History of the Fantastic Four, 1964

The following is a history of the Fantastic Four for the year of 1964.

History

Return of the Mole Man

Back at the Baxter Building after defeating the Hate-Monger, Mr. Fantastic conducted various tests on Invisible Girl's powers, and soon found that the slight radiation from the testing itself had granted her a new power: the ability to create strong, invisible forcefields by manifesting the energy of her invisibility. Furthermore, she could turn other extant objects invisible as well. Meanwhile, the team had been receiving repeated complaints from other residents in the neighborhood—especially elsewhere in the Baxter Building—about the extreme nature of their occupancy there. They received a pamphlet in the mail advertising a small island for sale off the coast of New Jersey, and their continued headaches with their neighbors made this a very appealing candidate for a new base. They traveled there in an aquatic vehicle, but upon stepping foot onto the island they found that their craft had been pulled down into the water. They spotted a shadowy figure elsewhere on the island and chased it into a cave, where they found their old foe the Mole Man. He had of course been responsible for the various complaints and the bogus ad. With the help of his indentured Moloids, he trapped them in a pit with radioactive walls and explained that he had escaped their previous encounter through his vast network of underground tunnels. Since that time, he and his underlings had constructed colossal platforms underneath Earth's largest cities, including New York and Moscow, prepared to lower the cities far down into the Earth. In doing so, this would send the United States and Soviet Union into a panic and cause a catastrophic war, leaving Mole Man to take over the surface world. As Mole Man prepared to flip the switch to do just that, Invisible Girl put her newfound powers to the test, creating an impenetrable barrier around the switch. Further using her shield power, the Four girded themselves against the wall and escaped, battling Mole Man and his servants.

But Mole Man was prepared, triggering a series of trap doors that sent each of the Four individually into their own separate challenges. Human Torch was dropped into a room with walls lined with tiny extinguishers and ice jets that reacted to his powers. Torch managed to form the ice into a weapon, destroying the mechanism and using his flame to escape. Thing was dropped into a huge pile of cotton: a thick, soft, unyielding pit that he was barely able to escape, climbing his way through a tunnel in the wall to safety. Invisible Girl found herself in an ordinary-looking room with 30 seconds to escape before nerve gas was released into it. She used her powers to reveal an invisible door and escape: as would universally be the case going forward, by making something visible, she herself turned invisible. Mr. Fantastic was simply dropped into a pit without any holes small enough for him to stretch through, with deadly gas somehow nonetheless pouring in. He curled himself into a ball and expanded, breaking through the walls and escaping. He found himself in Mole Man's control room, where he rearranged the settings such that any attempt to lower New York and Moscow would instead cause Mole Man's underground base to collapse. The Four reunited and fled, leaving Mole Man to unwittingly destruct his own hideout.

Doctor Doom and the Terrible Trio

Reed Richards had Doctor Doom's time machine transferred to the Baxter Building for safe keeping and further examination. Johnny and Ben were assigned to look over it, and after a mishap led to a dinosaur being transported to their time, the two were admonished by Reed for their negligence. They began to get fed up with Reed's leadership, and along with Invisible Girl decided that they were done following his orders. The three privately held a vote to decide the new leader, but each voted for themselves. Thing and Torch became angry and fought, prompting Reed to walk in and bemoan the fact that they couldn't even decide anything between themselves. He gave them a speech declaring that he was the only one fit to lead them, and that their squabbles proved it. Over the course of the day, each of the heroes were targeted by a different criminal with mysterious powers. Torch was lured into the clutches of Yogi Dakor, a man completely immune to fire, with the promise of a free car; Thing was changed back to his standard form by the brawny Bull Brogin with a cosmic-energy gun, leaving him easy to kidnap; and Invisible Girl was knocked out with ether by the charming Harry Phillips; and Mr. Fantastic was tricked by a robot resembling the Thing to fall into the grasp of Doctor Doom. Doom had in fact been responsible for organizing the other three, granting each of them special powers. The Fantastic Four were assembled in Doom's dungeon, but using their combined powers were able to break free. They did battle with Doom, whose extensive technological innovations made him a formidable threat. After several minutes, Doom suddenly dove out of the room and locked it behind him, as the room began to bizarrely wash away into outer space. Reed declared that it was due to the arrival of a "solar wave" attracting the ionic dust particles in the room and sucking it into space. Invisible Girl sent a forcefield through the wall that locked Doom to the wall on the other side, ensuring that he would die as well as them. Doom panickedly came back in, but Thing threw him into space and the Four barely escaped from the room.

The Infant Terrible

The team next learned of some incredible thing happening in Times Square, and upon flying there in their Fantasticar, unwittingly flew straight into a giant glass bottle. They escaped easily, but continued to find bizarre, dangerous events occurring across the city. They soon traced the cause to an alien the size of an adult human, roaming the city creating havoc but without any apparent malevolence. Reed posited that its behavior was akin to an infant, and dubbed him the Infant Terrible. A public message was sent out warning civilians to not interact with the creature in any way. The alien was soon kidnapped (very carefully) by a gang of criminals who saw the potential to train it into making money for them from nothing. But the creature proved utterly unreliable, and three of the Fantastic Four arrived to put a stop to their plans. Mr. Fantastic remained at the Baxter Building, studying a way to stop the alien for good. Upset by his experience with the gangsters, the creature develoepd a distrust for humanity, and began causing chaos across the city. Reed sent a message deep into space, attempting to contact the alien's kin, and a ship soon arrived in New York in response. The parents of the creature arrived and took it with them, leaving peacefully.

The Hulk's epic battle

Reed was soon able to synthesize what he believed to be a permanent cure for the Thing's condition, but he refused to take it. Reed was adamant, as he had discovered it by accident and believed he wouldn't be able to replicate it, but Thing remained obstinant, afraid of how Alicia's feelings for him might change if he appeared human again. Later that day, Reed suddenly collapsed at his work desk, going unconscious for reasons unclear. As Torch flew out to find a doctor, he was shocked to find the Hulk roaming the streets of New York, furious at being replaced in the Avengers. Torch tried to stop the dangerous monster from harming anyone, but was quickly incapacitated himself. Reed soon came to as the rest of the team learned of the Hulk's presence. Sick and weakened, Reed insisted that Thing and Invisible Girl leave his side to protect the city. The two made haste to Torch's side in the streets of New York; as he came to, the Hulk continued his assault, and Invisible Girl strained herself to the extreme shielding her brother with a forcefield. With the Storm siblings taken down, it was up to the Thing to match strength with the Hulk. As the two waged their epic battle across the city, Torch was taken to the hospital while Invisible Girl found a doctor to attend to Mr. Fantastic. Reed was upset that he couldn't help, even as he was barely able to move. The doctor diagnosed him with a bizarre virus, attributing it to the myriad strange chemicals he works with. The Hulk was eventually able to overpower the Thing, casting him aside and demanding to fight the Avengers.

Shaken by how decisively the Hulk could handle him, Thing nonetheless persisted, fighting back with nothing but force and determination. Meanwhile, Sue handed Reed over for serious medical attention, giving the doctors the chemicals he had been working on in hopes of isolating a remedy. Elsewhere in the same hospital, a weakened Torch awoke in his bed and gingerly flew out of the building, determined to help the Thing. Thing briefly attempted to reason with the Hulk, but he was adamant that he wouldn't trust anyone again. Hulk brought his hands together and sent out a concussive blast, sending the heroes flying and again incapacitating the pugnacious Torch. As Thing recovered, he found that the Hulk had left the area. Soon Mr. Fantastic was cured of his virus and released from the hospital with Invisible Girl in tow. As Torch again got to his feet, the Four set their combined sights on the Hulk. They soon found him in the streets holding Rick Jones captive and being attacked by the Avengers: Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, the Wasp, and Captain America. All of the heroes were eager to take the Hulk down, but with nine different superpowered beings going in one direction, they ended up stumbling over each other. This allowed the Hulk to escape, leaping away in great bounds with Jones in tow. Each team was annoyed by the other's disruption, but realized that they had to work together to defeat the Hulk. They tracked him to the top of a building under construction, and used their combined forces to take him on. The Hulk was able to repel each of them individually, but the distraction allowed Rick Jones to force an anti-gamma pill into his mouth. Giant-Man's ants swarmed over Hulk and forced him into the bay; to nearly everyone it seemed that he had simply fled, swimming underwater with his powerful lungs. But Jones realized that he was transforming back to Bruce Banner, and was safe for the time being.

The Sub-Mariner love triangle

After years of romance, Reed finally decided to propose to Sue. But as he went out to buy the ring, Namor invaded the Baxter Building and abducted Sue, taking her to his undersea kingdom. When he returned, Reed was overcome with rage, and told Torch and Thing that he would go rescue Sue alone. Fearing for his safety, Torch and Thing realized they needed to reach Namor before he did. With no idea where Namor was, Mr. Fantastic used an advanced radar machine to track him down, while Torch left a fiery message in the sky asking for the help of the powerful sorcerer Doctor Strange. Before long, Strange's astral form appeared, and upon hearing the situation was convinced of its importance. Mr. Fantastic left for Namor's palace by aircraft and submarine, using a special breathing pill to gain access on foot. The enraged Mr. Fantastic was more than a match for the Sub-Mariner, but the tide was turned when Namor's loyal battalion of guards arrived. Doctor Strange witnessed Reed's arrival and made haste back to the Baxter Building. Recovering his physical form, Strange cast a spell to teleport the two heroes inside Namor's palace. Torch and Thing evened the odds, fighting off Namor's guard and freeing Invisible Girl as Mr. Fantastic continued to fight the Sub-Mariner one-on-one. Invisible Girl put a stop to the conflict, explaining to Namor that though she did harbor a degree of affection for him, Reed was her one true love. Observing from his home in New York, Doctor Strange witnessed Namor's resulting look of rage, and quickly teleported the Fantastic Four away to Mr. Fantastic's submarine, and they returned home.

Looking to renew their lease in the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four hired attorney Matt Murdock, a blind man, to look it over before they signed. He was left to the job while they went to accept an award in Washington, D.C. Unbeknownst to them, Murdock was secretly the superhero Daredevil, who despite his blindness was ultra-aware of his surroundings due to heightening of his other senses. In the team's absence, he protected the Baxter Building from an attack by the villain Electro. In doing so, he wound up without any time to read the lease. The Four found another lawyer to handle the job for them, but eventually decided on Murdock as their full-time attorney.

Puppet Master controls the X-Men

One day, the Four were visited in the Baxter Building by the X-Men, a group of heroic young mutants. The meeting seemed to be a friendly one until the X-Men suddenly attacked. Stunned at this sudden betrayal, the Four did their best to fight off the five mutants, but Cyclops got the upper hand by aiming his power beam at one of Mr. Fantastic's powerful pieces of technology, demanding that they surrender. Fearing a catastrophic explosion, Mr. Fantastic conceded, privately trying to figure out the motive for this blindside attack. The X-Men kidnapped Invisible Girl and made off with her in their jetcopter, deliberately coaxing the rest of the Four to follow them. Mr. Fantastic was convinced that the X-Men meant them no real harm despite their brazen attack. They trailed the X-Men to a crater on a remote island, where the fight began anew, though Mr. Fantastic instructed Torch and Thing not to hurt them if they could help it. Before long, several advanced booby traps began to trigger across the battlefield, incapacitating members of the Fantastic Four. Suddenly, the Mad Thinker and Puppet Master revealed themselves through a trap door: they explained that they had taken mental control of the X-Men's leader Professor X (Charles Xavier), secretly commanding them through him. Puppet Master had Xavier knock out the X-Men with a mental command, but the order was diffused across the five of them, and the intelligent Beast was able to withstand it. He knocked the Xavier puppet from the Master's hands and destroyed it, releasing Professor X from his control and reviving his teammates. Thinker released his Awesome Android, which proved a dire threat to the combined forces of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men with its ability to adopt the physical composition of whomever it touched. But Xavier's renewed lucidity allowed him to intervene from afar, striking the Android's artificial nervous system and taking it down. Thinker and Puppet Master escaped back underground and out through a secret tunnel by plane. The X-Men apologized to the Four for their grievous mistake, and the heroes made up and complimented each other on their valor.

The Red Ghost's revenge

For years, the Fantastic Four had been lightly terrorized by members of the Yancy Street Gang, owing to the gang's existing and unexplained rivalry with the Thing. The intensity of Yancy Street's previously benign pranks had recently intensified, and the Four began to suspect that one of their other foes was behind it. They received a package from the Yancy Street Gang that challenged the Four to meet them on Yancy Street at midnight. When the Four arrived, they were attacked by the Super-Apes, who were soon joined by the Red Ghost. The Apes managed to confine Torch in an asbestos bag, and Red Ghost threatened to shoot him unless the Four surrendered to him. They obliged, and Ghost took them on his spaceship piloted by the orangutan's magnetic powers. Though they tried to fight back, he dropped them off on the Moon, outside of the Blue Area and deprived of oxygen. Invisible Girl erected a forcefield around them, giving them a limited air supply. They made their way to the nearest safe haven, which happened to be the domicile of Uatu. He wasn't present, but Mr. Fantastic found a device that allowed him to attract Red Ghost's ship back down to the Moon. The two teams did battle on the surface of the Moon once again, which led to Red Ghost confronting Mr. Fantastic inside Uatu's home. Invisible Girl snuck up behind him and shoved him into what appeared to be a portal, which Mr. Fantastic speculated could potentially lead to anywhere in the universe. The Apes, meanwhile, regained control of the ship and flew off, seemingly stranding the Four on the Moon. But an image of Uatu appeared, who explained that although he would not interfere with planetary affairs directly, his vow did allow him to protect his own privacy. As such, he politely banished the Four from his home, teleporting them back to Earth and complimenting them on their valor.

The legend of Diablo

While on vacation in a remote village in Transylvania, the Fantastic Four were steered away from visiting an ancient castle by the local townsfolk. They claimed an evil alchemist known as Diablo had been sealed inside one hundred years ago after threateninig mankind with his various powerful potions. That night, as the Four slept in the local baron's estate, Thing was guided out of bed by a hypnotic voice. He found himself drawn to the castle, where he obeyed the voice telling him to smash a large stone inside: the stone which had sealed Diablo for the past century. When the rest of the team arrived to investigate the following morning, they found Diablo and an oddly more human-like (but still rocky) Thing. Thing had agreed to serve Diablo for one year in exchange for a potion reversing his appearance—he would supposedly receive the rest of the potion at the end of that term, at which point he would be fully human once more. Mr. Fantastic lashed out at Diablo, but Thing defended his new master. Realizing force wouldn't sway Ben's mind, Reed stealthily grabbed some of Diablo's chemicals and the team left. Over the next several days, Diablo fetched extravagant prices from people all over the world for his incredible potions. Examining one of Diablo's concoctions, Richards found that it wasn't what it claimed to be, and concluded that all of his creations were in fact malicious at their core. Meanwhile, Thing witnessed Diablo paying off various generals in an attempt to form a small army, and noticed that the transformation potion he'd been given wasn't permanent like he'd been promised. He attempted to fight back, but Diablo used a potion to put him in suspended animation. All over the world, Diablo's potions dramatically failed after a brief period of apparent success. Realizing that Diablo was a bona fide threat, the remaining members of the Four assaulted his castle and the army he had formed. Though they initially overpowered him and his forces, Diablo got the upperhand by using an alchemical pellet to send them all into suspended animation as well. Luckily, Thing's own suspension wore off, and he chased Diablo back into the crypt whence he came. He sealed the entrance with a large plug, but used so much force in smashing it in that he caused the entire castle to collapse. The others were jarred awake by the vibrations, and narrowly escaped before it crumbled altogether; Torch used his fire to fuse the remnants together for good measure. Thing apologized for the trouble he'd caused, and the Four returned home.

Doctor Doom and the Latverian embassy

One day, the Four were invited to a dinner at the embassy of Latveria, a small Balkan nation. There, they were treated to a pleasant, high-class dinner with the country's ambassador, and served what was presented as a beloved local berry juice. Mr. Fantastic refrained out of an abundance of caution, and merely took a sample of the concoction instead, while the other three happily drank. As they left the table and mingled later in the evening, the team's imbibers began perceiving concerning illusions of their partners. Sue saw an adulterous Reed, and Johnny saw a Ben that antagonized him in a less playful way than usual. Those two fought while Sue attacked the real Reed as he tried to explained that the three had been drugged. They found none other than Doctor Doom, the true ruler of Latveria, in an adjoining room—naturally, this had all been a plot of his to defeat the Fantastic Four. Doom escaped, and the Four returned to their base to plan their next move in light of Doom's return. But Doom awaited them there, and a full-fledged battle ensued. In the end, Richards convinced Doom to face him man-to-man, given that the true grudge was between them. Doom agreed, and Richards offered him a toast: unbeknownst to Doom, it was the same juice from the embassy, which in point of fact worked by allowing whoever had the greater intellect to plant an illusion in the mind of others who drank it. The two drank together, and Mr. Fantastic gave Doom the impression that they dueled with an "encephalo-gun," a device that measured their respective brainwaves and would banish the weaker participant to "a timeless limbo." In the illusion, Doom was victorious, and departed the Baxter Building in victory. The Fantastic Four stood fast, knowing that Doom would return again one day.

Mole Man and the sinking blocks

Soon after, New York was seemingly struck by a colossal earthquake. Three of the Four, minus Invisible Girl, investigated the epicenter, where an entire city block had effectively disappeared. Deep down in the giant hole where the block once was, Human Torch found that, strangely, a great deal of ice blocked any further passage. While the others investigated, Sue was interested in a newspaper headline about an escaped convict. When they returned, she had left a note saying that she'd gone to police headquarters. Moments later, another earthquake hit, this time centered on the block containing that very building. Mr. Fantastic naturally concluded that these events were being artificially caused. The block indeed sunk deep into the earth, where Invisible Girl and countless other citizens were soon confronted by the Mole Man and his minions. Mole Man took Invisible Girl to his palace, planning to use her as leverage to keep the other heroes from attacking him while he initiates another plan for world domination. Mole Man contacted the other heroes by video to show that he had Invisible Girl, and the three made haste for Mole Man's base underground. The heroes piloted their plane into the vast vertical tunnel, fighting off Mole Man's myriad defenses, and roughly landed deep underground.

They found Mole Man not far off, holding Invisible Girl at gunpoint. Mole Man told them not to interfere with his plan for conquering the world, and to keep anyone else from interfering, or Invisible Girl would pay. He forced them back to the surface with a pressurized jet of air, where they found the Avengers standing around the hole. Upon learning that Mole Man was responsible, the Avengers were ready to go in after him, but Mr. Fantastic convinced them to hold off for Sue's sake. They agreed, giving him 24 hours before they took action. Returning to the Baxter Building, Mr. Fantastic devised a powerful detector that allowed him to pinpoint Sue's exact location underground. Upon finding the spot, he had Torch burn a large hole down into the ground, then he and Thing followed on an experimental military hover-cycle. The heroes landed in Sue's crystal prison constructed by Mole Man, which conveniently was without a roof. With Invisible Girl not in immediate peril, the Fantastic Four were able to fight back against Mole Man and his army. Reed found the machine used to sink the city blocks and reversed the process, sending them back to the surface. Torch used his fire to cause a chain reaction in the Mole Man's machinery, and the Four escaped the way they came in as the area exploded dramatically. A piece of shrapnel hit Sue, horribly injuring her. The others took her to the hospital, where she was in critical condition. The doctor told Reed that there was only one physician capable of saving her, and it was the man who had recently escaped from prison. That very doctor arrived moments later: Franklin Storm, Sue and Johnny's father, whom Johnny believed dead. The operation was a complete success, but the police arrived for Dr. Storm soon after, as he had expected they would.

Franklin Storm and the "Invincible Man"

Mr. Fantastic continued to experiment with ways to return Thing to his original, fleshy form. His latest attempt seemed to be a success, but Ben Grimm awoke with amnesia, not recognizing anyone around him. Reed put him to sleep and reversed the process, restoring his Thing powers and his memory. Later, Sue and Johnny went to visit their father in prison. Storm had gone into a deep depression after failing to save his wife Mary's life following a car accident years earlier, getting mixed up in gambling debts and accidentally shooting and killing someone. Upon his children's visitation, Dr. Storm began acting very strangely, calling himself the Invincible Man. He turned invisible and blew through the walls of the building, escaping the armed guard unscathed. Soon after, the "Invincible Man" showed up on the streets in a colorful, masked garb. The Four attempted to fight him, but the Storms pulled their punches, unwilling to harm their own father, and the Invincible Man was able to escape. During the battle, he further demonstrated that he possessed each of the Four's powers, supposedly in a stronger form. The public and the media chastised the Four for not doing their best, and Reed grew frustrated with Sue and Johnny for not following his orders during the fight. Mr. Fantastic figured out that the Invincible Man was not Franklin Storm at all, but the returning Super-Skrull, having been freed from his volcano imprisonment by his fellow Skrulls. The Four confronted the Super-Skrull at the World's Fair, and told him that the jig was up. Reed allowed the Skrull to leave peacefully, knowing that the Four could beat him in a fair fight, on the condition of returning Franklin to them. The Skrull did leave, and some time later Franklin was beamed into the Baxter Building under threat of a distant attack from one of Reed's complex astronomical weapons. However, Franklin was equipped with a deadly laser beam designed to kill the Four when he arrived—instead, Dr. Storm took the brunt of the blow himself, essentially jumping on the grenade to save his children and their allies. Franklin passed away minutes later, telling Sue and Johnny how proud he was of their bravery and valor.

Attuma's invasion of Atlantis

Soon after, while the Human Torch was out patrolling the city, he spotted the Atlantean Dorma coming to the surface. As a precaution, he grabbed Dorma and flew her back to the Baxter Building. Dorma, surprisingly, sought the Fantastic Four's help. Until recently, she had stood beside Namor as he ruled Atlantis, filled with unrequited love and desire for her distant cousin. Recently, Namor's rule was threatened by an army led by the barbarous Attuma from "the murky depths." When Dorma pleaded with Namor not to rush into battle, he brushed away with particular cruelty. Scorned by her only love, Dorma acted rashly and betrayed Namor, allowing Attuma and his brutal hordes to penetrate the city of Atlantis. Regretting her actions, Dorma came to the surface and pleaded with the Four for assistance, warning them that Attuma would be a far more dangerous ruler than Namor and would certainly come for the surface after securing Atlantis. Mr. Fantastic agreed to help, and prepared the team with an "oxo-spray" that coated their bodies with self-perpetuating oxygen, allowing them to travel freely underwater for some time, the only downside being that Torch's flame became harder to control.

The Four and Dorma took Dorma's bathysphere into the sea, where they were quickly set upon by Attuma's armies. The Four and Dorma evacuated the bathysphere and fought their way through Attuma's forces and into the city of Atlantis, where Namor and his dwindling forces fought valiantly against Attuma's superior invading army. The Four destroyed a number of devices designed to dishonorably attack Namor as he fought one-on-one with Attuma. Invisible Girl got close and, unnoticed by Namor himself, made Namor invisible, throwing Attuma off-guard and giving the Sub-Mariner the upper hand. The Four's oxo-spray began to expire, and Mr. Fantastic urgently stretched to carry his partners to the surface. Namor defeated Attuma in combat, forcing him to surrender, and banished him and his followers from Atlantis. Dorma returned to Namor, who forgave her for her actions.

See also

• History of the Fantastic Four, 1963
• History of the Fantastic Four, 1965
• Biography of the Human Torch, 1964
• Biography of the Thing, 1964-1965