Fantastic Four 147
“The Sub-Mariner Strikes!”
Published March 1974
Writer: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Rick Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Colors: Linda Lessmann
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

After their adventures in the Himalayas, the Thing, Human Torch and Medusa return to find a distraught Mr. Fantastic with divorce papers filed by the Invisible Girl. When Ben and Johnny fly to Pennsylvania to confront Sue, they are attacked by the Sub-Mariner, who they later learn has abducted Sue and Franklin. The team then mounts an attack on Namor’s underwater citadel, only to learn Sue joined him of her own volition.

What’s going on here?

This issue marks the return of artist Rick Buckler, which is a good thing, mostly (more on this later). It’s also the first issue colored by Linda Lessmann, a new Marvel colorist.

The story fits neatly in the established narrative of Reed and Sue’s unraveling marriage, which really began in FF 130, when Sue left Reed with Franklin, but accelerated in FF 141, when Reed zapped Franklin into a vegetable-like state to prevent his powers from destroying the world. To Gerry Conway’s credit, he has kept the sub-plot bubbling in the background, so readers were well prepared for the bombshell revelation of Sue filing for divorce. Unfortunately, the story deteriorates from there.

What I liked

Buckler has a bold style and likes big panels and splash pages. Here, he gives us two, including a very Kirby-esque design of Namor’s underwater lair.

We also get a a lot of cool, sci-fi type stuff that has made the FF just a fun read over the years. Mento-scan device, anyone?

And Reed’s lengthy explanation of how they are going to fight underwater makes sense, I guess?

I also liked Ben correcting Johnny’s grammar.

What I didn’t like

The introduction of the Sub-Mariner into the plot feels like lazy writing and a deliberate attempt to reclaim some of the old Lee / Kirby magic. Since Sue and her background is so thinly developed, writers like Conway seemingly have no choice but to resort to Namor whenever Sue is questioning her marriage. There’s an implied sexism here, that Sue couldn’t have any reason to want to leave Reed except for another man. Sue is basically invisible in this issue, which is ostensibly about her, and features a bunch of men fighting over her (Medusa, too, is basically ignored). The first time Sue speaks is in the final panels:

The fight between Ben, Johnny and Namor feels pro forma, and geographically implausible, since Pennsylvania does not have an abundance of large lakes. Maybe they fought over Lake Wallenpaupack?

We’ll see how the story resolves but this Reed-Sue Namor love triangle feels contrived and overly familiar.

Also, there’s an unevenness to Buckler’s art in this issue, particularly in this sequence:

Anything else?

Star Wars fans might recognize this exchange, since a version of it appears 31 years later in the Revenge of the Sith (minus the “unthinking buffoon” line, which would have been fun):

Whose idea was it to recruit comic book readers to sell gardening seeds? Do kids know anything about how to grow petunias and pansies?

Overall

Pretty forgettable