This is Past Was Close Behind, a feature that spotlights moments, exchanges, etc. from older comics that take on a brand new light when read in concert with later comic books or events. Basically, stuff that looks hilarious in hindsight. Today, we look at how a Skrull impersonated Nebula in the Fantastic Four, while the Nebula that she was impersonating was, herself, an impostor!

Awhile back, I wrote about the Fantastic Four story where a Skrull impersonated Alicia Masters and we then learned soon after that the Alicia that the Skrull impersonated was, herself, a Skrull pretending to be Alicia. Reader John K. wrote in to say that that, oddly enough, wasn't the only time in that story that a Skrull impersonated someone who wasn't the real person that the Skrull was impersonating. Boy, that sounds confusing, right? That's superhero comic books for you!

I addressed the first part of this story in another article about the Avengers villain, Nebula, fighting her way into the Council of Kangs (a group of Kangs from various timelines) and then manipulating the Avengers to get them to help her get her hands on a powerful weapon that the Kangs had discovered.

In the end, though, she was pulled into a time vortex along with Doctor Druid...

At the time, Walter Simonson was planning a follow-up adventure in the pages of the Avengers where he would re-visit Nebula, but he couldn't get access to Thor or Iron Man, who he wanted for the story. He left the Avengers and became the new writer and artist on Fantastic Four. Amusingly enough, he was allowed to use Thor and Iron Man in THAT story, as they team up with the Avengers.

While Nebula is in the vortex, she comes to Mister Fantastic in a dream (just like how she came to Doctor Druid in a dream and manipulated him into taking control of the Avengers to serve her), but it does not work...

She should have realized that Reed's love for Sue is, like, one of his only personality traits.

So she tries with Johnny and I love how Simonson has Nebula change up her look to better appeal to Johnny. He apparently goes for the "Madonna" look...

This time, her mind-manipulation works and she had Johnny under her control for the rest of the story, until his mind almost kind of snaps towards the end of the plot, as the Fantastic Four and Thor and Iron Man go on an adventure through time and space to find the weapon that the Kangs were looking for (and that Nebula almost stole) during the Avengers storyline. Eventually, after Johnny's mind was too messed up to go on, Nebula took over Sue's body (remember, Nebula herself was stuck in the time vortex with Doctor Druid, so only her mind could escape). Johnny, though, had been muttering to himself "blue woman, blue woman," and since Reed had been visited by a blue woman, he knew it wasn't just nonsense, so he was suspicious when Sue began to act strangely. He was able to successfully knock Nebula out of Sue's body and the heroes won.

However, Nebula's effect on Johnny lingered. When they eventually returned home (after more time travel shenanigans), Johnny couldn't get his mind off of her, which made things awkward around his, you know, WIFE, Alicia, in Fantastic Four #347 (by Simonson, Arthur Adams and Art Thibert)...

So, a Skrull on the run wanted to capture the Fantastic Four to manipulate them for her own purposes, and she would come to each one of the team members in the guise of their fondest desire (as the Skrull had limited mental abilities, so she could tell) and for Johnny, it was Nebula and not his own wife...

Of course, to paraphrase Crocodile Dundee, "That's not Nebula!"

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During the 1992 Marvel Annuals, there was a crossover called "Citizen Kang" that took place in the Captain America, Thor, Fantastic Four and Avengers Annuals.

In Fantastic Four Annual #25 (by Mark Gruenwald and Herb Trimpe and a couple of inkers), the Fantastic Four meet up with "Nebula" (she and Druid had eventually escaped the Time Vortex) and Druid reveals that she was never Nebula (it's kind of douchey for him to just dub her "Temptress," though, right?)...

Eventually, we learn that "Temptress" is actually Kang's former love, Ravonna.

So yes, of the people that the Skrull impersonated during the "New Fantastic Four" storyline, 2/5th of them were actually impostors themselves! That's pretty darn funny and SO comics.

Thanks to John for the suggestion!

If anyone else has a suggestion for some hilarious in hindsight stuff, let me know by dropping me a line at brianc@cbr.com!