9:24 PM
Brad
Cover Date: February 1963
Plot Overview: The Impossible Man from Poppup arrives on Earth. He asks a bunch of homeless guys if he can share their food and they inform him that he needs money. They also tell him that he needs to go to a bank. So the Impossible Man heads to a bank and helps himself to all the money he wants. The police try to stop him but he can change to whatever he wants. The police inform the Fantastic Four of the alien.
The FF arrive on the scene and find the Impossible Man is enjoying a meal. He explains that the people of Poppup can instantly evolve into whatever they want. He's come to Earth for a vacation because he grew bored with Poppup. The Thing has enough of talking and tries to strike the Impossible Man but gets a bunch of thorns in his fist. The FF attack but the Impossible Man easily evades them and heads out to the streets.
It dawns on the Impossible Man that he can do whatever he wants because he's the strongest creature on this planet. He proceeds to steal a cab. The FF manage to stop the car as the military arrives. The Impossible Man turns into a bomb and Reed tosses him into the atmosphere. Impossible Man explodes and flies back down to Earth. The Torch uses his flames to create a hypnotic pattern and causes the Impossible Man to crash to the Earth. The FF check on him and the Impossible Man is delighted to know that they really care about him. He plans to stay on the Earth forever.
Reed comes up with a final plan. He convinces everyone to just ignore the Impossible Man. Citizens are confused but listen and ignore various antics from the Impossible Man. He finally grows bored and leaves Earth looking for a new planet of fun.
The second story of the issue features the Fantastic Four answering fan mail. They recap Ben and Reed going through college and WWII together. They also recap the FF origin and the many contributions that Sue has made to the team. This story ends with a surprise party for Sue. The editors note explains that this story was a visual way for them to answer several fan questions.
My Take: This was much better than the last issue. The Impossible Man story was a typical heroes overcoming a trickster villain. It was a solid effort to the story. The second story was okay for what it was. It was a different take on addressing the fans but I would've rather just had a longer story with the Impossible Man or a second story with some action.
There were some nice bits of continuity in here though. Sue and Reed have a brief moment over Namor. Sue is unsure of who she's really in love with. They've brought that up numerous times over the first 11 issues and it's nice to see a character arc in this era of comics. Reading DC Comics around this time is like getting a giant reset button every issue.
The art was pretty good as always.
This issue was solid. My only real complaint with it was the second story just felt like filler and a waste. It did feature some character development. I'm just being picky I think. A much better effort than the last issue though. Issue 12 features the Hulk!
I'd give this *** out of *****
Notes: This is the first appearance of the Impossible Man and Willie Lumpkin. The Impossible Man will be a villain for the Fantastic Four into the modern day. He'll bother a variety of other heroes throughout the decades to. He's not a major villain or anything though. He's strictly a C lister that provides some fun issues here and there. I always look forward to and enjoy the Impossible Man showing up in a comic. Willie Lumpkin is the mailman for the Fantastic Four. He'll make appearances here and there over the years as a supporting character.
Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #40
Posted in: Fantastic Four,Human Torch,Impossible Man,Reed Richards,Sue Richards,Thing,Willie Lumpkin
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