FANTASTIC FOUR #543

The double-sized 45th Anniversary Issue of the World's Greatest Comic Magazine! The super hero Civil War is drawing to a close! But with the betrayals, backstabbing and shifting alliances, who will be the Fantastic Four when all is said and done? It's the night of the anniversary of the first manned faster-than-light space flight and birth of the Fantastic Four. Ben and Johnny watch a Lateline program dedicated to this event. Several people, including superheroes, are interviewed on what the Fantastic Four means to them. Reed and Sue are talking, trying to figure out where they will go from here. Sue is still upset and feels she cannot trust Reed for his actions during the "Civil War." She says she still loves him, but things will never be the same. As the show ends, and the kids have long been put to bed, Johnny and Ben wonder what will happen next. Finally, Sue and Reed show up. They find out that the two have decided not to return to the Fantastic Four. They need time to work on their marriage. In order to not leave them short-handed, they have brought in a couple of replacements. During the final battle of the Civil War, the Wakandian embassy was destroyed. Needing a place to stay, the Black Panther and Storm have agreed to join the team. As the Mole Man is invading the world, a call is put out to the Fantastic Four. Reed hangs up on the call because it is their 45th anniversary with Marvel and no one has congratulated them. Just then, Stan Lee comes to pay them a visit. With the city being overrun, Reed finally gives in and agrees to fight and defeat the Mole Man. Stan says he has a better answer that doesn't involve fighting. He runs out and the FF decide to give him five minutes. As they are about to go out, Stan returns with the Mole Man. He has given up and wants peace. Surprised, they ask Stan how he got Mole Man to give up. Stan tells them that he promised Mole Man a cameo in the next Fantastic Four movie. As Johnny works on a hot rod with Wyatt, Ben calls him to annoy him with the fact that Spider-Man is on tv. At the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker tries selling some pictures of Spider-Man to J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson tells him he wants something different like photos of Johnny Storm. Peter then goes to the racetrack to get some pics. Not able to get a clear shot, Peter puts on his costume to climb up a radio tower. As Johnny is driving, he sees Spider-Man up there and becomes enraged. This causes him to Flame On. Johnny's car bursts into a ball of flames and he decides to go after Spidey. Crystal manages to get them to stop fighting. — Description from Comic Vine community (comicvine.gamespot.com).