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> Reprinted in: Fantastic Four Masterworks Volume 1 • Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 1 |
From the Mouths of the Marvels:
"I know it sounds impossible, but... Nowadays, nothing is impossible!"
- - Two of New York's finest discussing Giganto, page 16 Flaming Eye For The Atlantean Guy! |
Fantastic Four #4
Publication Date: February 8, 1962
Letters Page: Page One
Ranked #53 in 100 Greatest Marvel Comics of All Time list
I: Feature Story: "The Coming of Sub-Mariner!"
Pages: 23
Script: Stan Lee
First Appearance: Giganto
Villain: Sub-Mariner, Giganto
Flashback Cameo: Miracle Man, "Monster From Mars"
Marvel Milestones: First introduction of GA Marvel character into Marvel's Silver Age, first mention of New York City as FF's home base
Gadgets & Technology: Namor's trumpet
Synopsis: The Human Torch is still
missing, and the team is worried about what he's up to. Thing takes the blame
from Reed and
after recapping the events that led to the Torch's abandonment of the FF,
they decide to search
for him. Sue turns invisible and hangs around the teenagers in town, drinking
a soda in a local fountain while invisible (and scaring the bejeezus out of
a kid!) But she doesn't turn up any good leads.
Reed yanks a young man off a moving motorcycle and asks him if he's seen
Johnny Storm. "No," is the answer, and he approaches a baseball team next to see
if they have any clues.
Meanwhile Johnny is happy working on cars at the local Swanson's Garage,
using his flame powers
for spot welding. The Thing locates him and punches through the wall in a bid
to intimidate him into going back home with him. He
threatens Johnny with a car, forcing him to flame off around the gasoline
in the garage. Thing moves in for the
kill but suddenly changes to Ben Grimm! Johnny uses this distraction to fly
away. The Thing is overjoyed at becoming his normal human form, but once
again, the change is only temporary. Depressingly, Ben becomes the Thing once
more.
Johnny runs away from the Thing and ends up in a flophouse in the slums of
New York's Bowery. He is reading an old
Sub-mariner comic when a vagrant leads him to an old man with a heavy
growth of facial hair who is as strong as
that joker's supposed to be! The vagrant gives the old man a phone book to
tear but the old man pushes him away. A fight breaks out and Johnny breaks it
up, but not before the mystery man takes care of all comers. Curious about the
old man's identity, Johnny burns off his beard
and trims his hair with the precision burn of his finger. The Sub-Mariner is
revealed!
While the Fantastic Four continues their search, Johnny leads the Sub-Mariner
to the sea, hoping to restore his memory. Johnny drops him in the river and it
works! Prince Namor (as he now remembers himself) travels to his undersea
kingdom but finds it demolished. His assumption, that atomic tests have
destroyed his home and sent his people into exile, drives him to seek revenge
against the human race.
Namor returns to Johnny at the docks and tells him he has just unleashed mankind's
doom. Johnny is forced to send up an FF flare. He's still not happy to see the team
but lets them know Namor's plans. Meanwhile, Namor takes an ancient horn and
awakens Giganto, a giant whale with stubby arms that walks! Giganto marches
towards
Manhattan, shrugging off the cannons of the military as it approaches. It
plows through Reed's smoke screen and douses Johnny with its spout. Then it
collapses on shore, destroying the buildings with its weight.
There's only one thing to do; strap a nuclear bomb to the Thing's back and
send him inside the giant! Giganto sleeps with its mouth open so Thing wanders deep within
its bowels. Thing has to fight off a monster inside Giganto's guts, but he
manages to leaves the bomb
and escapes as it explodes.
Namor threatens to resurrect more monsters with his horn but Sue turns invisible,
snatches it from his grasp. He follows the floating horn and tackles her.
Smitten by her beauty as she reappears, Namor offers mercy to the human race
in exchange for Sue's agreeing to become his bride. Obviously, the appearance
of the rest of the team
is a real buzz-kill to Namor, because when he sees them he vows to take Sue's hand
regardless and
destroy the human race! Sue agrees to do anything to stop his rampage, even
marry him. Namor is insulted that Sue doesn't find life with him an appealing
enough prospect and he beacks back the Fantastic Four from him with one
mighty shove. Johnny creates
a tornado vortex, blowing Namor and the carcass of Giganto back to sea.
Namor dedicates himself to returning one day to defeat the Fantastic Four- and the
world!
Pages: 1
Image of Reed Richards inset against image of Mister Fantastic, stretching up high to stop a man with a gun.
--synopsis by Jonathan Clarke, aka doesitmatter, with Gormuu
Issues Reprinted
Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.
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FF #1 |
FF #2 |
FF #3 |
FF #4 |
FF #5 |
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FF #6 |
FF #7 |
FF #8 |
FF #9 |
FF #10 |
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