"The End" Week: Heroes for Hire #19!

I'm pretty sure sometimes you guys can tell, when I blog some random issue mid-year, that the last issue will turn up later. Like today! From 1999, Heroes for Hire #19, "Sold Out!" Written by John Ostrander, pencils by Pasqual Ferry, inks by Jaime Mendoza and Pasqual Ferry.

Like the earlier issue we mentioned, this starts conversationally, with Ostrander seemingly telling the reader since this was the last issue, maybe not everyone makes it out...? Nah! This was the conclusion of an adventure in Madripoor, which of course includes a Wolverine guest-spot; as the team faces the pirate Lionsmane, who was really a mutant Chinese general. He was planning on overthrowing the current Chinese government in the future, but currently didn't care if Madripoor was blamed for his acts. He also had gotten Shen Kuei, the Cat, to change sides: that might have been planned from the start, or maybe because this issue had Shang-Chi Ostrander didn't need the Cat anymore? Who can say?

Wolverine sees the Heroes as "flamin' amateurs," as he brings Madripoor's working-class thugs to defend it; but he does need Iron Fist's help with Lionsmane, since he had some degree of invulnerability and Wolvie's bone claws couldn't penetrate. But, while victorious, the Heroes get bad news back home, as Namor had told Jim (Human Torch) Hammond that he had sold Oracle, Inc. Namor had wanted to do more environmental-protection work with the company, but the Heroes for Hire weren't necessarily conducive to that; and he no longer wanted to funnel Atlantean wealth to a surface company, so he sold out to Stark-Fujikawa. ("Stark-Fujikawa" was maybe a throwaway line in Spider-Man 2099, but they tried to make it happen for a while! And I'd almost suspect Tony bought the company, to get his long-standing assistant Mrs. Arbogast back!) A corporate man tells the team changes were needed, like firing ex-cons Luke Cage and Scott Lang, as to not project the wrong image. Everyone quits immediately, which might have been the intention; although She-Hulk threatens legal action if their severance packages were messed with. The team goes their separate ways; no hard feelings.

Hammond also has a cat on his shoulder when he quits, and I had to check: this was long before he adopted Speedball's cat Niels; dude just likes cats! He also maybe didn't have his powers this series, but still tended to look like he was going to burst into flames at any moment. Read more!

This is one I've wanted to flip through for a while, although it maybe only needed one blurb on the cover? Two feels like too much. From 2014, All-New Invaders #9, "Death-Locked!" Written by James Robinson, art by Steve Pugh. Cover by Michael Komarck.

Most of the Invaders are trying to rescue Jim Hammond's old sidekick Toro from German terrorist Kurt Dagmar, with Captain America racing to join them. Bucky has already started to realize this is a trap, as he fights his way past a rather generic cyborg, while Namor and the Torch fight an army of Deathloks! Another, somewhat Cap-themed Deathlok (with shield!) shoots down Cap, holding him up a bit. Dagmar is all smiles, as his lackey continues a scan, or a hack, on the Torch; while also chatting it up with original Deathlok Luther Manning. Luther was under Dagmar's control, given just enough freedom to be frustrated and mouthy. Dagmar confides how he started his collection by buying a Deathlok from Roxxon, and he had gotten others from seemingly dozens of alternate timelines.

While the Winter Soldier meets a weird cybernetic woman in the base's central storage hub, Dagmar has the Torch disabled, then has Luther use a modified Kree weapon on Namor. He's confident it will kill Namor outright, but Cap arrives just in time to block it and save Namor, who he's not thrilled with: Cap seems so mad at him that he momentarily forgets about Dagmar, but he reflected the blast back at him, killing him...and revealing "Dagmar" to be a Martian! Huh, it's kind of a big thing; and I don't remember them being able to change shape like DC's Martians. Also, unless Cap saw Martians earlier in this run, it had been a long, long time since he'd seen any: wait, I was thinking Marvel Two-in-One #5, but that would've been Cap vs. the Badoon. When did he see Martians? Or did he just know them from the files? Cap was one to do the research. Read more!

"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun!" Is that a Bradbury reference? All I can think of is "For Science."

The title reminds me of Ray Bradbury's "The Golden Apples of the Sun" but also reminds me of the last line of They Might Be Giants "For Science":  

Oh, it's a Pink Floyd song! Yeah, they do nothing for me, sorry. From 1986, Fantastic Four #297, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun!" Written by Roger Stern, art by John and Sal Buscema.

We don't see the FF for a bit in this one, as we start on an alien Warworld (not that one!) as cruel Lord Umbra has his armor loaded with a new weapon, the "star-tap siphon!" Umbra incinerates his toady-scientist after install, and prepares for a final battle against his rival, and brother, Jaagur. Back on earth, She-Hulk and Wyatt Wingfoot land Reed's newest hypersonic plane at a South Pacific military base, reuniting Franklin Richards with his family. After their fight with the Mole Man, Reed had been asked by the government to investigate disturbances in the sun. While she understands that's probably serious, Jen is more curious about the return of the Thing, who is crabby as hell, approaching surly. Ben had been mutating at the end of his solo book, and while he looked more or less normal (for him) mentally he was not okay, bitter and self-conscious, not unlike when he first became the Thing. Reed would give this more attention, if he thought Ben would allow the usual barrage of testing, and if the sun wasn't going to implode unless they did something...

Most of the time, the FF go on this sort of thing with about as much drama as loading the family up for a Target run; but Johnny tells Alicia, this might be a dangerous one: they were kind of rushing, with slapped-together equipment. Johnny asks Alicia to marry him if he makes it back, and she says yes; but the Thing is within earshot, and even with his mask you can tell that just wrecked him. (Of course, this would be retconned, and "Alicia" was really the Skrull Lyja, but there's absolutely no indication of that here.) The Four, plus She-Hulk, launch a few hours later, to finish constructing the "counter-phase cannon" in space, to disrupt whatever was siphoning the sun. (It's hardly Sue's first rodeo, but she considers the notion that the four of them might die on a rocket trip someday. And Jen too, I guess.)

Meanwhile, on Warworld, war intensifies, as Umbra and Jaagur's forces slaughter each other, in that cool sci-fi way John Buscema used to draw every so often in Avengers or Silver Surfer: I don't know that he ever did a full book like that...

While Umbra and Jaagur face off, in space construction has nearly completed, so Ben decides he's done. Not done working, but rather done with life, as he starts to drift away. Johnny refuses to let him go, which Ben considers just his guilt showing: the Torch manages to get Ben back, but then runs out of air himself, and Sue has to save him. Reed doesn't have time for that, though, since he has to fire the beam, which wrecks the Umbra/Jaagur final battle, as well as Warworld. The FF escapes, and the sun is saved...while Umbra and Jaagur appear to have merged into a single being, in space near the sun! To be continued... 

Ben today acts closer to his very first appearances, like almost 300 issues didn't happen for him; but I think it's the first time we see him actively attempt suicide. Like, there had been times where he thought about dying, or giving up and letting himself die, but this was different. I don't think he would be like this for long, thankfully.

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If I was organized, I'd have a big box of mini-series missing one issue.

Somehow, I think I got three issues of this at the last show; and while it feels like the third issue should've been there, it's also not outside the realm of possibility that I have that missing issue, maybe even from the same collection! From 1990, the Saga of the Original Human Torch #4, "The Flaming Fifties!" Written by Roy Thomas, pencils by Rich Buckler, inks by Romeo Tanghal.

Darn, I know the Torch sets Hitler on fire in the third issue, too. This was a mini-series retelling the history of the classic, android Human Torch, and his sidekick Toro. Here, we see the Torch revived from being buried by mobsters and rendered inert, by an atomic test. As an android, it feels like it was easy to take the Torch out of action as needed in his publication history; maybe a bit harder to do the same with Toro; who had been sold to the Russians and brainwashed, long before Bucky got the Winter Soldier treatment! The Torch manages to rescue his friend, who later snaps out of his conditioning when his "pappy" is in trouble. (It kind of sucks that I think both the Torch and Toro are alive in continuity right now, but don't really get the chance to hang out or anything, anymore than Cap and Bucky really do.) The blazing pair have some more adventures, until radiation from the atomic blast finally overheats the Torch, and he flames up over the desert and crashes. Toro covers the hole the Torch melted into, and would later be "killed" by the Mad Thinker, who would then revive the Torch to use against Johnny Storm and the Fantastic Four, in Fantastic Four Annual #4, which really isn't gone into. Furthermore, then a bunch of events don't happen and likewise aren't brought up, as the Torch wasn't rebuilt as the Vision, as was thought for some years. He would return in Avengers West Coast #50, and has been kind of hanging around ever since; although I know he's been depowered or deactivated more than a couple times.

Man, I kind of wish the Torch hadn't been used as set dressing/an Easter Egg in the first Captain America movie: it's neat, but if we're not going to see more, why bother? Maybe if the FF ever get off the ground, they'll come back to it. Read more!

Here's a lucky find from a dollar bin; with the first full appearance of an old friend! An unfriendly old friend, but still. From 1974, Marvel Team-Up #23, "The Night of the Frozen Inferno" Written by Len Wein, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Mike Esposito.

It always seems weird to me, Marvel Team-Up without Spidey; but he's only here for a minute, as he borrows a very action-figurey looking flyer, and zips up for Giant-Size Spider-Man #1. But, earlier that evening, Spidey had a run-in with a hidden weirdie trying to rob a jewelry store, and suggests to the Human Torch that maybe he could field that one. Enh, beats doing any sort of introspection, so Johnny's on-board. More astutely than usual, he notices a patch of ice by the store--but it was sixty degrees out! And somebody throws an "ice-bolt" at him--whatever that is. Looks like a two-by-four made outta ice, which conceivably could do some damage. Johnny only knows one guy that maybe could "throw snowballs in a steambath," and conveniently finds him five seconds later--literally, five seconds!--Iceman!

Johnny attacks Bobby, and recaps Spidey's story: he had tried to stop a shadowy burglar, but his webbing just slid off him, and Spidey skidded out on an ice patch himself. Bobby has no goddamn idea what he's talking about, and Johnny tries to arrest him...something I don't think we see him try to do often, even then. (It reminds me of a recent banger of a Ralph Wiggum line: "I'm gonna get Daddy's gun and under-arrest you!") He mostly just doesn't like Iceman. Bobby is just as willing to throw down; maybe especially after Johnny makes a crack about how many "eskimoes" would he need to help him. (The term is largely considered a slur now; although I'm positive anything Johnny knows about them is from Chilly Willy cartoons.) I feel like the guys were about on the same level, since I'm pretty sure they both had some training, yet paradoxically weren't very good hand-to-hand? It would rarely if ever be the first thing they'd try. So the slapping match is interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the (original) X-Men (minus Beast!) who bust up the fight, with Cyclops blasting them but Marvel Girl catching their fall.

While the X-Men confirm Iceman was with them the same time Spidey fought the burglar, Iceman still wants to find whoever's dragging his name through the mud, and tells his team he'll catch up to them later for the big secret mission Professor X needed him for. (Which was...nothing? Checking books on the rack that month, and I think X-Men was all reprints at the time!) Now teamed-up, Johnny and Bobby search...for about five more seconds, as the crook makes another run at that jewelry store! The mysterious figure has burned a hole through a wall this time, and appears to have ice and fire blasts. He makes a break with his stolen goods, but the boys blast him, damaging his metalic containment suit, and revealing...

Equinox, the Thermo-Dynamic Man! I gushed about him a gazillion years ago, since him fighting Yellowjacket is one of my earliest comic-book memories. Johnny and Bobby snipe at each other while fighting with Equinox, who both doesn't seem to want to fight them but also isn't hesitating in trying to kill them. But the fight doesn't go the distance, since the cops show up, possibly because the same jewelry store keeps getting robbed. Equinox tries to escape, while acting like Bobby and Johnny were both twelve-year-olds, which, well...They both hit him with a shot at the same time, which does something to Equinox's "internal reactions," and he blows up. Only the package he tried to steal remains--an atomic clock. A jeweled atomic clock. I...I don't think that does what anybody here thought it would do. Johnny notices, the crater leads to the sewer, which had enough current for someone to escape...

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I got the new Marvel Legends Tarantula figure a bit ago, and while he's pretty far down the list of Spidey villains, it's not his first figure: per OAFE.net, he's gotten figures in 2009 and 1997. I mention that, because this classic foe has never gotten anything! Granted, that was about three seconds of looking, but he didn't appear to have ever gotten a Heroclix, a Minimate, anything; but he is in this fun tribute to Mike Wieringo: From 2008, Spider-Man Family #7, "Looter's Quest" Plot by Karl Kesel, Todd DeZago, and Mark Waid; pencils and inks by Karl Kesel and others, script by Todd DeZago and Mark Waid.

The Looter, Norton G. Fester, first appeared in 1966's Amazing Spider-Man #36, and feels more Steve Ditko than Stan Lee: a crackpot stumbles into a weird meteor and gets powers, hijinks ensue. I don't know if he always talked to his meteor, or if that was a recent addition; he was never one of the most prevalent of Spidey's bad guys. (Aside: I might need to read Web of Spider-Man #39, where he apparently steals Aunt May's engagement ring?) Today, the Looter's trying to be a good...friend to his meteor, and recover its (her?) "long-lost missing twin!" Spidey stops him at a museum, pointing out the only place to get the tracking equipment that could maybe find something like that would be the Baxter Building. The Looter then accidentally drops a hostage, whom Spidey saves, but the Looter is long gone, and Spidey has a pretty good idea where...

Spidey tries to warn the FF, but when the Torch goes to let him in on the roof, the Looter hits them with a "flash gun" which is a nice Ditko touch: Blue Beetle had one of those! Reed is mildly surprised the Looter had the wherewithal to use his complicated equipment: Looter claims to be a scientist, which Spidey doubts, and that the meteor increased his intelligence as well, which Spidey also doubts. Johnny, glancing things over, notes the twin meteor probably landed in the Savage Land; and the Looter sneaks off and swipes Ben's sky-cycle for the trip!

Perhaps wisely, Reed and Sue opt out of the trip to the Savage Land, leaving Spidey, Ben and Johnny; who discover the Looter trying to parley with another obscure Spidey bad-guy: Stegron, the Dinosaur Man! (Stegron had a 1998 Toy Biz action figure that I'm legitimately surprised I don't think I've ever owned; part of a villain wave called "The Vault" that included Ultron and Typhoid Mary, and each character came with restraints!) Ka-Zar and Shanna also show up: amusingly, Spidey seems way happier to see Shanna, which is understandable. They have to fight to save the Looter, who punches out Devil Dinosaur (!) to try and get the twin, but he instead finds what Spidey recognizes as the "Sphere of Sarakath," a mystical doodad that gave him and Dr. Strange the hassle once, in another Mike Wieringo issue! Ka-Zar suggests, maybe the Looter should consult with Strange about the meteor, and Ben knows what's coming: the Looter escapes again, through a portal. At Strange's Sanctum, Strange also appears to give the Looter the benefit of the doubt, and uses the Eye of Agamotto to track the twin meteor...to Europe somewhere...Latveria!

The Looter makes an attempt to swipe the Fantasticar for the next leg of his trip, but Reed and Strange had consulted on this one: the Fantasticar takes him to the Baxter Building again, where he's stopped by an Invisible Woman force field. They want to study the meteor, and see if they can break the Looter's delusions; but they're interrupted by the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents airdropping in, to take the Looter and the meteor into custody, for top-secret hush-hush reasons. But while he's being taken away, Reed lets slip if there was a twin to his meteor, it probably landed on the moon... 

There are precedents for sentient objects in the Marvel Universe: the first to come to mind is Green Lantern ring knockoff the Power Prism, of Doctor Spectrum; but there has to be others. I don't think the reader is ever privy to what, if anything, the meteor communicates to the Looter, so it makes him look really crazy, but is he? ...yes, he's a nut!

Also this issue: reprints of Venom: Lethal Protector #1, and Spider-Man: Death and Destiny #1. The latter was written and drawn by Lee Weeks, and was a sad story set around the death of George Stacy. There was also the manga-style "Spider-Man J" story "The Moth and the Flame."

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Man, he had better not get clowned by Leap-Frog or something.

(Opens comic) Goddam--From 1982, Marvel Team-Up #121, "Look Before You Leap!" Written by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Kerry Gammill, inks by Mike Esposito.

Speed Demon returns, this time in the middle of a chance meeting and rekindled rivalry of Spider-Man and the Human Torch. Unfortunately, this also features the return of Leap-Frog, in the person of the original's son Eugene. After a career getting thumped by Daredevil, the old Leap-Frog had retired, served his time, and was trying to raise his son right but was seemingly haunted by his failures. Eugene has the bright idea of making his old suit "a powerful symbol for good!" but maybe should've followed up on it with, I don't know, five minutes of practice with those powered springs. After accidentally trashing a cop car, Leap-Frog does manage to beat Speed Demon, by sheer luck. By the way, this issue's cover has those weird pointing-hand caption boxes I associate with old issues of Flash, as well as a mysterious figure in silhouette that is way too slim to be Eugene. (It's not as bad as the time Marvel pulled that with Volstagg, but still.)

More interesting here is the Spidey/Torch relationship: not as acrimonius as they used to be, they're both probably closer friends than they would care to admit. To anyone. Ever. Read more!

It's the busy season at my job, as well as the dead of winter out; so I didn't love last week, but I did pick up a couple more Marvel Essentials that I'm 60, 70% sure I didn't already have! I need to reorder that entire shelf, but one of the levels is Satana's bar. I may have to check if this issue is included in one of those new ones, though: from 1974, Fantastic Four #143, "The Terrible Triumph of Doctor Doom!" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Rich Buckler, inks by Frank Giacoia. 

The cover proclaims, "Get set for the greatest battle issue ever!" which is a bold statement. Feel like it should just be 19 pages of violence then, no subplots or anything, just get in the pit and tear this bitch up. (Channeling Tagalongs there!) The FF is not only broken up when this one opens, but Doom has already captured the Thing, as he confronts Reed, Medusa, and...the college football coach? Presumably a grudge from his time at university. Reed and Medusa are trapped by a trapdoor, then the coach knocked out when he tries to rush Doom; leaving Doom to monolog with the coach's wife, since he obviously wants to tell somebody how great his scheme is. Reed wakes up in time to get most of it: with the Thing and Darkoth hung up like trophies, Doom explains his new "vibration bomb," which allegedly can "erase all previous emotional ties" leaving only devotion to Doom. He mindwipes two turncoats in his ranks, then forces them to kill each other, just as an example. 

Meanwhile, in Buffalo, Wyatt Wingfoot has managed to calm down the furious Human Torch (over what Reed did to Franklin, in the previous issue!) but the cops are pissed at them for property damage. Sue is left to fret over the comatose Franklin; while Doom considers just how swell the world will be with him in charge of it. But, Darkoth has broken free: Doom calms him down, claiming to not only be his master, but his creator. Still, we don't get into that here, since Doom is off to Buffalo, after the Torch. Can't very well rub his nose in Doom's victory if he's not there, right? Doom and his men attack the jail, capturing Wyatt and Johnny; but back at his base, Darkoth turns on him, freeing Reed, Ben, and Medusa...to be continued!? Ah, was that "greatest battle ever" blurb supposed to go on next month's issue? I'm not overly familiar with this stretch, but I do know Darkoth would return, around FF #193 or so.

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"Laundry."

Ouch, the "Bombastic Bag-Man" is a few bucks on Amazon already. But, I posted this on Twitter some time back and don't think I posted either of these here?

Don't we have another astral Strange now? I feel like this could be longer. 

Have a good weekend and I hope it's a long one!

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We started in 2017, but last time I said we'd finish this storyline sometime, and I guess that's today! From 2012, Thunderbolts #165, "Golden Age Thunderbolts Part 3: The Fiery Death from Above!" Written by Jeff Parker, pencils by Kev Walker, inks by Terry Pallot.

In search of their missing Invaders teammate the Human Torch, Captain America and Namor are faced with a small army of knockoff Torches and are in bad shape. Luckily, they have back-up, "America's newest power squadron," the American Thunderbolts! Who are, of course, the escaped Thunderbolts from the future, trying to figure out what they could or couldn't do in the past: probably can't let Cap or Namor die, but they definitely can't let Baron Zemo get killed, either, as that would mess up the Thunderbolts' timeline more directly. With Namor pretty fried, Satana gets him back to Thunderbolts Tower, to fix him with a somewhat risque-looking spell; while the rest of the heroes try to stop the Torch-clones.

Centurius realizes that while Zemo was able to make the clones, he doesn't understand their cell structure yet, and can't be allowed to escape with any samples. With his lab under siege, Zemo is ordered by the Red Skull (accompanied by a sultry blonde!) to evacuate. Cap wonders if the "American Thunderbolts" aren't a little bloodthirsty, as they kill off the Torch-clones; while Fixer and Centurius rescue and repair the original Torch. Zemo takes off in an escape rocket, but is unable to outrun Moonstone, who takes away the Torch-samples, and leaves him with a warning: have a son, but "don't fill his head with all this Nazi crap."

The Invaders are reunited, but with bombers incoming, the Thunderbolts fall back to their tower, and attempt another time-jump; after Moonstone sneaks in a quick kiss goodbye with Cap. The bombs cover their departure; as Cap mourns the loss of some brave heroes. Look, he was pretty young; I don't think he was a good judge of character yet. I'm also not sure if this retconned the Nazi out of Helmut Zemo either. Read more!

It's not the best reveal, but at least they didn't tack a fake-out on top of it.

There's a Mark Evanier/Sergio Aragonés spoof from a couple years after this issue, that features "I'm quitting the Fantastic Four!" about a dozen times. It's funny 'cause it's true! From 1994, Fantastic Four #392, "The Final Gantlet!" Plot and script by Tom DeFalco, plot and pencils by Paul Ryan, inks by Danny Bulanadi.

Three of the Four are dead here, along with the rest of the planet, in a reality where Reed tried to retrieve the Ultimate Nullifier--instead of Johnny, as in our universe. The Watcher Uatu had subbed in our more experienced Ben, Sue, and Johnny in an attempt to save that world, which failed, and they died. Except the Watcher saves them, to return to their world, although Johnny notices he also seems to imply he knows exactly when they were supposed to die. Uatu does him a favor and doesn't tell him.

Their own Reed was still missing, presumed dead, but Four Freedoms Plaza is crowded; with the Sub-Mariner, Ant-Man, Johnny's Skrull 'wife' Lyja, Franklin Richards aged up to Psi-Lord; and later the Black Panther and what would later be the Fantastic Force. Lyja's false pregnancy, that had tried to kill them all in a previous issue, had been dealt with; and she suggests she and Johnny could think about a real family of their own. He is not especially receptive to the idea, feeling Lyja had played him for a chump while pretending to be Alicia. Stung by that, and possibly tired of the danger, the Torch quits with the traditional fly-off-in-a-huff. Charitably, Sue felt that Lyja had proved herself, and deserved to be there, but she felt she didn't belong there without Johnny. Down to her and Ben (and like eight other people...) Sue thinks the team is at a crossroads, if not the end. Cue super-villain attack!

The Dark Raider appears, demanding the Reed Richards of that world, and recognizing Sue and Ben from their attempt to save the aforementioned alternate reality. He has a ton of tricky weapons, and holds his own against the lot, then unmasks himself when Uatu appears: it's the Reed from that doomed reality, of course. But his theory was, countless earths had been endangered or destroyed by the curiosity of various Reed Richards, so he had been travelling to alternate realities, killing Reeds. He had an Ultimate Nullifier, so there were in a pickle. Working with his mom, Psi-Lord projects the Malice persona that had been trapped in his head, into the Dark Raider's, giving them the chance to grab the Nullifier. Trapped in a force field, bad Reed is impressed, but it's just a minor setback, and Uatu agrees: someone as resourceful as Reed would of course escape eventually. While Sue and Franklin take the high road, Uatu had been afraid of that, and takes matters into his own hands, killing the Dark Raider!

Uatu was afraid the Raider would have eventually won, and says his goodbyes: he will return that Nullifier to where it belonged, then exile himself somewhere with nothing to watch. Uatu doesn't say if their Reed was still alive, but Sue takes it upon herself to find him, saying her own goodbyes and declining help from Ben or T'Challa before leaving on the time sled. (Namor doesn't appear the last few pages here, either to encourage or discourage her.) Only Ben remains, but he resolves to continue, even if it's as the Fantastic One. Which sounds like a pretty good ploy to get Johnny back on board, he'd never stand still for that. Read more!

It's not strictly true, but it really feels like I have not accomplished a darn thing today, so let's go to a classic and see if that turns things around: from 1974, Marvel's Greatest Comics #52, reprinting 1967's Fantastic Four #69, "By Ben Betrayed!" Written by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott.

A minor classic, and the middle of a storyline: "Dr. Santini" has chemically turned Ben against the FF, all part of his master plan, since he was really the Mad Thinker! I kind of like him, although I don't think he's necessarily remembered highly in the rankings of FF villains. (You could argue his more visually striking Awesome Android was more memorable; the Thinker may place behind Diablo.) "When I'm done with ya--the Fantastic Four'll be dead--! And then--mebbe Ben Grimm can begin to live again!" I don't think Reed, Sue, or the reader have time to dwell upon how much of that is the Thinker's influence, and how much is really Ben's deeply buried but deeply felt resentment; since Ben is charging at the Four most of the issue, and they are not doing so hot at holding him off.

The Thinker is also adept at driving Ben forward: he can't give Reed a moment, or he could construct some new weapon to defeat him, that's what he does! Also of note: when the Thinker dissolves his Santini disguise, it also removes his "hastily-grown moustache"--he grew a real mustache for his disguise? Well, he must've crunched the numbers and decided that was the way to go. Reed gets Sue, Johnny, and Crystal out of there on a rocket cycle; then manages to sidestep Ben's charge, which launches the furious Thing out the hanger door, to his death! Maybe: that looked like a forty-story fall, would that have killed the Thing? We don't find out, as Reed stretches to save him, but is also pulled out of the Baxter Building. Ben steals a convenient dump truck to give chase as Reed glides away, while the Thinker is pawing all of Reed's stuff. But the Thinker's computers predicted this would be the moment he makes the "most awesome" discovery...the Negative Zone! Which is clearly labeled "Danger!" but the Thinker seems determined to see it.

Ben demolishes a condemned building to try and stop Reed, so Johnny steps up to give Reed a breather. Despite his fury, Ben's thinking as well: he makes a clumsy attempt to douse the Torch with a fire hydrant, but that was just to get him in position to clap his hands and knock him out with a "vacuum-blast!" Distainfully, Ben tells Johnny he could finish him anytime, but rejoins the hunt for Reed. Meanwhile, Sue has got to the cops, who waste no time sending in jets, as Ben shakes his fists at them, King Kong-style! Reed thinks Ben may be in more trouble than he actually is. 

Back at the Baxter Building, the Thinker is checking out the Negative Zone portal, but there was a fly in his ointment: odds were the Thing had killed Reed by that point, but if not Reed certainly would have guessed "Santini" had been the Thinker, and would try to free the real Santini. The Thinker opts to go dispose of the evidence, as in, Santini; while Reed does in fact figure it out. And as an army of cops and firefighters swarm the area, Ben steals a coat and hat and sneaks away, even angrier that "Richards turned everyone against me!"

It's like Ben is doing a really, really angry version of the sad walking-away bit from the end of the Incredible Hulk TV show. I wonder if there's a metal cover of that on YouTube...

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This is a retcon, but it makes sense.

It may also be more responsible than he's been the entire run of the Marvel Universe, though. From 2019, Fantastic Four #14, "Point of Origin, part one: Wanderlust" Written by Dan Slott, art by Paco Medina, color art by Jesus Aburtov.

The Fantastic Four makes an appearance at the National Air and Space Museum, as they donate "mankind's most successful crash," the Marvel-1, the FTL rocket they stole, were hit by cosmic rays, and crashed. As the team meets with some fans, one is impressed with Johnny Storm, but not the Torch: apparently Johnny was the youngest pilot in NASA? Since when? Maybe since now, but give this a moment. Less impressed with their dad's first rocket is Valeria and Franklin: Valeria points out it was woefully outdated compared to their current ships. Ben is also disappointed that he was "gonna go down in history as the guy who cratered the Marvel-1," as a little kid calls him a monster for good measure. Alicia tries to reassure him, but listening the black box flight recorder doesn't do much for his mood. To further sour things, Sue and Johnny are greeted by pilots Duchman and Sanders, who would've gone up in the Marvel-1 if they hadn't stolen their spots. Johnny apologizes, feeling they could've been in the Fantastic Four; but they defer: they got to live normal lives, without the risk of becoming a Thing. Sue and Johnny take offense.

Later, at home, as Reed begins work on a new project; Johnny checks out the stars and has a little flashback: before their first launch, Reed announcing the target, a binary star system with a habitable planet. (Supposedly, planets in binary systems are rare, and a habitable one probably several magnitudes more so.) This scene seems a lot like FF #1, but with Duchman and Sanders in the background, as Johnny says he wants to go with them, and asks to be trained as a backup pilot. Ben doesn't think he has it in him, but agrees to his training, at which Johnny surprisingly excels. When the family learns Reed's working on something, Johnny knows what it is, and wants in. As he welds some parts together, Reed notes he was using a welding torch and not his powers; but Johnny points out Reed isn't stretching, either: "Original tools and specs." "Or it doesn't count." Together, they complete the Marvel-2, a faithful re-creation of their original rocket. The reception is a bit chillier than expected: Valeria and Franklin bail, since to them the rocket looked about as comfortable as a 50's aluminum trailer. And Ben furiously refuses, even though Reed says the shields were ten times stronger in this version.

As Ben complains, Alicia knows full well he's going, especially when he calls to wish them well and sees H.E.R.B.I.E in the pilot seat! Still, when he gets there, Ben realizes it wasn't even a working H.E.R.B.I.E, and all the controls had been scaled for him. All together now, the Four set off--to what? The unknown, even though they probably could've taken a bit more of a look ahead of time, but it's fun.

I may have to look for a trade of this, since it looks like this ran until #19. It had been retconned some time back to give Sue more of an active role; but feels like they are just getting around to the same for Johnny.

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