My most memorable moment from John Byrne's Fantastic Four is the Topless She-Hulk issue, but I've already reviewed that elsewhere. So instead I'm remembering the other girl on the team--oh sorry, the other WOMAN. Yep, in Fantastic Four #284, Sue Storm Richards finally loses her girlishness and becomes the Invisible Woman.
But what took her to that point? What's this soul-twist action she's blaming the Psycho-Man for? Well, the story starts as far back as FF #21, the very first Stan Lee/Jack Kirby comic I ever read (via Giant-Sized FF #3), starring none other than the Hate-Monger. This purple KKK grandwizard used a "hate-ray" to twist your soul, and his big secret?
He's ADOLF HITLER!!! Holy crap!
Skip to the present day (which in our story is 1985) and a new Hate-Monger is on the scene. A shape-shifting minion of Psycho-Man, he's also got his own minion: Malice!
But who is this SNM porn queen about to spank pin-up model She-Hulk? (And that's for all my friends using Google. Hi!) Who could have such dreadful taste in clothes? (Answer: John Byrne.) Who's this powerful a telekinetic?
Who cam SHUMF She-Hulk into submission this easily?
Why it's none other than the Invisible Girl!
You know she's evil because she has a mullet.
The point is that like many female superheroes, Sue has been given the shaft powers-wise. Not only did she start out with a standard demure, passive power (invisibility), but even when they upscaled her with invisible forcefields, she rarely used them to their full potential. And I do so hate it when I can devise ways of using powers that the person apparently living with them never even considers. So seeing Sue cut loose here, even though she's "not herself", shows that Byrne is taking her abilities seriously, and that, more than any soul twisting, is the real reason she's gonna rebaptize herself at the end of the storyline. Because once She-Hulk's out of the way, here's what she does to Reed:
Hardcore!! And her little brother the Human Torch? Snuffs him out!
Well, he sorta deserved it for sporting a shroomcut. Mullet = evil, shroomcut = victim.
So how does Reed react to his wife's evil "shenanigans"?
Let me ask you this? Where's the backlash of Hank Pym proportions for Mr. Fantastic's actions here? (Don't worry, Reed's just trying to exhaust her hate... There's always an excuse, huh?)
Now going back to FF#21 which inspired this story, we can see Sue's makeover (whether as Malice or Invisible Woman) was a long time coming:
Just how long has she been planning that spike move on Reed?
Related posts: I once named an FF cover as my favorite; and then there's the time I crashed the Human Torch's wedding. For completists only.
But what took her to that point? What's this soul-twist action she's blaming the Psycho-Man for? Well, the story starts as far back as FF #21, the very first Stan Lee/Jack Kirby comic I ever read (via Giant-Sized FF #3), starring none other than the Hate-Monger. This purple KKK grandwizard used a "hate-ray" to twist your soul, and his big secret?He's ADOLF HITLER!!! Holy crap!Skip to the present day (which in our story is 1985) and a new Hate-Monger is on the scene. A shape-shifting minion of Psycho-Man, he's also got his own minion: Malice!
But who is this SNM porn queen about to spank pin-up model She-Hulk? (And that's for all my friends using Google. Hi!) Who could have such dreadful taste in clothes? (Answer: John Byrne.) Who's this powerful a telekinetic?Who cam SHUMF She-Hulk into submission this easily?Why it's none other than the Invisible Girl!You know she's evil because she has a mullet.The point is that like many female superheroes, Sue has been given the shaft powers-wise. Not only did she start out with a standard demure, passive power (invisibility), but even when they upscaled her with invisible forcefields, she rarely used them to their full potential. And I do so hate it when I can devise ways of using powers that the person apparently living with them never even considers. So seeing Sue cut loose here, even though she's "not herself", shows that Byrne is taking her abilities seriously, and that, more than any soul twisting, is the real reason she's gonna rebaptize herself at the end of the storyline. Because once She-Hulk's out of the way, here's what she does to Reed:
Hardcore!! And her little brother the Human Torch? Snuffs him out!Well, he sorta deserved it for sporting a shroomcut. Mullet = evil, shroomcut = victim.So how does Reed react to his wife's evil "shenanigans"?
Let me ask you this? Where's the backlash of Hank Pym proportions for Mr. Fantastic's actions here? (Don't worry, Reed's just trying to exhaust her hate... There's always an excuse, huh?)Now going back to FF#21 which inspired this story, we can see Sue's makeover (whether as Malice or Invisible Woman) was a long time coming:
Just how long has she been planning that spike move on Reed?Related posts: I once named an FF cover as my favorite; and then there's the time I crashed the Human Torch's wedding. For completists only.
Comments
Bad Jon, bad Jon!