Fantastic Four #269
Skyfall
Wyatt Wingfoot is out in the desert near his tribe, his mind turning to the fact that he will have to lead his people now that his grandfather, Black Fox, passed away seven days previous. As he rides through the desert on his ATV, he reflects on how many adventures he's had with the Fantastic Four, and how the prospect of running his tribe will be dull by comparison. Wyatt's thoughts are suddenly cut short when he witnesses a massive beam of energy coming from the sky as it begins cutting a swath through the desert ground. He barely manages to dodge out of the way of the beam, upsetting his bike in the process. Recovering from the spill and riding his vehicle closer to the trench, he realizes that the chasm must be at least a thousand feet feet deep and decides to call in the authorities.
Meanwhile, in New York City, Johnny has finally found some time to sit down and have dinner with Sharon Selleck, who has been interested in Johnny for months. Although Sharon is interest in what Johnny has been up to, he is reluctant to discuss his time during the Secret Wars or that Sue recently had a miscarriage. The date is cut short when Johnny spots Alicia Masters walking by. Johnny rushes to her side and offers to help her get the Museum of Natural History. She is thankful for the help and the two depart. When Johnny apologizes for cutting out on Sharon, Sharon finds it interesting that Johnny is rushing to Alicia's aid. Suspecting that he might be interested in Alicia, Sharon realizes that the Thing has not been seen in the city since the Fantastic Four returned to Earth. While at the Baxter Building, Sue is home recovering from her miscarriage. With the loss of their second child, Sue comes to terms with the fact that she and Reed should not attempt to have any more children. Her thoughts are interrupted by Franklin who enters the room to tell her that his uncle Johnny won't be making it out to dinner and asks if they can go back to Belle Porte. Sue is glad to hear that Franklin is adjusting to their other life as the "Benjamins" in Connecticut. When Franklin asks if She-Hulk will stay after Ben comes back from Battleworld, Sue says she doesn't know and tells Franklin to go and pack. Sue walks off, musing about her early relationship with Reed as she goes to the lab to check on Reed and She-Hulk.
In the lab, Sue and She-Hulk exchange pleasantries, and She-Hulk reveals her secret identities to them. Reed then shows off his latest invention a device that can give an object the velocity of another object in space. He demonstrates the device by giving a tennis ball half the velocity of Earth's sun, causing the ball to implode on itself. Suddenly Reed gets a phone call from Wyatt warning him of the danger. As Reed asks for more information, She-Hulk notices another red beam of energy striking the Earth from the window as it cuts a swath across the Hudson River. Reed suddenly gets a call from the President of the United States who demands to know what is going on. Reed tells the President that he is going to investigate the situation and get back to him. Reed mobilized She-Hulk and tells Sue to stay behind to act as their liaison while they investigate things in Oklahoma. Sue protests this but is outranked by Reed, leaving Sue to believe that Reed is getting back into the habit of treating her like a fragile woman who cannot hold her own in battle. With Reed gone, Sue gives in to her anger over this and vows never to be treated as a liability again, unleashing the full force of her powers in Reed's lab as a response.
At that moment, Reed and She-Hulk are rocketing across the United States in the Pogo-Plane, following the trail of the strange beam. Reed realizes that the path of the beam came from light-years in space and that it must have been a precisely complex task in order to strike the Earth perfectly in the way it did. As they reach the desert, they just barely manage to avoid a massive object that suddenly falls from the sky and strikes the ground... what appears to be some kind of alien ship. Reed and She-Hulk land the plane and approach the strange object and wait for it to begin cooling down from re-entry so they can get a closer look. They are joined by Wyatt Wingfoot and members of his tribe. As formalities are made and discussion turns to the strange beam, none are aware that the strange "ship" is actually a massive creature who raises his hand, glad to finally be at his destination. At that moment, Reed takes the others to the Pogo Plane where he shows his scan of the beam's path via satellite photos and shows that it is some kind of alien writing. Reed runs it through the Fantastic Four's Universal Translator and it comes out reading "I claim this world" signed by a being called Terminus. When they begin to puzzle this over, they are suddenly called out by Terminus himself. When they turn to face their foe they are shocked that what they thought was ship is actually the massive body of Terminus, who vows to enslave the planet and make it his own.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, She-Hulk), Wyatt Wingfoot, “Alicia Masters”, Franklin Richards, Sharon Selleck, Terminus
Continuity Notes
This issue specifies that Wyatt's grandfather Silent Fox had recently died.
Sharon Selleck was last seen trying to make a move on Johnny in Fantastic Four #259, this is her last appearance to date.
This is not Alicia Masters, but Lyja a Skrull spy sent to infiltrate the Fantastic Four. Some facts about this:
Sharon recalls how "Alicia" had been the long-time girlfriend of the Thing. Alicia and Ben had been dating consistently since Fantastic Four #9.
The Thing decided to stay on Battleworld following the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12 because he discovered that he could change back and forth between his human and Thing forms. He remains on Battleworld from Thing #11-22.
As revealed in Fantastic Four #358, Lyja took the form of Alicia Masters due to her relationship with the Thing. When it was discovered that Ben was no longer with the team, she decided to focus her attention on making the Human Torch fall in love with her, so she could maintain Alicia's close ties with the group.
Sue mentions how she recently a miscarriage of her second child, here are some facts:
The second child of Reed and Sue Richards was conceived during a trip through the Negative Zone in Fantastic Four #261-265,
Sue getting impregnated in Fantastic Four #264, although she did not become aware of this until Fantastic Four #257.
As established in Fantastic Four Annual #6 every time Sue gets pregnant it causes complications due to her unique physiology. This pregnancy was no different, however, unlike when Franklin was born, Reed was too late to save the child and it was stillborn in Fantastic Four #267.
Years later in Fantastic Four (vol 3) #49, Franklin uses his powers to resurrect the dead child and restart Sue's pregnancy. With the help of Doctor Doom, she gives birth to Valeria in Fantastic Four (vol 3) #54.
Franklin mentions their home in Belle Porte. Some facts:
In Fantastic Four #257, Reed and Sue decided to get a home away from the Baxter Building for Franklin to have a normal childhood after he was tortured by Annihilus in Fantastic Four #261-265.
Sue purchased the house in Belle Porte in Fantastic Four #260.
The family then moved in posing as the "Benjamin" family in Fantastic Four #263.
This is the first time that Sue mentions how she and Reed first met -- while Reed was a young college student renting out a room at her aunt’s home. Fantastic Four #543 states that Sue was thirteen at the time she first met Reed. The average age of a college senior is 21, which makes Reed is between 8 to 12 years Sue's senior. This is contradicted by Reed himself, who states in Fantastic Four (vol. 4) #4, which states that Reed did not meet Sue until she was an adult. This was an editorial decision at Marvel who thought the age gap between Reed and Sue (and Sue’s romantic interest in Reed when she was 13) was inappropriate. However, both statements could be considered true since one recollection is Sue’s and the other’s Reed’s. While Sue may have noticed Reed when she was 13, the typically absent-minded Reed Richards may not have noticed Sue in any way until she became an adult.
At the time of this story, She-Hulk's true identity was a secret, she later abandoned all pretenses of a double identity after she was trapped in her She-Hulk form at the end of Marvel Graphic Novel #18.
There are a few items in this story that should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616:
The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center should be considered a topical reference. The towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. As the Modern Age of Heroes has existed for 14 years in Marvel time, the timescale has moved forward such that there are no points in time in the Marvel present that take place prior to the twin towers going down.
This story also shows the Statue of Liberty with massive scaffolds around it. At the time this story was published the Statue of Liberty was undergoing a massive restoration project that began in 1984 and was finally completed in 1986. This should be considered a topical reference.
The appearance of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States. Reagan was president from January 1981-January 1989. Like all political figures who appear in the modern age, Reagan's appearance as President should be considered topical.
Sue mentions how Reed has placed Sue on the sidelines again, just like he did after Franklin was born. Some history on this:
Franklin was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6, At the time Sue had already been replaced on the team by Crystal who took over Sue's role on the team back in Fantastic Four #81.
After Franklin was born, Sue was on leave from the team until she returned full time in Fantastic Four #86. Despite this, she was often remanded to less dangerous duties until Crystal was forced to leave the team for health reasons in Fantastic Four #105.
Reed continued to undermine Sue's role on the team until Fantastic Four #127, causing them to develop marital problems until Sue finally left the team and separated from Reed due to their differences over her role on the team and her role as a mother and wife in Fantastic Four #130. Sue was eventually replaced with Medusa in Fantastic Four #132.
Reed and Sue's separation escalated further when Reed was forced to shut down Franklin's mind in order to prevent his powers from raging out of control in Fantastic Four #141. Sue almost divorced Reed, but the Namor McKenzie and the Inhuman Royal Family convinced the couple to reconcile in Fantastic Four #149.
Still after this Sue needed time to figure out where she was going on the team, Franklin's mind was restored in Fantastic Four #150. Sue was only a part-time member of the team but rejoined when Medusa returned to the Inhumans in Fantastic Four #158. Since then Sue had become more of an equal on the team.
The origin of Terminus is revealed in Thor Annual #15. He is identified as a Termini created by the Terminex to destroy the Celestials. He should not be confused with the Fonabi, an entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Delux Edition #15 identifies Terminus as a member of that race. This was revealed as false in the above referenced Thor Annual. This confusion is during the events of Avengers #256 none were aware that the Deviant known as Jorro had usurped the identity of Terminus. This truth was revealed in Quasar #7.
