Fantastic Four #606 — Nick Peron

Mar 14

Mar 14 Fantastic Four #606

Adventures in Red

The Fantastic Four are piloting a ship through an alien landscape. However, the atmospheric pressure is having an adverse effect on the ship. Despite the Thing's best efforts to keep the shuttle under control, it crashes knowing everyone out.

Earlier, at the Baxter Building, Reed shows them their target and tells them that time is running out. He warns his team that this mission will be dangerous thanks to the environmental hazards. Sue speaks for them all that no danger is too great and they must succeed.

Waking up first, the Invisible Woman sees that the windshield of their ship is beginning to crack. Reinforcing it with her powers, she revives the others and they get into their environmental suits. Reed explains that they will have to get to their destination on foot and soon they exit the ship.

Once outside, Mister Fantastic tells them that they have a limited oxygen supply and that they must hurry. They continue through the strange alien landscape without incident for hours. Suddenly, they are attacked by monstrous creatures. This causes them to think back to earlier in the day when Reed deduced that they wouldn't have any problems on their course but to be cautious anyway as there are plenty of hostile organisms in this environment. When the Torch tries to use his powers, Mister Fantastic is too late in warning him that the environment is super-oxygenated. Before the massive blaze can destroy them all, the Invisible Woman is able to contain it in her force field. In all of the confusion, Reed manages to get atop of one of the creatures and implant a device into it that will allow them to ride the creature to their destination.

Eventually, they reach their destination, where they come across the massive object that they have been seeking. A huge, organic mass that is growing from the surface of this alien environment. When they ask Mister Fantastic what they are going to do now, he tells his team that they are going to steal it. This causes them all to reflect back to Reed's plans to extract this gigantic mass, and how it is actually an inoperable tumor growing in the brain of Willie Lumpkin, the Fantastic Four's long time mailman. Attaching a number of devices to the tumor, the Fantastic Four activate them and the tumor is teleported out of Lumpkin's body. When Willie wakes up later, the Fantastic Four explains that they saved his life and they hope that he has the energy for visitors. Lumpkin is then surprised to see Valeria and Franklin come rushing into the room.