Fantastic Four 25
“The Hulk vs. The Thing”
Published: January 1964
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Script: Lee
Inks: George Roussos
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby & Roussos

Synopsis

In a lab in the Baxter Building, Mr. Fantastic tries to persuade a reluctant Thing to try a formula that will revert Ben back to his human form. Just then, Alicia Masters walks in with news that the Hulk has left the Avengers and been replaced by Captain America.

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, the Hulk returns to the lab of Bruce Banner (called Bob Banner here) and, discovering a newspaper article about Captain America replacing him, vows to destroy the Avengers. Leaping across the US, he arrives in New York as Reed falls ill from the experimental microbes he used to make the formula for the Thing.

As the Hulk rampages through the city, first the Human Torch, then the Thing try to subdue him while Sue tends to the ailing Reed. After a lengthy battle, the Hulk escapes Ben, who vows to stop him or die trying.

What’s going on here?

Fantastic Four 25 is probably most notable for the scale of the fight between Ben and the Hulk. At about 12 pages, it takes up nearly half the comic, and is significantly more dramatic than their first fight, in FF 12. Here, we have a sense there are real stakes involved: With Reed out of commission, only Ben can stop the Hulk from destroying Manhattan as he pursues the Avengers. It’s another example of Ben rising above his wise-cracking, goof-ball persona and showing the heart of a true warrior.

FF 25 is also the first real cliffhanger in the comic’s short history. While a few stories have carried over from one issue to the next, in all previous cases the main story was resolved. But after more than two years of publishing the FF, Stan and Jack must have had enough confidence in their readers to trust them to come back for the second half of a story. In other words, they knew their readers were no longer causal buyers but fans invested in the FF for the long haul.

In another first, FF 25 marks the Avengers’ debut in the Fantastic Four, although it’s only for a brief few panel and they don’t interact with the FF (I assume we’ll see more of then in FF 26). As with the previous guest appearances of the Hulk, Ant-Man, and Nick Fury, the Avengers appear here shortly after the launch of their own comic (Avengers 3 was published the same month as FF 25), and it seems clear Stan was hoping the leverage the FF’s popularity to juice sales of a new comic.

Lastly, FF 25 introduces the gag credits that became a signature Marvel feature. We’re not yet at the nickname state, but those are coming.

Ben and Alicia

Ben makes it pretty explicit here that he doesn’t want to revert back to his human form because he fears Alicia is only attracted to him as the Thing

That makes the big reveal in FF 245—in which John Byrne discloses why Ben can’t return to human form (as discussed here) — a bit less surprising. It is, however, further evidence of how deeply Byrne mined these early FFs for plot points.

Who’s Bob?

Throughout FF 25, the Hulk’s alter ego is referred to as “Bob Banner,” years after he was introduced as Bruce Banner. As Brian Cronin helpfully explains, Stan simply forgot his name and retroactively changed his name to “Robert Bruce Banner” to cover his goof.

A new ‘do

Sue Storm reveals yet a new hairstyle in FF 25, in what appears to be a bee-hive or bouffant.

Sue’s hair in the first few years of the FF is like a catalog of women’s hair styles from the 1960s. Here are some other looks:

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Dig that Kirby Krackle

We get lots of examples of Jack’s Hulk in FF 25. Maybe because we’re used to a different, more stylized Hulk as drawn by artists like Herb Trimpe and Sal Buscema, but there’s something particularly monstrous about this more human-like Hulk of Kirby.

We also get a lot of cool action sequences as Ben and the Hulk tussle.

For sale

FF 25 in mint (9.8) condition will cost you about $66,000, a lot more than FF 24 but not unexpected given Hulk-Thing battles are always popular.

Next issue: Part 2!