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Fantastic Four Annual Vol 1 3

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Quote1 We're married, at last! And nothing will ever part us, my beloved! Quote2
—Invisible Girl

Appearing in "Bedlam at the Baxter Building!"

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  • Mole Man's Drill

Synopsis for "Bedlam at the Baxter Building!"

Reading the news of Reed Richards and Susan Storm's wedding day, Dr. Doom plots to ruin it by using his emotion changing device to make the super-villain community (whether or not they are a foe of the Fantastic Four) attack their wedding service.

Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. provide security for the wedding and stop a guest who the Puppet Master is controlling from poisoning Thing. While Thing considers telling Reed about the incident, Mole Man and his Moloids attack from underneath the building. Professor X summons the X-Men to help Thing ward them off. Reed, Sue and Johnny are attacked by the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, until they are banished to another dimension by the arriving Dr. Strange.

With the initial attacks blunted, Dr. Doom increases the power enticing villains such as the Mandarin, Black Knight, Kang, the Awesome Android, and the Grey Gargoyle. While on his way to the wedding, Thor is attacked by the Super-Skrull whom is defeated by the Thunder God with the help of the Human Torch. Daredevil spots Hydra agents trying to drive a missile into the wedding party and tries to drive it away. The arriving Avengers, Captain America and Hawkeye fight Cobra, Executioner, Enchantress, and the Mad Thinker with the help of Spider-Man.

While Daredevil is chased by the Black Knight, an assist by the X-Men is interrupted by the arrival of the Mandarin, Electro, Unicorn, the Melter and the Beetle, while Quicksilver battles the Human Top.

Soon things explode into an all out battle between the heroes and villains until things are made even worse with the arrival of Attuma and his invading fleet, who had inadvertently intercepted the emotion changer impulse meant for the Sub-Mariner. Reed Richards is then summoned to the Watcher's citadel, where he is given a device that will allow him to send all his attackers away with no memory of what transpired. With the villains defeated, Reed and Sue are married off, while outside Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are asked to leave the ceremony as they do not have invitations.

Appearing in "Captives of the Deadly Duo"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #6
(originally printed as Captives of the Deadly Duo!)

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Synopsis for "Captives of the Deadly Duo"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #6
(originally printed as Captives of the Deadly Duo!)
Fantastic Four Vol 1 6 Part 1 Title

After scouting for Dr. Doom, the Human Torch returns to the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building headquarters to report on his lack of success in finding Doom. He arrives just as his teammates are reading fan mail.[Continuity 1] When Reed gets a letter from a fan who is presently staying at a nearby hospital, Reed stretches out his body to pay the boy a personal visit.[Continuity 2] Meanwhile, Ben gets a mocking letter from the Yancy Street Gang, challenging him to a fight. Ben responds by rolling up a titanium steel tile and telling Johnny to mail it out for him. Ben laments over not being able to face a worthy foe like Dr. Doom or the Sub-Mariner.

These words turn out to be prophetic as, at that very moment, Dr. Doom is seeking out the Sub-Mariner and tracks him down in his aerosub, confronting Namor over the ocean.[Continuity 3] Doom manages to convince Namor that they should work together to destroy the Fantastic Four and take over the world.

Part 2:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 6 Part 2 Title
Victor von Doom (Earth-616) and Namor McKenzie (Earth-616) from Fantastic Four Vol 1 6 0001

Namor invites Doom back to Atlantis, where Doom notes his infatuation with Sue Storm. Doom, however, stirs the Sub-Mariner's anger by reminding him how his kingdom was annihilated by atomic weapons tests[1]. Namor agrees to destroy the Fantastic Four but refuses to harm Sue Storm. Doom agrees to let Sue live and then shows off his latest invention which he wishes to use against the Fantastic Four: a magnetically powered "grabber" device that can pull any object no matter how heavy. Namor then goes to the surface world to confront the Fantastic Four as part of their plan.

Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building, Johnny finds a picture of Namor hidden behind a bookshelf and confronts his sister Sue about it. When she tells Johnny that he has no right to go snooping on her property, Johnny alerts the others about Sue's little secret before burning the picture with his flame powers. When Reed asks for an explanation from Sue, she is at a loss for words to explain her infatuation with the Sub-Mariner. Suddenly, Namor makes his presence known to them.

Part 3:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 6 Part 3 Title

While the male members of the team try to attack Namor, Sue comes to his aid. The others find that Namor is prepared for their attacks, and Reed suddenly realizes that Namor must have planted some kind of trap. Reed and Johnny go to search for it. When they fail to find it, Namor gloats when, suddenly, the Baxter Building is pulled out of its foundation and is drawn into space.[Continuity 4]

Part 4:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 6 Part 4 Title

The Fantastic Four and Namor quickly put on breathing helmets. When Johnny fails to escape in the vacuum of space, Reed tries to grab Doom's ship that is pulling them closer to the sun, but Doom has prepared a defensive rocket that burns Reed's hands. With the void of space being close to that of Earth's oceans, Namor -- realizing he had been betrayed by Doom -- agrees to stop him. He then exits the Baxter Building and "swims" toward Doom's ship.

Part 5:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 6 Part 5 Title

There, he breaks through the hull into the ship but finds a locked and electrified door blocking his way into the control room. The Sub-Mariner then uses his ability to mimic the electricity generating abilities of electric eels to begin shocking Doom through the door, forcing him to retreat.[Continuity 5] Namor breaks in and hurls Dr. Doom into space. In the void of space, Doom is suddenly struck by a passing meteor and is carried away. Namor then takes control of the ship and reverses its course, returning the Baxter Building to its original foundation. The Fantastic Four then find Doom's grabber device stashed away in the basement, but they cannot remove it. Suddenly, it flies away to rendezvous with Namor over the ocean. The Sub-Mariner then crashes the ship and the grabber device into the waters below so they cannot be used again and returns to the ocean himself.

Appearing in "A Visit With the Fantastic Four"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #11A Visit With the Fantastic Four

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Synopsis for "A Visit With the Fantastic Four"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #11A Visit With the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four Vol 1 11 Title

After visiting with some local fans of theirs, the Fantastic Four get another mail delivery from their mailman Willie Lumpkin. Reading their fan mail, the FF responds to readers' letters:

After trying another serum to change him back to human form, Ben and Reed tell the story about how they met in college and eventually fought in World War II.[Continuity1 1] They then retell the origin of the Fantastic Four.[Continuity1 2] When Sue gets upset by reader mail that expresses people's dislike of her and questions her usefulness on the team, the FF angrily defend Sue by telling of the times that Sue helped the team defeat the Skrulls, and when she saved the team from Dr. Doom's death traps.[Continuity1 3] To cheer Sue up they take her aboard the flying saucer they have had since their adventure on Planet X,[Continuity1 4] where Sue finds a surprise birthday cake waiting for her. As they celebrate Sue's birthday, Willie is slogging back to the Baxter Building with another bag full of fan mail for the FF.

Appearing in "The Impossible Man"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #11
(originally printed as A Visit With the Fantastic Four)

Featured Characters:

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Synopsis for "The Impossible Man"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #11
(originally printed as A Visit With the Fantastic Four)
Fantastic Four Vol 1 11 Title

After visiting with some local fans of theirs, the Fantastic Four get another mail delivery from their mailman Willie Lumpkin. Reading their fan mail, the FF responds to readers' letters:

After trying another serum to change him back to human form, Ben and Reed tell the story about how they met in college and eventually fought in World War II.[Continuity1 5] They then retell the origin of the Fantastic Four.[Continuity1 6] When Sue gets upset by reader mail that expresses people's dislike of her and questions her usefulness on the team, the FF angrily defend Sue by telling of the times that Sue helped the team defeat the Skrulls, and when she saved the team from Dr. Doom's death traps.[Continuity1 7] To cheer Sue up they take her aboard the flying saucer they have had since their adventure on Planet X,[Continuity1 8] where Sue finds a surprise birthday cake waiting for her. As they celebrate Sue's birthday, Willie is slogging back to the Baxter Building with another bag full of fan mail for the FF.

Notes

Continuity Notes

Bedlam at the Baxter Building!

The Story

  • This story is told from another perspective in Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1 as well as in Marvels #2. Both of these tales confirm that the Time Displacer device not only wiped out the memories of the villains who attacked the wedding, but everyone on Earth. It also wiped out any photographic evidence of the villain attack so that record of Reed and Sue's wedding was not marred with reports of the battle.
  • Phil Sheldon, Plantman, Batroc the Leaper, Grogoom, and the Trapster were all among characters present during this story when it was depicted in Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1, as such they are listed as being behind the scenes here.
  • Doctor Doom was seeking revenge against the Fantastic Four after the Thing crushed his hands at the end of Fantastic Four #40. Doom had been hatching this scheme since Fantastic Four #43.
  • Following their wedding Reed and Sue were briefly brought to the future of Earth-60166 where they met numerous versions of their future selves who were gathered by their Earth-60166 counterparts to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary as seen in Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special #1. When Reed and Sue are returned to the exact moment that they were taken from, they retained no memory of the festivities. It was revealed in that same story that Reed and Sue spent their honeymoon at the Watcher's citadel on the moon.

Wedding Guests

What follows are some notes on the various guests who were in attendance during this story:

  • Members of the Avengers were in attendance of the wedding. The Fantastic Four first met the Avengers back in Fantastic Four #25-26 during their battle against the Hulk. At this time, they previously worked together against Sundown in Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual #1997.
    • Iron Man is in attendance of the wedding in his alter-ego of millionaire industrialist Tony Stark. At this time Stark's double identity was a secret. Reed Richards would eventually learn it in New Avengers Illuminati (Vol. 2) #1. He did not reveal his identity to the public until Iron Man (Vol. 3) #55. During this period he was on a leave of absence from the Avengers as seen in Avengers #16. He last met with the Fantastic Four during Reed and Sue's wedding party in Fantastic Four #36. At this time Iron Man had just received an challenge to battle the Titanium Man in Tales of Suspense #69 a challenge chronicled in Tales of Suspense #70-71.
    • Thor, also on leave from the Avengers circa Avengers #16, last interacted with the FF during Reed and Sue's engagement in Fantastic Four #36. He was last seen working with the X-Men in preventing Ymir the Frost Giant from being resurrected in X-Men First Class #5, after the wedding he went on to investigate the mystical being calling himself the Demon in Southeast Asia in Journey into Mystery #124.
    • Captain America, chairman of the Avengers at this point since Avengers #16, is seen with new recruits Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch who also joined the Avengers in that issue. This is the first time the new Avengers met the Fantastic Four, with the exception of Captain America who met them previously in Fantastic Four #26. Cap last encountered the FF during Reed and Sue's engagement party in Fantastic Four #36. Prior to this story these active Avengers had just defeated the Comissar in Asia, as seen in Avengers #18. They went on to battle the Swordsman and the Mandarin in Avengers #19-Avengers #20.
  • SHIELD agents Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan and Gabriel Jones are shown as part of the security detail here. SHIELD is a spy agency that was formed prior to Strange Tales #135. Fury last met the Fantastic Four while he was still part of the CIA in Fantastic Four #21 when they helped him stop the Hate-Monger. Since their last meeting, Fury is now wearing an eye patch due to the fact that his eye was injured by his brother Jacob Fury as seen in Fury #1. To date this is the first chronological time that Gabe Jones and Dum Dum Dugan met the Fantastic Four. After this story, SHIELD was involved in investigating the apparent return of the terrorist known as Yellowclaw in Strange Tales #160-Strange Tales #161.
  • Also in attendance are the X-Men, who first met the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #28. They last met with the Fantastic Four during Reed and Sue's engagement party in Fantastic Four #36. At this point in time the X-Men's leader Charles Xavier kept his ties to the X-Men and his mutant powers a secret from the general public, hence why they are pretending that Xavier and the X-Men are merely acquaintances here. The world at large did not find out Xavier's ties to the X-Men or the fact that he was a mutant until New X-Men #116. The Fantastic Four eventually learned of these ties as early as their appearance in X-Men First Class (Vol. 2) #1. They last interacted with the Fantastic Four during Reed and Sue's engagement party in Fantastic Four #35. Prior to this story the team had just returned from a trip to Monster Island as depicted in X-Men First Class (Vol. 2) #2-3. After the wedding the X-Men clashed with the Sentinels for the first time as seen in X-Men #14-16
  • Daredevil was in attendance in his alter-ego of Matt Murdock along with his collages Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. The trio were the legal team hired by the Fantastic Four back in Daredevil #2. Matt last helped the Fantastic Four in their last battle against Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four #39-40. At this time Matt's double identity was a secret, and was not generally known until Daredevil (Vol. 2) #32. At this point in time Daredevil had just recently returned from Lichtenbad where he battled Duke Klaus Kruger in Daredevil #9. He was later involved in exposing a political scandal within the Reform Party in Daredevil #10-11.
  • Spider-Man was also attending the festivities, or at least crashing them. Spider-Man last helped the Fantastic Four battle a new and short lived incarnation of the Frightful Four in Amazing Spider-Man #657. During this time he had just finished battling the sorcerer Xandru with Doctor Strange in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 and later joined the FF on a vacation where they felled the monster Krakatoom, also seen in Amazing Spider-Man #657.

Spectators

  • Stan Lee and Jack Kirby attempted to crash the wedding, but were uninvited. They have been publishing comic books based on the Fantastic Four since Fantastic Four #10. Like in many appearances their faces were not depicted in this story. Unlike most dated references, the appearances of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are not considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Instead, in the Earth-616 universe, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were in their prime and produced comic books during the early days of the modern age of heroes.
  • This is the first time the Watcher begins breaking his oath of non-interference. The Watchers are forbidden to interfere in the actions of others due to a solemn vow of non-interference. This was due to the fact that the last time the Watchers got involved in the lives of other races it led to the Prosilican race annihilating itself, as seen in Tales of Suspense #53 and expanded upon in Original Sin #0. The Watcher last interacted with the Fantastic Four when the Red Ghost attempted to get revenge against them in Fantastic Four #29. Prior to this story, he sent the Human Torch and the Thing back in time in order to stop Kang from conquering the 6th Century as seen in Strange Tales #134. After this tale he provided his citadel for Reed and Sue to use on their honeymoon as seen in Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special #1.

The Villains

What follows is a list of villains who physically appear in this story and details on what their situations where at the time this story was originally published:

  • Villains who previously faced the Fantastic Four:
    • After his failure against the Fantastic Four here, Doctor Doom next targeted the Avengers to test his wits against another foe before destroying the Fantastic Four, this plan turned out to be another failure as was depicted in Avengers #25.
    • The Puppet Master was last seen in Strange Tales #133 where he had undergone plastic surgery and went after the Thing and the Human Torch. He was arrested after that story. His escape and return to his original appearance in this story is not explained. After escaping capture here, he went on to enthrall the Sub-Mariner for a period of time as seen in Tales to Astonish #78-80.
    • The Red Ghost last clashed with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #29 where he was tricked into entering a teleportal and separated from his Super-Apes. He escaped incarceration in Russia as stated in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #9 followed by a failed team-up with the Mole Man in Avengers #12. Prior to this story he was reunited with his Super-Apes on the moon and was caught in a Chronospike as seen in FF (Vol. 2) #13. After being banished by Doctor Strange in this story he began working with the Unicorn against Iron Man as seen in Iron Man #15-16.
    • The Mole Man and his Moloids had previously clashed with the Fantastic Four in Spider-Man Human Torch #1 where they foiled his scheme to steal works of art. Prior to this story he appeared in Avengers #17, clashing with the Avengers while they continued to hunt for the Hulk. After being defeated by the X-Men here, Elder and his Moloids attempted to rob an art museum only to be thwarted by Marvel Girl and the Scarlet Witch as seen in X-Men First Class (Vol. 2) #6.
    • Kang the Conqueror previously clashed with the Fantastic Four in his previous incarnation of Rama-Tut in Fantastic Four #19. This is his first encounter with the whole group since becoming Kang in Avengers #8, however he was previously stopped from conquering the 6th Century by the Human Torch and the Thing in Strange Tales #134.
    • The Awesome Android was defeated battling both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men in Fantastic Four #28. How it escaped custody is not explained here. The Mad Thinker later recovered the Awesome Android and used it to attack the Fantastic Four and the X-Men again in X-Men First Class (Vol. 2) #1. His regular master the Mad Thinker last clashed with the Fantastic Four as a group in Fantastic Four #28 as well escaping at the end of the battle, but more recently fought the Thing and Torch in Strange Tales #131.
    • The Super-Skrull was last seen fleeing to the Skrull Galaxy after being defeated by the FF in Fantastic Four #32. Following his defeat here, the Super-Skrull attempted to attack the Fantastic Four on Christmas Eve as seen in Marvel Comics Presents #18.
    • The Beetle started off as a villain of the Human Torch in Strange Tales #123. He previously faced the entire team when he joined a short lived incarnation of the Frightful Four in Amazing Spider-Man #657. After his defeat here he became a pawn of the Collector in Avengers #26-28
    • The Eel previously fought the Human Torch in Strange Tales #112 and 117 had last battled Daredevil as part of the Fellowship of Fear in Daredevil #6 before this story. After this he was part of Count Nefaria's army of super-villains who attempted to take over Washington D.C. in X-Men #22-23.
    • Attuma last clashed with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #33, prior to this story he was defeated by Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #66. After this story his next attempt to conquer the surface was thwarted by the Avengers in Avengers #26-27.
  • Villains who had not previously clashed with the Fantastic Four:
    • A regular foe of Iron Man since Tales of Suspense #50, prior to this story, the Mandarin attempted to use the Swordsman to destroy the Avengers as depicted in Avengers #20. After being displace by Mister Fantastic he plotted to destroy Iron Man using the massive robot Ultimo, as seen in Tales of Suspense #76-78.
    • The Black Knight was originally a foe of Giant-Man since Tales to Astonish #52. Prior to this story he was in an early incarnation of the Masters of Evil that was defeated by the original Avengers before the founding members departed in Avengers #16. How he escaped custody is not explained here. Following his defeat in this story, the Black Knight went after Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #73, a battle that ended in his death as confirmed in Avengers #47.
    • At this point in his career the Grey Gargoyle had established himself as an enemy of Thor beginning in Journey into Mystery #107, his last appearance before this story was a failed attempt to steal Thor's hammer in Journey into Mystery #113. Following his defeat her he attempted to take over Stark Industries clashing with Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #95-97.
    • The terrorist organization known as Hydra were enemies of SHIELD starting in Strange Tales #135. This attack was during SHIELD's first attempts to crush Hydra between Strange Tales #135-158.
    • The Cobra and Mr. Hyde were originally a Thor foes starting in Journey into Mystery #98 and 99 respectively. Prior to this story the pair were in a failed partnership to destroy Thor in Journey into Mystery #110-111. The pair later teamed-up again and went on a crime spree to draw out Thor, only to clash with Daredevil in Daredevil #30-32.
    • Likewise were the Executioner and Enchantress Thor foes starting in Journey into Mystery #103. Previously they went to Earth to terrorize Thor's lover Jane Foster and were stopped by Balder the Brave and Thor in Journey into Mystery #116-117. Following their defeat here the Enchantress dumped the Executioner in favor of Power Man in a failed bid to defeat the Avengers as seen in Avengers #21-Avengers #22. Skurge was reunited with Enchantress in Avengers Annual #1 when they were recruited by the Mandarin in a failed bid to take over the world.
    • Electro is best known as a foe to Spider-Man starting in Amazing Spider-Man #9. Incidentally, he never faced the Fantastic Four but previously attempted to rob their headquarters but was foiled by Daredevil in Daredevil #2. Prior to this story he had joined the original Sinister Six, but was defeated by Spider-Man and sent to prison in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. How he escaped from prison is not detailed here. He late resurfaced to form his own group, the Emissaries of Evil in a failed revenge scheme against Daredevil in Daredevil Annual #1.
    • Melter and the Unicorn were both Iron Man foes, appearing in Tales of Suspense #47 and 56 respectively. Prior to this story, the Melter was part of an early incarnation of the Masters of Evil defeated by the original Avengers in Avengers #15-16 and arrested. The Unicorn was hiding out in Russia following his defeat at the hands of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #56 prior to this story. Following this tale, the Melter went on to terrorize Stark Industries again in Tales of Suspense #89-90, while the Unicorn went on to join Count Nefaria's army of super-villains who attempted to hold Washington D.C. hostage before being stopped by the X-Men in X-Men #22-X-Men #23.
    • The Human Top was previously a foe of Giant-Man beginning in Tales to Astonish #50. He was defeated and turned over to the police in Tales to Astonish #69. How he escaped captivity is not revealed here. He is next seen clashing with Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 as he was trying to reinvent his super-villain identity.

See Also

Links and References

References


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