American Update: Ffantastic Ffoes of the Ffour! – Villainous debuts of the Molecule Man, Red Ghost and the Super-Apes, Super-Skrull! (and the Watcher!)
*Marvel: Three early issues of the Fantastic Four this update feature the first appearances of three of the team’s greatest nemeses (and one of their staunchest allies). Issue #13 brought us to the mysterious Blue Area of the Moon, and introduced the enigmatic Watcher, cosmic custodian of devices of unimaginable power. Moreover, it featured a Russian scientist re-creating the flight which gave the FF their powers to gain super-abilities of his own – and by staffing his ship with trained primates, making sure his ‘teammates’ were subservient to him! The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes (Mikhlo, Igor and Piotr – we knew you were dying to know!) became a recurring feature in the Marvel Universe, even after the Cold War thawed. In issue #18, the Skrulls, sworn enemies of the FF since their second issue, developed their own super-soldier with all the powers of the FF – and one more! The Super-Skrull has been more seen on Marvel’s cosmic stage than with the FF in later years, but this is where he got his start. And in issue #20, a mild-mannered nebbish became the Molecule Man, putting the FF through their paces while wreaking havoc on a world which had dismissed and ignored him. #13 is GD/VG £115; #18 an extraordinary VF- at £355 and issue #20 VG/FN £95. SORRY, #13, #18 & #20 NOW SOLD