Fantastic Four #235
Four Against Ego!
With a device strapped to his back, the Thing travels deeper and deeper into the organic tunnels that run inside the form of Ego the Living Planet. The heat and internal pressure is intense, sapping Ben of his strength and endurance. Pausing for a moment to rest, Ben begins to think back to the moments that led to this point...
It all started when New York City was rocked by a devastating earthquake. Rushing back to the Baxter Building, Ben learned that the source of the quake originated from outer space. the potential threat to the Earth, Reed prepares a ship and the Fantastic Four travel out into space to intercept the menace heading their way. Soon they reach their destination and are shocked to discover that their attacker is Ego -- a massive living planet, who is seeking revenge against those who were responsible for his last defeat and had tracked them on a course heading to Earth. Ego then unleashes a force blast on the FF's ship, causing the craft to crash land on Ego's surface. The Fantastic Four survive, thanks to Johnny getting out and using his flame powers to burn clear a path so they can land safely.
Exploring the strange world of Ego, Reed quickly spots a massive propulsion unit stuck on the planet’s surface which is acting as the means Ego is using to get to Earth. Seeking to stop his advance, Reed and the rest of his team load up on sky-cycles to go and investigate the massive engine. Detecting what the heroes are up to, Ego's face appears on the side of a mountain and blows them off their jet cycles. When the Fantastic Four safely land on the ground, they are attacked by an army of Ego's Anti-Bodies. The four heroes manage to fight past them and reach the propulsion unit where Johnny erects a flame barrier to keep the Anti-Bodies at bay. He is horrified when the seemingly endless armies of Anti-Bodies begin throwing themselves into the flames, appearing to commit suicide to stop them. Reed tells his team to hang tight as he is formulating a plan to solve the current crisis.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Johnny's girlfriend Frankie Raye has just finished taking a shower. When she realizes that there are no towels in the bathroom, she is forced to go out into her apartment to find one. As she worries over her roommate coming home and catching her in the nude, and thinking about what Johnny might be up to, Frankie catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror and is horrified by what she sees there. While back on Ego's planet, Ben's recollection continues...
Back on Ego's surface, Reed has instructed Ben on how to remove one of the mini-packs that powers one of the jets of the propulsion unit. Reed tells the rest of his team how he intends to use it to destroy Ego's brain, hopefully rendering him harmless. Suddenly, Ego forms a new massive body towering over them and begins attacking again. The Fantastic Four manage to flee their attacker through one of the pores on Ego's surface. They follow the complex tunnels until what they come across what they think is Ego's brain. However, after close examination, Reed concludes it is a fake, constructed by Ego to trick them and orders Johnny to destroy it with is flame. Ego protests, but the Fantastic Four continue on their path to the real brain of Ego. But the deeper they go into the living planet, the hotter it gets and the more the pressure increases. Reed is the first one to give in to the environment, forcing him to stay behind. However, soon Sue and later Johnny are unable to go any further, leaving Ben to continue on the trek alone....
... Finishing his recollection, Ben gets to his feet and presses on eventually he finally reaches the true brain of Ego the Living Planet. Suddenly his mind is flodded with images being pushed into his mind by Ego: He witnesses the birth of Ego during the Big Bang that created the universe, his conflicts with Galactus, and how he once allowed Thor to have a group called the Wanderer's settle on his surface, only to consume them after the thunder god was gone. Lastly, Ego shows the Thing how his last encounter with Thor and Galactus ended with the propulsion unit being attached to his planetary mass and sent him hurtling into space. Realizing that Ego was coming to Earth because it was the last place Galactus had been, the Thing then tosses the mini-pack at Ego's brain, but misses. Despite this, Ego angrily reacts, trying to activate the propulsion unit to send him on a collision course with the planet Earth. However, because only one of the engines on the propulsion unit is active, Ego instead veers directly into the sun. The resulting heat and gravitational pull of the sun tears Ego apart, sending Ben hurtling into space. However, the Thing is rescued from the vacuum of space by his teammates who arrive in their ship to pull him to safety. With Ego seemingly destroyed and his threat to Earth now gone, the Fantastic Four rejoice before heading back home.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Ego, Galactus, Frankie Raye
Continuity Notes
Earth was rocked by the earthquakes caused by Ego's approach the last issue which devastated New York City. What this issue omits is that the destruction was reversed by Skip Collins, explaining why New York is back to normal when the story explores what Frankie Raye is up to in this issue.
Some substantial moments in Ego's personal history are covered here in this story, they are as follows:
Ego's conflict with Galactus, his first encounter with Thor, and his invitation to have the Wanderers live on him occurred in Thor #160-161.
This is the first time it is revealed that Ego consumed the Wanderers, thus explaining why they were not present in his subsequent appearances in Thor #201, 206 and...
Thor #226-228 when Ego has a rematch with Galactus and Thor which ended with Ego having the propulsion unit attached to him and was sent rocketing out into space.
What Frankie Raye sees is not revealed until Fantastic Four #238, which reveals that she is wearing a costume that only appears when she takes off her clothes.
The reason why Ego has come to Earth seeking out Galactus, is that since Ego's last battle with the world devourer in Thor #228, Galactus returned to Earth in Fantastic Four #213 when Galactus assisted the Fantastic Four in defeating the Sphinx in Fantastic Four #212-213.
Ego is not destroyed here as it appears, he resurfaces in Rom #69, where it is explained Ego recreated his body by drawing energy from the very sun that seemingly destroyed him.
