Nick Peron

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Fantastic Force #5

Nick Peron

Face of Evil!

Credits

Somewhere in time and space Psi-Lord and Huntara are fighting an evil horde of enemies. In the middel of battle Franklin begins to fear for his life. When Huntara tells her nephew that he must fight on even if things look doomed, he begins to protest as the enemy approached. Suddenly, Franklin awakes in his bed at Fantastic Force's Soho headquarters and realizes that the battle was just a dream. Franklin is troubled because these memories of his lost past all started after the teams encounter with the Adaptoid and he was forced to mind link with it. Suddenly Devlor and Vibraxas come into Franklin's room having heard him cry out for help psychically making Franklin realize that things might be more serious. Telling them that it was a false alarm he tries to contact Huntara telepathically but finds that she is nowhere on the premesis.

Huntara is out in the city, leaping from roof-top to roof-top. While she has charged herself with watching over Franklin and the rest of Fantastic Force during the day she has taken to exploring the strange wonders of New York at night. Spotting a bar called the Rave Club, Huntara decides to check it out, shifting out of her costume and into her street clothes. When the bouncer tries to tell her that she's not welcome inside, Huntara surprises him with her superior strength when she grabs him by the throat. The bouncer recinds and allows her to go inside. Huntara finds the sights within interesting and is in the process of ordering a drink when she spots a rough looking woman trying to cause trouble with a man in the bar. Coming to the patron's aid she pulls the woman away. The woman, Deadly Doris by name, is the leader of a female gang. When her comrades surround Huntara and prepare to jump her, Doris tells them to stand down, impressed by Huntara's show of strength and invites her to drink with the rest of her crew. As Huntara sits down for some drinks, she is unaware that some of the patrons are possessed by a single alien entity.

Meanwhile in the Inhuman city of Attilan located on the Blue Area of the Moon, Lord Arcadus of the Inhuman Genetic Council listens to the Seeker's report on his failed mission to recapture Devlor and bring him back home. The Seeker tries to convince Arcadus that Devlor was killed while he was trying to recover him. However after the briefing, Arcadus has detected that the Seeker was lying and decides to attend to matters personally. Back on Earth, Huntara pays her leave from the Race Club and her new friends. On her way out she bumps into a tough looking Japanese man who berates her in his native tongue. Not understanding his words, Huntara doesn't much like their tone but decides to let it go for now. Resuming her costumed guise and taking to the rooftops again, Huntara spots a group of thugs trying to mug a woman on the streets and swoops down to her aid. However while Huntara is busy dealing with the crooks she is suddenly struck from behind by the woman she is trying to save. Realizing that this woman is more than she seems, a strange alien liquid begins to emerge from her body. Introducing itself as Dreadface, Huntara recalls how her nephew Franklin had recently battled this creature. Dreadface explains that after encountering Psi-Lord previously it has decided to take control of him. Studying Fantastic Force, the alien symbiote learned that Huntara is the closest to him and set up this trap to try and possess her in order to get at Franklin. Realizing the thugs she tried to stop are also possessed by Dreadface, Huntara fights them off with ease. Changing tactics, Dreadface puts his female hosts body in the path of an on coming car. Unwilling to let an innocent die because of this creature, Huntara pushes the woman to safety, leaving her open to be possessed by Dreadface in the process.

While in Wakanda, the Black Panther protests against parliament for restarting the Vibranium Research Facility in his absence. Although the last test was a disaster to his people, the Black Panther concedes when his advisers inform him that Wakanda will face a massive crisis if their limited supply of Vibranium is depleted. They assure him that the mistakes of the past are dead and buried. However deep below Wakanda there is something giving off sinister vibrations...

Back in New York, Huntara returns to Fantastic Force's Soho loft where Franklin tells her about his most recent nightmare. With his guard down, Franklin is easily taken over by Dreadface. Taking over Franklin's body almost immediately, Dreadface revels in the power he has gained and accesses Franklin's Psycho-Armor. As Huntara is still stunned by the body swap, Vibraxas and Devlor come back into Franklin's room to see what this new disturbance is and are easily downed by energy blasts from the Dreadface possessed Franklin. Dreadface stands over and decides that instead of possessing them as well he will kill them. However before he can land the killing blow, Huntara has revived and attacks. Huntara attacks at full fury, willing to kill her nephew rather than letting him continue to be possessed by this foul creature. Overwhelmed, Dreadface attempts to escape into Devlor's body, but as he leaves Franklin's form, Huntara opens a portal in front of him. With Dreadface banished to another realm, Franklin is free from his control and is briefed on what happened.

Meanwhile back at the Rave Club, the aggressive Japanese tough guy is being hassled by one of the other patrons who purposely spills his beer on the man. The Asian then removes his sun glasses revealing glowing red eyes which unleash a bolt of energy that decimates the bar. Emerging from its ruins, the Japanese man is upset that he still hasn't had a chance to sit down and have his drink.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Force (Psi-Lord, Huntara, Vibraxas, Devlor, Black Panther), N’Kano, Dreadface, Lord Arcadius, Seeker, Go-Devil

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.

  • Franklin mentions the mind-link he established with the Super-Adaptoid during last issue.

  • The Seeker was sent to retrieve Devlor from Earth in Fantastic Force #3, but decided against it when he came to believe that Devlor might be the "One", and returned to the moon to convince his masters that Devlor was killed.

  • Arcadus mentions the Seeker's brother. He is referring to Kadlec the first seeker (first seen in Fantastic Four #46) Kadlec died years earlier, as depicted in Inhumans Special #1.