First Look at Fantastic Four #16

In Fantastic Four #16, Doctor Doom is back and he’s got the team right where he wants them! When last we saw Doom, he had been zapped by his own reducing ray and was shrunk down to nothingness. Apparently he didn’t shrink quite that small though since he’s back and has taken control of the Micro-World with plans on getting revenge on the Fantastic Four.

Issue: Fantastic Four #16

Name: The Micro-World of Doctor Doom
Published: 1963 by Marvel Comics

Blurb:

Creators:

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers
Colorist: Stan Goldberg
Letterer: Artie Simek

Characters:

The Good: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, The Thing, The Wasp, Ant-Man, Alicia, Princess Pearla
The Bad: Doctor Doom
The Undecided: Lizard Men of Tok

My Reading:

This issue starts with the Human Torch flying huridly back to the Baxter Building fearing that something has happened to the rest of the team. For some reason they failed to answer his signal so they must be in trouble. When he gets to the headquarters he indeed finds the team in trouble…they’ve shrunk down to miniature size and are being sucked into an air vent.

He quickly seals the vent to save them and then somehow they return to normal size and we find out this is not the first time this has happened. Apparently each member has had similar shrinking experiences and now they’re all hearing disembodied laughter.

With shrinking involved, the team thinks they might try talking to Ant-Man but they don’t know how to reach him. Fortunately, one of the many insects that support Ant-Man overhears Reed and gets in touch with the helmeted hero. Ant-Man shows up and provides the team with reducing and enlarging gas so they can figure out what’s been going on with all the shrinking.

Meanwhile, we have an interlude where Reed once again tries to help the Thing return to human form and we learn that Ben is actually happy to stay as the Thing. Apparently he’s come to acceptance with the help of Alicia that he’s better as the rocky hero rather than his squishy human self.

Back to the main story, the team hears a girl’s voice warning them about Doctor Doom and they figure it’s time to get to the bottom of the shrinking and disembodied voices. They shrink down and are immediately captured by Doctor Doom’s minions. And then they’re shrunk even smaller by Doom’s reducing ray and are forced to listen as Doom explains how he took over the Micro-World and imprisoned the King and Princess.

The team makes a valiant effort to escape but only find themselves stuck in an even more secure cell – this one is underwater in a pool of acid filled with mechanical surveillance fish. And, It turns out that Doom has offered the Fantastic Four as slaves to the leaders of the planet Tok so that they’ll join him.

As Ant-Man decides to check out what the Fantastic Four are up to in the Micro-World, he too is captured by Doom. Luckily though, the team puts together a capsule and escapes the acid pool, with the King and Princess Pearla. And they do so just in time to rescue Ant-Man.

Sensing immanent defeat, Doctor Doom uses his enlarging ray to return to the normal world as the team collects Doom’s minions so the King and Princess can go back to ruling. With things returned to normal in the Micro-World, the Fantastic Four use the enlarging ray to return home to continue the hunt for Doctor Doom.

What did I learn:

• I thought Doctor Doom had vanished into nothingness after his last encounter with the Fantastic Four, obviously he survived.
• Sue has a soft spot for strong male figures…first Namor, now Ant-Man.
• Dogs are the only creatures able to find Sue when she’s invisible because of their great sense of smell.

My Thoughts:

I really like Doctor Doom as the best bad guy Lee and Kirby put together in these early issues. And I love the fact that they’ve created a continuing story line for how the Fantastic Four have to keep dealing with him. It seems to me that this is a precursor for some of the larger “events” that Marvel is known for down the road. Another notable thing is that Ben and Johnny seem to get along better in this issue – perhaps that’s because of Alicia’s influence on Ben and his acceptance of his Thing persona, but who knows.

I suppose my one difficulty with this issue is one of perspective. The team shrinks down to the Micro-World while they’re in the lab in the Baxter Building. So does that mean Doom has been there all along or do they somehow transition into a different world. I’m thinking it’s a different world since Princess Pearla talks about space travel and the Lizard Men of the Planet Tok, so it seems like they’ve moved outta the Baxter Building. Having just finished reading The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene I suppose they could have shrunk down to the quantum realm and gone through a wormhole to another universe. But if that’s the case, the shrinking/enlarging ray might actually be creating a wormhole between universes. Whatever, it’s a comic book and I shouldn’t expect the laws of the normal world to apply.

My Rating: B+

This comic can be found on Marvel Unlimited, Comixology or at your local comic book shop.

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Comic Corner – Marvel 1963 – Fantastic Four #16