Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #560 tells us what’s been going on in this story arc, with still more twists and turns for our heroes.

Recap: Johnny’s new girlfriend, the super-powered bank robber named Psionics, is actually a member of newbie villain team the New Defenders, who have kidnapped both Johnny and Dr. Doom, hooking them up to a machine attached to a very dead-looking Galactus. Also, the leader of the New Defenders appears to be none other than the Hulk. What’s going on?

This issue begins with a flash forward, showing New York City being flooded. The caption narration says this is the eco-disaster that Reed’s old flame Alyssa Moy has been trying to prevent. Thanks to Reed’s efforts, the disaster did not happen in thirty years, but in five hundred. We see lots of images of death and destruction, leading to the year 2509, in which the Hulk and Earth’s remaining superheroes build the Great Machine. Hulk exclaims, “We’re going back in time.”

Hulk explains that a few of the heroes will go back in a small team to establish a base in the past, and then bring the rest of the survivors back. The others are wary of time travel, but the Hooded Man, the New Defenders’ mystery man, say to trust “my boy.” Hulk says the problem is finding a power source for the machine, which is not possible after the disaster destroyed Wakanda. And that’s when Galactus appeared overhead.

Cut the present, where Johnny is the one being told this story. He concludes that the heroes defeated Galactus and then used his powers to fuel the time machine. Hulk says he’s really Hulk Junior, son of the original. He introduces the others: Natalie X, Alex Ultron, the Hooded Man, Lightwave, and of course Psionics. Hulk Junior also says the Hooded Man is his stepfather, and Alex and Natalie are a couple.

Johnny deduces that the Psionics was robbing all those banks to fund the New Defenders’ base. She says the combination of his, Doom’s and Galactus’ powers will save eight billion lives in the future. Johnny says there’s no way for him to respond to this without being selfish. Dr. Doom is less diplomatic, swearing vengeance on his captors. Then Hulk says he’s not the New Defenders’ leader, but that the leader is on the way.

Out in the streets of NYC, Reed, Ben, and Sue examine the wreckage of last issue’s fight between Lightwave and Johnny. A cop says there are no civilian fatalities from the fight, but Sue and Reed and more concerned about Johnny’s disappearance. In Washington Heights, we follow Ben’s new girlfriend Debbie Green, as she meets with man named Jason. He acts threatening, and he tells him to leave her alone. He says people are laughing at her, and he adds, “I will not be dumped for the Thing.”

Later that night, at the new Baxter Building, Reed chats with the family’s new nanny, Tabitha Deneuve. He says he’s working on nanotech tracing devices to prevent the next time one of the FF gets kidnapped. Mrs. Deneuve says, “Don’t ever change.” Then Reed is thrown across the room and his lab is trashed by an unknown force. Deneuve takes control of the building’s computer and puts the entire building into lockdown.

Ben and She-Hulk, who is there to work with Sue’s new charity fundraising group, meet up with Deneuve to get her to safety. But then another unseen power forces them through the floor and then outside the building. Then Sue and Valeria run up. Sue promises to get Deneuve and Valeria to safety, but all Deneuve says is, “Put the baby down.”

Turn the page and see Sue and Deneuve fighting each other with matching invisible force fields. Sue is stronger, but Deneuve is the more experienced fighter. She knocks Sue out. Deneuve tells Valeria that Sue will be fine. Valeria, whom you’ll remember was revealed to be a child genius a few issues back, asks about the rest of the world. Deneuve says, “The rest of the world should have been more careful about the future they left us.”

Deneuve uses her power to punch yet another hole in the building. She contacts her people, saying the Fantastic Four have been neutralized and that she has secured the final component for the plan. She instructs Valeria to tell the FF not to look for her. Valeria calls Deneuve “Mom,” and asks her to think about what she’s done. Then Deneuve throws off her coat to reveal a futuristic Fantastic Four uniform underneath. Yes, this is Sue from the future, and the New Defenders’ leader. She says, “I’ve had five hundred years to think about it, darling.”

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: Deneuve encourages Reed to tell the kids about Johnny’s abduction, so they don’t learn it from TV news. Reed is dismissive of this, saying Sue will handle this. Stuff like this is why people think Reed is unlikable.

Fade out: Sue seems to figure out who Deneuve is just before the big fight, saying “Oh, no” just before Deneuve attacks.

Clobberin’ time: Debbie says she and Ben never got to see David Letterman, as the call about Johnny’s abduction came in before the show started.

Flame on: It’s hinted at but not said that Johnny might be harmed (or killed?) in some way by powering Hulk Junior’s engine. What’s his moral dilemma, then? Not wanting to mess with the time stream? Now wanting to partner with Psionics after learning of her criminal ways?

Fantastic fifth wheel: No dialogue for She-Hulk in her appearance this issue.

Four and a half: Is Franklin okay? We see him reading Mark Millar comics, including adults-only books like Kick-Ass and Wanted. Sure, that’s an Easter egg, but then Franklin says he wants to watch the most violent movie he can find.

Our gal Val: Val shows off her newly revealed genius by deducing Deneuve’s real identity. Deneuve/Future Sue just accepts this and doesn’t ask how Valeria figured it out.

Sue-per spy: The 2019 Invisible Woman miniseries revealed that Sue was secretly a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent all along. We see using that spy training as Mrs. Deneuve, infiltrating and then incapacitating the FF.

Trivia time: Hulk Junior says the New Defenders once had 147 members, but these seven are the only ones who survived the battle against Galactus. We see a bunch of the others during the flashback, but none of them are named. One is a Spider-Man type, one is a Captain America type, there’s an Ant-Man like shrunken guy, and one guy has an X-Men logo on his suit.

Fantastic or frightful? Writer Mark Millar connects a lot of dots he’d set up throughout this story arc, so much so that we might be able to predict the ending at this point. But it’s all about getting there. The turn involving Mrs. Deneuve is especially nicely done.

Next: Start your engines.

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