Gregory Hungerford Gideon was a multi-billionaire and one of the richest men on the planet until he planned to overthrow the other three financial giants by making a wager with them. He challenged them to give him a task he couldn’t complete with all his fortune, and if he did, they would abdicate their fortunes to him. They agreed, and dared him to destroy the Fantastic Four. He immediately set his planners to work and together they created a ploy to turn the Fantastic Four on one another. Gideon’s machinations tricked the Thing into believing Mister Fantastic had been replaced by a Skrull, and tricked the Invisible Girl into believing the Human Torch had been replaced by one of Doctor Doom’s robots. The four each fought each other, and soon collided with each battling pair. Then Johnny and Ben joined forces against Reed and Sue, until one of Gideon’s men placed a concussion gun next to Reed, which he used to fire at the other two. Instead of knocking them out, it knocked all four unconscious.
While they were out, Gideon had his men construct a time machine based on Doom’s time platform in the Baxter Building. He instructed them to set it off when the FF entered the building. But his son, Thomas, heard his plan, and because he loved the Fantastic Four, he ran to stop the plot. Both Gideon and his wife tried to stop their son but he ignored them. Gideon ignored both his son and his wife in turn, obsessed with the idea of making more money and having more power.
But when Thomas Gideon rushed to the Baxter Building, he was unable to convince the Fantastic Four to stop their fighting and stay out of their headquarters, and so he ran in instead and Gideon’s men triggered the time machine. Before he could be sent into time, the Thing crashed through the wall and grabbed him to save him, being transported himself. The rest of the Fantastic Four chased out Gideon’s men and Reed turned off the power to the time machine. Gideon, himself, arrived and pleaded with Reed to return his son, who he had watched disappear, offering him any amount of money. Reed admonished him for setting up the trap, and Gideon broke down, realizing that his one true fortune was his own son, and his power-hunger had taken him away. But Thomas soon appeared, along with the Thing, the Torch, and Gideon’s wife, who had told them of Gideon’s plans. Ben revealed that Reed had shut off the power in time to catapult them back into the present, and Gideon was reunited with his son. Gideon was so relieved that he vowed to renounce his fortune to charity, and planned to spend the rest of his life making up for his cruelty to his wife and son.
