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Spider-man and the Fantastic Four Issue 4
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Synopsis:
Submitted by: WallCrawler on Aug 26, 2007
Spider-man has just vomited purple goo (which has now begun to grow and change more... GREEN), The Imperator has just called for backup, Dr. Doom's anti-assimilation gun has worked, and Reed Richards comes exploding out of hyper-space almost directly on top of The Imperator, warning his wife, Sue Richards, to cover their allies with a mental bubble just in time.
Reed has calculated correctly, and the temporal disruption caused by his re-entry has disrupted The Imperator's chronal displacement field, which was the only thing ever standing between him and Ben Grimm's large, rocky fist. Reed is apprised of the situation, that the southern hemisphere of Earth is safe and sound, when The Imperator returns with a pair of heavily genetically modified African wildlife specimens. His creatures succeed for a time at keeping our heroes at bay, until the goo that Spidey vomited takes shape in the form of... THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN! Or make that - TWO Impossible MEN! The two new arrivals make short work of the two genetically modified monsters - by eating them!
Just then, the two Impossible Men take an enormous form of many eyes and pointy-toothed mouths. It claims to be the "body conglomerate" of the P'oppop'ian race - the role that The Impossible Man played for years. All this time, Spider-man has played host to this organism as it rebuilt itself from a single cell. Apparently when The Imperator blasted The Impossible Man, Spidey ingested some P'oppup'ian cellular residue. This new conglomerate body also makes short work of The Imperator. The conglomerate body, concerned about it's possible demise, has decided to manifest the entirety of it's race, which concerns our heroes greatly. Have they just been saved from H'Mojen colonization only to play host to the new P'oppup'ian race?
S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellicarrier nine (under H'Mojen control) then begins to engage the conglomerate body, who seizes the carrier and begins to separate the parasites from their hosts. The Imperator comes to just in time for Reed to relate his story to the rest of our heroes - that he works for the H'Mojen in barter for his race's safety from assimilation. He can only leave his job if he finds someone else to take up the cause - Johnny Storm relates him to the Silver Surfer, only "without the sweet board and power cosmic" which is an apt description.
Our heroes witness the conglomerate body separating the parasites from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, effectively killing the parasites. Reed calls upon The Imperator to recall the parasites, to save them from the fate the conglomerate body holds for them. He does so, at the risk that they will assimilate his homeworld. As the threat of the H'Mojen decreases exponentially, the conglomerate body starts to assert it's individuality - in the form of a possible NINE BILLION BEINGS! Something must be done, or else Earth will have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Spidey is quick to act - he asks The Imperator if his technology is capable of storing another species - like the P'oppup'ians!
As the Human Torch keeps the conglomerate body occupied, The Imperator readies his equipment, and draws it in. Reed them summarizes the rest of the tale - how he's envious of Spidey's quick thinking - to combine "the most adaptable yet directionless species in the galaxy with the growth-driven one unable to change on their own... a final great merge."
Back on Earth, Peter Parker and his wife Mary Jane walk down a city street. She hardly remembers the assimilation, and Peter is glad about this. He jokes that he's worried about Aunt May - after all, her hair is still silver! Mary Jane gives the requisite "dumb joke" response.
Yet, behind them, a cat on the sidewalk seems to be coughing up a hairball - but hairballs are generally not... green! As the cat walks away, our old pal, The Impossible Man takes form and claims "NEVER THE END!"