Into the Negative Zone!

This issue follows the events of Iron Man Vol 2 6...

The Thing is in the hospital following the Fantastic Four's clash with the Hulk on Avengers Island, and as the group see how their friend is doing, Johnny makes fun of Ben's condition before giving him a gift and hoping he gets well soon: His first gift is a hand held gaming console which is a gag since Ben's hands are bandaged up, however Johnny gives him a real gift: a real honest to goodness Cuban cigar. The rest of the FF decide to give Ben some privacy when Alicia Masters comes to visit him. Ben apologizes for skipping out on their date, but Alicia tells him it's okay because she heard how he saved the world twice over, once in Latveria and later on Avengers Island.

As the others fly back to the Baxter Building in the Fantasticar, Johnny pours over the latest bit of tabloid trash about the FF when suddenly an alarm goes off alerting Reed that his latest experiment is ready to go. When they arrive, Reed explains to them that he believed that there was some method of worm-hole travel that the Silver Surfer used to get across the vast regions of space. He had discovered this wormhole into what he dubbed the Negative Zone and that the alignment is getting just right for them to travel into that realm to explore. Unwilling to let Reed explore it alone Sue and Johnny both convince Reed to let them travel along with him. They put on special suits to travel into the Negative Zone and take the Fantasticar through the portal to explore this strange region of space.

Their arrival captures the attention of Blastaar the ruler of the Negative Zone who blasts apart their ship, leaving the FF in an airless void. Before Blastaar can attack them further he is cast away by the Watcher. As the three members of the FF begin to suffocate the Watcher approaches them and gives them glimpses of their past lives before the Onslaught incident that led to their being reborn into new lives:

Reed is transported to a time when the Fantastic Four were at odds with the X-Men and witness his past self try to fend off the angry attack of Wolverine. Reed properly deduces that this is an event that happened in the past and begins to understand that it happened in an alternate dimension. Seeing that Reed has gotten the point, the Watcher then takes him away from the scene.

Johnny is transported to a time that he thinks is the future and witnesses what he thinks is the wedding between Ben and Alicia Masters and realizes that he is the one marrying her. Sue is given the most heart breaking vision of all: She is shown a time when she is out in the park with her son Franklin and his minder Agatha Harkness. This upsets Sue because she has been told that she is infertile and incapable of having children.

Having shown the three members of the Fantastic Four enough the Watcher transports them back to the Baxter Building. There the Watcher explains to them that he revealed them nothing but what they already know and that if they do not remember quickly it will have an impact on the universe and departs. Reed then begins to immerse himself in the readings from the Negative Zone to find out what happened when Johnny turns his attention back to Sue who is still in tears after her experience. Reed drops his work immediately to go and comfort his wife.

While across the universe the Silver Surfer arrives at his master’s space ship. Galactus asks him if the Earth is ready for consumption. Although the Surfer hesitates he tells his master that it is so, and Galactus sets a course for Earth. Watching this, the Watcher expresses that his duty is only to watch, however, this one time is the only time in which he has felt compelled to act.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Alicia Masters, Blastaar, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Watcher, She-Hulk, X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Rogue), Lyja (disguised as Alicia Masters), Franklin Richards, Agatha Harkness

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, and the characters that appear in the various flashbacks come from Earth-616, all the other characters in this story are creations of Franklin's imagination.

• The Things hands are burned after trying to shit down the Gamma Core on Hydrobase in Iron Man (vol. 2) #6 during the Industrial Revolution event.

• Sue mentions the Fantastic Four's battle with Giganto in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #2.

• Alicia mentions the Fantastic Four's battle against Doctor Doom which happened last issue.

• Reed mentions their encounter with the Silver Surfer. This story cites Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #5, which is not entirely accurate. The Fantastic Four first encountered the Surfer in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #1 (although they didn't know it yet), and while they tracked him to Wakanda in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #4, and met him in the flesh in issue #5.

• The various visions that the Fantastic Four are subjected to are glimpses from their past:

  • Reed revisits the events of Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men #1 when the X-Men came seeking the Fantastic Four's help in curing their teammate Shadowcat who was gravely wounded during the Mutant Massacre event.

  • Johnny's vision is of his own wedding to who appears to be Alicia Masters circa Fantastic Four #300. However as revealed in Fantastic Four #358 this is not Alicia but a Skrull spy named Lyja who was sent to Earth to spy on the Fantastic Four during the events of Fantastic Four #265.

  • Sue's vision of her being in the park with Franklin and Agatha Harkness is not from any specific story. But occurs between the events of Fantastic Four Annual #18 and Fantastic Four #269.

• Sue alludes to the fact that she is incapable of having children. This, of course, is not true as at the time of this she gave birth to Franklin in Fantastic Four Annual #3, and she had another failed pregnancy in Fantastic Four #267 (although this miscarriage was reversed in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #49). Later in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #11 Sue discovers that she is pregnant, although this plot thread is dropped and never addressed again.