Fantastic Four #15
Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #15 marks the first appearance of Valeria von Doom — the alternate-future teenager who would eventually be revealed as the stillborn second daughter of Reed and Sue Richards, rescued by Franklin Richards and raised in the alternate reality of Earth-99315 under the Invisible Woman and a heroic Doctor Doom. Though the glimpse of her is brief and nested inside the issue's larger Ronan-the-Accuser plotline, it plants a seed that subsequent creative teams — Pacheco, Marín, Loeb, and eventually Jonathan Hickman — would grow into one of the most intellectually formidable characters in the Fantastic Four mythos. The issue also deepens the volume's ongoing cross-title continuity by weaving in Iron Man as a co-protagonist, with the story explicitly continuing in Iron Man (Vol. 3) #14, making it one of the more ambitious crossover beats of the 1999 Marvel line.
In "A Clash of Iron," the Fantastic Four face off against Iron Man in a high-stakes battle on the moon, with SHIELD watching from afar. As the fight unfolds, Reed, Ben, and Johnny are briefly haunted by a chilling vision of a future where their lives have taken a shocking turn—Sue married Dr. Doom, and they have a daughter named Valeria. Written by Chris Claremont and brought to life with dynamic art by Salvador Larroca, this 1999 issue features cover pencils by Larroca and inks by Art Thibert.
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This issue falls squarely within the extended Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca run on Fantastic Four Vol. 3, which began in earnest around issue #4 after Scott Lobdell and Alan Davis opened the volume following the Heroes Return event. Editor Bobbie Chase oversaw the run, and Claremont brought a characteristically X-Men-inflected sensibility to the title — including supporting characters drawn from his Excalibur work (Caledonia, an alternate-universe Alysande Stuart, had already been introduced) and a dense, multi-strand plotting style that embedded the Valeria glimpse as a digression within an already layered story. Claremont intended to resolve the Valeria storyline himself but departed before doing so; later writers retconned and canonized her origins, meaning this issue launched a character whose full meaning was only clarified by creative teams that came after.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Valeria von Doom (Earth-99315), an alternate-future teenager who is later established as the stillborn second child of Reed and Sue Richards, rescued by Franklin Richards and raised by a heroic Doctor Doom on Earth-99315.
- Written by Chris Claremont, with pencils by Salvador Larroca, inks by Art Thibert, colors by Liquid! Graphics, letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft's Albert Deschesne, and edited by Bobbie Chase.
- Published March 1999 (cover-dated January 1999) as Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #15 — part of the lengthy Claremont/Larroca run that extended from approximately issue #4 through #32.
- The Valeria appearance is a brief flash-forward: Reed, Ben, and Johnny glimpse an alternate future where Sue wears Doom-inspired armor as the Baroness von Doom, flanked by an adult Franklin and the young woman Valeria — with the alternate reality later indexed as Earth-99315 in Marvel reference materials.
- The issue continues the team's battle with Ronan the Accuser and features Iron Man (Tony Stark) as a guest co-star; Charlotte Jones (NYPD detective) and Caledonia also appear, along with Callie Yaeger and Pepper Potts.
- The story crosses directly into Iron Man (Vol. 3) #14, making this part of a two-title crossover arc during the 1999 Marvel line.
- Claremont never resolved the Valeria storyline himself; subsequent writers Rafael Marín, Carlos Pacheco, and Jeph Loeb canonized her origins, and Jonathan Hickman later evolved the character — under the name Brainstorm — into one of the Marvel Universe's preeminent intellects.
- The issue is collected in Fantastic Four: Heroes Return – The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (Marvel), which gathers Fantastic Four (1998) #1–15 and the companion Iron Man (1998) #14.
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Reprinted in Iron Man #13 (2000), Iron Man: Revenge of the Mandarin #[nn] (2012), Iron Man by Kurt Busiek & Sean Chen Omnibus #[nn] (2013), Fantastic Four: Heroes Return - The Complete Collection #1 (2019), Iron Man: Heroes Return - The Complete Collection #1 (2019)
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