Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #34
A Nice Day for Oblivion
With the threat of the Obliterator looming over the planet Earth, Quinn and M'yranda -- two of the surviving members of the Z'lyztayan explain how they fled their homeworld along with Zed and Yssa. They passed through a wormhole and crash-landed on Earth. There Yssa died in the crash while Zed's mind was altered, prompting him to venture out into the desert where he became known as the Howler. Quinn and his daughter however were surprisingly welcomed by the people of Revelation and they soon took human forms in order to hide from the Obliterator. They go on to explain to Reed and Ben that they risked exposure thanks to Reed's recent space probes and their attempts to sabotage the Fantastic Four's headquarters in order to try and stop this from happening. Although the Ben and Reed explain that they would have helped had they reached out, with the Earth being threatened they agree to help the Z'lyztayans stop the Obliterator. Boarding the Fantasti-Car they fly up to the Obliterator's ship and learn that it is a machine that wipes out entire worlds. As they approach the vessel, it sends a small ship that crashes into the town of Revelation. Emerging from it is a massive creature created by the ship that begins decimating the town.
In the distant past, the Invisible Woman is still in possession of Constance Lyendecker, a lover of outlaw Kid Colt. The pair have fled into a copper mind while trying to escape from Moses Kincaid. When Kincaid tries to kill them with a stick of dynamite, Sue shields them from the explosion, however, it causes the mine tunnel to collapse sealing their exit. Sensing a draft, Sue leads Kid Colt further down the shaft when the floor beneath them suddenly collapses sending them into the tunnel below and to an object of dazzling radiance.
Back in the present, the Fantastic Four and the locals try to stop the Obliterator's construct but nothing seems to slow it down. Johnny arrives in town, driven there by Anastasia Contreras the local hot rodder. He tells them how he had a recent encounter with the Howler. Explaining that the Howler -- or Zed as he is actually named -- knows the location of their ship, Johnny leads Anastasia and M'ryanda to search for him. They find the "Howler" in the junkyard he calls home. Although Johnny tries to attack the alien, M'yranda orders him to stand down and manages to talk some sense into Zed and convince him to help them. While in the past, Sue and Kid Colt are before a massive pulsating crystal. When the Kid sees an image of himself outside of the mine, he reaches out and touches the crystal despite Sue's protests and is instantly teleported outside of the mine. Realizing that the crystal must be what was used to make the mirror in Ma Rose's shop, Sue touches it and is shown visions of her life: past, present and possible future. She soon finds herself restored to her natural body in the present. When she asks the store owner if she knew that was going to happen, Desiree Longbow tells Sue she has precognitive flashes and that she may find answers to this situation by looking outside.
She rushes outside just as Reed and Quinn develop a device that can contain the Obliterator temporarily behind a force field. As she quickly explains her trip into the past, the Fantastic Four are soon exploring the mine where they find the crystal and take a portion of it to use as a weapon against the Obliterator. With the Z'lyztayan ship recovered, Johnny tries to impress his feelings upon Anastasia, who tells him not to make things harder than they need to be and drives off. With the Thing assisting Zed in piloting the ship, the Fantastic Four and their allies fly to the Obliterator's mother ship and fight past its defenses. Dropping the crystal with a bomb attached to it. The resulting explosion causes a temporal wave that destroys the Obliterator ship while the heroes flee from the blast. When they land back in town, Reed drops the force field around the now immobilized Obliterator construct which Ben destroys with a single punch.
In the aftermath of the battle Desiree Longbow, gifts Sue with a memoir written by Constance Lyendecker about her romance with Kid Colt. While Johnny learns from M'yranda that Anastasia has been dead for decades after a fatal road accident in 1961 while street racing. Johnny realizes that he was being helped by a ghost. With all the mysteries of Revelation, Arizona, resolved the Fantastic Four depart and head back for home.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Howler, Anastasia Contrares, Obliterator, Kid Colt
Continuity Notes
The visions that Sue see in the crystal show certain key moments in her history with the Fantastic Four including:
The space flight that gave them their powers back in Fantastic Four #1.
Reed and Sue's wedding in Fantastic Four Annual #3.
Although the story narrative states that she is witnessing her son Franklin shortly after his birth in Fantastic Four Annual #6 he is depicted as being around the age of four in the flashback, placing that image in a publication printed sometime between 1981 to 1985 according to the Sliding Timescale.
When the Fantastic Four are escaping the reality warp caused by the Obliterator's exploding ship, they briefly take on their appearances early on in their careers, likely sometime after Fantastic Four #10 as they are wearing their original costumes, Ben still maintains his brick-like appearance yet the Torch's flaming form is "faceless" like they were during that period of time.
