The Fantastic Four's Most Creative Plans to Save the Day

The Fantastic Four never run short on ideas. Whether they're pondering the great mysteries of the universe or trying to outsmart Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four always try to solve everything. Their innovative solutions to the challenges they face often push the boundaries of what's possible.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the Fantastic Four's most creative plans to save the day. From dealings with Galactus to the Thing's pirate voyages, here are some of the Fantastic Four's most out-of-the-box solutions to the problems they faced.

TURNING SKRULLS INTO COWS

On their second adventure as a team, the Fantastic Four encountered the Skrulls, a race of shape-shifting aliens with sights set on Earth. The Skrulls impersonated the Fantastic Four and went on a crime spree to discredit the heroes in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #2 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. However, Reed convinced the aliens to call off their invasion by tricking them into thinking that Earth was filled with giant monsters using pictures he took out of comic books.

However, a handful of Skrulls remained on Earth. Reed decided to turn them into cows and brainwashed them into believing they were merely cattle. Some of the Skrull cows eventually entered the food market as milk and beef – an unintended consequence of Reed's plan. After consuming Skrull cow products, several humans developed shape-shifting abilities. 

THE ULTIMATE NULLIFIER

When Galactus met the Fantastic Four for the first time, they drove the Devourer of Worlds away with one of their boldest plans. Uatu the Watcher broke his oath to never interfere with events by helping the team in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #50 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. After boosting the Human Torch's powers, he sent him into Galactus's ship, Taa II, to retrieve a small device called the Ultimate Nullifier. 

Despite its size, the Ultimate Nullifier truly frightened Galactus; it possessed the power to destroy an entire universe. When Reed confronted Galactus with the device, he forced the hungry World-Eater to turn away from Earth. A handful of other heroes and villains have also threatened to use the Ultimate Nullifier during moments of crisis.

TELEPORTING THE BAXTER BUILDING

When Reed Richards teleported an entire New York City block into the future, the Fantastic Four went from celebrated heroes to pariahs in an instant. In FANTASTIC FOUR (2022) #4 by Ryan North and Iban Coello, a horde of aliens from the Negative Zone traveled through a dimensional portal in the Baxter Building, threatening to escape into Manhattan. Reed made the split-second decision to stop the invasion by sending the Baxter Building exactly one year into the future.

While this plan prevented an alien invasion, it also sent the children of the Fantastic Four—and a whole New York City block —into the future, leaving a smoldering crater in the city center. As the public turned against the team, the Fantastic Four split up. Despite negative public sentiment, Reed's plan succeeded, with the team's headquarters and missing city residents returning one year later.

TEAMING UP WITH THE DINOSAUR AVENGERS

After falling into a world where dinosaurs still reigned as Earth's dominant species, the Fantastic Four teamed up with the Dinosaur Avengers to save both of their universes in FANTASTIC FOUR (2022) #12 by Ryan North and Iban Coello. The Fantastic Four traded places with their dinosaur counterparts, landing in a world identical to the Marvel Universe but populated by dinosaurs rather than humans. When Reed realized that their respective universes were merging, he teamed up with Dinosaur Iron Man to keep them apart.

Simultaneously to this alliance, Doctor Doom and Dinosaur Doctor Doom teamed up to stop the heroes, hoping to rule over one merged universe together. However, once the Thing and the Dinosaur Thing realized how fragile the Dooms' alliance was, they goaded the cloaked villains into fighting one another. While they successfully stopped the universes from merging, the human Doom turned Dinosaur Doom into his mount and took over the world in ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM.

TURNING GALACTUS HUMAN

Once upon a time, Galactus was merely a man named Galan. However, due to his massive stature and cosmic importance, Galactus became a giant-sized threat to the planet. After a brief tenure as a Herald of Galactus, the Human Torch used up his Power Cosmic in a massive blast that turned Galactus back into a human in FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) #522 by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo.

Not knowing when Galactus would transform back into his world-devouring form, the Fantastic Four took Galan around New York to help him understand humanity. Although unimpressed with Earth's artistic accomplishments, Galan felt moved by humanity's spirit. He decided to spare the universe from his hunger by temporarily exiling himself to an energy dimension while still in human form. Since then, Galactus has largely kept his promise to not eat Earth.

DISGUISING THE THING AS THE PIRATE BLACKBEARD

During the Fantastic Four's first encounter with Doctor Doom, the team went hurtling back in time in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #5 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While holding the Invisible Woman hostage, Doom sent the rest of the Fantastic Four back to the 18th century to steal the pirate Blackbeard's treasure chest, which he believed contained Merlin's magical jewels. 

The heroes tried to keep a low profile, disguising the Thing with a black beard, wig, and eyepatch. Unfortunately, the heroes failed to fool the pirates and were subsequently captured. However, once the pirates saw the trio's powers, they declared the Thing to be their leader, Blackbeard.

Seizing the opportunity, Reed replaced the jewels in the treasure chest with chains. However, the Thing embraced his new role as Blackbeard and wanted to stay in the past. When the Thing then tried to send his teammates away, a violent storm left them shipwrecked. Doom brought the trio back to the modern day and Ben apologized to his fellow team members.

FAMILY BONDING

In FANTASTIC FOUR: ROAD TRIP (2020) #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Filip Andrade, the Fantastic Four's family vacation shaped up to be one of their most horrifying stories to date. While taking a trip to the Grand Canyon, Reed took samples of cosmic dust in a meteor crater. However, as Reed studied the stardust, his body began to melt, and the Thing's rocky exterior started falling off. Elsewhere, the Invisible Woman turned completely invisible, Valeria Richards' genius intelligence regressed, and both the Human Torch and Franklin Richards lost control of their powers.

As the team's bodies began to break down on a subatomic level, Reed realized the dust was filled with cosmic radiation. Moments away from death, Franklin and Valeria urged the team to physically merge into one grotesque being, which replenished their powers. Once their bodies were restored, the Fantastic Four tracked down the Mad Thinker, the evil genius who set the trap for the team.

IGNORING THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN

The Impossible Man is one of the Fantastic Four's strangest foes. With bright green skin and the ability to transform into anyone or anything, the mischievous alien from the planet Poppup first brought his chaotic energy to Marvel’s First Family back in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #11 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

After crashing onto Earth, the Impossible Man wreaked havoc all over New York, putting him on the Fantastic Four's radar. Reed witnessed the Impossible Man’s antics and realized that their extraterrestrial visitor simply wanted attention. Mister Fantastic's solution to this problem? Convincing all of New York City to ignore the wild alien until he eventually lost interest and returned to space. Despite his unpredictability, the Impossible Man became an ally to the Fantastic Four and even briefly lived with the team.

RESCUING GALACTUS

While the Fantastic Four have fought Galactus countless times over the years, they still understand the necessary role he plays in the grand cosmic balance of the universe. In FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #244 by John Byrne, the Fantastic Four and several Avengers took Galactus down and saved the Earth from his hunger. However, Mister Fantastic realized that they needed to stop cosmic being from dying.

After some convincing, the heroes agreed to follow Reed's plan, combining Iron Man's technology with Thor's Asgardian lighting to revive Galactus. When they put the plan into motion, the World-Devourer woke up and began draining Mjolnir of its power until Captain America cut off their connection with his shield. Galactus named Nova (Frankie Raye) as his new Herald and left Earth in search of unpopulated worlds to consume. Meanwhile, Reed was put on a cosmic trial for saving Galactus, but he eventually proved his actions necessary.

TRAVELING TO THE AFTERLIFE

When Doctor Doom dramatically increased his mystical powers, he manipulated Mister Fantastic into killing the Thing. Although this devastated the team, Reed insisted that he could still save his friend. The FF decidedly traveled into the afterlife to retrieve their friend in FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) #511 by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo. As they explored the heavenly realm, the heroes found Ben Grimm's spirit. With some effort, the teammates revealed their true feelings towards each other, convincing the Thing to return to the land of the living. 

On their way back, the Fantastic Four encountered the One-Above-All, perhaps the most divine entity in the Marvel Universe. The godlike figure chatted with the mortals, erasing Reed's recent scars and restoring the Thing's powers. He also sent them home with an image of their future selves, one where they looked fulfilled after a lifetime of adventures as Marvel's First Family.

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