Fantastic Four Vol 1 91

The Skrulls take the captured Thing to the planet Kral, a world whose culture is a mirror of the legendary 1930s. Back in the Prohibition Era, a mobster named Machine-Gun Martin escaped prison and was captured by the Skrulls. The inhabitants of Kral, fascinated by gangster culture, adopted it as their own. Boss Barker makes a bet with his opponent Lippy Louie that his acquisition of the Thing will be able to defeat Louie's best fighter, Torgo, in the Great Games.

While the FF on Earth begin searching for their captured friend, Ben is delivered into slavery at the hands of Boss Barker. Along the way, Ben learns that the Skrulls of this planet adopted 1930's humanoid forms, inspired by Martin, and capture beings from other worlds to fight in their gladiator pits. After a few failed escape attempts, Ben is informed that he will have to fight Torgo. When meeting Torgo, Thing learns that the justification of the Mekkan's life will be the death of the Thing.

Back on Earth, Reed's deductions as to what happened to Ben bring him to the conclusion that he was likely kidnapped by the Skrulls.

Solicit Synopsis

See the mighty Thing, enslaved on the planet of the Skrulls!

Notes

Continuity Notes[]

Machine Gun Martin later went on to have a feature article in the 1939 Daily Bugle. That story revealed that his first name was "John" and that the prison from which he broke out in 1934 was located in upstate New York.
The Skrulls of Kral IV are not the only Skrulls who co-opted Earth culture for their own ends. In Fantastic Four #174 a group of Skrulls was found that co-opted Earth culture from the European Medieval period for entertainment purposes. Black Panther (Vol. 4) #32–34 showed that some of the Skrulls of Kral IV later took on the culture of the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s & 60s. Wisdom #1–6 showed that a group of Skrulls embraced the 60s British Pop music explosion.
The Skrull planet to which the captive Ben Grimm was taken is only identified as "Kral" in this issue. The gangster planet will first be identified as "Kral IV" in the Skrulls entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 but that name will not be mentioned in any of its appearance until Guardians of the Galaxy Annual (Vol. 3) #1 when it and the rest of the Kral System will be destroyed.
Although a Skrull Slave Price List seen in this issue identifies "Maarin" as Torgo's home planet, Fantastic Four #173 will reveal that Torgo is a member of the Mekkan race from the planet Mekka. Fantastic Four #174 will establish that the planet was called something else before Torgo renamed it Mekka centuries ago, and the Mekkans entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6 will confirm that Mekka was formerly known as Maarin.
Taxtor was identified as a member of the Tekton race of the planet Tekton in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10.

Chronology Notes[]

Events occur behind the scenes of this story that affect the chronology of the following characters: Human Torch:

⏴ Page 1-19 ⏵ - Johnny goes out looking for the Thing.
⏴ Page 20 ⏵ - Johnny returns to the Baxter Building and learns Ben was kidnapped by the Skrulls.

Links and References

References