IS THERE NO END TO THESE LOOPY LAPSES IN LOGIC?

Copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Cover art JACK KIRBY & GEORGE ROUSSOS (as BELL)

I'll try and make this as short as I can.  In FANTASTIC FOUR #19, REED RICHARDS and SUE STORM are on a visit to the Museum of Natural History when they spy some hieroglyphics that seemingly portray a blind Pharaoh being exposed to a vial of radioactive herbs which restore his sight.  Faster than a fart from the FLASH, the foursome are soon using DOCTOR DOOM's time machine to speed back to ancient Egypt in a mission to obtain said vial in order to restore the vision of BEN GRIMM's blind girlfriend, ALICIA MASTERS.

After a succession of encounters with a time-traveller from the future, the foursome obtain the vial and return to the present.  Unfortunately, however, on arrival the vial is gone, as the time machine is seemingly unable to transport anything with radioactive properties from the past to the future, or vice versa.  (Hang on a minute - aren't cosmic rays radioactive?  Then don't the FF have 'radioactive properties' in their genetic makeup.  Two loopy lapses for the price of one?)

Ben is understandably disappointed that poor Alicia must remain blind, although Reed vows to work at replicating the substance until he hopefully one day will meet with success.  So, no happy ending this time 'round, mainly because MISTER FANTASTIC is clearly stunted when it comes to seeing the obvious way to resolve the situation.

In the best comicbook tradition, "Can you spot the solution, readers?"

It's simple.  Take Alicia into the past, cure her blindness, and then bring her back. There'd be no story then though, would there?  Guess that's why I'm not writing comicbooks for a living!