Fantastic Four 80
“Where Treads the Living Totem!”
Published: August 1968
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Human Torch and the Thing are lazing around the Baxter Building avoiding housework when they receive a letter from Wyatt Wingfoot, Johnny’s former roommate, asking for help defeating a “living totem.” While the Invisible Girl is still expecting her baby, Mr. Fantastic says she is still a week away from delivering and the doctors urged him to leave the hospital.

As the three teammates fly west, Wyatt encounters Tomazooma, which appears to be legendary figure in the form of a gigantic Native American totem set on destroying him. While he flees the totem and is eventually overcome, Johnny briefly skirmishes with members of Wingfoot’s tribe before the three members of the FF meet with Silent Fox, the chief and Wyatt’s grandfather. He explain the tribe is wealthy because of its oil reserves, but they are fending off the Red Star oil company “from behind the iron curtain.”

Soon it becomes clear that Tomazooma is actually a giant robot designed to scare the tribe from its lands for their oil. After a battle, the FF helps Wyatt and his tribe defeat the robot, while what appears to the real Tomazooma is glimpsed in the distance.

What’s going on here?

This is a zany issue, full of over-the-top action, big Kirby splash pages, some highly cringe-worthy depictions of Native Americans, and a plot ripped straight from the pages of Scooby-Doo. Unlike recent issues, FF 80 has little impact on the bigger Fantastic Four narrative, aside from reintroducing Wyatt Wingfoot. Rather it’s a one-and-done adventure with a gimmicky villain and lots of glorious splash pages. It certainly feels dated now, but I imagine this would have been a lot of fun for kids to read in 1968.

Indigenous issues

First things first, FF 80’s depictions of Native Americans and their culture is highly problematic, bordering on the racist. Basically, every pop-culture stereotype about Natives is trotted out, short of peace pipes and smoke signals. The story may be set in 1968, but its Native Americans are apparently still stuck in 1868.

Stan and Jack attempt to blunt their depictions of Wyatt’s tribe by giving them wealth and technology, not unlike how they elevated their Wakanda from a African backwater to a technologically superior nation. But in the case of Wakanda, they took the time to build a country and its culture. Here, we get a few Native Americans with ray guns, and a lot of clumsy writing.

As if that wasn’t enough, we also get references to “red skins” and “pale faces.”

About that plot

As it turns out, the giant Tomazooma isn’t actually the living incarnation of Native American myth, but a giant robot the Red Star Oil company deployed to seize oil fields. All that’s missing is Tomozoom pulling off its mask and saying “I would have gotten away with it if weren’t for you kids!”

Still, there’s a lot that goes unexplained. What is the significance of the villainous company being from behind the iron curtain (surely there are evil American oil companies), and how could they drill on US soil anyway? And who built a robot so powerful it thwarted three member of the Fantastic Four? None of this is addressed.

The sexist sixties

Not only is Crystal in charge of cleaning the Baxter Building, but she wears a French maid’s apron to do it in. Plus she gets left behind to look after Sue when the boys go on their adventure.

Shenanigans

Not entirely sure why this scene merited a splash page, or what song Ben is singing, but it sure is something.

It’s clobbering’ time!

Is it ever!

Weird science

Why can’t Tomazooma shoot laser beams like all the other killer robots?

Never leave home without it

Apparently Wyatt travels with a portable bazooka at the ready

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

This is a new trick for Reed

Letters page

This is a great letter, from a fan who says the FF was better in the Good Old Days of four years earlier, in part because there were more panels per comic (he also anticipates the infamous Hulk story by John Byrne, which ran in Marvel Fanfare 29, where every page was a panel, or every panel was a page).

Bullpen bulletins

All sorts of juicy details in this months bulletin: John Romta has a new car, Roy Thomas has a Nehru jacket, Stan has grown a beard …

This is new


The cover has a message for retailers about a new marketing program. It’s as boring as it sounds, but it’s odd they felt they needed to mar the cover to get the message across.

For sale

All sorts of stuff on offer, from horse posters to plastic pillows. And I’m kind of digging these Cheerios ads.

Dig that Kirby Krackle


The show stopper is this splash of Tomazooma, although it’s not clear if he is the Totem that Walks, or the Death that Walks. I guess it can be both

An excellent sequence

Also on newsstands

August 1968 was just a stellar month for covers. I chose three great Marvel covers, from John Romita, Jim Steranko, and John Buscema, but there were another dozen just as good.

Next issue: Annual 6 and Annihilus!