Paibok the Power Skrull is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . He is a foe of the Fantastic Four .
96-715: Paibok's first appearance was in Fantastic Four #358 (November 1991); he was created by Tom DeFalco , Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi. Paibok was born on the planet Tarnax IV, in the Tarnax System in the Andromeda Galaxy. His home planet was part of the Skrull Empire, but has since been destroyed. Paibok was trained at the Skrullian military academy, and became am espionage agent and captain in
192-609: A band of Skrull renegades. Disguised as Paul Balk , the owner of a traveling freakshow, Paibok located and tried to capture an immature Watcher , a plan that led to clashes with the Thing and a band of Kree . The attempt failed and he was captured by the Kree, who left Earth shortly afterwards with Paibok as their prisoner. Paibok was next seen as one of the few convicts to survive when the prison transport vessel Dredge 01 crashed on its way to Kyln . The prison ship crashed on Earth, near
288-656: A big change in him. I brain-damaged him and made him into the Hulk , because Marvel didn't have a dumb green thing at the time, and I thought they should. And so I sort of made him like that. Later on they wanted to change his visuals, which I had no problem with because I was never crazy about that costume. It didn't make a lot of sense. I wasn't invested enough in the character to go back and do anything more with it." Starlin later commented in an interview that "I ripped off my own costume, I redesigned Dr. Weird 's costume at Texas Trio and pretty much just used it as Drax's costume, Drax
384-548: A bout of madness, Drax attacks Thanos and is killed. Drax later reappears with the Guardians on Earth without reference to his death. Drax's initial incarnation's powers included superhuman strength, stamina and resistance to physical injury as well the ability to project concussive blasts of cosmic energy from his hands. He could also travel at high speeds in outer space and hyperspace without air, food, or water. Drax also had telepathy, having used it to engage Thanos in
480-488: A cornerstone of the company's 1960s rise from a small division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. The title would go on to showcase the talents of comics creators such as Roy Thomas , John Buscema , John Byrne , Steve Englehart , Walt Simonson , Tom DeFalco , Mark Waid , and Jonathan Hickman . The Fantastic Four is one of several Marvel titles originating in the Silver Age of Comic Books that
576-546: A doomed battle between the Annihilation Wave and the United Front , Drax stays behind to fight off the invaders while Nova and the rest of the group (including Cammi) finish the evacuation. Drax fights his way to the Annihilation Wave's mother ship, where he finds Thanos and kills him. Drax helps to free a captive Galactus , who teleports Moondragon and Drax to a far-off planet to spare them from his wrath on
672-573: A few issues with temporary teams, Mark Waid took over as writer with #60 / 489 (October 2002) with artist Mike Wieringo with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise $ 2.25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US. Pencillers Mark Buckingham , Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time. Writer J. Michael Straczynski and penciller Mike McKone did issues #527-541 (July 2005 - Nov. 2006), with Dwayne McDuffie taking over as writer
768-614: A fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s, and on numerous covers in the 2000s. Issue #4 (May 1962) reintroduced Namor the Sub-Mariner , an aquatic antihero who was a star character of Marvel's earliest iteration, Timely Comics , during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comics . Issue #5 (July 1962) introduced the team's most frequent nemesis, Doctor Doom . These earliest issues were published bimonthly. With issue #16 (July 1963),
864-783: A follow-up appearance in Nova vol. 4 #4–7 (2007) and the 2008 " Annihilation: Conquest " storyline, he was featured as a team member in the 2008 relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy , and appeared in the 25 issue series of the same name. The character had a small role in The Thanos Imperative #1–3 (2010), in which he was killed. The character reappeared in Avengers Assemble issues #4–8 (June–October 2012), with no reference to his death. He then starred in Guardians of
960-476: A liking to using knives in battle. At least temporarily, he had the ability to pass through Thanos's force field; his power levels seem to increase the closer he is to Thanos. He could also heal at an accelerated rate and had senses sharp enough to tell humans from aliens by smell, root out a Skrull in disguise, and detect when energy weapons were about to go off. Drax the Destroyer appears in media set in
1056-592: A mini-boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance , voiced by Khary Payton . Fantastic Four (comic book) Fantastic Four is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Fantastic Four (created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby ) and published by Marvel Comics , beginning with the original Fantastic Four comic book series which debuted in 1961. As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed
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#17327824069681152-564: A move which then led to his arrest for damage to the surroundings. A second attack confused and aggravated the situation, leaving the Human Torch a fugitive from the police. Alongside Devos and Lyja, Paibok witnessed the battle between the Fantastic Four and an alternate Fantastic Four. Paibok was betrayed by Lyja when she again joined the conflict and abandoned Paibok and sided with the Fantastic Four. Alongside Devos, Paibok attacked
1248-653: A number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup, he then rewrote these for Fantastic Four . Simonson later recalled that working on Fantastic Four allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members Thor and Iron Man , which he had been precluded from using in The Avengers . After another fill-in, the regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco , penciller Paul Ryan and inker Dan Bulanadi took over, with Ryan self-inking beginning with #360 (Jan. 1992). That team, with
1344-626: A powerful new body. He is rechristened "Drax the Destroyer", and his sole purpose is to kill Thanos. With Iron Man , Drax battles Thanos and the Blood Brothers , but Thanos escapes. While trying to prevent Thanos from getting the Cosmic Cube , Drax's memories are restored to him. After seeing Captain Marvel defeat Thanos, Drax attacks Captain Marvel for robbing him of his purpose. Drax wanders space in grim contemplation, searching for
1440-492: A precognitive ability to sense when beings will be in contact with Thanos in the near future. For a time, Drax possessed the Power Gem that had the potential to grant him superhuman physical and energy manipulation powers with no feasible limit. However, because of his severely-reduced intellect, he lacked the mental capacity and imagination to use the gem for anything other than bolstering his physical strength. While possessing
1536-421: A psychic battle and stalemating him mind to mind. After his resurrection, his physical capabilities are greatly enhanced beyond their original levels but he suffered severe mental disability in his new incarnation. Instead of his telepathy which enabled him to track Thanos across vast distances, he now possessed the ability to sense either him or other beings who have been in recent contact with Thanos, alongside
1632-859: A recurring role until issue 50. After appearing in The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (1991), he was featured in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1–42 (1992–1995) as a member of the titular team, the Infinity Watch . The character reappeared in Warlock vol. 3 #1–4 (1998–1999) and Captain Marvel vol. 4 #4–6 (2001). Drax received an eponymous 4 issue miniseries in 2004, and was a starring character in Annihilation: Nova #1–4 (2005) and Annihilation #1–6 (2006). After
1728-519: A resurrected Thanos. By the time he learns that Thanos had managed to rematerialize himself, Thanos has once again been destroyed in battle with Captain Marvel, the Avengers , and Adam Warlock . Alongside Captain Marvel, Drax battles ISAAC , Stellarax, Lord Gaea, Elysius , and Chaos. Some time later, Drax, possessed by an alien entity, battles his daughter Moondragon and the superhero Thor . After Drax recovers, he and Moondragon journey through space in search of knowledge. Eventually, they come upon
1824-563: A sixteen-issue run. Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline, " Secret Invasion ", and the 2009 aftermath " Dark Reign ", chronicling the U.S. government's assigning of the Nation's security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain Norman Osborn , the Fantastic Four starred in a five-issue miniseries , Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (May–Sept. 2009), written by Jonathan Hickman , with art by Sean Chen . Hickman took over as
1920-478: A time, he finds acceptance and happiness on the planet K'ai . Later, Drax is seen on a prison transport ship with Paibok , Lunatik , and the Blood Brothers . The ship crashes in Alaska, and Drax attacks the others to keep them from harming innocent lives. He mistakes a young girl named Cammi for his daughter, and tries to protect her from Paibok. Drax appears to be killed, but a slimmer, smarter Drax emerges from
2016-521: A title called Spidey was released by Éditions Lug. Primarily featuring reprints from the juvenile comic book Spidey Super Stories , it also featured a similarly themed FF series produced in France. These original stories had art that closely resembled the work of Jack Kirby or John Buscema, but the storylines themselves included watered-down supervillains, the FF on vacation, and even Santa Claus . This series
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#17327824069682112-683: A total of 29 issues. That series merged into Spider-Man . During 1985 the Fantastic Four and other Marvel titles such as The New Mutants , The Avengers , and The X-Men were included in the Secret Wars II reprint title. This mostly focused on issues which crossed over into the Secret Wars II maxi series. From 2005, around the release of the Fantastic Four film , the super-team appeared in two new publications published by Panini Comics : Fantastic Four Adventures , and Ultimate Fantastic Four . The latter only lasted 10 issues, ending in 2006. Fantastic Four Adventures which reprinted
2208-411: A weekly title that rotated the main feature with other Marvel titles. Williams Comics eventually obtained the rights to Marvel's line and began publishing (for the first time in color) in the mid-1970s. Fantastic Four was backed up with Daredevil and began with issue #1. No annual was published by Williams and some early numbers were left out (5, 6, 10, 12, 21 and 44). Condor Comic carried the title in
2304-663: Is a graduate from the Skrull military academy, as well as an expert in all forms of armed and unarmed combat known to his own species. Paibok can access advanced Skrull technology, such as warp drive starships or ranged energy weapons. As the Power Skrull, Paibok has a set of additional powers due to bionic re-engineering on Tarnax IV. He also possesses immense physical abilities, supersonic flight, organic metal transformation, cryokinesis, electrokinesis, and hypnotism. Paibok wears body armor of unspecified materials. Paibok appears as
2400-426: Is referred to as "El Hombre Elástico" (Elastic Man). Canada rarely translated character names from their English version, although sometimes switching back and forth between English and French names in the same issue (The Thing / La Chose, Mister Fantastic / Monsieur Fantastic, Invisible Girl / Fille (or Femme) Invisible, Human Torch / Torche Humaine). The names of Dr. Doom and She-Hulk were not translated into French for
2496-509: Is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I'm moving towards the end of Fantastic Four . I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth." In the aftermath of the " Secret Wars " storyline, the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans. With Franklin's powers restored and Reed having absorbed
2592-400: Is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects). In issue #326, Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo the other changes he had made. This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book. He used the pseudonym John Harkness, which he had created years before for work he did not want to be associated with. According to Englehart, the run from #326 through his last issue, #333,
2688-619: The Essential Marvel range: As part of the Marvel Masterworks series: The issue numbering of Volume 3 reverted to the legacy number of the title, beginning with the issue #500. The issue numbering of Volume 5 reverted to the overall legacy number of the title. The Fantastic Four has been published in translation around the world, beginning in 1962 in Mexico as Los Cuatro Fantásticos published by La Prensa until
2784-568: The Marvel Two-in-One and Fantastic Four annuals that crossed over into the Invaders story would have to be published by the "other" company, and in fact that particular crossover was published twice, once by each company. This resulted in different translations of the characters' names — Susan Storm Richards was called "Jane" in her own title by Editions Lug, and Reed was called "Red," a combination of letters easier to pronounce than
2880-537: The Fantastic Four in France were held by a company called Éditions Lug , which began publishing Fantastic Four first in a 1969 anthology title called Fantask , along with Spider-Man and Silver Surfer, then in another anthology called Marvel . The censors objected to the content of the book, and citing "nightmarish visions" and "terrifying science fiction" as the reasons, forced their cancellations after respectively 7 and 13 issues. Although other anthologies featuring Marvel strips continued, notably Strange (featuring
2976-658: The Marvel Cinematic Universe , portrayed by Dave Bautista . He first appears in the live-action film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) before making subsequent appearances in the live-action films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Additionally, Bautista reprises his role in The Guardians of
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3072-642: The Technarchy (parental race of the Phalanx), Drax and Gamora are freed from the Phalanx by the Technarch Tyro. Together they return to Hala where they help in the defeat of Ultron . Star-Lord recruits Drax for the new Guardians of the Galaxy . The Guardians are forced to ally themselves with a resurrected Thanos and travel into an alternate reality known as the "Cancerverse". While experiencing
3168-411: The superheroes Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock . He was also a member of the group known as the Infinity Watch . In 2004, the character lost his flight and energy blasts, and a portion of his strength and resilience. This version of the character played a role in the crossover comic book storylines " Annihilation " and " Annihilation: Conquest ", and became a member of the relaunched Guardians of
3264-603: The "Power Skrull" after being augmented in a manner similar to the Super-Skrull , is prepared for the encounter and almost defeats the Fantastic Four and Lyja. Lyja seemingly sacrifices her life to protect the Human Torch and the Thing finally defeats Paibok. He is left for dead, buried under fallen rubble. Paibok survived the battle and recovered Lyja's body. Seeking revenge on the Fantastic Four, he encountered Devos
3360-476: The 1980s and 1990s, and published a series of 47 pocket format books at about 168-196 pages each. It also published a paperback series in a similar format to the Marvel Graphic Novels with 12 issues of 52 pages each. Marvel Deutschland (later Panini Comics Deutschland) publishes "Die Fantastischen Vier". Since 2008 the series is named with its original title "The Fantastic Four". The German names of
3456-513: The Annihilation Wave. Afterwards, Moondragon says Drax just "disappeared". Cammi is later seen, alive, allied with Skreet, one of Thanos' powerful, miniature assistants. When the Phalanx invade the Kree home-world, Drax is assimilated as a "select" of the Phalanx hive mind. They dispatch him, along with Gamora , to apprehend Nova, who had fled the planet. Following Nova to Kvch, the home planet
3552-416: The Avengers from his daughter's mental domination, Drax advances toward her, seeking to end her menace. To stop him, Moondragon mentally forces Drax's life essence to vacate his artificial body. When Thanos is resurrected by Mistress Death , Kronos reanimates the Destroyer and grants him increased physical power. However, Kronos does not consider the effects of Drax's death, and the Destroyer's mind retains
3648-724: The Canadian reprints. British publication of the series began sporadically appearing in the black and white anthology title Mystic in the 1960s. It began to appear regularly in Wham! from 1966 to 1968, then Smash! in 1968 and 1969, both titles published by Odhams Press . In 1972, the Fantastic Four's adventures were published starting with issue 1 of the US comic in Mighty World of Marvel alongside Spider-Man and Hulk reprints when Marvel Comics began its imprint Marvel UK . In 1976
3744-586: The Devastator , another alien who had clashed with them, and the two formed an alliance. Devos was able to revive Lyja, and Paibok and Devos altered Lyja's genetic structure, granting her the power of flight and the ability to project lethal energy blasts. Together, the three traveled to Earth to battle the Fantastic Four again. Arriving on earth, they isolated and attacked the Human Torch in New York City, forcing him to use his Nova Flame against them —
3840-517: The FF's adventures from US Fantastic Four #1, but this was replaced by The Invaders towards the end of the run. In 1978 that series merged into Mighty World Of Marvel returning the FF to their original home alongside the Hulk . Their last adventure in that title was issue 329, when they were moved out so that the comic could be relaunched as Marvel Comic in early 1979. Their adventures briefly moved back into Spider-Man Comic before stopping shortly after John Byrne took over pencilling chores on
3936-551: The Galaxy vol. 3, a part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch. While driving through a desert with his wife and daughter, Arthur Douglas' car is attacked by a spaceship piloted by Thanos , who thinks the humans have seen him. His daughter, Heather, survives the crash and is adopted by Thanos' father, Mentor , and raised on Titan . She later becomes Moondragon . Needing a champion to combat the threat from Thanos, Mentor and his father Kronos capture Douglas' spirit and place it in
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4032-438: The Galaxy . Drax has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise, including animated television series , action figures, and video games . Dave Bautista portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Guardians of
4128-616: The Galaxy: Holiday Special (2022 television film) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Drax also appears in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021). Starlin commented on the character's creation stating "In the beginning, Drax was versatile, because I didn't know what the hell to do with him," Starlin confessed. "He was an element; he was supposed to be Thanos ' Kryptonite . I sort of drifted away from that idea, and when I came back to using him, I made
4224-638: The Human Torch during his trial. Undeterred, Paibok and Devos recruited new allies — Klaw and Huntara — and the quartet continued their attacks on the Fantastic Four, becoming known as the Fearsome Foursome. Eventually they were able to capture their foes (including Lyja) and returned to the Skrull Throneworld to present the captives to the Empress. Paibok's triumph was short-lived, though — once on Throneworld he discovered that Devos
4320-783: The Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Valeria and Franklin Richards to the Earth 616 for the first time since Secret Wars. A new volume of Fantastic Four was launched in November 2022 by writer Ryan North and artist Iban Coello, after Slott had concluded his run with issue #46. The first issue of The Fantastic Four proved a success, igniting a new direction for superhero comics and soon influencing many other superhero comics. Readers grew fond of Ben's grumpiness, Johnny's tendency to annoy others and Reed and Sue's spats. Stan Lee
4416-508: The Skrull armed forces. The Skrull Empire seeks a way to defeat the Fantastic Four , who have handed them multiple defeats. Paibok suggests a subtle plan: replacing the Fantastic Four's associate Alicia Masters with Lyja , a Skrull spy and Paibok's former lover. Lyja successfully impersonates Alicia and the real Alicia is held prisoner by Paibok. Eventually the Fantastic Four realize what had happened and come in search of Alicia. They confront Paibok on 'War World'. Paibok, now calling himself
4512-519: The X-Men, Iron Man, and the Silver Surfer), the Fantastic Four remained unpublished in France until 1973. Éditions Lug created a format aimed more for adults; an 80-page series called Une Aventure des Fantastiques debuted where the old series left off, with the stories that introduced the Inhumans and Galactus. That series lasted over 15 years, coming out four times a year. In the mid-1970s,
4608-598: The authorities who had previously imprisoned him. Paibok later reappears fighting for Annihilus and his allies, as part of the Annihilation Wave . Following the death of Annihilus, the parasites injected into Paibok to force his obedience cease functioning. He briefly joins forces with Terrax and the Delinquent to kill Randau the Space Parasite, a being that had been slaughtering innocents. After
4704-503: The battle, which ends with the destruction of the planet by Terrax, he convinces the addled Delinquent to craft a spaceship. They return to what remains of the Skrull Empire. As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel , Paibok appears as a member of the Maker 's New Revengers . As a Skrull, Paibok possesses heightened physical malleability , an innate racial ability to shapeshift. He
4800-667: The characters are Das Ding (The Thing), Die Fackel or Die menschliche Fackel (The Human Torch), Die Unsichtbare (The Invisible One), and Mr. Fantastisch (Mr. Fantastic). Silver Surfer and She-Hulk retained their English names. Some early Williams editions refer to Dr. Doom as "Doktor Unheil". In one Williams publication Dr.Doom is also referred to as "Doktor Untergang". Later they call him by his original US name. Editoriale Corno initially published I Fantastici Quattro in Italy (first with Captain Marvel as backup feature, then rotating with other backup features). Star Comics published
4896-460: The comics field at the time, but the positive response to Fantastic Four persuaded him to stay on. The title began to receive fan mail and Lee started printing the letters in a letter column with issue #3. With the third issue, Lee created the hyperbolic slogan "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!!" The following issue, the slogan was changed to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" and became
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#17327824069684992-466: The cost of some physical power. Thus, Drax is restored to his original condition. Drax is accused of the murder of Elysius and several others, but is cleared when it is discovered that the creature Syphon was manipulating him. While seeking out Moondragon, Drax enters into an altercation with Genis-Vell . In the course of this struggle, Drax is transported to the Microverse with Genis, where, for
5088-728: The cover title dropped its The and became simply Fantastic Four . Kirby left Marvel in mid-1970, having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue, partially published in Fantastic Four #108, with alterations, and later completed and published as Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (April 2008), Fantastic Four continued with Lee, Roy Thomas , Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as John Romita Sr. , John Buscema , Rich Buckler and George Pérez , with longtime inker Joe Sinnott adding some visual continuity. Jim Steranko also contributed several covers during this time. A short-lived series titled Giant-Size Super-Stars starring
5184-504: The crash, Drax the Destroyer . Initially, Paibok and his allies defeated Drax, leaving him for dead. However, Drax somehow recovered — and then hunted down his attackers, killing Lunatik and one of the Blood Brothers. Paibok's escape plan was abandoned and, faced with death at the hands of a vengeful Drax, he activated a distress beacon that he had secretly salvaged from the wreck — summoning another ship and surrendering himself to
5280-579: The damage done by Moondragon. Alongside a multitude of other heroes, Drax helps battle Thanos and Nebula for possession of the Infinity Gauntlet . Drax is chosen by Adam Warlock to safeguard the Power Gem as part of the Infinity Watch . After the energy vampire Rune steals the gems, the Watch members go their separate ways. Drax returns to Titan with Moondragon, who successfully petitions Kronos to restore Drax's mind to its former acuity at
5376-560: The double E sound. When Aredit published a Fantastic Four appearance they kept the traditional US names. Generally speaking, their names in France were: Monsieur Fantastic (although Mister was often used as well), L'Invisible , La Chose , and La Torche . (Rarely was "Humaine" used in the French editions.) Dr. Doom was called Docteur Fatalis and She-Hulk was called Miss Hulk . " Die Fantastischen Vier " first appeared in Hit Comics ,
5472-641: The feature was moved to star in Marvel UK's The Titans , in an attempt to revive flagging sales, starting with issue #27. But after just a few months the feature was removed from The Titans (replaced by The Avengers ) to form part of the line up of the new Captain Britain Weekly for its first issue in October 1976. After the demise of Captain Britain Weekly the FF went with Captain Britain into
5568-589: The following issue, and Paul Pelletier succeeding McKone beginning with #544 (May 2007). As a result of the events of the " Civil War " company-crossover storyline, the Black Panther and Storm temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team. During that period, the Fantastic Four also appeared in Black Panther , written by Reginald Hudlin and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela. Beginning with issue #554 (April 2008), writer Mark Millar and penciller Bryan Hitch began what Marvel announced as
5664-535: The gem, Drax's strength has been compared with that of the merged incarnation of the Hulk , but lacking the latter's rage-fueled potential. Just prior to the 2006 "Annihilation" mini-series and continuing through the present, Drax undergoes a physical change, resulting in a much-smaller physical form, reduced physical abilities comparable to those of his original form, and the loss of his energy projection, flight and most of his psionic abilities. However, his intellect has returned to its original level, and he has taken
5760-636: The larger shell of the dead body. When a second prison ship arrives to recapture the prisoners, both Drax and Cammi are arrested. Surviving Annihilus ' attack on the intergalactic prison known as the Kyln , Drax and Cammi team up with the last member of the Xandarian Nova Corps , Richard Rider . Together they fight against the advancing Annihilation Wave as Drax trains Nova to be a warrior. Drax learns that Thanos has taken Moondragon hostage, and that she will be killed if Drax pursues him. During
5856-432: The mainstream version of the team lasted longer, ending in February 2010. Publication history in France started with the reprinting of the first 10 pages of Fantastic Four #50 in 1967 in an anthology title called Les Chefs-d'Oeuvres de la Bande Dessinée [Comic Book Masterpieces]. In 1974, the first four issues of the title were published, one page at a time, in the daily newspaper France-Soir . But primarily, rights to
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#17327824069685952-432: The merged Super Spider-man and Captain Britain Weekly in July 1977. A few months after the merger a new title The Complete Fantastic Four was launched in September 1977 starting with the story from the US Fantastic Four #133. Unusually The Complete Fantastic Four reprinted an entire issue of the US publication at a time when stories were always broken up into several installments. As a backup strip it started serializing
6048-416: The mid-1970s, then by Macc Division until 1980 and finally by Novedades Editores from 1980 to 1982 and French-speaking Canada as Les Fantastic Four , from 1969 to 1986, after which the title was merged with the Spider-Man title for three more years. Mexican translators were not consistent in their translations of the characters' code names; The Thing was called Coloso (Colossus) in the first series, La Mole in
6144-417: The newly formed Marvel France line in the late 1990s. Fantastic Four shared space in the Silver Surfer's own book until the Heroes Reborn storyline created their own title, supported by Captain America. "Fantastic Four" then appeared in the anthology "Marvel Legends" and currently appears in "Marvel Icons", sharing that title with the Avengers. Two different French companies held rights to Marvel Comics at
6240-550: The original Fantastic Four series had continued unbroken, with issue #42 / #471 (June 2001). At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in the 1960s, such as Thor and The Amazing Spider-Man , were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series. After issue #70 / #499 (Aug. 2003), the title reverted to its original vol. 1 numbering with issue #500 (Sept. 2003). Karl Kesel succeeded Loeb as co-writer with issue #51 / #480 (March 2002), and after
6336-404: The planet Ba-Banis, a world of humanoid aliens caught in a vast civil war. Moondragon uses her mental powers to quell the conflict and then decides to set herself up as the world's goddess. Drax recognizes that her ambitions are ignoble and so sends their ship to Earth with a holographic distress message. The Avengers respond and discover Moondragon's world of mentally enforced tranquility. Freed by
6432-456: The power of the Beyonders from Doom, the Richards' family are working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse, but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it "safe" until the team is ready to come back together. Writer Dan Slott and artist Sara Pichelli launched a new Fantastic Four series in August 2018 to commemorate the 56th anniversary and part of Marvel's " Fresh Start " relaunch. The new series returned
6528-478: The same time in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Éditions Lug (which eventually became Semic Comics ) published Fantastic Four , Spider-Man , X-Men , Daredevil , and Iron Man , and most related series, while Aredit held the rights to Avengers, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Sub-Mariner and many of the 1970s-era modern series like Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Power Man and the first She-Hulk series. Often, crossovers would force one company to publish another's title, i.e.
6624-432: The second and the third (which was the name used for The Hulk in the first series). The other three main characters had more stable translated names: Mister Fantástico (sometimes translated as Señor Fantástico), La Chica (or La Mujer) Invisible, and La Antorcha Humana. Dr. Doom was Doctor Destino and She-Hulk was La Mujer Hulk in her run in the Fantastic Four. In the movie, and in current appearances in Mexico, Mister Fantastic
6720-444: The series regular writer as of issue #570 with Dale Eaglesham and later Steve Epting on art. In the storyline "Three", which concluded in Fantastic Four #587 ( cover date March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the Human Torch appears to die while stopping a horde of monsters from the other-dimensional Negative Zone . The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply FF . The relaunch saw
6816-482: The slumping title with his run. Originally, Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art. Sienkiewicz left to do Moon Knight , and Byrne ended up as writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to the comic; eventually Bob Budiansky became the regular editor. Byrne told Jim Shooter that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said "that's my paranoia. I look back and I think that
6912-550: The strip. In March 1980 Marvel UK launched the monthly Fantastic Four Pocketbook reprinting older Lee and Kirby stories. In September 1980 their new adventures continued in the new weekly anthology title Marvel Team-Up , remaining in the comic until its cancellation with the edition dated 4 March 1981. From 1 April 1981, the Fantastic Four was part of a new title, Marvel Action , which only lasted 15 issues before it merged with Captain America (#21). The FF strip transferred to
7008-600: The super-team's appearances including the Human Torch solo series from Strange Tales . Drax the Destroyer Drax the Destroyer ( Arthur Douglas ) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Jim Starlin , the character first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973). The character's origin story relates that Arthur Douglas
7104-535: The team assume a new name, the Future Foundation , adopt new black-and-white costumes, and accept longtime ally Spider-Man as a member. In October 2011, with the publication of FF #11 (cover-dated Dec. 2011), the Fantastic Four series reached its 599th issue. In November 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics, the company published the 100-page Fantastic Four #600 (cover-dated Jan. 2012), which returned
7200-497: The team began in May 1974 and changed its title to Giant-Size Fantastic Four with issue #2. John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish. Bill Mantlo briefly followed Wolfman as writer of the series and wrote a crossover with Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42 (May 1980). Byrne wrote and drew a giant-sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for Coca-Cola , which
7296-444: The team comic The Avengers , had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of Fantastic Four . Yet by The Avengers #300, where they were scheduled to join the team, Simonson was told the characters were returning to Fantastic Four . This led to Simonson quitting The Avengers after that issue. Shortly afterward, he was offered the job of writing Fantastic Four . Having already prepared
7392-485: The team of writer Scott Lobdell and penciller Alan Davis , it went after three issues to writer Chris Claremont (co-writing with Lobdell for #4-5), penciller Salvador Larroca , and inker Art Thibert ; this team enjoyed a long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000). Following the run of Claremont, Lobdell and Larroca, Carlos Pacheco took over as penciller and co-writer, first with Rafael Marín , then with Marín and Jeph Loeb . This series began using dual numbering, as if
7488-596: The temporarily renamed Marvel Action starring Captain America . The FF strip's last appearance was in Captain America #36, stopping in preparation for the comic's merger with another Marvel UK anthology title, Marvel Super Adventure the next week. After the cancellation of the Pocketbook in July 1982 the classic FF strips continued in the short lived Fantastic Four weekly title that ran from 6 October 1982 for
7584-463: The title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, so in issue #308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with the Thing's new girlfriend, Sharon Ventura , and Johnny Storm's former love, Crystal. The changes increased readership through issue #321. At this point, Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic, West Coast Avengers , that he disagreed with, and in protest he changed his byline to S.F.X. Englehart (S.F.X.
7680-427: The title in the 1990s, followed by Marvel Italia. Character names are typically translated as "la Cosa" (Thing), "la Torcia Umana" (Human Torch) and "la Donna Invisibile" (Invisible Woman), while Dr. Doom is "Dottor Destino". Mister Fantastic, She-Hulk and Silver Surfer kept their English names. Also released in Italy was the series I Fantastici Quattro gigante , an oversized magazine reprinting in chronological order all
7776-469: The title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch. It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue #587, showing that while he did in fact die, he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus. Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus. As part of Marvel NOW! Fantastic Four ended with #611, ending Jonathan Hickman's long run on FF titles, and
7872-615: The title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer Matt Fraction and artist Mark Bagley . In the new title with its numbering starting at #1, the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together, with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading. Writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk launched a new Fantastic Four series in February 2014 ( cover dated April 2014). Robinson later confirmed that Fantastic Four would be cancelled in 2015 with issue #645, saying that "The book
7968-453: The title's sales increased over the period. The ongoing series was cancelled with issue #416 (Sept. 1996) and relaunched with (vol. 2) #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series " Heroes Reborn " crossover story arc. The yearlong volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary style, and set in a parallel universe. Following the end of that experiment, Fantastic Four was relaunched with (vol. 3) #1 (Jan. 1998). Initially by
8064-500: The titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [ sic ] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... 'If the Justice League is selling', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'" The release of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961) was an unexpected success. Lee had felt ready to leave
8160-404: The town of Coot's Bluff in Alaska, and Paibok immediately took command of the other survivors ( Lunatik and the Blood Brothers ) in an attempt to salvage the wrecked ship's technology and escape the planet. Paibok's plan also involved taking control of Coot's Bluff and using the terrified population as slave labor — something which brought his renegades into conflict with the only other survivor of
8256-575: The very occasional different inker, continued for years through #414 (July 1996). DeFalco nullified the Storm-Masters marriage by retconning that the alien Skrull Empire had kidnapped the real Masters and replaced her with a spy named Lyja . Once discovered, Lyja, who herself had fallen for Storm, helped the Fantastic Four rescue Masters. Ventura departed after being further mutated by Doctor Doom. Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco's run on Fantastic Four , calling him "The Great Satan",
8352-399: Was "one of the most painful stretches of [his] career." Writer-artist Walt Simonson took over as writer with #334 (December 1989), and three issues later began pencilling and inking as well. With brief inking exceptions, two fill-in issues, and a three-issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams , Simonson remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991). Simonson, who had been writing
8448-445: Was Shooter trying to force me off the book". Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series. Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers: Roger Stern , Tom DeFalco , and Roy Thomas . Steve Englehart took over as writer for issues 304–333. The title had been struggling, so Englehart decided to make radical changes. He felt
8544-460: Was a human whose family was attacked and killed by the supervillain Thanos . Needing a champion to combat Thanos, the being known as Kronos took Arthur's spirit and placed it in a powerful new body, and Drax the Destroyer was born. Drax's powers included enhanced strength and resilience, flight, and the ability to project energy blasts from his hands. The character often battled Thanos, and on occasion
8640-487: Was a wanted criminal, a renegade with a price on his head and an entire world under his command. Devos promptly summoned his troops, took personal command of his flagship (the Death Cruiser ) and attempted to destroy Throneworld. The Empress blamed Paibok for this and repaid him by ordering his death. Seeking to redeem himself, Paibok made his way on board the Death Cruiser and confronted Devos. The ship's stardrive
8736-467: Was continuously published through 2015 before returning to monthly publication in 2018. Magazine and comic book publisher Martin Goodman , a publishing trend-follower, aware of strong sales on Justice League of America , directed his comics editor, Stan Lee , to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee, writing in 1974, "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of
8832-413: Was damaged during their confrontation and the cruiser fell into subspace — Devos and Paibok were both believed lost along with the ship. Paibok somehow escaped from subspace and struck a deal with Centaurian scientists to enhance his powers. Their treatment succeeded — but also affected his appearance, leaving him in a cadaverous, zombie-like form. Still viewed as a traitor, he fled to Earth and assembled
8928-776: Was going to be Thanos's kryptonite that's why he was green." Drax first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973), and was created by Jim Starlin with the help of writer Mike Friedrich . He had a recurring role in Captain Marvel , beginning with issue #27 (July 1973). He also appeared in Warlock #10 (December 1975), Iron Man #88 (July 1976), Warlock #15 (November 1976), Logan's Run #6 (June 1977), Thor #314 (December 1981), and Avengers #219 (May 1982), before being killed by Moondragon in The Avengers #220 (June 1982). Starlin resurrected Drax in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #35 (1990), and he had
9024-458: Was rejected by Coca-Cola as being too violent and published as Fantastic Four #220-221 (July–Aug. 1980) instead. Writer Doug Moench and penciller Bill Sienkiewicz then took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his run as writer, penciller and inker, the last under the pseudonym Bjorn Heyn for this issue only. Byrne revitalized
9120-455: Was replaced by 1960s-era X-Men reprints when Marvel demanded the same royalties for Éditions Lug's original stories that they did for the US reprints. Eventually, a regular monthly series began publication in France, and the Fantastic Four took over the headlining position in the pocket format anthology Nova (sharing the title with Spider-Woman, Peter Parker, She-Hulk, and Silver Surfer) and lasted until Marvel began publishing its own titles under
9216-454: Was surprised at the reaction to the first issue, leading him to stay in the comics field despite previous plans to leave. Comics historian Stephen Krensky said that "Lee's natural dialogue and flawed characters appealed to 1960s kids looking to 'get real'". As of 2005, 150 million comics featuring the Fantastic Four had been sold. The Fantastic Four stories have been collected into several trade paperback and hardcover editions. As part of
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