March 1966 issue of the FANTASTIC FOUR, which would have been released in December 1965 or January 1966. I made my debut in April 1965. So ol' Norrin Radd's a few years younger than myself.
The Galactus story, like most memorable superhero stories, tied into a legend deeply ingrained in western legends and mythology: The destruction of the world. The world sees all sorts of Revelations-type phenomena, such as the skies turning to flame, before the herald The Silver Surfer floats to earth and summons Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds -- a cosmic being (who appears, at least to human eyes, as a giant in purple armor) who feeds on entire worlds to survive.
The theme of the story is a recurring one in Lee/Kirby works: that mankind is a primitive race with the potential to either become magnificent, or to destroy itself. That was a particularly powerful concept in the sixties, which saw the proliferation of nuclear weapons simultaneous with the space race. In the story [mild spoiler warning for an over forty year old story], the Four and their pals win the day by impressing first the Surfer, then Galactus with humanity's potential, so that they cease to see people as merely ants crawling on the picnic spread that is Earth. They impress the Surfer when the Thing's girlfriend, Alicia Masters, persuades him that humans possess spirit and courage. They impress Galactus in a rather thuggish manner: Reed Richards holds a gun (a really, really, powerful gun) to the Big G's head and makes him an offer he can't refuse.
Over forty years later, the movie FANTASTIC FOUR 2: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER combines that story has combined with two other Lee/Kirby FF epics (the FF Annual in which Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married; and a later multi-issue story in which Doctor Doom steals the Surfer's power). Last night, we saw it in the Cinerama Dome -- a Hollywood theater that is older than either the stories adapted or me.
My opinion: Fun! Much more fun than the first FF movie (which I enjoyed, though it did not greatly impress me). The story benefits from not containing an origin. The first movie was too consumed with explaining how the Four get their powers and become world-saving heroes, which takes time away from the real attraction: Seeing them act like world-saving heroes. With that out of the way, this one is all hero-action, all the time.
It also benefits from far better performances from the weak points in the previous movie, Ioan Griffud as Richards and Jessica Alba as Sue Storm. (Since the actors are probably at the same level as before, I would credit the direction -- by Tim Story, who also directed the first movie -- with the improvement.)
Moreover, by drawing on the Galactus story, the movie expands the scope of the film beyond that of any previous Marvel adaptation -- or, indeed, beyond that of any previous superhero movie. While comic books think nothing of throwing in other planets and dimensions, movies have been more cautious about going there, concerned that they will ask the movie-going populace to believe too many impossible things before breakfast. Here, the movie postures the Four as heroes dealing with threats on a galactic -- indeed, universal -- level.
The movie's biggest asset, however, is the guy in the title: the Silver Surfer. Although Hollywood has tried to adapt the Surfer to movies before (in the early '80's, a Surfer movie was in development as an Olivia Newton-John project, believe it or not), it really took modern motion-capture technology to create a Surfer who truly lives up to those Kirby drawings from the mid-sixties. And the movie really does show us the Silver Surfer of the comics. This Surfer does not speak as much as his four-color counterpart -- and, mercifully, he does not whine like him -- but he is, truly, The Surfer. And the combination of Doug Jones's physical acting, Lawrence Fishburn's voice acting, and millions in technology make us believe that a Silver man can surf the cosmos.
As an adaptation of the comic book story, the movie does not really work. It does not follow the themes outlined above -- except to the extent that the Four impress the Surfer with humanity's potential. (Meanwhile, the military do much to teach him humanity's darker side. Think "extraordinary rendition.") In particular, Galactus comes off far differently than in the comic -- not only in physical form (giants in purple armor theoretically won't work as well in movies as in comics) but also in general attitude. The movie works best if those who know the original story forget it.
The bottom line: This is a terrifc movies for those who want to step out of the summer heat and watch cinematic simulicrums of Lee and Kirby creations slug it out on the silver screen.
All of the images are copyrighted by Marvel Comics.
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