“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 197

16 Sunday Nov 2025

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1978, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 197, Joe Sinnnott, marv wolfman, Red Ghost

Fantastic Four 197
“The Riotous Return of the Red Ghost!”
Published May 1978
Writer: Marc Wolfman
Layouts: Keith Pollard
Finishes: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Barry Grossman
Editor: Wolfman
Cover: George Perez and Joe Sinnott

Synopsis

Under the threat of harm coming to his teammates by a mysterious figure (later revealed in this issue to be the son of Dr. Doom), Mr. Fantastic is forced to board a rocket designed to expose him to cosmic rays, thus restoring his powers. But while his powers return, the cosmic rays also (somehow) reconstitute the Red Ghost, who has been dematerialized and floating in space. The two battle and the Ghost sabotages the space ship, which crashes into the ocean with Reed managing to escape. Meanwhile in Latveria, Doom holds the other FF members captive, while summoning Alicia Masters to sculpt his image.

What’s going on here?

This issue continues the Doom / Zorba story arc that will conclude in issue 200. But the big event here is Reed’s battle in space with the Red Ghost, which doesn’t really have anything to do with the main story or Doom’s machinations. The Red Ghost shows up in one of those only-in-comics coincidences, and his appearance feels like an unnecessary distraction from the main story arc. On the other hand, the other three FF members had their own solo stories that followed the team’s break up (well, sort of: Sue shared her’s with Namor) so maybe it’s only fair that Reed gets his own. The other big development is Reed gets his powers back; more on that later.

The introduction of Doom’s son is a bit of a head fake, as we shall see. He’s not to be confused with Kristoff, who will debut in a few years.

Joe Sinnott returns to inking, and the comic reverts to its familiar style in his hands. The Pollard / Sinnott team is solid, but I miss Pablo Marcos’s inks, which gave the book a refreshingly different look. George Perez and Sinnott deliver an excellent cover.

Jim Shooter is now credited as “editor-in-chief.” He’s the first Marvel EIC to be so credited, as far as I can recall, and it’s somewhat revealing about how he viewed himself.

What I liked

Despite his implausible return, the Red Ghost is an entertaining bad guy and in his fight with Reed, shows he’s no joke (despite what the new Fantastic Four movie would have you believe).

I also liked this sequence of Reed’s power returning:

And I liked the sequence with Alicia and Doom, which serves to add more depth to his character:

What I didn’t like

There’s a lot in this comic that doesn’t make much sense. Reed is being forced to take a space flight but just takes it on this guy’s word that Sue and the others are his captives.

Further, Reed apparently designed and built the space ship, yet has no ability to control it:

Then there”s the matter of his lost powers. Reed’s powers faded over the course of many issues before disappearing altogether, which led him to disband the Fantastic Four. It was never explained why his powers ebbed (or why the other’s did not) but the assumption was we would eventually learn the cause. In this issue, however, they are returned to him by renewed exposure to cosmic rays. No further explanation is offered. Did they simply wear out? It’s a frustrating failure of story telling, probably due to the book having three writers over the length of the story arc.

Now that his powers have returned, Reed is apparently more powerful. Here, he squeezes through a tiny crack:

A get the impression that Wolfman was eager to return the team to the status quo ante as soon as practical, and didn’t feel the need to get bogged down with the particulars.

Overall

A mixed bag

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 45

02 Sunday Jan 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1965, Crystal, Fantastic Four, Inhumans, jack Kirby, Joe Sinnnott, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 45
“Among Us Hide the Inhumans”
Published: Sept. 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Lettering: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Programming note: Before we dive into a big issue, this post marks a full year of blogging about the Fantastic Four. We’ve covered 45 regular issues and three annuals. Not quite the 52 posts I was aiming for but not bad. If all goes according to plan, the next few months will cover some of the biggest stories in comic book history, then the rest of the year will wrap up most of the remaining Lee/Kirby FFs. That’s the idea, anyway. But I’m open to ideas: What do you want me to write about? Should I continue issue-by-issue? Should I cover the FF’s appearances in other comics? Is there something you want more of? Or less of? Drop a line in the comments if you have thoughts. They would be very welcome.

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 45 picks off where FF 44 left off, on the crumbling roof of a Manhattan building. Dragon Man has flown off with the Invisible Girl and Gorgon has abducted Medusa. After Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch and the Thing are safely on the ground, Johnny flies after Dragon Man, who is eventually calmed by Sue and returns her peacefully to the Baxter Building.

A morose Johnny later takes a walk and finds himself in a deserted neighborhood where he encounters a young woman who disappears in a windstorm. After squabbling with the rest of the team, Johnny returns, and discovers the woman has powers. Mistaking him for a fellow Inhuman, she introduces herself as Crystal and Johnny then meets Lockjaw and Karnak. But when he is discovered by Medusa and Gorgon, the Inhumans try to imprison him. Johnny escapes and summons the rest of the Fantastic Four. The teams are about to square off when Black Bolt makes his entrance, ending the issue with another cliffhanger.

What’s going on here?

The introduction of the Inhumans is obviously the significant development in FF 45. They’ve been a major part of the Marvel universe ever since, appearing either in their own series or, more frequently, as guest stars in other books almost continuously since. Finding the backstory for the Inhumans has proven difficult, but at one point it seems they were destined for their own series before a change in plans led Stan and Jack to fold them into the FF. Did Stan and Jack have a full team of super characters in mind when they introduced Medusa in FF 36? It seems unlikely. Here’s Stan, in a 1967 radio interview he gave alongside Jack:

“I mean, we didn’t sit down one day and say let’s do a group of Inhumans and these are their names and we’ll present them in this fashion, as with everything we do. We just sort of stumble into them as we go along.”

Earlier in the interview, Stan explains the concept started with Gorgon:

“He started out as a villain. We liked him so much, I should say Jack liked him so much, that he kept using him. We figured he has to come from somewhere. We decided, let him come from some strange land over in Europe, where there are a whole group of people like him. And well, what else could you call them except the Inhumans. Then Jack had to create a whole bunch of Inhumans and I think he did a great job. All these characters are really very imaginative.

When it came to doing the leader, we decided, well, there was no need for them all to be villainous. And you’re right, I think we did have in mind that Black Bolt would eventually be a heroic type.”

It’s of course possible that Stan was talking out of turn, and Jack had it all mapped out, but it was a joint interview, and he didn’t contradict Stan.

*FF 240 (1981) Story, pencils and inks by John Byrne*

**Who’s the new guy?**

The other big development in this issue—technically it was issue 44, but I goofed and forgot to mention it last week—is it marks the beginning of Joe Sinnott’s legendary run as inker. Sinnott inked FF 5, then starting with issue 44 goes on to ink the FF for 16 years until issue 231 in 1981, stopping only when John Byrne took over the book and inked himself. Then, after Byrne left in 1987, Sinnott inked the FF for another two years.

Sinnott’s inks help create the classic Kirby look. The lines are bolder, the shadows are deeper, the forms are more defined. His inks give the Thing his essential rockiness and give the Kirby Krackle its explosive energy.

His presence on the book for so many years after Kirby departed gave the FF a smooth, consistent appearance, although it could be argued that his inks smothered the unique qualities of some up-and-coming artists on the book like George Perez and Bill Sienkiewicz, who later flourished with other inkers.

Meet the Inhumans

Medusa and Gorgon we already know. In FF 45 we are introduced to Crystal, who has the power to manipulate the four elements: fire, water, earth and air.

We soon meet Lockjaw, a giant dog with the ability to teleport:

And Karnak, who can find the weakness in any substance:

Triton, a water breather, is kept hidden, with the promise of a bigger reveal later:

And lastly, Black Bolt makes a dramatic appearance at the end:

Plus, one more: While Stan and Jack almost certainly didnt intend it, the portal Johnny and Crystal travel through was retconned by Johnathan Hickman into Eldrac the Doorway, “once a politician.”

FF 577 (2010, story by Hickman, art by Dale Eaglesham)

About Crystal

While all the Inhumans have an impact of the Fantastic Four, Crystal is the one perhaps most closely tied to the team. She becomes Johnny’s love interest, then, when Sue is on maternity leave, she officially joins the FF in issue 81:

She later falls in love with Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, an Avenger and son of Magneto. Johnny is not thrilled.

*FF 131 (1973, story by Roy Thomas, art by Ross Andru and Joe Sinnott)*

Crystal and Pietro eventually marry in FF 150 (as shown in this post) and Crystal gives birth to baby Luna, so named because she arrived just as the Inhuman city of Attilan was transported to the moon: