Toyfare: The Toy Magazine #17
In a delightfully absurd twist, Reed Richards confronts the Fantastic Four with a mind-bending theory: they're all just toys. As the team grapples with the idea—Spock ditching his pants, Spider-Man accidentally running him over, and Reed demonstrating his claims by peeling back the rubber bands from Ben, extinguishing Johnny’s flame, and noting Sue’s off-panel absence—the reality of their existence starts to unravel. Paul Schiraldi’s bold art brings the surreal premise to life, with a cover by Schiraldi that captures the chaos. Written by Pat McCallum, Tom Root, and Douglas Goldstein, this issue is a wild, self-aware romp through superhero logic gone sideways.
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Science proves to Reed that they are nothing but toys. He convinces Spock, who gets rid of his pants. Spider-Man runs him over. Reed proves it to the other Fantastic Four members by pulling the rubber bands out of Ben, pulling Johnny's flame off, and pointing out Sue is just off-panel. Dr. Doom's doomsday device is eaten by a dinosaur. Hulk finds a mathematical error in Reed's work, proving him wrong. As punishment, they throw pies at him.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).