Appearing in ""Trouble Times Two""
Fantastic Four #187
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Molecule Man (Possesses Aaron Stankey) (Appears in flashback)
- Klaw (Appears in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Impossible Man
- Man-Thing (Only in flashback)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for ""Trouble Times Two""
Fantastic Four #187
The Fantastic Four are returning from New Salem where they had just rescued Agatha Harkness and Franklin from the clutches of her evil son, Nicholas Scratch. As they land the Pogo Plane on the roof of the Baxter Building, Agatha blames herself for how her son turned out, but the Fantastic Four reassure her that it was not her fault. Entering their headquarters, they are in for a shock when they find that someone had attacked the Impossible Man and he is now unconscious. Fearing that the intruders might still be in the building, Sue, Johnny and Ben go to look leaving the now powerless Reed behind with Franklin and Agatha.
As the rest of the Fantastic Four search the building, the Thing finds one intruder -- their old foe Klaw. As Ben and Klaw fight it out he is suddenly ambushed by a yet another invader, the Molecule Man, who turns Ben into glass. Elsewhere in the building, Reed laments over the loss of his powers and how useless he feels, Agatha tells Reed that he still possesses his great intelligence and encourages him to put it to good use.
Meanwhile, in Reed's lab, Klaw and the Molecule Man find what they are looking for: Reed's Psi-Amplifier. Before they can use it for their purposes they are ambushed by the Human Torch. But Johnny proves no match for the Molecule Man, who turns the air around his foe into water, dousing Johnny's flame and threatening to drown him. Sue tries a sneak attack using her invisibility powers, but is located thanks to Klaw's sonar abilities and is bound in solid sound. Reed enters the fray, attacking the intruders with an impact gun. However, the Molecule Man turns the weapon into helium and Klaw takes down the FF's leader with a sonic blast.
When Sue demands to know what the two villains want in their home, Klaw explains what led to this moment: After being shunted into another dimension following his battle with the barbarian known as Ka-Zar, [1] Klaw soon found himself returned to Earth via the Nexus of Reality located in the swamps for Florida. When he appeared he spotted the creature known as the Man-Thing just as it discarded a wand into the mire of the swamp. Recovering the wand, Klaw was surprised that it contained the mind of the Molecule Man. Unable to take possession of Klaw's body because he is made of living sound, the two agreed to help each other. Klaw then traveled to New York City where he forced the wand upon a punch drunk boxer, allowing the Molecule Man to possess his body. The two then stormed the Baxter Building in the hopes of using the Psi-Amplifier to make the Molecule Man's possession of the boxer permanent.
Just as they finish their tale, both of the intruders are attacked by the Impossible Man, who is none to happy by their ambush.[2] The two villains are no match for the Impossible Man, whose unique abilities allow him to counter all their attacks. While Klaw and the Impossible Man are fighting, the Molecule Man tries to access the Psi-Amplifier. However before he can succeed, Reed cause it to short circuit, the resulting feedback causes the Molecule Man to drop his wand, freeing his hapless victim. In the aftermath of the battle a curious Reed Richards reaches out for the wand, and is warned too late by his wife as the Molecule Man takes possession of his body.
Appearing in ""The Rampage of Reed Richards""
Fantastic Four #188
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Molecule Man (Possesses Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards))
- Klaw
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Jet-Cycle
Synopsis for ""The Rampage of Reed Richards""
Fantastic Four #188
Ben, Johnny, Sue, and the Impossible Man face their leader, Reed, whose body has just been taken over by the Molecule Man. Bolts of energy crackle from the Molecule Man's wand as he addresses them from the platform of the psi-amplifier. Their foolish loyalty, he sneers, prevents them from harming him, but nothing will prevent him from destroying them. Then, he says, he will use the psi-amplifier to take permanent possession of Reed's body. However, the Molecule Man fails to reckon with his host's powerful mind, which suddenly communicates with him from within the wand, distracting him. Quickly, Ben destroys the psi-amplifier by hurling a chunk of apparatus at it. Seeing his chance of returning to human form forever lost, the Molecule Man angrily imprisons them all in a cube of solid adamantium, the most indestructible substance known, to hold them while he formulates his plans. After several minutes of pounding, the Thing realizes that it is fruitless to try to batter his way out. Then Johnny asks his sister to erect a fire-resistant force field around herself, Ben, and the Impossible Man. When she does, Johnny turns up his flame to nova intensity, super-heating the air in the cube. The sudden increase in air pressure blows the entire cube into the ceiling and frees them. Although Johnny's teammates are shaken, the Impossible Man thinks the whole incident was great fun and wants to do it again. Sue asks Johnny to flame on and fly out over the city to catch sight of the Molecule Man, but Johnny's power is exhausted. Suddenly the Watcher materializes in the room with them. Realizing that he appears only in limes of great crisis, they try to persuade him to speak, but he remains mute. The teammates angrily leave their uninvited guest and go to search for the Molecule Man. Although he wants very much to help them, the Watcher refuses to break his oath any more.
Ben and Sue fly the Airjet-Cycle out over the city moments later, while Johnny, his flame restored, soars alongside with the Impossible Man, who is shaped like a miniature jet plane. Halfway across the city, the Molecule Man, in Reed's body, stands in a busy street fouling traffic, locked in a struggle with Reed's mind. He tries to force Reed to surrender by turning an entire skyscraper into a towering monster that threatens to destroy scores of people. Unfortunately, the four companions at first do not see this, so Sue radios the Baxter Building and finds out from Agatha Harkness that the police have taken Klaw into custody, the Watcher has disappeared, and Franklin is all right. Things are almost back to normal, says Agatha. Then Johnny sees the animated building several blocks away. Terror reigns as people flee from the walking structure, but no one has yet been killed. When the Watcher appears in the middle of the panicked crowd, he is scarcely noticed. If he were allowed to, he thinks, he could halt the building with a single gesture, but instead all he can do is stand and watch. Finally Reed gives up, and the Molecule Man de-animates the building, leaving it stuck in the middle of a street blocking traffic.
Moments later, he returns the building to its original location. But then the Invisible Girl, the Thing, the Human Torch, and the Impossible Man attack. The Molecule Man tries to use his wand against them, but Reed's mind blocks him from using his power directly against his teammates, so he instead transforms the Air Jet-Cycle into steel cables that wrap around Ben and Sue. The Torch cannot reach them in time, but the Impossible Man changes into a spiral slide that lets Ben and Sue gently descend. The Torch tries a frontal attack, but the Molecule Man, still inhibited by Reed, bursts a series of water mains below the street that Johnny has to dodge. When Sue gets off the Impossible Man slide, she bursts her bonds with a force field, and Ben likewise shatters his with his strength. When the Impossible Man pops back to normal, he decides to battle as well, not realizing that if he hurts the Molecule Man, he will also be hurting Reed. Thus, when he changes his hand into a copy of Thor's hammer to strike the Molecule Man—in "fun"—Sue has to interpose a force field to deflect the blow. When Ben tells him to take his "fun" elsewhere, he becomes miffed. He knows how to take a hint, he says, and he will find somewhere else where he can have a good time. Then he changes into a green and purple dirigible and floats away into the afternoon sky. Meanwhile, the Torch flies over the Molecule Man's water barricade in the street, but before he and Ben can attack, the Molecule Man heaves up the street in front of them and tangles the Torch in an asbestos lamppost. Sue rises over the street-barrier on her force field and attacks, while Reed is taxed to the utmost keeping the Molecule Man from destroying them.
The Molecule Man discovers that he cannot affect Sue's force field because it has no true molecular structure, so he turns the air around her into a contracting sphere of steel. If she should drop her field, he gloats, the sphere will crush her to death, and if she doesn't, she will suffocate. Reed desperately tries to force the Molecule Man to free Sue, but before he can do anything, Ben smashes through the street barrier. Unfortunately, a large fragment strikes the Molecule Man in the back and staggers him, and Ben is horrified that he may have accidentally injured Reed. Johnny, still wrapped up in the lamppost, directs his flame blasts at the sphere in which Sue is trapped and carefully melts the substance away. Ben tries to help Reed up, but he discovers to his dismay that the Molecule Man is now in complete control of Reed's body. The Molecule Man turns the air around him to phosphorus, which ignites in a brilliant flash, and when the three teammates regain their eyesight, he is perched on a platform high overhead. The blow that staggered him, he gloats, knocked Richards out, and Reed's body is totally his. There is now nothing to prevent him from turning them all into cosmic dust. As the Watcher watches, his visage ever so slightly betraying his concern, the Molecule Man attacks them with a beam of energy. But instead of turning them to dust, the energy feeds back at him. There is a brief, intense struggle for control, and then the Molecule Man drops his wand down a smokestack.
Instantly, Reed becomes himself again, while the Molecule Man's persona enters the wand and is lost. Reed starts to fall from the sky, but Johnny flames on and snatches him in mid-air, which dislocates Johnny's arm. The pain forces Johnny to drop him, but Ben catches him and saves his life. When the four teammates regroup, Reed explains that when the Molecule Man tried to transform them, the unstable molecules in their costumes caused the feedback that "short-circuited" him. Soon they return to the Baxter Building, where they are joined by the still silent Watcher. Ben tells him he is no longer welcome there, but Reed wants him to remain to hear what he has to say. Effective immediately, says Reed, he is resigning from the Fantastic Four. Since he lost his powers, he became a pawn of two different villains, he continues, and he cannot continue to allow them to risk their lives for him. They will have to find a replacement for him, because he is now a man just like any other. Then Johnny, his arm in a sling, looks at his sister and declares that the team will surely need two replacements. She agrees, saying that she cannot desert her husband, Ben and Johnny futilely ask the Watcher why he didn't help. Then Johnny says that perhaps no one, not even the Watcher, could have done anything to prevent the Fantastic Four's breakup. As Ben and Johnny leave, the Watcher stands forlornly alone, sworn never to interfere in the affairs of others—no matter what the cost.
Appearing in ""Four No More""
Fantastic Four #191
Featured Characters:
- Fantastic Four (Disbands)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Plunderer
- Unnamed goons working for The Plunderer
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for ""Four No More""
Fantastic Four #191
After Reed's decision to disband the Fantastic Four, the group struggles to come to terms with the break-up. As Johnny packs his Fantastic Four uniform, Ben enters his room to talk about recent developments. Although they are both taking it hard, Ben figures it might be for the best as it gives himself and Alicia more time together. Johnny remarks how he has been invited to participate in a drag race out west and plans on asking Frankie Raye to go with him. Ben wishes Johnny the best of luck, and admits that breaking up hurts, Johnny sadly agrees.
Meanwhile, in the lab, Reed is instructing who he thinks are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the deconstruction of the various devices held there so they can be shipped off into storage. Elsewhere in the Baxter Building, Ben tries to keep back the tears. He manages when Agatha and little Franklin go see him. As Ben spends time with his godson, Agatha also expresses her remorse that the Fantastic Four are breaking up. Suddenly, Ben hears some thumping going on outside and decides to check it out...
As Reed continues overseeing the take down, Ben suddenly bursts in with Walter Collins, their soon-to-be former landlord. Ben is upset because Collins is putting up a for rent sign on their headquarters before they have even left the premises. This also upsets the normally cool-headed Reed who verbally lashes into the man who rented them the Baxter Building for years. When Collins threatens to get his lawyers involved, Ben chases him away. In another part of the Baxter Building, Sue answers the door and is happy to see their old mailman Willie Lumpkin. Lumpkin has come to deliver a telegram to her. Saddened to hear that the Fantastic Four are breaking up, he offers to join the team one more time, pointing out that he still has his "super-powers" by wiggling his ears. Sue finds the offer touching but assures Lumpkin that the group is irrecoverably splitting up. When Sue can privately open the letter delivered by Willie, she is shocked by the news she finds inside. Elsewhere in the building, Ben helps Johnny put on his suit over his injured arm. It's then that Johnny breaks down and starts to cry, with Ben comforting him.
Later, Sue goes to her husband with the news: She has been accepted in a role in an upcoming Hollywood film. She is unsure if she wants to take it, but Reed tells her that now that the Fantastic Four are disbanding, she should take the opportunity to pursue an acting career and promises to support her along the way. Ben interrupts to say his goodbyes, telling them that he has his luggage packed. Parnival, the man in charge of the lab take down, assures Reed that he can go as they can handle the rest of the job alone, but Reed insists on overseeing it until everything is packed up and turned over to SHIELD.
Down below, a swarm of media reporters are waiting at the front door of the Baxter Building, where they are interviewing O'Houlahan, who has been working as a doorman to the building for sixteen years. His long winded story about an encounter with the Fantastic Four is interrupted by the arrival of Ben, Johnny, and Sue. When the media try to get answers out of them, they all decline to comment on events leading to the FF's break up. When one reporter suggests it is because the Thing wanted to be leader, Ben angrily leaves him tied up on the Baxter Building's marquee. As the press continues to speculate, the coverage is watched from afar by Thundra, who remarks how the Fantastic Four have been her only true friends since arriving in this time and is saddened by their breakup. After, Ben and Johnny say goodbye to Sue, Franklin and Agatha who leave by car. Johnny and Ben soon say their goodbyes as well, with Ben taking a taxi intending to visit Alicia.
Inside the Baxter Building, the men who claimed to be S.H.I.E.L.D. technos blow their cover when one of them drops a crate containing a top secret Vibranium casing. When Parnival reveals that he knows what is inside the crate, Reed realizes that these men are trying to steal his valuable technology. Reed rushes to one of the storage crates and manages to get the Fantasti-Flare and fire one off into the sky before being blasted from behind by Parnival -- who reveals himself to be the villain known as the Plunderer. Each member of the Fantastic Four see the flare and come running: Ben smashing out of the cab he was picked up in, Johnny from Frankie Raye's doorstep before she can answer his knocks, and Sue from the side of the road, leaving her son Franklin in the care of Agatha Harkness. When the trio arrive at the Baxter Building they try to stop the Plunderer and his men, but they manage to incapacitate each member of the team with Reed's various inventions. While resuming their work, the Plunderer and his men fail to see Johnny breath flames at the ropes that have kept Reed tied up since his capture.
Reed then quickly rushes to a kill-switch device that renders all the devices in the lab useless. When Ben, Sue and Johnny break free they quickly make short work of the Plunderer and his goons. When Ben points out that this is a good indication that they should remain a team, Reed tells Ben that this solves nothing and the group will still be dissolved and they should get used to it. As they exit the building, the former Fantastic Four are accosted one more time by Walter Collins who is upset by the damage caused by the most recent battle in his building. In response, Ben shoves Collins into a nearby flower pot. On their way out, Ben spots the for rent sign on the front door and asks if he should tear it up, Reed tells Ben to leave it be as the Baxter Building is not their home anymore.
Appearing in "Cat's-Paw!"
Fantastic Four Annual #14
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Galactus (Mentioned)
- Rattlesnake
- Avengers
- Captain Marvel
- Quasar
- Peter Parker
- Nighthawk
- United States Army
- Numerous Unnamed New Yorkers
Races and Species:
Locations:
- North America
- New York State
- Disneyland (Mentioned)
- Moon
Items:
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Spider-Man's Suit
- Ms. Marvel's Suit
- Captain Marvel's Suit
- Nega-Bands
- Iron Man Armor MK V
- Captain America's Shield
- Captain America's Uniform
- Falcon's Wings
- Quantum Bands (Cameo)
- Paste-Gun
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Cat's-Paw!"
Fantastic Four Annual #14
The action opens immediately with the Fantastic Four taking down the Sandman, who appears to be robbing a bank in New York. Afterwards, they return to the Baxter Building where they run into their old family friend Agatha Harkness. Harkness asks them if they would like to accompany her back to New Salem for a festival. The team decides to do so, take young Franklin and make this into a vacation. This brings them into a major conflict with Salem's Seven who are trying to return Nicholas Scratch to the earthly realm. Salem's Seven defeat the FF and leave Agatha Harkness and all the residents of New Salem in a coma-like trance. They spare Franklin Richards as he is apparently just a harmless child. They transport the unconscious Fantastic Four back to New York City.
Franklin's mutant powers bring Agatha and the town out of their trance. Agatha and Franklin journey back to the Baxter Building where Salem's Seven have arranged the inert bodies of the Fantastic Four as a nexus to return Nicholas Scratch to the realm. The Avengers and other heroes of New York note this huge surge of pulsating energy. When they come to investigate, they are rebuffed by an invisible mystic barrier. Agatha, with her magical powers, and Franklin are able to go through the mystic barrier. They encounter a mind-controlled Fantastic Four who have been ordered by Salem's Seven to kill the two intruders. However, the team is released from the mind control and they return to confront Salem's Seven. Agatha is able to take away Salem's Seven's power and keep her son, Nicholas Scratch, imprisoned in the dark realm.
Appearing in "Time for the Prime Ten"
Fantastic Four Annual #15
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Prime Ten (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Franklin Richards
- Albert Einstein (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Nega-Bands
- Captain Marvel's Suit
- Doctor Doom's Time Platform
- Gateway Transmitter (First appearance) (Destroyed)
Synopsis for "Time for the Prime Ten"
Fantastic Four Annual #15
Ben, Johnny and Sue have just finished sending young Franklin off with Alicia when they all note that Reed has been working almost non-stop on this project recently, and Sue decides to see what her husband is up to and try to get him to relax. In his lab, Reed is working on a new device that will beam power into one of Franklin's toy cars in order to make it move. After making the final calculations, Reed activates the device causing the car to drive around, making this experiment a complete success. As the others enter the room, Reed explains his discovery and how it could help ease the world's energy needs. The celebration is cut short when they hear someone knock at the front door, alarming the group as the alarms didn't go off.
When Reed rushes to answer the door, it appears to be their old mailman, Willie Lumpkin, who has come to deliver a package to the group. Sue, Johnny, and Ben take Willie to the kitchen for some coffee, where the mailman becomes insistent that they open the package and see what is inside. As Reed continues to experiment with his new device, a group of people outside becoming interested in what is going on within the Baxter Building. When Reed powers up his energy transmitter again he is completely shocked when the device a portal to open between his lab and another one far away. Through the portal, Richards watches as Captain Marvel smashes through the wall and begins attacking the other lab. Before Reed can figure out what is going on he is forced to power down the portal when debris comes through the portal and threatens to wreck his lab.
Deciding to tell the others what he has discovered, Reed goes into the kitchen and finds only Sue and the empty parcel waiting in the room. When he asks where Ben and Johnny went his wife tells Reed that they went to the movies. But when Reed takes his "wife" into the lab to see his latest discovery, "Sue" reveals that she was also "Willie Lumpkin" as well and that in reality "she" is actually a Skrull. The Skrull explains that he has come for Reed's transmission device and had smuggled a weapon into the Fantastic Four's headquarters that had incapacitated his foes. The Skrull then explains that he has Sue, Ben and Johnny prisoner and will not release them until Reed turns over the device. The Skrull goes on to explain that such a device would give his empire an advantage over their mortal enemies the Kree, whom they have been deadlocked in a stalemate in their centuries-long war. They had been trying to develop such technology for months when they discovered Richards had somehow beat them to it when his energy transmitter technology inadvertently opened a portal to Earth and their secret asteroid lab.
Refusing to turn over the device, Reed fights back against the Skrull warrior, when suddenly he is blasted by what appears to be Captain Marvel. "Marvel," tells Reed to activate the transmitter and when Reed does, it opens the portal up to the Skrull lab again where he sees another Captain Marvel fighting. The "Captain Marvel" within his lab tells Reed to destroy the "impostor," revealing to Reed that this is actually a Skrull spy. Reed instead uses the transmitter to bring the real Mar-Vell into his lab. As Reed and the Kree warrior battle the Skrulls, the energies from the Skrull weapons can be seen from the street outside. This prompts a number of seemingly normal New Yorkers to rush into the Baxter Building.
Back inside, Reed is unsure if Captain Marvel he brought into his lab is the real man or just another impostor. But Richards is convinced when he looks into Mar-Vell's eyes, and the hero's Cosmic Awareness is able to convince Reed of his identity. Suddenly the New Yorkers from outside bust into Reed's lab and reveal themselves to be a specialized army of Skrull warriors known as the Prime Ten. Completely surrounded by the Skrulls, Reed and Marvel are about to fight to the finish when suddenly they are joined by Ben, Sue, and Johnny, who have returned right on time. The Fantastic Four and Mar-Vell are easily able to overpower their foes and Reed activates the portal to dispose of their foes. However, in order to close the gateway off and force the Skrulls back, Reed is forced to overload the transmitter, causing it to explode. They are shielded by Sue's force field, and Reed explains to them that the device cannot be rebuilt. But with his family back and their foes vanquished, Reed's primary concern is what happened to the rest of his team when the first Skrull ambushed them. Sue tells Reed that she will explain it to them when they finally get to that cup of coffee....
... A short time later, Sue, Johnny, and Ben -- from hours in the past -- appear in the Baxter Building via the Time-Platform. Rushing to face the Skrulls, they instead find their future selves just finishing their explanation of what happened to them after the Skrull incapacitated them: They were pushed forward a few hours in time by the Time-Platform. After a confusing encounter with their future selves, the past versions of Sue, Johnny and Ben are convinced that all they need to do is return to their proper time and help Reed and Captain Marvel win their battle against the Skrulls.
Appearing in "Happiness Is a Warm Alien!"
Marvel Two-In-One #60
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Alicia Masters
- Impossible Woman (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Mr. Fantastic
- Yancy Street Gang
- Puppet Master
- Mark Gruenwald (First appearance)
- Ralph Macchio (First appearance)
- George Perez
Locations:
Synopsis for "Happiness Is a Warm Alien!"
Marvel Two-In-One #60
With Ben due for an art show of Alicia's most recent sculptures, Reed Richards finds the Thing working away in the exercise room. He reminds Ben of the show before departing to go out on a date with Sue. After spending time reflecting on his life before becoming the Thing and once more wondering what Alicia sees in him, Ben decides to get ready for the art show and hops into the shower. It is interrupted by the Impossible Man who is bored and wants to follow Ben about. When Ben gets ready for the show, the Impossible Man turns into a top hat for Ben to wear and promises that he won't be a nuisance, although Ben knows better he resigns and allows the alien from planet Popup to follow along.
Along the way, the Impossible Man grows bored and changes his form into various other kinds of hats for his own amusement. When Ben goes to pick up Alicia, Impossible Man attempts to present himself to her almost accidentally blowing his cover. However, Imp is unaware that Alicia is blind and Ben manages to quietly convince him to change back into his hat. Later, as the couple are walking down Yancy Street, the Impossible Man protects Ben from a prank launched by the Yancy Street Gang.
As Alicia and Ben attend the function, Alicia hob-nobbing with the art community and the Thing dealing with their snooty attitudes and the Impossible Man's antics, they are unaware that Ben's old foes the Terrible Trio are acting as the events caterers in order to get revenge against the Thing.
Using his special mental talents, Yogi Dakor allows himself and his comrades to take possession of statues of their choice. Harry taking possession of a statue of Dr. Doom, Bull a statue of Blastarr, and Dakor a statue of Diablo. Ben is attacked by the Dr. Doom and Blastarr statues, and when he is forced to smash them to bits, the resulting destruction knocks both Bull and Harry out, allowing Ben to realize what is going on.
However, he is too late to stop Yogi Dakor's statue, which grabs Alicia and takes her hostage. However, Dakor is defeated when Impossible Man turns into a water balloon and bursts on the mystic, distracting him enough for Ben to get close enough to easily knock his old foe out.
With the battle over, the Impossible Man observes the love that Ben and Alicia have for each other and feels inspired. Wanting to learn more about human relationships, Impossible Man creates an Impossible Woman, and the two decide to travel the world to learn how human relationships work.
Appearing in "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing"
Adventures of the Thing #3
Featured Characters:
Synopsis for "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing"
Adventures of the Thing #3
- Synopsis not yet written