Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: George Klein
“The Skrulls from Outer Space”
Release Date: September 28, 1961

It was well over a month (September 1961) before the next issue of The Fantastic Four was released and this time it’s a full-length story that appears to be set sometime after the Four have made their presence known in the world.  This is because the invading Skrulls (you remember them from the Marvel movies, right?  This is their first appearance in the comics) feel that if the Fantastic Four is removed as a threat, then they can proceed with their invasion plans.  The Skrulls have the ability to shape change into almost anything.  This, along with some technical devices, allowed them to impersonate the Four.

After being set up for crimes they didn’t commit, the Four are on the run and hiding out in a cabin in the woods.  The Thing is enraged by the whole situation and goes on a rampage in his frustration.  After subduing him, there is a slight error on the page as the Thing refers to the Torch for something Reed says in the previous panel.  It’s funny because most know of the “Marvel way” of comics in which the writer gives the story to the artist, he then draws according to how he sees it, and then the dialogue is added.  The panels are adjacent to each other and yet the mistake is made.  Reminds me of old-time movies or television shows where such mistakes would often just be allowed to get by.

And considering it’s been more than a month since the last issue, we also get a quick recap of the origin of the Four as Reed expresses his guilt over getting them into the situation in the first place.  We’re still not at the point where they are wearing costumes, a staple of the superhero. So, are these superheroes or just a band of mysterious people who find themselves thrust into situations as we saw first with the Mole Man?  I kind of wish we had more stories without the costumes myself.  I liked the aesthetic of it on the pages of the comic.

The Four are captured by the army and allow themselves to be taken into custody, but they quickly escape, each via their own unique talents.  They come up with a plan to draw out the other Skrulls by sabotaging a rocket launch that will make the others think their brethren did it.  It’s here we also see another staple of the team – Johnny’s and Thing’s arguments and Sue having to step in and get them in their corners.  

The rest of the story is pretty straightforward as Johnny is picked up by the Skrulls who take him back and then they realize their mistake.  But not before Johnny can signal the others who move in and capture the Skrulls.  Reed and the others go to the Skrull mothership and impersonate the Skrulls with a report of the dangers of taking the planet as they show the leader images from various other Marvel comics of a science fiction nature.  They offer to remain behind in order to remove any traces of Skrulls.  Upon returning to Earth, the shuttle carrying the Four passes through the belt of cosmic radiation once again, returning Ben Grimm to his human self.  It is short term though as he reverts back to the Thing.  But it does prove the process can be reversed.

What I really liked was the ending in which Reed hypnotizes the four Skrulls into turning themselves into cows.  It seems a simple solution, but years later, John Byrne would show the repercussions of this action in one of the better issues of his run as writer/artist.  Overall, a better second issue than the first, as good as that one was.

Writer: Larry D. Lieber
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers
“The Man in the Ant Hill”
Release Date: September 28, 1961

That same month, indeed released on the same day as Fantastic Four #2, Tales to Astonish #27 was released.  This was one of several comics Marvel produced with science fiction-based stories.  It was in this issue that the world was introduced to Henry Pym, whom we would know later as Ant-Man.  The story opens with Henry discovering how to reduce objects to the size of an ant.  He wants to pursue this further by having a process to reduce a living creature.  The scientific community rejects this idea, but he argues he will only pursue science that sparks his imagination.

Henry creates his serum and tests it on himself.  He shrinks to the size of an ant but leaves the antidote on a window sill high above him.  He has more to worry about as he has an army of ants pursuing him.  One appears to be helpful though as it pulls him from an area covered in honey.  But the others are aggressive, so he has to fight back.  

With the help of the one ant, he is able to get away and return to the window sill where he returns to normal size.  Now, here comes the interesting part as this was not a story to set up a hero, but rather just a tale of appreciating who you are as a person.  Henry destroys the serums for size control and makes it a point to never step on an ant hill again.  But as we know, this isn’t the end of Henry Pym’s story.  It will be some time though before he returns to the pages of Marvel Comics.

Interestingly enough, we won’t get the next installment of the Marvel Universe now until December 1961 when Fantastic Four #3 is released. It will be with that issue that we’ll see the superhero genre really kick in as the team gets costumes and gadgets to help them fight the strange and mysterious people and creatures that will grace the pages in the years to come.