Fantastic Four (1961 series) #9

This issue begins with Namor the Sub-Mariner sitting in his undersea home, with a photo of Sue Storm on a table, watching a US news broadcast on a TV which announces that the Fantastic Four have gone bankrupt and are selling off their assets to pay their debts. And he sees this as an opportunity.

Creditors besiege the FF in their Baxter Building HQ. It turns out that Reed Richards took all the money he'd made selling patent rights to his inventions and invested it in stocks which tanked. They can't make money from their powers (except by crime or appearing in freak shows, both of which he rules out). So selling all their stuff is the only option. We see workman taking the Pogo Plane away, much to the disgust of its designer and pilot Thing.

So Ben Grimm decides to go visit his new friend Alicia, stepdaughter of the Puppet Master (#8). But on the way he gets angry at a cabbie who refuses to take him because he's broke, so he has to get Johnny Storm fly him there in a section of the Fantasti-Car instead. The blind young woman gives Ben tea and sympathy and a White Knight puppet she made for him. She runs her hands over his face, as usual detecting the good kind man beneath his gruff exterior and telling him he is *her* white knight.

Back in the HQ Reed comments to the other 2 that superheroes in comicbooks never seem to have to worry about money! Then they get a telegram from SM Studios in Hollywood offering them a million dollars to star in a movie. They worry that Ben won't like putting himself on show. But he enters and confuses them by saying that a White Knight like him does whatever he can to help his friends. So they decide to go to Hollywood. But since they're broke they have to hitchhike.

When they arrive at SM Studios they see various celebrities, and get directed to the producer's palatial office. The man turns round and of course it's Subby. He explains that over generations his people witnessed the sinking of many ships and the burying of much pirate treasure. Now he's collected a lot of it and bought a film studio. His offer is real and he gives them each a generous down payment to prove it. Johnny spends his on a sports car to impress girls. Ben just goes to the beach where young men are showing off their strength for the same reason, but of course Thing outdoes them all. And Sue goes to a restaurant with Namor.

Finally the filming begins, and each FFer is taken to a separate location. SM's yacht takes Mr Fantastic to the fogbound Hidden Island in the Mediterranean where Reed is put ashore to fight a 'mechanical' Cyclops. He's not given a script but told just to do his stuff and they'll film it remotely from the boat. But Namor's thoughts let us know that it's the 'real' immortal Cyclops of Greek myth, and he and the yacht leave. The giant squashes MrF under a huge boulder, but of course that's not a problem for his elastic body. He escapes and clings by arms and legs to 2 projecting rocks. He taunts Cyclops to throw another boulder at him which hits his body and pushes it back like a rubber band until it rebounds and hurls the rock back at the foe. The angry monster rushes at Richards who trips him up so that he falls down a big crevasse. Reed reckons he'll escape the island (how?) long before the giant climbs out of the pit.

Meanwhile Namor in a helicopter has dropped Human Torch by parachute down into the African jungle to 'pretend' to fight a native tribe. Again SM's thoughts tell us that this tribe has a magic potion that makes them immune to fire. They surround Johnny with spears when he lands. He 'flames on' and is shocked when it doesn't bother them, but escapes by flying away, wondering why the 'copter isn't filming it all. However eventually his flame runs out and they capture him a put him in a wooden cage. They demonstrate how their potion allows them to walk through fire and even do a fire-breathing act. But after a rest HT's power returns and he burns his way out of the cage and then produces multiple fire duplicates to confuse them while he escapes again. This time he flies to a smouldering volcano he'd spotted and 'encourages' it to erupt. The natives (safely) flee the approaching lava and Torch flies back to Hollywood (his flame lasted all the way across the Atlantic and the US?!).

Now Namor and Thing film a fight scene on a Hollywood beach. Subby knock Grimm into the water and Thing's kick sends SM further out. But he returns with his ankle wings propelling him into the air to land feet 1st on Ben's shoulders, pushing him into the wet sand. More leaps and drops hammer Thing further into the ground. Ben manages to shrug him off and escape but realises that Sub-Mariner is getting his strength from the water. So he drags him out onto the shore, but it's started raining heavily. And then a lightning bolt strikes Thing turning him back to human Ben Grimm. Weary Namor doesn't realise what's happened in the downpour and is just grateful that his last blow KO's his foe before he stumbles away.

Namor meets Sue in his office and announces that he's beaten her male companions, and now she'll be free to be his bride. She replies that if he'd asked her without the deceit she *might* have said yes. But now it's up to her to prove that the Fantastic Four aren't beaten until they're *all* defeated. She turns invisible and starts throwing books and furniture at him. But he flies over her to lock the door, and then he uses his power to emulate all sea creatures to produce electricity like the electric eel. However she throws an insulating carpet over him, so he switches to the radar sense of cave fish to allow him to see where she is and grab her.

But just then the rest of the FF burst in with the help of Thing's returned strength. Thing and Torch move to attack but Sue stands between them and the foe saying it would be unfair to gang up on him(!). She also points out that they lived up to their side of the contract so SM owes them the money. Noble Namor agrees. The movie (which never actually seems to have got filmed!) gets released, and the FF are rich again.