Before the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards #3
Reed Richards & The Riddle of Bast! Conclusion
At the Fantastic Four's Pier Four headquarters, Mister Fantastic continues telling his son about the time in his youth when he sought to reassemble the Claw of Bast in order to save his colleague Professor Van Nuys who was suffering from Seberts Syndrome.
... Also seeking the Claw was Reed's old college rival Victor von Doom who captured Reed and his associates Alyssa Moy and Francesca Fisher. In order to prove that Reed Richards was wrong about the miscalculations that caused his experiment to blow up in his face, Victor has recreated two of the devices and has Alyssa and Francesca strapped into them. Doom then tells Reed that he must prove he did not sabotage Von Doom's experiment and save the women's lives. Rigged with an explosive device should Reed try to free the women before the experiment can complete it's course, Victor leaves Reed alone to save the women. Examining the device he spots the very wire that would trigger the explosives and reaches to disconnect it.
While Victor waits in his study with his assistant Radu, Reed works at a frenzied pace to save his two companions. Reed manages to reverse the flow of neutrons in the device and frees the women. The trio then get to cover just as the two devices explode. The explosion also blasts open a way out of the castle. As Reed and the others flee, Doom looks out at them and scoffs at Reed for taking over forty seconds to save the women.
Soon Reed and his companions are on a flight to Egypt. Arriving in Giza, Francesca explains to them that the Claw of Bast will only work once the proper syzygy is in alignment. However, she points out that by some remarkable coincidence that planetary alignment is going to happen soon. Soon they arrive at the sight where they need to utilise the Claw: the Sphinx. Not far away, Victor von Doom and his minions have followed Reed and his crew, Doom more determined than ever to get the Claw in order to restore his damaged face. At the base of the Sphinx, they find a doorway with spaces cut out for the Eye and Scepter of Bast. Placing these objects into the holes causes the door to fall open. Alyssa then leads the way to the final piece they need to collect: The Paw of Bast. When they go to take it, they are suddenly attacked by Doom's lacky, Ko-Gar. Soon they are surrounded by Doom and his armed minions. With Alyssa's safety in jeopardy, Reed is forced to turn over the three pieces to Doom. When Doom assembles the Claw the cavern suddenly begins to shake. Rushing outside they are shocked to see that the Sphinx has become animated by the spirit of Pharaoh Khafre who thanks them for bringing his spirit back to life and vows to destroy them and reclaim the Claw of Bast for himself.
Reed tells Doom to use the Claw of Bast to defeat Khafre, but Doom refuses to give up his two prizes. With no other choice, Reed uses one of his freezing formulas to render Doom immobile and takes the Claw back from him. When the planets align properly, Reed holds up the Claw of Bast and uses its power to banish the spirit of Khafre, rendering the Sphinx inert once again. With the quest over, Reed and his companions leave Doom to thaw out on his own. When they return to the United States and pay a visit to Professor Van Nuys they discover that he has made a full recovery from his illness.
With the story over, Franklin begins doubting the validity of the tale, pointing out a number of inconsistencies in the tale and is upset that his father would make up such a story. Reed insists that the tale is true and almost as if on cue, Reed is attacked by General Lao-Tse, who has given up his military role and become a powerful mystic to get revenge against Reed for a previous defeat. Lao-Tse demands to know the location of Prince Banyan so that he can gain access to the Lopnor Gateway. Although Reed is incapacitated, Franklin quickly grabs one of his father's old chemical spheres and tosses it at Lao-Tse. The gas suddenly causes the attacker to be frozen in a block of ice. Recovered from the sneak attack Reed carries off his foe to turn over to the authorities. As he leaves he tells his son that he will tell him the tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra when he gets back and Franklin can hardly wait to hear the tale.
Recurring Characters
Reed Richards, Franklin Richards, Lao-Tse, Alyssa Moy, Francesca Fisher, Victor Von Doom,
Continuity Notes
There are multiple mentions to Doctor Doom's face being scarred as explained in Fantastic Four #5 this was due to an experiment blowing up in his face. As explained in Fantastic Four Annual #2, Reed discovered that Doom made some miscalculations in his equations which resulted in the accident. Doom blamed Richards for the explosion.
