Fantastic Force's first foray has been a public fiasco... ...and I won't rest until this black mark on our record's been expunged... 
Appearing in "Zarathustra"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Professor Isaac Sandor ⏵ (First appearance)
- Paul Alvarez ⏵ (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Zarathustra ⏵ (First appearance)
- Lord Moses ⏵ (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Black Panther (Mentioned)
- Klaw (Mentioned)
- Lord Kargul (Mentioned)
- Human Torch (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Arctic Circle
- Haven
- New York City
- Elsewhen (Mentioned)
Items:
- Omnivirus
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Zarathustra"
Eight miles beneath the Arctic Circle exists a massive complex called Heaven. Inside the warrior woman known as Zarathustra battles against a number of men, easily defeating them before her master Lord Moses who tells her that she is ready to go outside and carry out a mission in his name.
Meanwhile at the Manhattan headquarters of the newly formed Fantastic Force, Psi-Lord introduces his team to their training room. While Devlor is sufficiently impressed, Vibraxas is not and is prepared to storm out when Franklin uses his powers to shut the door in front of him. This angers Vibraxas who wishes to go about as he pleases despite T'Challa's insistence that Franklin keep an eye out for him. When Vibraxas insists on going out for evening air, Psi-Lord concedes and allows the hot-headed youth to go. This leads to recriminations from Huntara who tells Franklin off for coddling his teammates, an action unbefitting of a Psi-Lord and she also storms out.
Meanwhile at the newly rebuilt campus of Empire State University, Daily Globe reporter Paul Alvarez meets with Professor Issac Sandor to interview him on his recent invention, the Omnivirus, which he believes will be able to cure all illness that threatens the human race. Alvarez questions the ethics, asking Sandor what about the dangers of playing God. Sandor admits that the discovery could be misused, but insists that this is a great discovery for man. Their interview is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Zarathustra who has come to collect the Omnivirus for Lord Moses. She confronts Professor Sandor and demands that he hand it over to her.
Back at the Fantastic Force loft, Huntara is pushing Devlor to discover the upper limits of his strength when suddenly Psi-Lord's "Hound Scars" appear on his face warning them of nearby danger. Huntara also detects a dimension interference with her Psy-Scythe. Deciding the two are connected, Huntara uses her weapon to cut open a portal in time and space to take them to the location of the danger. They arrive in the middle of Zarathustra's interrogation of Professor Sandor and a fight breaks out. Outnumbered, Zarathustra calls for reinforcements who begin pouring in through another portal. While Psi-Lord and Devlor fight off the arriving army, Huntara goes after Zarathustra. With the odds against them, Franklin wishes that Vibraxas had not stormed off earlier as they could use his help.
Elsewhere in the city, Vibraxas is walking through the streets questioning his king's judgment in pairing him up with the rest of Fantastic Force. Wandering into the middle of the street he answers the blare of a car horn and racist epitaphs of it's driver by using his powers to destroy the engine. Suddenly Vibraxas' attention is turned toward nearby Empire State University as Huntara and Zarathustra come smashing out of a wall and out into the street. When he tries to use his powers against Zarathustra, she retaliates with an electrified whip. She downs both Vibraxas and Huntara and is about to land a killing blow on the latter when Psi-Lord and Devlor join their teammates on the street. However, Zarathustra manages to overpower them all and with the only sample of the Omnivirus, she teleports away. Devlor tries to chase after her, but the portal closes before he can pass through it. This leads to Vibraxas being hard on Devlor again, and Huntara responds by knocking him out. In the aftermath of the battle, Psi-Lord apologizes to Professor Sandor for losing the sample of the virus, but Issac is not overly concerned as it can be recreated, but Franklin vows that they will try to recover the stolen sample anyway. He secretly hopes that they can succeed in order to expunge the fiasco of their second mission.
Back in Heaven, Lord Moses is pleased that Zarathustra was able to recover the Omnivirus, however he is troubled when he plays back the footage of the battle and notes that Franklin Richards is using Psi-Armor from Elsewhen. He vows that while Richards and his Fantastic Force intend to battle for the greater good, they will be cut down by the great agenda of Lord Moses.
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- A partial origin of Zarathustra and Lord Moses is provided in Fantastic Force #10–11 and 17. However they were not fully explained because the Fantastic Force series was eventually cancelled and as of 2016 the characters have not been seen since.
- The teenage Franklin seen here was delivered to the modern age by Nathaniel Richards from Earth-6311 to replace his Earth-616 counterpart. This occurred in Fantastic Four #376. Although everyone reacts as though this is Earth-616's Franklin all grown up, the young Franklin is returned in Fantastic Four #413. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #14 confirms that they are separate entities. Franklin believes that his mission was to stop the Dark Raider from destroying the Fantastic Four as explained in Fantastic Four #387, however this is part of a larger scheme to stop Hyperstorm that is not realized until Fantastic Four #414.
- Mention is made to how the Human Torch accidentally set fire to Empire State University. That happened in Fantastic Four #371, resulting in the Fantastic Four agreeing to pay the damages as seen in Fantastic Four #375.
- Psi-Lord and Huntara's connections to Elsewhen and Warlord Kargul were explored in Fantastic Four #390.