Oct 1980
That a Child May Live…
by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Sinnott, Jim Novak, George Roussos, Jim Salicrup
The Fantastic Four, Agatha Harkness, Gabriel, and Franklin Richards fly to New Salem, CO. Franklin is held in a force bubble by his mother. They do battle with the Salem Seven and Nicholas Scratch, who tries to use Franklin to help him escape from the Dark Realm. Gabriel leads Agatha in helping the Fantastic Four to combine forces and use the power of love that they have for Franklin Richards to overwhelm Nicholas Scratch.
Thoughts
This is an okay story. It didn’t knock my socks off. It wasn’t terribly complex. There were a few too many characters in this story for them all to get more than just a brief moment to shine. The fact that they defeated Scratch by using the power of love wasn’t exactly a plus in my book. Maybe if they hadn’t done it in such an obvious way then I would feel differently or better about the story as a whole.
According to my research Gabriel (also known as Gabriel Devil-Slayer) appeared in 5 comic books prior to this two-part story: Haunt of Horror (1974) 2-5 and Monsters Unleashed (1973) 11. Doug Moench wrote all of the prior appearances of Gabriel. Desadia, Gabriel’s assistant, who was only seen in the first of these two issues of Fantastic Four, also appeared in those five comic books.
Was Gabriel killed in the final battle? I don’t think so but that’s unclear. He was last seen in this story during the battle. He talks about making the ultimate sacrifice but maybe the powers that be (Jim Shooter?) were uncomfortable with that sort of an ending. It’s too bad that Gabriel didn’t get fleshed out more than he did in this story. If it weren’t for the internet, if I was reading this story back in 1980, then I wouldn’t have a clue as to who Gabriel was. It's possible that his name and his origins will come up on the letters page, a few issues down the line.
Gabriel subsequently appeared in Marvel Comics Presents 106 (Jul 1992) and more than a dozen issues of Hellstorm Prince of Lies (1993). Doug Moench did not write any of the Gabriel stories after this one.
What happened to the Salem Seven at the end of the story? They were prisoners in New Salem until Nicholas Scratch freed them. Scratch is defeated at the end of the issue so presumably they were imprisoned once again, but for how long? Their only other appearances prior to 2000 (following this issue) were in a couple issues of the Vision and Scarlet Witch 12-issue limited series in the mid-1980s. I always liked the look of this team in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and their other appearances up to that point. It’s a shame that they didn’t get used more or weren’t fleshed out more.
Fantastic Four Fan Page
Three letters from readers about Fantastic Four 219 (Jun 1980), the first one written and drawn by Moench and Sienkiewicz, contain nothing but praise for the new creative team.
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