A Brief Summary: The Master of Planet X, The Puppet Master, and FF: The Movie!
· Kurrgo, Master of Planet X
Favorite Cover: #7’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” poster
· Kurgo, a short, bald alien with a wrinkled, over-sized head spies on the Fantastic Four: “In every way we of Planet X are the Earthlings’ superiors! We are a far older race, a far wiser one! Our science is a thousand years more advanced than theirs! So, what a pity it is that they will survive, while we will perish when that runaway asteroid collides with our luckless planet!”
· If Kurgo, the Master of Planet X, is aware of the incoming asteroid, shouldn’t he have had better things to do for the “last three weeks” than spy on the Fantastic Four? Maybe use their society’s advanced science to destroy the asteroid or set up an evacuation of the planet?
· My evacuation idea is shot down: “Oh, Kurrgo, my Lord! If only we had enough space ships to enable us to flee our planet before the holocaust!”
· “Fool! You know we have only two space ships on Planet X! But one of those ships is even now blazing towards Earth…towards the only four creatures in all the universe who might find a way to save us!”
· How exactly does Kurgo think the Four will save him? We have a non-force field projecting Sue and a Johnny who doesn’t have the control and stamina of his adult self. Is Ben expected to smash the asteroid to bits? I know Reed will end up being the solution but Kurgo admits to spying on the team for the past month – mentally recap the last six issues – would you trust Reed with the fate of your planet?
· We switch to the Baxter Building. Reed wants the team to attend a dinner in their honor in Washington. He’s met with a severe lack of enthusiasm.
· Johnny: “Aw, who needs it, Reed? I’m not even hungry! Heck, we’re no speech-makers! Imagine what would happen if I have try to say something clever! I’d probably get all tense and nervous, and the next thing we know, it would be just my luck to burst into flame!”
· A shy Johnny? Much different from his later appearances where he loves the spotlight!
· Reed brushes aside Johnny’s concerns: “That’s foolish and you know it, Torch!”
· I don’t know, Reed, you should take it seriously if a man who burst into flames expresses concerns over his control of his abilities.
· Ben: “Bah! It’s just a waste of time! I ain’t going! Can ya imagine how I’d look in front of all those Congressmen at a big state dinner? They’d think I was nutty if I kept all bundled up, but I’d scare ‘em to death if I took my hat and coat off! And then, what if those wise-guy photographers try to take pictures of me? You know my temper! In a couple of seconds, I’d start tearin’ the joint apart! And I’m just the guy to do it, too! No, siree! I don’t want any part of that fancy pants dinner!” Ah, early Marvel, when Ben was the angriest hero in the universe – pre-revived Namor, the Hulk, and Wolverine, of course.
· Sue: “Such short notice! I haven’t got a thing to wear! Oh, Reed, I’m afraid to go. I’m not used to meeting all those important people! I’m liable to get so flustered that before I know it, I might vanish in front of their eyes! If that ever happened, I’d simply die of embarrassment!”
· Did Sue attend college? Or did she not have the option as she was raising Johnny at the time?
· Reed brushes aside his teammates’ concerns: “All right, I’ve heard all your silly little excuses, and now I’m sure you feel better, now that you’ve said them! So, let’s start getting ready now, and let’s this all this nonsense! You know we can’t refuse a request from Congress!”
· Uh, it’s a dinner, Reed, not a congressional investigation, you are allowed to say “no, thank you!”
· Reed is such an ass in this scene. He brushed off Johnny’s legitimate concerns about his control of his powers, Ben’s PTSD and desire not to be gawked at, and Sue’s social insecurity. Is he that desperate to have his ego stroked by politicians?
· The Johnny-Ben prank war begins. Ben adjusts the water temperature while Johnny showers. Ben oddly chooses to increase the temperature. I would’ve thought Ben would have decreased the temperature – Johnny’s a “Human Torch” – heat’s not an effective weapon against him.
· Ben again vocalizes his displeasure about the dinner: “I just wanted to start a little ruckus so I wouldn’t have to go to that blamed dinner!”
· Reed: “Thing, stop feeling sorry for yourself! How do you think I feel! I’m in the middle of a new rocket fuel experiment which is almost reaching fruition, and I’ve got to interrupt it also!” World’s smallest violin, Reed, world’s smallest violin.
· Reed: “C’mon, Thing, cheer up! You might even enjoy the dinner!”
· Ben: “Sure – sure! I just love to have people gaping at me and laughing behind my back!” Who doesn’t? Someone needs to sign Reed up for sensitivity training.
· Reed: “I suppose these nerve-wracking ceremonies are the price we must pay for fame!” No, Ben’s transformation and disfigurement is the price that was paid for fame!
· Kurgo’s robot arrives in Washington and activates a “hostility ray”. The congressman turns on the Four in mid-speech: “It’s time the public awoke to the fact that the Four of you are the worst menaces ever to threaten this land!”
· “Down with the Fantastic Four! Drive them out of this country!” “Call the police! The militia! Get the Fantastic Four!”
· Johnny clears the way. The militia realize “We can’t tackle him without asbestos suits!” Do not get the asbestos suits!
· The Four escape and return to the Baxter Building. The robot arrives: “Heed my words, puny Earthlings! I have travelled many light years to find you – and to bring you a message from Kurgo, master of Planet X!”
· The robot announces that the whole planet has turned against the Four but, hey, my home planet will offer you asylum. Reed’s response boils down to “Makes sense, let’s do it.”
· Sue, Ben, and Johnny need to revolt and elect a new leader for the group – Reed’s plans suck.
· The Four travel to Planet X. Kurgo combines the “Welcome” and the “We’re all going to die” speeches.
· Ben: “I knew we shouldn’t come! But nobody’d listen to me!” Let’s make it official – Ben should be the leader of the Four.
· Johnny and Ben battle the robot – Johnny goes super-nova for the first time.
· Reed’s solution is to shrink the entire population, have them board the ship, travel to another planet. They will return to their original size upon leaving the ship. Should Henry Pym sue for gimmick infringement?
· Sue questions Reed over the effectiveness of the “enlarging gas” capsule that will return Kurrgo’s people to their original size upon reaching their new destination. Reed’s response: “There was no reducing gas, Sue! It was just an empty projectile! I only told them about it so they could consent to my plan! But once they reach their new world, it won’t matter! They’ll all be the same size, and in this vast universe of ours, one’s size is only relative, anyway!”
· This is the second time within seven issues where Reed has shown no respect or consideration for an alien species’ right to their own physical appearance and refused to consider the long-term consequences of his actions. Kurrgo’s people are going to land who knows where – it may not be safe or feasible to be the size of a bug in their new home.
· Ben attempts to enter Reed’s lab but is stopped by Sue and Johnny. “Please, Ben, trust me! Don’t enter Reed’s lab!”
· “Bah! How come you only call me ‘Ben” when you want something? All the rest of the time I’m just the Thing to all of you!” Ben’s not wrong on that – In previous issues the rest of the Four only refer to him as “Thing”.
· Ben moves Sue out of the way “because I got a feelin’ things are gonna get rough around here! Okay now! I’m gonna teach you and that walkin’ rubber-band not to try to keep secrets from me!”
· Johnny pleads with Ben: “Thing, wait! You don’t understand!”
· “I understand plenty! I’m thru bein’ a patsy for you two grand-standers! You’re real buddy-buddy with me when you need my muscle – but whenever something important comes along, I ain’t good enough to be told about it!” Ben makes another good point. Ben was an astronaut, an occupation that requires an advanced education – they shouldn’t talk down to him.
· Reed refuses to explain why Ben isn’t allowed in the building causing Ben to storm out.
· An invisible Sue pleads with Ben to re-enter the building, the group needs him. Ben refuses: “Sure! That’s why you treat me like Dracula’s brother! Sorry, lady! I ain’t buying!”
· Several men approach Ben to harass him for talking to himself: “How about introducin’ us to the lady you were talkin’ to?” “Yeah! What was she? A gremlin, or one of the good fairies? Haw Haw!”
· Sue promptly kicks one of the men in the behind: “I’ll bet you’ve never been kicked by a gremlin before, wise guy!” I love feisty Sue!
· The Four’s argument is interrupted by a man attempting suicide by jumping off a bridge.
· We see a bald man inside a home with a replica of the bridge and the climbing man: “Go my helpless puppet! Jump as your real-life prototype will also jump at the same instant. You, a nameless nobody, will be my first test of power!”
· The bald man pushes the figure off the bridge only to suffer burns to his finger.
· Johnny has arrived at the bridge and prevented the man from falling his death.
· The bald man exclaims: “Only one living creature could have done this! It means the Human Torch will be the Puppet Master’s next victim!”
· A young woman enters the room: “Father! I heard you cry out! What is wrong?”
· “Nothing, Alicia! It is of no concern of yours! I have work to do! Return to your room! And I have told you never to call me ‘father’! I am only your step-father! Do you understand?”
· What an ass! The Puppet Master is rather psychotic in his first appearance – willing to casually murder a nameless stranger and needlessly cruel to Alicia.
· The Puppet Master’s “power” is terrifying – even more so than the Purple Man. Killgrave has to be within a certain radius of his victim to gain control of the individual’s mind. The Puppet Master simply sculpts a figure and – bam – instant control!
· The Puppet Master reveals the source of his power – radioactive clay!
· The Puppet Master carves a figure of Ben and places it in a replica of the house causing Ben to head towards him. An invisible Sue follows him. A blind Alicia realizes Sue is in the house when she hears her breathing – and her heartbeat? Really? Is Alicia secretly Daredevil?
· The Puppet Master captures Sue. It’s the eighth issue and Sue has been a hostage in four of them.
· The Puppet Master notes that Sue “looks remarkably like you Alicia”. I don’t see it. If anything, Alicia bears a resemblance to the not-yet-created Crystal.
· The Puppet Master dresses Alicia up in a Fantastic Four uniform and wig. He orders her to accompany Ben to “play a harmless little prank for me!”
· Alicia touches Ben’s face and notes “This man – his face feels strong and powerful! And yet, I can sense a gentleness to him – there is something tragic – something sensitive!” Nice summary of Ben’s character. But not one comment on the not normal texture of Ben’s face.
· The Puppet Master orders the duo to return to the Baxter Building. Alicia states “This is all so strange! I do not understand! But I must do as I am told!” Alicia was clearly not one of the liberated women of the 1960s.
· Ben attacks Johnny and Reed upon entering the Baxter Building. Reed tricks Ben into destroying a container that holds an experimental liquid. The liquid transforms Ben back into his human form. Reed reveals that the liquid is the reason he didn’t want Ben in the lab: “I didn’t want you to know about it, in case it failed! You’ve had so many disappointments I didn’t want you to suffer another one until I was sure!”
· Reed’s heart was in the right place but it’s incredibly arrogant and condescending to not inform a patient about their course of treatment. He’s essentially treating Ben like a lab rat. Ben would have to brace for disappointment either way as potential success wouldn’t be known until Ben tried the formula.
· A blind, and very confused, Alicia pleads: “Where am I? Who are you?”
· Reed, mega-genius, notes: “That girl! She isn’t Sue!” Seriously, Reed, it took you this long to notice? I can think of one more butt-kicking Sue needs to deliver!
· Ben assures Alicia: “Don’t worry, kid! You’re safe and sound! We’re all your friends!”
· “You’re voice! You are the strong, kindly one! But – you seem different now!”
· Ben transforms back into the Thing.
· Alicia continues: “No, wait! I was mistaken! It is you – it is the same wonderful man!”
· Ben laments to himself: “She likes he better as the Thing!” I wouldn’t say Alicia prefers Ben as the Thing – I’d say it was more that Alicia – a blind woman in an unfamiliar situation – found comfort in a familiar presence.
· The Puppet Master causes a riot/breakout at a state prison. The men head to the prison to contain the situation.
· Johnny rescues the warden while Ben insists “I’m gonna grab me a little bit of the action, pal! Like wow!” When did Ben become a valley girl?
· “Sufferin’ snakes!” The inmates are terrified of Ben’s rampage especially when he plays “fastball special” with said inmates.
· The Puppet Master reuinites with Alicia. He informs Alicia of his upcoming plans as the “Ruler of all the world!” Alicia and the Puppet Master struggle for control of the “Ruler of the world” figure. Alicia trips which causes the Puppet Master to fall out a window and plummet to his presumed death.
· Nice introduction of the Puppet Master – a surprisingly scary villain who thankfully isn’t as depraved as the Purple Man. If the Puppet Master hadn’t allowed his ego to take over, he could have become a true “puppet master” – pulling the strings of a huge criminal empire.
· #9 is the first “clunker” of an issue. The Four go bankrupt and have their fortunes restored by Namor: Movie Producer!
· Namor, chilling undersea, watches a television newscaster announce: “The world-famous Fantastic Four are bankrupt! They have announced plans to dissolve their partnership and sell all their possessions in order to pay their debts!”
· I now understand why Sue eventually takes control of the groups’ finances – Reed didn’t even last a year before he went bankrupt!
· Writers often use the “FF go bankrupt” storyline – it’s rather silly since Reed can invent something that will cure their money woes in five seconds. Who wouldn’t want a Reed-designed smart phone? However, at this point in the group’s history, potential investors would be worried – it was less than a year ago that Reed’s mistake caused his friends’ extreme transformations.
· The Four are dealing with bill collectors back in New York City. Johnny, Ben, and Sue offer their abilities as a way to raise money.
· Reed refuses: “I appreciate your support, but it’s not that simple! I’m not going to let you rent yourselves out to a freak show – and the only other way to cash in on our supernatural powers is thru crime – which would be unthinkable!” Or the alleged mega-genius could invent something and turn a profit?
· Ben stumbles across the dissection of the Pogo plane: “Leggo of my plane, you crumbs! I oughtta pulverize ya for that!” Yeah, you don’t touch a pilot’s plane!
· Reed assures Ben that they’re “getting a good price” for the plane. Ben counters “No price is good enough for all the work we put into designin’ that ship!” Poor Ben is very upset over the loss of the plane!
· Ben rips on Reed: “Some rotten manager you were, rubber-man! You made a fortune by selling patents on all your inventions – enough dough to keep us going for years – but you hadda be a big shot and invest it all in stocks! You lunkhead!” Reed’s genius clearly doesn’t extend to financial management.
· Ben decides – once again – to quit the group. A cab refuses to stop for Ben so he impales the vehicle on a street pole. I’m not sure how this didn’t result in Ben being sent to jail.
· Reed receives an offer from S.M. Studios: One million dollars cash if the team star in a movie.
· Ben reunites with the team and they head to Hollywood. The team is broke so they have to hitch-hike across the country. In full costume.
· The group arrives at S.M. Studios only to discover the producer is the Sub-Mariner!
· How did Namor keep his purchase of a movie studio a secret? It wasn’t that long ago Namor was terrorizing New York City and threatening the surface world with dire vengeance. The authorities should have been swarming the place as soon as Namor assumed ownership.
· Sue’s still has a serious case of Namor-lust: “He’s so masterful – so confident!”
· The men film the movie while Namor romances Sue.
· Namor fills his movie with legitimate threats to attack the men – Cyclops, poison spears immune to flames, etc. Namor battles the Thing. Ben loses when he transforms back into human form mid-fight.
· Namor returns to Sue, announces he’s triumphed over the men, and proposes marriage. Sue’s not impressed and attempts to flee. However, Namor has “the powers of all the creatures who live beneath the sea!” and uses the “power of the electric eel” and the “radar sense of the cave fish from the lowest depths of the sea” to capture Sue.
· Namor announces “Your struggles are useless! I like a woman with spirit! Only such a female can be a fitting mate for the monarch of the sea!” Namor, I love you, but you’re delving into very creepy territory.
· The boys arrive and are ready to trounce Namor. Sue prevents a brawl by stating both parties must “honor the contract”. Namor pays the FF the million dollars and returns to the sea.
· Not a great issue and not a good portrayal of Namor. Only highlights were Ben’s despair over the loss of the Pogo plane, Ben’s excitement over being a “white knight” and a fun Ben-Namor brawl.
