Issue(s): Fantastic Four #23
Cover Date: Feb 64
Title: "The master plan of Doctor Doom!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Jack Kirby - Penciler
George Roussos - Inker

Review/plot:
This one starts off with a crazy scene where a baby dinosaur escapes from Doom's time machine.

They've transferred the machine to the FF's lab for intensive study; i'm not sure when that occurred exactly. Reed is in top form, criticizing everyone ("In case it's slipped your alleged minds..."). The rest of the group decide to elect a new leader of the FF, which Reed responds to with more snottiness.

While Ben, Johnny, and Sue fight over who should be the new leader, Reed activates his Doombot so that he can demonstrate once again why the rest of the FF need him.

Doom recruits three criminals to work with him using a robot.

One is strong, one is a handsome con man, and one is a circus performer who is immune to fire.

Doom uses his technology to increase their natural abilities (except for the con man, who gets enhanced hearing).

While Doom's new henchmen start setting their traps, Reed creepily attacks Sue, wrapping himself around her and telling her to "pretend I'm an enemy". He almost gives everything away by bringing up Dr. Doom out of nowhere ("He's capable of anything!! You must always be on guard!!") She knocks him away with a nice display of her forcefield ability and tells him to buzz off.

Reed: "Just like a woman! Everything I do is for your own good, but you're too scatter-brained and emotional to realize it! Well, all right... I can play it your way, too, Miss Storm!"

Sue: Oh, go polish a test tube or something.

Reed's bizarre emotional manipulation seems to work, however, because in the next scene Sue acknowledges to herself that Reed is "right". *sigh*.

While Doom's souped up henchmen are reasonably formidable and actually manage to capture the FF, Doom arrogantly sends them off to another dimension so that he can finish his enemies himself. Doom's plot hinges on one of the most bizarre pieces of pseudo-science i've seen yet. The warehouse he's captured them in is on the path of a "solar wave". The solar wave transfers anything covered in "ionic dust powder" into another dimension.

Sue manages to trap Doom in her forcefield and he winds up being sent to the other dimension instead of them.

Reed's plot worked because by the end of the issue the team is telling him how he can be leader of the FF again.

The Thing says "It's clobberin' time" again, solidifying it as a catch-phrase.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - the FF acquire Doom's time machine

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Collector's Item Classics #17

Reed is such a bitch in this issue. It's hilarious!

george roussos' inks are so odd in this, almost makes kirby look like kubert... i'm not saying this is dying for sinnot or anything, but it's an odd effect...

Stan Lee inadvertently got carried away in his fantasy that Mr. Fantastic was he.

The ":ionic dust" thing is pretty clearly a case of Kirby coming up with a brilliant visual -- a room dissolving away to reveal the gaping void of outer space! -- but he and Stan having no real way to justify the visual and just tossing in some random gibberish instead.

The explanation of "ionic dust" is very confusing and meaningless even! lol

I've always kind of thought of the Terrible Trio as sort of the Three Stooges of Marvel villains.