With Defeat Comes Death!

Occulus has offered the Fantastic Four and their ally Wildblood an ultimatum: pledge loyalty to him or die. They refuse to surrender and Occulus renews his attack, blasting both the Thing and Wildblood. As Occulus prepares to attack again, his wife Landa tells him to stop, but his adviser Dangor insists that the enemies of the Gem Guild must be crushed. Reed on the other hands does not believe that Occulus will succeed. He then fires a Fantasti-Flare into the sky signaling Johnny and the rebels waiting outside the palace to attack. When Johnny arrives first he lays on an attack drawing attention away from the others. While Reed and Sue flee the scene with Franklin, both Ben and Wildblood join the fight with Johnny and the rebels. As the battle rages, Landa tries to appeal to Dangor to try and stop this senseless violence, but Dangor refuses to listen. Occulus gains the upper hand, taking down both Johnny and Wildblood, and almost succeeds in taking down the Thing when Ben strikes the ground, causing the floor beneath Occulus to cave in, taking him with it. However this only momentary slows their foe who quickly recovers and fights back. Witnessing a massive explosion while they are fleeing, Sue wants to go back for the others, but Reed tells her that they have to devise a way to stop Occulus as he is tapping into forces of the universe, the repercussions of which could be catastrophic.

Meanwhile back on Earth, Alicia Masters is shopping at a street-side market when she is suddenly approached by Sharon Ventura. Not recognizing her voice, Alicia asks Sharon who she is. When Ventura tells her that she is Ben Grimm's girlfriend, this shocks Alicia enough that she drops her groceries on the ground.

Back within the Inniverse, Occulus is chasing after Reed and Sue, when he comes upon a group of rebels who are attacking him with primitive catapults. They prove to be no match for the superior power of Occulus. Reed asks if the rebels have completed his instructions and is advised they are almost ready. Needing more time for the rebels to complete their task, Reed enters the fray and provides the distraction needed for the job to be completed. Back in the ruins of the castle, Ben, Johnny and Wildblood recover from their defeat. They are joined by Landa who finally believes that her husband needs to be stopped no matter the cost, showing them the remains of her left arm to show the sacrifices she has made to try and direct her husband. Hearing this, Dangor calls the woman a traitor and tries to shoot her with a blaster, but is easily subdued by Wildblood. They then head off toward the battlefield together.

At that moment, the rebels finish constructing Reed's back-up weapon to defeat Occulus: a device that utilizes the gem's powers to create a negative force. Activating this device and training it on Occulus, the power generated is sufficient to force Occulus into escape velocity sending him out into space. With Occulus defeated, Reed and Sue are joined by the rest of the Fantastic Four. In the aftermath of the battle, Reed warns Landa and Wildblood that Occulus may return again some day, but Wildblood assures Reed that they will be ready for him when he does. With their rescue mission over, the Fantastic Four return to Earth. Back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed and Sue have a doctor look over Franklin, who suggests that all the boy needs is rest. However later, Reed worries that Occulus may have broken through the psychic bonds that have kept Franklin's mutant powers in check.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Franklin Richards, Alicia Masters, Sharon Ventura, Wildblood, Occulus, Landa, Dangor

Continuity Notes

• The tension between Alicia and Sharon is due to the following:

  • Alicia and the Thing began dating in Fantastic Four #9.

  • After Ben was kidnapped by the Beyonder to participate in the Secret Wars in Thing #10, Alicia was left alone and (as revealed in Fantastic Four #358) replaced by a Skrull spy named Lyja.

  • When the rest of the Fantastic Four returned from the Secret Wars without Ben in Fantastic Four #265, (who decided to stay behind in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12) "Alicia" decided to pursue a relationship with Johnny Storm to maintain her connections with the Fantastic Four. Ben eventually returned to Earth in Fantastic Four #277.

  • Johnny and "Alicia" later got married in Fantastic Four #300.

  • Ben eventually was given leadership of the Fantastic Four for a period of time, recruiting Ms. Marvel to the group in Fantastic Four #307.

  • Sharon was later mutated into a She-Thing in Fantastic Four #310 and by Fantastic Four #317 she and Ben were in a relationship.

  • Eventually, Sharon and Ben's relationship soured when Ben was cured of being a Thing in an accident in Fantastic Four #326. Tragically, as seen in Fantastic Four #350 on the same day Sharon secretly sought out Dr. Doom to cure herself, Ben purposely changed himself into the Thing again.

  • Sharon disappeared after her last mission with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #354.

  • Shortly thereafter, Lyja was exposed as a Skrull spy in Fantastic Four #357 and the real Alicia was rescued the following issue. Thinking that she and Ben were still an item, Alicia has not been told about Ben's relationship with Sharon.

• Revealed later in Fantastic Four #375, Sharon has resurfaced here in order to spy on the Fantastic Four for Doctor Doom as payment for providing her a cure.

• Reed worries that Occulus weakened the psychic barrier Franklin has placed on his powers since he intentionally imposed them on himself in Fantastic Four #245. Reed's concerns are a complete 360 to his previous position to try and awaken them himself, as Reed has stated to be trying to do in Fantastic Four Annual #23, and Fantastic Four #347.