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Fantastic Four Vol 1 288

Part of the 'Secret Wars II' event

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #288

"Full Circle"
Writers John Byrne Pencilers John Byrne Inkers Joe Sinnott Colourists Glynis Oliver Letterers John Workman Editors Michael Carlin

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Fantastic Four #287

Fantastic Four #289

Mortal, I know not who you are, but you must be the greatest fool on all this world of fools!

-- Beyonder

Appearing in "Full Circle"Edit

Featured Characters:

Fantastic Four

Supporting Characters:

Wasp
Norman MacArthur
Peggy MacArthur
Sarah

Villains:

Other Characters:

Silver Surfer (Only in flashback)
Terrax the Tamer (Only in flashback)
Hulk (Only in flashback)
Thor (Only in flashback)
Iron Man)
Captain America (Only in flashback)
Hawkeye (Only in flashback)
Spider-Man (Only in flashback)
Captain Marvel (Only in flashback)
Wolverine (Only in flashback)
Doctor Octopus (Only in flashback)
Klaw (Only in flashback)
Cyclops (Only in flashback)

Locations:

New York City
- Latverian Embassy
Battleworld (Only in flashback)

Items:

Doctor Doom's Armor (Appears in flashback and main story)
Doctor Doom's Concussion Ray
Flames of Falroth
Mjolnir (Only in flashback)
Hawkeye's Bow (Only in flashback)
Captain America's Shield (Only in flashback)
Iron Man Armor MK V (Only in flashback)
Spider-Man's Web-Shooters

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Full Circle"Edit

Secret Wars II continues from Uncanny X-Men #203, this story continued from last issue...

Tracking his sister Sue's distress signal to the Latverian embassy, the Human Torch easily fights his way past the robots that guard the building. Smashing his way through the front doors, Johnny makes short work of the other guards and almost blasts an old lady named Sarah. Sarah explains that she came to the embassy with her daughter Peggy MacArthur. As it turns out, Peggy's husband Norman had been acting strange of late and began talking in a strange accent. Making Peggy a prisoner in her own home, Norman fashioned a costume based on that of the old Fantastic Four villain the Invincible Man and went into the city to attack the Fantastic Four. When Sarah and Peggy saw news footage of Norman's battle they came to the Latverian embassy where they saw Norman fighting the Invisible Woman. Not wishing to see her husband hurt, Peggy then struck Sue over the head knocking her out. Unmasking the Invincible Man mask Peggy was shocked to see the mask of Doctor Doom underneath instead of that of her husband. Sarah fled and Peggy was captured, Sarah was on her way out when she ran into the Torch.

Telling the elderly woman to find safety, Johnny rushes off to find his sister and finds Reed, She-Hulk and the Wasp instead and helps them fight more Doombots. Their reunion is brief when they are suddenly confronted by Doom who fells the four heroes with a sonic blaster device. When the Fantastic Four revive they find themselves bound in specially made cages that counteract their powers. Before the FF, Wasp and Peggy MacArthur, Doom explains that he intends them to witness his greatest triumph before killing them all. Unmasking, Peggy is shocked to see the face of her husband Norman underneath. However, Doom explains that when his body was slain during the clash between the Silver Surfer and Terrax^[1] his mind survived when he used a mind swapping trick he learned from the Ovids^[2] to transfer his mind into the body of Norman MacArthur. He then bided his time to get his ultimate revenge.

He shows them a mystical portal that he has created in which he intends to use the powers of sorcery to do what science could not: restore his original body. Using the his arcane might he calls upon the ultimate power, and much to the surprise to those gathered, succeeds in summoning the Beyonder. However, despite Doom's attempts to subjugate the Beyonder, the One From Beyond -- no longer having patience for humans -- easily defeats him. When Richards protests killing Doom, the Beyonder frees him and asks why.

When it's pointed out that the Beyonder does not recognize Doom (As he sees people auras, and since Doom is in a different body, his aura is different), Richards theorizes that Doom acted as though he never met the Beyonder before and that he acted as though he was clashing with the She-Hulk for the first time as well. He theorizes that when the Beyonder originally pulled Dr. Doom to Battleworld for the Secret Wars^[3] it was during a period when Doom's body was destroyed. He realizes that the Beyonder must have plucked Dr. Doom from some point in the future after his body was restored. When the Beyonder confirms this, Richards warns him against killing Doom as it would alter history so that Doom was never sent back in time to participate in the Secret War and the possible consequences could destroy all time. When the Beyonder cannot be certain that if he could survive the destruction of all time, he decides to set things right: Using his vast powers, he recreates Doom's original body and reverses Doom's mind swap with MacArthur. With Doom in his proper body, the Beyonder sends him back in time to participate in the Secret War. With the time cycle complete, the Beyonder teleports away.

With the threat over, Mr. Fantastic rushes everyone outside of the embassy before Doom is returned to this spot following his defeat at the hands of the Beyonder in the past^[4].

Secret Wars II concludes in Secret Wars II #9....

NotesEdit

The explanation that Reed gives for the need to restore Doom to his body is similar to the plot of Back to the Future, a popular 1985 comedy directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Doom used the power given to him by the Oviod's to transfer his mind from his body to Norman MacArthur's just before his body was destroyed by the Silver Surfer and Terrax. The Fantastic Four presumed he was dead. ^[5]

At the conclusion of the Secret Wars, Doom and Klaw were banished to an unknown point by the Beyonder.

This issue contains a letters page, Fantastic Forum. Letters are published from John R. Seitz, Cheng King Ian, Louis Morra, Dave Lemon, and Mike Griffith.

This issue is reprinted in comics and books, see references for more info.^[6]

TriviaEdit

All of the participants of Secret Wars I appear to be depicted in a shadowy Flashback scene. Only those characters clearly identified are listed in Appearances.