easy with that iconmetric frammistat”
Dig That Kirby Krackle
Just when you though this comic had everything, Jack gives us this:
Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more 