The Fantastic Four just did their own mini Thanos "Snap"

Fantastic Four #4 interior art — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The current volume of Marvel's Fantastic Four ongoing title kicked off with a mystery surrounding a disaster that split the Fantastic Four apart and made them among the most hated people in the Marvel Universe.

Now, in February 15's Fantastic Four #4 by writer Ryan North, artists Ivan Coello and Jesus Aburtov, with letters by Joe Caramagna, the story of what happened to split the Fantastic Four apart and what made them so despised by the citizens of the Marvel Universe.

Spoilers ahead for Fantastic Four #4

The great disaster that's haunting the Fantastic Four all starts with a sudden invasion from the extra-dimensional realm known as the Negative Zone coming through the FF's headquarters the Baxter Building.

As the insectoid denizens of the Negative Zone pour out into New York City, the FF desperately tries to curb the tide. But even with the combined abilities of the Fantastic Four, the Negative Zone forces are too much, and Reed Richards is forced to enact a contingency plan designed to end the invasion while also protecting the people in the Baxter Building and the surrounding area.

But Reed's plan has dire side-effects. In order to save the Baxter Building and the surrounding city block, Reed has to teleport the Negative Zone invaders into deep space, while transporting the Baxter Building, the surrounding area, and its inhabitants one year into the future where they'll reappear after a year has passed in the Marvel Universe without even knowing they were gone.

Of course, this solution to the Negative Zone problem comes with some dire consequences. Not only is a whole city block full of people now lost for a year, but that includes Reed and Sue Richards' children Franklin and Valeria Richards as well as Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters adopted children.

With the truth now revealed, the FF themselves go through a reconciliation, with Ben and Alicia forgiving Reed for his actions and vowing to reunite with their children soon - but there's still more time to wait till they return.

The story continues in Fantastic Four #5, on sale March 8.

Read the best Fantastic Four stories of all time.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)