Among Us Hide... The Inhumans!

One of the aspects of Fantastic Four that helped to advance its early development was the fact that writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby knew the value of laying a little groundwork in order to build anticipation for a significant story waiting in the wings. And though at times you would find in such a "transition" issue a mixture of the trivial and even the mundane, there were still enough diverse elements present to hold the reader's interest as well as move the four title characters forward in ways that pleased those who plunked down 12¢ a month to catch up on their lives. A perfect example was the landmark story from late 1965 which saw the Human Torch's social life in the dumps--and the emergence of a new super-powered race that would continue to draw interest nearly sixty years later.

There's generally no shortage of action in even the most run-of-the-mill FF story, particularly when events from the prior story are still unfolding. Investigating the arrival of the mysterious, tremor-inducing Gorgon and his obsession with capturing Madam Medusa--a drama that ended up involving Dragon Man, no less--the FF are seen picking themselves up from Gorgon's final attack which devastated the building they were fighting atop and allowed Gorgon to escape with Medusa in the confusion, while Dragon Man took off with Sue Richards. Dragon Man, of course, has now become the priority for the rest of the FF--but in their efforts to bring the giant android to heel, the team will discover that there's more to Dragon Man than meets the eye.

With Sue safe and sound and everyone giving thought to securing an environment for the android, Johnny Storm attempts to pick up the threads of his social life and finds that his options are few to nil. (Which isn't surprising, considering how conceited he comes across in the process.) Taking to the streets, he walks aimlessly until he winds up in an area of town scheduled to be torn down for a new development--and out of nowhere, an alluring mystery piques his interest.

In hindsight, we know that Johnny has just met Crystal, the girl who would come to be a fixture in his fictional life for roughly the next eighty-five issues. It's obvious that the meeting has already begun to produce a marked change in Johnny's behavior, as he proceeds cautiously and even innocently in taking the steps towards a new friendship, and possibly more--even going so far as keeping his three partners in the dark about it, where once he wouldn't have hesitated to brag about his dating life.

How curious, then, that he would initiate their next encounter while wearing his FF uniform. Old habits die hard for this teenager who didn't hesitate to let his reputation and celebrity status do his work for him--but because of the circumstances surrounding Crystal's appearance, he's forced to tread carefully.

Of course, it's unlikely Johnny was expecting this kind of chaperone:

It's to Johnny's credit that his experience as one of the Fantastic Four has kicked in and made him adopt a more objective perspective in regarding even such an innocent encounter as this first seemed to be--a sense of heightened observation that will serve him well. Because while almost every guy who becomes seriously interested in a girl is bound to have some trepidation in meeting her family, it's safe to say that Johnny's first time in that regard is going to be a bit out of the ordinary.

As for the rest of the FF, their efforts to encourage Dragon Man to assume a more docile attitude become complicated--thanks to the impatience of the Thing, for whom all of this strikes a little too close to home.

The Thing's sentiments are those we've heard before, and which led to some memorable stories in the process--most recently, his bitter exit from the team following his battle with Dr. Doom, segueing to his outright belligerence while a pawn of the Frightful Four. Here, Lee and Kirby again pave the way for more such tales down the road--his morose wanderings leading to what first appeared to be a sympathetic soul who went on to duplicate the Thing's form and assume his life, and, later, his jealously over Alicia's affections sending him into a rage against the Silver Surfer.

Elsewhere, the Torch begins to be introduced to Crystal's family--though it's clear they have their own definition of cordiality.

The premise Lee seeks to establish here doesn't hold up well under even the lightest scrutiny. Crystal and her family, after all, are in hiding, fearful of discovery. Have they no questions for this newcomer who's been brought into their hidden lair--even assuming he's one of their race, as Crystal believes? Wouldn't the first reaction of Karnak or Crystal toward Johnny consist of, at the very least, caution as to the reasons for his sudden arrival among them? Why he's sought them out? And wouldn't they be intensely curious as to news from the Great Refuge--what their ruler pro tem, Maximus, is up to, or the status of the Seeker's ongoing search for them?

But the jig is up when Gorgon and Medusa arrive to blow the whistle on Johnny.

Who are you fooling, Karnak--Crystal wasn't the only one deceived, bub.

When the now-alarmed group attempts to quickly render him helpless, the Torch barely evades captivity and escapes to summon his partners with a flaming version of their trademark signal that leads them to his location.

Up until now, in what appears to be an attempt by Lee to whet our appetite for the official unveiling of this new race, the designation of "the Inhumans" has yet to be mentioned in either narrative or by any of their number. But now Lee's steady buildup leads to an oversight, when it falls to the Torch of all people to say their name aloud for the first time--despite the fact that he's never heard it before.

The scene would probably work if it were treated as the Torch fumbling for a description of the beings he's encountered and settling on the first word that came to mind which seemed to fit (though what a word to apply to a girl you were growing fond of). If that wasn't the case, what's left? The Seeker, in the following issue, makes it clear that "Inhumans" is indeed the designation of this race, which would mean that Johnny has made the luckiest guess on record, even for a comic book.

And Lee's confusing attempts to define the Inhumans continue.  In the Seeker's case, even Lee can't seem to make up his mind whether or not this man is an Inhuman himself--and that goes double for his (outsourced?) subordinates, who seem to regard "the Inhumans" as a species other than their own.

Impressions which are totally turned upside down, when the Seeker makes it clear that he's a card-carrying Inhuman, after all (and likely a future candidate for NicoDerm).

Back at the site of their rubble-strewn lair, Karnak and the others are mobilizing, no doubt expecting the Torch to return with his partners and confront them. It soon enough becomes clear that, while the FF are investigating with a measure of caution, the ones they're looking for have adopted a far more aggressive stance in attempting to maintain the secrecy of their existence.

With Black Bolt's arrival, the situation escalates, as the FF scatter to battle Gorgon, Black Bolt and the others, while the Seeker closes in--beginning a grand epic which will eventually lead to the mother of all epics, the arrival of Galactus. For now, Lee's story here has adeptly put all the pieces in place for its continuation in the next issue, with readers having been supplied with enough to ensure their return to the store in a month's time. They might also find themselves wondering in the follow-up why Black Bolt looks more defined than they remembered from their first glimpse of him in this prior issue. (Is that Kirby's work in the last panel? It almost seems like a Black Bolt prototype.)

Fantastic Four #45 Script: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Joe Sinnott Letterer: Artie Simek