Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Fantastic Four Vol. 3

Quick Summary

Pros: The characters are as charming as ever and their adventures are just as creative as before. Sue’s character gets some major advancement here, especially in comparison to previous collections. The artwork is as appealing as before and features some significant advancements for the medium.

Cons: Some of the minor plot points and narration feel dated.

Overall: In this volume, the Fantastic Four’s exploits are as enjoyable as ever. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby continue to deliver on the endearing storytelling and beautiful artwork that has made this series great thus far. This volume also helps push the series further into the future by developing the larger narrative in ways that expand what this comic is capable of. Anyone who has enjoyed the Fantastic Four’s adventures in previous volumes or who wants to see Sue start to come into her own as a hero should check out this book.

Story

Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 3, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is another round of entertaining adventures from Marvel’s self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Comic Magazine”. This means the return of imaginative adventures with creative villains, charming and humorous familial bickering between the heroes, and some worthwhile development that may have an impact on future stories. This collection also rights some of the previous collections’ wrongs by enhancing Sue’s character in ways that are highly appreciated. There are still moments where the age of these stories start to become noticeable but these moments are rare and are overwhelmed by the volume’s positives. All in all, this is another win for the Fantastic Four series.

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The quality of the stories in Fantastic Four Vol. 3 is generally on par with the quality of the stories in Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (Review). This means that the adventures are enjoyable, the characters are charming, and the overall appeal of Marvel’s “First Family” is very high. Standout chapters within this book include the fight with the Hate-Monger, which details an inspiring message about equality, and the continued development of Reed and Sue’s relationship, which is handled better here than it was in previous volumes. In general, it feels as if this comic has hit a groove that is leading to the continued emergence of great storytelling.

This collection also does a lot to advance Sue Storm’s character, which was one of the most significant problems in previous collections. In issue #22, her powers are expanded to include the generation of invisible barriers. This allows her to more significantly contribute to the action that takes place in each story, rather than simply sneaking around and getting one lucky jab at the villain. This change helps her as a character but it also significantly improves the quality of the storytelling as well. Before this point, Sue was somewhat of a one-trick pony but now she brings just as much storytelling diversity as the rest of the team, which makes fights more animated than ever before.

The only problems with the volume are the problems that arise due to the passage of time. Some of the plot points and narration here feel particularly dated, especially references to Sue being overly emotional simply because she is a woman. Though there are definitely moments where these references are annoying, they are not found in the bulk of this book and, thus, are somewhat easy to ignore.

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Art

Like the story, the artwork in this collection mostly sees a carryover of the quality from the previous volume. Jack Kirby’s work on the Fantastic Four continues to look great and helps ensure their adventures are as exciting as the narration claims they are. There are also subtle ways in which Kirby improves on the artwork in the series, for example, the transition between Johnny Storm’s normal and flaming forms occur in a more natural fashion. Overall, the visuals here stand out as some of Kirby’s best work from this time period.

Notably, stories in this volume feature the first appearance of Jack Kirby’s now famous comic collages. Their appearance immediately gives a new dimension to the works and the way they are used helps stress the otherworldliness of the subjects they depict. Witnessing this graphic enhancement’s first few comic appearances is awesome and gives additional weight to the historical importance of these comics.

Continuity

Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 3 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (Review).

The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 4 (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Nick Fury mentions meeting Reed Richards during the events of Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #3, this story is collected in Marvel Masterworks: Sgt. Fury Vol. 1.
• A number of recent events from the Avengers series are mentioned in this volume. The Hulk quit the Avengers in Avengers #2, he fought them in Avengers #3, and Captain America joined the team in Avengers #4. All of these issues are collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1.
• The death of Bucky Barnes is mentioned in this volume. This death is explained in Avengers #4, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 1.
• At one point, the Human Torch’s team-up with Iceman, from Strange Tales #120, is mentioned. This story is collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch Vol. 1.
• A note in this collection stats that the Watcher was a star in the Tales of Suspense series. He was featured in this comic from Tales of Suspense #49-58, currently only collected in the out-of-print Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Rarities Vol. 1.