FANTASTIC FOUR #11 (1963): 1st Impossible Man, Willie Lumpkin

The first appearance Impossible Man takes up the first half of this two-story issue.  He lands on Earth and robs a bank to get money to buy food.  The police call the FF to help…

\Note the odd relationship between the team and the police, who ask the Fantastic Four for help because they’re afraid the reports of Impossible Man are a prank and don’t want to look stupid.  He explains that on his planet, his species adapted the ability to change forms instantly to avoid predators.

This seems at odds with his purpose on Earth, which is to have fun.  Reed Richards outsmarts him by offering him no fun at all, he gets bored, and he leaves.

But if I were from a planet of constant danger, I’d think boredom would be an attractive respite, no?

Anyway, the second story shows the team meeting their fans, and an early example of cosplay…

Then, they answer fan mail delivered by Willie Lumpkin, in his first appearance in the 616 Universe. 

Although Fantastic Four #11 is his first Marvel Universe appearance, Willie Lumpkin was a character from a newspaper syndicated strip written by Stan Lee and drawn by Dan DeCarlo.  The strip was discontinued in May 1961 after about a two-year run.

The postman would be a popular side character for decades.  He even got his own comic, a one-shot, in 1989’s Marvel Comics Presents #18, dated Peter Parker’s Aunt May, and was played by Stan Lee in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.

Willie delivers mail to the team, and one of the letters provokes Sue into a reverie.  We get a revelation that Ben and Reed served in WWII together, and that Ben and Sue grew up together.

And Reed shows some jealous feelings about Sue, which is unusual for him.  Sub-Mariner is really the only character who can consistently provoke that kind of reaction from him.

On top of all that, this is the first story where Reed Richards successfully “cures” The Thing…

By the end of the story, he’s rocky again.

Oh, and also…

It’s Sue’s birthday!

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