Fantastic Four #35

Issue Details

Synopsis

CALAMITY ON THE CAMPUS! Reed Richards has been invited back to his old alma mater, State University, to deliver a lecture and has brought the rest of the Fantastic Four along with him. After meeting with Dean Mencken, the four cross paths with Charles Xavier, who is at State University with his student Scott Summers secretly investigating reports that there may be mutants on campus. They stop as they pass by Professor Gilbert's laboratory and are shocked at his latest creation, a massive android fashioned after a dragon. Meanwhile, in far off Transylvania, Diablo breaks free from his imprisonment and teleports away, intent on getting revenge against the Fantastic Four for trapping him.   Back in the States, Gilbert has the Thing help him with the heavy lifting, and later, the pair bump into Peter Parker, who is visiting State to determine if he will attend after graduating high school. Neither the Torch or the Thing are aware that Parker is secretly their sometime ally Spider-Man. While the male members of the team play against the SU football team, Sue happens to partially recognize Diablo as he drives past in a car, but the man exits the vehicle before she can get up close enough to examine him. Diablo pays a visit to Professor Gilbert and offers him a means of using alchemy to bring his android to life. As they are conducting this experiment, the Thing wanders off having grown bored listening to Reed's speech. Spotting Diablo, Ben tries to attack but is rebuffed by the now active Dragon Man. Their battle takes them outside as the rest of the Fantastic Four join in. They soon realize that the Dragon Man is smitten by Sue, but they are knocked out by gas.   When they revive they learn that the Professor, Diablo and Dragon Man had retreated back to Dead Man's Lake. They track their foes there, and Diablo tries to escape by freezing the lake and attempting to skate across. Dragon Man turns on him and tries to chase after Diablo, but the ice is too weak to support the weight of the pair and shatters. Both Diablo and Dragon Man plunge into the waters below and are lost when the undertow sweeps them into some underwater caves. In the aftermath of the battle, Reed takes Sue down to the sweetheart tree on campus and finally proposes to her, and much to his delight she says yes!