"Bedlam At The Baxter Building!"

 

Over fifty-five years ago, the city of New York was gearing up for the wedding of two of its most famous residents--a celebration which spilled over into the year's action-packed Fantastic Four annual!

...but not everyone was thrilled with the impending nuptials.

It's been over eight years since the PPC briefly tipped its hat to this 1965 issue, and it's high time it was given its full due. But try explaining that to Dr. Doom, who, at this point in time, has recovered from the injuries his hands received from the crushing attack of the Thing, though it's his earlier defeat at the hands of Reed Richards which continues to gnaw at him. Fortunately, through the magic of what we used to call "back issues," we can pair up scenes in which Doom continued to rage at past humiliations he has suffered from both members of the Fantastic Four, moments of bitter recollection which began to fester just around the time when the Frightful Four were about to launch their final attack against the FF at their Baxter Building headquarters--after which, we jump ahead to follow up with Doom's harsh treatment of his copy of the "Daily Press." In both instances, it's clear that few can hold a grudge like this armored foe.

Well, not to contradict someone of Doom's volatile temper, but one look at Fantastic Four #100 gives us an idea of how unsuccessful even an army of super-villains would be against the team; and in this earlier issue, it turns out they'll even have the help of other heroes at their side. Understandably, however, Doom is in no mood to plan this operation carefully, as he successfully did in an alternate timeline--he only wants to send hordes of enemies against his enemies in a pure fit of pique.

Of course, you won't find many weddings that have the benefit of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents working security on them--which means that even those who aren't so blatant in their efforts to comply with the sudden urge to attack the FF will find it's no easy matter, even on so joyous an occasion.

At first, however, the Thing resists his impulse to spoil his best friend's day with news that this incident could be a sign of trouble. Yet there's nothing like a destructive breach of the Baxter Building by the Mole Man and his army to rid Ben Grimm of that notion.

With artist Jack Kirby in the process of withdrawing from the X-Men book around this time, what we're seeing is perhaps his final full-fledged penciling of the team in action--and since they end up with a generous amount of exposure throughout this story, it's safe to say their appearance in an FF annual presented an excellent opportunity to promote their own title as it continued to strive to catch on with readers.

And speaking of exposure, the cover alone turns out to be a good deal of fun in terms of not only identifying those depicted, but also in noting those who never take part in this melee. For instance, none of the Frightful Four would join the battle, considering that three of them are in jail and Medusa is on the run; Doom is in Latveria, so he can't be worried about Cyclops taking aim at him (not that he'd be worried in any event); Dragon Man, Loki, the Leader, the Invincible Man, the Red Skull, the Wasp, the Scarlet Witch, and Diablo are all no-shows; and Nick Fury seems to be presented twice. (Or, if not, then who's the Sgt. Fury look-alike near the Grey Gargoyle?) People that were difficult to recognize (at least for yours truly): (1) the guy peering up from beneath the Mole Man's staff; (2) whoever is beneath Sue's left armpit; (3) the cowboy near the masthead; (4) the villain near Thor's hammer (for some reason he reminds me of Mad-Dog, though obviously that can't be the case).

As for the Hulk and Namor, neither of whom shows up, we're provided pitiful explanations for their absence:

Which is pure baloney--for the simple reason that, if this emotion charger is able to reach someone who resides in another century, neither the depths of the ocean nor the Hulk's current location would limit its ability to reach and affect its targets.

But what about the stars of this mag? It looks like they have problems of their own, since the Red Ghost doesn't have to worry about SHIELD agents stopping him at the door. (We'll have to figure out later how three more corporeal super-apes slip by them.)

And along with the X-Men and Dr. Strange on the scene, others begin showing up, either responding to the growing turmoil or because they've received formal invitations to the wedding.

It's news to me that the Super-Skrull possesses "every power known," regardless of his shape-changing ability. At any rate, don't you just love how Thor takes a bead on him from below before smashing his ship?

With clear indications of the crisis in their midst, three of the FF head into the streets (and the sky) to head off those making a beeline for their building. (Apparently writer Stan Lee feels no explanation whatsoever is needed for why Sue isn't suiting up to join them.) No doubt the FF's landlord is gratified to see this conflict moving from the confines of the Baxter Building and heading into the streets--which is where we find Matt Murdock, who, along with members of his firm, was also an official guest but who now appears as someone better equipped to deal with the growing violence.

The forces of Hydra were a sensible inclusion to the effects of Doom's machine, guaranteed to draw a response from those who are attempting to stem the tide of evil that's suddenly engulfing the city. As luck would have it, however, Daredevil's efforts to divert Hydra's deadly weapon head off what could have been a serious threat which might have overwhelmed all involved.*

*Attuma and his forces--an entire invasion force which apparently just happened to be not in the depths of the ocean but within range of Doom's charger--likely wouldn't have cared who fell from their attack, whether hero or villain.

As for the group of villains which Cyclops heads into--while it's amusing to see the Beetle count himself in the company of the likes of the Mandarin, the Unicorn, and the Melter, he does raise a good point in that any one of those individuals was more than capable of flooring Iceman with a single strike, let alone unleashing their combined power. Perhaps that would have also been the fate of Cyclops, who is an average man to a super-powered attacker if he's not firing his force beam; but he has not only their terrible aim to thank for his life, but also the concussive force from their exchange of fire which halts their attack for the time being.

The only other street scene of note involves two of the Avengers, Hawkeye and Captain America, facing the unusual foursome of the Executioner, the Enchantress, the Cobra, and Mr. Hyde--with a cameo by a certain web-swinger.

Meanwhile, the explosive sound from the attack of, er, "the Beetles" (come on, why shouldn't the luckless Beetle form a new criminal group with those other four, though "the Thunder-Bolts" would probably be more fitting) has most of the combatants converging in one spot--which if you think about it is along the lines of what Doom had in mind for the FF, minus any assistance from their fellow heroes.

Finally, however, this conflict draws in a deus ex machina to put it to an end, in the form of the Watcher--a being who supposedly follows the credo of his entire race in restricting their activities to observing the developments and conflicts of other species but avoiding interference. Yet the Watcher has apparently developed a soft spot for Earthlings, and for the efforts of the FF in particular--and so rather than watch this battle from afar, he appears on the scene and transports Reed to his home, where he makes available to the leader of the FF any device which Reed feels would help him. Fortunately, one such device seems tailor-made to deal with all of the combatants at a stroke--and, as we'll learn, the conflict's instigator.

Despite the circumstances of a snap ending to the hostilities, all things considered it's nice to be left with only a sea of friendly faces to escort the groom to his wedding, and to his bride-to-be. But for two prospective attendees, there are regrettably still hurdles to be faced, even though a friendly nod to this story's creators might be in order at so auspicious a moment. Unfortunately, to the agents of SHIELD... well, a job's a job.

 
BONUS! Artist Alex Ross adapts this issue's cover to include another wedding down the road.

(Hey, nailed him this time, Cyke!)