Re-reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. In the last issue, we were introduced to mysterious aliens called the Kree. This week, in issue #65, they’re already back.

Things begin strangely, with the FF floating in space somehow, being spoken to by a big green floating head. He claims to be the Kree Supreme Intelligence. He says he knows the FF destroyed the Sentry last issue. (He actually destroyed himself last issue. So much for “supreme intelligence.”) The Kree warns the FF that the Accuser is coming for them. Then, everyone wakes up. We get a lot of “roommates comedy” shtick as everyone wakes up from what they think is a dream. Not only are Johnny and Ben sharing the same room, but the same bed! How big is this skyscraper they all live in? Maybe this is just temporary because of how the building got trashed by Blastaar and the Sandman in issues 61-63. Anyone, our heroes share notes and realize they’ve all had the same dream.

Reed opines that their lives might be in danger from an evil somewhere out in the stars (taking a moment to exposit that Triton has left to rejoin the Inhumans), but Sue won’t have it. We get some uncomfortable battle-of-the-sexes stuff where Sue said she’s had it with fighting villains and wants a normal life instead. “I’m a woman!” she says. “I want feminine dresses and foolish hairdos!” Make of that statement what you will. Reed calms her down and promises to buy her a whole new wardrobe (!) and take her out for a night on the town.

Out in space, we meet Ronan the Accuser, a Kree, who has been sent to Earth by the Kree Supreme Intelligence. He teleports from his ship down to Earth, where he’s invisible thanks to his “negative aura.” He opines about how primitive and simple-minded we humans are. Then, there’s more comedy as Johnny is bugging Ben as Ben reads the newspaper, and Ben accidentally trashes the place while trying to snuff out Johnny’s flame. From there, we join Sue and Crystal out shopping. Crystal, an Inhuman, doesn’t know what to make of normal human clothes, and Sue bafflingly says “That brother of mine would like you in a barrel, Crystal!” Johnny shows up in his hot rod and takes Crystal for a ride, while Reed arrives and he and Sue lovingly discuss love at first sight.

Reed and Sue enjoy dinner at the most expensive restaurant in New York. (I looked it up, and the most expensive restaurant in NYC is Masa, located at 10 Columbus Circle.) Just as they sit down to eat, Reed and Sue vanish in a puff of smoke. Out in the countryside, a motorcycle cop pulls Johnny over for speeding, only for Johnny to vanish as well. At the Baxter Building, Ben receives a suspicious package from those pranksters in the Yancy Street Gang, but he vanishes before it can be opened. (The mailman is not Willlie Lumpkin, a missed opportunity.)

The FF reappear inside an “uncanny cone of invulnerability,” where they are confronted by Ronan the Accuser. True to his name, he accuses them of destroying the Sentry. They don’t sit there take it, and everybody fights. Ronan has a Thor-like hammer he smacks Ben with, and he absorbs Johnny’s flame. He further proves his superiority by hitting our heroes with a stun blast. Ben finds himself weakened to the point where he can barely crawl, but crawl he does in some hope of defeating Ronan.

We then cut to Alicia, who we haven’t seen since issue #65. She’s thinking of Ben, wondering where he is, when she hears a mysterious voice, one she says she’s been hearing a lot lately. A shadowy figure appears in her room and promises not to hurt her. We don’t see who this is, but we can see he’s got a cool red wristband. He and Alicia walk through the wall, as he tells her, “As long as my arm is around you, no harm can come to us!” he says.

Outside the “cone of invulnerability,” the police have arrived and are trying to blast a hole in it. “Not even Tony Stark has an answer!” one cop says. Inside, Ronan has found the FF guilty and is about to carry out his sentence. Then, Ben grabs him from behind, with help from Sue, who had turned Ben invisible while Ronan was distracted. More fighting! Ronan knocks Johnny unconscious, and then attacks Reed with a “whirl-ray.” Reed tells Ben to use “Stratagem 32.” Ben flattens Ronan, pinning him on his hammer (not a euphemism). This causes the weapon to discharge against Ronan. This defeats him and destroys the dome. The police move in to help our heroes. Reed theorizes that Ronan is not dead, but teleported back to his ship, and he hopes the Kree learned their lesson and will never return.

Unstable molecule: Reed gets thrown around real good by Ronan. The cops use a big laser-blaster thing that they say was built by Reed himself.

Fade out: Sue’s whining at the start of the issue isn’t exactly feminist, but she does a good job in the fight, tricking Ronan, protecting her teammates, and then knocking Ronan back with her force fields.

Clobberin’ time: Ben gets a big hero moment in this issue, fighting back against Ronan even after being driven to a weakened state. We never get to see what prank the Yancy Street Gang sent him.

Flame on: Johnny’s new hot rod is a stripped-down number with an exposed engine. He says it sounds “like a sonnet.”

Trivia time: Ronan the Accuser shows up from time to time in the Marvel Universe, most notably in the Kree/Skrull War arc and the Annihilation crossover. He’s recently made the leap from “villain” to “tortured anti-hero.” He’s played by Lee Pace in the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Commercial break: Not only does this ad promise kids they can master multiple martial arts disciplines in a single week, but what is going on in the illustration? Is one guy on the ceiling attacking the second guy with his butt? What kind of martial arts is that?

Fantastic or frightful? This is basically a romantic comedy issue that happens to have a superhero fight in it. That’s all right, though, because it’s character development. It shows these folks have other interests beyond punching alien invaders.

Next week: What’s happened to Alicia?

****

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