Two Plus Two, Part 2

The new Fantastic Four — Black Panther (T’Challa), Storm (Ororo Monroe), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Thing (Ben Grimm) — and Gravity (Greg Willis) have returned from a mission in space thanks to the power of King Solomon’s Brass Frogs.[2] Relieved to be home, the team decides to relax. When T’Challa wants to check on the set up of the temporary Wakandan Embassy in the Baxter Building, Storm insists that they take a “nap” instead. Ben finds this amusing as Storm could teach his old friend Reed Richards a thing or two about priorities.

The Thing decides to take a nap, literally, but doesn’t get much shut eye before he is woken up by a large crash. He and Johnny go and check on T’Challa and Ororo. When its determined the newly weds aren’t responsible for the noise, Storm heads down to the children’s room to check on young Franklin and Valeria Richards. When she enters their room, she is attacked by the HERBIE robot that guards the children, as it mistakes her for an intruder. After destroying the robot with a bolt of lightning, Storm learns from the frighten children that there is some kind of giant insect on the loose in the Baxter Building.

By this point, the Black Panther, Ben and Johnny have gone to the security monitors and learn that this insect is something that got into their headquarters through the Negative Zone portal and is running amok.[3] Somehow, the creature can withstand every single defense in the building. Ben is eager to pummel the monster and stops it from attacking the embassy staff and members of the Dora Milaje. However, the giant cockroach easily shrugs off Ben’s blows and bats him aside. That’s when Johnny flames on and tries to burn the monster. Shockingly, the creature swallows his fire ball and then belches a huge plume of smoke that smothers his flame. That’s when Storm arrives and uses her control over the winds to push Johnny to safety. She then starts bombarding the monster with lightning, but it is able to shrug this off as well.

Meanwhile, the Black Panther is in Reed’s lab trying to figure out what the various devices there are for. His inventory is interrupted by HERBIE who has a message for him from Maria Hill of SHIELD. She tells him that there is an invader from the Negative Zone loose in the Baxter Building and offers assistance from SHIELD and the Avengers in containing the monster. T’Challa assures her that the Fantastic Four have it under control. Looking at the feed from Prison 42, where the guards are fending off insect invaders, T’Challa is uninterested in “help” from people who already have enough on their plate. As he goes to join the rest of his team, HERBIE then informs him that there is a call coming in from Wakanda. Growing annoyed, he tells the robot that he’ll call back.

The reason for the call is because US Navy vessels are still off the shores of Wakanda and the locals are growing concerned about an impending invasion. Watching these ships are two members of Shuri’s security detail. One of them, G’Mal, thinks that with T’Challa gone, his sister should have the authority to do something about it.[4] At first, Shuri resists the idea, however when G’Mal suggests they sneak out and get a closer look at the ships themselves, Shuri begins to bend to the idea.

Back at the Baxter Building, the alien invader has stopped fighting to feast on some antique wooden tables. That’s when the Black Panther arrives with a cart full of various weapons. Each one fails to incapacitate the massive bug. That’s when the creature looks out a nearby window and spots a water tower on a nearby rooftop. Not wanting the creature to get loose in the city, T’Challa decides that they have to use the wildly unpredictable King Solomon’s Frogs to send it back where it came from. They have to get close enough for the brass frogs to work so they attack the creature again. Moments later, the Fantastic Four and the alien are teleported away.

Moments later, they reappear and crash land on an alien world. Once they get their bearings back, they discover that they have been sent to the Skrull home world. If that’s not bad enough, their appearance coincides with the arrival of a group of zombie superheroes from Earth (Giant-Man, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Wolverine) who also have the power of Galactus![5]

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Black Panther, Storm, Human Torch, Thing), S’Yan, Shuri, “G’Mal”, Taptor (unidentified), Gravity, HERBIE, Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, SHIELD (Maria Hill), Michael Collins, Skrulls, Marvel Zombies (Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Man, Hulk, Giant-Man, Wolverine)

Continuity Notes

1. The cover to this issue pays homage to Jack Kirby’s cover for Fantastic Four #3 (The got Johnny’s hands right this time around).

2. Black Panther’s team went into space last issue, see Fantastic Four #544-545 to find out what they were doing out there.

3. This alien invader goes unnamed here. The Negative Zone entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8 identifies the bug as Taptor.

4. What nobody realizes right now is that G’Mal has been possessed by the bodysnatching killer known as the Cannibal, who took possession of him in Black Panther (vol. 4) #18. This will not be learned until issue #38, however.

5. As will be verified next issue, the Fantastic Four have been transported to an alternate reality. Per Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1, this is Reality-2149. As seen in Ultimate Fantastic Four #21-23, this is a world where a contagion turned Earths superheroes into zombies. In Marvel Zombies #1-5, the surviving zombies consumed Galactus when he arrived on Earth and then went into space to literally eat the entire universe.

The Initiative Reading Order

Civil War: The Initiative #1, Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Thunderbolts #112, 113, 114, 115, Omega Flight #1-5, Moon Knight (vol. 3) #13, Captain America (vol. 5) #26, 27, 28, 29, 30, New Avengers #27, 28, 29, 30, 31, New Warriors (vol. 4) #1-8, Black Panther (vol. 4) #27, 28, 29, 30, Iron Man: Agent of SHIELD #15, 16, 17, 18, Avengers: The Initiative #1, 2, 3, Fantastic Four #547, 548, 549, 550, Punisher: War Journal (vol. 2) #6-11, Mighty Avengers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sub-Mariner (vol. 2) #1-6, The Order (vol. 2) 1-4, Penance: Relentless #1, 2, 3, 4, 5