Cover Date: April 1963
Plot Overview: The FF head to the moon to test a new kind of rocket fuel that Reed has discovered. Meanwhile, the Red Ghost plans to head to the moon to claim it for Russia. The Red Ghost has also trained a team of apes to help him. The first part of the Red Ghost's plans involve being bombarded with cosmic rays.
The FF realize there's another rocket up there and send the Torch to investigate. The Torch witnesses the apes revealing their new powers. They notice the Torch and one pushes him away with it's magnetic powers. The Torch informs the other members of the FF. They eventually land on the moon and head out to search for the Red Ghost. The Thing encounters the Red Ghost and his apes but the battle is quickly stopped.
The Watcher reveals himself and explains that it is his job to observe the events in the universe. He has decided to intervene in this situation. He's going to have the Fantastic Four battle the Red Ghost and his apes. The Watcher transports them to a ruined underground city. The Red Ghost takes them by surprise and gets the best of the FF in the first battle. He captures Sue as the battle comes to a close.
Reed tells the Thing and the Torch that they lost because they tried to fight with brute force. They need to use their brains. He's going to go search for a weapon to battle the Red Ghost. The Torch and Thing head out to find Sue.
Meanwhile, the Red Ghost leaves Sue and his caged up apes to set a trap for the other members of the FF. Sue takes the chance to release the apes who break out of the room and free her. Sue catches up with the Thing and Torch and stops them before the Red Ghost can spring his trap. They pursue the Red Ghost until he enters the Watcher's house. The Watcher casts him out and Reed uses a paralyzing ray to win the day for the FF. The apes release the Red Ghost so they can take their revenge on him. The FF head back to Earth as the issue comes to an end.
My Take: The Red Ghost would be at the bottom of my list when it comes to preferred Fantastic Four villains. I don't find him to be particularly menacing or compelling as a character. He's always felt like that villain the writers would use when they just wanted a filler issue or two.
With that said, this was a solidly average issue. Nothing bad, nothing good. A little on the boring side but not too boring. It filled a month gap for the comic and it served it's purpose for that. My main problem is that I don't like the Red Ghost concept and his apes. It just felt a little on the ridiculous side. I did enjoy the story a little more than I had expected to though.
The art was pretty solid for this issue. It has steadily improved since issue 1. The characters are starting to look more like themselves and it feels like there are more colors in the issues now.
On a side note. The team has really started to develop character wise. Ben has become less of an angry monster and more of the lovable guy that we know him as. The Torch is the Torch. Sue and Reed are still missing some aspects though. Sue's problem in the main book is that most of her character development comes from the love triangle she has with Reed and Namor. When you subtract that, she plays the damsel in distress more often than not. She has gotten some character development in the Strange Tales feature but that hasn't really translated in this book yet. Reed is slowly but surely developing. He's a science geek and the leader right now. Past that, he needs work.
But this is issue 13. This has been an amazing run of comic books for this time period. Some really unheard of stuff going on here. You have character development, continuity and the stories really just build on each other. It's amazing seeing how this differs from the Justice League comics of the same time frame.
I'd give this ** out of *****.
Notes: This is the first appearances for the Red Ghost and the Watcher. The Red Ghost will be a recurring villain for the Fantastic Four over the years. I wouldn't call him an important bad guy or anything. He's more of a C list villain that manages to survive the various eras of comic books. Which is surprising to me because he seems similar to a lot of the other early Marvel villains that disappeared. A lame Silver Age concept that writers ran away from once the 1970s hit.
The Watcher is a bigger deal. He'll show up for a lot of the big time events. He never really does anything, he'll narrate here and there and generally just be around. I would say he's a very notable character for Marvel though. I was actually surprised to see him show up. I had always thought he first appeared when Galactus first appeared for some reason.
Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #42
