Subby’s back again. (And note Thing’s trenchcoat on the cover.). 3 Namor appearances in 4 issues.
The FF are broke.
Reed Richards can invent all kinds of crap, but I guess he can’t fill out the forms for a copyright.
They get evicted from the Baxter Building. And needing money, they hitchhike to Hollywood…
…Figuring they can make it as movie stars. Note that this is Stan Lee’s own personal dream as well.
Once there, we get to see Jack Kirby drawing the biggest stars of the day. Putting “real life” celebrities and politicians in their comics helped make Marvel feel more accessible. Just like using New York City instead of “Gotham” or “Central City” also made readers feel more connected to the product.
I’ve created a tag so, if you’re interested, you can see all the other times I’ve noted famous people appearing in Marvel titles.
Across the issue, we see the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Bing Crosby, Charles Bronson, Bob Hope Dean Martin, Jack Benny, and others.
And one of the biggest names in Hollywood…
Yes, Namor is a movie producer. (Look how Sue is all attracted to a producer with money…)
And spoiler alert:
Everyone loves his movie!
Sub-Mariner and the F4 eventually fight, of course.
Namor t-bags Thing.
I think this is the first time we see that Namor has the powers of undersea creatures.
That’s not something he still has. Hence, I am using the tag: “Forgotten Power Sets.”
In these early days, they didn’t have creative letter page banners most of the time. Here’s what the FF’s was…
And they still had a page to fill, so…Pin-Up:
The oldest comic-book in my entire collection is “Amazing Spider-Man”#6, from 1962- the first appearance/attack of the Lizard. Not to be outdone, my brother sent off for a vintage comic-book from around the same period of time, from a mail-order company- Robert Bell Comics-and bought the most expensive vintage back-issue that his saved-up allowance would afford- it was ‘Fantastic Four’#9! My brother still has it!! ( big deal! I still have ‘Amazing Spider-Man’#6! ) This story was, indeed, groundbreaking, as it showed us what happens when a superhero, or superhero team, goes broke and can’t pay the bills, cover the rent, or even buy a meal!! All the fault of the most intelligent man on Earth!! ( Doctor Doom must have busted a gut laughing at this!! ) I’m glad the Sub-Mariner finally got over his villainous streak here, because it just simply doesn’t become him! In the very first issue of John Byrne’s “Namor the Sub-Mariner” reboot from 1990, ( that long-??? Holy smokes!! How does the time fly???? ) Byrne gives us a complex-and plausible-reason why Namor turns into a world-attacking asshole every once in a while, as he seems to be here. It’s curious how he went his entire 1968-1974 series in pure “good guy” mode, without going on the rag, except once- ( issue #21 ) I do get the feeling that in the above scene where Namor plays his cards in his office, that all the cash and power he is throwing around is making Sue a little moist! Well, bless her heart- it’s a pure heart, but at the end of the day, Reed is flat broke, Namor is obnoxiously wealthy, Sue is an unliberated, pre-Claremont ‘Stan Lee’ girl, and for a girl with no education ( unlike her ‘Jessica Alba’ iteration ) and no job-skills, money TALKS, and bullshit WALKS!!!! Yessir- all day!! I am glad that all the exotic sub-sea superpowers that Namor displayed in this issue seems to have been retconned out of continuity, because too many of them are just too convenient, for my taste. I say let him keep the “electric-eel” electricity-channeling power, because it’s been so firmly established- and it’s not too implausible, considering that this is an actual “superpower” in the world of ocean creatures- but let’s forget the rest, lest the old boy just become too ridiculous an underwater force to be reckoned with. Namor’s primary offensive super-ability is his titanic super-strength, which allows him to duke it out with the Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Hercules, and really, that’s enough. We don’t need “Supermariner”, if you know what I mean! But I thought “The End of the Fantastic Four” was a terrific, groundbreaking adventure featuring a cast of characters that I really dig, and I hope my brother chokes on his first-edition copy of it! Imperious Rex!!