thanks for answering my ben/johnny ask you’ve honestly inspired me. I kinda shipped them since I saw how close they were from like someone who is outside the ff fandom, but now I see all the subtext and I’m like “oh damn”. Also do you have any good places to start with getting into the ff? Because I need more of the boys™️
You’re welcome! Honestly thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about them – I think they have a really fascinating dynamic, whether you ship them or not. I have some general Fantastic Four starting point recommendations here, but if you want some more Ben and Johnny focused stories:
Waid’s run, which I recommend starting with, has some really good Ben and Johnny moments right off the bat, but things really pick up past the Fantastic Four #500 point when Dr. Doom takes over Ben’s body and uses him to hurt Johnny, which tragic consequences. (Ben dies, but he gets better.)
I can’t believe I forgot Johnny hallucinating Ben and talking to him throughout the day in the other BenJohnny post. “Grab my –” grab your WHAT, Johnny?
“But this is how I get through the day.” :( All of the above are from Fantastic Four #509.
J Michael Straczynski’s Fantastic Four run (Fantastic Four #527-541) has a lot underrated issues in it and a lot of good Ben and Johnny content, including a showdown with the Hulk that I absolutely love. It also features the Fantastic Four continuing to face the consequences from Reed’s invasion of Latveria in the previous run, with all of their money tied up – except for Ben’s.
(FF #528) This run does run into Civil War, but the Fantastic Four’s tie-ins are pretty personal as far as Civil War tie-ins go, and there’s a really great scene of Ben talking to Johnny while Johnny lies in the hospital after he was badly beaten at the beginning of the event.
Dwayne McDuffie took over on Fantastic Four #542, and I also really recommend his run for Ben and Johnny content. #543 is a great issue – Ben and Johnny stay home to babysit the kids and watch a documentary about the Fantastic Four.
With Reed and Sue taking a break from the Fantastic Four, T’Challa and Storm step into be their replacements, making the book a teamup between a pair of newlyweds and an old married couple.
Jonathan Hickman’s run, starting at Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1-5 and going into Fantastic Four #570, is extremely plot-heavy, but it starts off with Ben and Johnny taking a vacation together and it has a lot of great other moments, too, like Johnny taking a human-for-the-week Ben out for a night on the town, and a really great farewell scene. Robinson’s run (Fantastic Four v5 #1-14, renumbering to Fantastic Four #542-545), on the other hand, is a very tight run, with a lot of good Ben and Johnny content.(Fantastic Four v5 #7)
After Robinson’s run, things get a bit dicey as Marvel hitan event called Secret Wars (2015) that essentially took the Fantastic Four offthe stands for three years and separated Ben and Johnny for a lot of that time.(Where my “they slept together and it was a bad time” headcanon comes in.) Whenthey are reunited, things get pretty tense, and, worried Johnny’s going to hurthimself, Ben lies about his belief that Reed and Sue are still out there,launching them both on a multiversal roadtrip in Marvel Two-In-One (2017),which is a really good book if you want to read some Ben and Johnny content.The first 10 issues are heavily dedicated to their relationship.
(Marvel Two-In-One (2017) #3)
Some oneshots, too, for quick reads:
Fantastic Four: Mythos: A retelling of the accident thatgave the Fantastic Four their powers, Mythos has beautiful art and some greatBen and Johnny moments.
Human Torch (2003) #12: I actually recommend this wholeseries, esepecially #1-6, though the art may take some muscling through, butthe last issue is a Ben and Johnny teamup at a college football game.
Strange Tales #112, #129 : While not bearing his name,Strange Tales essentially was Johnny’s first (and longest) solo comic in issues#101-134, with Ben featuring regularly towards the end. In #112, Johnny absorbsa bomb and nearly dies. In #129, a bunch of villains tie Johnny to the traintracks and Ben has to rescue him.
Marvel Fanfare #15: A really cute oneshot about Ben andJohnny on the eve of a very special holiday.
Marvel Two-In-One #68: Ben and Johnny run into Angel fromthe X-Men at a disco.
Marvel Two-In-One #89: Ben and Johnny are captured byvillains who suppress their powers. They also wear these outfits:
Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #22: Marvel Adventures isa series of young reader friendly oneshots, which have the advantage of allbeing self-contained stories, and most of them are pretty fun and cute. #22features Ben and Johnny watching a horror movie marathon.
And that’s probably more comics to start with than you werelooking for! With the exception of some of the oneshots, I stuck more to modernFantastic Four, but Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original Fantastic Four run hasa lot of good Ben and Johnny moments, too, and is one of my favorite Silver Ageruns in general.
