Plotter Jim Shooter
Script Stan Lee
Art Teams Pencils / Inks
1 -5 Barry Windsor-Smith
6 – 10 Barry Windsor-Smith & Kerry Gammill / Barry Windsor-Smith & Vince Colletta
11 – 20 Ron Frenz / Bob Wiacek
21 – 30 Al Milgrom / Klaus Janson
31 – 40 John Buscema / Steve Leialoha
41 – 49 Marc Silvestri / Joe Rubenstein
50 Jerry Ordway / Joe Sinnott
51 – 57 Jerry Ordway / Bob Wiacek
58 – 64 Jerry Ordway / Joe Sinnott
Letterer John Workman
Colorist Glynis Oliver
Cover Dated November 1986
Cover Artist Barry Windsor-Smith
Marvel’s 25th Anniversary Frame Cover! Which also means it is the Fantastic Four’s 25th Anniversary, hence all of the artists for this issue.
Thing is pretty down this issue. He goes to where the team crashed landed in their first appearance, in Stockton. Surprisingly, there is no monument, plaque or even a museum there. People can just walk right to the spot and see the skid mark in the grass that the spaceship landed.
I like how the feature villain is Mole Man, who is, of course, their first villain that they encountered. So it is his 25th birthday as well. Which is pretty cool, poor guy gets sidelined so often and isn’t that well remembered. From what I can gathered. After a few Google searches, I can’t even find that many websites that even bother to try to list their greatest villains. He seems to be in the Top Five, so that’s nice. Of course, Doctor Doom is first and he doesn’t even appear in this issue, so that’s the last we will reference him.
She-Hulk and Scott Lang are paling around with the Fantastic Four.
Thing is tired of being a monster and gets an old guy to take him to Monster Island, where he will become the best friend of Mole Man.
Thing gets dressed in a purple onesie and wears the Mole Man’s blue glasses. Thing gives the team a tour of the island. Reed doesn’t like the idea of Mole Man’s new machine, it can ruin the world.
Johnny’s face gets pretty messed up, so he can know what it feels like to be a monster. He doesn’t like it.
I like the subplot of Mole Man’s Danger Room that he uses to just have a fancy party with pretty people, even though they are all holograms.
Thing rejoins the team, Johnny face hits some water, and his face is fixed. Issue ends with the classic Fantastic Four all hands in, which is nice.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 