The Frightful Four are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . They serve as the antithesis to the Fantastic Four .
125-980: The Frightful Four first appeared in Fantastic Four #36 (March 1965), and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby . The team subsequently appears in Fantastic Four #94 (January 1970), #129 (December 1972), #148 (July 1974), #177 (December 1976), Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May 1980), The Amazing Spider-Man #214-215 (March–April 1981), Fantastic Four #326-328 (May–July 1989), Fantastic Four Unlimited #5 (March 1994), The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #418 (June 1994), Deadpool vol. 3 #35 (December 1999), Fantastic Four vol. 3 #29 (May 2000), and Fantastic Four #514 (August 2004), and #547-549, and Superior Carnage #1-5 (2014). The Frightful Four received an entry in The Official Handbook of
250-406: A bigger enemy, and that they did their part. Wizard's mind began to shows signs of dementia due to punishment inflicted by Black Bolt, so he decided to create a new Frightful Four with Klaw, Karl Malus , and Carnage . He attempted to control Kletus Kassidy's mind. Due to his lobotomization, he could not. He instead transferred his blood into Malus and made him into Superior Carnage . Wizard's goal
375-482: A cornerstone of the company's 1960s rise from a small division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. The title would go on to showcase the talents of comics creators such as Roy Thomas , John Buscema , John Byrne , Steve Englehart , Walt Simonson , Tom DeFalco , Mark Waid , and Jonathan Hickman . The Fantastic Four is one of several Marvel titles originating in the Silver Age of Comic Books that
500-573: A few issues with temporary teams, Mark Waid took over as writer with #60 / 489 (October 2002) with artist Mike Wieringo with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise $ 2.25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US. Pencillers Mark Buckingham , Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time. Writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciller Mike McKone did issues #527-541 (July 2005 - Nov. 2006), with Dwayne McDuffie taking over as writer
625-602: A fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s, and on numerous covers in the 2000s. Issue #4 (May 1962) reintroduced Namor the Sub-Mariner , an aquatic antihero who was a star character of Marvel's earliest iteration, Timely Comics , during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comics . Issue #5 (July 1962) introduced the team's most frequent nemesis, Doctor Doom . These earliest issues were published bimonthly. With issue #16 (July 1963),
750-631: A fourth member much to the disappointment of the Baxter Building's landlord Walter Collins . Texas Twister was the first to audition, but declined when he learned that they are not going to pay him for his services. Captain Ultra was another person to show up at the audition and showed off his powers only to faint when one of the Frightful Four members lit a match. Then Osprey auditioned in order for them to give him superpowers which caused Wizard to attach
875-536: A giant mechanical spider on the World Trade Center in order to draw out Spider-Man, who ended up knocking the giant mechanical spider off the World Trade Center. The device that was on the mechanical spider enabled Wizard and his ally to track down Spider-Man's spider-senses to his apartment building where they end up rounding up the tenants. Spider-Man attacked them from a different direction. After rescuing
1000-567: A hover-disk to Osprey sending him flying out of the Baxter Building. Wizard announced on the PA stating that those who did not have superpowers did not need to audition. When Tigra arrived and freed the Fantastic Four, Wizard announced that whoever can defeat them can join the Frightful Four. Out of the villains that left, only Brute (the Counter-Earth version of Reed Richards) remained. Brute joined
1125-520: A hypnosis device on the Thing in order to make him their obedient slave by Medusa's request. When the Fantastic Four found a lead on where Ben was, they traveled to New Jersey and were soon attacked by the Frightful Four. During the fight, Thing arrived and attacked his former comrades. Thing's added strength was what the Frightful Four needed to defeat the Fantastic Four, while all the members were bound by different booby-trapped restraints. While Mister Fantastic
1250-474: A large ferocious wildcat of great strength, speed, and claws. Ebony was sacrificed so her owner could gain precognitive powers. She is later resurrected through unknown methods. Deirdre Kaye of Scary Mommy called Agatha Harkness a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character. The A.V. Club ranked Agatha Harkness 38th in their "100 Best Marvel Characters" list. Brady Langmann of Esquire ranked Agatha Harkness 4th in their "Best Characters in
1375-600: A literal Frightful Four consisting of Brood mercenary Xzax, Marcus the Centaur , N'Kantu, the Living Mummy , and Frankenstein's Monster . Except for Frankenstein's Monster, the entire team was killed by Deadpool. First appearing in Fantastic Four #36, and led by the Wizard , the team was put together to fight against the Fantastic Four . The wannabes were a group of superhumans who gathered in response to an advertisement to join
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#17328758510641500-498: A long time. Some time later, a partially amnesiac Wanda tells Clint Barton she is under the care of her "Aunt Agatha" in a small apartment. However, this version of Wanda was later revealed to be a Doombot that replaced the real Wanda at some point. Agatha has since made her presence known in the New Multiverse as a ghost. She appears to Wanda and confirms her death at the hands of her protégé. She also concurrently serves as
1625-459: A mind-controlled Human Torch, Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman managed to escape from them. The Frightful Four incapacitated the Human Torch when they found out that he was pretending to be mind-controlled. Meanwhile, Mister Fantastic tried to use a device to reverse the brainwashing on Thing. However, Thing tried to destroy the machine in order to get free causing an explosion that exposes him to
1750-422: A near-lethal dose of radiation. Although it worked and Thing was changed back to normal: he was put in a bed to see if he would live or die. The Frightful Four then returned to the Baxter Building and attacked Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman, showing them that they had Human Torch as a hostage. However, Thing revived just long enough to crush Wizard's body armor, giving Human Torch the chance to free himself from
1875-642: A number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup, he then rewrote these for Fantastic Four . Simonson later recalled that working on Fantastic Four allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members Thor and Iron Man , which he had been precluded from using in The Avengers . After another fill-in, the regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco , penciller Paul Ryan and inker Dan Bulanadi took over, with Ryan self-inking beginning with #360 (Jan. 1992). That team, with
2000-578: A power vacuum in Amerika, Doctor Doom took over the Presidential Quarter and came across Baron Mordo's village where he cuts off Mordo's access to Agatha and kills him. Agatha is told by Doctor Doom that she now owes him. An Ultimate Marvel of Agatha Harkness appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four . This version is a young woman and claims to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. psychologist sent to evaluate
2125-463: A quippy villain into a standout character within the MCU. He praised Hahn’s dynamic performance for blending humor with a sinister edge, which resonated with audiences. Fink found that Harkness' journey from antagonist to potential ally creates opportunities for compelling storytelling in her own television series. He stated that Harkness could fill a similar role to Loki as a charismatic villain, adding depth to
2250-558: A result, Electro joined up with the Frightful Four. The Frightful Four prepared to attack Spider-Man after Dr. Curt Connors cured him of his Spider-Lizard form. The Frightful Four later arrived at the Statue of Liberty where Spider-Man and Human Torch met. Electro used a specially-made suit that imitated Human Torch's powers in order to lure Spider-Man to them. Spider-Man was caught off-guard because of this and ended up overpowered. Wizard then planned to have Trapster pose as Spider-Man and enter
2375-509: A sarcastic tone. They possess all the powers of the Fantastic Four, along with many more years of experience, but are in a state of gradual decay, and a hunger for living flesh. They have repeatedly stated their goal is to spread the virus they carry on to the superhumans of the Ultimate universe. The Four were captured upon their arrival to the Ultimate universe, and have been kept in a special holding cell designed by Mister Fantastic to contain
2500-552: A sixteen-issue run. Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline, " Secret Invasion ", and the 2009 aftermath " Dark Reign ", chronicling the U.S. government's assigning of the Nation's security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain Norman Osborn , the Fantastic Four starred in a five-issue miniseries , Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (May–Sept. 2009), written by Jonathan Hickman , with art by Sean Chen . Hickman took over as
2625-514: A title called Spidey was released by Éditions Lug. Primarily featuring reprints from the juvenile comic book Spidey Super Stories , it also featured a similarly themed FF series produced in France. These original stories had art that closely resembled the work of Jack Kirby or John Buscema, but the storylines themselves included watered-down supervillains, the FF on vacation, and even Santa Claus . This series
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#17328758510642750-676: A total of 29 issues. That series merged into Spider-Man . During 1985 the Fantastic Four and other Marvel titles such as The New Mutants , The Avengers , and The X-Men were included in the Secret Wars II reprint title. This mostly focused on issues which crossed over into the Secret Wars II maxi series. From 2005, around the release of the Fantastic Four film , the super-team appeared in two new publications published by Panini Comics : Fantastic Four Adventures , and Ultimate Fantastic Four . The latter only lasted 10 issues, ending in 2006. Fantastic Four Adventures which reprinted
2875-455: A vacuum cleaner and a fire-hose respectively. Trapster surrendered when he was confronted by the other three Fantastic Four members after they regained consciousness. Thing was later attacked by the Frightful Four with Thundra as their fourth member. Medusa aided Thing only to be roped up by Trapster. They then attacked Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman as Franklin unleashed energy that ended up awakening Thing. The latter managed to fight off
3000-411: A weekly title that rotated the main feature with other Marvel titles. Williams Comics eventually obtained the rights to Marvel's line and began publishing (for the first time in color) in the mid-1970s. Fantastic Four was backed up with Daredevil and began with issue #1. No annual was published by Williams and some early numbers were left out (5, 6, 10, 12, 21 and 44). Condor Comic carried the title in
3125-702: Is located. During the battle with Corina (now calling herself Korrosion), a gigantic explosion of energy was unleashed due to the Black Mirror's destruction and neither Korrosion or Agatha Harkness were anywhere to be found. It later turns out that the explosion had sent them back to their homeworlds where they belong. Agatha, having been restored to her physical and mental prime, goes into hiding for some time as she adjusts to being young again. After stopping Necrodamus from launching an attack on Scarlet Witch, Agatha goes to meet her at her new Emporium witchcraft shop. The two exchange some small talk before Agatha brings up
3250-426: Is referred to as "El Hombre Elástico" (Elastic Man). Canada rarely translated character names from their English version, although sometimes switching back and forth between English and French names in the same issue (The Thing / La Chose, Mister Fantastic / Monsieur Fantastic, Invisible Girl / Fille (or Femme) Invisible, Human Torch / Torche Humaine). The names of Dr. Doom and She-Hulk were not translated into French for
3375-653: Is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I'm moving towards the end of Fantastic Four . I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth." In the aftermath of the " Secret Wars " storyline, the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans. With Franklin's powers restored and Reed having absorbed
3500-449: Is summoned, they manage to defeat the being once and for all although this has gravely wounded Order, the Goddess of Witchcraft. Natalya sacrifices herself to restore Order and, in doing so, also returns Agatha to life. Despite noting that her and Wanda's paths are intertwined, Agatha chooses to have some time to herself to enjoy being alive again. Agatha Harkness later appears as a member of
3625-400: Is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects). In issue #326, Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo the other changes he had made. This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book. He used the pseudonym John Harkness, which he had created years before for work he did not want to be associated with. According to Englehart, the run from #326 through his last issue, #333,
3750-599: The Essential Marvel range: As part of the Marvel Masterworks series: The issue numbering of Volume 3 reverted to the legacy number of the title, beginning with the issue #500. The issue numbering of Volume 5 reverted to the overall legacy number of the title. The Fantastic Four has been published in translation around the world, beginning in 1962 in Mexico as Los Cuatro Fantásticos published by La Prensa until
3875-555: The Marvel Two-in-One and Fantastic Four annuals that crossed over into the Invaders story would have to be published by the "other" company, and in fact that particular crossover was published twice, once by each company. This resulted in different translations of the characters' names — Susan Storm Richards was called "Jane" in her own title by Editions Lug, and Reed was called "Red," a combination of letters easier to pronounce than
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4000-579: The Baxter Building think tank. It is later revealed that her S.H.I.E.L.D status was faked and she is an ancient empathic being who destroyed Atlantis . Known as the Dragon-of-Seven or the Hydra , it can exist as a single creature or as seven seemingly separate ones. In her form as a group of seven individuals, she posed as the superhero group Salem Seven . Kathryn Hahn portrays Agatha Harkness in
4125-448: The Baxter Building . After Trapster's infiltration, the Frightful Four attacked the building, taking out the Fantastic Four one at a time. Although they were able to take the other three by surprise, they were defeated when Spider-Man escaped and came to Mister Fantastic's aid. Spider-Man tricked Electro into knocking out the Wizard, before he and Mister Fantastic trapped Sandman and Electro in
4250-706: The Daughters of Liberty where she taught magic to its members. At the time when Captain America figured out that Dryad is a revived Peggy Carter , Agatha teleported herself to inform him that the threats that the Daughters of Liberty have been facing are connected with Aleksander Lukin 's sister Alexa. Agatha later briefed the Daughters of Liberty's latest recruit Shuri about the situation involving Selene having Sharon Carter 's soul. She then proceeded to transport herself, Sharon's Iron Patriot appearance, and Shuri to where Selene
4375-537: The Fantastic Four in France were held by a company called Éditions Lug , which began publishing Fantastic Four first in a 1969 anthology title called Fantask , along with Spider-Man and Silver Surfer, then in another anthology called Marvel . The censors objected to the content of the book, and citing "nightmarish visions" and "terrifying science fiction" as the reasons, forced their cancellations after respectively 7 and 13 issues. Although other anthologies featuring Marvel strips continued, notably Strange (featuring
4500-501: The Hulk . They escaped in Ultimate Fantastic Four #31, tricking the guards into thinking they'd teleported out when really they had merely turned invisible. They were quarantined to the top 40 levels of the Baxter Building where they kill and eat anyone who was trapped with them. The group begin work on a portal which would allow their fellow zombies to gain access to this universe. In Ultimate Fantastic Four #32, The Ultimates gathered at
4625-657: The Jersey Devil , Moon Knight encounters Taegukgi where Agatha's spell makes them fight each other which ends with Moon Knight surrendering. While somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, Agatha is attacked by demons who found out that she is trying to recreate the Darkhold. Agatha summons Wolverine, Storm, Human Torch, and Taegukgi to fight them. Ghost-Spider fights White Fox in a Haikyu which ends with White Fox winning. Clea hears about what happened from Spider-Man and heads to
4750-513: The Rangers , the Right Riders, and Dr. Cargill's daughter Turbine. At the time when Doctor Doom switched minds with Mister Fantastic, Wizard led the Frightful Four (consisting of himself, She-Thing, Trapster, and a Punisher robot ) in an attack on the Baxter Building. Due to the appearance of Doctor Doom and not knowing what happened, Wizard ordered a retreat not wanting to fight Doctor Doom. When
4875-572: The Salem witch trials . The character debuted as the governess to Franklin Richards , serving as an ally to the Fantastic Four . She trained the Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff in the art of magic. Harkness is the mother of the warlock Nicholas Scratch and the grandmother of the Salem's Seven . She has also been a member of the Daughters of Liberty . Originally depicted as an elderly woman, Harkness
5000-499: The " Civil War ". When Klaw's body was restored to normal by Wizard and joins up with him, the group becomes the Frightful Five. When Thing recently got engaged, his fiancé received a wreath from the Frightful Four with a card saying "See you at the wedding." During the " Dark Reign " storyline, Quasimodo analyzed the Frightful Four for Norman Osborn . If Osborn can stomach giving Wizard an ego-boost, he can form an incarnation of
5125-467: The 1980s and 1990s, and published a series of 47 pocket format books at about 168-196 pages each. It also published a paperback series in a similar format to the Marvel Graphic Novels with 12 issues of 52 pages each. Marvel Deutschland (later Panini Comics Deutschland) publishes "Die Fantastischen Vier". Since 2008 the series is named with its original title "The Fantastic Four". The German names of
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5250-632: The Amazon rainforest and finds that someone is using chaos magic. Clea ends up knocked out enough to end up in the Astral Plane where she encounters Agatha. Agatha's magic makes Deadpool and Dylan Brock possessed by the Venom symbiote fight each other at Hopper Land amusement park in the United Kingdom which ends with Venom winning. After a brief battle with Clea on the Astral Plane, Agatha returns to her body in
5375-639: The Bermuda Triangle while in the presence of her champions. Agatha's magic makes Cyclops and Captain Marvel fight each other in an abandoned Iceland town which ends with Captain Marvel surrendering. Clea figures out that Agatha is recreating the Darkhold using the energy of her champions causing Spider-Man to contact the Avengers . When the Avengers arrive in the Bermuda Triangle, Agatha unleashes her possessed champions on them. Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch run into Agatha as they try to reason with her. When Agatha drops
5500-706: The Canadian reprints. British publication of the series began sporadically appearing in the black and white anthology title Mystic in the 1960s. It began to appear regularly in Wham! from 1966 to 1968, then Smash! in 1968 and 1969, both titles published by Odhams Press . In 1972, the Fantastic Four's adventures were published starting with issue 1 of the US comic in Mighty World of Marvel alongside Spider-Man and Hulk reprints when Marvel Comics began its imprint Marvel UK . In 1976
5625-517: The FF's adventures from US Fantastic Four #1, but this was replaced by The Invaders towards the end of the run. In 1978 that series merged into Mighty World Of Marvel returning the FF to their original home alongside the Hulk . Their last adventure in that title was issue 329, when they were moved out so that the comic could be relaunched as Marvel Comic in early 1979. Their adventures briefly moved back into Spider-Man Comic before stopping shortly after John Byrne took over pencilling chores on
5750-405: The Fantastic Four during their visit to child-rearing expert Agatha Harkness . That time, they planned to kidnap Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman's newborn son Franklin Richards . This time, they were defeated by Agatha who revealed to the Fantastic Four that she was also a witch. Wizard, Trapster, and Sandman reunited in order to look for a fourth member after Medusa regained her memories. As
5875-467: The Fantastic Four's reputation was damaged by their attempted coup of Latveria to destroy Doctor Doom's arsenal, the Wizard assembled a new team consisting of himself, the Trapster, Hydro-Man (who now wears a costume made from the same material has Human Torch's costume), and his ex-wife Salamandra, seeking to take advantage of the team's current poor standing by defeating them on a live broadcast. However, with
6000-402: The Frightful Four and assisted them in fighting the Fantastic Four. Wizard was later freed from his prison on Ryker's Island by a mysterious person who had joined up with the Frightful Four. As they made their escape, the guards came after them only to be stopped by a sea monster summoned by the mysterious person. Wizard was impressed as the two head to land to hunt down Spider-Man. Wizard used
6125-532: The Frightful Four that would serve Osborn. Quasimodo recommends to Osborn that he should keep Wizard on a tight leash. At the time when Thing was fighting Red Hulk , a new line-up of the Frightful Four (consisting of Wizard, Klaw, Lyra , and Trapster) attacked the Baxter Building. A flashback recalled by Spider-Man and Invisible Woman had Spider-Man pulling down Human Torch's pants before the Frightful Four (consisting of Wizard, Trapster, and Beetle ) attacked them. Invisible Woman managed to pull their pants down and
6250-449: The Frightful Four who were able to get away. While away from the Frightful Four, Thundra later kidnapped Alicia Masters in order to fight Thing at Shea Stadium. Wizard, Sandman, and Trapster reunited to hunt down the Fantastic Four after returning from Atlantis. The Fantastic Four managed to turn the tides against them. The Frightful Four took over the Baxter Building and captured the Fantastic Four. They subsequently held an audition for
6375-711: The Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Valeria and Franklin Richards to the Earth 616 for the first time since Secret Wars. A new volume of Fantastic Four was launched in November 2022 by writer Ryan North and artist Iban Coello, after Slott had concluded his run with issue #46. The first issue of The Fantastic Four proved a success, igniting a new direction for superhero comics and soon influencing many other superhero comics. Readers grew fond of Ben's grumpiness, Johnny's tendency to annoy others and Reed and Sue's spats. Stan Lee
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#17328758510646500-571: The MCU's expanding mystical universe. Cat Hampton of Collider called Harkness a fan favorite because of " Agatha All Along ." The character of Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood was named after Agatha Harkness. In the " Old Man Logan " reality of Earth-21923, Agatha Harkness was shown to be in a village somewhere in the Presidential Quarter having her powers siphoned by Baron Mordo . Sometime after Old Man Logan had killed Red Skull and Hulk that led to
6625-680: The Marvel Cinematic Universe" list. He praised Kathryn Hahn's portrayal of Harkness, describing her as a "legendary character actress" who transformed what could have been a forgettable villain into a standout performance in the MCU. Ben Saffle of Comic Book Resources stated Harkness gained a "fandom following her antics" in WandaVision which resulted in her starring in her own spin-off. Richard Fink of MovieWeb said that Hahn’s portrayal of Harkness in WandaVision transformed her from
6750-579: The Marvel Universe Update '89 #3. The Frightful Four first appeared in Fantastic Four #36, consisting of Wizard , Sandman (who was given a special armor that would work with his sand-based abilities upon being freed by Wizard), Paste-Pot Pete (who was freed by Wizard), and Medusa (who had amnesia at the time). The villains were originally fairly successful, almost defeating the Fantastic Four during Susan Storm and Reed Richards 's engagement party in their first appearance. They captured all
6875-583: The Scarlet Witch was secretly about gaining access to the Darkhold trapped in Wanda Maximoff's soul. While Scarlet Witch is busy fending off attacks, Agatha slithered her way inside and ripped out Chthon's heart. During the " Contest of Chaos " storyline, Agatha uses Chthon's remains to create a new Darkhold and starts by having Spider-Man and Wolverine fight each other in the Amazon rainforest. Wolverine wins because Spider-Man held back and he gives Agatha
7000-842: The Vulture-Fliers abduct William Shakespeare to be his chronicler. They were opposed by the Four from the Fantastick. In an unidentified alternate universe visited by the Earth-20051 Human Torch in Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #25, the Frightful Four consists of Mr. Devious (Reed Richards), the Unstoppable Woman (Susan Storm), Monsterman (Ben Grimm), and the Human Pyre (Johnny Storm). Blaming non-existent enemies for
7125-479: The Wizard's own anti-gravity discs. Another version of the Frightful Four (consisting of Wizard, Hydro-Man, Titania, and Trapster) appears to challenge the Fantastic Four again only to find themselves dealing with the additional presence of the Black Panther and Storm , who had temporarily joined the Fantastic Four while Reed and Sue were on a second honeymoon to work on their marriage after their separation during
7250-508: The X-Men, Iron Man, and the Silver Surfer), the Fantastic Four remained unpublished in France until 1973. Éditions Lug created a format aimed more for adults; an 80-page series called Une Aventure des Fantastiques debuted where the old series left off, with the stories that introduced the Inhumans and Galactus. That series lasted over 15 years, coming out four times a year. In the mid-1970s,
7375-596: The accident that transformed them, the paranoid villains attempted to take revenge on the entire world. They are opposed by the Iron Man -like hero Doc Iron, secretly mild-mannered research scientist Victor von Doom . In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Frightful Four are zombie counterparts of the Fantastic Four from the Marvel Zombies dimension. Zombie Reed himself was the one who named his team, and he did so with
7500-428: The aid of the Wizard and Salamandra's daughter Cole (who was subjected to various experiments in the womb that give her natural control of the Wizard's gravitons), the Frightful Four are defeated when Cole helps the Fantastic Four find her father's base, Wizard subsequently trapping Trapster in a time loop when he becomes angered at the Trapster's incompetence while Hydro-Man and Salamandra are defeated by hitting them with
7625-512: The battle, Thing regressed to his human form. The Frightful Four managed to take down the other members of the Fantastic Four as Klaw was defeated. When Dragon Man was brought in as Klaw's replacement, Thing had to rescue his teammates and stop the Frightful Four. The Fantastic Four ended up fighting the Frightful Four that consisted of Wizard, Klaw, Red Ghost , and She-Thing . Wizard gathered Absorbing Man , Living Laser , and Mister Hyde together as an unofficial Frightful Four. They attacked
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#17328758510647750-663: The characters are Das Ding (The Thing), Die Fackel or Die menschliche Fackel (The Human Torch), Die Unsichtbare (The Invisible One), and Mr. Fantastisch (Mr. Fantastic). Silver Surfer and She-Hulk retained their English names. Some early Williams editions refer to Dr. Doom as "Doktor Unheil". In one Williams publication Dr.Doom is also referred to as "Doktor Untergang". Later they call him by his original US name. Editoriale Corno initially published I Fantastici Quattro in Italy (first with Captain Marvel as backup feature, then rotating with other backup features). Star Comics published
7875-456: The comics field at the time, but the positive response to Fantastic Four persuaded him to stay on. The title began to receive fan mail and Lee started printing the letters in a letter column with issue #3. With the third issue, Lee created the hyperbolic slogan "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!!" The following issue, the slogan was changed to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" and became
8000-728: The cover title dropped its The and became simply Fantastic Four . Kirby left Marvel in mid-1970, having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue, partially published in Fantastic Four #108, with alterations, and later completed and published as Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (April 2008), Fantastic Four continued with Lee, Roy Thomas , Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as John Romita Sr. , John Buscema , Rich Buckler and George Pérez , with longtime inker Joe Sinnott adding some visual continuity. Jim Steranko also contributed several covers during this time. A short-lived series titled Giant-Size Super-Stars starring
8125-550: The double E sound. When Aredit published a Fantastic Four appearance they kept the traditional US names. Generally speaking, their names in France were: Monsieur Fantastic (although Mister was often used as well), L'Invisible , La Chose , and La Torche . (Rarely was "Humaine" used in the French editions.) Dr. Doom was called Docteur Fatalis and She-Hulk was called Miss Hulk . " Die Fantastischen Vier " first appeared in Hit Comics ,
8250-410: The feature was moved to star in Marvel UK's The Titans , in an attempt to revive flagging sales, starting with issue #27. But after just a few months the feature was removed from The Titans (replaced by The Avengers ) to form part of the line up of the new Captain Britain Weekly for its first issue in October 1976. After the demise of Captain Britain Weekly the FF went with Captain Britain into
8375-444: The fight due to the demonic energy Mephisto had placed within them. Fantastic Four (comic book) Fantastic Four is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Fantastic Four (created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby ) and published by Marvel Comics , beginning with the original Fantastic Four comic book series which debuted in 1961. As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed
8500-542: The fight, Human Torch was captured and Invisible Woman chases after the urn with Reed inside. While the Frightful Four brainwashed Human Torch, Invisible Woman freed Mister Fantastic. They got a hold of a number of the Wizard's anti-gravity discs. Using them to disorientate the other Frightful Four members, they used one to make taking Thing back to base easier. Although the other members were caught up, Wizard and Human Torch were still free and chase after Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, and Thing. While being chased by Wizard and
8625-527: The following issue, and Paul Pelletier succeeding McKone beginning with #544 (May 2007). As a result of the events of the " Civil War " company-crossover storyline, the Black Panther and Storm temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team. During that period, the Fantastic Four also appeared in Black Panther , written by Reginald Hudlin and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela. Beginning with issue #554 (April 2008), writer Mark Millar and penciller Bryan Hitch began what Marvel announced as
8750-524: The foot of the Baxter Building as plans were made to drop the field and attack the zombies, when Mister Fantastic in Doctor Doom 's body returned. Using the distraction of a genuine threat to Johnny via Van Damme's magical knowledge, Van Damme/Reed gains access to the building. With his magical abilities, he swiftly destroyed the entire Frightful Four. Reed then sent what remained of their bodies back to their dimension before switching his body back with Van Damme. The Mike Wieringo tribute issue What If This
8875-505: The gigantic anti-gravity disc he was tied to. The Fantastic Four then easily defeated their opponents and captured Wizard, Trapster, and Sandman while Medusa got away. After the three remaining members of the Frightful Four were turned over to the police, Thing decided to rejoin the Fantastic Four with hopes that if Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman can endure this sort of daily danger and be married, then maybe someday he could be normal again. The Frightful Four got back together and spied on
9000-410: The leader. Scratch had taken control of the town and persuaded its inhabitants that Agatha betrayed the community's secrets by working for the Fantastic Four. She was abducted and taken back to the community with Franklin to stand trial. The Fantastic Four followed and came into conflict with Salem's Seven , Agatha's grandchildren fathered by Scratch. The Fantastic Four defeated them and freed Agatha. In
9125-483: The mainstream version of the team lasted longer, ending in February 2010. Publication history in France started with the reprinting of the first 10 pages of Fantastic Four #50 in 1967 in an anthology title called Les Chefs-d'Oeuvres de la Bande Dessinée [Comic Book Masterpieces]. In 1974, the first four issues of the title were published, one page at a time, in the daily newspaper France-Soir . But primarily, rights to
9250-456: The members except the Human Torch , who was able to free the others. The Frightful Four even stole the Fantastic Four's powers, which later almost killed them in their second appearance. When the Fantastic Four disappeared, the Frightful Four attempted to break into the Baxter Building, but were accidentally scared off by Norse God Balder believing him to be the Human Torch. Wizard later used
9375-471: The members of the Frightful Four demonstrated increased powers with which they almost defeated the heroes until the Future Foundation replacement team led by Ant-Man arrived to help them and finally capture the villains in one of Invisible Woman's force fields until S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived. As the Frightful Four were being taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Wizard revealed that the attack had been financed by
9500-416: The memories of Wanda Maximoff dealing with her children with a spell. She displayed powerful telepathic abilities. Agatha Harkness was initially presented as an elderly woman who had kept herself alive for centuries through magic. However, a mystical rebirth results in her being aged back to her mid-30s. Agatha owns a familiar black cat named Ebony. She possesses the capability to transform into
9625-648: The merged Super Spider-man and Captain Britain Weekly in July 1977. A few months after the merger a new title The Complete Fantastic Four was launched in September 1977 starting with the story from the US Fantastic Four #133. Unusually The Complete Fantastic Four reprinted an entire issue of the US publication at a time when stories were always broken up into several installments. As a backup strip it started serializing
9750-469: The mid-1970s, then by Macc Division until 1980 and finally by Novedades Editores from 1980 to 1982 and French-speaking Canada as Les Fantastic Four , from 1969 to 1986, after which the title was merged with the Spider-Man title for three more years. Mexican translators were not consistent in their translations of the characters' code names; The Thing was called Coloso (Colossus) in the first series, La Mole in
9875-422: The newly created Darkhold and Captain Marvel drops it, an explosion happens. Agatha's body is nowhere to be found. On another beach, Agatha witnesses the Darkhold take on a sentient form which is slowly getting powerful. During the " Blood Hunt " storyline, Agatha and the Darkhold's human form are traveling on a train incognito as they are being pursued by Scarlet Witch. Agatha poses as the Darkhold's mother during
10000-528: The newly formed Marvel France line in the late 1990s. Fantastic Four shared space in the Silver Surfer's own book until the Heroes Reborn storyline created their own title, supported by Captain America. "Fantastic Four" then appeared in the anthology "Marvel Legends" and currently appears in "Marvel Icons", sharing that title with the Avengers. Two different French companies held rights to Marvel Comics at
10125-438: The omniscient narrator of Vision's ongoing solo title, having induced precognitive visions through an arcane ritual involving the murder of Ebony at some undetermined point before her death. Agatha fights alongside Wanda and the spirit of her biological mother Natalya Maximoff against a physical manifestation of Chaos which is attempting to destroy witchcraft. The two spirits channel their magic through Wanda and, after Quicksilver
10250-468: The orb as they both disappear. Then Iron Man and Storm find themselves fighting each other in Giant Crystal Cave due to Agatha's spell which ends with Storm defeating Iron Man. Human Torch is transported to a moving train made to look like Hell where Agatha's spell makes Human Torch and Ghost Rider fight each other. Human Torch defeats Ghost Rider as Agatha locks Human Torch up. While hunting
10375-606: The original Fantastic Four series had continued unbroken, with issue #42 / #471 (June 2001). At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in the 1960s, such as Thor and The Amazing Spider-Man , were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series. After issue #70 / #499 (Aug. 2003), the title reverted to its original vol. 1 numbering with issue #500 (Sept. 2003). Karl Kesel succeeded Loeb as co-writer with issue #51 / #480 (March 2002), and after
10500-557: The power of the Beyonders from Doom, the Richards' family are working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse, but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it "safe" until the team is ready to come back together. Writer Dan Slott and artist Sara Pichelli launched a new Fantastic Four series in August 2018 to commemorate the 56th anniversary and part of Marvel's " Fresh Start " relaunch. The new series returned
10625-464: The process, Scratch's evil was revealed to the community of New Salem and he was banished to another dimension. Agatha became the magical tutor for the Scarlet Witch in the use of witchcraft. Scratch and Salem's Seven returned, and Agatha foiled their attempt to conquer the world. Eventually, Salem's Seven took over the New Salem community again. They captured Agatha and killed her by burning her at
10750-558: The remaining energy to become pregnant with twin children of Vision , her android husband. Later, Agatha resurfaced, again alive and well, when Wanda's infant children began exhibiting odd behavior (disappearing for brief periods of time) and Wanda became unstable after her husband's dismantling; Agatha provided no explanation for her return. After Mephisto claimed that Scarlet Witch's children were actually fragments of his own soul and reabsorbs them, Agatha briefly mind-wiped Wanda's memory of her children in an attempt to help her deal with
10875-478: The same time in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Éditions Lug (which eventually became Semic Comics ) published Fantastic Four , Spider-Man , X-Men , Daredevil , and Iron Man , and most related series, while Aredit held the rights to Avengers, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Sub-Mariner and many of the 1970s-era modern series like Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Power Man and the first She-Hulk series. Often, crossovers would force one company to publish another's title, i.e.
11000-432: The second and the third (which was the name used for The Hulk in the first series). The other three main characters had more stable translated names: Mister Fantástico (sometimes translated as Señor Fantástico), La Chica (or La Mujer) Invisible, and La Antorcha Humana. Dr. Doom was Doctor Destino and She-Hulk was La Mujer Hulk in her run in the Fantastic Four. In the movie, and in current appearances in Mexico, Mister Fantastic
11125-492: The series regular writer as of issue #570 with Dale Eaglesham and later Steve Epting on art. In the storyline "Three", which concluded in Fantastic Four #587 ( cover date March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the Human Torch appears to die while stopping a horde of monsters from the other-dimensional Negative Zone . The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply FF . The relaunch saw
11250-482: The slumping title with his run. Originally, Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art. Sienkiewicz left to do Moon Knight , and Byrne ended up as writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to the comic; eventually Bob Budiansky became the regular editor. Byrne told Jim Shooter that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said "that's my paranoia. I look back and I think that
11375-482: The spin-off series Agatha All Along (2024). Agatha Harkness debuted in Fantastic Four #94 (October 1969), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby . She appeared in the " Avengers Disassembled " storyline, the 2022 Midnight Suns series, the 2023 Scarlet Witch Annual one-shot, the 2024 House of Harkness series, and the 2024 Agatha Harkness: The Saga of the Salem Witch trade paperback . Agatha Harkness
11500-481: The stake, although Agatha soon made her presence known to Wanda in what appeared to be a post-death astral form. In an ensuing battle between the Scarlet Witch and Salem's Seven, the entire community's energies were drawn into Vertigo of the Seven, who lost control of them. Wanda managed to capture some of the energy and funnel it away, but the entire town was destroyed. Following hints from Agatha's astral form, Wanda channeled
11625-495: The strip. In March 1980 Marvel UK launched the monthly Fantastic Four Pocketbook reprinting older Lee and Kirby stories. In September 1980 their new adventures continued in the new weekly anthology title Marvel Team-Up , remaining in the comic until its cancellation with the edition dated 4 March 1981. From 1 April 1981, the Fantastic Four was part of a new title, Marvel Action , which only lasted 15 issues before it merged with Captain America (#21). The FF strip transferred to
11750-469: The super-team's appearances including the Human Torch solo series from Strange Tales . Agatha Harkness Agatha Harkness is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby , the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #94 (October 1969). Agatha Harkness is a powerful witch and one of the original witches from
11875-468: The team assume a new name, the Future Foundation , adopt new black-and-white costumes, and accept longtime ally Spider-Man as a member. In October 2011, with the publication of FF #11 (cover-dated Dec. 2011), the Fantastic Four series reached its 599th issue. In November 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics, the company published the 100-page Fantastic Four #600 (cover-dated Jan. 2012), which returned
12000-494: The team began in May 1974 and changed its title to Giant-Size Fantastic Four with issue #2. John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. Bill Mantlo briefly followed Wolfman as writer of the series and wrote a crossover with Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May 1980). Byrne wrote and drew a giant-sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for Coca-Cola , which
12125-444: The team comic The Avengers , had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of Fantastic Four . Yet by The Avengers #300, where they were scheduled to join the team, Simonson was told the characters were returning to Fantastic Four . This led to Simonson quitting The Avengers after that issue. Shortly afterward, he was offered the job of writing Fantastic Four . Having already prepared
12250-485: The team of writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Alan Davis , it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont (co-writing with Lobdell for #4-5), penciller Salvador Larroca , and inker Art Thibert ; this team enjoyed a long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000). Following the run of Claremont, Lobdell and Larroca, Carlos Pacheco took over as penciller and co-writer, first with Rafael Marín , then with Marín and Jeph Loeb . This series began using dual numbering, as if
12375-630: The team. An alternate universe Frightful Four consisted of Wizard , Blastaar , Quicksand and the Hooded Haunt. The Marvel 1602 miniseries 1602: The Fantastick Four includes the Four Who Are Frightful, comprising Jacobean versions of the four original members. This version was created by Peter David . They joined up with Otto Von Doom when they stated that they have been to Bensaylum (the Earth-311 version of Atlantis) even when Otto had
12500-532: The temporarily renamed Marvel Action starring Captain America . The FF strip's last appearance was in Captain America #36, stopping in preparation for the comic's merger with another Marvel UK anthology title, Marvel Super Adventure the next week. After the cancellation of the Pocketbook in July 1982 the classic FF strips continued in the short lived Fantastic Four weekly title that ran from 6 October 1982 for
12625-493: The tenants, Spider-Man went after the two. Upon meeting up with Trapster and Sandman, the mysterious ally of Wizard was revealed to be Llyra . Spider-Man learned of this when Namor came to town. Spider-Man and Namor engaged the Frightful Four and managed to defeat them. Wizard later assembled Hydro-Man , Titania , and Klaw as the Frightful Four when attacking the Four Freedoms Plaza following Sandman's reform. During
12750-463: The title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, so in issue #308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with the Thing's new girlfriend, Sharon Ventura , and Johnny Storm's former love, Crystal. The changes increased readership through issue #321. At this point, Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic, West Coast Avengers , that he disagreed with, and in protest he changed his byline to S.F.X. Englehart (S.F.X.
12875-427: The title in the 1990s, followed by Marvel Italia. Character names are typically translated as "la Cosa" (Thing), "la Torcia Umana" (Human Torch) and "la Donna Invisibile" (Invisible Woman), while Dr. Doom is "Dottor Destino". Mister Fantastic, She-Hulk and Silver Surfer kept their English names. Also released in Italy was the series I Fantastici Quattro gigante , an oversized magazine reprinting in chronological order all
13000-469: The title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch. It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue #587, showing that while he did in fact die, he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus. Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus. As part of Marvel NOW! Fantastic Four ended with #611, ending Jonathan Hickman's long run on FF titles, and
13125-559: The title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer Matt Fraction and artist Mark Bagley . In the new title with its numbering starting at #1, the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together, with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading. Writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk launched a new Fantastic Four series in February 2014 ( cover dated April 2014). Robinson later confirmed that Fantastic Four would be cancelled in 2015 with issue #645, saying that "The book
13250-453: The title's sales increased over the period. The ongoing series was cancelled with issue #416 (Sept. 1996) and relaunched with (vol. 2) #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series " Heroes Reborn " crossover story arc. The yearlong volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary style, and set in a parallel universe. Following the end of that experiment, Fantastic Four was relaunched with (vol. 3) #1 (Jan. 1998). Initially by
13375-493: The titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [ sic ] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... 'If the Justice League is selling', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'" The release of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) was an unexpected success. Lee had felt ready to leave
13500-433: The topic of Chthon (which was sealed inside her soul) and the Darkhold (which Wanda had absorbed). Scarlet Witch thinks she's strong enough to take on this burden, while Agatha believes otherwise as she has become aware of several threats looming in the shadows looking to take advantage of Wanda. The two then have an interesting witch-fight that ends with Agatha conceding defeat. However, part of Agatha Harkness' fight against
13625-406: The trauma. Agatha later restored those memories soon after when Wanda became a pawn in a complex plot by Immortus . Agatha aided the Avengers in their battle against Immortus. Wanda, again having no memory of her children, angrily confronted Agatha about their existence. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. found what appeared to be Agatha's corpse in her home and concluded that Agatha had been dead for
13750-419: The trip. The Darkhold flees from Agatha and escapes into a river. Agatha Harkness is a powerful magic user. She is also an expert in arcane knowledge. Harkness can manipulate magical forces for numerous effects by invoking beings or objects existing in vast dimensions tangential to Earth through spell recitations, such as psychokinesis , levitation , and the tapping of extra-dimensional energy. She erased
13875-568: The very occasional different inker, continued for years through #414 (July 1996). DeFalco nullified the Storm-Masters marriage by retconning that the alien Skrull Empire had kidnapped the real Masters and replaced her with a spy named Lyja . Once discovered, Lyja, who herself had fallen for Storm, helped the Fantastic Four rescue Masters. Ventura departed after being further mutated by Doctor Doom. Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco's run on Fantastic Four , calling him "The Great Satan",
14000-453: The wedding of Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler only to end up fighting the Hulk . At some point, the Wizard assembled a Frightful Four consisting of himself, Deadpool , Taskmaster , and Constrictor as a test team. Wizard later assembled Trapster, Dreadknight , and Man-Bull together as the Frightful Four when it came to abducting Dr. Cargill and forcing him to use his expertise for the Wizard's endeavor. They were opposed by Spider-Man,
14125-399: Was "one of the most painful stretches of [his] career." Writer-artist Walt Simonson took over as writer with #334 (December 1989), and three issues later began pencilling and inking as well. With brief inking exceptions, two fill-in issues, and a three-issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams , Simonson remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991). Simonson, who had been writing
14250-445: Was Shooter trying to force me off the book". Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series. Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers: Roger Stern , Tom DeFalco , and Roy Thomas . Steve Englehart took over as writer for issues 304–333. The title had been struggling, so Englehart decided to make radical changes. He felt
14375-498: Was able to become young again and increased her strength. Since her introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including video games , animated television series , and merchandise. Agatha Harkness made her live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) live-action miniseries WandaVision (2021), portrayed by Kathryn Hahn . She reprised her role in
14500-516: Was almost defeated by the Frightful Four until Scarlet Witch appeared to help him. After witnessing the scale of the Quiet Man's plans for revenge coupled with the "betrayal" of his clone Bentley 23, Wizard led the new Frightful Four of himself, She-Thing, Thundra and Sandman against the Quiet Man's invasion concluding that this was not a world he wanted for his "son". After Deadpool failed to deliver Dracula's bride Shiklah in time, Dracula created
14625-460: Was arrested alongside them for indecent exposure. Lucky for her, Spider-Man and Human Torch bailed her out. Under the orders of a mysterious benefactor, Wizard formed another incarnation of the Frightful Four consisting of Wrecker , Thunderball , and a female Bulldozer . They attacked Thing and depowered Human Torch in Times Square. During the fight to which the rest of the Fantastic Four joined,
14750-462: Was continuously published through 2015 before returning to monthly publication in 2018. Magazine and comic book publisher Martin Goodman , a publishing trend-follower, aware of strong sales on Justice League of America , directed his comics editor, Stan Lee , to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee, writing in 1974, "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of
14875-467: Was glued to a wall with the Trapster's paste, Wizard convinced Thing that Mister Fantastic was responsible for his monstrous nature and convinced him to kill Reed. Human Torch and Invisible Woman managed to free themselves from their respective traps and counterattacked the Frightful Four giving Mister Fantastic enough time to free himself from Trapster's paste. However, while fighting Thing one on one, Ben managed to catch Reed and smash him into an urn. During
15000-490: Was introduced as the governess of Franklin Richards . She easily fended off the Frightful Four when they came to abduct Richards, and admitted to the Fantastic Four that she is a witch . She then aided the Fantastic Four in battle against Annihilus . Through the actions of her son Nicholas Scratch , she was revealed as a member of the previously unknown New Salem, Colorado, a colony of witches of whom she had been
15125-454: Was rejected by Coca-Cola as being too violent and published as Fantastic Four #220-221 (July–Aug. 1980) instead. Writer Doug Moench and penciller Bill Sienkiewicz then took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his run as writer, penciller and inker, the last under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn for this issue only. Byrne revitalized
15250-455: Was replaced by 1960s-era X-Men reprints when Marvel demanded the same royalties for Éditions Lug's original stories that they did for the US reprints. Eventually, a regular monthly series began publication in France, and the Fantastic Four took over the headlining position in the pocket format anthology Nova (sharing the title with Spider-Woman, Peter Parker, She-Hulk, and Silver Surfer) and lasted until Marvel began publishing its own titles under
15375-454: Was surprised at the reaction to the first issue, leading him to stay in the comics field despite previous plans to leave. Comics historian Stephen Krensky said that "Lee's natural dialogue and flawed characters appealed to 1960s kids looking to 'get real'". As of 2005, 150 million comics featuring the Fantastic Four had been sold. The Fantastic Four stories have been collected into several trade paperback and hardcover editions. As part of
15500-465: Was the FF? , showed a world where the new Fantastic Four consisting of Spider-Man , Wolverine , Ghost Rider , and the Hulk remained a team due to the death of their predecessors. Doctor Doom attempted to destroy them and hence the legacy of the original FF by enlisting the aid of Mephisto to empower a new Frightful Four with demonic energies, the new team consisting of Sandman , Venom , Sabretooth , and Abomination only for all four to die during
15625-415: Was to take over NYC City Hall and impress his son, but Superior Spider-Man ( Doctor Octopus ' mind in Spider-Man's body) was able to stop him. Wizard was later freed by the same individual who financed his attack and gave him more resources to reform the Frightful Four. Using Gazelle, Reptilla, and Vertigo of Salem's Seven , Wizard attacked Chicago to get the attention of Mister Fantastic. Mister Fantastic
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