Comic Books - Fantastic Four Flashback
In this article we're going to discuss another Marvel comics
creation that became a very big hit, The Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four have to be the strangest bunch of characters
in comic books history and have certainly been involved in some
of the most amazing adventures and found themselves in the most
impossible situations.
The Fantastic Four first hit the comic book scene in 1961. Its
appeal was probably rooted in the fact that this was a family
facing the kind of problems that no family should ever have to
face. At one time the Fantastic Four were actually normal people
just like you and I. As a matter of fact Reed Richards and Sue
Storm were engaged when the comic first started and then got
married a few years later. Johnny Storm is Sue's brother. The
only odd one in the group was Ben Grimm who was a friend of the
family but ironically was also the heart and soul of this team.
The event that took place that transformed this once normal
family into the Fantastic Four was an experimental rocket ship
that they had manned passing through a storm of cosmic rays.
After this event, strange things began to happen to the
passengers, things that would turn them into four of the
greatest super heroes of all time.
Each one was affected differently. This of course was by design
as it gave each one certain powers that when combined with each
other made the Fantastic Four something that was greater than
the sum of their parts.
Reed Richards underwent a transformation that literally turned
his body into an elastic band. He could stretch and squeeze
himself into places that no normal man could get himself into.
This came in quite handy when trying to break into security
buildings. Richards took on the name Mr. Fantastic. Between his
scientific knowledge and his new ability there wasn't much Mr.
Fantastic couldn't do.
Sue Storm, soon to be Sue Richards, Gained the ability to become
invisible. This was also great for sneaking into buildings and
also for surprising her foes. She took on the name The Invisible
Girl, then later changed it to The Invisible Woman.
Reed and Sue took on the role of parents of the group while
Sue's brother Johnny became the spoiled child. Johnny Storm
gained the ability to create fire from his fingertips. He took
on the name Human Torch. His power was a great weapon and many
times got the group out of dangerous situations.
Finally, there is Ben Grimm who got the worst of the deal. He
simply turned into a hideous looking monster known as The Thing.
But Grimm was very strong and as previously mentioned was really
the heart and soul of this group. He was the one who kept the
others from missing the big picture. He was the glue that held
this group together, especially when Johnny was acting like a
spoiled child.
These four went on to become one of the most famous teams of
super heroes in the history of comic books which later spawned a
cartoon show and a feature film.