The villains of Warren Ellis' and John Cassaday's
Planetary are evil versions of the Fantastic Four. In issue #25, we learn that the Four gained their powers not simply due to an accidental encounter with cosmic rays, but through a deal (Reed Richards) made with (Darkseid) - - in return for a promise they would help him conquer Earth, Darkseid promised to allow the Four to utilize a mechanism orbiting around (Apokalips) that would give them all super powers. In these panels you can see the Four in their space capsule enter the mechanism, portrayed as a giant, grasping hand:
The mechanism has been found by the Chandra Observatory, which managed to take a photo of what's been designated a "
young pulsar":
*Previously:
NASA consultants draft a primer on how Earthmen should resist an alien invasion.
*
Buy Planetary at Amazon.
