Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #29
Fear!
The Invisible Woman is running across the Oklahoma desert at dawn, running to get away from the horrible truth that she has just discovered. Exhausted she eventually collapses to the group and starts to try unable to run away from the reality of her situations. She then begins to think back to the events leading up to this moment...
Days earlier, the Fantastic Four's mailwoman Billie Lumpkin delivers the teams mail to their Pier Four headquarters. She is in shock to find "Doctor Doom" answering the door to collect the mail, unaware that this is really Reed Richards trapped in Doom's armor. Forced to play the part of Doctor Doom, Reed has to frighten Billie in order to maintain appearances. He then calls Ben to ask him if he cares to come to breakfast, however, the Thing is working on installing a new cloaking system into their latest model of the Pogo Plane. Walking to the patio door, Reed sees Johnny with Namorita and wonders if Johnny has been out all night with Namor's cousin. As she dives back into the water and departs, Reed remarks how the two appear to be quite taken by each other. When Sue jokingly uses her invisibility powers to snatch away Reed's coffee and toast, he plays the part of Doctor Doom in demanding them back. When Sue takes offense to be addressed this way, Reed tells her that he was merely joking. Sue reminds Reed that today is an important day as she fights the various legal pressures facing the Fantastic Four since Reed has been posing as Doctor Doom, including keeping their headquarters and explaining the "disappearances" of Reed and Franklin. When Reed tries to hug his wife he is shocked to find that she has erected an invisible force field around herself. Furious at this, Reed surprises Sue by activating a device that nullifies her powers so he can do so. Before this can be explained further, Johnny cuts between the two and snatched the toast. As Sue angrily storms off, Johnny notices that he got a new game disc in the mail from Wyatt Wingfoot.
Later that same day Johnny later calls together the Fantastic Four and informs them that Wyatt has encoded a hidden message within the game he mailed Johnny. It contains an SOS asking the Fantastic Four for help as their old foes the Frightful Four have taken over the Keewazi's reservation. When Sue takes command and begins giving the order, Reed initially protests until Sue calls him on acting like he has absolute authority over the rest of the team. Reed backs down and allows Sue to continue planning their mission to Oklahoma to save their friend.
At the Keewazi reservation, the Wizard has both Wyatt and his sister Wynona prisoner. As he demands that they reveal the location of long lost Keewazi gold, his teammate the Trapster doesn't believe the story, pointing out that the Keewazi are nothing more than pioneers in video game software. As the Wizard demands answers, Sue invisibly enters the room and whispers her plans into Wynona's ear. When the Wizard still doesn't get satisfactory answers he places an anti-gravity disc on Wynona sending her flying into the sky. He then threatens to do the same thing to Wyatt. But before he can, Sue makes herself visible and attacks the Trapster. In comes the Thing and Human Torch who are forced to defend themselves against the Frightful Four's newest recruit, the cyborg formally owned by Galactus known as the Punisher. However as the Fantastic Four begin gaining ground, the Wizard activates a device that causes them to mentally believe that they have that their powers are turning against them. The Fantastic Four warn the Wizard to let them go before their leader does away with him. When the Wizard scoffs at this, Reed -- playing up his charade of Doctor Doom -- enters the room and demands the release of his wife and teammates or else the Wizard will face the wraith of "Doctor Doom". However, this is when the fourth member of the Frightful Four -- the She-Thing -- attacks. Sharon, still angry over the real Doctor Doom transforming her into an inhuman monster attacks with complete abandon, but "Doom" is able to resist her attacks.
As the Frightful Four pile on, Reed convinces the others that there is nothing wrong with them. Free from the Wizard's hypnotic suggestions, Johnny frees Reed while Sue uses her powers to redirect the Trapster's paste into the Punisher cyborg incapacitating the sophisticated machine. Meanwhile, the Thing battles agianst Sharon who lashes out in rage and fury over the apparent betrayal by the Fantastic Four who left her in a stasis tube to rot. After assisting Wynona in freeing the Keewazi people, "Doctor Doom" then confronts the Wizard as he tries to make his escape. Unwilling to face the fury of "Doom", the Wizard surrenders. Meanwhile, Wyatt gets between Ben and Sharon and convinces the She-Thing to stand down and surrender. With the Frightful Four being turned over to the authorities, Wyatt thanks the Fantastic Four for their help, but expresses his unease about their current leader and Sue's current title. That night Sue wakes up in the middle of the evening to discover that not only has Reed found a way to remove Doctor Doom's mask, but has also finally managed to access his files and give access to "Doctor Doom". Sue is horrified when Reed then orders the computer to delete all records of this for his teammates to find. Putting the mask back on, Reed then tells the computer to shut down in Doctor Doom's voice and it complies.
... Sue is still running as her recollection ends and she is suddenly confronted by her teammates who are concerned for her well being. Sue tells them that she is fine and that she was just outstretching her legs. Secretly she vows to find out what is wrong with her husband and set it right.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Wyatt Wingfoot, Wynona Wingfoot, Frightful Four (Wizard, Trapster, She-Thing, Punisher), Billie Lumpkin, Namorita
Continuity Notes
Reed has been trapped in Doctor Doom's armor since Fantastic Four Vol 3 #25. The reason for Reed's increasingly "Doom-like" behavior is due to the fact that Doom's armor is reprogramming his personality as later revealed in Fantastic Four Vol 3 #31
Reed remarks on the situation between Johnny and Namorita. The pair started dating in New Warriors Vol 2 #3.
Sue mentions how she has to answer to the authorities as to what the "disappearances" of Reed and Franklin Richards. In Fantastic Four Vol 3 #24 the Fantastic Four sent Franklin away to be safe just prior to their battle against Doctor Doom in the following issue. It is later revealed in Fantastic 4th Voyage of Sinbad #1 that Franklin has been hidden in Otherworld.
Johnny calls the new video game created by Wyatt a "CD-Rom" the technical terminology used and seen here should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
This story mentions how the Keewazi worship Tomazooma and are rich in oil, all facts first revealed in Fantastic Four #80.
The Punisher cyborg was last seen in Silver Surfer Vol 3 #17, it was seemingly destroyed in a battle between Galactus and the In-Betweener. Presumably, the Wizard recovered it after this and repaired it.
Sharon's anger at the Fantastic Four and their alliance with "Doctor Doom" has some long-standing history. Some facts:
Sharon was once a fill-in member of the Fantastic Four during a period in which Reed and Sue were taking a leave of absence from the team. Sharon joined the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #307. She was later mutated into a She-Thing in Fantastic Four #309 and began a relationship with the Thing in Fantastic Four #317.
When the Thing was reverted back to human form in Fantastic Four #327, the change in dynamic had a steady impact on their relationship. Later in Fantastic Four #350, while Ben intentionally mutated himself back into the Thing, Sharon secretly sought out the aid of Doctor Doom to cure herself.
Part of the deal was that Sharon spy on the Fantastic Four a fact that was exposed in Fantastic Four #375, but Sharon betrayed Doom for her comrades. In retaliation Doom caused her to begin an unstable and constant mutation in Fantastic Four #378 she later went on a rampage until she was defeated and put in stasis until she could be cured the following issue.
Late the Frightful Four feed her from captivity and recruited her into their ranks in Fantastic Four Unlimited #5.
Wynona Wingfoot refers to a Keewazi man named Black Eagle as her "father". As the sister of Wyatt Wingfoot, this is at odds previous statements, particularly Fantastic Four #51, that state that Wyatt's father is named Will. Furthermore, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol 2 #14 states that Will Wingfoot is deceased. This does not rule out the possibility that Wynona could have a different biological father from Wyatt as she is much younger than he is. At this time there has yet to be clarified.
