Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Reed Richards left behind the Multisect, a device to enable Human Torch and Thing to travel the multiverse. Ben Grimm lied when he told Johnny Storm it was designed to help them find the missing Reed and Sue Richards (and their children and the Future Foundation kids). The lie was to buck Johnny up, who was losing his flaming power. Thing's strength was waning too.
Scientist Rachna Koul deduced that it was the separation of the original team into different universes (or maybe death) that was causing it. She promised to help restore their powers if they took her with them cruising the multiverse. (She seems to have a secret agenda of her own.) And Iron Doom (Victor von Doom converted to the side of good in his Iron Man armour) secretly hitched a ride with them (to study the Multisect).
They have found themselves on an Earth where the Fantastic Four failed to stop Galactus so Dr Doom did it by swapping minds with the Devourer. But their Ben Grimm died and something unspecified happened to their Johnny Storm. Their Sue Richards now leads all the other superheroes in SHIELD, and their Reed Richards has retreated into his science.
But Doomlactus has now consumed the rest of the universe, and his hunger has led him back to Earth.
Their Reed and our Victor are now collaborating on a machine to deal with Doomlactus. Reed wonders what they could have done if they'd worked together for all those years (seemingly forgetting that he hadn't *had* a Doom to work with). Thing pops his head in to say that everyone's ready to go.
Storm leads the X-Squadron spaceships against the foe. Susan Richards coordinates with Reed, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye and Rachna Koul by her side. The space-suited F-Squad (our Doom, Thing and Torch) approach fending off Silver Dooms (Doombots on Silver Surfer Boards). Ben Grimm triggers an injection of improved Pym particles which make him Galactus-sized, and he attacks partly-protected by Sue's force-field.
Reed directs Iron Doom and Torch to protect something called M-Squad from Silver Dooms. Victor chafes at being ordered around by *any* Reed Richards. But he uses his magic to dispose of the Doombots.
Giant Doom thought Thing was this universe's Ben Grimm come back to life. But now he realises he's from an alternate universe - another universe for Doomlactus to eat. Reed Richards communicates by giant space-hologram. Doom says he hasn't seen him since he 'sacrificed' himself for the planet. Reed doesn't think Doom consuming the universe was self-sacrifice, not like their Johnny Storm's.
When Doom left the Earth unscathed as he promised, he ate the Sun and the rest of the Solar System. The world is now lit by an artificial sun attached to a ring encircling the Earth. It transpires that this sun is Human Torch empowered by the Silver Surfer's Power Cosmic (which is why Norrin Radd was human last issue). Johnny has been living like that in isolation ever since. Last issue Reed was working on something called the Luminet. Rachna now activates it and the Torch-Sun blazes up producing a flare which feeds energy into Doomlactus.
Our Doom and Johnny are supposed to still be protecting M-Squad. But Doom has destroyed all the Silver Dooms so he drags our Torch inside M-Squad's craft. And M-Squad turns out to be only Norrin Radd and Emma Frost (who we saw living with Norrin on a farm last issue). Emma is waiting for their Torch to run out of power and then *she* will swap minds with Doomlactus. But our Victor forcibly takes her place in the transfer machine because he says only *he* can match a version of himself.
The result of the flare-up is that Doomlactus' hunger is temporarily sated. Now is the time for the mind-switch. But our Johnny is arguing with our Victor telling him not to take on such power now he's given up his power craze in favour of Iron heroism. He must learn teamwork and to trust others to succeed.
Doomlactus' hunger is returning and Susan Richards is getting frantic. At the last second the M-Squad ship fires its special ray. And it is Emma Frost who takes Doom's place inside Galactus. Dr Doom surfaces in Emma's body and dies in our Doom's arms. But his last words are that Doom is always destined to be the foe of the Fantastic Four.
We now learn that Emma Frost's mind contains a code virus created by Reed which transforms Galactus (into a golden form reminiscent of his current Lifebringer state in the main universe). The energy Galactus consumed from the universe contains all the information to recreate it. And Emmalactus begins to spew out stars from her body.
We end with an epilogue at the grave of Galen, the original Galactus, in Doom's old body. He couldn't stand the knowledge of the planets that he himself had devoured. Their Johnny Storm retained a fraction of the Power Cosmic and now returns it to Norrin Radd so he can once more become Silver Surfer and act as Emmalactus' Herald as she rebuilds the cosmos.
Rachna Koul tells her companions she's got a Multisect reading on another universe where their Reed and Sue might be. But this Reed takes Ben Grimm aside and warns him not to trust Rachna. He's examined the Mutisect and the readings for Ben's Fantastic Four comrades should be unique, with no misreadings leading to false trails. He also scanned the multiverse for *that* Reed and Sue and found them nowhere. He thinks they must be dead.