The Fourth Member--Medusa, Pt 2

As we saw yesterday, Medusa was the first fourth member of the dreaded Frightful Four. And, well, she maybe was the most powerful of the group of nineteen-time losers. Although, aside from flipping a light switch with her hair and getting the drop on Susan Storm twice, she wasn't actually all that effective.

After attacking the FF twice over three issues, the Wizard's supergroup took a couple of issues off...and then blitzed back into action three issues later, in a patented Lee/Kirby 3-parter.

We start with Medusa showing that, yeah, maybe she really is the most powerful:

Of course, we have to take this with a grain of sand, because Sandman has been beaten by a vacuum cleaner. Still, she's layin' down the law. Result: Sandman ends up with a crush on her, and starts jawing at anybody who pays any attention to her. Oh, Flint Marko, you're so cute...

This is also the issue in which Paste-Pot Pete (chuckle) changes his name to The Trapster...because, well, because anything would be better than Paste-Pot Pete.

The Wizard decides to try a new tack, and once again violate his "equivalent to the Fantastic Four" rule. He captures the Thing, and using his "Id Machine," converts him to evil, making it 5 on 3...and conveniently, he only obeys the Wizard's orders. As in, "Shock the frak out of Medusa so everyone will know who is the boss around here."

Who's the most powerful now, Medusa?!?

Now, you'd think that after two attacks in a space of days, Reed Richards would have made the Baxter Building Frightful Four-proof. No such luck, as they invade more easily than moles infiltrating CTU.

But finally, we see some hint of cerebral activity from Sue, as she finally realizes that maybe Medusa shouldn't always be cleaning her clock:

Sadly, though, it's all for naught, as the Thing's presence immediately turns the tide against the Fantastic Three. They're captured, and all appears doomed, until...could Medusa be tempted to the side of right by the power of handsomeness??

Do it!! Do it!! Free him!!!

D'oh!! (Although, bonus points to Stan and Jack for avoiding the cliche this one time, even though it meant invoking the "don't be weak and feminine" meme).

Anyway, they use the Id Machine on the captured Human Torch, and even though it doesn't work on him, he pretends it does. Which sets up some final issue fighting/romance between Johnny and Medusa. First, she shows that she can take him out...


Yes, folks, the Human Torch was taken down by a chick with wet hair. Embarrassing.

But her gets his own back when he dries off:

Then she proves that the Trapster really could beat the Torch, if her weren't an incompetent buffoon:

Not surprisingly, Reed manages to cure Ben, the tide turns, the Frightful Four are captured...except for Medusa, who makes a Spider-Man like getaway:

Yet the Torch has a chance to stop her...but will he?


Oh, poor Johnny...maybe she has a hot sister who would be into you.

So ends Medusa's time as part of the Frightful Four. She was not teriffically effective, but then again, none of the were. And she made pretty much all the nearby males act goofy for her, which counted for something in 1965. The very next issue she end up reunited with her Inhuman family, her memory just as mysteriously regained as it had been lost.

And the rest our the Four? She bailed, but they're jailed. We'll here a peep or two from them, minor jailbreaks and such, but the full villainy of The Frightful Four won't be back for 50 issues or so. And who would they turn to for their new fourth member? Stayed tuned, true believer...

The titanic trilogy of terror tormented us in Fantastic Four #41-43 (1965), by Lee, Kirby, and Vince Coletta.