OMU History: Fantastic Four 1982

The long-delayed wedding of Crystal and Johnny Storm, May 1982.

4th row: Franklin Richards, Triton, Gorgon
3rd row: Ben Grimm, Jake Grimm, Sharon Grimm, Danny Grimm, Karnak, Black Bolt, Medusa
2nd row: Luna Maximoff, Marcia Storm, Reed Richards, Sue Richards, Darkling Syblack, Wyatt Wingfoot, Lockjaw
Front row: Crystal, Johnny Storm

Nearly 20 years after falling in love with each other, Johnny Storm and Crystal tied the knot at a private ceremony in New York City on May 15. Storm, 37, known the world over as the Torch, leader of the Fantastic Four, divorced his first wife, the noted sculptress Alicia Masters Storm, two years ago. He began seeing his former sweetheart again when Crystal, 39, was named as the Inhumans’ ambassador to the United Nations following the death of her husband, Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver, in last year’s so-called “Mutant War.” Rather than departing the festivities in the traditional limousine, the happy couple teleported away with the giant dog-like creature Lockjaw, to their honeymoon at an undisclosed location.

OMU History: Fantastic Four 1978

The Fantastic Four celebrate their 17th anniversary, August 1978.

L to R: The Torch (Johnny Storm), Ms. Marvel (Sharon Grimm), the Thing (Ben Grimm), the Invisible Woman
(Sue Richards), Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)

Three years after the last stories set in the Original Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four celebrated the 17th anniversary of the spaceflight that granted them their superhuman powers. After mastering the ability to change at will between his human and rocky forms, Ben Grimm married his girlfriend Sharon, who remained an alternate member of the team using the code name Ms. Marvel. She often substituted for Susan Richards, now 39, or Reed Richards, nearly 56, so they could spend more time with their 14-year-old son Franklin. Though born 53 years earlier, Ben maintained the physique of a man in his mid-thirties, owing to the fact that he did not age appreciably while in his “Thing” form, and after a rough few years in the early ’70s, he was now a happy and contented man. Johnny Storm, now 33, had just returned to the team following a leave of absence and a brief stint with the Avengers, hence his individualized costume. In deference to his android namesake, the original Human Torch, who had recently become active again, Johnny shortened his own code name to “the Torch.” He and his wife, Alicia, had a one-year-old daughter, and Johnny’s decision to resume his superhero career put an additional strain on their marriage.