Fantastic Four #81
Enter -- The Exquisite Elemental!
Since Susan Richards has just given birth, Crystal has decided that she should be the replacement for the Invisible Girl on the team. When she shows off her costume to Johnny and Ben, both men think she will have to prove herself in order to get on the team. Insulted by this, Crystal unleashes a windstorm on the pair, reminding them that she can take care of herself. The ruckus is interrupted by Mister Fantastic who has just returned to the Baxter Building after visiting his wife in the hospital. When he asks what is going on, Crystal makes her proposal to replace Sue on the team. Hearing this, Reed realizes that he hasn’t given himself time to think about what to do with Sue’s absence from the team. He decides he needs to think it over, as it is a decision he cannot take lightly.
Meanwhile, the Wizard has just completed the work on his latest weapons, new more powerful versions of his Wonder Gloves. With his new weapons, the Wizard goes into the city in order to test them out, intending to use the Wonder Gloves to destroy his hated foes, the Fantastic Four. As the Wizard heads toward the Baxter Building he triggers the self-destruct device in his previous pair of gloves which are being held in Reed’s lab. At that very moment, Mister Fantastic was examining the gloves just as they explode, tipping the team off of the impending attack.
The Human Torch is sent to confront the Wizard first while Reed, Crystal, and the Thing follow after Johnny in the Fantasti-Car. Using his new Wonder Gloves, the Wizard is able to crash the Fantasti-Car and incapacitate the male members of the Fantastic Four. However, the madman did not anticipate for Crystal being part of the team instead of the Invisible Girl. In fact, Crystal’s elemental powers can not only match the new powers in the Wizard’s Wonder Gloves, they also surpass their abilities. Realizing that he is outmatched, the Wizard attempts to escape but is knocked into the Hudson River. Still, despite the Fantastic Four’s attempt to capture him, the Wizard manages to escape. Despite the fact that the Wizard managed to get away, Crystal has proven her place and is unanimously welcomed onto the team.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing, Crystal), Wizard
Continuity Notes
This story takes place after the events of Fantastic Four Annual #6 wherein Sue gives birth to her son. She is absent from this story as she is on maternity leave.
The Wizard originally built his Wonder Gloves in Fantastic Four #78. The pair that are destroyed in the Baxter Building was that very pair, taken from the Wizard after his defeat in that same issue.
This story begins Crystal's membership within the Fantastic Four which lasts until Fantastic Four #105 when the pollution of the outside world force her to return to Attilan.
References to Walter Cronkite, a former newscaster for the CBS Evening News, should be considered topical.
