Fantastic Four Annual #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFantastic Four Annual #4 marks the first appearance of the Golden Age android Human Torch (Jim Hammond) in the Silver Age Marvel Universe, bridging nearly three decades of comics history by bringing one of Timely Comics' signature characters — originally created by Carl Burgos in Marvel Comics #1 (1939) — into direct contact with his spiritual successor, Johnny Storm. The issue also introduces Quasimodo, the Quasi-Motivational Destruct Organism, a self-aware computer built by the Mad Thinker who would recur across the Marvel Universe for decades. Situated in the Fantastic Four Annual's tradition of delivering milestone narrative events — Namor crowned king of Atlantis in Annual #1, the origin of Doctor Doom in Annual #2, and the Reed-Sue wedding in Annual #3 — this fourth installment continued that pattern by dramatizing a genuine clash between Marvel's Golden Age past and Silver Age present. The android Torch's apparent destruction here also planted the narrative seed that Steve Englehart and Neal Adams would later harvest when they revealed his body had been rebuilt by Ultron into the Vision.
In "The Torch That Was!", the Mad Thinker unleashes a long-buried threat by reactivating the original Human Torch's android body, turning the once-hero into a weapon against the Fantastic Four. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with dynamic art by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, and vibrant colors by Stan Goldberg, this 1966 annual delivers a classic clash of mind and machine. The cover, penciled by Kirby and inked by Sinnott, captures the eerie return of the flame-wreathed android.
In "The Torch That Was!", the Mad Thinker unleashes the long-dormant android body of the original Human Torch, reactivating him to serve as a weapon against the Fantastic Four. With the team facing an enemy from their past, they must confront not just a powerful foe, but the haunting echo of their former teammate.
In "The Hulk Vs. The Thing," a furious Hulk returns to New York seeking revenge on the Avengers after believing Rick Jones has abandoned him. With the Fantastic Four in his path, the Thing stands alone as the only one who might stand a chance against the rampaging gamma-powered giant.
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The issue went on sale August 2, 1966, with a cover date of November 1966, written by Stan Lee and penciled by Jack Kirby, inked by Joe Sinnott, colored by Stan Goldberg, and lettered by Sam Rosen — the core creative team then at the peak of their collaborative run on the title. Its production coincided with an unresolved legal dispute: Carl Burgos, the original Human Torch's creator, had been pursuing a claim against Marvel over rights to the character, and the issue appeared in the same summer that Burgos abruptly abandoned those efforts — a timing that has prompted decades of debate among historians about whether Marvel's revival was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to reinforce its intellectual-property position on the character. The story's new lead feature ran 19 pages and was packaged alongside reprints of Fantastic Four #25 and #26, the first major Thing-vs.-Hulk clash, giving the annual a mix of new and archival content that earned it the 1966 Alley Award for Best Combination New and Reprint Material Title.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First Silver Age appearance of Jim Hammond, the original android Human Torch, who had last appeared in Golden Age comics in 1954 and was originally created by Carl Burgos in Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939).
- First appearance of Quasimodo (Quasi-Motivational Destruct Organism), a self-aware computer created by the Mad Thinker, who would go on to appear in over 30 Marvel issues across multiple decades.
- Written by Stan Lee and penciled by Jack Kirby, with inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Stan Goldberg, and letters by Sam Rosen; Stan Lee also served as editor.
- The lead story, 'The Torch That Was!', runs 19 pages and is paired with reprints of Fantastic Four #25 and #26 — the first full-scale Hulk vs. Thing battle — making it a combination new-and-reprint annual.
- Won the 1966 Alley Award for Best Combination New & Reprint Material Title.
- The android Torch's apparent death in this issue established a continuity placeholder that Steve Englehart later used in Avengers #133–135 (1975), revealing the Torch's body had been rebuilt by Ultron into the android known as the Vision.
- Reprinted in numerous collections including Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (2000), Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 3 (2000), Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 2 (2007), and Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 4: The Mystery of the Black Panther (2019).
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Fantastic Four #25 (1964), Fantastic Four #26 (1964)
Reprinted in Smash! #45 (1966), I Fantastici Quattro #53 (1973), Fantastic Four Annual #10 (1973), Fantastic Four #189 (1977), Atlantic special #6/1978 (1978), Atlantic Special [Atlantic Spesial] #6 (1978), Le plus grand combat des 4 Fantastiques #[nn] (1980), Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four #[6] (2000), Essential Fantastic Four #3 (2000), Fantastic Four : L'intégrale #1966 (2007), Fantastic Four Omnibus #2 (2007), Fantastic Four Adventures #2 (2010), Marvel Gold. Los 4 Fantásticos #1 [3] (2011), Fantastic Four Epic Collection #4 (2019), Marvel Origins #59 (2025)
Key issues in Fantastic Four Annual
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