The bailiff calls the San Diego Superior Court in session for the case of The People of California vs. The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Et Al. The defendants are charged with riot, reckless endangerment, and aggravated assault. The honorable Richard Wolf is presiding, with attorney Matt Murdock representing the superheroes. Before the proceedings get underway, Reed Richards – Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four – asks the judge if he could address the court in the hopes of quickly clearing up the matter.
“Do you deny that on the date stipulated in the complaint, at the San Diego Convention Center during the annual event known as Comic-Con International, you and your companions were the proximate cause of a riot?” Judge Wolf asks in response.
“In a word, your honor, yes,” Richards replies. “We were the focal point of those events, but we were not the cause.”
Thus begins issue 23 of the Fantastic Four, published in November 1999 and entitled “Chaos at a Comic Con!” Reed Richards begins his explanation a few days earlier, when Benjamin “The Thing” Grimm and Jennifer “She-Hulk” Walters went on a rampage in New York City, causing considerable property damage. Mr. Fantastic quickly deduces that supervillains Absorbing Man and Titania were actually behind the altercation, having infecting Grimm and Walters with microbial nanites that reordered their personalities.
Assisting Reed Richards in his investigation is Valeria von Doom, a teenage girl from the future who claims to be the daughter of supervillain Victor von Doom and Susan Richards, Reed’s wife and the Fantastic Four’s Invisible Girl. Valeria shares the genius intellect of her supposed father and superhero abilities of her mother, earning her the nickname Marvel Girl in her own timeline. Reed Richards is puzzled by her sudden appearance, but is likewise consumed with finding a cure for Ben Grimm and Jennifer Walters.
“Look what I found,” Valeria tells Richards. “We can’t preprogram the nanites. They’re booby-trapped. Any overt interference, they self-destruct – and take their host body with them.” She has also discovered that the nanites were manufactured by a former subsidiary of Stark-Fujikawa, which is based in San Diego. Reed Richards, Johnny “Human Torch” Storm, Sue Richards, and Valeria von Doom thus depart New York City and head to the West Coast.
“It’s one of the great harbors of North America, if not the world, located right at the bottom of the state of California,” the Fantastic Four comic book says of San Diego. “That’s why it’s home to a significant portion of the United States Navy’s Pacific fleet. It’s a favorite city for conventions, one of the oldest being an annual midsummer get-together celebrating the field of comic books. For the better part of a week, tens of thousands of fans descend on the convention center, and the city itself gets more than a little strange. For the Human Torch, however, Comic-Con represents one of the few places he can go where he isn’t the weirdest guys present. Indeed, even aflame, compared to many there, he’s positively normal.”
Johnny Storm is also able to act as a decoy, taking attention away from his cohorts while they break into the Miramar Naval Station. Valeria is both reckless and fearless during the mission, ignoring the impressive array of security features while confident that her “mom” will step in if anything goes wrong. While Reed Richards accesses a computer for clues, Valeria’s own investigation results in a cloud of nanites infecting the room. Fortunately the quick actions of the group prevent anyone from being infected.
Back at the San Diego Convention Center, Johnny Storm and Fantastic Four compatriot Alysande “Sandy” Stuart are taking in the sights. “We’ve got dealers and booksellers galore, we’ve got Marvel Comics and their distinguished competition,” Storm notes. “We’re got artists doing sketches and lots of folks giving autographs, games to play and characters in costume to ogle – all we need is somewhere to begin.”
Sandy is more interested in a group of uniformed men who call themselves the Sinister Kabal for the Undermining of Life and Liberty, or S.K.U.L.L. for short. Johnny Storm then notices that a reproduction of the Mad Thinker’s Awesome Android at the Marvel booth is actually the real deal. Before the pair can investigate further, however, the Avengers arrive on the convention floor for a special charity event.
The android springs to life and slugs Storm on the jaw just as the S.K.U.L.L. members shoot nanites at the Avengers. Johnny Storm recovers and turns into the Human Torch, which fries any nanites in his vicinity before he can be infected. Simon “Wonder Man” Williams is also present, and discovers that his pure energy body can withstand any effects from the nanites. The two team up to protect the innocent Comic-Con attendees from both the Awesome Android and the suddenly rampaging Avengers.
Reed Richards, Sue Richards, and Valeria von Doom arrive at the convention center and immediately lend a hand to Storm and Williams. Working together, they quickly topple the Awesome Android and corral the Avengers into a tightknit circle. Reed Richards then sends an electro-magnetic pulse which – thanks to both Valeria’s research and information acquired from the Miramar Naval Air Station – destroys the nanites’ core processing chips and frees the Avengers from their effects.
The Android is able to escape in the mayhem and a search by the superheroes lead them to an aircraft carrier in San Diego harbor. Before they can reach it, however, the aircraft transforms into a stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. heli-carrier operated by the Red Skull and Mad Thinker, the true masterminds behind the nanite attacks. Although the villains escaped, Judge Richard Wolf accepts the story told by Reed Richards and dismisses all charges against the Fantastic Four and the Avengers.
“One last thing, Dr. Richards, off the record,” the judge adds after adjourning the court. “This Red Skull is still on the loose, and in control of what appears to be a dreadful weapon of war. I assume you and your associates will be dealing with the man, forthwith.” Reed Richards simply replies, “Rest assured, your honor, everything that can be done is being done.”
Anthony Letizia