Fantastic Four #364 — Nick Peron

Jan 16

Jan 16 Fantastic Four #364

Omnipotent is Occulus!

IMG 2020 20 01 16 17 52 14 atwln.png — Credits

Having Franklin Richards strapped to a gem matrix, Occulus has now generated the powers of all the gems on his world to give him ultimate power. He is cautioned by his wife Landa who tells him that nobody should wield such ultimate power, while his adviser Dangor tells his master to ignore her pleas. Occulus revels in the power and uses his already growing power to channel the energies of the gems that also ring the planet. With his new and seemingly limitless power, Occulus leaps off a ledge, and channeling energies to allow him to fly, heads off to crush the rebels that have troubled him once and for all.

Not far from the castle, Reed Richards is horrified by the lack of a brainwave reading for his son on his Encephalotracker, but refuses to believe that Franklin is dead. Seeing a glowing object leaving the nearby city, Johnny suspects it could be trouble and flames on to intercept it. It is Occulus, and correctly suspecting that this new arrival is a threat, Johnny tries to blast him with his flame powers. Occulus fights back, but Johnny is easily able to dodge his gem blasts, but when he tries to contain Occulus in a flame cage, the tyrannical ruler easily dissipates it with his power. He then uses his gem to surround Johnny in an air tight energy sphere, cutting off his flame and threatening to suffocate him. Seeing this from the ground below, Reed uses his body as a slingshot to send Ben up into the air to attack their foe. He manages to strike Occulus, allowing Johnny to break free and they manage to flee underground with Wildblood as the rebels provide covering fire. Occulus destroys the entrance to their tunnel, but decides to spare them for the time being as they are powerless to stop him.

Down below, Wildblood takes the three male members of the Fantastic Four into the armory of his group. When Reed is fascinated by their technology and Ben begins quipping, Johnny loses his temper with their apparent lack of focus on the task at hand: either rescuing or avenging Sue and Franklin. Reed tells Johnny that he does care about the issue at hand, but they can't go running after their captured family members without hard facts to develop a means of defeating Occulus. Hearing this, Wildblood offers to tell the heroes what he knows about Occulus. Meanwhile, in the dungeon below the castle of Occulus, Sue has been restrained and blindfolded again. She calls out, demanding to know what has happened to her son. She is approached by Landa, the wife of Occulus, who tells her that Franklin is still alive. Sue begs Landa to help her save her child, but Landa cannot bring herself to listen, not willing to betray her husband and flees the room.

Back in the caverns of the rebels, Wildblood explains to Reed that his world was one of twin worlds of which grew great civilizations. But both worlds carelessly exploited their planets natural resources to a dangerous level and soon a war broke out over what little resources were left. Eventually one of the planets was destroyed and its remains turned into the gems that now circle the planet while the planet below devolved into barbarism. Eventually it was discovered that the gems that circled the planet and eventually found their way to the surface were also the source of great power and that certain adepts could harness their powers. This eventually led to the formation of the Gem Guild which began governing the world and rebuilding their society. Many years later, the Gem Guild became aware of two orphans -- one of them was Wildblood and the other his twin-brother Occulus. To the Guild's surprise, Occulus was the most powerful gem wielder ever found. While Wildblood was tossed out into the streets where he became a thief and a member of the rebellion against the Gem Guild, Occulus was raised and trained by Dangor. Finishing his training, Occulus sought absolute supremacy over the gems, and plucked out his right eye, replacing it with a gem. Occulus then became ruler of this world, eventually becoming a power mad tyrant.

After the story is told, Reed is asked if he can examine a sample of these power gems and is taken to a large cache of the gems which have been stolen by the rebels over the years. With news from spies within the castle of Occulus that Sue and Franklin are still alive, Reed tells Ben and Johnny to hurry as they must develop a weapon that will help them stop Occulus and rescue their family. While back in his throne room, Occulus listens as his wife pleads to her husband to use his new found power to turn their world into a paradise. Dangor tells him not to listen, that he should be using his power to crush the enemies of the Gem Guild. Having heard enough, Occulus orders them to leave his presence to let him think. Left to his own thoughts, Occulus decides that not only will he crush his opponents, he will force his people to love him unconditionally or suffer the consequences. At that very moment, Reed and Ben are wearing disguises and helped into the city by Wildblood. They manage to sneak into the dungeon and rescue Sue from her confines. As they rush to go and rescue Franklin, they run into a group of guards and a battle breaks out. They make short work of the guards and force their way into the throne room of Occulus. There they find Franklin, still attached to the Matrix, but unconscious from the strain of the device.

Before they can free the boy, Occulus comes tearing out of the floor and begins to attack them. While the Thing and Wildblood attack Occulus head on, Reed and Sue free their child. With the boy free, Reed then attacks Occulus with his Gemenervator weapon, which drains the gem's energies from Occulus faster than he can replenish them. However, before Reed can completely drain his foe, Occulus manages to fire an energy beam from his gem eye, destroying the weapon. Regaining his full power, Occulus warns his foes that he has reached "Gem Supremacy" and demands that they bow down to him and pledge loyalty, or die.