Calamity on the Campus!

Reed Richards has been invited back to his old alma mater at State University to deliver a lecture and has brought the rest of the Fantastic Four along with him. After meeting with Dean Mencken, the four cross paths with Charles Xavier who is at State University with his student Scott Summers secretly investigating reports that there may be mutants on campus. They stop as they pass by Professor Gilbert's laboratory and are shocked at his latest creation, a massive android fashioned after a dragon. Meanwhile, in far off Transylvania, Diablo breaks free from his imprisonment and teleports away, intent on getting revenge against the Fantastic Four for trapping him.

Back in the States, Gilbert has the Thing help him with the heavy lifting, later the pair bump into Peter Parker who is visiting State to determine if he will attend after graduating high school. Neither the Torch or the Thing are aware that Parker is secretly their sometime ally Spider-Man. While the male members of the team play against the State U. football team, Sue happens to partially recognize Diablo as he drives past in a car, but the man exits the vehicle before she can get up close enough to examine him. Diablo pays a visit to Professor Gilbert and offers him a means of using alchemy to bring his android to life. As they are conducting this experiment, the Thing wanders off having grown bored listening to Reed's speech. Spotting Diablo, Ben tries to attack but is rebuffed by the now active Dragon Man. Their battle takes them outside of the rest of the Fantastic Four join in. They soon realize that the Dragon Man is smitten by Sue, but they are knocked out by gas.

When they revive they learn that the Professor, Diablo and Dragon Man had retreated back to Dead Man's Lake. They track their foes there and Diablo tries to escape by freezing the lake and attempting to skate across. Dragon Man turns on him and tries to chase after Diablo, but the ice is too weak to support both their weights and shatters. Both Diablo and Dragon Man plunge into the waters below and are lost when the undertow sweeps both into some underwater caves. In the aftermath of the battle, Reed takes Sue down to the sweetheart tree on campus and finally proposes to her, and much to his delight she says yes.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Professor Gregson Gilbert, Diablo, Dragon Man, Charles Xavier, Scott Summers, Peter Parker

Continuity Notes

• Reed Richards, and Ben Grimm attended State University as revealed in Fantastic Four #5.

• The Fantastic Four do not recognize Scott Summers and Charles Xavier as Cyclops and Professor X because at that time their identities were secret. They previously met in Fantastic Four #28. At some point Xavier revealed his true identity and those of the X-Men to the Fantastic Four not long after this. The earliest chronological instance of the FF having this knowledge is in X-Men First Class (vol. 2) #1 (If you consider that series part of continuity, like I do.)

• Diablo frees himself from the ruins of his castle which he had been imprisoned in since Fantastic Four #30

• While Peter Parker is seen considering attending State University after he graduates from high school, he ends up going to Empire State University instead as depicted in Amazing Spider-Man #31.

• The Human Torch remembers previously meeting Peter Parker from their encounter in Amazing Spider-Man #21 in which Peter attempted to make time with the Torch's girlfriend Doris Evans. At this time the Torch was unaware that Peter Parker and his sometime ally Spider-Man were the same person. Peter does not reveal to Johnny that he's Spider-Man until many years later in Spider-Man Human Torch #5. Much later after that when the world's memory of Peter's secret identity was erased following Amazing Spider-Man #545 he revealed his identity again to Johnny in Amazing Spider-Man #591.

• The Thing had an established football career while at State University, as depicted in Thing #2.

• Neither Diablo or Dragon Man truly perish here. Diablo was later recruited by Doctor Doom to crash Reed and Sue's wedding in Fantastic Four Annual #3. Dragon Man remained hidden beneath Dead Man's Lake until the area was revisited by the Torch and the Inhuman known as Medusa in Fantastic Four #44.

• As revealed in Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special #1, Reed's proposal was secretly viewed by their past and future selves that were gathered by their future counterparts from Earth-60166 who were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.