Fantastic Four #20
The Mysterious Molecule Man
After examining an asteroid with proof of organic life in space, the Fantastic Four investigate a strange fireball that has appeared in the streets.
Sucked into it, they find it's a device belonging to the Watcher. Inside, the Watcher tells the Fantastic Four of a man who was exposed to a nuclear accident which transformed him into the Molecule Man. Warning of the potential danger of the Molecule Man's molecule altering abilities, the Watcher sends out the Fantastic Four to stop him.
In their initial conflict, the Fantastic Four seem unable to defeat him and each attempt to stop the Molecule Man is met with failure. Fed up with the Fantastic Four's interference, the Molecule Man erects a glass dome around Manhattan and demands that the people of the city help him capture the Fantastic Four.
Reed eventually realizes that the Molecule Man's powers don't seem to have any effect on organic material and so they lay a trap in which they pose as statues in Alicia's apartment, while Alicia alerts the Molecule Man of their location. When the Molecule Man's powers fail to affect the Fantastic Four, they are able to knock his wand -- the focal point of his power -- out of his hands and keep it away from him long enough for the Watcher to arrive and take the Molecule Man away. The Watcher takes the Molecule Man to an alternate dimension where time travels faster so that he would age soon and die.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Alicia Masters, The Watcher, Molecule Man, Yancy Street Gang
Continuity Notes
The Molcule Man’s origins are far more complicated than what is presented here. Fantastic Four #319 reveals that the accident that created the Molecule Man interrupted the process of the creation of a Cosmic Cube by the enigmatic Beyonders making the Molecule Man an imperfect portion of the Cube's energies. The other portion was in another dimension. Per Secret Wars II #6 the accident created a pin-prick in reality that allowed the other portion of energy to view the Earth-616 universe.
Later It was later revealed in New Avengers (vol. 2) #33-34 that Owen's powers were actually planned by the Beyonders as a catalyst to destroying the multiverse when they finally grew bored with creation, suggesting that all other explanations for his powers were deceptions.
It is later revealed in Avengers #215 and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11 that the magic wand used here was used as a focus for the Molecule Man’s powers. The reason the Molecule Man initially had to focus his powers through his wand and was limited to control over inorganic matter was due to a low-self esteem creating these perceived limitations.
