10 Brutal Times The Fantastic Four Lost

10. Doctor Doom Defeats Reed Richards - Fantastic Four #381 (1993)

Fantastic Four #381 begins with Reed Richards heading to Latveria to rescue Ben Grimm, who has been imprisoned by Doctor Doom. At a glance, the story seems pretty standard and the reader assumes that Reed will vanquish his arch-nemesis, like he has done many times before.

Sure enough, the story concluded with Doom overestimating his ability and being thwarted by the Fantastic Four for the bajillionth time. Laying on the ground, the ironclad supervillain held out his hand, congratulating Reed on his victory. But as the leader of the Fantastic Four clasped Doom's hand, the armoured dictator activated an explosive device, preparing to sacrifice himself in order to destroy his long-time rival. Before Reed's comrades had a chance to intervene, Doom triggered the weapon, causing them both to vanish without a trace.

Even though it seemed like Reed and Doom had met their maker, the pair weren't dead. Instead, they were trapped in a realm ruled by Hyperstorm - Reed's grandson from another reality. However, Mister Fantastic's teammates didn't learn this for over two years and so, absolutely believed their oldest foe had murdered Reed.