Fantastic Four #391
If Death Be Our Destiny
The Fantastic Four have been teleported to an alternate reality where the three of the four team members were killed during the FF's first battle against Galactus in order to save this world from destruction. As Sue, Johnny and Ben launch a frontal assault they are joined by this realities Silver Surfer. As Galactus fends off their attack, Johnny realizes that this is an entirely different battle from the one he already lived as in this reality the Watcher sent Mister Fantastic to the Worldship of Galactus to collect the Ultimate Nullifier instead of the Torch in his native reality. Meanwhile, in the home reality of the Fantastic Four, both Ant-Man and the Sub-Mariner materialize within the Four Freedoms Plaza to hear screams coming from the lab. There they find that Lyja's egg has hatched unleashing a Sha'Barri creature which is trying to kill Lyja and her visitor Raphael Suarez.
Back on the alternate Earth, the Surfer tries to gain the advantage by using his Power Cosmic to deconstruct the power converter of Galactus and use its parts to bind the world devourer. However Galactus easily breaks free and then unleashes the full fury of his powers upon his former herald. Sue raise a force-field to protect herself and the rest of her teammates from the debris and energy discharges. As they defend themselves, Johnny wonders what is taking this world's Reed Richards so long to return from space with the Ultimate Nullifier. While lightyears away this world's Reed Richards is searching for a suitable weapon within the Worldship of Galactus. Fascinated by the myriad alien devices, Reed accidentally sets on off, scarring his face before he can shut it off in the process. This knocks some sense into Richards, who realizes he has no time to lose and must find the right weapon or else the Earth is doomed.
While back on the Fantastic Four's Earth, the Sha'Barri continues it's attack, with Lyja, Namor and Raphael Suarez just barely keeping it at bay. Ant-Man tries to help out by shrinking to ant size and riding some flying ants into the cracked egg to attack the creature from inside. Inside he sees one single egg of a creature that is continuing to grow. Lang has to pull back and resume his normal size, just as the alien creature bursts forth from the egg, growing to full size in mere moments. At that moment on the alternate Earth, the battle between the Fantastic Four and Galactus rages on. When the Silver Surfer states that he will battle his former master until the end, Galactus decides to make it so and slays the Silver Surfer with a powerful eye blast. Having completely lost his temper, Galactus rages on, blowing the Fantastic Four aside while vowing to consume the Earth and be fed. Back on the FF's world, the Black Panther has brought his ward Vibraxas to the Inhuman royal family who have taken up refuge in New Jersey as part of a circus freak-show. Learning that T'Challa seeks to train the boy in the use of his powers, Medusa also states that they have a youth among them who also needs guidance and training.
Back on the alternate world, the Fantastic Four have retreated inside the Baxter Building. There Johnny laments over how hopeless their battle is. The Watcher then appears and reminds them that the Fantastic Four are great heroes and will always triumph. When Johnny blasts the Watcher for breaking his oath and then not helping them against Galactus, the Watcher simply explains that he can do no more and teleports away. With their uniforms in shambles, Sue has found spare versions of their original Fantastic Four costumes within the Baxter Building, suggesting they change into them as it is a fitting way to go out into what might be their final battle. While on their own Earth, Lyja orders her allies back and decides that the only way to stop the Sha'Barri is to fight on its own terms. Using her Skrullian shapeshifting abilities, Lyja then adopts the form of a Sha'Barri and locks in combat with the creature. While on the alternate Earth, the Fantastic Four renew their attack on Galactus. While trying to destroy the Energy Converter, the Thing is forcibly returned to human form by Galactus and is blasted away, soon Johnny is blasted aside as well. Horrified by this, Sue uses her invisible force field to impale Galactus through the chest. Although this staggers her foe, he then begins using his own power to super charge her force field. While on the other Earth, Lyja has slain the Sha'Barri but passes out from her exhausting battle with the creature. Suddenly the burning apparition of Susan Richards appears over Lyja, Ant-Man, Namor and Raphael crying out that she saw Ben and Johnny die. While not far away, Franklin and Huntara return to Earth after escaping from Elsewhen. Upon his arrival, Franklin is stunned by a sudden telepathic pain, and for a brief moment, Franklin could sense his mother, he tells Huntara that he felt his mother die. While on that alien world, Galactus stands over the seemingly deceased bodies of the last three members of the Fantastic Four.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Ant-Man), Silver Surfer-944, Sub-Mariner, Lyja, Ralphael Suarez, Mister Fantastic-944, Black Panther, Vibraxas, Inhumans (Black Panther, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Devlor), Psi-Lord (possessed by Malice), “The Watcher”
Continuity Notes
The cover to this issue pays homage to Fantastic Four #49.
The reality where the Fantastic Four are battling Galactus has been indexed as Earth-944 as listed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3.
The Thing's face is scarred here after he was slashed in the face by Wolverine in Fantastic Four #374. His face scars heal in Fantastic Four #409.
The battle itself as in an alternate world where events are similar to the Fantastic Four's first battle with Galactus which occurred in Fantastic Four #48-50. In that story, the Watcher sent Johnny to obtain the Ultimate Nullifier which ultimately stopped Galactus. In this reality, as explained last issue, this world's Watcher sent Mister Fantastic instead.
The Four Freedoms Plaza is shown under construction here after the upper floors were destroyed by a gamma bomb in Infinity War #2/Fantastic Four #367. Reconstruction began in Fantastic Four #385.
The Reed Richards of this alternate world eventually becomes the Dark Raider as revealed in next issue.
On this world the Silver Surfer is killed, however on Earth-616, after Galactus was defeated he exiled the Surfer to Earth for a time as seen in Fantastic Four #50.
The Inhuman Royal Family has been living with the circus in New Jersey since they went into self-exile after ousting the corrupt Genetic Council in Fantastic Four Unlimited #2.
Devlor is fully revealed and named next issue.
This is not actually the Watcher, but Aron the Rogue Watcher in disguise, as revealed in Fantastic Four #398.
Sue brings the group versions of the costumes the Fantastic Four wore almost consistently from Fantastic Four #3-256.
The panels where Sue, Johnny and Ben place their hands together is a homage to Fantastic Four #1 when the FF did the same thing when they first agreed to join together as a team of heroes.
Lyja explains that her former love Paibok implanted the Sha'Barri in her body. This was explained last issue. After Lyja was seemingly left for dead in Fantastic Four #358, Paibok implanted her with the Sha'Barri egg as an ultimate form of revenge. Lyja was to pretend that the egg was Johnny's child as a trap for the Fantastic Four. Although Lyja eventually betrayed Paibok in Fantastic Four #374 and later birthed in in Fantastic Four #386, she kept the truth about the egg a secret until Fantastic Four #389.
The burning apparition of Sue was last seen in Fantastic Four #387. As revealed in Fantastic Four #398 the projected image of Susan Richards in this story is a holographic projection created by Nathaniel Richards which he uses to subtly manipulate the Fantastic Four into place for his much larger goals of defeating Hyperstorm.
The teenage Franklin seen here was delivered to the modern age by Nathaniel Richards from Earth-6311 to replace his Earth-616 counterpart. This occurred in Fantastic Four #376. Although everyone reacts as though this is Earth-616's Franklin all grown up, the young Franklin is returned in Fantastic Four #413. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #14 confirms that they are separate entities. Franklin believes that his mission was to stop the Dark Raider from destroying the Fantastic Four as explained in Fantastic Four #387, however this is part of a larger scheme to stop Hyperstorm that is not realized until Fantastic Four #414.
The members of the Fantastic Four seen dead here are at the end of the story are actually the Earth-944 versions. As explained Fantastic Four #392, the "Watcher" swapped the Earth-616 FF with their Earth-944 counterparts who were already dead, and swapped them back after the 616-FF failed to stop Galactus.
