The Fantastic Four finally get a worthy nemesis with Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four #5 (April 1962). The tale starts with the now-familiar inter-team jabs and squabbles, with Johnny Storm reading the The Incredible Hulk comic and suggesting the Hulk reminds him of The Thing. So it’s cross-promotion within a Marvel comic book, but no evidence that the characters exist in the same universe yet.
After the petty squabble results in another full-out brawl, a electrically charged net drops over top towering skyscraper the Four use as a headquarters. Wuh-oh, it’s a new villain who orders the Four to become his prisoners, introducing himself as Doctor Doom.
Turns out Reed Richards recognizes the voice of a former college classmate, Victor Von Doom. A brilliant science student who also had a penchant for black magic and sorcery. After blowing up a lab and his face, Victor was expelled for sinister experimentation and last anyone heard, was prowling around Tibet looking for magic secrets.
Turns out Dr. Doom has invented a time machine, as one does. He wants the Fantastic Four (minus Sue Storm) to go back in time to retrieve Blackbeard’s treasure. Oh yes, it is perfectly natural that a scientific genius who invents time travel would think “I’ve invented the greatest device every known to humanity – now finally I can convince some super-heroes to go retrieve me some pirate’s treasure”. Think a little bigger next time, Victor!
Off the three heroes go into the past, where they find some local costumes to disguise themselves, including fitting The Thing with a pirate’s hat, a patch, and a black beard. After a little high seas pirate adventure in which The Thing takes over command of the ship’s crew, it suddenly becomes clear that The Thing is the actual basis for the legend of Black Beard.
The crew’s acceptance of the Thing as something other than a monster makes Ben forget himself and temporarily abandon Reed and Johnny until a shipwreck makes him come to his senses.
This is some surprisingly good character moments in a superhero comic! You can see why it must have felt very different to readers of the time.
Anyway, after 48 hours of wavy ups-and-downs, the time traveling crew are whisked back to the 20th century by Doctor Doom, where a minor skirmish occurs, the Fantastic Four’s lives are threatened again, Doctor Doom escapes, a menacing tiger is completely forgotten about, and all is well at the end.
All in all, a fun adventure. I just wished they would use the Invisible Girl more!