Fantastic Four #544 — Nick Peron

Mar 5

Mar 5 Fantastic Four #544

From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

A mysterious alien being has come to Earth's solar system to hide before it can find itself ample protection. Not long after it's arrival comes Stardust, the Herald of Galactus who is seeking out this alien presence. No longer able to detect it, Stardust contacts her master who advises Stardust that their quarry has cloaked themselves and that he will be there shortly.

Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building on Earth, the Thing and the Human Torch have just learned that Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are taking a leave of absence to work on their marriage, and taking their place will be the Black Panther and is wife Storm. The two have agreed to stay at the Baxter Building and lead the team after the Wakandan embassy was destroyed during the super-hero Civil War. Reed and T'Challa explain that while they were investigating the rubble they found that the embassy was loaded with explosives. Tony Stark -- the new director of SHIELD -- promises T'Challa that they will find out who was responsible. The Black Panther tells Tony that if it is discovered that the United States was responsible there will be dire consequences.

With everything explained, the Fantastic Four put on a press conference to announce the changes. The Black Panther explains to the press that he will be staying in the United States to work with the United Nations to help balance power across the world in light of the Super Human Registration Act being put into law in the United States. Reed and Sue also reiterate that they are not quitting the team, but taking a leave of absence to work on their marriage. Sue tells the press that they will be taking a second honeymoon to work things out.

Watching the press conference on television later, Johnny tells Storm that she is great at public relations. Storm thanks him and says it is no easy task, being with the X-Men she is used to speaking her mind, but since marrying T'Challa she has learned to choose her words more carefully as they could impact the entire nation of Wakanda. Elsewhere in the Baxter Building, T'Challa is having his aids move everything into their new headquarters. When inquiring about Reed and Sue, Ben tells him that they left to spend the time on the Saturnian moon of Titan. They are interrupted by T'Challa's aid W'Kabi who tells them that Michael Collin has come to see him.

Remembering Collins as the cyborg known as Deathlok, they are shocked to discover that he is now a normal human being once more. After they have confirmed Collins identity, he asks the new Fantastic Four to accompany him to the grave of Greg Willis, the late hero known as Gravity. The grave has been robbed of its body and Collins explains how Gravity saved the lives of himself and other heroes from the Stranger recently. The Black Panther scans the area and detects that a localized black hole was responsible for the disappearance of Gravity's body. When Ben wishes the Watcher were around to tell them what happened, Storm suggests that they go to the moon and do just that. Soon they take off in a new prototype ship built by Mister Fantastic. When the Black Panther tries to warn them all about the Watcher, Johnny reminds him that everyone in the ship has met the Watcher in the past.

When they arrive at the Watcher's citadel, they find that Uatu is not speaking to them. In order to get him to talk, the Black Panther has Storm steal the Ultimate Nullifier and he threatens to use it on Uatu if he doesn't talk. The Watcher tells them that if he uses the Ultimate Nullifier he will erase himself from history, a pity Uatu explains, as he tells them that their future child will have a grand role to play in the future. Ben gets everyone to calm down and Storm tells the Watcher that they have come seeking information, Uatu informs them that all they had to do was ask. The Watcher transports them into the Cyclopedia Universum, the massive storehouse of everything the Watchers have observed. While Uatu is explaining how it works, the Thing manages to find the information they are looking for.

The Fantastic Four are soon off in their ship until they find the adult form of the entity known as Epoch, who is responsible for stealing Gravity's body. Epoch fights against the Fantastic Four, telling them that she needs Gravity for protection and to leave before she is detected. However, it is too late as soon Epoch is found by the Silver Surfer.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing, Black Panther, Storm), Michael Collins, Epoch, Stardust, Silver Surfer, Watcher, W’Kabi, Tony Stark (flashback)

Continuity Notes

This story takes place during the same events portrayed in Black Panther Vol 4 #26.

The Wakandan embassy was destroyed during a fight between Storm and the clone of Thor in Black Panther Vol 4 #25, although who was responsible was never discovered.

Tony Stark mentions the surrender of Captain America. This happened in Civil War #7.

Sue states that she and Reed never went on a first honeymoon. She seems to forget that they actually did, at the Watcher's citadel, as seen in Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special #1.