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Cover: John Buscema & John Romita & Joe Sinnott

Fantastic Four #117

Name: Fantastic Four #117
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Dec 1971 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

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“The Flame and the Quest!”

About this Issue

Fantastic Four #117 marks the debut of three new Inhuman characters — Asmodeus, Chiron, and Kaliban — who appear as guards of Attilan loyal to Maximus the Mad, meaningfully expanding the Inhuman supporting cast at a pivotal moment in the Bronze Age. The issue is also the midpoint of Archie Goodwin's short but critically admired scripting run on Marvel's flagship title, a stretch that began when Stan Lee stepped back from writing duties with issue #115; readers and later commentators have consistently noted that Goodwin seamlessly maintained the series' voice while tightening its plotting. The story's use of a post-apocalyptic alternate future (later catalogued as Earth-69520) as a narrative device, combined with Diablo's scheme to weaponize Crystal's elemental powers against a fictional Central American dictatorship, gave the early Bronze Age FF an unusually grounded political texture. The cover — a split composition with a John Romita Sr. Crystal figure inset over John Buscema's main design — is also a documented example of the bullpen's collaborative cover production method of the era.

In "The Flame and the Quest!", the Fantastic Four race to stop Diablo from seizing control of Terra Verde, where Crystal has been brainwashed and used as a pawn. With the Human Torch determined to save his girlfriend, the team faces off against Diablo and General Robles in a battle that ends in a fiery explosion. Written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by John Buscema with inks by Joe Sinnott, this 1971 issue features dynamic action and emotional stakes, all captured in a striking cover by John Buscema, John Romita, and Joe Sinnott.

writer Archie Goodwin · artist John Buscema · inker Joe Sinnott · letterer Sam Rosen · cover John Buscema, John Romita, Joe Sinnott

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $12

CGC 9.8 · 7 in census $1,656

CGC 9.6 · 22 in census $222

CGC 9.4 · 17 in census $139*

CGC 9.2 · 14 in census $86

CGC 9.0 · 19 in census $80

CGC 8.5 · 12 in census $60

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CGC 8.0 · 7 in census $60

CGC 7.5 · 11 in census $53*

CGC 7.0 · 5 in census $44*

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $40*

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $39*

CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $30*

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $29*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $26*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $25*

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $21*

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

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VG $6.99 VG $18.98 Fantastic Four Vol 1 #117 (1971) Marvel Comic $10 Fantastic Four Comic Book Issue #117 December 1971 $12.99

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History

Archie Goodwin took over scripting duties on Fantastic Four with issue #115 after Stan Lee moved into a sabbatical from regular writing; Goodwin continued through issue #118, making this issue the third of his four-issue run. Goodwin came to Marvel with deep experience from Warren Publishing, where he had served as writer and editor-in-chief of Creepy and Eerie, and he brought a tighter, more efficient narrative structure that contemporary readers noticed immediately. The issue was released with a cover date of December 1971 (on-sale September 1971), placing it right at the transition from Silver to Bronze Age production norms, and it carries no letters page — a detail logged in the Grand Comics Database — suggesting the space was repurposed for advertising during a period when Marvel was adjusting its page economics.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title: 'The Flame and the Quest!' — cover date December 1971, on-sale September 1971.
Writer: Archie Goodwin; Pencils: John Buscema; Inks: Joe Sinnott; Letters: Sam Rosen; Editor: Stan Lee; Cover Crystal figure pencilled by John Romita Sr.
First appearances of three Inhumans: Asmodeus (a bat-winged, heat-resistant flyer), Chiron (a centaur-like Inhuman), and Kaliban (who wields an ion-blast weapon) — all introduced as Attilan guards loyal to Maximus the Mad.
The issue explains that after Crystal left the Fantastic Four, Lockjaw accidentally teleported her to a post-apocalyptic alternate future (later designated Earth-69520 in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3), where Diablo had been stranded since Marvel Super-Heroes #20.
Diablo drugs Crystal and forces her to impersonate the Mayan goddess Ixchel to incite an uprising in the fictional nation of Terra Verde, positioning himself to seize its alchemical mineral resources as a power base against Doctor Doom.
Johnny Storm's visit to Attilan in this issue is set during the period when Maximus still held the Inhuman throne — a continuity point confirmed as occurring prior to the events of Avengers #95, where Black Bolt reclaims power.
Diablo and the villain General Robles both perish in an explosion by the story's end, resolving the two-part Terra Verde arc that concludes in Fantastic Four #118.
The issue has been reprinted in Essential Fantastic Four #6 (2007, black and white), Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four #12 (2010), Fantastic Four Epic Collection #7 — Battle of the Behemoths (2021), and Fantastic Four Omnibus #4 (2021).