Fantastic Four (Vol 2) #10
Madmen & Prophets
Galactus has just consumed another world that was visited by his herald Plasma, but finds that it is not enough to quench his hunger and sends her off toward Earth to prepare it for his coming.
While deep beneath the hidden city of Attilan, the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans come face to face with the long lost and now completely insane Maximus with a legion of mutates. Maximus explains that he is the great devourer and that he has come to herald in the end times and that he will choose the who will be strongest to live on after the world is destroyed. He asks Medusa to leave Black Bolt and be his queen, a request she refuses leading to a battle between our heroes and the forces of Maximus. During the battle Crystal gets close enough to Maximus to attack however she is easily downed. He takes her captive and sprints away presuming to take her as his queen since Medusa refused him. Furious that the woman he's fallen in love with has been kidnapped, the Human Torch tries to speed after them but is blasted back by Maximus who caves in the cavern to prevent the others from following him.
With no other choice to get through, Black Bolt uses his destructive voice to blast through the rock so that they might continue after Maximus. They arrive at the source of the Terrigen Mists a "creation machine" that Maximus is now using to try and boost Crystal's evolution, the Human Torch easily punches out Maximus and the others free Crystal before any foreseeable damages could be done. In the aftermath, the Fantastic Four decide to leave Black Bolt alone to decide what to do with the device they have just found.
Much later, the Fantastic Four are celebrated as heroes, however it soon comes time for them to leave and return to New York. Unable to leave Attilan, Crystal bids Johnny farewell and they share a kiss before the FF are teleported back home by Lockjaw. As the Inhumans watch their new allies go, Maximus is being dragged away screaming about how the true devourer is coming to Earth to destroy them all.
While in Latveria, reconstruction of Dr. Doom's castle is nearing completion and Doom has tken the time to rest when suddenly a giant suit of armor materializes in the middle of his castle. Before Doom can order his guards he is surprised to find that the device is piloted by himself from the near future. Quashing any arguments, the Doom from the future hands his past self a memory card and then vanishes into time again. Upon closer examination Doom realizes the device is an upgraded version of the memory control card for his own time machine and finds these developments very intriguing.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Inhumans (Maximus, Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton, Lockjaw), Galactus, Plasma, Doctor Doom, Moloids
Continuity Notes
As becomes evident in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4 this world exists in a pocket universe created by Franklin Richards to save the lives of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers after they sacrificed their lives to stop Onslaught during Onslaught Marvel Universe #1. While the members of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom and Crystal come from Earth-616, all the other characters in this story are creations of Franklin's imagination.
Johnny and Crystal's mutual attraction here is not a surprise given that the pair previously dated from Fantastic Four #65-104, although they don't remember that at this time.
Maximus refers to his minions as Alpha Primitives however they are actually Moloids and various creatures from the Mole Man's domain, as seen in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #1. Perhaps this is just the name Maximus gave them. Sounds like something he’d do.
