Fantastic Four #131
Revolt in Paradise!
The Human Torch has come to Attilan seeking out his girlfriend Crystal after months apart. Having fought his way into the tower where she had been hidden away, Johnny is shocked to see that she is caring for the mutant Avenger known as Quicksilver. When Pietro refers to Crystal as his "darling", Johnny realizes to his horror that Crystal has been romantically engaged with Quicksilver for some time and accuses her of being unfaithful. Both the Torch and Pietro begin a heated exchange while Crystal struggles to keep the peace and explain herself, apologizing profusely for unintentionally hurting Johnny with this deception. Suddenly: Gorgon, Triton, and Karnak burst into the room ready to detain Johnny for storming in on Crystal without Black Bolt's permission, but Crystal sends them away telling them that she will deal with the situation herself. With Crystal's cousins out of the room, Johnny demands some answers and Crystal agrees to explain what happened.
She tells Johnny that after the Fantastic Four saved her from Diablo, she and Lockjaw continued on their way back home to Attilan. However, because Lockjaw's teleportation powers are sometimes unreliable, they ended up appearing in China in front of some soldiers, but they quickly teleported away before the soldiers could shoot them. They next appeared somewhere in Eastern Europe where they appeared before a praying man before vanishing once again. They next appeared in a Sentinel base located in Australia where they witnessed Quicksilver getting seriously injured saving the life of Larry Trask from one of the mutant-hunting robots. With Pietro needing immediate medical attention, she brought him back with her to Attilan. After being treated by their best doctors, Crystal felt responsible for this stranger and remained at his bedside. Medusa was able to see what Crystal was unable to see initially: that the pair were falling in love with one another. As Pietro healed, he refused to return to his fellow Avengers until his powers returned to their peak. While testing out his speed abilities, Pietro stumbled and she caught them. Caught in the moment the pair kissed for the first time.
With the tale over, Johnny dismisses her and Pietro's tryst as nothing more than a fling and demands that she chooses between himself and Quicksilver. Crystal in turn tearfully tells Johnny that she cannot do so. Fed up with the situation, Johnny decides to make up her mind for her by attacking the mutant speedster. After a brief scuffle, Crystal uses her elemental powers to shake up the room to make them stop fighting. Unable to deal with the fighting, Crystal breaks down in tears again, when suddenly the entire city of Attilan begins to shake -- and this time it is not Crystal's doing. The trio escapes the tower, with Johnny carrying Crystal down. They rendezvous with Black Bolt and the rest of the royal family. Bolt brings Johnny, Crystal, and Pietro to the site of the disturbance where the ground has caved into the underground dwelling of the Alpha Primitives, the Inhumans' slave workers.
Suspecting that Maximus might be responsible, they go to his cell to find that he hasn't visibly done anything to cause the day's disturbance, but mocks them for being incapable of stopping what is to come. Karnak tells Johnny how Maximus recently came out of a stupor after Black Bolt regained the Inhuman throne. As mad as ever but still very inventive, the Inhumans allowed him to build devices. He soon created what appeared to be a seemingly innocuous perpetual motion machine. But when Maximus insulted Black Bolt, the leader of the Inhumans ordered Maximus put in a smaller cell while he had the greatest minds look over his mad brother's invention for any sinister intent. Finding none, Black Bolt sent Medusa out to New York to get the assistance of Mister Fantastic to look over the device.
Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building, Reed is depressed over the departure of his wife, but Ben and Medusa try to pull him out of his funk. Unable to do so, Ben reminds Reed that they have to go to the Great Refuge and recover Johnny if they have any chance to salvage the team and they soon head toward the Himalayan Mountains in the Fantasti-Car.
Back in Attilan, Crystal asks for more time to make up her mind, and Johnny angrily tells her that she had plenty of time to make up her mind about their relationship. Suddenly, an Alpha Primitive bumps into Johnny. When the Torch tells it to watch where it is going, the Alphas attacks him. When their minder orders the attacking Alpha to go for discipline, he is suddenly attacked by two Alphas. When Johnny ensnares the two delinquent Alpha Primitives in a net made of flame it starts off a full-on revolt among the rest of the Primitives. The Inhumans, Johnny, and Pietro then force the Alpha Primitives back into the cavern in which they live. Black Bolt then unleashes his voice trapping them inside. In the aftermath of the battle, Johnny notices that Crystal is missing. Questioning the Inhumans they learn that some of the Alphas absconded with her into the tunnel before it was sealed.
Seeking to rescue the woman he loves, Johnny commands Lockjaw to teleport him into the caverns below the city. As they teleport away, Quicksilver races into the teleportation field and is taken along as well. As the rest of the royal family waits for something to do, Black Bolt turns and walks away from the situation. Meanwhile, in the tunnels below the city, Johnny and Pietro get to arguing over the love triangle between them and Crystal. Their bickering is halted when a massive creature calling itself Omega appears with Crystal as its prisoner. Omega tells the two heroes that if they wish to see Crystal unharmed, they will join him in battling the Inhumans.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing), Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton, Lockjaw), Quicksilver, Maximus, Omega
Continuity Notes
Here are some facts about the romantic life of Crystal up to this point in the story:
She and Johnny Storm had been dating since Fantastic Four #64.
In Fantastic Four #105 she was forced to leave New York and return to Attilan due to the pollution in the outside world proving fatal to her after prolonged exposure.
In Fantastic Four #117-118 it is revealed that instead of making it home, she was enslaved by the alchemist known as Diablo until she was rescued by the Fantastic Four and continued on her journey home.
The flashback in this story wherein Crystal saved Pietro after he was injured by the Sentinel occurs after the events of Avengers #104.
Some facts about Quicksilver at the time of this publication:
Although it states here that Quicksilver is a mutant, many years it was revealed that he is actually not a mutant and that his powers are the product of the experiments of the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his work, the High Evolutionary made it so that Quicksilver registered as a mutant to any and all means of scanning his genetic nature. Quicksilver did not learn this truth until Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5.
He first appeared in X-Men #4, he was a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with his sister the Scarlet Witch. The pair quit that group in X-Men #11
Seeking to redeem themselves, Pietro and his sister joined the Avengers in Avengers #16 where they became mainstays on the team.
Prior to his appearance here, Pietro accompanied his fellow Avengers on a mission to stop Larry Trask and his Sentinels in Avengers #103-104, leading to his injuries and subsequent rescue by Crystal.
The flashback featuring the Inhumans happens between various other stories for different characters
Black Bolt appears between New Avengers: Illuminati (vol. 2) #1 and Fantastic Four #129.
Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, and Triton, appear between Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #10 and last issue.
Crystal appears here between her departure from the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #118, Avengers #110, and Vision and the Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #10.
Quicksilver appears between Avengers #110 and Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #10
Larry Trask, depicted in the recap portion of the flashback in this story, was the son of Bolivar Trask a scientist who feared mutants and was the original inventor of the Sentinels. As revealed in X-Men #57-60, Larry took on his father's legacy after Bolivar died at the hands of his own creation, Master Mold in X-Men #15. Secretly a mutant, Larry was captured by his own Sentinels and died at their hands during a clash with the Sentinels and the Avengers in Avengers #103-104.
The Sentinel seen here in the flashback is one of the many Mark II Sentinels. Although they appeared to all be destroyed in Avengers #104 a number of them resurfaced in Wolverine (vol. 2) #73-74.
Some facts about Maximus in this story:
Prior to this story, Maximus managed to take over the Inhumans while Black Bolt was on a humanitarian mission in San Francisco, as seen in Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #5.
When Maximus attempted to sell out his people to the Kree during the Kree-Skrull War, he faced the wrath of Black Bolt and the Avengers in Avengers #95. With his plan destroyed, Maximus went into a stupor, but eventually regained some of his wits as explained in the second flashback of this issue.
The true purpose of his perpetual motion machine is revealed next issue. It is stated that it was because of this machine that the Inhumans sent Medusa to New York, explaining her sudden appearance helping the Thing battle the Frightful Four in Fantastic Four #129.
Reed is lamenting over his wife Sue leaving him last issue. The couple started having marital problems in Fantastic Four #127. The couple will remain separated until Fantastic Four #149.
The Alpha Primitives are the Inhumans slave class, first seen in Fantastic Four #47. Members of the Alpha Primitives were last seen in Fantastic Four #82-83, during an earlier period in which Maximus had seized the throne.
The following additional Inhumans are seen in this story: Dominor, Dominus and Pikas are named in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Delux Edition #6.
Continuity Errors
Crystal is wearing her regular yellow Outfit in this Issue although she wore the Fantastic Four Uniform last Issue since the book picks up the Events of the last Issue she should still be wearing the Uniform. It is likely an error on the part of the artist.
