As the X-Men’s Dani Moonstar tries to prove her worth to Hela, she encounters the Fantastic Four who are in a brutal battle with other the Fantastic Fours.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Chris Claremont Anniversary Special by Chris Claremont, Bill Sienkiewicz, Sean Chen, Diego Olortegui, Brett Booth, Marc Deering, Roberto Poggi, Roelso Corona, Chris Sotomayor, Rachelle Rosenberg, Erick Arciniega, Guru-eFX, and Tom Orzechowski, on sale now.
A celebration of the writer’s five decades with Marvel, the Chris Claremont Anniversary Special sees the leader of the New Mutants, Dani Moonstar, dealing with the consequences of bonding to the Asgardian stallion known as Brightwind and touring through some of Claremont’s most famous stories..
The mission she is tasked with not only brings her into clandestine contact with some of the greatest heroes that the world has to offer, but even multiple versions of them. When she comes across the Fantastic Four, they are fighting amongst and against themselves, in what could only be described as a miniature “Crisis” event.
Hela comes calling for Moonstar, informing her that because she has formed a bond with one of Asgard’s winged steeds, she is now bonded to the Valkyries as well, and is tasked with proving her worth among their ranks. Her punishment for saving Brightwind’s life isn’t quite clear, but when she comes across the Fantastic Four on the roof of the Baxter Building fighting other versions of themselves, she knows that something is wrong. While multiple Johnnys and Bens try to break through a forcefield to join in the fight, several Sues are under assault by just as many Reeds. The various versions of each of them aren’t new, though, and who exactly they are matters almost as much as what has brought them together in such a violent fashion.
A couple of Human Torches and Things wonder why the Reeds have teamed up with Doctor Doom, only for another of them to reveal that it’s their world’s Reed Richards trapped inside Doom’s armor. The particular world from which this Reed hails was first introduced in 1999’s Fantastic Four #15 by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larocca. This alternate timeline featured a heroic Doom, who was in fact that reality’s Reed. When the primary Marvel Universe’s Valeria seemingly died during childbirth, the immeasurable powers of her brother Franklin gave her life in the other world as Valeria Von Doom, and she would grow up to take on the mantel of Marvel Girl with her incredible intellect and powerful psionic abilities. While that particular world’s version of Sue explains to her counterparts what has happened to her Reed, another Sue informs the others exactly why Namor is attacking them as well.
Chris Claremont’s and Tom Grummett’s New Exiles #1, released in 2008, gave a glimpse at a version of the Marvel Universe where Sue Storm led the exploration into space where she and the rest of the Fantastic Four gained their powers. Unfortunately, she was the sole survivor of the accident that created the Fantastic Four, which in her reality was less of a burst of cosmic energy and more a meteor tearing their ship apart. When she and the others fell back down to Earth, her force fields kept her from drowning along with the rest of them, until Namor found and rescued her, and they fell in love as the world fell apart around them.
As the various Sues face off against their husbands, it becomes increasingly clear that they are not in control of themselves. While the Sue from Atlantis takes down the Reed trapped in Doom’s armor, the Sue from Doom’s world handles the Reed of our own reality. Unfortunately, the primary universe’s Sue is no match for Namor, and he traps her in a pillar of crashing water that she is unable to free herself from. Namor is ready to deliver the killing blow, but something inside him tells him to stop. It seems the Shadow King has taken hold of these various versions of Sue’s husbands, forcing them to attempt interdimensional matricide.
He appreciates the mental struggle that Namor is putting up, and moves to take control of Sue as well, intent on forcing them to kill one another. Of course, his plot is foiled by Moonstar, who slashes through the villain’s astral form with her blade, ending his control over the various heroes. They might not be aware of what exactly just happened, but there is no doubt that everyone in attendance would be more than grateful for the assist.
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