History: (Fantastic Four III#2) - The enigmatic being called Iconoclast was sent by unknown forces to "null" the Invisible Woman, before she could do the same to his people. Using cloaking technology, Iconoclast stalked Susan Richards, before finally attacking her while she was spending some quality time with her husband, Reed. Susan managed to knock him out of a window, but Reed couldn't see Iconoclast, or his energy blasts directed towards his wife.

Iconoclast and the Invisible Woman fought in the snow outside, until the rest of the Four showed up. Noticing the footprints in the snow, Reed directed the Torch to burn the snow, covering Iconoclast in a thin mist, making him visible. But even though the Four could see him, they still couldn't attack him, as he'd simply turn intangible to avoid their blows. Susan eventually tricked Iconoclast into blindly striking at her until she had levitated them over a river, where she managed to drop him into the water, causing his cloaking device to short circuit and explode.

(Fantastic Four: Foes#1) - Iconoclast attended a gathering of enemies of the Fantastic Four held by the Puppet Master, who suggested that they combine their forces. Iconoclast left with the others, without even acknowledging the Puppet Master's scheme.

Comments: Created by Scott Lobdell, Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

What seemed like Iconoclast's body later appeared in Fantastic Four III#3...
(Fantastic Four III#3) - The rest of the Fantastic Four were horrified to discover Reed dissecting the mysterious figure, Iconoclast, who had earlier attacked them. Reed explained that he wasn't performing the autopsy on Iconoclast, but a hologram using pre-scanned data of his body. It was revealed that Iconoclast was actually a single-celled amoeba, but much of his past remained in the dark.
   Thanks to Changeling for pointing out this appearance!

Iconoclast certainly was a perplexing character. Practically nothing of his origin was revealed, other than that he was sent by an unnamed group of people to assassinate Susan Richards, who was to do them indescribable harm. This makes it seem very likely Iconoclast was sent back from a potential future. He was very reluctant to actually kill the Invisible Woman, but he continued attacking anyway, hoping to avert the death of millions of his people. There's definitely more story to tell with this character, hopefully he won't go the way of the Sky-Walker.

Perhaps his chosen name is actually a clue to his motivations; according to the Wikipedia an iconoclast is someone who destroys sacred symbols and/or opposes and questions authority figures. Between this name and his specific choice of target the obvious assumption would be that Iconoclast comes from a possible future where Susan Richards somehow became responsible for a large scale tragedy, possibly as a consequence of the reemergence of her evil "Malice" persona. - Daevanator.

I'm not exactly sure why Iconoclast only let the Invisible Woman see through his cloaking device. Maybe it was an honor of the fight situation, where Iconoclast's people believe those that they're willing to assassinate deserve a fair chance to defend themselves.
Rich adds: I was thinking about how Sue is the only one to see him. Perhaps this is a function of her invisibility powers. In other words, perhaps the cloaking device is so similar in nature and/or function to her own invisibility power she can instinctively negate the effect.

Iconoclast looks a lot like a denizen of DC's Apokalips to me. Somehow I can't see Darkseid quaking in fear of the Invisible Woman, though.

Profile by: Zerostar

CLARIFICATIONS:

Iconoclast has no known connection to...

• Icon: Dr. A'Kurru U'mbaya, Wakandan scientist--Excalibur I#59
• I.C.O.N.: sought to take over the world, attempted to create army of undead warriors--Frankenstein Monster#14
• Ikonn: magical entity who grants power to people, "Images of Ikonn"--Dr. Strange II#47

images: (without ads)
Fantastic Four III#2, p14, pan1 (main image)

Appearances:
Fantastic Four III#2 (February, 1998) - Scott Lobdell (writer), Alan Davis (pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Mark Powers (editor)
Fantastic Four: Foes#1 (March, 2005) - Robert Kirkman (writer), Cliff Rathburn (artist)