Fantastic Four Annual #3
Fantastic Four Annual #3 delivered one of the earliest and most structurally ambitious superhero weddings in comics history, permanently altering the status quo of Marvel's First Family by formally uniting Reed Richards and Sue Storm. More than a domestic milestone, it functioned as the first true universe-wide crossover of the Silver Age: virtually every hero and villain in the Marvel catalogue converges on the Baxter Building, cementing the shared-universe concept Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had been building since 1961. The issue also marks the first Silver Age appearances of Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe in the mainstream superhero universe, a cameo whose seeds writer Steve Englehart later cultivated into the Hellcat mythos. Its closing gag — Lee and Kirby themselves turned away from the ceremony for lacking invitations — established a fondly repeated tradition of creator self-insertion that the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer consciously echoed decades later.
In "Bedlam at the Baxter Building!", the Fantastic Four’s joyous wedding celebration turns chaotic when Doctor Doom unleashes his Emotion Charger, turning a gathering of heroes into a battlefield of villainous chaos. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby deliver a classic, high-stakes spectacle, with Kirby’s dynamic art and Mike Esposito’s bold cover capturing the mayhem.
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Written and edited by Stan Lee, pencilled by Jack Kirby, inked by Vince Colletta, coloured by Stan Goldberg, and lettered by Artie Simek, the 23-page lead story 'Bedlam at the Baxter Building!' carries a cover date of October 1965 and an on-sale date of roughly July–August 1965. Reed and Sue's engagement had been announced as far back as Fantastic Four #36, so the wedding had been telegraphed to readers for well over a year. The annual format — already established by Lee and Kirby as a venue for 'essential' story events rather than simple reprints — was the logical stage for the payoff; it also padded out the package with reprints of Fantastic Four #6 and both stories from Fantastic Four #11. The cover was pencilled by Kirby and inked by Mike Esposito (also credited as Chic Stone in some sources), and notably depicts several characters — including Sub-Mariner, Hulk, Wasp, Kid Colt, and Scarlet Witch — who do not actually appear inside the story.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First Silver Age appearance of Patsy Walker (later Hellcat) and her rival Hedy Wolfe in the mainstream Marvel Universe; both had previously existed only in Marvel's separate teen-romance comics line.
- Written by Stan Lee, pencilled by Jack Kirby, inked by Vince Colletta, coloured by Stan Goldberg, lettered by Artie Simek; Stan Lee also served as editor.
- The lead story is titled 'Bedlam at the Baxter Building!' and spans 23 pages; the issue also reprints 'Captives of the Deadly Duo!' (from Fantastic Four #6) and two stories from Fantastic Four #11.
- Doctor Doom drives the plot by deploying a 'High-Frequency Emotion Charger' to compel virtually the entire Silver Age villain roster to attack the Baxter Building wedding — making this the largest single assembly of Marvel heroes and villains published to that point.
- Steve Ditko contributed the Spider-Man art in panel 4 of page 14, making this a rare Kirby/Ditko collaboration within a single issue.
- Stan Lee and Jack Kirby appear as in-story characters, turned away from the ceremony by Nick Fury, Gabe Jones, and Dum Dum Dugan for lacking invitations — the second time Lee and Kirby had inserted themselves into the Marvel Universe as characters (the first being Fantastic Four #10).
- Several characters depicted on the cover — including Sub-Mariner, Hulk, Wasp, Kid Colt, and Scarlet Witch — do not appear in the interior story; editor's notes within the comic explain the Hulk's and Namor's absences.
- The issue has been collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 5 and Vol. 8 (TPB), Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 2, and numerous international reprint editions; the wedding story was also re-examined and extended in Marvels #2 (1994) and Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1.
Cast · 40 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl have invited all their superhero friends to their wedding, but Doctor Doom uses his Emotion Charger to compel a mighty host of super-villains to invade the festivities.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).