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Cover: John Buscema & Frank Giacoia

Fantastic Four #129

Name: Fantastic Four #129
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Dec 1972 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

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“The Frightful Four -- Plus One!”

★ 1st appearance — Thundra

About this Issue

Fantastic Four #129 is the debut of Thundra, one of Marvel's most enduring Bronze Age female characters — a genetically engineered warrior from the 23rd-century matriarchy of Earth-715 who time-travels to the present specifically to defeat Ben Grimm and prove women's physical supremacy over men. Her arrival as the Frightful Four's fifth member made her Marvel's most overtly gender-politics-charged new character of the early 1970s, arriving at the height of the Women's Liberation movement and introducing a figure whose moral ambiguity — villain, reluctant ally, and eventual hero — would keep her in the Marvel universe for decades. The issue also delivers meaningful character development for Sue Storm, whose forceful assertion of her brother Johnny's right to leave the team signals the end of her 'shrinking violet' era, and it marks the first comic-book appearances of three minor Inhuman characters: Avius, Flaidermaus, and Pinyon.

In "The Frightful Four — Plus One!", the Fantastic Four face their most unsettling challenge yet when the Human Torch abruptly leaves the team, leaving the Thing reeling and the group dangerously divided. The Frightful Four return with a shocking new member, turning the tide of their long-standing rivalry into something darker and more unpredictable. Written by Roy Thomas and brought to life by John Buscema’s dynamic art, with inks by Joe Sinnott and letters by Artie Simek, this 1972 classic features a cover by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia that captures the tension perfectly.

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writer Roy Thomas · artist John Buscema · inker Joe Sinnott · letterer Artie Simek · cover John Buscema, Frank Giacoia

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GD $70.98 Fantastic Four (1st Appearance of Thundra) #129 (1972, Marvel Comics) Low Grade $17.95 Fantastic Four (1st Appearance of Thundra) #129 (1972, Marvel Comics) Low Grade $23.74

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History

The issue was written and edited by Roy Thomas — Stan Lee's successor as Marvel's editor-in-chief — with pencils by John Buscema and inks by the legendary FF inker Joe Sinnott; the cover was rendered by Buscema and Frank Giacoia. Thomas has recalled conceiving Thundra as a conscious homage to Jack Kirby's Big Barda, asking Buscema to add a bandolier to her costume because women in the women's-liberation movement were photographed wearing them in the press. Buscema, then in his prime on the title, gave Thundra a visual profile — over seven feet tall, broad-shouldered, draped in what one art historian described as an update of the original Captain Marvel's lightning-bolt design — that instantly communicated her power and outsider status. The issue was on sale September 19, 1972, carrying a December 1972 cover date.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Thundra (Earth-715), a time-traveling Femizon warrior from the 23rd century, created by writer/editor Roy Thomas and penciler John Buscema.
Story title: 'The Frightful Four — Plus One!' — Part 1 of a 2-part arc concluded in Fantastic Four #130.
Also contains the first appearances of three Inhuman supporting characters: Avius, Flaidermaus, and Pinyon.
Thundra joins the Frightful Four (Wizard, Sandman, Trapster) as its fifth member, recruited because the Wizard promises to lead her to the strongest man on Earth — the Thing.
The Human Torch dramatically quits the Fantastic Four in this issue to seek Crystal in the Inhumans' Great Refuge; the subplot also re-establishes Black Bolt on the Inhuman throne.
Script by Roy Thomas; pencils by John Buscema; inks by Joe Sinnott; letters by Artie Simek; cover by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia. Cover date: December 1972.
Reprinted in: Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (2007, black and white); Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 8: Annihilus Revealed (2022); Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 13; and various international editions including French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, German, and Marvel UK versions.
Thundra went on to become a recurring Marvel figure, later appearing in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man (voiced by Tara Strong) and as a Marvel Legends action figure in Hasbro's Hulkbuster wave.