The Fantastic Four (1961-88) was The Great American Novel

WORK IN PROGRESS. Nov 2012: 50% complete.

The greatest comic books are The Great American Novel

Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize winner, should know. It's "a simple matter of choosing the right books." Which books are best?

"Lee and Kirby's Fantastic Four run is the Mount Olympus of comic book storytelling. Nothing else can touch it in its innovation, sustained excitement, consequential events, and unprecedented character development." (Mark Engblom in Comic Coverage: March 21, 2009)

"Stan and Jack's Fantastic Four was, at its peak, almost unarguably the richest and most imaginative comic in the history of the medium." (Mark Waid's Fantastic Four Manifesto, in "Comics Creators on Fantastic Four" page 202.)

"For about twenty Issues, on either side of 50, it was possibly the best comic book ever done." - Len Wein

Stan Lee was the greatest ever editor of comic books (see "Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book"). He used a pseudonym instead of his real name (Stanley Lieber) because, until 1961, he had bigger dreams:

"I felt someday I'd write 'The Great American Novel' and I didn't want to use my real name on these silly little comics." (see Origins of Marvel Comics, chapter 1)

By 1961 he was tired of bad comics and planned to leave. His wife suggested that instead of leaving he create one comic he could be proud of. So he broke all the clichés, and focused on realism. He also gave great freedom to the greatest comic book creator in history, Jack Kirby. Together they created "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine." Hundreds of fan clubs emerged up and down the land to discuss the realism of the stories. Newspaper and radio stations and students on college campuses debated this new phenomenon that captured the spirit of the age. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had created something that touched the heart of America.

The American epic

As a civilization reaches its zenith it creates its epic. These are usually stories that define a culture and can be understood by children, but also have depths for adults. Hence the Iliad, the Aeneid, Beowulf, the 1001 Arabian Nights or European Fairy Tales. These are usually collective works spanning many years, featuring god-like heroes.

The epic often draws on sources popular at the time, and retells them in a way that fits a certain point in history. As Philip Pullman has observed, Grimm's fairy tales are about princes and castles and children's suffering after the Thirty Years war and Napoleonic wars, which led to the unifying of Germany. The 1001 Nights reflect the new cities of the Islamic civilization Arabia and the problems that arise for a previously nomadic culture. Likewise, the superhero reflects America becoming a global superpower/ The Fantastic Four specifically reflects the triumph over the soviets, 1961-1989. This triumph is explicit in the first issue: private enterprise, science and family beat the communists.

As Darcy Sullivan observes, the Fantastic Four is "an allegory, a secret history of the 1960s":

The allegory goes far beyond the individual characters and stories:

The Great American Novel defined

"The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing. ... the American response to the national epic." (Wikipedia, Great American Novel, retrieved March 21 2009)

John William De Forest invented the term in 1868 and said that such an epic could not be written until America had "agonized and conquered through centuries." This period arrived in the 1960s. De Forest dreamed of something uniquely and indisputably American, reflecting America's self image. Nothing fits that description more than the superhero. But until 1961, superheroes lacked down-to-earth realism. That came with The Fantastic Four.

The Zeitgeist

"The most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing."

The zeitgeist is the spirit of the age: it is what you would feel if you were actually there. The Fantastic Four is the zeitgeist in print: unlike a retrospective novel, each issue is written and published at the time, drawing on whatever ideas were current, with minimal editing.

Stan Lee learned his trade by slavishly following trends. Whatever was popular that month, he made a comic book on it. Fear of communism became alien invasions, faith in science became heroic scientists. He was like a radio antenna for the national mood. He did not interpret, he just represented. "We hear about [Stan's] embrace of topical subject matter and hot-button issues, but not about how equivocal it always was, how infrequently it seemed to stem from any real conviction aside from generic humanism and the belief that zeitgeist-chasing was smart business." - grantland.com The article condemns this uncritical following of trends, yet it created a book that recorded the zeitgeist like no other book ever has.

Jack Kirby was equally in touch with the zeitgeist. He worked with both the radio and TV constantly on, with the TV sound turned down. His mind was like a sponge for current ideas (see volume 1 of the Comics Journal collected interviews). Between them, Kirby (the greatest ever comic artist) and Lee (the greatest ever comic editor) were the greatest ever pipeline for the zeitgeist to the printed page. See appendix for more examples.

Pop art: "The state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen."

Perhaps the purest example of the zeitgeist in art is "pop art." Pop art brings together the ordinary and familiar to represent the spirit of the age. The Fantastic Four is pop art, and was re-branded as such at the start of its golden age  (issues 42-46). 

The authors

The Great American Novel must be written by "An American author who is knowledgeable about the state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen" (Wikipedia).

Everyone who creates the FF openly states that they are following the vision of just two men, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Lee was a likable huckster who dreamed of Hollywood. Kirby was a tough street kid from a poor neighborhood, and avid consumer of pop culture. Both men were Jews, New Yorkers, and WWII veterans. Lee and Kirby were America personified.

Until the Fantastic Four, Marvel had no guaranteed brands: if the comics ever lost touch with the state, culture and perspective of the common American citizen then Stan and Jack didn't eat.

The Fantastic Four had a third author: the readers. The comic listened and gave them what they wanted. This author is "knowledgeable about the state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen" because he and she is the American citizen!

Authorial intent and the epic story

• Realism naturally creates a long term story
  We have instincts. We naturally grow up, find partners, have children, and then they grow up. None of this is consciously planned yet it happens. 
  A good writer understands the patterns of birth and death, of school and work, or war and peace. Stan and Jack did not plan ahead, but they knew when it was time for Reed and Sue to date, to marry, to have  children. The long term story naturally arose.
• The zeitgeist naturally creates a long term story
  If fiction follows the zeitgeist then it naturally follows real world patterns: the Fantastic Four follows the optimism of the 1960s with the soul searching of the 1970s, then the materialism of the 1980s. it follows the sexism of the 1960s, the feminism of the 1970s and the vanity of the 1980s. Each phase naturally leads to the next because it's based on the real world.
• Clichés naturally create a long term story
  Clichés work because each cliché carries a wealth of meaning beyond the simple words or event. In other words, it implies a big story, even if that big story is not spelled out.
• Reader reaction naturally creates a long term story
  Some critics ('reader response' critics) argue that the meaning of art meaning exists entirely in the reader's mind. One objection is that this would make it impossible to learn from art. But if art reflects real life then the reader is simply learning from real life: the meaning is there, but the artist may not be aware of it. 

The language of the common people

What was the average American reading? Not Melville, not Hemingway, not even Twain. They were reading comic books, because comic books spoke their language.

Objections to the Great American Novel Hypothesis

• Most comics are rubbish? The Fantastic Four, 1-321, is not "most comics."
• Comics are rejected by critics? So was Gone With The Wind (rejected by 38 publishers), M*A*S*H* (17 times), Dubliners (22 times), etc. (source)
• It uses simple language? So does the Bible, in most translations. So did Ernest Hemingway, and he was criticized for it as well:
  William Faulkner: "[Hemingway] has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
  Hemingway: "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
• Comics are low culture? Everything said against comics can be said against Shakespeare
• These themes are not obvious? This is a sign of depth and subtlety.
• Comics appear very lightweight on the surface? So did Mark Twain.
• Comics are made to a deadline, paid by the page? Charles Dickens used the same method, sometimes adapting his story mid way in response to readers.
• Comics are morality tales that stretch credibility? So were the ancient Greek myths.
• Comics have costumed heroes who hit people? You have just described the Iliad, the archetype of the national epic. Though the Fantastic Four do not wear comic-type costumes.
• Comics have multiple authors? So have the Greek myths. Shakespeare collaborated on some plays. Leonardo Da Vinci had a team of artists to fill in the details. This is normal for any massive epic.
• The Fantastic Four (according to this page) emerged without its authors knowing its big picture? The same applies to the individual books of the Bible. And to every real human life.
• 6000 pages is excessive? It's the same length as Proust's greatest novel (assuming that 1 page of dense text = 2 pages of comic).
• Why superpowers? The powers, like the family relationships, are simply McGuffins to allow different stories: Whatever story you want, whatever the topic, whatever characters, whatever location or time period or relationships, the FF can tell the story.

Multiple layers

The FF is probably the most layered book ever written. At least twelve layers of story are told simultaneously, and each layer can include multiple characters. Why is it so complex? Because it evolved organically through multiple people. The result is far richer than any individual could consciously achieve. Layers include, from smallest to largest:

1. The frame: at its best, each frame tells a story. Imagine each frame on this page, blown up to Roy Lichtenstein scale.
2. The page: a well crafted page is rewarding even if you can't read: amazing people are doing amazing things.
3. The issue: even multi-issues tries had a unique story of some kind per issue
4. The arc: three or five issue stories ere common.
5. Minor Subplots that weave in and out of the main story, often over many months.
6. Links to the wider Marvel Universe (the other connected comic titles).
7. Major subplots: multi-year stories (e.g. exploring ever further, and romances)
8. Major "villains" (Namor, the Skrulls, Doom, and the Mole Man) have their own 27 year story
9. The main characters develop consciously over the years (e.g. Ben goes from angry to depressed to resolved to happy)
10. They also develop unconsciously (e.g. Reed becomes suicidal, but never admits it to himself)
11. Themes: these build to their climax over the full multi-year length.
12. The big overarching 27 year story (choosing priorities)
13. The endless story: the 27 year story, the Franklinverse, the next team, and other major epics (Spider-man, the X-Men, etc.)

Most of these layers are hidden at first glance. People often pretend all is well when they are hurting inside, or they may not see the importance of an event until years later. But look for the depth and it's there.

The four main characters

Reed Richards is Mr Fantastic: As the name suggests, Reed wants to be perfect at everything. The story is of how he fails, and learns to see what was invisible to him. His domineering approach infantalizes those around him, reducing their effectiveness of the team. The story ends when he accepts them as equals and finally follows Sue's advice, to focus on his family.

Sue Storm (later Susan Richards) is the Invisible Girl (or Invisible Woman): as the name suggests, her significance to the team is usually invisible. She makes alliances with the Atlanteans, Inhumans and others. as such she has more impact than her more flashy male counterparts. Sue is a heroine straight from classic literature: all she ever wanted was a normal life, but she is thrust into danger by men who are blind to her situation. Her one power, invisibility, is useless against most of their enemies: they all have either high technology (Doom) or enhanced senses (Namor, Mole Man). Through quiet fortitude she finally persuades her husband to cease his suicidal tendencies and see that her soft power is more effective than his hard power.

Ben Grimm is The Thing. As the name suggests, his story is a quest for identity. In Act 2 he competes with Reed. In Act 2 Reed wins beats him down, emotionally. In Act 3 he accepts his role as the tragic figure. In Act 4 Reed has his own crises and is less able to dominate Ben, who finds a kind of status quo, but this doesn't address his underlying issues, and finally Alicia forces him to face his demons. In Act he achieves peace, takes his natural place as leader, and he becomes the man Alicia always knew he could be.

Johnny Storm is The Human Torch. As the name suggests this hot headed youth wants excitement! But his shallowness and womanizing is a facade. He lacks confidence when junior to the team, has had relatively few girlfriends, and is unable to keep them. Finally Alicia teaches him to mature. He has more potential than any other team member, but that potential cannot be met while living in the shadow of the sister who raised him and the of the greatest heroes who ever lived. Johnny is the prince in waiting.

Plot structure

The High concept: Mr "I can do everything" learns that he need others.
The story of the FF is contained in the leader's name: Mister Fantastic. It is the story of one man's attempt to be Mr Perfect, to be Mister Great At Everything, and how he fails... until he learns to listen to his wife and put his family first. The team's name tells the story: the Fantastic Four, not just Mr Fantastic.

The story follows the classic five act structure: danger, rising action, the ball, crisis and triumph:

Act 1: danger:
The story begins with the crucible that forces the heroes together: the space flight. The grand quest is then laid out: Reed wants to save the world, and Sue wants them to be a family. The four major themes are introduced (reluctant heroes, personal confidence, the American Dream, and equality), along with the principle opponents (Doom, Namor, Skrulls) and motifs (would-be monarchs, hidden races, dangerous frontiers, health, mind control, dopplegangers and home).

Act 2: rising action:
Here the themes and motifs are expanded and threats multiply. At the start of this act, threats appeared only at intervals. By the end of the act, each drama merges with the next.

Act 3: the ball:
All the characters get together (the wedding), and everything looks bright. This act crystallizes the major themes in the person of Franklin and hence the need to put family first.

Act 4: crisis:
Everything goes wrong. Reed can no longer cope. There is a false triumph and false dawn half way through (FF200) then things get even worse.

Act 5: triumph:
The crises are finally solved through family values: Reed accepts what Sue was telling him all along and all their problems are neatly resolved, leaving to the start of the next epic.

Subplots that cover the five acts:

Each issue typically introduces a new short subplot, but some subplots extend over all or most of the entire 27 year story. Each has its own beginning, middle and end.

Individuals:

• Doom and The Mole Man have their own page.
• Franklin represents the core theme of Reed treating Sue's input as equally valuable. His story begins with the "will they or won't they marry" subplot, through his birth, early years when they didn't know what to do with him, and their final realization that he is the key to everything and must be their number one priority.
• Alicia's frustration and despair, resignation, giving up and finally seeing new hope, match Ben's career. She is a more extreme version of Sue: apparently weaker, but only she could stop Galactus, defeat the Puppet Master, etc.
• Agatha Harkness is at first estranged from her people, a troubled witch who at first seems to be the ideal nanny. She twice saves the FF, but twice betrays them to deadly enemies. Finally, like Reed and Sue, she decides to put her family first (FF223). 
• Galactus begins as a deadly threat, and finally becomes Reed's friend: see FF 262. It is debatable whether this is a good thing. 
• The Horton family (Horton, the Torch, Toro and their baby Frankie) could be seen as the previous generation's Fantastic Four. They link the team to the previous generation, just as the current torch will lead the next. (see FF annual 4, and various issues in the 100s, culminating in FF244).

Races, empires, and others:

• The Inhumans, thanks to Sue and Johnny, change from deadly enemies to vital allies, and intermarry with the human race, and finally settle on the moon. 
• The Skrull empire begins as deadly enemies but finally moves toward galactic peace (in FF annuals 18 and 19).
• Atlantis declares war three times (FF4, Annual 1, and FF 102) and finally comes to peace with the surface world thanks to Sue (see FF149 and 219).
• The Baxter Building starts as a normal tower block, becomes increasingly high tech, is eventually effectively sentient, and is destroyed near the end of the story, symbolizing the end of the first FF team. (The next Baxter Building should be as John Byrne suggested in Comics Creators: the same name but taller!)
• The mystery of the team's powers is gradually unraveled, especially through the Molecule Man (see FF1, FF20, FF187 and FF319).

Themes: about teamwork

In many ways this is the story of Susan Storm, and a metaphor for every mother who feels the heavy burden of duty while seeming to be invisible. Susan never had a proper childhood (her mother was dead and her father in jail), and had to raise her younger brother while barely more than a child herself. All she ever wanted was a normal family life, but fate had other plans. Instead, she had to save the world, as a superhero with almost no power (at first) and no respect. The Fantastic Four is the story of how she persuades her husband to notice her, and through her to notice his family, and finally put them first.

The first issue introduces the four themes (reluctant heroes, personal confidence, equality and the American Dream) and these are developed through the story and are resolved in act 5. As we would expect in The Great American Novel, these themes also apply to the United States in this period.

Theme 1, reluctant heroes

We must be heroes even though we don't want to be.

Reed, Sue and Ben never wanted to be superheroes. Johnny is the only one who loves the lifestyle, and he is in the shadow of the others. By the end Reed and Sue finally get the life they want, and Ben and Johnny are well on their way.

This reluctance mirrors the United States' Founding fathers who wanted to avoid European wars, but their nation finds itself involved in almost every conflict on the planet.

Theme 2, confidence

Success depends on confidence.
Reed's tragic flaw is his belief that only he can solve everything (a flaw taken to its extreme with his mirror, Dr Doom): this confidence is gradually undermined through the story (reflected in his health), until he gains respect for others. Ben's story is one of regaining his confidence, Johnny loses his, and Sue becomes more assertive on the surface while losing confidence under the surface. At the end, all find their true selves.

This all reflects America's initial pride in the 1960s (faith in science, expanding business, moon landing, etc.), loss of confidence in the 1970s (Watergate, oil crisis, Vietnam, etc.), and finally winning the cold war in 1989, when the 27 year Fantastic Four story ends.

Theme 3, equality

All men (and women!) are created equal.
The whole story can be seen as one of sexual equality: Sue's apparent weakness (she prefers listening and caution to fighting) is more effective than Reed's hard power (conflict), which increasingly fails. Those who appear to be enemies are sympathetic and can become friends (the Mole man, Namor,etc.). Sue's softer role is crystallized in Franklin: he appears to be a liability, a baby in need of saving, but is in reality the most powerful one of all. Both Reed and Doom, the proudest of all, are finally defeated by their children. Meanwhile, Ben learns to stop ignoring Alicia's needs and abilities (for example, Alicia is the only one who can stop Galactus), Johnny learns the hard way not to be sexist, and Doom learns that his success depends entirely on the respect he gives to Latverian peasants.

This reflects America both internally (civil rights, women's liberation) and externally: America's soft power through trade and entertainment, which treats other nations as equals, is far more successful than its hard power through forced regime change, which tries to treat other nations as naughty children.

Theme 4, The American Dream

Anyone can make it, and have it all.
The American Dream is the national ethos of the United States, in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success for everyone, through hard work and decency. Reed achieves everything through his genius; Ben was an ordinary kid from a tough neighborhood who became a war hero and star test pilot through his hard work; and. Johnny and Sue are orphans who, through Sue's hard work and their courage (joining the dangerous space flight) became celebrities. The team is shown as having a penthouse suite, global fame, a flying car, and everything people dream of. Several early stories praise office work and celebrity culture.

Historically the Dream originated in the ever expanding frontier, a central motif of the Fantastic Four. It was particularly marked among 19th century Jewish refugees: both Stan Lee (Stanley Lieber) and Jack Kirby (Jacob Kurtzman) were Jewish, as is Ben Grimm in the story. Most of the team's early foes are old world style monarchs or attempted monarchs: Doom, Namor, the Mole Man, Kurrgo, Puppet Master, etc.

The story also reflects criticism of the Dream: the team also reinforces class inequality: Reed had a genius was a millionaire whose father was an equal genius, Sue and Johnny's father was a star surgeon, and Sue benefited from movie star looks: the only completely self made member was Ben, and he gets the ugly treatment and is treated like an idiot by Reed and Johnny. Reed, the highest achiever of all, realizes that no amount of effort will guarantee success (in act 4). But this is simply a reflection of the true American dream: a happy family based on good values. Their happiness and ability to solve problems ultimately does not depend on their wealth but on whether they treat each other with respect (see the major theme of equality).

Motifs

The story features recurring motifs including:

• Monarchs and would-be monarchs: see the themes of the American Dream and equality.
• Hidden races: (Subterraneans, Skrulls, Atlanteans, Inhumans): these illustrate these theme of equality by showing we are not the only race.
• Dangerous frontiers: (outer space, the Negative Zone, underground, the oceans, the Microverse, other dimensions): the foundation for the American Dream of constant improvement.
• Mind control: (especially from Doom and Maximus): this forces us to examine what makes each person unique. It is closely linked to the motif of dopplegangers, the problem of fighting against yourself.
• Dopplegangers: (duplicates of the team): these highlight the themes of confidence and equality by showing the futility of constantly fighting: you will always find an enemy who is just as strong, so the only long term solution is to come to some kind of agreement, or use their narrowness of focus against them.
• Home: (the Baxter Building is described as the fifth member of the team): this emphasizes two themes: the American Dream (having a great home), and equality (the value of the family as a team).
• Reed's long-term health: Reed's long-term health (i.e. beyond one or two issues) reflects his confidence. His stretchable face looks younger and more handsome when he's succeeding, and serious decline is accompanied by collapsing (twice near the start of act 4), loss of stretching powers (157-199), and even aging to near death (FF205-214).
• Biblical language: The general optimism and vast goals of the team are reflected in pseudo-King James Version language, e.g.
• FF39 "a blind man shall lead them" (adapting Isaiah's "a little child shall lead them")
• FF72 - "in the valley of death" (adapting the Psalm).
• FF157 - "laughter in hell, for abut the space of half an hour" (adapting Revelation's "Silence in heaven" quote)

In their final most hopeless period, the end of Byrne's run at the end of Act 4, these imaginative, optimistic pseudo-Biblical quotes are replaced with more sober straight quotes from lesser writers.

Recurring characters are also motifs, and they usually combine some of these general motifs. E.g. Doom is a monarch who is almost Reeds doppleganger, and specializes in mind control; Namor is a monarch with a hidden race, etc. Their significance to the story is discussed in the issue by issue summary.

Why study the Fantastic Four?

The Fantastic Four is is the modern Shakespeare. Whatever you say against the FF is also said against the bard.

The Fantastic Four is an allegory of the most powerful nation in the history of the world, during its triumphant phase: from its first man in space (1961) to the end of the cold war (1988-9). A nation is understood through its art, and the superhero comic is America's unique contribution to art. (Western movies  are also unique contributions, but no movie spans so many years or topics.)

The Fantastic Four is the only realistic mass market superhero comic (no flashy costumes or secret identities), and the most literary (they form a single coherent story).

Internal dating

The comics were published monthly between 1961 and 1988, but internal evidence suggests that the characters only experience 13 years. The official Marvel Comics position is that the comics take place in the present, and FF1 is always 13 years ago. This means large parts of the early stories must be ignored or rewritten. Another approach (see the Wastebasket blog) is to anchor stories in 1961 and change the later ones just once (e.g. President Reagan becomes President Nixon). But if we want to avoid all changes then we must accept time dilation: the heroes age slowly but do not notice.

In this table the "biological" year refers to how the characters age.

How can we explain the slow aging? Blame Franklin. Franklin arranges so that characters don't notice when they age slowly. The exception is She-Hulk.

The small print: which issues are included

This is only about the main FF title. Some of the annuals were not written by the writer of the main title. These are not included: Annual11 is by Roy Thomas, who had been off the title for years; and annual 15 is by Ed Hannigan. Giant Size FF 1 and 2 are by Gerry Conway, the regular writer, but seem to be written for an uncertain publishing date, so are vague regarding character development. So these are not included, though issue 1 is interesting from the Hulk-Thing perspective.

The team appear as occasional guests in many titles, and all kinds of titles after 1988, but these generally avoided character development. Only three titles stand out:

• "Strange Tales" featured the early adventures of the Torch. Some were written by Stan Lee, but he seems to have rushed them. They demonstrate clearly that the Torch loves being a superhero, and feels overshadowed by Reed and Sue, but we already knew that from the main title.

• "Marvel Two In One" featured The Thing and various guest stars, but is not by the regular writer of the FF. It demonstrates clearly that Ben is highly efficient and well balanced when away from Reed, but we knew that already.

• Perhaps most interesting is "The Thing" (the 1983-1986 series), particularly issues 1-13 by John Byrne, the regular writer of the FF. These issues expand on Ben working through his personal demons: in the issues that follow Byrne, with Ben on Battleworld, Ben's demons become visual. The results are summarized in FF294 and elsewhere, but are interesting if you want more depth about Ben Grimm as this turning point in his life after years of depression. Of special interest is issue 3, the controversial issue where we learn that Lockjaw can talk (more about Lockjaw here), and issue 7 ("Goody Two Shoes"), the clearest examination of the principle of the unreliable narrator. Future versions of this web site may devote a page to these interesting tales.

Where to read or buy the Fantastic Four 1-321

If your library does not stock the early Fantastic Four then the best source if you can get it is the "44 years of the Fantastic Four" DVD, containing scans of the original comics, including all letters pages, ads, etc. The DVD ceased production when Marvel.com began to offer digital comics on its website. For print copies the cheapest option is the black and white "Essentials" reprints, which covers the first half of the big story (to around issue 160). For better quality color editions of the earliest stories (at a higher price) find the Marvel Masterworks series. For original copies try Mile High Comics (after discounts, reading quality issues are often under 2 dollars each) or your favorite comic shop, or eBay.

next: Act 1

Appendix: examples of the zeitgeist

In General, the FF is about American optimism, America's family values in tension with individualism, and the nation's rise to being the sole superpower. The characters have superpowers because America is a superpower. The story begins when the space race hots up (1961, the first man in space) and ends when the cold war ends (1988-89). Each decade is reflected in the stories. It goes without saying that the clothing, hairstyles, cars and attitudes all reflect the contemporary fashions. For the zeitgeist of each year and each month, see commentary on individual issues.

The 1960s:
This decade is about the cold war and space race, and endless American optimism. The FF is led by a scientist with 1950s patriarchal values, who uses giant machines: a symbol of early America's 1960s faith in science and technology to solve all the world's problems. Civil rights is also there: the underlying theme of the FF is equality; the FF featured stories on hate at the time of JFK's assassination; they had the first black superhero, and his title (the Black Panther) predates the revolutionary organization.

Mass culture:
Individual issues are almost a checklist of popular mass culture of the time. Cultural homages include, in no particular order:

• The Prisoner (TV series): the FF in Latveria (confirmed by Bullpen Bulletins)
• The Creature from the Black Lagoon: as "The Monster From The Lost Lagoon"
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (Planet X, issue 10)
• 1950s Monster comics: FF1
• The Jewish Golem: The Thing
• Journey to the Center of the Earth: FF1, 22
• The Cold War: FF1
• 1950s Sci-Fi comics: FF2
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (fear of communist infiltrators): FF2
• Golden age superheroes: FF4 (Sub-Mariner)
• Pirates! FF5
• Shangri-la: the Inhumans home
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: FF 14 (a giant squid attacks the Puppet Master's sub)
• Science concepts: the microscopic world (the Microverse)
• Other dimensions and antimatter: the Negative Zone
• "Hitler lives!" 1950s sci-fi: FF21
• Pygmalion only: The Puppet Master
• Egyptology and Forteana: FF19
• The Rubaiyat: Passim: one of Stan's favorite things to quote in dialog
• Dracula: FF30 (first mention in a modern Marvel comic)
• Jacobean tragedy: FF32, 37
• Prisoner of Zenda: Latveria (particularly in Annual #2)
• Paradise Lost: FF48-50 (the surfer rebels against "God" and is cast down to Earth)
• The king in the mountain folktale: FF 54
• Prester John: FF 54
• The Day the Earth Stood Still: FF 73-77
• Alien astronauts/Xenogenesis theories: FF 64-65 (Kirby went much farther with this in his Inhumans origin and Eternals stories)
• The Golem, Kabbalah, and the Pygmalion myth: FF66-8 (man making life from clay)
• Gangster movies and Spartacus: Ben Grimm on the Skrull worlds
• The moon landing: FF 98
• Chariots of the Gods - a year before Chariots of the Gods was published! (the Sentry Sinister)

...and many more.

The 1970s:
This decade is about self doubt and disharmony. The optimism ends: overstretched, Reed is sick for most of the decade (reflecting Vietnam, Watergate, and national self doubt. etc.) Reed collapses through over work, Reed and Sue separate, both are worried and miserable for the early 1970s, they are reconciled, but the old naivety is lost. Reed loses his powers and the team disbands. The theme of feminism is particularly clear, with the once most powerful male on Earth reduced in the public mind to to a second rater, a teddy bear, after being humbled in a public ally staged fight with a warrior from an all-female planet. A warrior who then recognizes him as the only male she can admire and respect: a new status quo is achieved.

The 1980s: money and property, women in charge, etc.
Examples of real world themes from the 1980s are the rise of right wing family values as a political wedge issue, the rise of Wall Street, and women in positions of real power. These are of course reflected in the FF. The return to old style conservatism is reflected in John Byrne's run, an attempt to get "Back To The Basics." Property ownership is everywhere: the Baxter Building becomes a star in its own right (e.g. in "The House That Reed Built"), and is then destroyed so the FF can build an ostentatious 1980s style headquarters . 1980s apartment, and More memorable was Sue becoming thinner (with a bigger bust of course), and more violent. The change to a dominant, cropped haired Alicia was even more apparent.