Fourtitude: Part One

Sue and Ben have taken Franklin and Valeria out trick or treating on Halloween. Ben joins in on the fun by dressed up as the Human Torch and joining in on the fun. Ben tries to convince the children that there is nothing to be scared of but ends up spooking himself. As they walk the street both Ben and Sue take note that there is a lack of children dressed up as members of the Avengers. This leads to a discussion on what happened to the Avengers. From those who were injured and how the government explained the Avengers disbanding.

At that moment at the Baxter Building, the Human Torch and Jian Freeta are going over some of the details about new marketing ideas. Reed catches Johnny in the act of trying out his newly invented x-ray glasses and refuses to patent them. After leaving the meeting Johnny and Jian are happy to find that the Fantastic Four will soon be out of their financial slump. When Johnny tells her how much he appreciates Jian's work he learns that even though the team cannot pay her what she's worth she refuses to take a position elsewhere. Johnny finds confirmation of this when he spies a headhunting letter that she threw in her trashcan. Suddenly the window to the office shatters, alterting Reed who comes to his side to warn Johnny about a strange atmospheric disturbance. Looking out the window they see a massive portal appear above the city and four massive spires emerge from within. Each spire lands in the waters around the island of Manhattan cutting it off from the rest of the city.

Seeing this on television the Mayor of New York orders his staff to call in the Avengers only to learn that the team is no longer together. The aides inform the mayor that the only heroes who can help now are the Fantastic Four, despite their unpopularity at this time. The spires create a massive tidal wave. As Sue holds the wave back with her powers, the Thing saves those that are endangered by the debris thrown in the area. Johnny arrives on the scene and uses his flame to evaporate the water. When the power suddenly goes out, Johnny increases his flame to try an illuminate the area, but the people in the street get upset because he's making it to hot for them so he stops. Suddenly the island of Manhattan begins to lift out of the ground. As the mayor's office runs out of options the mayor decides that the Fantastic Four are his only choice and fires a Fantasti-Flare into the air.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Jian Freeta, Survivors

Continuity Notes

• This story is part of the Avengers Disassembled storyline which saw the Avengers torn apart by their teammate the Scarlet Witch. This story takes place after the events of Avengers #500-503 which saw the Avengers disband after the event.

• When discussing the Avengers disbanding the Thing remarks that the "lucky ones are in the hospital", this is a vague reference to the fact that Jack of Hearts, the Vision, Ant-Man and Hawkeye were seemingly killed during this event. Their deaths have since been reversed in one way or the other:

  • Jack of Hearts, seemingly blew up in Avengers #500, killing Ant-Man in the process. Jack of Hearts was later resurrected by Project PEGASUS in Marvel Zombies Supreme #3, whereas Ant-Man was actually saved in the nick of time and pulled forward into the future by his daughter Stature in Avengers: The Children's Crusade #5.

  • The Vision was ripped apart by the She-Hulk, he was rebuilt by Iron Man in Avengers Vol 4 #19.

  • Hawkeye was killed by Kree soldiers in Avengers #503. He was later brought back to life by the Scarlet Witch's reality warp in House of M #4.

• Johnny and Jian's mention of the Fantastic Four's financial problems is a reference to Marvel Knights: 4 #1-12 when the Fantastic Four became insolvent and were evicted from the Baxter Building for a time until they were able to get back on their feet.

• The mayor of New York is depicted as Michael Bloomberg. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 as this will eventually become a dated reference.

• The mayor's aides mention that the Fantastic Four are currently unpopular the root of this unpopularity has to do with their attempted and failed coup of Latveria in Fantastic Four #501-508.

Avengers Disassembled Reading Order

Iron Man (vol. 3) #84-85, Thor (vol. 2) #80-81, Captain America and the Falcon #5, 6, 7, Captain America (vol. 3) #29, Avengers #500, 501, 502, 503, Iron Man (vol. 3) #86, 87, 88, 89, Captain America (vol. 3) #30, 31, 32, Fantastic Four #517, 518, 519, Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Thor (vol. 2) #82, 83, 84, 85, Avengers Finale #1, New Thunderbolts #1