What if the Fantastic Four returned without powers—and had to face Galactiac (an amalgam of Galactus & Brainiac)?

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26d ago 1:02:43

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🎙️ Had a challenging week? Get ready for something fantastic. We’re going Amalgam, baby! This week, Marvel’s First Family meets DC’s death-defying adventurers in one of the boldest mash-ups of the Amalgam Age!

Ep. 165 What if the Fantastic Four returned from their travels without powers—and had to face Galactiac?

from Challengers of the Fantastic #1 (Amalgam Comics, June 1997) & Showcase #6 (DC Comics, February 1957)

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This week, we dive into the Amalgam Universe—Earth 9602—where Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm collide with the worlds of Ace Morgan, Red Ryan, June Robbins, and Professor Haley to become the Challengers of the Fantastic! We begin our journey with the Silver Age debut of DC Comics’ Challengers of the Unknown in Showcase #6, created (or co-created) by Jack Kirby, and trace the team's wild legacy through the decades—including Nazi-busting villains, zombie plagues, and their bizarre Weirdoverse revival in the 1990s.

Then we venture to Challengers of the Fantastic #1 by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett, part of 1997’s second wave of Amalgam Comics, where the Fantastic Four return from cosmic exploration without powers and confront Galactiac—an epic fusion of Galactus and Brainiac. Alongside returning guest Ethan (aka @MakeMineAmalgam), we explore what makes this world work, how Kesel balances reverence with absurdity, and why this short-lived title deserves more love.

Plus: obscure villains like Multi-Man and Mr. Tic-Tac-Toe, the evolution of Jack Kirby’s themes across Marvel and DC, and a round of actor amalgamation speculation. Is this the first spark of a new Amalgam universe revival? And just what makes the Amalgam Universe such a rich multiversal playground?

Reading / Watch List:

Showcase #6 (DC Comics, 1957) – “The Secret of the Sorcerer's Box!”
Spider-Boy #1 (Amalgam / Marvel & DC Comics, 1996)
Challengers of the Fantastic #1 (Amalgam Comics, 1997)

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Theme music is Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0)

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