Fantastic Force #16 — Nick Peron

Jan 17

Jan 17 Fantastic Force #16

Night on Earth

IMG 2020 20 01 17 15 28 18 v1x34.png — Credits

At the 12th Precinct jail the woman known as Zarathustra is given her last meal before she is shipped off to the Vault. However when the guard comes she manages to rope him up and break free from her cell and escape the jail. Meanwhile, the members of Fantastic Force are gathered around their teammate Devlor whose body is beginning to mutate out of control after being exposed to the Omnivirus some time earlier. Devlor is examined by Professor Issac Sandor, who explains that Devlor's Inhuman DNA and the Omnivirus are causing the transformations and that at this present time they can do nothing but watch and wait. As the group leaves the room, reporter Paul Alvarez tries to convince Franklin that Devlor's exposure to the Omnivirus was not his fault. Franklin still feels the pressure since his uncle Johnny left the team and the government of Wakanda has pulled their funding. When Paul wishes Huntara were here so they could determine if she is really Paul's long lost brother, Franklin explains that Huntara is still in Elsewhen which is right where she needs to be at the moment.

Meanwhile in Harlem, Zarathustra has stolen some women's clothing and is walking the streets of New York among the very people that her master, Lord Moses, has raised her to believe are impure and evil. Needing to get away from them, she leaps up onto the roof tops and begins scaling buildings. However she comes to a pause at a window of a Spanish woman's apartment. She and her other children are horrified when the youngest child, Mateo, suddenly stops breathing.

Elsehwere in the city, Vibraxas is paying a visit to Mr. Po the Korean shop owner and is shocked to find his old foe Go-Devil visiting the man as well. N'Kano and Go-Devil almost get into a fight, but Mr. Po stops them. Go-Devil explains that his employers in the Sons of Sinanju paid his bail and he came to pay his respects to Mr. Po before departing. After Go-Devil leaves, Mr. Po tells N'Kano to let their rivalry go and offers Vibraxas a job as his assistant once he gets out of the hospital. Needing a form a life in the United States after renouncing his home nation of Wakanda, Vibraxas accepts.

Back at the Fantastic Force's loft, Devlor's teacher Sonia Wu has come to pay her respects to her student, as things for the youthful Inhuman look more and more grim. Back in Harlem, Zarathustra comes smashing in through the window and uses her skills to pinch a series of nerves on Mataeo's back which cause him to start breathing again, saving his life. When Mataeo's thankful mother offers to repay Zarathustra, all the woman asks is for answers as to why Mataeo's mother lives in squalor with so many children. She learns that the woman has been working hard since her husband died. After being thanked by the children, Zarathustra leaps out into the night again, having witnesses the hard life of the family above has begun to shake her resolve and Lord Moseses teaching. As the Fantastic Force get word from Professor Sandor that Devlor's condition is not improving, the team begins to try ato come to terms with the fact that their friend and teammate is going to die. The group is unaware that Diablo is still spying on them waiting for the right moment to strike.

Elsewhere in the city, Zarathustra has a chance encounter with Go-Devil when the Japanese tough-guy stops to gawk at her. Surprisingly he manages to convince her to leave town with him, but she quickly advises him that his unflattering comments are understood because she also knows how to speak Japanese. Back at Fantastic Force headquarters, the gathers around their friend as he seemingly dies. However much to their surprise, from out of the beastal form that he has been trapped in bursts forth Devlor, alive and well, and human again. With the surprising revelation that their friend is still alive, the members of Fantastic Force celebrate his recovery.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Force (Psi-Lord, Vibraxas, Devlor, She-Hulk), Wyatt Wingfoot, Paul Alvarez, Sonia Wu, Professor Issac Sandor, Zarathustra, Go-Devil, Diablo, Mephisto

Continuity Notes

The teenage Franklin seen here was delivered to the modern age by Nathaniel Richards from Earth-6311 to replace his Earth-616 counterpart. This occurred in Fantastic Four #376. Although everyone reacts as though this is Earth-616's Franklin all grown up, the young Franklin is returned in Fantastic Four #413. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #14 confirms that they are separate entities. Franklin believes that his mission was to stop the Dark Raider from destroying the Fantastic Four as explained in Fantastic Four #387, however this is part of a larger scheme to stop Hyperstorm that is not realized until Fantastic Four #414.

Zarathustra has been imprisoned since her defeat at the hands of Fantastic Force in Fantastic Force #11. Devlor was exposed to the Omnivirus that is slowly killing him in this story in that same issue.

Franklin mentions how the Human Torch left the group to return to the Fantastic Four, this happened in Fantastic Four #407. He also mentions how their funding got pulled, that happened last issue.

It is mentioned that Huntara had recently left the group to remain in Elsewhen. This happened in Fantastic Force #12.

Paul Alvarez and Psi-Lord discuss how Huntara might be Paul's long lost sister Maria. Huntara's parentage has been called into question. In Fantastic Four #390 Huntara states that she is the daughter of Nathaniel Richards. However in Fantastic Force #8, Paul claims that she is his long lost sister. In the flashback from that story the story suggests that Maria was kidnapped by Lord Moses, suggesting she might actually be Zarathustra. However, since Fantastic Force was cancelled, the truth of the matter remains unexplained.