We start with a splash page of somebody in his bedroom.
Byrne spent a lot of time on the details. The cluttered room. The little designs on things. The elaborate lamp. Only one slipper on. I'm having fun just letting my eyes roam around this panel.
The captions claim he is powerful and he is. Here he wishes the room to be tidy.
And just like that he gets his wish.
This man, whose name is Skip Collins, seems to be more powerful than the Molecule Man. Skip is Aladdin and the Genie all in one person and there is apparently no three wish limit! Wow.
His power doesn't always work though. Check this out with his kid.
Wait. Maybe it does work. Maybe at core, Collins wishes that he should have no power over his children - and that's exactly what happens. So why the mediocre life if Collins has such power. Byrne explains things wonderfully.
Another display of awesome.
Skip was not born with this ability. He was in the military and he was exposed to a nuclear blast.
Skip goes on a business trip to New York, finds himself in the vicinity of the Baxter and spots Sue and Reed.
He witnesses Reed Richards do a daring rescue.
And is further witness to Invisible Girl's handling of some debris.
It's not a simple building collapse though, something is happening.
The incident finds its way to the Thing while Ben is having a drink in a bar.
Johnny Storm is likewise affected.
Don't worry, the Human Torch will save those people.
It's not only New York though, not even just the U.S. The catastrophe is global.
Without knowing it, Skip activates his power.
The Four set out to help their city. The Thing is struggling to hold up a bridge.
Skip appears and thinks his all-powerful thoughts.
Then this happens.
Wow, for a moment there, skip Collins gave the Thing the strength of the Hulk without the angry attitude.
Here's Reed's analysis of what's happening.
Skip sees the Fantastic Four prepare to tackle the alien threat and makes a fateful wish.
In response everything, everything, is fixed. The whole world just gets'fixed.
But it is quite a feat. Enough to expend everything Skip has - he will never again be able to use his power.
Meanwhile, in space, the FF encounter Ego, the Living Planet. But that's for next issue.
So who was the most powerful character in all of Marvel? Skip Collins. Now we know.
