Scientists, Reed Richards and Victor von Doom are convinced that evolution was triggered millions of years ago on Earth by clouds of cosmic energy in space, and calculated that one of these clouds will soon pass close to Earth. Along with his friend, the astronaut Ben Grimm the experiment and a majority of the profits from whatever benefits he brings. Reed brings on board his ex-girlfriend and Von Doom's chief genetic researcher, Susan Storm, and his ex-astronaut brother Johnny. The quintet travels into space to observe the cosmic energy clouds, but Reed had miscalculated and the clouds materialize ahead of schedule. Reed and the Storms leave the space station to rescue Ben, who had gone on a space walk to place the samples. Ben receives full exposure in space, while the others receive a more limited dose within the station.
