Family Matters: The Fantastic Four's Triumphs and Tribulations, part 6

Part 6 – Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Fantastic Four # 149

August 1974

“To Love, Honor, and Destroy!”

Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler, and Joe Sinnott

Doug: What a great splash page! As we go through these issues, I find Rich Buckler to be either home run or so-so. I really think this splash, with its triangular orientation of figures, the dynamic poses, and the intensity of Namor’s posture to be fine rendering. Sue looks good, the lackey looks menacing, and you just can’t beat a good ol’ battle cry: Imperius Rex!

Doug: Hmmm… about Page 2. Reed’s in character – tense, willing to fight (although as my colleagues have argued in prior postings, is it “too little, too late”?), Ben’s for the most part in character… but something about Johnny’s take throughout this has bothered me. I have wondered where the “blood is thicker than water” instinct is. To me, Johnny should have remained loyal to Sue. I understand why Ben has stuck with Reed, and Medusa is caught in the middle but with her loyalty being toward service to the team. Johnny just seems a little dense in regard to the magnitude of the decision Reed made about Franklin.

Karen: Well, Johnny’s always been a bit dense, hasn’t he? What really creeped me out was his thought in the previous issue, about a sister being “almost as close as a wife”. Uck.

Doug: Medusa using a little of that “woman’s intuition”? What did you think about her line that Namor has never been vicious? Hel-lo!! Ever read any Golden Age books, Sweetie?

Karen: The whole thing with Medusa is odd, until the reveal at the end. This picks up on the Medusa-Torch story from a few issues back, where they were going to the Hidden Land, because Blackbolt had called for her - hmm, they never did get to Attilan. Geez, Conway really did drop a lot of plot threads!

Sharon: Let me get this straight—back in FF#145, Reed tells Medusa he received a message for her from Black Bolt about a “Project Revival.” In light of the reveal in #149, it seems like the mention in #145 was supposed to be a signal to her that this plan is being set in motion. So why does she act like she’s all of a sudden figuring things out in #149?

Sharon: And if “Project Revival” was a really plan to get Sue and Namor back together, why did Reed tell her Black Bolt wanted her back in Attilan, and why did she go through the trouble of dragging Johnny along with her? And then after the mayhem that ensued (in #145 and #146), their trip to Attilan was then dropped—so poor Johnny didn’t get to see his beloved Crystal before her wedding after all. It appears Stan was not the only one with the faulty memory back then, eh, Roy Thomas (editor) and Gerry Conway (writer)?

Doug: As the battle begins, I’m thinking of that mid-80’s series Damage Control. When these super-powered types get after it, there is a lot of destruction that takes place! And how about the taxpayer bill, for the police, etc.?

Karen: Apparently folks like Blackbolt and Namor don’t concern themselves over such things – I mean, why have Sue and Reed sit down and talk when you can destroy half the city instead?

Doug: “Sue’s force field – It appeared so suddenly, there was no time to swerve away!” Umm… appeared?

Karen: Reed must have had his special invisibility detecting glasses on….

Doug: I thought Ben’s trip down memory lane was well-crafted and a very nice addition to the story. Sometimes I don’t care for flashbacks – seems they just take up space. But this fits perfectly, and Buckler’s art reflects an early Silver Age feel during these panels.

Sharon: Buckler does a nice job here recreating the Kirby scenes from FF #4—an instance in which swiping is appropriate and is, in fact, expected.

Doug: There are some really outstanding splashes and two-page splashes in this little arc.

Doug: As for the battle, I became aware that most of the fighting was mano a mano – not a lot of property destruction. It began to seem like something was amiss. Although no one on the FF’s side ever spoke of Namor pulling his punches, I just had to wonder what was really going on.

Doug: The conversation between Ben and Sue was great – in my opinion, this type of writing is lacking in many of today’s comics. These panels conveyed a history between these two characters, a depth of emotion that seemed real. Today’s comics often just run from battle to battle with a cheesecake shot in between with no real concern for character development.

Karen: I’d agree that I’d like more interaction between characters in today’s team books, but honestly, Sue’s reaction to Ben’s comments just seemed a little too convenient. She’s felt that Reed is distant and neglectful, but because he’s willing to fight over her, suddenly she’s back in love with him? Then again, people are unpredictable emotionally. So I’ll let it pass.

Doug: The big reveal at the end was a nice surprise, although I did feel that Medusa’s role in it remained unclear and somewhat clumsily handled. It was good to see Triton, and the proximity of this story to the coming wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver seemed to dovetail nicely.

Karen: Yes, the whole Project Revival idea here (with the Inhumans and Namor teaming up to get Reed and Sue back together) seems about half-baked. Namor in particular seems out of character. It feels like Conway didn’t have a good idea of how to achieve the couple’s reconciliation, so he just threw in a big fight and poof! They love each other again.

Doug: Overall, this last arc was a fun, sentimental read. Looking at it in a short timeframe, I’m still uncertain as to why Conway chose to insert the Frightful Four fight in between the stories in #147 and #149 – perhaps that was the only vehicle he could think of to get Thundra into #149? And she proved indispensable to the events concluding this issue, as Conway chose Ben to be the one to reason with Sue – someone had to occupy Namor so that Ben could steal away.

Doug: As to an impression of this entire series, it has really been a nice trip through Marvel history, and is a summation of why Marvel has for years been (in my opinion) so far ahead of DC. Marvel took the time to craft an inter-related universe with “real” characters – people with feelings, emotions of pride and resentment, and life events that occur in the everyday world.

Karen: It seems to me that the Reed – Sue breakup started out pretty well, but sort of fell apart here at the end. The early issues (even before the ones we reviewed) gave good reasons why the split occurred –particularly after Reed zapped Franklin. But these later issues never truly felt solid; they seemed to be poorly developed. While attempting this type of subject matter was laudable, the execution of the story was lacking.

Karen: And speaking of Franklin – where the heck was he all this time? Sitting inside Namor’s ‘Tomazooma’ fortress? I’m surprised Sue would let him out of her sight!

Sharon: Maybe she made him invisible, to keep him out of harm’s way? ;)

Fantastic Four #147: Family Matters: The Fantastic Four's Triumphs and Tribulations, part 4

Part 4:1 – Do You Know Where Your Woman Is Tonight?

Fantastic Four # 147

June 1974

“The Sub-Mariner Strikes!”

Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler, and Joe Sinnott

Doug: As a bridge between the gut-wrenching story we’ve just taken a look at (albeit a long look – but it was fun!) and the story we’re next interested in (FF #’s 147-149), here’s a very brief look at events involving Reed/Sue/Franklin over the intervening two story arcs.

Doug: The issues from 142-146 are not without their significance in their own right – we see the introduction of Darkoth the Death-Demon on #142, the beginning of Rich Buckler’s tenure as penciller on the title (and his quick transition to a “Kirbyish” style), a great Doctor Doom entrance (copied (?) in The Empire Strikes Back) that leads into a mediocre two-parter in #’s 143-144, and Ross Andru as guest-penciller in #’s 145-146.

Sharon: Regarding the Dr. Doom entrance, it was copied all right—but not exactly in the way you think. This is a clear swipe of a Jack Kirby panel from Fantastic Four #87.  I’ll get to Rich Buckler’s—ahem—“homage” to Kirby later on in this entry, but as for The Empire Strikes Back—as many are aware, there have been theories and arguments raging for decades about whether Kirby’s work influenced George Lucas and his Star Wars films. But that is a topic for another day…

Doug: Issue #142 gives us a recap of the events at the end of the previous story, mostly as related by Ben. Johnny has interaction with an old classmate of Reed’s, who happens to coach football at Metro U. Sue drives Franklin back to the farm where she’d sought refuge some issues before (only to have been kidnapped by Agatha Harkness). Other than that, most of the issue is a battle royale between Ben and Darkoth, and further revelations on Alicia Masters’ attempt to have her eyesight restored. One might also question if Medusa wasn’t in romantic pursuit of Reed in this issue as well. Another thing: I found it odd that Reed’s classmate, Coach Thorne, when laying eyes up Doom, acted as if he’d never seen the good Doctor. Must never watch the news or pick up a paper…

Doug: Issue #143 really doesn’t address the Sue/Franklin subplot, other than to show a 3-panel shot of Sue lamenting that she can trust no one after what Reed did – NO ONE! By the way, Giacoia’s inks over Buckler in this book leave a lot to be desired as compared to Sinnott’s!!

Karen: I’ll second that – Giacoia’s inks look rough and unfinished compared to Sinnott’s.

Sharon: Agreed, Buckler’s work looks terrible here. His pencils usually need a lot of help in the inking stage, and while I think Giacoia’s is a very good inker, Giacoia’s linework is too delicate for Buckler. Buckler usually needs a “slick” inker like Sinnott—or even a Dan Adkins (in Giant-Size Avengers #1), both of whom really add a polish to his pencils.

Doug: And that’s about it… Issues 144-146 were basically throwaways if you ask me. For Conway having been on the top of his game in the story we reviewed over the past two weeks, and returning to the summit with our next arc, he sure took some creative “time off” over these five months.

Karen: That’s putting it kindly, Doug. These issues were mediocre. Even the Dr. Doom story was boring.

Doug: Personally, I’m really excited to discuss this particular issue – the arc, too, but more for this story. When I was a youngster we moved away from my hometown due to a change in jobs. I was fortunate that I was able to find some new friends who shared my budding interest in comics. I really hit it off with one friend in particular, and he had this issue. FF #147 had to be perhaps only the fourth or fifth issue of the magazine I’d ever read. So, with a limited background I was just wide-eyed at the emotion of this tale – even as a not-quite-8-year old, I knew that this was big stuff. The fight early on between Ben, Johnny, and Namor was captivating. We had a lot of Megos back then, and we would act out various scenarios we’d seen. I had a Tarzan, and the “newer” Megos had colored briefs under the costumes. A stripped-down Tarzan was our Sub-Mariner!

Doug: But back to the story… As an adult, I can only imagine how painful it must be to be served a divorce summons, as Reed received from Sue. Conway was treading on very mature themes as we head into this story.

Karen: Yes, as we discussed before, I believe these stories from the 70’s were the precursor to our modern day ultra-realism. While on one hand I can appreciate such things, I’m sort of sorry to see mainstream comics turn so unrelentingly negative now. Although perhaps with the change in administrations and the overall resurgence of hope (even in these grim times) we might see comics become more optimistic as well.

Doug: Although the battle scene between Ben and Johnny and Namor was well choreographed, I do find it a little strange that Namor was just lying in wait beneath the waters of that lake. I suppose the flight path to Sue’s friends’ place was pretty well known and even standard, but it was a bit of a stretch on Conway’s part. Too, the asbestos net? Where exactly had Namor hidden that? Seems his outfit lacks a utility belt!

Karen: The details of the story do not bear close inspection!

Doug: A comment on Rich Buckler’s art in this issue – in his first story, #142, either he took pains to emulate John Buscema or Joe Sinnott provided that as a service. In the succeeding few issues, Buckler took on more of the “Kirbyish” appearance; but by the time we roll into this arc I would say he’s walking more on his own two feet. While the Kirby look is still present, there really are some fine looking panels in this story and I think that’s a tribute to Buckler’s growing confidence in himself.

Karen: I always liked Rich Buckler’s work. He was part of a group of very talented young artists and writers- perhaps the second wave of Marvel? – who made their mark in the 70s. I think because he worked on both FF and Thor, the Kirby clone label was applied to him. I mean, anyone being inked by Joe Sinnott is going to look somewhat like Kirby! Look at his other work, such as Deathlok in Astonishing Tales. The guy was a great storyteller and could flat-out draw!

Sharon: Okay. Buckler. So I’m reading FF #147 for the first time, courtesy of Fantastic Four Essentials Volume #7, and I noticed something strange—the panel of Subby carrying Sue in his arms looked awfully familiar. (The FF Essentials #7 does not include page numbers, but for the record the panel I’m referring to appears on page 10, panel 4 of the FF #147 reprint.) I had a strong feeling of déjà vu, I knew I’d seen that panel before—I could vividly picture it in context in another story---and off I raced to FF Annual #1…and sure enough, there it was, in all its Kirbyesque glory, on page 36, panel 1 of the Annual! Buckler had essentially copied the Sue and Namor figures!

Sharon: And for those who'd like to see even more Buckler/Kirby Fantastic Four panels like these, feel free to check out my Panelocity blog! Now, back to the discussion. A tribute to Kirby? Perhaps. As I read some of the other Buckler-illustrated stories in FF Essentials #7, I noticed a slew of other such “tributes”, only more creatively done. For example, in #149, take the panel on page 2, panel 4, in which Johnny grabs Medusa by the hand. That’s taken from FF #79, only in the original it’s Johnny grabbing Crystal’s hand.

Sharon: FF #151: the male figure in the first panel on page 8 is based on the Galactus figure on page 2 in FF #49.

Sharon: FF #152: the first panel on page 10 is based on a panel of Crystal being carried off in FF #84.

Sharon: FF #153: the two middle panels on page 6 are based on two panels in FF #19. Also, in #153, on page 7, the middle panel is based on a panel in FF Annual #5. The figure of Medusa in the last panel on page #13 is based on Medusa in a panel from #47. Again, for those who want to see even more Buckler adaptations of Kirby, feel free to visit the Panelocity site--these Kirby tributes/homages/swipes are often very ingenious! 

http://panelocityhomageswipes.blogspot.com/

Sharon: There's also the aforementioned Dr. Doom swipe (in FF #142) from FF #87.These are just a few of the images I saw right off the bat.  Now of course I knew of Buckler’s reputation as a swipe artist but I’d assumed it just meant he was adept at mimicking styles on demand; certainly, he’s proven he can draw in the style of giants like John Buscema, Neal Adams and Kirby; and from what I’ve read, he was encouraged (by Marvel management) to do so. But I was amazed at the sheer number of very obvious, outright copies of Kirby’s panels.

Sharon: Since I did not read these Buckler issues back when they were first released, and because the Essentials do not contain the letter pages, I have to ask: back when these FF issues hit the stands, did readers comment on his tendency to use images/layouts from Kirby’s FF? Was there any sort of public acknowledgement by Marvel management of the legitimacy of this “method?” 

Doug: WOW!! Sharon, you have some memory! I really had no idea that the swipes were that extensive. You have inspired some research on my part!

Karen: OK...that's just ridiculous.

Doug: Once Ben and Johnny got to the Linders’ home, I felt like there was more to the story than we were being told – Conway’s tangled web, I’m sure. If you think back to Sue’s comment related above, from #143, Namor has been perhaps the only other person besides Reed whom she has had the trust of. It just seemed odd to me that he would have shown up out of the blue – and speaking of blue, why the devil would Sue have been in costume??

Karen: And speaking of costumes, why is that despite the fact Namor has had his blue suit for 30 + years, I still think of it as his “new” suit?! I guess it must have to do with first impressions and all that.

Sharon: This Namor costume was not one of John Romita’s finer creations. For one thing, what was the deal with those Black Bolt-like arm “membrane wings”?

Doug: That’s funny to me, Sharon – I have always much preferred Namor’s blue suit to the green trunks. I always found it odd that a king would walk about nearly naked. I think Romita’s design is very regal. I’ll give you the questionable functionality of the wings – but hey, can we really believe that he can fly on those little ankle wings?



Doug: Reed’s preparation was fun – vintage stuff. The big map, the radiation tracker, the oxy-pills, Johnny’s heat frame… Did anyone else think Namor’s fortress looked like Tomazooma (see FF #80)?

Karen: Much as I like Buckler, that thing was just goofy. It looked more like a giant robot than a fortress! Tomazooma is not far off.

Doug: Well, didn’t Sue drop a bombshell in the last panel? Wow. “You see, Reed – it’s something I’ve always suspected – and now know to be true: I love the Sub-Mariner, and I’m going to stay with him… forever!” I thought Namor’s charges against Reed were very callous, but they jarred Reed. One had to wonder if Sue really did hate Reed for what he’d done to Franklin and if Namor wasn’t the strong sanctuary she had sought. To follow-up on the recollections from my childhood, I have to tell you that I didn’t see issues 148-149 for decades. I personally had a smattering of issues through the #150’s and the first “new” issue I recall buying myself was #160. So by then I knew how this had all turned out. But what a cliffhanger!

Karen: Sue really doesn’t come off too well in these issues. Despite her frustration over not being treated as an equal, she comes across (to me) as a very dependent woman. She leaves Reed, and then turns around and runs off to her fantasy man, Namor. It seems like she was still looking for someone to take care of her and call the shots.

Sharon: As I mentioned when we discussed FF #141-142, during this time Sue comes across as whiny. And hello- - WHY would she put physical distance between herself and probably the only person in the world who could cure Franklin?

Family Matters: The Fantastic Four's Triumphs and Tribulations, part 3

Part Three – Bringing Up Boys (part 1 of 2)

Fantastic Four #’s 140-41

November-December 1973

“Annihilus Revealed!”

“The End of the Fantastic Four!”

Gerry Conway, John Buscema, and Joe Sinnott

Doug: Now that we’ve visited the FF in two of the high points of not only the magazine, but in the lives of the characters within, it’s time to see how they handle adversity; adversity beyond even the maddest plot of Dr. Doom or the greatest threat posed by Galactus. How will they handle an immediate life-or-death situation directly involving one of their own, with no time for weighing options, no time for anything save definitive action?

Karen: This period of the FF’s history had a very strong effect on me. I was around nine years old when these issues came out and I recall being very disturbed by what seemed to be the disintegration of Marvel’s first family. Sue had already left Reed (back in issue #130) because she felt he was both neglecting his duties as a husband and father, AND treating her like an inferior. The team limped along without her, as Medusa came to fill-in for a time. It just felt really wrong. I had been reading the FF reprints in Marvel’s Greatest Comics at the same time and the contrast between the happy, stable family from the past and the fractured, miserable family here was shocking. As a child, it made me feel very insecure. So when Reed actually used his anti-matter gun to shut down Franklin’s mind, I remember being just stunned. This truly was one of those comics moments that had an impact on me.

Karen: I have to say that when I look at these issues now, it makes a lot of sense that Sue would leave Reed. Just as women in general in the 1970s were beginning to feel empowered, so was the FF’s female member. Sue’s desire to be seen as a full member of the team – not as “the wife” or “the sister” or “the mother” – was a sentiment felt by many women of the time. By incorporating this into the Fantastic Four, Marvel was again showing that they were a company that changed with the times.

Sharon: Marvel was playing catch up here. In the Silver Age, DC had a number of strong, fairly independent women, whether they were heroines (Batgirl, Saturn Girl, Crimson in the Secret Six) or supporting characters (Jean Loring, a lawyer). By contrast in the Silver Age Marvel had Sue or Jean Grey—who often had to be told how to use their powers--or secretaries like lovestruck Karen Page or Pepper Potts. Even warrior Sif was portrayed as more prone to being a hostage than Balder. Now, perhaps the Marvel depiction was more realistic for the ‘60s, but wow, Stan (and Roy) sure seemed to have a narrow view of women. This would change when other, younger (male) writers came aboard at Marvel, such as Conway and Steve Englehart; with more writers, we would get more than one or two points of view at Marvel. (And to Stan’s credit, he did produce female-centric superhero books in 1972 --The Cat, Shanna, and Night Nurse).

Karen: You’re right, the next wave of Marvel writers in the 70s did have a somewhat more enlightened view point. After all, that was the decade that gave us Chris Claremont, who seemed to actually favor female characters over male ones!

Doug: I think that Sue’s leaving was even a possibility at this point was reflective of the times – American television was dealing with the issue of divorce even in series as benign as The Brady Bunch! And ladies, you raise a great point about Sue’s (and others’) new independence – a far cry from the “Reed, what does it all mean?” days of FF Annual #3!

Karen: It’s amazing to go back to those early 60’s books and see just how much the women were little more than accessories to the men. Heck, on Avengers #1, everyone on the team got their name listed above the title –except the Wasp! And I recall some statement made in a later issue, basically comparing her to Rick Jones!

Doug: So to begin, issue #140 was a whole lot of Bronze Age entertainment!! Gerry Conway ably picked up where Roy Thomas had left off – the story is somewhat wordy (particularly by today’s standards), but every page is fraught with suspense and action. The characterization is very edgy, yet a realistic extension of everyone’s personalities. And the art team of John Buscema and Joe Sinnott – simply “Wow”. Buscema is a revered storyteller, but perhaps not often better than in this run and paired with Sinnott. We’ve remarked here as well as on the Avengers Assemble message boards that Sinnott could overpower a penciller – but it’s that consistency that Joe provided the FF through the years that makes it seem like one long narrative.

Sharon: I’m not a big fan of the Buscema and Sinnott team; to me, it’s like pairing Michelangelo with Norman Rockwell. Especially since here, on the FF, we get more Sinnott—who was now doing both finishes and inks—and less Buscema, who was just doing breakdowns for the FF—a far cry from Big John’s earlier, superlative work on, say, the Avengers or Sub-Mariner a few years earlier! But as you noted, Doug, Sinnott remained a constant on the FF and for many years he provided a cohesive look for the book.

Karen: These issues definitely had more of the Sinnott feel to me than Buscema, although it’s obviously John B’s work underneath it all.

Karen: One of the things I noticed right away is this was the time period with the “new look” Torch. Not only was he wearing his red costume, but he was now being drawn differently when aflame than Kirby had originally depicted him – we now saw more of Johnny’s features, including his hair, and he had a much more dynamic look, in my opinion.

Sharon: I get why the costume was changed (as an homage to the original Human Torch), but it looked too much like long johns! I was not fond of Medusa’s costume during this time, either; she looked clunky and chunky instead of sleek and sinuous and the costume didn’t help—I mean, buccaneer boots? Actually, now that I think of it, her costume is kind of similar to that of the 1940s character the Black Cat, what with the bare arms and legs, and yes—those boots!

Karen: Medusa’s costume certainly lacked imagination. I’d much prefer the green outfit she wore in Amazing Spider-Man 62 –as we discussed in a previous post.

Doug: Point taken about the Buscema/Sinnott pairing – but you can’t argue the dynamism of the page (any page). Can you imagine the Don Heck of 1973, or even George Tuska (who was much more dynamic/fluid than Heck) laying out these pages? As Sinnott added his outward touch to Kirby’s vibrant/violent/bombastic pencils, so he did for Buscema in this run.

Sharon: Buscema’s tableaux are always impressive—especially the scenes set in the Negative Zone.

Doug: Agatha Harkness just creeps me out – no matter where or when she shows up. How about that scene in the Avengers (ish #127, maybe?) where she’s training Wanda and makes an armchair spring to life? Weird…

Sharon: The issue you’re referring to is Avengers #133, which contains the scene in which Wanda makes a “chair walk like a man” under Agatha’s tutelage. Wanda began her studies with Agatha in Avengers #128 (published about a year after FF #140) but I never liked the concept of adding sorcery or mysticism to Wanda’s powers. As I’ve mentioned previously, I always preferred Wanda’s powers to be more scientifically based; if you look at her earlier appearances, her power could be said to induce changes in molecular structures or to cause chemical reactions (this theory was put forth by a fan in an Avengers letter column). But when Wanda started practicing witchcraft or magic, she became less like Chemical King and more like Zatanna. Marvel already had the Enchantress and Dr. Strange as Zatanna-analogues! As a result of this development, I felt Wanda’s powers were become less unique as they became more typically “witchlike.”

Karen: Kind of interesting that Ms. Harkness was involved with two Marvel women who were both trying to redefine themselves as individuals.

Doug: The origin of Annihilus was well conceived – not all that original if one considers such tales as Planet of the Apes, but executed positively nonetheless. Given that this is only his third appearance, he seems to carry the weight of a potential heavy hitter villain who might have a recurring role in FF bad guy-dom. Very interesting character – eye-catching as well.

Karen: It was a nice origin story, which to me had almost a “Twilight Zone” feel to it. The idea that Annihilus started as basically a sentient grasshopper is amusing. I like the way he was depicted here too, as frail and spindly.

Sharon: I felt sorry for the poor creature! Effective piece of characterization by Conway.

Doug: Conway consistently delivers foreshadowing and page-ending cliffhangers to keep the reader hooked. This method of storytelling was perfected by John Byrne, who ended up making it one of his faults if you want my opinion. But here Conway gives us just enough to make both of these issues page-turners.

Doug: Looking at these stories as self-contained, it’s interesting to see the dynamic on the team with Medusa. Conway does a nice job of separating her personality from the way Stan had handled Crystal years earlier. Although sisters, Stan, Roy, and now Gerry Conway have worked together over time to make them completely different people. The absence of any love interest between Medusa and her teammates also creates a dynamic new to the team, and that is NO dynamic. Medusa’s just kind of there – she’s an agitant, a nay-sayer, sort of a square peg in a round hole. Yet it works – her presence on the team only heightens the angst felt by all at Sue’s absence.

Karen: Was it just me, or in the later issues, did it seem like perhaps Medusa was developing an interest in Reed? Do you think that Gerry and Roy were considering having the two of them become a couple? Perhaps they were just seeing what the fan reaction was before really moving in that direction. How would that have altered the dynamics of the book – Reed off with Medusa, and Sue with Namor?

Sharon: Yes, during this time, Medusa was frequently drawn as hanging onto, or hovering over, Reed. Too bad nothing developed—I think it would have been interesting to see her with Reed, or even Ben or Johnny--but I guess a major part of her character is her unyielding, inviolate devotion to Black Bolt. Back when she was a member of the Frightful Four (and it’s been retconned that she was amnesiac during that time), she did express a fondness for the “handsome” Reed as she caressed his face with her hair! And Johnny seemed interested in her back in the Frightful Four days; both he and Reed acknowledged that she was an “extremely attractive female.”

Sharon: My reading of Medusa is that she represses her sexuality (reserves it for Black Bolt) but when she’s not in control – as when she’s been mind-controlled (by Maximus) or amnesiac – the defenses come down and she’s hot to trot. I see Medusa and Crystal as the two archetypes of female sexuality: virgin and whore (I don’t mean literally). But one is chaste, while the other is open to her sexual/romantic impulses. Also, talk about ironic imagery: Medusa, the reserved one, has all that resplendent hair (an the exaggerated female characteristic); while Crystal, the wild child, is normally shown with fettered hair--the famous headband, or the snoods she wears on occasion.

Karen: I never really knew what to make of Medusa’s relationship with Black Bolt. In fact, I think it was several years before I even knew they were a couple! At least now it’s much more obvious.

TO BE CONTINUED…