Anniversary

It's morning at the Baxter Building and as Frankin eats his breakfast his father is setting up a new machine. Johnny uses his flame powers to heat up a pot which is quickly snatched away by the Thing. When Ben tries to sit down to a stack of pancakes, his feast is interrupted by an invisible force field placed around his meal by Sue. Sue pulls it away and scolds Ben, who reverts back to his human form to see that he has put on quite a few pounds and eats a normal human-sized breakfast instead. Everyone is surprised when the massive machine built by Reed does nothing more but produce a breakfast pastry. With everyone having a full schedule, Reed is left alone in the kitchen to eat by himself while the others go about their day.

Soon, Sue and She-Hulk are at the doctor’s office where she is nervous about her impending ultrasound. When the doctor starts a machine it begins to make a "Tac! Tac! Tac!" sound that is all too familiar to her. While at Blazing Star studios, Johnny and Namorita arrive for a penthouse party too much fanfare. When a fan rushes up and kisses Johnny on the mouth the shock causes him to heat up and burn her mouth. The girl is quickly rushed away and Johnny mopes in the corner. When Namorita asks Johnny what's wrong, he demonstrates his concern when the drink he has begins heating up in the glass until is shatters in his hand. As a report about the Fantastic Four's anniversary appears on the television, Johnny also hears the familiar "Tac! Tac! Tac!" sound. Ben also hears the familiar sound as he watches some men playing chess in the park.

Ben's mind drifts back to the time shortly after he was transformed into the Thing. Walking around Yancy Street he was suddenly attacked by an angry mob. Trying to get away, Ben smashes a hole in the street and escapes through the sewers. Sue's memories go back to the same time when she was still an actress and her invisibility powers saved her from a man from peeping on her. While Johnny thinks back to more innocent times when he was fooling around with his flame powers and accidentally set fire to the school bathroom. Sue's recollection of the photoshoot continues, when the photographer grabs her behind, she lashes back with an invisible force field and storms out. While Johnny's recollection ends with Johnny saving some kids who were smoking in the bathroom and watching from outside as the firefighters put out the blaze. Ben's recollection ends with his finding homeless people in the sewers and being horrified by their living conditions. Ben then crawled himself out of the sewers. Seeing a shop window with a mannequin wearing a trenchcoat and hat, Ben smashed the display window and uses the clothes on the other side to hide his monstrous form. These recollections all lead to this trio to think back to the space flight which they all took with Reed where they were exposed to cosmic rays. When they crash-landed on Earth, they were shocked to discover that they had been transformed and were gifted with the very powers that led to their becoming the Fantastic Four.

Johnny snaps out of his recollection when Namorita touches his hand and he remembers that he is at the unveiling of the new film he is to act in, Blazing Stars where he will be playing the Rawhide Kid. Back in Central Park, Ben completes his chess game and reverts back to his human form, grabbing a newspaper where the front-page headline is about the Fantastic Four's anniversary. While back at the hospital the nurse hits the ultrasound machine. Without the machine active, Sue uses her invisibility powers to make her stomach transparent. Inside they see what appears to be a healthy baby girl, who then opens her eyes to look at them.

Later the members of the Fantastic Four return home to find Reed still working away in their headquarters. When Sue shows him the headlines, Reed is confused by the fact that he forgot that today is their anniversary and Sue walks off in a huff. Meanwhile, in Latveria, Doctor Doom watches all the media coverage about his hated foes. The whole time tapping his finger as it makes a "Tac! Tac! Tac!" sound.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), She-Hulk, Namorita, Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards (unidentified), Doctor Doom

Continuity Notes

• This story is part of the 'Nuff Said event where stories are told without any speech bubbles or narrative captions.

• This story takes place on the anniversary of the Fantastic Four's debut which was first seen in Fantastic Four #1. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 at the time of this story the Fantastic Four had been around for roughly 11 years.

• Johnny is wearing a red and yellow uniform because it is specially designed to control his powers after absorbing Nega-Energy in Fantastic Four Vol 3 #44. They are back under control around Fantastic Four Vol 3 #54.

• Ben regained the ability to change back and forth between his human and Thing forms in Fantastic Four Vol 3 #38. He sacrifices this ability in Fantastic Four Vol 3 #58.

• Sue is pregnant again after the events of last issue when Franklin used his powers to resurrect his sister Valeria who was stillborn back in Fantastic Four #267. Sue gives birth to Valeria in Fantastic Four Vol 3 #54.

• The flashbacks of Ben, Johnny, and Sue all take place shortly after the origin sequence in Fantastic Four #1.

In the Eye of the Beholder

The Thing is protesting the fact that he has been volunteered to take place in a charity auction where the wealthy of New York is donating money to go on a date with celebrities including some in the super-hero community. Reed forces Ben to remember that he promised to do it. While the Thing is apprehensive about the whole ordeal Johnny is his usual boastful self about the whole event.

Later at the charity event, Ben and Johnny are next on the auction block after Tony Stark has been put on the stage. Johnny is quickly auctioned off for 10 thousand dollars. When it's Ben's turn, female super-heroes in the crowd increase the wagers until it is pushed up to 20 thousand. When Johnny later hops into the car with a woman named Jillian whom he thinks is his date. However, he learns that she is actually an employee of her client a reclusive woman named Anne Calderstock. Meanwhile, Ben finds himself en route to Long Island with his date, Babs Vickers a veiled woman with Prosirasis. He learns that she picked him up for his sister Hillary. When Ben sees that Hillary is very attractive and how miserable Babs is, Ben decides to ditch Hillary and take Babs out instead. Meanwhile, Johnny learns that his date is so reclusive because she was horribly burned in a fire.

Later when the pair return home to the Baxter Building, Sue asks them how their dates went. Both remark that they went out with the most beautiful women.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Tony Stark, She-Hulk, Janey Van Dyne

Anniversary Gift

The Thing and the Human Torch are out shopping for an anniversary gift for Reed and Sue, but Ben finds himself caught in quite the conundrum -- he doesn't know what to buy. Their shopping excursion turns lurid when Ben suggests that they purchase sexy piece lingerie for Sue to blow Reed's mind. Soon they are accosted by a legion of fans seeking autographs. When a young woman asks Johnny to sign her breasts, Ben pulls him away from the scene. With 20 minutes before the mall closes the pair are still stuck until they happen to see a travel agency. Sure enough the Alaskan cruise they purchase for Reed and Sue goes off without a hitch. When watching the northern lights in the sky, Reed tries to give a scientific explanation and how the radiation causing them being not unlike the same rays that gave them their powers, Sue shuts him up with a kiss. Johnny and Ben are satisfied that they had made the right choice.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing)

Continuity Notes

• This story takes place after Fantastic Four Vol 3 #54.

• Reed and Sue are celebrating their wedding anniversary. The pair got married back in Fantastic Four Annual #3. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, at the time of this story, Reed and Sue have been married for roughly ten years.