The Story Terrible

 
OR: "Will Somebody Get This Kid A Rattle??"

In the spirit of full disclosure, the review you're about to read is one I've avoided several times during the PPC's run, simply because I've always had difficulty sitting down with the Fantastic Four story from 1964 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, "The Infant Terrible!", an issue that always seemed to perpetually end up at the bottom of my stack of stories to look into. Among my reasons: The issue's cover design, frankly, doesn't entice me to pick up the issue, but, rather, impulsively set it aside.  Also, the appeal of Kirby's alien seems limited to kids Pre-K to second grade, and isn't really a selling point for me.  In addition, I felt the story's title was terrible in itself--while  both its cover and title page are hell-bent on making sure the reader (that would be me, in this case) wasn't put off from this story right from the start (that would again be me).

"The writer doth cajole too much, methinks" (with apologies to Hamlet's Queen Gertrude). While it's true Lee was no stranger to the hard sell, it's almost as if even he believes the FF's popularity isn't enough to carry the ball here. But on that score, you be the judge.


The FF's involvement begins as reports start coming in of panic in the streets when a strange is seen wreaking havoc with seemingly random objects that catch his eye. From the team's initial encounter with him, Sue is reminded of the power of the Molecule Man--only in this case, the being is acting without any verbal indication of his intentions. But Reed's observations allow him to form a fairly accurate theory of the reason behind this alien's behavior.

As to how the "infant" is put on the road to becoming a serious threat, we'd have to chalk that up at least partially to the FF's decision to leave the scene and confer further at the Baxter Building, rather than stay and make an effort to find and gain the trust of the infant and thus curtail its chaotic activity. It certainly doesn't appear to be standard operating procedure for them, particularly since law enforcement isn't equipped to handle the alien; but in terms of the story Lee has in mind, it opens the door to an unsavory element in the form of a crime boss to step in and take advantage of the potential for monetary gain this alien offers.

Meanwhile, safe and sound at the Baxter Building, the FF learn just how much of a potential threat our infant could become--and Reed in particular becomes the means through which this alien has inspired the story's title.

Yes, Ben, what are you all sitting around for?

The "enfant terrible" association Reed makes to describe what "dreaded" things the alien's actions might come to is a bit of a reach Lee makes in order to establish the threat aspect of his story, given that the expression he mentions refers more to a child who says embarrassing or outrageous things to his parents or others for shock value--while our alien, like any infant, hasn't yet learned to form words, at least verbally. (Over time, however, the expression has been applied at times to those who exhibit similar behavior.)

Meanwhile, while Reed elects to stay behind in order to work on another approach to the problem, "Big Joe" finds soon enough that having an infant act reliably in accordance with one's wishes is a futile hope, at best. Yet it produces the desired effect for Lee, as the infant's treatment by Big Joe and his boys has replaced what had been curiosity and playfulness with distrust of and frustration with any humans who now approach him--lousy timing for the FF in their attempts to salvage the situation.

The efforts by three quarters of the FF to rein in the infant quickly prove that they're no match for the power of the alien, who returns to the city and begins to unleash the full range of his anger and confusion in what amounts to a city-wide rampage. As for Reed, he hopes for more success as he plays a desperate hunch and directs his efforts toward outer space.

Yes, Mr. Kirby has inexplicably given the alien ship the same design as that used in the 1953 film "The War Of The Worlds" (which the Leader, courtesy of artist Herb Trimpe, also appropriated for his own use). Now if the plan here is to provide a shock ending whereby we learn the Martians have followed Reed's signals and subsequently launch an invasion of Earth, then this story's hype would be well deserved.

But in the ending we're given, Reed's hunch pays off--and as we've seen, the alien's parents arrive in the nick of time to corral their infant, while Ben in the Fantasti-Car has saved Alicia from a runaway vehicle bearing down on her.*

*Lee, however, is forced by Mr. Kirby's depiction of Alicia--sprawled on the street and barely conscious--to sidestep the fact that Alicia clearly wasn't able to avoid being trampled by the fleeing crowds.  And so instead of Alicia being hospitalized for external and possibly internal injuries, Lee provides her with dialog that virtually gives her a clean bill of health: "Those stampeding crowds... the fear.. the confusion! Something unearthly must have terrified them!" Even bruised, kicked and battered, Alicia, you're the soul of forgiveness.

Finally, as was common in these early FF stories, Lee and Kirby often provided a single panel which acted as a closing note to the story, whether on a humorous note or a profound one. In "The Infant Terrible," it was the latter choice--but the connection Lee appears to be drawing between presumably the opening segment of the story where the team is pandering to the press and the encounter with the infant is elusive. What does one have to do with the other?

The infant would also make an appearance over twenty years later in the 1985 Fantastic Four Annual, reappearing on Earth and apparently seeking help. At first it might seem astonishing that it was thought the infant would be enough of a draw to rate guest-star status in an annual--but the FF Annual in a way shares billing with the Avengers Annual of the same year, as the two coordinate in what amounts to the same adventure.  And as we'd later learn, appearances can be deceiving.

The facade finally dissolves when the FF realize shortly after their "reunion" with the infant that this figure from their past is in fact a Skrull agent in disguise, sent to gain their sympathy and lure them into a trap. As for the real infant, he would go on to make appearances in Power Pack, as well as in the Annihilation saga. (Where I'm presuming he had a few more years under his belt by that time--though I doubt Annihilus and his forces had any scruples about ignoring whatever child labor concerns their conscripted races might have dared raised.)  The "Infant Terrible" might also remind you of a different Lee/Kirby character who was brought back for a second appearance, another misunderstood alien whose behavior daunted the FF until they investigated--the so-called Monster from the Lost Lagoon, whose stories also ended up imparting similar lessons regarding miscommunication and understanding.