The Plan Is: Play Dead!

Previously, we've seen a plan employed by Reed Richards where the Fantastic Four and their allies, the uncanny Inhumans, took the shortest route to victory by employing a deception that made it appear their entire group was defeated by the powers of their attackers, thereby ensuring a successful outcome of the conflict. (That may seem a bit of a contradiction, but be sure to read the whole story to see how it all comes together.) To pull off the objective, the Invisible Girl covertly made use of her invisible force field to protect those who were attacked from receiving fatal injury without the attacker's knowledge. Once the dust settled, their foes were dealt with, and the FF and Inhumans brushed themselves off with no one the wiser.

If it seems as if you've seen such a scene play out before on the part of the FF, you could be right--but when? And who were they fighting? You can almost put your finger on it... it's right there in front of you... but... Arrgh!

To find the answer, we're going to have to pose yet another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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Under what circumstances did Sue previously help the FF end a fight by feigning defeat?

Thank goodness these are isolated incidents, because who wants to shell out money to see the FF win their fights without a battle? That's like seeing your favorite band walk on stage and open their concert with "Thank you, and good night!" Not so fast, sport--I've got a center-row ticket here that needs a refund! And you can throw in cab fare while you're at it!

But getting back to our question, the answer can be found in mid-1977. And as to who caused the FF to play dead (in order to avoid becoming dead), take a look at their I-mean-business opponent:

Yes, the Eliminator, an agent of the witches' coven of New Salem which had abducted both Agatha Harkness and her young charge, Franklin Richards. Clearly the FF now have other places to be, assuming they live through this attack; but given the Eliminator's formidable power, that's beginning to look questionable.

At first glance, Reed's plan may look like it's gone horribly wrong--but would you believe it's coming off without a hitch? (And hopefully, without a death?)

That takes care of the FF--score one for the Eliminator, and zero for Reed's half-baked plan that got them all killed. But with the FF eliminated, the Eliminator proceeds to follow his instructions and begin a countdown which will destroy Agatha's home, and, in the process, himself--and it's then that Reed and his partners rise from the wreckage to school this construct on its error.

And fail the Eliminator does, for the first and final time, while the FF watch from a distance (and enclosed in Sue's force field).

For what it's worth, the FF do get in their licks against the Eliminator--and there's a lot of other FF goodness in this story, which helped to justify the 30¢ you shelled out for your copy. Let's just hope that in the future they keep in mind that they're a fighting team, not a "take a dive" team!