“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 237

01 Sunday Nov 2026

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

Tags

1981, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 237, John Byrne, Marvel, Marvel comics

Fantastic Four 237
“The Eyes Have It!
Published September 1981
Writer: John Byrne
Pencils: Byrne
Inks: Byrne
Letters: Jim Novak
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Cover: Byrne

Editor’s Note: In my last post, recapping Fantastic Four 236, I though I had pretty much covered the waterfront in discussing that comic. But I completely forgot how much John Byrne borrowed from FF 16 — in which the FF travel to the Microverse to battle Doom — in creating 236. I think it’s fair to call it more of an homage than swipe, but it’s pretty overt. You can read more about it in my recap of that issue, now on my substack.

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four return from their last adventure with the comatose body of Dr. Doom and imprison him in the Baxter Building. The team disperse to relax, but Reed and Sue respond to an alarm and confront a giant alien, dubbed Spinnerette, with the powers to induce vertigo. She is in the sway of hobos (yes, hobos) who use her powers and confusion to rob jewelry stores. Reed deduces she is “drunk” on Earth’s oxygen–rich atmosphere and once she is sobered up, connects her with other members of her race.

What’s going on here?

Once upon a time, I would have dismissed this issue as an silly one-off with a disposable villain. But now I think it’s better understood as a “quiet issue,” of the sort that Byrne and particularly Chris Claremont would deploy in the X-Men after a particularly eventful issue or story arc. In this case, it’s an opportunity for the FF to catch their breath after the events of FF 236 and for Byrne to advance some subplots, most notably with Frankie Ray and Franklin’s powers.

It’s also a bit of an homage to the silver age stories of Stan lee and Jack Kirby, particularly FF 24, when the alien Infant Terrible appears. (Byrne would actually bring back the actual Infant Terrible later in this run, as we shall see). For an issue where nothing too momentous should happen, a villain that is actually just an harmless, misunderstood alien provides just the right about of drama. Perhaps not surprisingly, this was Spinnerette’s first and last appearance.

FF 237 also introduces us to the scantily dressed Julie D’Angelo, who features in the FF’s supporting cast for a while.

What I liked

Byrne did a great job illustrating Spinnerette’s vertigo effect:

I liked that the aliens were all clones (it wasn’t necessary for the story, but a fun idea):

In a story that feels like a tribute to Stan and Jack, I guess its fitting to have some Kirbyesque gizmos:

Lastly, it’s pretty clear that Byrne has ideas about where he wants to take Ben and Alicia’s relationship:

What I didn’t like

This was a pretty cheesy line, even for Johnny:

I get they’re going horseback riding but does Sue really own jodhpurs?

I grew up in New York in the 1980s, and I don’t recall many hobos.

Anything else?

It’s that time of year again, when the networks advertise their Sarturday morning cartoon schedules. I have no recollection of the Shazam show or of Blackstar, which looks kind of cool.