Fantastic Four #548
Kind of an Expensive Test
The Frightful Four have captured the Invisible Woman. The Wizard keeps her bound with a power inhibitor and demands that she recognizes him as the intellectual superior to Reed Richards. Sue refuses to submit to the Wizard’s torture and he backhands her.
Back in Manhattan, the destroyed remnants of Reed's fold ship continues to burn. Reed, however, is not on board. He is safe inside the United Nations building with the rest of the Fantastic Four. The Black Panther suspected that the ship might be booby-trapped, so he sent it out unmanned for a test run.
The team knows who their enemies are and take measures to rescue Sue. Reeds transmit a holographic message to Titan and threaten to nuke the moon if Sue is dead. The other members of the Frightful Four don't feel as if Reed is bluffing and the Wizard is outraged that he failed to destroy his most hated enemy.
The Fantastic Four arrive on Titan and begin fighting the Frightful Four. Hydro-Man encases the Thing's head in a bubble of water, but Johnny breaks off the attack by burning Hydro-Man’s watery arm. The Trapster decides to run away and tosses an array of technological weapons behind him. The Black Panther evades each device and kicks the Trapster to the ground. The Thing steps into a puddle of the Trapster's super-paste and momentarily pauses. This gives Titania the chance to attack him from behind. Hydro-Man then projects a channel of water, which slams the Black Panther against the wall. The Wizard attacks Reed directly and injures him with his neural disrupter. Storm discorporates Hydro-Man’s body by super-heating his molecules into a state of pure humidity. The Wizard is not without a back-up plan, however. He opens a sealed case containing an electrified sound converter. The device activates and generates the body of Klaw – Master of Sound!
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Black Panther, Storm, Human Torch, Thing), Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Frightful Four (Wizard, Trapster, Hydro-Man, Titania, Klaw), “Hank Pym”
Continuity Notes
Titania joined the Frightful Four so the Wizard will help her defeat the She-Hulk. Titania has had a grudge against She-Hulk since Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #3.
Johnny mentions how the Wizard used to be a stage magician before going crazy. The Wizard was once a famous escape artist until the Human Torch became popular, which drove the Wizard crazy as seen in Strange Tales #102.
This is not the real Henry Pym in the story but a Skrull imposter as revealed during Secret Invasion. The real Pym was swapped out prior to Beyond #1
