FOLLOWERS

Classification: Terrestrial technology

Creator: Dr. Doom (Victor von Doom)

User/Possessors: Dr. Doom

First Appearance: Fantastic Four I#17 (August, 1963)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Followers were four humanoid-shaped lighter-than-air robots with grotesque appearances. Incapable of independent actions, they were designed only to home in on magnetic signals transmitted by idento-discs attached to the individual Fantastic Four members.

Each of the Followers was in a "phased" mode, unable to be touched or harmed by any physical attack. While trailing the Fantastic Four, the Followers recorded data about the atomic and molecular structures of their bodies, which was then transmitted to Dr. Doom.

After the Fantastic Four removed the idento-discs, all four Followers faded away to nothingness.












History:
(Fantastic Four I#17) - When the Fantastic Four were preparing to leave the Baxter Building to attend to their individual appointments, they spotted a crowd of their fans waiting in the lobby; not wanting to be delayed from their scheduled engagements, the quartet sought some way to slip past. But then one of the building's janitors assisted the FF by sneaking them out the service exit; the elderly janitor requested to shake the hands of the heroes, and the grateful quartet complied. But the janitor was actually the disguised Dr. Doom (see comments), who surreptitiously placed his idento-discs on the wrists of the Fantastic Four while he made contact with their hands.

   From his Flying Fortress, Doom then dispatched the Followers to pursue the Fantastic Four members. The Followers caused the team a great deal of public embarrassment -- one followed the Human Torch/Johnny Storm while he was on a date, one followed the Thing/Ben Grimm while he was walking around the city with Alicia Masters, one followed the Invisible Girl/Sue Storm as she was posing for a U.S. Savings Bond poster, and one followed Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards as he was about to receive an honorary degree.

   Humiliated, the Fantastic Four met back at the Baxter Building, where Reed discovered the idento-discs planted on them. As the discs were removed, the Followers vanished; but the robots had already fulfilled their purpose for Doom by embarrassing the FF in public, and by providing him with the data he needed to program his Flying Fortress' disintegrator rays to defend against the team.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.

Although a panel depicted him as pulling off a rubber mask and a false beard after planting the idento-discs, it probably wasn't the real Dr. Doom who was disguised as that janitor -- I doubt he would needlessly take the chance of being discovered just to perform such a relatively minor task himself. In Avengers I#1.5, he had one of his Doombot doubles disguised as Major Bowman, so maybe it was that same robot who had earlier impersonated the janitor.

Three of the Followers looked alike, but the one who followed the Invisible Girl was adorned with polka-dots. - Ron Fredricks

New images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Prime Eternal. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Followers should not be confused with:

The idento-discs should not be confused with:

idento-discs

These four tiny, tissue-thin plastic discs were affixed to the wrists of the Fantastic Four members when they shook the hand of a helpful janitor (actually a disguised Dr. Doom, see comments)

The discs acted like magnets to attract the inanimate Followers to each member of the Fantastic Four.

Later, Mr. Fantastic was able to locate the disc on his own wrist with a modified electro-detector, so he removed it and advised his teammates to do the same. Once the discs were removed, the four Followers simply faded away.

(Comment: The discs were likely fire-proof as well, since a Follower was still trailing the Human Torch while he was aflame.)

--Fantastic Four I#17

images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four I#17, p8, pan1 (Followers floating above Fantastic Four)
Fantastic Four I#17, p6, pan5 (Dr. Doom dispatches Followers)
Fantastic Four I#17, p7, pan3 (Thing attempts to punch Follower)
Fantastic Four I#17, p8, pan5 (Follower vanishes; Mr. Fantastic, Thing (background))
Fantastic Four I#17, p6, pan2 (indento-disc [in red circle] on Mr. Fantastic's wrist; janitor (background))
Fantastic Four I#17, p8, pan3 (Mr. Fantastic removes idento-disc from his wrist)

Appearances:
Fantastic Four I#17 (August, 1963) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Art Simek (letters)

First Posted: 09/11/2005
Last updated: 08/13/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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