The Fall of the Fantastic Four: Part Three

After scanning Johnny's body, Mister Fantastic confirms the worst: Johnny has lost his powers. His examinations reveal that due to his recent death and resurrection in the Negative Zone, the cypovirus that they used to stop the creatures invading New York also stripped him of his powers. Reed promises to get working on restoring Johnny's powers immediately, but Johnny is skeptical pointing out all the trouble they have whenever Reed starts trying to tamper with the cosmic rays that gave them their powers, using Reed's attempts to cure Ben as the best example. However, Johnny isn't overly concerned as he has his music career to focus on. He tells Reed until then not to bring up his powers until he has a foolproof way of restoring them.

Meanwhile, the Thing is visiting Alicia Masters and telling her about his recent encounter with the new Deathlok and how they took down the Secret Empire together. However, this doesn't help take his mind off the fact that Johnny lost his powers. Alicia also points out her concern that things are getting more and more dangerous than in the old days. Ben promises that he will protect her no matter what. As they talk, they are unaware that they are being spied upon by Alicia's stepfather, the Puppet Master.

Outside of the Baxter Building, Mister Fantastic asks Lenny Ballinger of Damage Control how much the repair work will be needed after the battle. However, Lenny points out that this battle is more than just collateral damage costs, there were also a lot of people killed or injured. Because this attack was out of the ordinary, Mister Fantastic vows to learn who is responsible for sending these creatures. Later he is in his lab giving his latest reports to Nick Fury. However, he learns that orders are coming down to try and destroy these creatures, so Reed informs Fury that he will try to accomplish what he can before then.

While at the bottom of the ocean, the Invisible Woman has taken the Future Foundation children on a field trip to the secret birthing place of Gigantos, with the Sub-Mariner as their escort. Sue has taken this trip particularly for Vil and Wu, the Uhari children. While the Uhari's are happy to be under the sea again, they tell Sue that their home is with the Future Foundation. This gets Sue to think back to days earlier when she went into Valeria's room to discover that her daughter has decided to leave the Future Foundation in order to help rehabilitate her "Uncle" Victor von Doom.

Back in New York City, Johnny Storm is meeting with his agent and is once again thinking about the early days of his career. He tells his agent about how goofy those days mostly were before getting back into the business. Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building, Mister Fantastic has triple checked his results and is horrified by what he has learned. He quickly contacts Nick Fury and tells him to stay the orders to destroy the creatures because he has discovered that they are actually humans. Later in Times Square, Ben and Johnny are discussing the loss of Johnny's powers and Ben's rekindled romance with Alicia Masters. Suddenly, they are attacked by a new incarnation of the Frightful Four which includes the Wizard and three members of the Wrecking Crew. When Johnny tries to flame on, he remembers that his powers are gone, leaving Ben the only one capable of handling this threat.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Future Foundation (Franklin Richards, Alex Power, Dragon Man, Bentley-23, Onome, Wu, Vil, Mik, Korr, Turg, Leech, Artie Maddicks Adolf Impossible), Valeria Richards, Puppet Master, Frightful Four (Wizard, Wrecker, Thunderball, Bulldozer), Doctor Doom, Secret Empire, Nick Fury Jr, Deathlok Prime, Damage Control (Lenny Ballinger, Fluppy), HERBIE, Sub-Mariner, Gigantos, Asbestos Man

Continuity Notes

• Johnny was killed in the Negative Zone in Fantastic Four #587 and was resurrected in Fantastic Four #600.

• The creatures that the Fantastic Four had battled creatures from Dimension F, a domain created by Franklin in Onslaught Marvel Universe #1.

• The Thing mentions how he "always" used to team-up with other heroes. This is a reference to the Thing's various team-ups that were featured in Marvel Two-In-One Vol 1. He states that the Deathlok he fought with was not the "original". He is referring to Luther Manning the original Deathlok who Ben first met in Marvel Two-In-One #27.

• Valeria's note mentions Doctor Doom's earlier defeat. She is referring to the events of FF Vol 2 #16.

• Johnny mentions how his "Alicia" was a Skrull. He is referring to the Skrull spy named Lyja who took the place of the real Alicia Masters in Fantastic Four #285. She and Johnny fell in love and got married in Fantastic Four #300 until she was exposed to Fantastic Four #357-358. Their marriage continued, all be it on rocky conditions until Johnny seemingly perished in Onslaught Marvel Universe #1. The last toe Johnny saw her was when she attempted to get revenge against him in Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1-3 which ended with her escaping into the Negative Zone.

• Johnny stats that he looked for Lyja while he was in the Negative Zone. He is referring to the time he spent in the Negative Zone between Fantastic Four #586-600.