Fantastic Four #83
Shall Man Survive?
Made prisoners of Maximus, Reed, Ben and Johnny are put in a cell that they cannot break out of. Meanwhile, Maximus bathes to celebrate his victory over the Fantastic Four and his hated family. As his loyal army of renegade Inhumans dress him in his armor, the mad Inhuman then begins preparing for the final part of his plan: The utter subjugation of humanity.
Meanwhile, in another cell, the Inhuman Royal family begin trying to figure a way out of their current predicament. That’s when Black Bolt gambles their safety by using his destructive voice to shatter their cell. Although they are free, the alarm is raised and an army of Alpha Primitives rush toward Black Bolt and the others prepared to stop them. However, the slave class of the Inhumans is no match for its Royal Family and they rush to shut down the Hypno-Ray invented by Maximus. While back in the States, the Invisible Girl puts her newborn child to bed and begins the daunting task of trying to figure out a name for her son.
Back in the Hidden Land, Mister Fantastic deduces that their inability to break out of their cell is due to some kind of subliminal message implanted in their minds. Getting Ben and Johnny to quiet down, Reed has them all focus until they break through the mental block that prevents them from using their powers to escape. They are once more attacked by Zorr, the robot created by Maximus. This time, the three heroes easily overpower Zorr and take him down. With the robot incapacitated, Reed reveals that Zorr’s head hid the device that implanted the hypnotic-suggestion in their minds to begin with.
By this time, Maximus has finished preparing his Hypno-Ray and begins to gloat over his impending victory. He begins imagining what it would be like to rule the entire planet and his future plans to build an even larger version of his weapon to enslave the entire universe. However, before he can activate the weapon, the Hypno-Ray is destroyed by Crystal who has just arrived with the rest of the royal family. With their doomsday weapon destroyed, Maximus and his loyal followers flee the scene just as the rest of the Fantastic Four arrive on the scene. While Crystal and the Human Torch enjoy a warm reunion, Maximus and his followers manage to get escape in a ship. As the shuttle blasts off, Maximus vows that he will return to get his revenge.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing, Crystal, Invisible Girl), Inhuman (Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Triton, Maximus, Stallior, Falcona, Timberius, Lionus, Aireo), Zorr, Franklin Richards (unnamed), Alpha Primitives
Continuity Notes
This period of time is briefly visited by the spirit of Johnny Storm's future self in Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #2.3 who was on a quest to retrieve a slice of a Golden Apples of Idunn. As a result of the events in Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #1.1-4.7 and Domination Factor: Avengers #1.2-4.8 a divergent reality of Earth-8921 is created.
Sue Richards is not an active member of the team as she is on maternity leave to raise he newborn son who was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6.
