Every day this month will have the five goofiest moment from a five-issue stretch of a particular comic book run. Once a week it will be the ten goofiest moments of a ten-issue stretch. Here is a list of the moments featured so far.

Today we look at the first five Fantastic Four Annuals. All scripted by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by a different inker each annual (Dick Ayers, Chic Stone, Vince Colletta, Joe Sinnott and Frank Giacoia, respectively).

As always, this is all in good fun. I don't mean any of this as a serious criticism of the comics in question. Not only were these writers certainly never imagining people still reading these comics decades after they were written, great comics often have goofy moments (Kirby/Lee's Fantastic Four is one of the best comic book runs of all-time and there were TONS of goofy stuff in those 100 plus issues!).

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I've written about this a few times in the past, so here it is again. Stan Lee had some sort of fascination with bizarre ways of communication (like Iron Man having an image projector that could send him anywhere in the world, or Doctor Doom having a giant spider handy for a device that allowed him to communicate with Spider-Man, etc.). Here, from #1, Namor has a tele-fish...

This next moment is not really goofy. I only mention it to actually give Lee credit for AVOIDING goofiness!

Here is an expert on Namor's people...

It is, of course, Namor in disguise. However, Lee somehow managed to avoid having the guy's last name be an anagram of Namor! Shocking, right?

Earlier in that same issue (#1), Lee got to make a nuanced comment about the leader of the Soviet Union (who is there for a UN meeting about Namor)...

In #4, the Thing somehow doesn't recall the original Human Torch, despite attending high school in New York City at the same time the Torch was fighting crime.

It makes sense, though. What's so memorable about an android who can turn into a human torch?

Later, in #4, I can almost see Ben thinking, "It's 1965, so it's still cool if I call Wyatt Wingfoot 'Geronimo,' right?"

In #2, Doctor Doom and Rama Tut meet...

So wait, Rama Tut, you guys think you might BE each other? Wouldn't you, you know, REMEMBER that?

In #2, Doctor Doom has Ben, Sue and Johnny ingest a drink that makes them see things. Yet somehow, Sue doesn't realize that Reed is TRANSPARENT?!?!

Huh? That doesn't strike you as odd, Sue?

The bit at the end of #3 with Stan and Jack is more cute than it is goofy, but it allows me to note the fact that Reed Richards got married wearing his Fantastic Four costume...

Classy, Reed, classy.

I just love that the Marvel Universe is the sort of place that some guy hears "I plan on contacting hell with this machine I built," and the guy's reaction is "I hope we don't get into trouble with the faculty at the university"...

THAT's your concern, pal?

Maybe the fact that you're trying to contact HELL with a machine should concern you a bit. Or maybe the fact that the guy you're helping out doesn't even know how to check his own calculations properly.

5. "Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist. "

In Fantastic Four #4, the FF fights this beast, summoned by Namor....

Now, about a year later, in Annual #1...

Add in the fact that their very first adventure was to MONSTER ISLAND and this whole conversation is quite goofy.

4. "I cannot interfere. That said, come with me so I can show you how to defeat the bad guys. "

From #3, the Watcher again shows off just how awful he is at not interfering...

The goofiest part about it, though, is Reed recognizing the machine as a "sub-atomic time-displacer." Oh, of course! By the way, as an aside, how come Reed can't seem to ever build a time machine on his own?

3. Well argued, Reed.

As stated before, Sue was pretty dumb to not realize that the Reed she saw was transparent, and thus not actually Reed. However, Reed's idea of forgiving her is likely more of an insult than anything...

2. "Bah, that's all well and good, but come back to me when you've built a jetpack."

In #2, we see Doom do all sorts of amazing things as a young man, including turn gold into mud.

And build a robot that people could not believe was not Doom himself...

and yet his greatest discovery?

A jetpack...

Jetpacks ARE pretty sweet, I guess.

1. I think I should name my first kid Encephalo...

Soooo many goofy things about this...

to name three...

1. The name...

2. The way Sue shouts it out, "Not the Encephalo-Gun!"

put most importantly, 3. That Reed would even HAVE a device like this laying around. "To what purpose did you invent this thing, Reed? " "What if you aren't sure who has the greatest mentality? And once you've demonstrated who has the greater mentality, you can't just leave the other person standing there, you need to send them to some sort of limbo, right?"