Editing Alicia Masters (section)

==Fictional character biography==
Alicia Masters is introduced in ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' #8, along with her stepfather, the [[supervillain]] known as the [[Puppet Master (Marvel Comics)|Puppet Master]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brevoort |first1=Tom |last2=DeFalco |first2=Tom |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=Sanderson |first4=Peter |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |title=Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History |date=2017 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1465455505 |page=89}}</ref> Alicia was not initially given a surname; she was given the last name "Masters" by a reader, as announced in ''Fantastic Four'' #42 (Sept. 1965); the reader was given a [[No-Prize]] for her service to Marvel.<ref>Cronin, Brian. [https://www.cbr.com/knowledge-waits-the-history-of-marvels-no-prize/ "Knowledge Waits: The History of Marvel's No-Prize: CSBG looks at the history of Marvel's celebrated No-Prize!"], ''CBR'' (Feb. 11, 2016).</ref> Alicia initially aids the Puppet Master out of obedience in his first scheme against the Fantastic Four, though she immediately senses the "gentle" and "sensitive" spirit of the Thing when she first feels his palpably monstrous face. Alicia turns on her stepfather when she realizes that he is mad and power-hungry, and accidentally causes him to fall to his apparent death out of a window. A subsequently published story explains that the Puppet Master had been responsible for her permanent blindness, which was caused by an explosion of radioactive clay during his fight with a rival.<ref>''[[Marvel Team-Up]]'' #6 (January 1973)</ref>

[[Image:FF 49 panel.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Alicia Masters pleads with the [[Silver Surfer]] for the survival of humanity in ''Fantastic Four'' #49 (April 1966). Art by [[Jack Kirby]].]]
Alicia Masters was a recurring character in early issues of ''Fantastic Four'' as the love interest of the Thing, serving as a plot device to cause him to resist changing back to a normal human form, for fear that Alicia would not love him.<ref>''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' #25 (April 1964)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64 |date=2015 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490458 |page=82}}</ref> The physically vulnerable Masters was also frequently used as a [[damsel in distress]].

The character plays an integral role in the story arc "The Coming of [[Galactus]]", in ''Fantastic Four'' #48–50 (March–May 1966). The [[Silver Surfer]] comes to Earth as a herald to the powerful, world-destroying being Galactus, and crashes into Alicia's apartment after fighting the Fantastic Four. Her pleading with him about the value of life convinces him to reject his master and defend Earth.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=Cronin |url=http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/02/19/a-year-of-cool-comics-day-50/ |title=A Year of Cool Comics – Day 50 |publisher=[[Comic Book Resources]] CSBG Archive |date=February 19, 2010 |access-date=September 29, 2010 |archive-date=May 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504111741/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/02/19/a-year-of-cool-comics-day-50/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |page=87}}</ref>

After the Thing chooses to remain on an alien planet where he could change back to human form, Alicia falls in love with the dashing [[Human Torch (Johnny Storm)|Human Torch]], another member of the Fantastic Four. The Thing returns to unhappily attend their wedding. In ''Fantastic Four'' #300, Johnny Storm and Alicia marry, but the ceremony is nearly foiled by the [[Mad Thinker]], the [[Wizard (Marvel Comics)|Wizard]], and Alicia's stepfather, the [[Puppet Master (Marvel Comics)|Puppet Master]]. These three villains planned to attack the wedding, but at the last moment Puppet Master stopped them, with the (unwilling) help of Dragon Man.<ref>''Fantastic Four'' #300 (March 1987)</ref>

After several months, the Fantastic Four discovers that Alicia was kidnapped and replaced by Lyja, a Skrull espionage agent sent to infiltrate the Fantastic Four and set them up for her handler, [[Paibok]], to destroy them. The Fantastic Four defeats Paibok and retrieves Alicia. She was taken before Ben broke up with her, and her feelings for Ben never changed. This makes things difficult for both him and Johnny. The two of them had months to resolve things between them. Now Johnny has to come to grips with the fact that the real Alicia never loved him and that Lyja is the woman he loves. Ben has to deal with having gotten over Alicia, only to have her back and in love with him.

The press is told that Alicia and Johnny divorced.<ref name="ffv1no362">''Fantastic Four'' #362 (March 1992)</ref> With her relationships with Ben and Johnny now complicated by Johnny's marriage to 'Lyja' and Ben's prior attempts to resolve his old feelings for her after Lyja's marriage, Alicia subsequently becomes romantically involved with the Silver Surfer and eventually leaves Earth with him, traveling through outer space at his side in an armored suit.<ref>''[[Silver Surfer (comic book)|Silver Surfer]]'' (vol. 3) #121-140 (October 1996 - June 1998)</ref><ref>''Galactus the Devourer'' #1-6 (September 1999–March 2000)</ref>

Alicia is frequently trusted as a babysitter for [[Franklin Richards (character)|Franklin Richards]], the son of Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic. During the year-long period in which the FF were missing ("[[Heroes Reborn (1996 comics)|Heroes Reborn]]"), Alicia is seen as his primary caretaker.<ref>''[[Thunderbolts (comics)|Thunderbolts]]'' #2 (June 1997)</ref>

After the Fantastic Four disband following the [[Secret Wars (2015 comic book)|collapse of the multiverse]], [[Spider-Man|Peter Parker]] purchases the [[Baxter Building]] to keep it safe until the team are ready to come back together.<ref>''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' (vol. 4) #3 (January 2016)</ref> Ben initially spends time with the [[Guardians of the Galaxy (2008 team)|Guardians of the Galaxy]], but eventually, after a failed attempt to find the Richards family, he proposes to Alicia just before the Richards return to Earth.<ref>''Fantastic Four'' (vol. 6) #1 (October 2018)</ref><ref>''Fantastic Four'' (vol. 6) #3 (January 2019)</ref><ref>''Fantastic Four'' (vol. 6) #5 (March 2019)</ref>

In the aftermath of the 2020 crossover "[[Empyre]]", Ben and Alicia adopt two orphans, the [[Kree]] boy Jo-Venn and the [[Skrull]] girl N'Kala.<ref>''Empyre Fallout: Fantastic Four'' #1 (September 2020)</ref>