Ultimate Fantastic Four: President Thor, Part 2
Issue: #28
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Greg Land
Inker: Matt Ryan
Colors: Justin Ponsor

In a future where Reed Richards’ teleportation experiment through the N-Zone has not been sabotaged, he and his team teleport an apple successfully to the Guantanamo Base. In the present, a super-powered kids’ game of baseball is being played with the pitcher standing in New York, the batter at the North Pole, and outfielders scattered around the world. The ball is finally caught by a girl sitting serenely in the clouds, many miles from the batter.

In Washington, D.C., Reed Richards puts the finishing touches on his speech for the Skrull ambassador. Reed recounts how his team used the teleporter to travel to the stars, where they met the Skrulls. The Skrulls provided them with a cure for all diseases, aging, and even poverty. The pills unlocked the latent super power within each person. With the overnight change in humanity, old ideas gave way to new. Thor was elected to the Presidency, and humanity began to redefine itself.

Reed is reading his speech to Ben Grimm, the only human on Earth who has not taken the Skrull pill. They are interrupted by a call from the Baxter Building, where Professor Storm informs them that another attack by Victor Von Damme has been thwarted. “Doctor Doom” had sent a group of Doombots to steal Reed’s time machine, apparently hoping to go back in time and change the past, creating a future in which he ruled the world. Ben comments that Doom is angry at Thor for choosing Reed instead of Victor as the Vice President. Reed and the rest of the group comment on Ben’s refusal to take the Skrull cure; Ben insists he likes remaining a “regular human”.

Because of his condition, Ben is something of a celebrity. Kids ask for his autograph, and various super-people keep an eye on him protectively. As Ben and his girlfriend Jasmine discuss the new world, a strange figure appears – a green-skinned, pointed-eared alien. The alien comments that he needs to go back further, and disappears. Ben and Jasmine are left puzzled.

As the time to welcome the Skrull ambassador approaches, Thor expresses concern about the Baxter Building incident. Over Reed’s protests, he plans to have the time travel facility destroyed. Then he turns his attention to their alien guests. Ben and Jasmine recognize the Skrull ambassador as the same figure that appeared and disappeared the day before. Reed notices that the ambassador looks different from their first meeting; the ambassador tells him about his anti-assassination suit. It mimics the powers of every meta-human for miles around. Thor assures him that he is safe on Earth, and presents the Skrulls with a recording of all human poetry, song, and prose ever created.

As Earth welcomes the Skrulls, Ben is still concerned about the strange appearance of the ambassador hours earlier. The Skrulls retire to their guest suite, and we find that the “cure” they provided Reed is actually part of a plot against Earth. The ambassador mentions a side effect that will allow his race to conquer Earth, as they have countless other races and planets in the same way. Hidden in the room, Sue overhears the plot, but is discovered by the ambassador through his suit. An energy blast knocks her down; the Skrull ambassador uses the suit to generate a force field like Sue’s, and he kills her on the spot.

The secondary effects of the Skrull “cure” begin; people start to wither and die in the streets. Ben, Reed, Jasmine and Johnny find Sue’s body in the Skrulls’ rooms, and the ambassador warns them against trusting Skrulls bearing gifts.

Submitted By: Seldes Katne