Marvel; September 1981
Cover by John Byrne and Terry Austin

Title: “The Man with the Power!”
Synopsis: “Skip” Collins – an average Joe who might be “the most powerful man who ever lived” – causes havoc for the Fantastic Four.

Writer: John Byrne
Artist: Byrne

Review: Following a pair of done-in-one stories, writer/artist John Byrne offers up his first two-parter. Ironically, this first half of the tale – about an unassuming man with the power to reshape reality – would have been stronger as a done-in-one, as well. What could have been an impressive, simple fable is muddled by plot threads involving Ego the Living Planet. But Byrne isn’t without his strengths as a writer – his understanding of the Fantastic Four characters is excellent – and his art continues to be first rate.

Grade: A-

Second opinion: “Byrne has shown us the Fantastic Four’s private lives, but we haven’t seen a whole lot of them together at this point.” – Comics Coast to Coast #1 (1982). Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide second edition (2003).

Cool factor: The quiet moments. Byrne “gets” the Fantastic Four, and his strong characterization makes the individual members come alive.

Collector’s note: According to MyComicShop.com, there is a Mark Jewelers variant of this issue.

Character quotable: “Say it ain’t so, Stretcho. Tell me I ain’t seein’ what I’m seein’!” – The Thing, who you’d think would be used to seein’ such things after years of running with Reed Richards

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