Marvel Unlimited

Available

Release Date

Cover Date

When Ben makes a crack about putting off marrying Alicia, Johnny takes the opportunity to put down Ben for the way he appears. This angers the Thing and the two almost come to blows when Reed and Sue intervene. After Reed and Sue leave, Ben accidentally makes reference to Alicia, upsetting her that he still views her blindness as something to pity, decides to show herself out. When Ben tries to confide in Johnny how he feels about his appearance, Johnny -- still sore about having to let Crystal go back home -- gets angry at him for being so stubborn about his relationship with Alicia and storms out. Reed and Sue watch Johnny leave in a hurry and Sue wonders if Johnny is taking Crystal's departure from the group too hard.

Back inside, Ben decides to distract his mind and decides to put on Reed's Thought-Projector Helmet. Conjuring up an image of himself when he first mutated into the Thing, with a thick leathery hide, and then as he is now with a rocky exterior, the Thing soon begins remembering himself after the faithful trip into space that led to his transformation.

This in turn leads to a visual recollection of the events that gave birth to the Fantastic Four. Ben recalls how Reed asked Ben, Sue and Johnny to assist him in a commandeering his space ship before the government could shut down the project. How Reed ignored Ben's warnings about cosmic rays. How they succeeded in sneaking onto the base and blasting off in the rocket without being captured. Then comes the memory of Ben's warnings coming to life: cosmic rays bombarding the ship. He recalls how Johnny was complaining about his body feeling like it was on fire, and how he himself could not lift himself off the floor. Ben then recalls how when their ship landed, Sue suddenly vanished from sight. Ben himself mutated into his Thing form and when he tried to start a fight with Reed, they were similarly shocked when he was able to stretch out of the way and then subdue Ben with rubber-like arms. Johnny suddenly burst into flames and was able to fly, inspired by the comic book hero, Johnny decides to call himself the Human Torch. Lastly, Ben recalls how Reed got them all to pay attention and suggested that they used their new found powers to the benefit of mankind. Calling themselves Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch and the Thing, the Fantastic Four were born.

Ben then recalls how shortly after they gained their powers, they ended up crossing paths with the Mole Man, an ugly man who hide below the Earth after being shunned by society because of his appearance. He also recalls their first battle with the Mole Man, wherein they battled his creatures and prevented him from unleashing his minions through various tunnels he dug beneath the Earth. How that battle ended with the Fantastic Four seemingly vanishing the Mole Man, trapping him in his underground kingdom.^[1] Ben then recalls the group's most recent encounter with the Mole Man, wherein Sue had bought a bizarre metal home to the newly born Franklin in. They soon discovered it was the staging ground for the Mole Man's latest scheme to blind everyone on the surface. Force to fight the Mole Man without their eyesight, the Fantastic Four were still able to foil these plans, but the Mole Man had escaped and then destroyed the metal construct he had created.^[2]

A few days earlier, Peter Parker went to seeJ. Jonah Jameson for an out of town photo assignment. Jameson complains about having to cover the expense of such a trip, butJoe Robertson tells them thatDaredevil and theBlack Widow have been very active inCalifornia and that they are newsworthy enough to send someone out to San Francisco. Accepting that Peter is likely the best photographer to send to capture photos of the two heroes, Jameson agrees to send Parker out, but warns him that he better take some stellar pictures

...Snapping out of his recollection, Spider-Man manages to break their fall with a net of webbing. However, the Werewolf still comes at the wall-crawler, forcing the hero to toss the monster off the side of the bridge and into the water below. As Spider-Man looks for any sign of his attacker, he is unaware as the spectral face of some strange individual appears behind him. After a brief observation, the face vanishes before Spider-Man can sense its presence. Famished, Spider-Man swings into the city and changes into Peter Parker. Going into a diner, he orders a meal from the waitress. Peter notices that the waitress who took his order was emotionless. Looking around, he notices that everyone else in the diner appears to be in some kind of trance. When the waitress comes back with his food, she suddenly screams, and the Werewolf comes crashing in through the front door. Peter struggles with the Werewolf, but their fight sends them crashing out of the diner's window. With his street clothes shredded, Peter slams the Werewolf's head into the side of a car then leaps onto the roof of the diner to change into his Spider-Man costume. Suddenly, the people inside the restaurant come pouring out and walk off into the streets, still under a trance.

With the sun rising, Spider-Man is shocked to witness the Werewolf revert back to human form. Spider-Man helps the man up, and learns that he is Jack Russell. Russell explains that he came to San Francisco to recover from the effects of the last full moon along with his sisterLissa and his friendBuck Cowan. He explains that they decided to check out a magic show by a magician calling himselfMoondark. During the performance, Moondark put the entire audience into a trance, including Jack Russell. When he snapped out of it, he found himself in Moondark's dressing room. The sorcerer then used his magical powers to transform Jack into the Werewolf and teleport him to the Golden Gate Bridge to attack Spider-Man.

Deciding to help, Spider-Man is taken to the theater where Moondark is performing. There, the wall-crawler smashes their way in. However, Jack suddenly turns into the Werewolf and attacks Spider-Man, sending both crashing down the stairs. There Moondark still has Lissa and Buck in a trance. Although Spider-Man struggles with the Werewolf, he realizes his best chance is to stop Moondark. The wall-crawler shoves Moondark through his mists of transportation, sending the two away. Without Moondark's influence, Jack Russel and his friends are returned to normal. They then wonder what became of Spider-Man and Moondark. Meanwhile, on the Golden Gate Bridge, Spider-Man holds on for dear life, after being transported there by the mists. Unfortunately for Moondark, he fell intoSan Francisco Bay, and seemingly perished. Spider-Man swings off to recover his clothing so he can complete his assignment.

• Published by Marvel UK
• Roma is first named in this story.
• The2nd story is a reprint of the first part ofFantastic Four #126 in black and white.
• The3rd story is a reprint of the first part ofNick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #5 also in black and white.
• The4th story is a reprint of the third part ofMarvel Team-Up #12 also in black and white.

• Fantasy
• Sci-fi
• Marvel