FANTASTIC FOUR 60 (1967)
by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Time to end the “Dr. Doom steals the powers of Silver Surfer” saga! Will one of the most famous storyline of the Lee&Kirby run stick to landing?
The cover is a much appreciated improvement over the previous parts: it’s an actual scene, instead of showing character cutouts, and it’s very dynamic.
The first page shows us that Doom is still on a power trip, causing trouble to an ocean liner. This shows us to things:
First, Doom’s use of the Power Cosmic is a little disappointing.
Second, the Fantastic Four have a big-ass TV.
At least Doom seems to be regaining his senses… relatively speaking… and he’s done playing around: his plan now is to conquer the capital of every nation on Earth, one by one. Everyone needs a hobby.
Cool panel by Kirby with Doom riding the surfboard…
…though the oversized cowl is kind of ridiculous.
The Human Torch, tired of sitting around waiting for Reed to finish his anti-Doom weapon, goes on the offensive.
If you ever wondered what sound does a “Sun Blast” make, it’s apparently ZASSSSP!
It’s exactly as effective as you’d think.
You just have to love Johnny’s reaction to Doom’s boast that he can withstand a million degrees.
Also note Doom’s mention of being invincible as long as he has the surfboard. I wonder if that’s the origin of the idea that the powers of Silver Surfer come from the board… you see it come up from time to time from people unfamiliar with the character.
Like people who make movies with the character’s name on the title.
The Torch continues to fight Doom despite being utterly outmatched. Up to this point he’s fought Doom at least four times more than the rest of the entire team.
Also note that the sound made by a tornado is WHROOOOM!
We haven’t seen Silver Surfer for a while. What is he doing?
Yeah that’s about right.
Meanwhile the Fantastic Four (minus the Human Torch) have reached Latveria thanks to a ship borrowed from Black Panther.
Which is apparently piloted with a futuristic helm?
I wonder why didn’t Black Panther join the team in the fight against Doom; it’s quite out of character for T’Challa.
Also note the rarely used variation of his costume that shows half of his face. I hate it.
Doom spots them, destroying the ship with ease. With a tree, of all things.
I mentioned that the Human Torch has fought Doom the most so far, but the Invisible Girl has been utterly useless the entire time, needing to be rescued again and again.
Even the Thing calls her out, basically saying “are you ever going to use that force field of yours?”.
Reed discourages her because inside her force field they would be sitting ducks. As opposed to being in the open with no defenses. I mean who needs an indestructible force field?
The smartest man in the world, ladies and gentlemen.
The Thing fights Doom first. If you’ve ever wondered what sound two giant rocks make when they slam into a guy made of rocks… figure it out on your own, says Stan Lee.
But it’s just the appetizer: Doctor Doom doesn’t usually fight with his fists, but he’s eager get some payback from that time the Thing utterly trashed him.
Doom even Hulks Out © to fight!
Unfortunately for Doom… the Thing never. Freakin’. Gives. Up.
The fight is so badass that even the Watcher watches.
He wonders if he should interfere and then gets distracted by space monkeys.
Well that was completely pointless.
Okay, the Thing has Doom on the ropes! Reed, Susan, time to help him!
*sigh*
At least they find the Human Torch, who barely survived his earlier fight with Doom.
Doom is more than happy to have the rest of the team to play with, trapping them with a bottomless pit. Seems like a weird idea when one of them can make invisible bridges and another can fly.
Except the Human Torch doesn’t just fly… he FLIES THROUGH MOLTEN ROCK.
Johnny continues to impress me throughout the issue!
Now if Reed and Susan can join forces with him, maybe…
Oh for f#cks’s sake, Susan, will you please do SOMETHING other than being rescued!?!?
I meant something useful!!!
I’m not sure it’s entirely her fault, though. Because the SECOND she stops listening to Reed’s orders…
…is the first time she actually hurts Doom! Are we SURE Reed is the best choice for the team’s leader?
Also, the sound made by an armor crashing into a mountain is SPWANG!
Crashing into a mountain because you didn’t see it is humiliating enough to make Doom decide “screw this, I’m just going to disintegrate you”.
But that’s when Reed’s secret weapon finally arrives: the Anti-Cosmic Flying Wing ™, the big brother of the legally-distinct-from-a-Batarang of last issue.
And it’s powerful enough to actually hurt Doom despite his cosmic powers!!!
Okay, we’re on the last page. Time for a climactic battle with the team’s nemesis!
Or we could wrap this up in a couple of panels.
Uh? What the… what just happened!?
You’re not even going to show Doom crashing into the barrier!? What a ripoff!!
Doom will return to fight Daredevil, of all people.
We’ll cover that issue, but since I won’t review Fantastic Four #61, let’s check what happens to the Silver Surfer.
Man, Silver Surfer sure is pathetic when he doesn’t have his powers.
Once he regains them, though…
He totally murdered those guards, didn’t he?
Doom significance: 9/10
Slightly lower than the first issues since the way Doom is defeated is basically never brought up again, but it’s still a vital part of the story.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
On the Marvel scale, of course. We can excuse the “why don’t you just kill them already” part since it’s integral to the genre, and the use of powers is perfectly in line with comic book science.
The complete waste of the Invisible Girl’s powers is the only major sign of the times.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
The bulk of the issue holds up very well, particularly the fights with the Thing and the Human Torch. Johnny doesn’t usually take his job very seriously, but he’s giving 100% here. The real disappointment is the ending… not the way Doom is defeated, which is actually pretty clever, but the anticlimatic way it’s shown. It really feels like they ran out of pages. Which is especially weird since there is 1 page completely wasted on the Watcher, 1 page dedicated to the Sufer being pathetic, and 1 page showing the Inhumans that is so inconsequential I didn’t even need to show a single panel.
Just imagine what 3 additional pages could’ve contributed to the story!
It was a Doombot all along
One of the last times in the original run where it’s definitely the real Doom.
Take over the world
Doom SAYS he’s going to do it. Eventually. Once he gets bored. Since he doesn’t actually try, I’m not counting it.
Destroy the FF!
And he would’ve gotten away with it too, if not for that meddling cosmic barrier!
Crazy tech
Again, nothing from Doom himself. Black Panther’s ship has a cool design, but the uncontested winner is the Anti-Cosmic Flying Wing ™.
Why didn’t Reed ever bring it up again? It’s not like the Fantastic Four are lacking in enemies with cosmic powers!