Fantastic Four #524 — Nick Peron

Mar 6

Mar 6 Fantastic Four #524

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While trying to reverse a power swap between Sue and Johnny, the Fantastic Four have found their powers being wildly jumping from random New Yorker to random New Yorker. In order to recover their powers, Reed has devised special transference gloves and a tracking device so that they might recapture their powers.

First, they track Reed's stretching powers to a commuter whose arm is trapped in the door of a bus and is being dragged away. Reed catches up on a hoverbike and upon contact with the terrified man, recaptures his powers. With his powers back, Reed then uses them to stop the out of control bus. Reed quickly explains the situation to the others. At the scene of the accident, an NYPD officer suddenly bursts into flames and a delivery man turns into a Thing. The officer's sudden panic and flight and Ben's reluctance to retake his powers cause enough delay for their powers to hop to another pair of individuals somewhere in the city. When Ben chastises Reed for screwing up this situation, Sue wonders why Ben is being so angry, haven't figured out that Ben is reluctant to become the Thing again.

Meanwhile, Johnny has tracked down Sue's powers which have taken root in a stripper. When Sue tries to reclaim her powers, the pole dancer -- unaware that she is invisible -- fights back. Suddenly the powers transfer elsewhere, leaving the Fantastic Four back at square one. Johnny eventually gets his powers back after its transferred four more times when it finally transfers into a horse. They also locate Sue's powers as they transfer into a waitress. In a panic, she creates an invisible bubble that cuts off her air, but Sue talks the woman down enough to relax her control so Sue can reclaim her powers as well. With only Ben without his powers, Reed has figured out why they have failed at recovering his powers, Reed calls out his best friend for being irresponsible. Ben finally gets fed up and flees, and Reed reveals to the others that he suspects that Ben has discovered that his glove is bogus. When he checks the equations scribbled on his own, Reed notices that it's blank and realizes that Ben swapped gloves while they were arguing, ruining Reed's plans to take Ben's powers and remove him from the burden of being the Thing.

They chase Ben into the subway where Reed tries to stop him from reclaiming his powers. However Ben points out that if he doesn't become the Thing again they will not be a team and that they need him to watch their backs. Finding the most recent recipient of his powers, Ben makes contact and is transformed into the Thing once again. They soon return home to the children but the tranquility is short-lived as an alarm goes off warning them of danger in the Microverse. The Fantastic Four quickly mobilize to a ship and head off into the Microverse. Along the way, Reed remarks how he has realized that they will always be a team, and so long as the Fantastic Four are together there will be no limit to the adventure.