The Frightful Fours

Just how many lineups have the Frightful Four gone through in their nefarious career of frightfulness? Just a glance at one or two Wikis on the subject had your humble host deploying his boot skates and jetting away at a speed and a puff of smoke that even the Road Runner would be impressed by; but since the criminal group has survived and continued to make appearances into this decade, you can imagine how often a group which premiered in 1965 has had to shuffle its membership in order to remain viable as a criminal threat. If nothing else, their leader, the Wizard, should be recognized for his tenacity and perseverance in re-forming the Frightful Four time and again, if only to find himself and his group cuffed and headed for a stretch behind bars. (You would have thought that, by now, word would have spread through the criminal underground and in prison circles to steer clear of a perpetually losing proposition that membership in the Frightful Four has come to represent.)

Consider this, then, an informal scrapbook of the evil FF's appearances through the years*--up to around the end of 2004, which is where I finally veered off (many thanks for the loan of those skates, Mr. Stark). Feel free, of course, to make mention of those instances you don't see here--we can never have too much fright in our day, I always say. (Though considering the times we live in, perhaps that's debatable.)

*Omitted are all appearances of the "Frightful Three"--i.e., the Wizard, the Trapster, and the Sandman operating as the Frightful Four while their fourth member slot is vacant.

Naturally, we should start off with the first, and arguably the best lineup:

The Wizard, Madam Medusa, the Trapster, the Sandman

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #36, March, 1965

If memory serves, the original Frightful Four handed the FF their first defeat--and after achieving a second victory (with the help of the Thing, who was placed under their control--how deliciously evil is that?), they certainly have every right to gloat.

And later, after Reed and Sue have escaped (with the Thing in tow) to their headquarters, the Wizard and his team are poised to formalize that victory by breaking into the Baxter Building with the Human Torch as a hostage and demanding the FF's surrender--the outcome of which practically begs for a What If story that would give the evil FF their day at last.

Plan "R" really doesn't go anywhere--but it does give the injured Thing a chance to throw the Wizard and his crew off-balance and allow the FF to finally turn the tables on their foes. As for Sue, it's evident that she hasn't dealt with the FF's losses very well, so it's no surprise that she would apply a little spin to those defeats now that the dust has settled.

Well, you just keep telling yourself that, Sue.

Medusa would "rejoin" her old teammates in mid-1968 and early 1970, though for all intents and purposes her association with them was at an end.

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The Wizard, Thundra, the Trapster, the Sandman

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #129, December, 1972

Substituting Medusa's uncanny abilities with raw power, the team has brought aboard Thundra, who is convinced by the Wizard that her separate mission on our world can be accomplished if she agrees to assist with their plans against the FF. Given that both she and the Sandman are the team's "muscle," it's fair to say that the balance is off in terms of the abilities that each team member brings to the table to benefit the collective whole, to say nothing of the fact that Thundra is against fatally harming those that they engage in battle with. It's no wonder, then, that she and Sandman are antagonistic toward one another and come to blows at the drop of a hat.

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The Wizard, the Brute, the Trapster, the Sandman

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #177, December, 1976

The interesting twist to the Brute lies in his true identity:

His mind affected by a blow to the head from a piece of falling equipment, this Reed Richards of Counter-Earth was determined to dispose of our own Reed in order to take his place--which indeed came about following the defeat of the Wizard and his partners in crime. But, regaining his senses during a battle with one of the mad Thinker's androids, he sacrificed himself by taking over a mission in the Negative Zone meant for our Reed.

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The Wizard, Electro, the Trapster, the Sandman

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #218, May, 1980

Electro was a sensible addition to the Wizard's crew and turned out to be a team player--yet he didn't make the difference during their final battle with the Fantastic Four, especially with Spider-Man pitching in with the good guys.

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The Wizard, Llyra, the Trapster, the Sandman

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #214, March, 1981

Llyra's deceptive style of insinuating her wishes rather than actively contesting the Wizard's role as leader served her well with the Frightful Four, though given her ambitious nature there's little doubt she would have disposed of the Wizard and taken over at the first opportunity. In addition, her ability to assume a human appearance in order to manipulate others was an asset--particularly when it came to luring Spider-Man into the Wizard's trap.

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The Wizard, Titania, Klaw, Hydro-Man

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #326, May, 1989

This appears to be the first major shake-up of the team, with the one constant being the Wizard. Titania obviously easily replaces Thundra, with none of the former member's reservations against killing--while Klaw's formidability comes and goes, depending on his writer. Yet none of that mattered in the end, which saw our foursome headed to the Vault.

This also marks the return of Reed and Sue Richards to the Fantastic Four following the Thing's stint as leader. We also see the arrival of "John Harkness," the nom de plume which Steve Englehart assumed during his closing issues on the book.

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The Wizard, She-Thing, Klaw, the Red Ghost

First Appearance: Fantastic Four Unlimited #5, March, 1994

Again, a very shuffled lineup, taking place in a very turbulent decade for Marvel Comics, financially speaking. Sharon Ventura, whose form has mutated to the point where she has become bitter toward her former comrades in the Fantastic Four, now represents the team's strongman (er, strongwoman), while the Red Ghost tips the scale with the added abilities of his super-apes.

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The Wizard, Mister Hyde, the Absorbing Man, the Living Laser

First Appearance: Incredible Hulk #418, June, 1994

This story by Peter David takes place during preparations for the wedding of Rick Jones and his fiancée, Marlo Chandler. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if David selected his Frightful Four members using the eene-meeny-miny-moe method:

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The Wizard, Blastaar, the Trapster, the Sandman

First Appearance: World's Greatest Comic Magazine #9, October, 2001

Given that this series takes another look at the period of Fantastic Four circa late 1970, it's not surprising to see most of the original Frightful Four lineup intact--and with the Negative Zone being a factor, Blastaar certainly makes for a powerful member to fill their ranks. In addition, given his own situation involving the N-Zone, Captain Marvel also makes an appearance.

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The Wizard, Salamandra, the Trapster, Hydro-Man

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #514, August, 2004

The Frightful Four are again complemented by a female fourth member in the form of Salamandra, who has no shortage of Medusa's assertiveness in her personality but who also has ties to the Wizard which... well, I won't spoil it for you. Suffice to say that this story raises the Wizard's profile considerably and successfully reminds us how dangerous he is while also highlighting his ruthlessness--so much so that for the first time, Reed and his team are compelled to give some thought to what has compelled the Wizard to go after the FF so often.

The irony of Sue's thoughts on the matter is that the Wizard had already established a version of the Frightful Four that "clicked"--the very first group, which scored two defeats of the FF and which came the closest to destroying them for good.

COMING UP:

The Frightful Four... PANTSED!

(You didn't think we'd overlook that lineup, did you?)