Fantastic Four #67
Fantastic Four #67 closes the two-part 'Beehive' arc by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and delivers the first on-panel appearance of the golden-skinned artificial being known only as 'Him' — the character who would eventually be reimagined as Adam Warlock and become one of Marvel's most consequential cosmic figures, central to the Infinity Gauntlet saga and its successors. The issue is a textbook example of late-Silver Age Lee-Kirby science fiction at its most operatic: a rogue scientific collective, a creation that surpasses and turns on its makers, and a blind sculptress whose empathy alone can touch a being of terrifying power. It also demonstrates how the Fantastic Four title functioned as Marvel's premier laboratory for introducing new concepts, with Him joining a lineage of transformative characters — the Silver Surfer, Galactus, the Inhumans — born in these pages in the years just before Kirby's 1970 departure.
In "When Opens the Cocoon!", the Fantastic Four race to rescue Alicia from the mysterious Beehive, only to find the cocoon splitting open and unveiling a figure long hidden in shadow. Written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with art by Jack Kirby and inks by Joe Sinnott, this 1967 issue delivers a tense, visually striking moment as the team confronts an unknown threat. The cover by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott captures the dramatic reveal with bold, dynamic energy.
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The issue was written by Stan Lee and co-plotted and penciled by Jack Kirby under the 'Marvel Method,' with inks by Joe Sinnott and lettering by Artie Simek — the same tight creative unit that had produced the Galactus Trilogy and the Black Panther debut just issues earlier. The Grand Comics Database notes that Kirby's co-plot credit was acknowledged by both Lee and Kirby in multiple interviews, with the issue's credits reading 'Proudly produced by Stan (The Man) Lee and Jack (King) Kirby.' Colors were contributed by Stan Goldberg. The story was a direct continuation of Fantastic Four #66 (September 1967), and the pair of issues represent the final major character introduction of Kirby's extraordinary creative run on the title, which he would continue through issue #102 before leaving Marvel in 1970.
Trivia · 9 facts
- First full on-panel appearance of 'Him' (later Adam Warlock), a golden-skinned artificial being created by a clandestine scientific collective; his origin was set up the prior issue (FF #66) but he physically emerges from his cocoon only in this issue.
- Written by Stan Lee (script) and Jack Kirby (co-plot), with pencils by Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Stan Goldberg, and lettering by Artie Simek; Stan Lee served as editor.
- Published with an October 1967 cover date; on-sale date confirmed by the 1967 Periodicals records at the Library of Congress as July 11, 1967.
- The interior story is titled 'When Opens the Cocoon!' while the cover carries the title 'The Power of... Him!' — two distinct titles for the same issue.
- The group of scientists who created Him (Hamilton, Shinski, Zota, and Morlak) are not named 'the Enclave' in this issue; that name was applied retroactively in Fantastic Four #207.
- Dr. Jerome Hamilton dies in this issue (apparent death under a collapsing wall), though Marvel Comics #1000 later revealed he survived, blinded, and became the character Blind Justice.
- Crystal of the Inhumans appears in this issue as a supporting character at the Baxter Building, reflecting her ongoing integration into the FF's cast at this point in the series.
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times, including in Marvel's Greatest Comics #50 (July 1974), a 1994 JC Penney catalog-exclusive Marvel Vintage Pack reprint (identifiable by a Stridex ad on the back cover), Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 4 (2005, black-and-white), the Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 3 (2015), and the Adam Warlock Omnibus (2023).
- Him was later significantly revamped as 'Adam Warlock' by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane in Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972); Thomas cited the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack as an influence on that reimagining.
Cast · 11 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Hit Comics #61 (1968), I Fantastici Quattro #64 (1973), Marvel's Greatest Comics #50 (1974), Une Aventure des Fantastiques #6 (1975), The Mighty World of Marvel #146 (1975), Fantastic Four Pocket Book #11 (1980), The Marvel Comics Illustrated Version of Fantastic Four #02838 (1982), Fantastic Four #67 [JC Penney Marvel Vintage Pack] #[nn] (1994), Essential Fantastic Four #4 (2005), Fantastic Four : L'intégrale #1967 (2008), Fantastic Four Adventures #13 (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four #7 (2011), Marvel Gold. Los 4 Fantásticos #2 (2012), Marvel Classic #12 (2013), Fantastic Four Omnibus #3 (2015), Kirby Is… Fantastic! King-Size #[nn] (2019), Fantastic Four Epic Collection #4 (2019), Adam Warlock Omnibus #[nn] (2022), Adam Warlock Omnibus #[nn] (2023), Die Fantastischen Vier #63, Los 4 Fantásticos #94
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