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Quote1 Name? We Poppupians have no names! We know who we are! And now, good day! Quote2
Impossible Man

Appearing in "A Visit With the Fantastic Four"

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Synopsis for "A Visit With the Fantastic Four"

Fantastic Four Vol 1 11 Title

After visiting with some local fans of theirs, the Fantastic Four get another mail delivery from their mailman Willie Lumpkin. Reading their fan mail, the FF responds to readers' letters:

After trying another serum to change him back to human form, Ben and Reed tell the story about how they met in college and eventually fought in World War II.[Continuity1 1] They then retell the origin of the Fantastic Four.[Continuity1 2] When Sue gets upset by reader mail that expresses people's dislike of her and questions her usefulness on the team, the FF angrily defend Sue by telling of the times that Sue helped the team defeat the Skrulls, and when she saved the team from Dr. Doom's death traps.[Continuity1 3] To cheer Sue up they take her aboard the flying saucer they have had since their adventure on Planet X,[Continuity1 4] where Sue finds a surprise birthday cake waiting for her. As they celebrate Sue's birthday, Willie is slogging back to the Baxter Building with another bag full of fan mail for the FF.

Appearing in "The Impossible Man!"

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Other Characters:

  • US Army
  • NYPD
    • Mike (First appearance)
    • Joe (First appearance)
    • a deputy inspector
  • Mr. Howell (First appearance) (bank manager)
  • "Killer" (boxer)
  • a taxi driver
  • crew of a TV show
  • Numerous New Yorker by-standers

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Synopsis for "The Impossible Man!"

Fantastic Four Vol 1 11 Part 2 Title

An alien being from the planet Poppup arrives on Earth and appears before a group of hobos seeking entertainment.[Continuity2 1] When he asks the homeless men for food they tell the alien that the only way he can get food is with money. Taking this as literally as possible, the alien goes to a nearby bank and takes bags full of money, using his shapeshifting powers to get past a teller. When he is stopped by police they begin to shoot at the alien, who quickly turns into metal to deflect the bullets, sending the police fleeing. The authorities then call in the Fantastic Four to handle this alien being and they find the extra-terrestrial gorging on food at a fancy restaurant. Asking where he came from, the Fantastic Four learn that this alien came from the planet Poppup where his people evolved into beings that could change shape into any form in order to deal with any threats to their lives.

Impossible Man (Earth-616) and Fantastic Four (Earth-616) from Fantastic Four Vol 1 11 001

When they tell the alien that he cannot just steal money, he points out that nobody tried to stop him. The Thing and Human Torch to try to subdue the cocky alien, but his shape-changing powers defend him well from any attack. Learning that this alien is on vacation, Sue tries to reason with him explaining that he can't just break Earth laws. When she asks the alien what his name is, he explains that Popuppians do not have names because they "know who they are." When he tries to walk out of the restaurant another fight breaks out and the Thing coins this alien as "impossible," prompting everyone to begin referring to him as the Impossible Man.

The Fantastic Four chase the creature outside where they battle him some more. When the army sends in soldiers, Reed tells them to stay back, prompting the Impossible Man to change into a bomb. Reed quickly uses his stretching power to toss the "bomb" into the air where it explodes harmlessly. Flying around on wings, the Impossible Man is then brought down when the Human Torch uses his powers to create a hypnotic pinwheel out of flame.[Continuity2 2] Eventually, Reed deduces that the Impossible Man is encouraged by people's reaction to his antics and that he is starved for attention. He then sends out a message to everyone in New York to simply ignore the Impossible Man. Miraculously the people of the city do just that and begin to ignore the impish alien's destructive games until the Impossible Man grows so bored with the lack of attention he decides to leave Earth, vowing that neither he nor anyone else from his race will visit the Earth ever again, much to the relief of the Fantastic Four.

Notes

Continuity Notes[]

A Visit With the Fantastic Four[]

  1. It is stated that both Reed Richards and Ben Grimm fought in World War II. This is further depicted by an appearance of Reed working with the OSS in Sgt. Fury #3 and Ben fighting for the USMC in the South Pacific in Capt. Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders #7; however, this has been retconned out of their histories as per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. More recently, Reed is no longer referred to as having any military service, while Ben's "service" has been retconned into being an Air Force test pilot in Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan #1. To date, Marvel has not officially explained their appearances in Sgt. Fury and Captain Savage. However, any references to Ben and Reed fighting in World War II should be considered topical references as per the Sliding Timescale. As such, any references to Reed and Ben serving in the military should be generalized as part of the general rule.
  2. This origin story is told in Fantastic Four #1
  3. Sue was instrumental in the defeat of the Skrulls and Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four #2 and 5 respectively.
  4. This ship was captured by the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #7.

The Impossible Man![]

  1. It has been later established in New Mutants Annual #3 that while the Impossible Man can change shapes, these shapes adopt his basic color scheme of green and purple. This story shows him changing color as well as shape, as the basic rules regarding his shapeshifting powers were not implemented at the time of publication. That or one could chalk up the different colors as being a coloring error, though in his next appearance in Fantastic Four #175, the Impossible Man perfectly imitates Susan Richards, fooling Reed, Johnny, Ben and everyone present.
  2. At this point in the story the Impossible Man gets caught up in a battle across time between the New Warriors and Doctor Yesterday as seen in Marvel Comics Presents #160163.

Chronology Notes[]

This story has a series of flashbacks as well as events happening behind the scenes that affect the chronology of the following characters: Mister Fantastic:

Invisible Girl:

  • A Visit With the Fantastic Four
  • The Impossible Man
    •  Page 1-6  - Fantastic Four meet the Impossible Man, give him chase.
    •  Page 7-11  - Fantastic Four convince the Impossible Man to leave Earth.

Human Torch:

  • A Visit With the Fantastic Four
  • The Impossible Man
    •  Page 1-6  - Fantastic Four meet the Impossible Man, give him chase.
    •  Page 7-11  - Fantastic Four convince the Impossible Man to leave Earth.

Thing:

Impossible Man:

Publication Notes[]

  • The cover credits for this issue are disputed. The Grand Comics Database lists Al Hartley as the possible inker to Jack Kirby.
  • Willie Lumpkin previously appeared in a self-titled comic strip, which Stan Lee and legendary Archie Comics artist Dan DeCarlo created in 1960.

See Also

Links and References

References

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