Fantastic Four #16
The Micro-World of Doctor Doom!
The Human Torch returns to the Baxter Building to find his teammates have been mysteriously shrunk down in size and narrowly saves them from being sucked into an air vent. Reed, Sue and Ben suddenly return to their original size just as they are being taunted by a disembodied voice who warns them that this is only the beginning. Comparing notes, the quartet soon realize that they have all experienced moments where they were suddenly shrunk down in size only to be restored to normal only moments after. Seeking to solve this mystery, Mister Fantastic decides to call in an expert on size changing and calls in the diminutive hero known as Ant-Man for help. Contacted via his network of ants, Ant-Man leaves his partner the Wasp behind to answer the Fantastic Four's summons. Hearing of the Fantastic Four's plight, Ant-Man agrees to provide them with a sample of his shrinking formula before departing.
During some downtime, Reed tests out a new formula in the hopes of curing the Thing, only he chose to test it out while Ben was lifting a heavy piano, causing Grimm to drop it as he reverted back to human form. Ben and Alicia's celebrations are cut short after another voice warning them to beware of Doctor Doom before the transmission is cut off. After the Human Torch shows off his powers to some local teens and Sue attempts to mask her scent to make herself invisible to dogs, the Fantastic Four are called together after another ominous warning. Deciding to finally investigate, Reed gives his teammates a concentrated version of Ant-Man's shrinking formula that causes them to shrink down to a microscopic size. They soon transverse into a micro-world and appear in a castle surrounded by guards under the command of Doctor Doom.
Before the FF can respond, Doom shrinks them down to size and then explains that after his last defeat at their hands he found himself shrunk to the microscopic world of Sub-Atomica. There he impressed Sub-Atomica's king with his inventive genius earning his trust until he could construct a new shrink ray and use it to shrink the king and his daughter Pearla. With Sub-Atomica under his control he began plotting his revenge against the Fantastic Four. When Doom ordered the group captured, they fought back only for Doom to capture Sue and use her has a hostage to force the others to surrender. Incapacitated by knock-out gas, the FF awoke to find themselves in a dungeon along with the king and his daughter. Learning that their prison was below a sea of acid, escape appeared to be impossible. Pearla explains that she and her father were imprisoned after she refused to be Doom's bride and that the Doctor had formed an alliance with her people's dreaded enemies the Lizard Men of Tok.
Meanwhile back on Earth, Ant-Man returned to the Baxter Building to investigate when the Fantastic Four failed to return. Suspecting they were in trouble, Ant-Man also shrunk himself down to size until he entered Sub-Atomica. There he battled the guards but was subdued and brought before Doom as a prisoner. As this was happening, the FF were able to use their powers to construct a crude submersible from the walls of their prison to protect them from the acid outside. Arriving in the castle, the group restored themselves to normal and fought off the guards. Seeing this as a losing battle, Doom used his device to restore himself to his normal size and escape to Earth. With Doom's coupe smashed, the Fantastic Four then used the device to return to their native universe as well.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Ant-Man, Alicia Masters, Doctor Doom, Wasp, Pearla
Continuity Notes
Doctor Doom was seemingly shrank down to nothingness after being subjected to his own shrink ray in Fantastic Four #10.
While not specifically mentioned here, the realm of Sub-Atomica is part of the Microverse as specified in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10
This story states that the Microverse exists within the atoms of the universe. However as per Fantastic Four #282 it was revealed that the Microverse was not a microscopic realm but a parallel universe and when one shrinks down small enough they breach the barrier between dimensions.
