Fantastic Four #269

Name: Fantastic Four #269
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Aug 1984 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.30 GBP; 0.75 CAD

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“Skyfall”

★ 1st appearance — Terminus

About this Issue

Fantastic Four #269 marks the first appearance of Terminus, a planet-ravaging cosmic destroyer who would go on to menace the Avengers, the X-Men, and the FF across multiple crossover events — establishing himself as one of the era's most formidable large-scale threats. Just as significant is the issue's emotional architecture: Sue Richards, recovering from the stillbirth of her and Reed's second child (depicted two issues earlier in #267), is again sidelined by her husband, a recurring tension that Byrne used to quietly interrogate the patriarchal dynamics at the heart of Marvel's First Family. The issue is a structural pivot in John Byrne's celebrated run, splitting its narrative between intimate domestic grief and galaxy-scaled danger — a tonal balance that exemplifies why that run is widely regarded as the finest on the title since Lee and Kirby. Terminus's debut here also set a continuity ripple that writers would return to for decades, with subsequent revelations about the character's true nature — as a product of the Terminex race's war against the Celestials — expanding retroactively on seeds planted in this single issue.

In "Skyfall," Reed refuses to let Sue join a high-stakes mission, straining their relationship as tensions rise. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Terminus arrives on Earth, setting the stage for an unfolding crisis. Written by John Byrne and Larry Niven, with art by John Byrne and colors by Glynis Wein, this 1984 issue captures the Fantastic Four at a pivotal emotional and cosmic crossroads—cover by John Byrne.

writer, artist, inker John Byrne · writer Larry Niven · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer Diana Albers · cover John Byrne

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VF) $4

CGC 9.8 · 99 in census $73

CGC 9.6 · 35 in census $33*

CGC 9.4 · 13 in census $23*

CGC 9.2 · 7 in census $21*

CGC 9.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 6 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 · 7 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 none in existence

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 · 1 in census $20

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CGC 9.8 ▾ $75–$120 2 listings

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Raw — NM ▾ $4–$10.5 4 listings

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Raw / ungraded ▾ $1.89–$27.9 24 listings

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CGC 9.8 $180 Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #269 (1984) Marvel Comics $5 Fantastic Four Vol. 1 # 269 - Marvel 1984 - 🔑 1st app. Terminus $5

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History

Written, penciled, and inked entirely by John Byrne — the series' sole creative voice through much of this period — the issue bears the unusual credit of science-fiction author Larry Niven as 'Science Advisor,' a distinction reflecting Byrne's ambition to ground the Terminus storyline's astronomical conceit (an alien beam carving a claim across Earth's surface) in plausible physics. Editor Bob Budiansky oversaw the issue under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter. The story arrives in the immediate wake of the Secret Wars crossover, with the Thing still absent on Battleworld, She-Hulk entrenched as his replacement, and the Richards marriage under considerable emotional stress — threads Byrne had been deliberately weaving for years. The issue shipped in May 1984 with a cover date of August 1984.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Terminus, a colossal alien world-destroyer created by John Byrne, who debuts in a dramatic final-page reveal — his arrival telegraphed by a half-mile-wide energy message burned across the continental United States reading 'I claim this world — Terminus.'
Written, penciled, and inked by John Byrne, with science-fiction novelist Larry Niven credited as 'Science Advisor' — an unusual collaboration for a Marvel superhero comic of the era.
Published August 1984 (cover date); actual release date was May 1984, per multiple collector databases.
Sue Richards's scenes depicting her emotional recovery from the stillbirth of her and Reed's second child (which occurred in Fantastic Four #267) make this one of the more psychologically grounded issues of Byrne's run, and the issue reveals for the first time on-panel how Sue and Reed originally met.
She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters) and Wyatt Wingfoot are featured supporting characters; the latter rejoins the series here following the death of his grandfather Silent Fox.
The 'Alicia Masters' appearing in this issue is later revealed (in Fantastic Four #358) to be the Skrull spy Lyja — a retcon that reframes every scene involving her throughout Byrne's run.
Terminus went on to appear in Avengers #256–257, X-Men Annual #12, Quasar #7, and multiple Avengers crossover storylines, with his origin later substantially expanded by Thor Annual #15; later writers also revealed the being in Avengers #256 was actually the Deviant Jorro impersonating Terminus.
The issue — along with Fantastic Four #270 and Annual #18 — is collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 25 (2023 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949396), and Terminus also appeared in the animated series Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes in the episode 'Scavenger Hunt,' voiced by Lee Tockar.