You'll find out soon enough who I am! The whole world will know the Sub-Mariner!!

-- Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner

Appearing in "The Coming of... Sub-Mariner!"Edit

Featured Characters:

• The Fantastic Four (Appears in flashback and main story)
  •  Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)  (Appears in flashback and main story)
  •  Invisible Girl (Sue Storm)  (Appears in flashback and main story)
  •  Human Torch (Johnny Storm)  (Appears in flashback and main story)
  •  The Thing (Ben Grimm)  (Appears in flashback and main story)

Villains:

•  The Sub-Mariner (Namor)  (First Silver Age appearance)
• Giganto (Only Appearance)^[1]
• Miracle Man (Only in flashback)
• The Monster from Mars (Only in flashback)

Other Characters:

• Unnamed New Yorkers
• U.S. Army
• New York policemen
• Giganto's stomach monster

Locations:

• New York
  • New York City
    • Manhattan
      • Baxter Building
      • a Bowery hotel
  • Swanson's Garage
• Atlantic Ocean
  • The ruins of Atlantis

Items:

• Fantasti-Flare
• Horn of Proteus - (First appearance) (Unidentified)

Vehicles:

• Fantasticar
  
  

Synopsis for "The Coming of... Sub-Mariner!"Edit

The Human Torch has quit the team. Reed, Sue, and Ben use the Fantasti-Car to search the city for him. Johnny, though, has gone to Swanson's Garage to work on cars. Ben, on a hunch, goes to the garage.

Chapter 2: Enter the Sub-Mariner!

Unable to use his flame because of the gasoline around him, Johnny faces an angry Ben without his power. Ben backs him into a corner, but before the Thing can hit Johnny, he changes back to his old, human form. Johnny uses the distraction to leave the garage, flame on, and fly away. Ben immediately changes back to the Thing.

Johnny goes to the Bowery to find accommodations. Once in his bunk he reads a 1940s comic about the Sub-Mariner. Another guest of the establishment notices what he's reading and says, "We got a stumble-bum right here who's as strong as that joker was supposed to be!" He hands the bearded "stumble-bum" a phone book and tells him to tear it in half. The man refuses. The others attack him but get swatted away. The man complains that he can't remember anything: "Why have I spent the long years here, in a fog, with my mind a blank??" Johnny says, "Flame on!" ignites one finger, and burns off the man's beard. He looks just like the Sub-Mariner, pointy ears and all.

Chapter 3: Let the World Beware!

Johnny carries the man out to sea and drops him into the water. Back in his native element, the Sub-Mariner remembers who he is. He goes to his home, Atlantis. It lies in radioactive ruins, a casualty of atomic testing. The Sub-Mariner returns to New York and tells Johnny that he will retaliate by destroying the human race.

Chapter 4: Sub-Mariner's Revenge!

The rest of the FF, back at the Baxter Building, see Johnny's flare rise from the waterfront. They take the Fantasti-Car to meet him and learn about the Sub-Mariner's revival. Out at sea, the Sub-Mariner finds Giganto, "the largest living thing in all the world," and the horn that can rouse him. He leads the creature towards New York, which begins an evacuation. The army bombards Giganto, without effect. The Thing comes up with a daring plan: strap a nuclear bomb to his back, get inside the monster, and leave it there to destroy it. While Giganto takes a nap, Ben carries the bomb down its gullet.

Chapter 5: Return to the Deep!

With seconds to spare, Ben makes it out of the monster's maw. The Sub-Mariner threatens to use the horn to summon more creatures. An invisible Sue grabs the horn and runs away with it. The Sub-Mariner tackles her. She becomes visible. "If you will be my bride," says the Sub-Mariner, "I might show mercy to the rest of your pitiful race!" She responds, "How can I make such a choice?" He threatens again to use the horn. Sue says, "I—I'll do anything—I'll become your bride!" Johnny, though, forms a tornado that pulls the Sub-Mariner into the air and drops him in the ocean. The horn falls to the bottom. The Sub-Mariner swears, "I'll be back!"

NotesEdit

• At the end of the issue is a bonus pinup, featuring (click to enlarge):

"Mister Fantastic", drawn by Jack Kirby, inked by Sol Brodsky and lettered by Artie Simek

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

• This story is explicitly set in New York City.
• The Sub-Mariner makes his first Silver-Age appearance. He last appeared in Sub-Mariner Comics #42. He chronologically appears next in Tales of the Marvels: Inner Demons #1. His next appearance in order of publication is Fantastic Four #6.
• Although Giganto was destroyed in this story, another Giganto appears in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #7. A Counter Earth version of the character appears in Fantastic Four Vol 2 #2.
• The Horn of Proteus appears next in Sub-Mariner #21.

• In this issue, the Human Torch says for the first time ever "Flame On!".
• This issue is reprinted in other comics and books, see references for more info.^[2]
  

TriviaEdit

• No trivia.

See AlsoEdit

• Write your own review of this comic!
• Discuss Fantastic Four Vol 1 4 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Fantastic Four series
• Images from Fantastic Four Vol 1 4
• Reviews about Fantastic Four Vol 1 4

Recommended ReadingEdit

• None.

Links and ReferencesEdit

• The Fantastic Four at Wikipedia
• The Fantastic Four at Marvel Subscriptions
• The Fantastic Four series index at Comicbookdb.com
• The Fantastic Four series index at the Grand Comics Database Project
• Related Fantastic Four comics on this site
• Marvel Comics Index #4
• Official Marvel Index to the Fantastic Four #1

Reviews

By Duck2ducks
http://www.marvelgenesis.com/2009/12/6-fantastic-four-4.html

By M1shawhan

HA! The Sub-Mariner is back! Good news for him, since he seemed to be an amnesiac and a bum. Bad news for the rest of humankind. It takes Johnny walking into a Bowery hotel to find the Sub-Mariner. I think the resounding question was not what happened to Atlantis, but instead what happened to get the Sub-Mariner to this low of a level? Johnny tosses him in the sea after giving him a VERY close shave with his flame (I know I wouldn't trust him enough to keep steady hands) and this gives him his strength. He immediately rushes to his old home of Atlantis to find that we bombed the heck out of it with atomic testing. This kinda ticks him off. Understandably. So what else can he do but take out revenge on the human race... The Sub-Mariner summons Giganto to destroy the people. The Fantastic Four save the day, by blowing up an atomic bomb inside Giganto (luckily there was one available at the local munitions depot!) All in all, I was surprised I would like this one as much as I did. --M1shawhan 16:12, May 22, 2010 (UTC)