Mister Fantastic in the MC2

 

By now Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been in cinema for a while, and I want to finish my quartet of posts delving into the MC2 Universe’s own founding members of the Fantastic Four …. or the Fantastic Five, as they became in this world. For today, let’s look at the big brain of the Fantastic Four, the most flexible and elastic Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic in the MC2.

 

All four core members of Marvel’s First Family debuted in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1961 title Fantastic Four #1, launching the very Marvel Universe itself as we know it today by depicting the fateful space launch which gave this famous four their powers.  

 

 

Unlike  Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm, or even Susan Richards, Reed’s first MC2 appearance is less straightforward. There is a cameo of the team in What If #105 which includes a shot of the H.E.R.B.I.E.-like Big Brain robot which Reed pilots remotely from the Negative Zone. Big Brain makes his full debut in Spider-Girl #3 but we don’t physically glimpse Richards himself until Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1 where we see Reed in flashbacks, before the dénouement of the issue reveals his hand…

 

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 

 Unfortunately, the doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the reality rip still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in a coma and she was placed in suspended animation.

 

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

 

It's not until Spider-Girl #87 that things change, with the cosmically empowered Apox the Omega Skrull heading into the Negative Zone to exact revenge on members of the Fantastic Five. During the battle, Reed Richards conceives a method to utilize Apox’s power cosmic to seal the tear in reality and in doing so, heal himself and allow Susan to awaken from her coma (Spider-Girl #88). Finally, a happy ending for the Fantastic Family.

 

While the couple do get some alone time on a vacation to another galaxy, it wouldn’t be long before they were drawn back into another universe-ending threat, this time orchestrated by devourer of worlds Galactus. But that’s a story for another time.

 

Until I find a way to stretch myself even thinner to reach my goals, I remain

 

frogoat

The Invisible Woman in the MC2

 

Marvel Studios has released The Fantastic Four: First Steps in cinema, and I’m inspired to continue delving into the MC2 Universe’s own founding members of the Fantastic Four …. or the Fantastic Five, as they became in this world. For today, let’s look at the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four, the heart of the team herself Susan Storm-Richards aka The Invisible Woman in the MC2.

 

All four core members of Marvel’s First Family debuted in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1961 title Fantastic Four #1, launching the very Marvel Universe itself as we know it today by depicting the fateful space launch which gave this famous four their powers.  

 

Unlike her brother Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm, Susan Richards didn’t make a cameo appearance in the pages of What If #105 where we saw a cameo appearance of the MC2’s Fantastic Five. It’s not until Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1 where we see Susan, albeit only in flashbacks, the most relevant being our first glimpse to a crucial event in Sue’s history…

 

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 

 Unfortunately, the doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the reality rip still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in a coma and she was placed in suspended animation.

 

 

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

 

It's not until Spider-Girl #87 that things change, with the cosmically empowered Apox the Omega Skrull heading into the Negative Zone to exact revenge on members of the Fantastic Five. During the battle, Reed Richards conceives a method to utilize Apox’s power cosmic to seal the tear in reality and in doing so, heal himself and allow Susan to awaken from her coma (Spider-Girl #88). Finally, a happy ending for the Fantastic Family!

 

After all that, it’s nice to end on a positive note especially because it speaks to the hopeful outlook of the MC2 overall. I’m enjoying these briefer posts and they leave space to explore more in the future.

 

Until I get to wear a see-through costume without controversy, I remain

 

frogoat

 

The Skrull Incident

 

Hey, looks like the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ show Secret Invasion is bringing the Skrulls back in a big way. What better way to celebrate than to take a look at a part of the MC2’s unexplored history by trying to uncover as much as possible about the mysterious event known as ‘The Skrull Incident’.

 

 

The first (and unless I am mistaken only) mention of ‘The Skrull Incident’ was in A-Next #2, when The Orbital Defense Grid detects the approach of a Kree spacecraft and fires upon it, resulting in the craft splitting into two before crashing into the Washington National Park. With the newly formed new Avengers team called in to investigate by Bill Foster, we learn a little history behind the Orbital Defense Grid when Mainframe off-handedly mentions to Thunderstrike that the Grid was erected years prior when the government was convinced by the events of the last known alien invasion, which he identifies only as 'The Skrull Incident'.

 

A collection of satellites positioned in orbit around the planet Earth, the Orbital Defense Grid comes equipped with long-range sensory instrumentation and offensive weaponry capabilities allowing it to detect and destroy incoming space debris, extraterrestrial spacecraft, and various other threats to the planet from outer space (A-Next #2, Spider-Girl #34, #46, #86). We also learn in Last Planet Standing #2 that Reed Richards helped design the Orbital Defense Grid.

 

Circling back to the Skrulls, we learn in Spider-Girl #3 that Lyja is married to Johnny Storm and in Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #2 we are first introduced to the couple's son, Torus Storm, a Human/Skrull hybrid. Torus possesses both his mother's Skrullian ability to shape-shift and his father's pyrogenic powers. Despite his (very) young age, Torus often attempts to aid his family in battle by altering his form into that of a muscular adult male while utilizing his flame-blasts.

 

Here's where we connect some dots from prior exploratory posts and add some speculation. As I mentioned in the History of the MC2: The Fantastic Four post approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Lyja was pregnant at this time and did not join the team on their mission (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4). 

 

Presumably, Lyja Storm is heavily pregnant with none other than Torus in the scenes depicting the Fantastic Four preparing to leave for the mission. Now this is significant because as I mention above, we know this mission was only ‘five or so years’ prior to the MC2’s present day. So, as I calculated in the How old is Torus Storm post, Lyja and Johnny’s son Torus is only around 5 or 6 years old.

 

From the book Comic Creators on Fantastic Four by Tom Defalco, we got this comment from Fantastic Four and Fantastic Five artist Paul Ryan:

Tom Defalco: You felt Johnny and Lyja should have actually had a baby, right? Do you want to explain why?

Paul Ryan: I thought it would have been a new dynamic for Johnny, in that he would have to start facing some grown-up responsibilities. I thought that it could make for an interesting character, too, because the child of a Skrull and a human would be totally unique – and it could lead to some interesting story arcs in which the Skrull Empire wanted to get hold of the child for some reason. We could have done things with the child itself, like accelerated growth rate; maybe the Skrulls mature faster. Also, things could have been very interesting where the child had the ability to face-shift, as well as he cosmic ray-based powers of heat and flame, which is something you experimented with in Fantastic Five. Finally, I thought it might bring Johnny and Lyja closer together, and there could have been some exciting story possibilities there.

 

 

I think the late, great Mr Ryan provides us with a very good explanation for why young Torus Storm looks and behaves more like a 10-year-old than a 5-year-old. Skrull hybrids are a rarity, and one that we know little about. But further to this point is Mr Ryan’s comment about the Skrull Empire wanting to get hold of the child.

 

As mentioned earlier, the Orbital Defense Grid was commissioned following the events of the mysterious 'Skrull Incident' (A-Next #2) which was some years prior. This alongside Apox the Omega Skrull's out of date references to heroes such as Thor, Captain America and Iron Man strongly suggests the Skrull Empire has not had contact with Earth since - a fact the marvunapp entry for Apox pointed out (Spider-Girl #47). Notably, in both battles with Apox, he refers to the Fantastic Five as ‘the team once known as the Fantastic Four’ and Skrull’s aboard the Skrull Worldship also refer to the team as the Fantastic Five suggesting the Skrull Empire is aware of the change in team name (Spider-Girl #47, Spider-Girl #86-#87).

 

It is also worth pointing out that apart from Apox, no one from the Skrull Empire approached Earth directly, as evident from the Skrull Worldship's position far away from the planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy (Spider-Girl #87-88). It is also suggested that Apox may have attacked the Fantastic Five against orders as a result of his delusion of godhood. While we do not know much about the state of the Skrull Empire, we do know that it is currently led by an Emperor (Spider-Girl #88) who presumably presides over the Skrull High Command (Spider-Girl #86-88) in a regime that Lyja refers to as 'virtual slavery' (Spider-Girl #88).

 

With all these points laid out, I would like to posit a hypothesis. I believe the so-called ‘Skrull Incident’ involved an invasion resulting in a large-scale attack upon Earth with a potential goal or motivation related to Torus Storm and his hybrid Skrull/Human nature. Presumably this occurred around 5 to 6 years prior to the MC2 present-day, either during Lyja’s pregnancy or shortly afterwards, potentially after the team officially rebranded as the Fantastic Five or simply while they operated with additional family members on a regular basis as the F4. Whatever the details, the invaders are defeated and the Skrull Empire seemingly do not attempt further attacks until the present day.

 

 In the aftermath of this Skrull Invasion, the government was convinced to erect The Orbital Defense Grid, possibly due to the security risk shape-shifting imposters pose to world authorities. Reed Richards (through his Big Brain robot proxies if we assume it takes place after his accident) helps to design this Defensive Grid, with long-range sensors that reach nearly to the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. This Grid proves effective in detecting and deterring potential alien invasions and is outfitted with offensive weaponry capable of destroying space debris and other threats.

 

Let me know what you think of this theory, it has been a long time brewing in the ol’ brain pan and involves a variety of different minor points of continuity being put together. Do you agree, disagree, or have a different theory?

 

Until I stop plucking at the various loose threads of the MC2’s untouched history, I remain

 

frogoat

Skrulls in the MC2

What a coincidence, I'm writing a post about Skrulls in the MC2 shortly before the release of the Captain Marvel movie which features Skrull prominently! In all seriousness, this post and a few others have been in the works for a while now. Without further ado, let's get started.

While the shape-shifting Skrulls have been menacing the Earth since they first appeared way back in Fantastic Four #2, the first time we see a Skrull in the MC2 is...the first appearance of the MC2 in What If #105. It's here we get a glimpse of the Fantastic Five, who's members include the Skrull Lyja Storm aka Ms. Fantastic.

We learn in Spider-Girl #3 that Lyja is married to Johnny Storm and in Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #2 we are first introduced to the couple's son, Torus Storm, a Human/Skrull hybrid. Torus possesses both his mother's Skrullian ability to shape-shift and his father's pyrogenic powers. Despite his (very) young age, Torus often attempts to aid his family in battle by altering his form into that of a muscular adult male while utilizing his flame-blasts.

Both Torus and his mother Lyja require far more attention than this write-up on the Skrulls as a whole can do justice, so look forward to me giving the them more focus in another post in the future. Needless to say, they are Skrulls and it would have been remiss of me to leave them out of this post.

We don't encounter any other members of the Skrull race until Apox the Omega Skrull is introduced in Spider-Girl #46. Apox a Skrull servant who was turned into a cyborg with the ability to access the Power Cosmic via a power nodule on his back. Apox killed the Skrull Genetech's who granted him this ability when they refused to worship him as a god. Making his way to Earth under the cover of a meteor swarm, making it past the Orbital Defense Grid and destroying the top of the Fantastic Five Headquarters on his mission to destroy the former Fantastic Four. When Spider-Girl removed the power nodule regulating Apox's Power Cosmic, the Omega Skrull nearly exploded due to the overload. Apox was defeated when the nodule was restored after Big Brain (Reed Richards) had made modifications to it (Spider-Girl #47).

Imprisoned within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s  secret Mount Athena maximum security prison, Apox is freed by a beam of 'coherent energy' sent by the Skrull High Command which restores him to power and eliminates the need for a command nodule. After leaving a trail of defeated heroes in his wake, Apox attacks the F5 Headquarters only to be delayed by the team's children and Spider-Girl (Spider-Girl #86-87). Meanwhile, a Skrull Worldship traps the F5 Headquarters within an 'extermi-field' which draws energy from the sun to create a bomb large enough to destroy the Island of Manhattan. It transpires Apox is merely a pawn for the Skrulls to exact their revenge on Earth, as they do not care if he succeeds or fails or even lives or dies (Spider-Girl #87).

Making his way into the Negative Zone via the Fantastic Five's portal, Apox heads to the Fantastistation to take out the original Fantastic Four, only to be defeated by the team when Reed Richards uses the Omega Skrull's Power Cosmic to seal the rift in reality and restore Susan Richards (Spider-Girl #87-88). Spider-Girl makes her way back out of the Negative Zone to deliver Reed Richard's solution to the solar bomb-reversing the polarity and sending the energy back to the Skrull Worldship. With the Skrull Worldship disabled and the mission a failure, the Skrulls chose imprisonment on Earth alongside Apox rather than face the Skrull High Command (Spider-Girl #86).

Finally, the Shaper of Worlds, the sentient Skrull-made original Cosmic Cube makes appearances in Last Planet Standing #2 and #3 alongside other Great Powers of the Universe who gather to discuss the threat to reality Galactus' final plan poses. Ultimately deciding they must destroy Galactus using a combined destructive bolt strong enough to wipe out the Earth and the entire Milky Way Galaxy, the Great Powers are halted in their attempt when Reed Richards is forced to use his Transdimensional Cannon's single shot on the cosmic beings.

As mentioned in my previous post the Orbital Defense Grid was commissioned following the events of the mysterious 'Skrull Incident' (A-Next #2) which was some years prior. This alongside Apox the Omega Skrull's out of date references to heroes such as Thor, Captain America and Iron Man strongly suggests the Skrull Empire has not had contact with Earth since - a fact the marvunapp entry for Apox pointed out (Spider-Girl #47). It's also worth pointing out that apart from Apox, no one from the Skrull Empire approached Earth directly, as evident from the Skrull Worldship's position far away from the planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy (Spider-Girl #87-88). It's also suggested that Apox may have attacked the Fantastic Five against orders as a result of his delusion of godhood. While we don't know much about the state of the Skrull Empire, we do know that it is currently led by an Emperor (Spider-Girl #88) who presumably presides over the Skrull High Command (Spider-Girl #86-88) in a regime that Lyja refers to as 'virtual slavery' (Spider-Girl #88).

And that's it, that's all I have to share about the Skrulls in the MC2. Clearly, there is an untold story in the history of the MC2 involving the 'Skrull Incident' and I believe it played a part in keeping the Skrull race from openly attacking Earth. Perhaps one day I'll expand on it in it's own post?

Until I can uncover Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz's unpublished scripts and plot ideas, I remain

frogoat