Fantastic Four Vol 1 11

{{Marvel Database:Comic Template
 * Image              = Fantastic_Four_Vol_1_11.jpg
 * Month              = February
 * Year               = 1963


 * Editor-in-Chief    = Stan Lee
 * CoverArtist1       = Jack Kirby
 * CoverArtist2       = Dick Ayers
 * CoverArtist3       = Stan Goldberg


 * Quotation          = Name? We Poppupians have no names!  We know who we are! And now, good day!
 * Speaker            = Impossible Man


 * StoryTitle2        = The Impossible Man!
 * StoryTitle1        = A Visit With the Fantastic Four
 * Synopsis2          =  An alien being from the planet Poppup arrives on Earth and appears before a group of hobos seeking entertainment. When he asks the homeless men for food they tell the alien that the only way he can get food is with money. Taking this as literally as possible, the alien goes to a nearby bank and takes bags full of money, using his shape shifting powers to get past a teller. When he is stopped by police they begin to shoot at the alien, who quickly turns into metal to deflect the bullets, sending the police fleeing. The authorities then call in the Fantastic Four to handle this alien being and they find the extra-terrestrial gorging on food at a fancy restaurant. Asking where he came from, the Fantastic Four learn that this alien came from the planet Poppup where his people evolved into being that could change shape into any form in order to deal with any threats to their lives.

When they tell the alien that he cannot just steal money, he points out that nobody tried to stop him, leading to the Thing and Human Torch to try to subdue the cocky alien, however his shape changing powers defend him well from any attack. Learning that this alien is on vacation, Sue tries to reason with him explaining that he can't just break Earth laws. When she asks the alien what his name is, he explains that Popuppians do not have names because they "know who they are". When he tries to walk out of the restaurant another fight breaks out and the Thing coins this alien as "impossible", prompting everyone to begin referring to him as the Impossible Man.

The Fantastic Four chase the creature outside where they battle him some more. When the army sends in soldiers, Reed tells them to stay back, prompting the Impossible Man to change into a bomb. Reed quickly uses his stretching power to toss the "bomb" into the air where it explodes harmlessly. Flying around on wings, the Impossible Man is then brought down when the Human Torch uses his powers to create a hypnotic pinwheel out of flame. Eventually Reed deduces that the Impossible Man is encouraged by people's reaction to his antics and that he is starved for attention. He then sends out a message to everyone in New York to simply ignore the Impossible Man. Miraculously the people of the city do just that and begin to ignore the impish alien's destructive games until the Impossible Man grows so bored of the lack of attention he decides to leave Earth, vowing that he nor anyone else from his race will visit the Earth ever again, much to the relief of the Fantastic Four.

After visiting with some local fans of theirs, the Fantastic Four get another mail delivery from their mailman Willie Lumpkin. Reading their fan mail, the FF responds to readers letters:
 * Synopsis1          =

After trying another serum to change him back to human form, Ben and Reed tell the story about how they met in college and eventually fought in World War II, they then retell the origin of the Fantastic Four. Sue later gets upset by reader mail that expresses peoples dislike of her and question her usefulness on the team, the FF angrily defend Sue by telling of the times that Sue helped the team defeat the Skrulls, and when she saved the team from Dr. Doom's death traps. After to cheer Sue up they take her aboard the flying saucer they have since their adventure on Planet X where Sue finds a surprise birthday cake waiting for her. As they celebrate Sue's birthday, Willie is slogging back to the Baxter Building with another bag full of fan mail for the FF.


 * Writer1_1          = Stan Lee
 * Writer2_1          = Stan Lee
 * Penciler1_1        = Jack Kirby
 * Penciler2_1        = Jack Kirby
 * Inker1_1           = Dick Ayers
 * Inker2_1           = Dick Ayers
 * Colourist1_1       = Stan Goldberg
 * Colourist2_1       = Stan Goldberg
 * Letterer1_1        = Artie Simek
 * Letterer2_1        = Artie Simek
 * Editor1_1          = Stan Lee
 * Editor2_1          = Stan Lee

Featured Characters:
 * Appearing2         =
 * {{a|Fantastic Four}}
 * {{apn|Human Torch (Johnny Storm)|Strange Tales #105|Strange Tales #106}}
 * {{apn|Invisible Girl (Susan Storm)|Strange Tales #105|Strange Tales #106}}
 * {{apn|Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)|Strange Tales #105|Strange Tales #106}}
 * {{apn|Thing (Ben Grimm)|Strange Tales #105|Strange Tales #106}}

Villains: Other Characters: Locations: Vehicles: Featured Characters:
 * {{apn|Impossible Man|-|Fantastic Four Vol 1 175}} {{1st}}
 * {{a|US Army}}
 * {{a|New York policemen}}
 * {{a|United States of America}}
 * {{a|New York State}}
 * {{a|New York City}}
 * {{a|Manhattan}}
 * {{a|Baxter Building}}
 * {{1st|Poppup}}
 * {{a|Fantasti-Car MK I (Flying Bathtub)}}
 * Appearing1         =
 * {{a|Fantastic Four}}
 * {{a|Human Torch (Johnny Storm)}}
 * {{a|Invisible Girl (Susan Storm)}}
 * {{a|Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)}}
 * {{a|Thing (Ben Grimm)}}

Supporting Characters: Villains: Other Characters: Locations: Vehicles:
 * {{apn|Willie Lumpkin|-|Fantastic Four #15}} {{1st}}
 * {{flashonly|Skrulls}}
 * {{flashonly|Dr Doom}}
 * {{BTS|Yancy Street Gang}}
 * Mr. Howell (bank manager)
 * Mike and Joe (pilots)
 * Killer (wrestler/boxer)
 * {{a|United States of America}}
 * {{a|New York State}}
 * {{a|New York City}}
 * {{a|Manhattan}}
 * {{a|Baxter Building}}
 * {{a|Xantha Saucer}}


 * Notes              = ===Continuity Notes===


 * In the story "A Visit With the Fantastic Four" it is stated that both Reed Richards and Ben Grimm fought in World War II. This is further depicted by an appearance of Reed working with the OSS in {{c|Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #3}} and Ben fighting in the South Pacific in {{c|Captain Savage #7}}. However this hsa been retconned out of their histories as per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. More recently, Reed is no longer referred to as having any military service, while Ben's "service" has been retconned into being a US Airforce test pilot. To date, Marvel has not officially explained their appearances in Sgt. Fury and Captain Savage. However, any references to Ben and Reed fighting in World War II should be considered topical references as per the Sliding Timescale. As a standard rule for characters who have served in the military, while earlier comics may reference a specific historical conflict (for example, Charles Xavier and Cain Marko fighting in the Korean War circa {{c|X-Men #12}} and Forge fighting in the Vietnam War in {{c|Uncanny X-Men #186}}) have all been generalized to a vague geographical conflict in the most recent run of Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe. As such, any references to Reed and Ben serving in the military should be generalized as part of the general rule.


 * It has been later established that while the Impossible Man can change shapes, these shapes adopt his basic colour scheme of green and purple. This story shows him changing colour as well as shape, as the basic rules regarding his shape shifting powers was not implemented at the time of publication. That or one could chalk up the different colours as being a colouring error.

Other Notes

 * This issue also includes a pin-up of Namor the Sub-Mariner.


 * The cover credits for this issue are disputed. The Grand Comics Database lists Al Hartley as the possible inker to Jack Kirby.


 * Willie Lumpkin previously appeared in a self-titled comic strip, which Stan Lee and legendary Archie Comics artist Dan DeCarlo created in 1960.


 * The Xantha Saucer makes a cameo appearance. The Fantastic Four acquired the ship in.


 * This issue is reprinted in comics and books, see references for info.
 * Trivia             =


 * Recommended        =


 * Links              =


 * The Grand Comics Database: Fantastic Four #11


 * http://www.ffplaza.com/library/?issue=ff11

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