In this issue, Johnny Storm had just quit the Fantastic Four, and spent some time in a hotel for transients. While there he discovered the Sub-Mariner, who had been in a state of amnesia for years. Johnny restored his memory, but was horrified to discover that Namor had an extreme hatred for humans, and intended to conquor the entire surface world. He realized that he could not stop the Sub-Mariner alone, and he called on his ex-teammates in the Fantastic Four. Together, they drove Namor back into the sea, and the Human Torch reconciled with the rest of the group.

The first, and major, historical change I made for this Earth occurred just after Johnny realized he needed help. Instead of calling on this world's Fantastic Four to aid him, he went to the local network TV station, and convinced them to break into the newscast with a special plea for help, from anyone with special knowledge of the Sub-Mariner. (Reed Richards saw the special report, and decided against offering his team's aid, figuring that Johnny knew how to reach them if he wanted to.) The only serious response to the Torch's summons came from a retired hero from the '50s -- Toro, the Flaming Man.
 

One of the first orders of business that the new team undertook was an attempt to discover the fate of the original android Human Torch. In the course of the investigation, they discovered that he had been buried in the desert in the soutwestern United States. Although they searched, the group never did discover the exact location of the Torch's grave. However, they did encounter the Incredible Hulk, along with his friend, Rick Jones.

At this time, Rick Jones shared a telepathic bond with the Hulk, which left him in control of the Hulk's actions for as long as he remained awake (see The Incredible Hulk #3-4; I didn't make this part up, really!). In this reality, Rick Jones did not attempt to apply his meager efforts to the complex scientific equipment in the Hulk's lair; instead, he joined up with the New Invaders, counting on their power to keep the Hulk in check. Within a few weeks, he was fully integrated into the team, even wearing a slightly modified Bucky costume as they went into action, with the Hulk at his side. While the Hulk did revert to a mindless brute when Rick was asleep or unconscious, he soon became accustomed to the company of the New Invaders, and they likewise learned to keep him (semi-)calm and cooperative at most times.
 

This alliance benefitted Spider-Man in several ways. With Aunt May safely(?) guarded at the Baxter Building, Peter Parker's personal stress load was vastly lowered, which allowed him to personally grow. The exposure as a member of the Fantastic Four vastly increased Spider-Man's popularity and legitimacy in the eyes of the public. The opportunity for Peter Parker to be tutored by Reed Richards made him a world-class bio-chemist, gadgeteer, and purveyor of alien science. Over the course of several years, Spider-Man upgraded his equipment several times. He presently uses copies of Dr. Octopus' artificial arms and Ant-Man's helmet, along with several gadgets of his own invention.

The Thing and Mr. & Mrs. Fantastic drifted away from the group after the birth of Franklin Richards, although they all maintain close contact. Mr. Fantastic and the Thing operate an exploratory enterprise (professionally investigating exotic locations, such as the Negative Zone, the Inniverse, etc.) Spider-Man is currently leader of the Fantastic Four, the adventuring/crime-fighting arm of the company. Membership has fluctuated over the years; his current partners are Firestar, Ice Man, and the Sandman. They are still based at the Baxter Building, as is Fantastic Investigations, Inc., where Reed Richards and Ben Grimm maintain a sporadic presence.
 

This situation benefitted mutants in several ways -- since it became an open secret (in government circles, anyway) that mutants were allied with the government, many of the political battles that the X-Men faced in the Marvel Universe were never issues. The government put its resources into areas other than persecuting mutants, and the agency offered a standard, and very generous deal to any mutant, upon detection. This gave mutants a noble and patriotic way not only to serve thier country, but also to earn a lucrative living with little fear of persecution.

Of course, no one deal is good enough for everyone. Most mutants that decline S.H.I.E.L.D.'s offer of employment end up allied with Factor 3, a subversive organization bent on world domination. While there have been some serious plots instigated by Factor 3 in the past, the organization is basically on the decline; the great majority of known mutants work for S.H.I.E.L.D. in some capacity.

I found that a quick & easy way to launch a gaming session was to have the players generate mutant characters, who were then assigned to a S.H.I.E.L.D. task force. They would be new recruits on their first mission -- this gave the players ties to an established organization, but also a healthy reason not to call for help when the going got tough. After all, they wanted to prove themselves to their comrades and superiors.

I always invisioned the group as having a non-team format, similar to the group in the Marvel Universe. Again, Dr. Strange would usually be the head instigator of the adventures, but occasionally Captain Marvel could fulfill that role, due to his cosmic awareness. When they weren't out defending the universe, they could hang out on Nova's spaceship -- he had a really cool ship in his first title, and the writers never did much with it. Somewhere on the ship would be a magical warp to someplace within Dr. Strange's sanctorum, their base on Earth -- it could be a point of easy travel, but also a weak point in security. In addition to Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel, and Nova, the group includes the Thing (when he wasn't out exploring with Mr. Fantastic), and the Ultra-Skrull (who appeared only in the TSR publication MH-9, The Gates of What If, as an alternate version of the Super-Skrull).