Issue(s): Fantastic Four #393
Cover Date: Oct 94
Title: "Days of recent past / Choices"
Credits:
Tom DeFalco - Script
Tom DeFalco & Paul Ryan - Plot
Paul Ryan - Penciler
Paul Ryan / Dan Bulanadi - Inker
Matt Idelson - Assistant Editor
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
Paul Ryan inks and co-plots a six page opening story which is mostly a recap of recent events framed by Ant-Man recording a message for his daughter. Ryan doesn't co-plot the larger story, which is inked by regular inker Dan Bulanadi.

Instead of homaging the Silver Age, Tom DeFalco is currently replicating the set-up from 200 issues ago. The Fantastic Four are broken up and in the run-up to issue #400 we're getting solo stories. This one is about the Thing, belatedly following up on Alicia Masters' mysterious disappearance (she stopped appearing after #376, the Thing noticed in #385). The Thing isn't actively searching for her here, but he's contacted by the Puppet Master. The Puppet Master knocks him out and the Thing wakes up in yet another fake world where he and Alicia are happily together. In fact, we are back in Liddleville.

It turns out that Alicia was so depressed after the Thing "abandoned" her that the Puppet Master felt the need to put her back in the fake happy world. The Thing tells Puppet Master that the painful real world is better than a fake happiness, and destroys the machinery. But he leaves before Alicia Masters awakes.

We do get subplots about the other FF characters. The Human Torch finds that he's not welcome back at ESU, but he does manage a coffee date with Bridget O'Neil. Which of course Lyja jealously watches from afar. And the Invisible Woman goes to Latveria and learns that Nathaniel Richards has been posing as Dr. Doom.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Human Torch & "Alicia Masters" got married in Fantastic Four #300.
  
• "Alicia" turned out to be Lyja in Fantastic Four #358.
  
• The Human Torch went super-nova in Fantastic Four #371-375, and Nathaniel Richards returned in that arc as well.
  
• Franklin returned as an adult in Fantastic Four #376.
  
• Mr. Fantastic died in Fantastic Four #381.
  
• An apparition of the Invisible Woman appeared in Fantastic Four #387.
  
• Liddleville was first seen in Fantastic Four #236.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A