Fantastic Four

Created in 1961 to rival the Justice League of America, the Fantastic Four centered around the adventures of genius Reed Richards, his fianc? Sue Storm, her brother Johnny, and friend Ben Grimm’s ill-fated space mission. As a result of being affected by cosmic rays, the four began developing new powers. Reed could stretch and began calling himself Mr. Fantastic; Sue could turn invisible and accordingly called herself first the Invisible Girl then the Invisible Woman; Johnny’s ability to turn his body into flame gave rise to the name the Human Torch; Ben Grimm was turned into a mammoth of a rock creature called the Thing.

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The Fantastic Four’s villains included Golden Age good guy Namor the Sub-Mariner, now re-imagined as a bitter ruler of Atlantis, and Doctor Doom, their most frequent foe. Other enemies included the alien shape-changing race the Skrulls, and the Mole Man. The Galactus Trilogy also introduced the audience to the planet eating Galactus and his then servant, the Silver Surfer.

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Their early adventures marked a new era in comics not only because their identities were public, but also because the Fantastic Four were the first superhero group to bicker amongst themselves. Other groups, such as the Justice League or the Justice Society, traditionally behaved very politely towards each other at all times. The Fantastic Four comics were about family members, and like any family, featured intense arguments between members.

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Creator Stan Lee explained it thusly, “And the characters would be the kind of characters I could personally relate to: they’d be flesh and blood, they’d have their faults and foibles, they’d be fallible and feisty, and - most important of all - inside their colorful, costumed booties they’d still have feet of clay.”

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This animosity between the members has occasionally led to teammates quitting and being replaced, the most notable instance being when the She-Hulk filled in as a long term replacement for the Thing. Tensions were particularly strained during the time period in which Sue Storm developed a crush on former enemy the Sub-Mariner, making Reed Richards jealous.

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Despite their tensions, the Fantastic Four have always managed to repair themselves. Reed and Sue married and had two children together. Still, the Marvel super-crossover event Civil War threatened to fracture the Fantastic Four permanently. Following her husband’s participation in cloning Thor, Sue Storm left the group and her brother followed, to join the anti-Superhero Registration movement that Reed was against. Ben Grimm refused to take a side in the war that had split his family. Tellingly, Sue’s goodbye note to Reed let him know how angry she was with him, but it also ended with a reminder that she loved him and a plea to “please fix this.”

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Following the Civil War, however, Reed and Sue were reunited and their family began the healing process. While history says that there will likely be future squabbles, it is also a good bet that the Fantastic Four will pull though them and remain whole.

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Essential Storylines:

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~ John Byrne’s run

~ the Galactic Trilogy

~ Fantastic Four # 1

~ Fantastic Four # 4.

~ Fantastic Four #5

~ Civil War

~ Onslaught and Heroes Reborn

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