Fantastic Four 19
“Prisoners of the Pharoah!” (sic)
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Script: Lee
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Paul Reinman
Synopsis
Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl and the Human Torch search New York for the Thing and Alicia Masters. Once they’re all back at the Baxter Building, Reed informs them of his latest discovery: When looking at Egyptian hieroglyphics, he unearthed evidence of a radioactive cure of blindness which could be used to treat Alicia. The team then travels to Dr. Doom’s castle (in the Adirondacks, not Latveria) to find the time machine Doom used in FF 5.
Sent back by Alicia to ancient Egypt, the FF are attacked by local warriors. The FF have no trouble subduing them until they mysteriously lose the use of their powers. Captured, the team is brought before the pharaoh Rama-Tut who reveals himself to also be a time traveler, but from the far-distant future. Bored with his easy life, he traveled to the past (in a vessel that resembles the Sphinx) and set himself up as ruler. Using his future mind-control technology, he makes the FF his slaves, saving Sue to serve as his queen.
The Thing, working as a galley slave, mysteriously transforms back to human form (more on this later), and slips free of his shackles. He then frees the rest of the team before changing back to the Thing. The FF pursue Rama-Tut, who escapes in his time machine. Before returning to the present, Sue discovers the optic nerve treatment for Alicia. Unfortunately, a flaw in the time machine prevents the transport of radioactive material, so the treatment doesn’t make it to the present, leaving Ben distraught.
What’s going on here?
Along with being an entertaining adventure that also contains some nice character building, Fantastic Four 19 has had an out-sized impact on the Marvel universe, primarily because of the introduction of Rama-Tut. Initially conceived as a stand-alone bad, writer Steve Englehart revealed he was actually an earlier incarnation of Kang the Conquerer, a time-traveling Avengers villain.
Eventually he was later revealed to also be the Scarlet Centurion and Immortus, and he features in numerous time-twisting stories. It is far beyond the scope of this blog, or the reasoning power of this blogger, to unravel Kang’s complete timeline, but suffice to say he’s a major part of the Marvel firmament.
More specifically, FF 19 also features in a handful of stories when other heroes venture back to the same place and time in ancient Egypt.
First, Dr. Strange is sent back in time by Nightmare (for reasons way too complicated to get into here). Captured by the automated defenses in Rama-Tut’s time machine, he uses his astral form to explore and discovers the captured FF.
In this telling by Roger Stern and Roy Thomas, it was Dr. Strange that changed Ben back to his human form, setting off the events that allowed the FF to return to the future.
Here’s Stan and Jack’s telling of the events
And here is Stern and Thomas’s
Artist Marshall Rogers also has fun mirroring Kirby’s great sequence of Ben escaping the galley:
Not to be out-done, Englehart has the West Coast Avengers also travel back to the same moment (and also for reasons way too complicated to get into here). In that story, the team encounters both Strange and the FF.
In Englehart’s story, the WCA are desperate to hitch a ride back to the present, but just miss the FF.
Here’s Stan and Jack:
Both the Dr. Strange and the WCA comics are the sort of intricate, multi-layered story telling that rewards fans with obsessive knowledge of their Marvel characters and history, but also represents the fan-as-creator tendencies that left new readers (and some editors) cold. These are the kinds of story helped inspire projects like the New Universe and the Ultimate Universe, where there was no deep past for writers to play in and no fear of convoluted stories losing readers
Pals
FF 19 also featured some nice moments between the team, particularly this panel, where Reed and Ben’s friendship is obvious. We’ve had some many examples of Reed scolding Ben that it seemed Stan forgot they are former college roommates and best friends.
The Amazing Mr. Fantastic
We get some great stretching action in this issue. First:
and then here:
Spalling iz hard!
“Pharaoh” is consistently misspelled “Pharoah” throughout the issue.
They’re fighting again
It’s pretty mild, compared to other issues
The sexist sixties
Once again, Sue is singled out by the FF’s captor for special, creepy treatment.
Fun time
I loved this sequence
Kirby Krackle
There are a lot of great images in this issue, but this might be the single best panel in the first 19 issues of the FF.
These are also great
For sale
A mint (9.8) version of FF 19 is just $11,000. A bargain!
Next issue: The Molecule Man!
Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more 