Fantastic Four #343-346 (1990)

More Walt Simonson sci-fi greatness. 

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The FF save an alternate reality from Stalin’s nuclear attack—only he’s not Stalin, he’s a Disneyworld Robot of Stalin.  And a somber Dan Quayle is President.  Remember him?  He was the original stupid, before G.W. Bush and Trump.

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Along the way they fight dinosaurs.

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And Reed Richards uses a machine gun.  (Which has never been done before or since.)

And we get those patented Simonson sound effects…

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Ben Grimm is still human and using a Thing exoskeleton to join in battles.  While in the alternate universe, he has a human interaction with that reality’s Alicia Masters (who married Thing in that universe), and it makes Grimm’s current girlfriend, Sharon Ventura, jealous because she’s rocky now. 

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So as part of his tribute to the great Lee/Kirby run, Simonson injects some of the “it’s hard out here for a rock-person” angst into the story, but uses another character to do it.

Still, it’s time for Ben Grimm to be Thing again.  Enough already.

For the complete history of the MU, year by year, go here.
And see my Ratings of Runs on comics here.

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