Fantastic Four #265-268

Fantastic Four #265-268

Originally released in 1984

Written by John Byrne

Art by John Byrne

The Secret Wars of the 80s must have been a confusing time for the series starring the characters involved. Fantastic Four 265 was released before Secret Wars even came out - in 264, the team (aside from Sue, who was pregnant) went into a mysterious spaceship, vanished into parts unknown, and returned in 265.  Ben was no longer with them, staying behind wherever they had been, and She-Hulk was a member of the team instead. (and this was before Secret Wars #1 even came out, so there was a full year for fans to speculate how all of this happened since the issues came out monthly)

I'm guessing that the writers of the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man discussed changes to the status quo that would happen as a result of Secret Wars, such as Spider-Man's black suit or She-Hulk joining the Fantastic Four, and Jim Shooter would have to set that up in Secret Wars.  I'm sure there are interviews on the topic out there; I'll have to look them up.

Fantastic Four issue 265 primarily builds up to this reveal, along with showing the Trapster (who I will choose to refer to as Paste-Pot Pete going forward) trying to break into the Baxter Building.  This is one of many, many low points in Paste-Pot Pete's career, as the Fantastic Four aren't home and his attempt at proving his worth leads to him being defeated by an empty building.

Sue (who still goes by the Invisible Girl by this point, though I'll use the name the Invisible Woman if it comes up) is talking with Alicia Masters, with both of them being concerned about the three other Fantastic Four being missing.

A complication with Sue's pregnancy leads to her being taken to the hospital, where Alicia thinks back to a while back where Ben was mind-controlled by a woman with hypnotic make-up and Sue had to stop him on her own.  This flashback takes up most of issue 266; I'm guessing John Byrne had a lot going on at the time.

At the end of issue 266, Reed's fellow scientists determine that only one man can help Sue in her radioactive condition: Doctor Otto Octavius, better known as Doctor Octopus. (it's one of the scenes where the big brains of Marvel, including Bruce Banner, meet only to determine that they can't solve this particular problem; at least in this case, there is a way to solve it, even if it's unorthodox)

Despite Otto being an unrepentant villain for years, Bruce is convinced that Reed can appeal to the good man that Otto used to be.  Whether knowingly or unknowingly, Reed manages to do exactly what Otto needs, referring to him as Dr. Octavius and stressing his need for Otto's help, which seems to break through to Otto. (though it's entirely possible that he's faking it and using it as a way to escape)

Otto's redemption does seem legitimate, though a poorly placed billboard asking the question that all New Yorkers need to hear ("Spider-Man: Threat or Menace?") causes cracks to appear in Otto's new mindset.

On some subconscious level, this causes Otto's mechanical arms (which are linked to his mind even when they're separated from his body) to activate and go on a rampage.  Upon being exposed to his arms, any clarity that Octavius once had is gone; he's back to being Doctor Octopus.

Reed manages to appeal to Doctor Octopus about as easily as he did to Otto Octavius - admitting that Ock is his better in this particular field likely helps, playing to the mad scientist's ego.  Reed and Otto arrive to the hospital, only to find that everyone is refusing to give them a straight answer about what's happening to Sue.  As it turns out, she's fine given the circumstances, but the same can't be said for the baby.

This came as a bit of a shock to me; I knew that Valeria's birth involved similar circumstances (Reed is forced to turn to a villain, in this case Doctor Doom, to help with the complications of Sue's pregnancy; in return, Doom gets to name the girl and become her godfather), but I thought that might be what happened in issue 268.  Issue 268 does involve Doom, though not in the way I thought.

As Reed and Sue are recovering from their loss, Johnny takes She-Hulk back to the Baxter Building to get her included in their security systems and show her around.  She-Hulk is fairly relaxed when it comes to the secret identity concept, explaining her backstory and history as Jen Walters to Johnny.  She's dealing with some self-confidence issues due to being seen as a joke, presumably in reference to Byrne's comedic and character-defining run on the character where she broke the fourth wall before Deadpool was even created.

Doctor Doom's mask in the team's trophy room seems to take on a life of its own, attacking Johnny and Jen before Reed cuts off the signal. Doctor Doom is presumed dead (though he was brought back from wherever he was for the events of Secret Wars; there's no way that Marvel would leave out their best villain), but with the mask being controlled by someone with access to Doom's technology, Reed has his doubts.  While these issues didn't focus as much on She-Hulk as I expected, and dealt with some heavy topics, it did a great job with showing Reed's compassionate and angry sides as he deals with Otto (before and after the arms reunite with Otto, respectively).