Did people in the 60s, 70s, etc. always think Mr. Fantastic's power was ridiculous and silly looking?
>>151011483Cartoons in the 60s and 70s are meant to be ridiculous because the consumers were primarily children. Realistic cartoon movements were rare and costly. It's only later on that animation began to pace and write like a typical movie instead of silly gags.
>>151011524Ben Grimm's story was always played sorrowful and tragic
>>151011483the main audience was literall children and 'young at heart' teens youre taking shit for kids and elevating it to adult reading level then questioning why its goofy.
There's a what if story where they all had the same powersSue and Ben thought stretching was gross and just bailed out fast
>>151011738Shut up, ledditfag
Honestly I think I'm jealous of how little it used to take to entertain people. Give them a glimpse of people who can do something amazing and have an adventure and that was enough if done well. Now everything has to be an event to end all events. And it sucks.
>>151011857OP, you're a midwit redditor, you have no room to talk
>>151012833>midwitAnd you're an idiot.
>>151011483Probably
>>151011595Yes and it was hilarious
Most readers didn't focus on Reed's stretching ability. His main superpower was his huge intellect.
>>151012833Not OP
>>151011483Fantastic used to mean weird so yeah probably
>>151011483He's tame compared to Plastic Man
>>151011483North sucks cocks.
>>151014528Wrong
>>151015997 something something bike
>>151015997You see, not really or at least not like most people imply. Plastic Man goes out of his way to be cartoony and goofy with his transformations because, in a way, he knows that being made of plastic and shapeshifting like that would be jarring if he wasn't so cartoony and goofy. I can picture Reed making some really gnarly and weird shapeshifting and transformations before Plastic ever could. That classic panel with Reed basically splitting himself and typing in two different computer with limbs stretching directly from his head while doing surgery on Tony is a good showcase on how crazy and weird Reed could actually be.
>>151017500>That classic panel with Reed basically splitting himself and typing in two different computer with limbs stretching directly from his head while doing surgery on TonyHow have I not seen this before?Post pls.
>>151017512Technically The Maker but you get the gist of it
>>151017654This kind of body horror is one of the few modern additions to comics worth keeping.
>>151017654I thought The Maker had more advanced powers than regular Reed?
>>151018564His biology is different but I don't remember if it's ever been stated he's more advanced with his stretching. He just uses it in far more disturbing ways than mainline Reed.
>>151018703I guess I just assumed they would be since his biology is so drastically different. But can't Plastic Man transform into complex machines like cars and planes? Surely Reed can't?
>>151018064It and stuff like it are why comics won't ever be for kids again. Their moms would never let them read stuff like this
>>151011483It was normal to them
>>151020860>people in the 60s went around setting themselves on fire or turning into rock monsters>all their women were invisible
>>151021390Correct.
>>151017654It's been so long since The Maker did something cool with his powers
>>151011483>Did people in the 60s, 70s, etc. always think Mr. Fantastic's power was ridiculous and silly looking?I would call it a stretch.
>>151021390Jesus, Stanley Lieber
>>151023612Things have Ben grimm lately...
>>151011595>Ben Grimm's story was always played sorrowful and tragicBen was both a tragic and a comic relief character during Kirby's run- most stories ended with something comically bad happening to him or Ben making some sarcastic, mood killing comments lampshading the comic's corny setting or just ranting some non sequiturs about the Yancy street gang.
>>151019580Kids aren't going to read comics even if they were catered towards them. They have Tik Tok and the MCU to keep them occupied
>>151011483I wasn't a kid in those decades, but in the 90s I thought his power was neat, it wasn't quite flying like Johnny could but the idea of being able to swiftly get from the street to the roof or from a penthouse to a lower floor to help people just seemed cool.I considered it as useful as Spider-Man using his webs to get around.It seemed only the irony and post-irony generations became obsessed with the impression from how something looks rather than what it can do.
>>151024031When everything has to be deep, nothing is
>>151024554What does that have to do with it?
>>151011857Fantastic Four is literally my favorite superhero comic.
>>151023934Kids don't even watch the MCU
>>151011483Maybe
>>151018760No idea but in a comic Reed stretched himself in the fourth dimension.
>>151029350North's run has been the first one where they've gone all in with the potential of Reed's powers. Beforehand, besides a moment or two, he was mainly depicted as doing mostly basic stretching.
>>151029401I still remember the funny panel where he morfed in a velociraptor to Franklin's request.
>>151011483the 70s writers like Marv Wolvman generally treated Reed like a pussy, which is where a lot of the modern interpretation comes from
>>151018760Plastic can turn into that stuff, but he won't fly or run like a real car or plane. He doesn't know how that stuff works down to the engineering level. He'll just use his powers to fill in the blanks.
>>151030211Reminder that he wrote Reed slowly losing his powers as an allegory for erectile dysfunction
>>151030243But can Reed turn into those things
>>151030253yea never been a big wolfman guy
>>151030669
>>151031648Whoa.
>>151031648that must be the most uncomfortable sailing boat you could possibly ride on>try to get to the bow of the ship>takes 3 minutes instead of 1 because you keep sinking into the flesh
>>151031648Impressive
>>151017069Correct. Shit was unbelievable even back then.
>>151011483How Fantastic are the Four?
>>151034760Sue is pretty Fantastic. Reed has a Fantastic brain but not much else. Thing is fantastically depressing. Johnny is fantastically flame resistant.
>>151031648He could try travelling fast as a big paper airplane
>>151033232The flesh hardens.
>>151011483How should i know?
>>151017500He turns into a tire in this one..
>>151038458I also found this while searching for the tire panel
>>151038458in a pin-up in the back of issue 16 he explains that he tried himself to bend into the tire shape and he doesn't actually know how far he can stretch. It becomes painful, so he's never tested the limits.
>>151038510>tried himself*trained himself to make the shapes
>>151038477Doesn't he need to breathe?
>>151039324Obviously.
Not as ridiculous as a moustache on Reed.
>>151039324Both his mouth and nose are uncovered. He’s probably breathing fine.
>>151011483Sure
>>151041263When did that happen?
The entire comic was goofy http://sequart.org/magazine/2034/against-silver-age-marvel-the-cult-of-stan-lee-and-fantastic-four-annual-1-for-comic-books-as-literary-art/>Fantastic Four #1 would never be published today. And not because it’s so different, or so fun. Because it’s so stupid. A scientist for little reason kidnaps a space plane and get himself and his crew mutated on the spot by cosmic rays — then battles an army of underground monsters. This is more than camp, which suggests a bit more consciousness, a bit more cleverness. Its best sequences are those involving New York as setting, involving interactions with normal people — such as Invisible Woman holding a dollar bill for a taxicab driver. But this stuff is just plain bad.>I imagine that the creators of these comics actually did a good deal of laughing at their fans. You have to imagine so, unless you picture them like Ed Wood — idiots who take themselves far too seriously, admirable for their determination to make fictions even if they lack almost any ability. I mean, these guys got letters from people who asked how one ridiculous device or another worked — or what Spider-Man did in his spare time. From kids, really. And I suppose, as writing for kids, Silver Age Marvel wasn’t so bad. But, for goodness’s sake, you grow out of it.>And Marvel responded with pages explaining devices or powers, responding in their letter columns with explanations about continuity errors, how each and every goof could be rationally explained. Except you’ll notice that those explanations weren’t incorporated into the comics. The creators didn’t care. They didn’t take it seriously.>How else do you explain Stan Lee screwing up the names of his protagonists?
>>151044132Pedro
>>151044528What a retard
>>151019580Why not make comics for both?
>>151011483In the 60s and 70s they didn't painstakingly emphasize every muscle and tendom when he stretched out.
>>151044528This guy sound like the "stop having fun" type.
>>151011524FF was a comic book first.
>>151044721Because there’s no point in making shit nobody will buy. It’ll just end up as a money pit.
>>151011483Should have gotten water powers to complete the elements
>>151044528Some people are naturally silly. Like Stan ran around shouting "EXCELSIOR!" Maybe he felt his stories were whimsical and that was their value
>>151045241Ult FF at least tries to make the connection. 616 has always put more weight on how their powers reflect their personalities.
>>151011483i will never think rich's stretchy neck is not funny
>>151047672Reed always just has stances that just act like this is natural which is so strange
