Fantastic Four 126 | Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more

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1972, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 126, John Buscema, Mole Man, Roy Thomas, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 126
“The Way It Began!”
Published June 1972
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Buscema and Sinnott

Synopsis

After squabbling with the Human Torch, the Thing uses a thought projector invented by Mr. Fantastic to revisit the origins of the Fantastic Four, and ends up resolved to force the Mole Man —the first villain they fought—to give sight to his blind girlfriend, Alicia Masters.

What’s going on here?

This is an interesting issue, for a few reasons. It’s the first issue after Stan Lee’s official departure from the FF—an occasion marked both in the Bullpen Bulletins and in a separate note on the letter’s page—and Roy Thomas’s first after officially taking the helm (although he wrote FF 119). Stan and Roy use the change as an opportunity to retell the origin of the Fantastic Four, in the longest re-cap of their origin to date. For modern readers, it might seem like a waste of an issue but we’re used to the immediate availability of back issues, either through reprints or online. New Fantastic Four readers in the early 1970s had fewer options to read FF 1 (although it had been reprinted in a few annuals by this point) and after a decade of comics, it made sense to reset the origin.

It also allows John Buscema a chance to put his spin on Jack Kirby’s classic story. He’s pretty faithful to the original, although there are a few tweaks, like modernizing Sue’s haircut.

Here is Jack’s:

And here’s Big John’s version of the same scene:

Probably the biggest difference is in how Buscema draws Ben, updating his original, lumpy look to the more familiar rocky version. Again, here’s FF 1:

And FF 126:

Roy also tweaks the dialogue a bit to make Ben’s style of speech more consistent with what we’re used to, but by and large it’s pretty similar.

Along with the recap of the origin (and both the original and a subsequent battle with the Mole Man, setting the stage for Ben’s quest), the issue also strikes a lot of familiar notes that seem designed reestablish the FF’s status quo. There’s a Ben and Johnny fight, which was once almost a mandatory feature. There’s an appearance from Alicia, and a reminder she’s blind. There’s Reed and Sue wondering about their future with the team now that they have a child. In all, it reads like jumping off place for new readers, and a new writer.

A few other items of note:

* The credits now say “Stan Lee presents” and Roy is credited as both writer and editor.
* The cover now says “The World’s Greatest Comix Magazine!” I don’t know the basis for the change, and it lasted only until issue 131, but it’s a bit odd.
* I realize I never addressed the change in the logo, which happened in issue 119. Just another sign of the changin’ times. Marvel will use this logo until issue 160 and doesn’t return to the classic ’60s logo until issue 218 (although it’s used for annuals).

Here is the note introducing Roy as writer on the letter page:

What I liked

I generally liked Buscema’s recap of the origin, and particularly his take on Jack’s classic cover for FF 1. That cover has been the subject of many homages over the years (some of which I get into in my recap of that issue here) and I assume this is the first. There is still no explanation of who tied up Reed. There is also a great splash page (seen above).

What I didn’t like

While it’s an interesting issue, I’m not sure it’s a particularly good issue. Roy tries to weave the lengthy flashback into the story, but it’s not really coherent, and the thought projector as a plot device feels unnecessary and clumsy. Leaping ahead from the FF’s first battle with the Moleman to one that took places in issues 88 and 89 also feels awkward and manufactured to set up the next issue.

Also, it’s not really clear Roy has a grasp on Ben’s character, as evidenced by this sequence: