JANUARY 1962

• Fantastic Four #2

Fantastic Four #2
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
"The Fantastic Four Meet the Skrulls From Outer Space!"

After a fairly ineffectual first adventure that relied more on the Mole Man "killing" himself than on the FF actually doing anything, the second issue gets a little more entertaining and less paranoid and depressing. Once again, Lee and Kirby kept this comic firmly planted in the genres that they were comfortable with, moving adeptly from the previous issue's giant monsters to aliens from, where? Outer Space, of course.

There's an interesting slight shift in tone with this issue, as the Fantastic Four are apparently known entities in the Marvel Universe already. The Skrulls see them as the only threat forestalling a full-scale invasion, and while the Skrulls are impersonating them, the FF are recognized by everyone they meet. There's an element of celebrity to them already, or at least notoriety on Ben's part, that implies that they've been much more busy and public than events in the first issue indicated they would be. Have they been doing stuff we haven't seen during the month they've been off the comics rack? That's an interesting opportunity for "untold stories" somewhere down the line.


The Skrull plan (discredit the heroes to get them off the stage) is an instant classic and makes perfect sense given the nature of Marvel America. In a world that launches nuclear missiles at unknown threats over New York and people begin panicking at the sight of a flare gun going off, it seems like the sort of plan that could very easily work. The normal folk in these comics don't have much patience for "freaks" and immediately think the worst is about to happen. It's an interesting dynamic for the characters to work in that creates a sense of anxiety whenever the heroes appear in public.

It also ties in nicely with a predominant theme in many science fiction works of the '50s and early '60s: loss of identity and the subtextual invoking of the Communist threat. It's not dealt with here in nearly the satisfying manner of 1953's Invaders From Mars or the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1956, but at least it's a step in a well-established direction. Aliens that can look like anyone--or anything--they want are the logical addition to a violent and paranoid Marvel Universe. And if Lee was making another reference to the perceived dangers of Communism, at least it's not ham-fisted and obvious this time.

Of course, in the time since last issue, enough people know about the Fantastic Four to recognize them on the streets throughout the country. None of that popularity matters though, when after one bit of sabotage credited to each member of the Fantastic Four, they become hunted fugitives with at least one newspaper running with the headline "Shoot To Kill!" Looks like it's hard out there for a genetically altered superhero; even ones who dress like normal folk and go away for family trips to their "isolated hunting lodge" and have "many secret apartment hideouts" scattered around the city.

After a brief night in a military prison specifically designed to counter their "strange talents", our heroes escape and Johnny sets fire to everything in sight for cover. Apparently, someone in the military has done some thinking about the dangers these super powered Free Agents might pose. It's a plot point that isn't really given much attention, but just seems like a natural extension of this world. Of course, they probably should have invested in some specialized training for the military guards since they allow Sue to run right past them. I know she's invisible, but really, that's just incompetent.

Again, Stan Lee puts the Human Torch front and center when it comes to actually doing something in reaction to our villains, the Skrulls, and it's the teenager's own plan, to boot! I assume that Lee's goal is to make the character most relatable to the target audience in the spotlight, so that makes sense, although it would be nice to see the others actually carry their weight. Reed is supposed to have the big brain, but two issues in and he's not really who I look to for a master plan. Maybe he's hiding his light under a bushel, but sitting around thinking and smoking your pipe is not going to win you over with the readers, Mr. Richards.

As for carrying their weight, Sue again does nothing but trip a guy and look pretty. The Skrull impersonating her actually accomplishes something proactive while mimicking her powers, but it's criminal so we probably shouldn't count that as an effective use of her talents. Reed pontificates stuffily and comes up with a pretty lame plan to stop the invasion that relies on the Skrulls being stupid and not being able to tell drawings from photographs. Sure, the art is by Kirby, but come on.


Luckily, the Skrulls are stupid, so the plan works.

Ben displays some virtuoso psychotic madness this issue, smashing things up and threatening to destroy anyone who gets in his way as he goes out "to fight! To smash!" It's so disturbing that the others have a hushed mini-conference about him, with the Torch even suggesting that they have "to do something about him!" It provides an only slightly awkward opportunity for a recap of the team's origin wherein Reed actually takes responsibility for turning them all into freaks. It's a nice, almost touching moment that makes me forget what a dick Reed is most of the time.

I mean, really. Ben's freaking out and to calm him down you can't call him by name? "Easy, Thing, Easy!" isn't exactly the most enlightened thing to say to a guy who feels like a monster. But then it's exactly what I'd expect from a guy whose idea of dealing with alien shape-shifters is to hypnotize them into believing that they're cows. You know, so they can have some peace and contentment. Once again, Reed demonstrates that while he may be a genius, he makes some pretty bad decisions on the spur of the moment.

I almost forgot to mention the fact that Ben changed back into his human form for a few moments after a second dose of outer space radiation. It didn't seem to affect any of the others, so I'm not sure what to make of it. It does provide the reader with a fairly disturbing scene of Ben freaking out in their space capsule as though he's having a panic attack. I'm really starting to feel sorry for Ben almost as much as I think he's a menace. His self-loathing is seriously bordering on the mentally ill after only two issues. But at least he's in fine company with a group of Skrulls who hate themselves so much they'd rather be mindless farm animals than sentient beings.

I suppose that could be seen as an interesting take on the psychology of a race of beings with the ability to alter their forms at will. If I could change form into whatever I could imagine, I might be a little harsher in my self criticism, too. Especially if then I was pushed onto the front lines of an impending war with little or no real support from my leaders. I mean, offering a "disguised" Reed and the others a tiny little pin as recognition for "sacrificing" their lives to "protect" the Skrull race is kind of an insult.

And what happened to the fourth Skrull? He's there when they're captured, but after the FF's trip to the Skrull Mothership, he's gone. Sure, Reed says that the fourth one is "on his way to another galaxy now with the rest of the invasion fleet," but that can't be right, otherwise the plan to stop the invasion would never have worked. Is that Lee covering for Kirby, who forgot to draw four Skrulls, or is it just sloppy writing on Lee's part? If you know the answer, come by the message boards and let me know. It's really bugging me. Reed didn't sneakily have him shipped off to a secret lab somewhere, did he?