Fantastic Four #389
Behold a Fatal Future!
From his citadel on the moon, the Watcher detects a familiar spacecraft approaching Earth and trains his scanners to the planet below to monitor the events that summon this ship to the area. The monitor brings him to the hospital where Lyja gave birth. There the doctors are examining the strange mechanical implant they found inside her body. This is overheard by Raphael Suarez the janitor, who is studying electrical engineering at Empire State University and offers to give the device a once over. Examining the device, Raphael pushes a button that fills the room with a blinding light. Witnessing these events, the Watcher decides that it may finally be time to break his vow of non-interference.
Meanwhile, that the Four Freedoms Plaza, the Fantastic Four are visited by Professor Kenneth Robeson, who has brought to the Fantastic Four a strange stone carving of a being resembling the Thing that he found in ancient Aztec temples located in Brazil. Robeson has come seeking the aid of Reed Richards in uncovering the mystery, but Sue regretfully informs him that Reed is missing and presumed dead. As Sue walks the professor out, Ben comments how when Reed was around they would already be on their way to Brazil. When Namor states that times have changed and so too much the team, Ben takes offense to it and storms out. When Sue asks Ben what is the matter, Ben angrily tells Sue to ask her "boyfriend", a statement that Sue finds a confusing shock. Johnny has met up with Lyja where he agrees with Namor that things are not like they used to be, especially after they received a ghostly premonition warning them the team is about to die. When Lyja realizes that Johnny has made his mind up about something, he suddenly departs telling her that he needs to check on something with Scott Lang in the lab. He comes in on Ant-Man just as he is getting off the phone with his daughter Cassie, leaving Johnny to wonder what sort of life he and his child will have once the egg Lyja gave birth to hatches. The Torch then asks Scott if he has had any luck tracking Franklin who went missing during their last adventure, Scot tells Johnny that he has been unsuccessful so far as it seems the Time-Sled Franklin stole has disappeared from all time.
At that moment in the limbo between time and space, Franklin has taken a stop to lament over how hopeless his mission has become. He is suddenly visited by Huntara, who heard his telepathic summons and come to him despite the fact that he is an enemy of the sacred timelines. Franklin tries to explain his mission to stop the Dark Raider, telling how in one reality Franklin witnessed as the Raider killed that world's version of his parents before escaping, and how the Dark Raider is on a mission to destroy the Reed Richards of every reality in the multiverse. Franklin then explains his attempts to stop him failed because the Dark Raider knew his weaknesses, leading Franklin and Huntara to suspect that the Dark Raider may be Nathaniel Richards. Huntara promises to help Franklin from here on out, reminding him that she is his father's sister.
Back on Earth, thanks to the machinations of the Watcher, the Fantastic Four pick up a reading on the chronometer and think that this is a trace on Franklin's location. The Fantastic Four meet with the Sub-Mariner, who questions the validity of the mission when their lives at risk. Sue quashes this stating that Franklin is their responsibility. Everyone is willing to go except for Johnny and Lyja, as Johnny has had enough. As the alien ship approaches the Earth, Lyja and Johnny talk about his sudden decision to stay behind. When Johnny starts talking about their child, Lyja tries to tell him the deep secret she has been keeping when they are suddenly interrupted by Roberta, who tells them that they have a visitor named Raphael Suarez. As Johnny tells her to send him away, the power within the Four Freedoms Plaza shuts off as the alien being teleports into the medical lab to claim Lyja's egg. Sensing trouble, Raphael decides to go ahead into the Four Freedoms Plaza to see if he can help. Finding the intruder, Johnny and Lyja attack him before he can steal the egg. As it turns out the invader is the Collector who has come to obtain the egg for his private collection. In order to stave off his attackers the Collector teleports in a Drakion Destructoid. As the Torch battles the robot, Lyja tries to help but suddenly discovers that her laser blasts are now gone forcing her to rely solely on her shape-shifting powers.
Elsewhere in time and space, the rest of the Fantastic Four and Namor arrive in a future time where barbarians have taken over the ruins of New York City. Rounding a corner they find a monument to the Fantastic Four as well as the ruins of the Four Freedoms Plaza off in the distance. As they try to make sense of this discovery, the group is attacked by the nearby savage, forcing them to defend themselves. While back in their native era, Johnny and Lyja battle on to try and prevent the Collector from taking what Johnny thinks is his child. As the two struggle for battle the Destructoid, they are shocked when Raphael Suarez utilizes the laser blasts that Lyja had lost to destroy the robot. He quickly explains that he came to the Fantastic Four in the hopes to explain how the device he found at the hospital gave him these powers. While back in the distant future, the Fantastic Four and Namor flee the savages, sealing themselves off in a building to get cover. Suddenly, Ant-Man and Namor are rendered inert. They are suddenly visited by the Watcher who has come to warn Ben and Sue that the Fantastic Four will lead to the ruination of the entire planet.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Johnny and Raphael unleash the full force of their powers on the force field that the Collector has placed around himself and the egg in order to scan it undisturbed. Suddenly, the Collector drops the shield, telling those trying to stop him that they can cease, after evaluation the Collector has determined that this egg is nothing more than a fraud and teleports away. In the aftermath of everything, Lyja then finally admits that the child that Johnny has been defending is not his.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Ant-Man), Professor Kenneth Robertson, Sub-Mariner, Lyja, Psi-Lord (possessed by Malice), Huntara, Collector, “The Watcher”, Raphael Suarez, Roberta
Continuity Notes
This is not Uatu the Watcher, but actually Aron the Rogue Watcher in disguise as revealed in Fantastic Four #398.
"Uatu" mentions the Watchers oath of non-interference which was enacted ever since the Watchers involvement accidentally lead to the annihilation of the Prosilicans, as depicted in Tales of Suspense #53 and Original Sin #0.
The device that the doctors are looking over is the device that Paibok implanted into Lyja's body to get her laser powers. It was extracted from her body when she was giving birth in Fantastic Four #386. This explanation is provided next issue.
This is not the last we see of Professor Robeson and his strange sculptures as the Fantastic Four are eventually drawn to his expedition in Brazil in Fantastic Four #403-404.
The Thing's face is scarred here after he was slashed in the face by Wolverine in Fantastic Four #374. His face scars heal in Fantastic Four #409.
It is mention that Reed Richards is death or missing. Reed and Dr. Doom were seemingly slain in Fantastic Four #381, however as revealed in Fantastic Four #406-407 they are actually prisoners of Hyperstorm.
Ben refers to Namor as Sue's "boyfriend" because there is a long history here: Namor was constant competition for Sue's affections since the Torch revived him in Fantastic Four #4. Sue eventually decided on Reed over Namor following the events of Fantastic Four Annual #1 (as explained in Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special #1) and Namor eventually moved on when Reed and Sue were married in Fantastic Four Annual #3. When Reed and Sue were briefly separated in Fantastic Four #130, Namor appeared to take advantage of that in Fantastic Four #147. Although Sue was driven by her past emotions for Namor, the Sub-Mariner was actually willfully involved in an attempt to bring Sue and Reed back together as seen in Fantastic Four #149. Ben is also jealous because he started having feelings for Sue in Fantastic Four #386.
Johnny mentions the premonition the Fantastic Four received recently warning them the whole team will die. This was in the visitation of a burning version of Sue Richards in Fantastic Four #387. As revealed in Fantastic Four #398 the projected image of Susan Richards in this story is a holographic projection created by Nathaniel Richards which he uses to subtly manipulate the Fantastic Four into place for his much larger goals of defeating Hyperstorm.
The teenaged 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-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.
Huntara states that she is the sister of Reed Richards here. However this claim has been called into question in Fantastic Force #8 when Paul Alvarez claims that she is his long lost sister. These claims have not been substantiated.
The worlds where the Dark Raider eliminated Reed Richards have been indexed (by order of appearance in this issue) as Earth-94689, Earth-89946, and Earth-68994 respectively as indexed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3.
The world the Fantastic Four visit in this issue has been indexed as Earth-389694 by the Unofficial Appendix to Official the Handbook of the Marvel Universe.
