The First Family’s adventures continue in Fantastic Four Facsimile Edition #2, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. The Fantastic Four meet the enduring Skrulls for the primary time on this illustration of the traditional 1961 challenge.
Everything’s gone haywire and nothing is because it appears. The Invisible Woman has stolen an costly diamond. The Thing has wrecked an oil rig. The Human Torch has melted a brand new statue, and Mr. Fantastic has shut off energy to all the metropolis! What has gotten into The Fantastic Four? The heroic household should unravel what’s taking place, who’s accountable, and why.
The Fantastic Four Is Up to No Good
The Benefit of Hindsight Is Clear
The good thing about understanding who and what the Skrulls are as readers comb by means of the opening pages of this challenge, makes these beats crystal clear. No one is stunned to seek out out that The Fantastic Four aren’t those wreaking havoc on the town. It’s shape-shifting aliens. But this doesn’t really spoil the enjoyment in any substantial manner. It acts extra like a time machine and invokes enjoyable questions like, “What was it like to read this back in 1961? We’re people fooled?” It’s a very enjoyable thought train and readers get to smirk trigger they’re within the know.
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Thankfully, the reveal occurs early. It’s not drawn out or belabored. Even if a reader didn’t know in regards to the Skrulls, they have been nonetheless suspicious and knew deep down these heroes wouldn’t do that. It additionally helps to let readers in on this early as a result of the problem can then get to the precise Fantastic Four sooner. There isn’t any wasted time ready for the titular heroes to point out up and do their factor. (Pun meant) Additionally, it’s refreshing to not have a beat the place the household is suspicious of one another. That may have felt compelled or contrived. Instead, the actual character beats current themselves in a really earned manner afterward within the challenge.
A Breakneck Speed Covers a Lot of Ground
There’s No Time for Questions
Plenty of floor will get lined at a fairly fast tempo from right here on out. The Fantastic Four give up to a military that believes they’re actually behind all of this. The foursome then breaks out of jail, they hatch a plan to seek out the Skrulls, trick their chief into abandoning their plans to take over Earth, persuade the police of their innocence, and discover a solution to settle this mess with the Skrulls left on Earth. The density of those story beats is spectacular, however within the haste, a few of these beats fly by with out a lot time to provide them any actual thought.
Under nearer inspection, some issues appear extra questionable. For instance, The Invisible Woman merely pushes previous the jail guards once they open her cell to provide her lunch. That’s all it takes to flee? And why did they give up within the first place if solely to interrupt out instantly? Couldn’t they’ve escaped earlier with out surrendering? The set piece may have been near-identical however maybe extra palatable all these years later.
The Plan Goes Awry
The Solution Hides in Plain Sight
The questions don’t finish there, however the greatest of those is why. Why do the Skrulls undergo this elaborate plan to border The Fantastic Four? They intention to take away them as an impediment with the intention to take over Earth, however why not simply faux to be Sue Storm and assault Reed Richards when he least suspects it? Obviously, the reason being that the opening bit is plenty of enjoyable, however from a narrative perspective, it feels weak.
Thankfully, The Fantastic Four is sensible sufficient to make use of this tactic later within the challenge to seek out their impersonators. But even then, the circumstances round this plan really feel handy and convoluted. The Human Torch pretends to be a Skrull impersonating the Human Torch. He then really destroys a rocket launch after which hops right into a automotive with a pair different Skrulls (wanting like Reed and Sue) who occur to be ready to choose him up. It’s a head scratcher, nevertheless it additionally misses out on alternatives to tie these plot threads collectively in a extra satisfying and artistic manner.
Character Is King
The Thing Is the Heart of the Story
Aside from all of the unbelievable art work on this guide, the saving grace right here is The Thing and his characterization. The Skrulls have framed him for a horrible crime and now society is asking him a monster. It performs into his personal preexisting id disaster. He wrestles with how he views himself now as The Thing and the way society views him. This feels so grounded and so earned. Not solely that, nevertheless it additionally turns into the main supply of inside battle inside The Fantastic Four.
It’s unbelievable to see the friction between them in a manner that feels natural. In a guide full of plenty of different potential fodder for flimsy battle inside the group, it’s actually nice to see Stan Lee decide one thing worthy of the enduring workforce. Above all else, these are nice characters with imaginative powers. And the guide by no means forgets their humanity. These heroes drive the story and battle in a manner that gives wealthy and satisfying tales many times.
