Fantastic Four #584
Congratulations, Mister Grimm. You're Handsome Again!
The Thing has returned from the Future City and waits for the evolutionary mutation to wear off and restore him back to his usual form. Looking at himself in the mirror, he is depressed that he's still his rocky self. Ben then goes into the kitchen and learns from Johnny that he and the children are helping see Sue off to Old Atlantis. He tells Johnny that he needs his help with something. In the hanger, Sue says goodbye to her children and tells them to behave themselves. She tells Reed that there shouldn't be any trouble brokering peace between the undersea kingdoms, and is soon takes off.
Meanwhile, Ben shows Johnny the vial of the serum that the Future Foundation developed. He explains that it should allow him to become human again once a year for an entire week. Grimm has decided to take the potion and wants Johnny around in case anything goes wrong. When the Thing takes the potion his rocky skin suddenly crumbles away revealing his human form underneath. Johnny jokingly says Ben is more hideous than ever before, which startles Ben until he realizes the joke. The Torch then suggests that instead of spending his time being weepy and sentimental about the whole thing, they should go out and have fun like two normal guys. Soon they are walking through the streets of New York City and Ben is happy to see that nobody stares. First, they check out a football game, have dinner with old friends before playing a poker game with the New Avengers. On their way back to the car that evening, they cross paths with the newest incarnation of the Yancy Street Gang, which now consists of ex-Wall Street and failed dot-com types. The gang is looking to rob them, but Ben and Johnny are spoiling for a fight and take them on.
At that moment, the Invisible Woman lands on Utopia Isle on the Pacific Ocean where she is greeted by Cyclops and Emma Frost of the X-Men. After pleasantries are made, Sue is taken to Namor where his envoy is ready to meet with the delegation from Old Atlantis. The Sub-Mariner tells Sue that he is looking forward to establishing a new union between these realms.
Back in New York, Ben and Johnny have trounced the Yancy Streeters and are about ready to call it a night. Before returning to the Baxter Building, Johnny says they have one more place they need to go first. Johnny doesn't tell Ben where they are going, but soon finds out their destination is Alicia Masters' apartment. It doesn't take much prompting to get Ben to go up and see his old girlfriend. Alicia is happy to see Ben and quickly discovers that he is human once again. The revelation brings her to tears. As the two embraces, Johnny watches Ben from the window, proud that he's finally doing what he has yearned to do for years.
In the early morning hours, Mister Fantastic is observing the Fault from one of his powerful telescopes. However, his work is interrupted by the arrival of the Silver Surfer who demands answers from Reed about the dead body of Galactus that he discovered buried below the Earth. The Surfer reveals that he knows that this Galactus came from the future and as such his master is the one who wants answers. No sooner does he say this does Galactus appears above the Baxter Building.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Future Foundation (Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Dragon Man, Wu, Vil, Korr, Mik, Turg, Tong, Leech, Artie Maddicks, Bently-23, Alex Power), Alicia Masters, Silver Surfer, Yancy Street Gang, Galactus, X-Men (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Sub-Mariner), HERBIE, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Nick Fury, Hawkeye, New Avengers (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man), Andromeda
Continuity Notes
The two men Johnny and Ben are having dinner with are Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Unlike most real-world people, Marvel Comics creators all live on Earth-616 in the prime of their lives and are not subject to the Sliding Timescale rules. Particularly in the case of Jack Kirby, who is still alive on Earth-616, whereas his real-world counterpart passed away in 1994. This also applies to Stan Lee who passed away in 2018.
