Fantastic Four Vol 1 Issue 3

## Summary

The Fantastic Four are watching a magic show in New York City when the main act, Miracle Man, notices them in the audience. The Miracle Man then calls out the Four and claims his magical prowess far outclasses their powers. This callout enrages Ben and Miracle Man challenges Ben to a test of strength. The challenge is to destroy a log of wood as thick as a tree. Ben takes several punches to smash the log; the Miracle Man cuts it in half with a single stroke of his finger. Ben then attacks the Miracle Man in a rage, but his punch has no effect and he is restrained by the rest of the Four. The Four return to their home in their brand new Fantasticar ( a flying car) as Reed muses that he is happy that the Miracle Man is not a criminal since he is unsure that they would be able to beat him. Unknown to Reed, the Miracle Man is a criminal and is planning his move. Miracle Man sees a statue of a monster on display for a movie and he plans to animate it so he can conquer the world. Meanwhile, the Four arrive at their new home, the Baxter Building. The Four turn on the TV and watch the premier of the new movie and Sue appears with a new uniform she created for the team. Johnny spots the Miracle Man in the crowd and sees him use magic to animate the monster statue and cause it to go on a rampage. The Four then contact the Police Commissioner to plan their move and decide to search New York in the Fantasticar with each member taking a segment of the city. Reed finds both the monster and the Miracle Man and attempts to restrain both but is knocked unconscious when the Miracle Man throws a brick at him and is picked up by the police. Johnny then fights the monster with Ben and Sue arriving to back him up. Johnny melts the monster but is shot with foam from a gun wielded by the Miracle Man. The foam causes Johnny’s fire to go out and Ben is defeated by the Miracle Man’s magic. The Miracle Man then steals an experimental atomic tank, however Sue tags along without him noticing. Later, Ben and Johnny argue about letting Sue take such a task and Ben also bemoans his transformation as he wishes to be human again and for Sue to love him. Johnny taunts Ben for this, which causes Ben to attack Johnny, who fights back before leaving in anger. Ben then wonders why Sue hasn’t signaled them yet while Reed admonishes Ben for his temper problems. Meanwhile, Sue and Miracle Man arrive at a junkyard that the Miracle Man is using as a hideout. Sue prepares to send the location to the Four, but is caught by the Miracle Man’s dog and the Miracle Man hypnotizes Sue into sending the location to lure the Four into a trap. Sue does so, causing Reed and Ben to take a helicopter to her location while Johnny (who was hanging out with friends) takes flight there. The Miracle Man attempts to kill Reed and Ben with a machine gun but fails and takes Sue as a hostage and takes the atomic tank. Johnny then arrives and joins Reed and Ben in chasing the Miracle Man. Johnny then blinds the Miracle Man temporarily, allowing the Four to capture him and Reed forces him to relinquish control of Sue’s mind. Reed then reveals that he deduced that the Miracle Man does not actually practice magic and instead was using hypnosis to make the world believe he was using magic. Johnny then quits the team due to having enough of being bossed around. Johnny flies off despite Sue’s pleas and Reed ponders the terrifying idea that Johnny could possibly turn against humanity.