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Appearing in "Lonely Are the Hunted!"

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  • innocent bystanders
  • a cab driver

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Synopsis for "Lonely Are the Hunted!"

Captain Britain faces the insanity of Lord Hawk, who is determined to get revenge on a society he considers corrupt and depraved for killing his beloved pets..

Appearing in "This World Enslaved!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #123

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Synopsis for "This World Enslaved!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #123
Brief Summary:

Reed threatens to destroy Galactus' ship and strand him on Earth if he doesn't leave the planet and the Silver Surfer alone. Galactus vows to kill the Fantastic Four and consume the Earth if Reed goes through with his plan. The Silver Surfer ends the standoff by agreeing to become Galactus' herald once again. However, the Earth and the Surfer are freed of Galactus when Reed reprograms his ship so that it sends him into the Negative Zone.

Fantastic Four Vol 1 123 001

Detailed Summary:
With Galactus on Earth, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four takes control of his ship in Earth's orbit and threatens to destroy it so long as Galactus refuses to leave the planet. However, Galactus calls Reed's bluff. He points out that while Reed will strand Galactus and sacrifice his own life, Galactus will turn his attentions to his loved ones and slay them before consuming the planet Earth, completely obliterated everything Richards cares for. After hearing this, the Silver Surfer finally acquiesces to the orders of Galactus. The rest of the Fantastic Four protest this move, telling the Surfer to not allow himself to be enslaved again. Galactus then agrees to give them twenty-four hours to come up with an agreeable solution so that the Earth is spared and Galactus gets his herald back.

Meanwhile, as deliberations drag on, General Ross and an army of soldiers try to attack Galactus. The world devourer retaliates by tossing train cars at the soldiers, sending them scattering. They then fire missiles at Galactus and he uses his powers to melt them, flinging them into the nearby water.

At the Baxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Sue returns home to find a call coming in from the President of the United States. The Commander-in-Chief and the Vice President both demand that the Fantastic Four turn the Silver Surfer over to Galactus, so the threat to Earth will resolve itself. Sue tells them that there are other alternatives and Reed patches in and assures the President that he has a plan to resolve the current crisis. When the President balks at this, Reed cuts the transmission and gets back to work.

Soon, Reed arrives in Galactus' ship and relinquishes it to the world devourer. Thinking that he has won, Galactus leaves Earth in his ship, ordering the Silver Surfer to follow after him. When the Surfer begins to follow after his former master, Reed tries to tell him to stay. When the Surfer refuses to listen, Mister Fantastic tries to physically subdue him. The Surfer tries to flee, pulling Reed's stretching abilities to their limit. General Ross orders Richards to stand down and one of his soldiers hastily fires a shot, hitting Reed with the bullet intended for the Silver Surfer. The Human Torch tries to get his leader from the Silver Surfer, while the Thing clashes with the soldiers for shooting his best friend. When the military brings out their heavy guns, the Torch is forced to break off his clash with the Surfer to help out Ben. The Surfer then speeds off to a tranquil location and uses his Power Cosmic to heal Reed, saving his life in the nick of time.

Reed manages to convince the Silver Surfer that Galactus has been defeated. The pair flies to Whisper Hill where he secures the aid of Agatha Harkness. The pair then returns to New York City where the Thing and Torch continue to battle the military. When they arrive at the scene, they are joined by the astral projection of Agatha Harkness. She uses her sorcery to mentally link Reed with the President and explain to him that the threat of Galactus is over. Believing the leader of the Fantastic Four, the President then calls off his soldiers. Reed uses Agatha's powers to link his mind with all the minds on Earth and explains that he managed to dispel the threat of Galactus by tampering with the controls of his ship so that it transported him into the Negative Zone. There, Reed explains, Galactus will no longer be a threat to Earth and have access to all the worlds he could ever want to consume. With the threat over, the people of New York celebrate the Fantastic Four. The Surfer soon departs, more exasperated than ever about the fickle nature of human beings.

Appearing in "Time Bomb!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Marvel Team-Up #10

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Synopsis for "Time Bomb!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Marvel Team-Up #10
Iron Man and Spider-Man have been brought to the 23rd Century to help Zarrko the Tomorrow Man to stop Kang the Conqueror from taking over this era. However, Zarrko wants to control history himself, and after Kang has incapacitated the two heroes, Zarrko has made his move. Zarrko explains his plans to conquer history using a series of "Time Bombs" that will regress the technology in the modern age to that of previous centuries, leaving the Earth ripe for conquest. He intends to use this all over the world except for a nuclear weapon depot in the United States which he intends to plunder for his own ends.

As Zarrko details his plans, both Spider-Man and Iron Man have revived from the blast they received from Kang. Iron Man cannot help because his armor's power source was destroyed, and so he tells Spider-Man to flee back to the present to stop the Time Bombs and to find help. The web-slinger manages to slip away and find his way to the time portal. Setting it from the date he was taken from, Spider-Man uses it to travel back in time. Meanwhile, Kang and Zarrko fight it out until they are interrupted by an unexpected arrival that Kang finds impossible to believe...

...Meanwhile, Spider-Man finds himself transported to the Baxter Building, setting off the alarms. However, they are shut off by the Human Torch, the only member of the Fantastic Four who is present. With the rest of the team away, Johnny agrees to help Spider-Man track down and shut down the Time Bombs. The pair split up to deactivate the time bombs, the Torch heading to Japan, and Spider-Man going to South America. When the Torch arrives in Japan he witnesses as a bullet train suddenly transforms into an old-fashioned steam engine. Using his ability to see into the infrared spectrum, Johnny tracks the energy signatures given off by the Time Bomb. He finds it in a hut, but the owner doesn't take kindly to trespassers. However, the bullets from his gun melt harmlessly against the Torch's flaming body. The Time Bomb suddenly turns the Japanese man into a samurai warrior, but the Torch easily trounces him. Getting up close to the Time Bomb, he suddenly begins succumbing to the effects of the device, his memories of how to disarm the weapon quickly vanishing from his mind.

At that moment, Spider-Man arrives in South America by hitching a ride on the outside of a commercial airliner. When the plane lands it suddenly transforms into a biplane thanks to the effects of the Time Bomb. Searching for the device, he has to fight a bunch of locals who have been transformed into primitive savages. When Spider-Man tries to disarm the device, he finds the same problem the Torch had. Before he can completely succumb to the radiations, the Torch arrives and melts the device. The pair then commandeers a plane and use it to go to Greece. There they find more opposition trying to stop them from disarming the Time Bomb. They easily fight their way through and this time, Johnny only disables the bomb instead of outright incinerating it. With the threat over, they begin to try and figure out a way back to the future to save the Avengers. The Torch recognizes the energy emissions from the devices as being the same as the Negative Zone barrier that once surrounded the Inhuman's domain of Attilan. However, because of his feelings toward his ex-girlfriend Crystal, the Human Torch decides not to accompany Spider-Man and wishes him luck.

Appearing in "Who Is Scorpio?"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1

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  • Rocket Sled (First appearance)

Synopsis for "Who Is Scorpio?"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1
Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Vol 1 1 012-013

Nick Fury climbs up the side of a mysterious building while waves crash against the rocks below. Upon reaching the top he gains access to the building and drops inside. He burns his way through a door, and takes out a hapless guard with high-tech armor and weapons. As he pauses to figure out how to get through a sophisticated door, a mysterious figure rises out of the floor behind him, armed with a pistol. Before Nick Fury even knows his assailant is there, shots ring out and Fury collapses! The figure removes its mask...

...only to reveal Nick Fury! Speaking through a walkie-talkie, Fury tells Dugan that the Life-Model Decoy they were testing will never replace real agents in the field. Dugan makes an offhand comment about how Fury got the LMD four times, but Fury objects that he only shot three bullets! Putting 2 and 2 together, Nick realizes someone just tried to assassinate him! He also finds a mysterious poker-chip sized disk with the symbol of the astrological sign Scorpio on it, and wonders if the mysterious assailant is connected to it.

The scene switches to a nightclub in San Francisco, where lackluster comedian Flip Mason finishes up his show. He asks the manager for another advance, but gets turned down. Turns out the comedian has a gambling habit, and he needs the money to pay off a man named Hackett, a man whose thugs are waiting for him.

In Kansas City, Mitch Hackett, a woman, and another man named Lester are in an executive suite. They're getting ready to head to Vegas on a job. Mitch brags he's going right to the top with the Syndicate!

In New York City, Nick Fury and Val take a stroll, and he tells her about the Scorpio token he found. He begs off further walking as it starts to pour, claiming he has to get back to HQ.

Elsewhere yet again, race cars are zooming around the track in the Monza Autodrome. A car with a Lamborghini engine wins, driven by one Count Julio Scarlotti. While he holds up the trophy triumphantly, a Scorpio tattoo can be seen on his arm.

Several days later, S.H.I.E.L.D. is testing weapons in the Nevada Desert using Nick Fury as the dummy! The first test of the EPB G-System[1] goes off without a hitch, and they prepare to hit it with something bigger. However, as Dugan gives the command we see the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent has a Scorpio tattoo!

Out on the testing range, Fury is kicking back and thinking while he waits for the missile to impact. All of the intelligence agencies have completely different rumors about Scorpio, and no idea who he is! Suddenly, Nick Fury notices a breeze—which can only mean the EPB has been turned off! He tries to radio Dugan, but the line is now dead on their end. Knowing he has to get outside the blast radius, some quick thinking leads to him radio S.H.I.E.L.D. unit 2 for a rocket-sled that runs on a track near him, and tells them to get it started in exactly ten minutes. Then he starts running towards the tracks, having a little over two miles to cover, and jumps on as it starts taking off, praying that it'll get him outside the blast radius.

Back in the Las Vegas S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker which Dugan and the others occupy, a mysterious figure mentally congratulates himself on the efficacy of his "sleep fumes." Suddenly, Fury crashes the rocket-sled through the wall to find the mysterious figure is none other than ... Scorpio! Fury is ready to rumble, but then Scorpio pulls out the Zodiac Key! Fury grabs Val and starts to make a run for it.

At that moment in a Las Vegas casino, Flip Mason has exhausted the last of his money gambling. Almost shaking, he resolves that he has no choice now but to hold up the casino! Suddenly, a man calls him over, thinking he's Hackett! The man hands Flip a briefcase that he claims has $200,000, and Flip leaves just as Mitch Hackett enters. Mitch asks the guy about the money, and he tells him he gave it to him two minutes ago. He's also trying to figure out if Mitch realized he was set up and figured out the briefcase was a bomb! However, Mitch, suspecting a double-cross, draws and fires at the guy as the guy also goes for his weapon.

Back in the S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker, Fury returns to battle Scorpio after making sure Val is safe. He's unprepared for the power of the Zodiac Key however, and Scorpio stuns him with a blast from it. Scorpio triumphantly announces his intention to kill Nick, but Nick isn't nearly as out of it as he seems, and a hand-to-hand battle ensues.

Nearby, the two mobsters are having a running gunfight which has gotten dangerously close to the S.H.I.E.L.D. research labs. Inside, Fury is about to unmask Scorpio when a stray bullet catches him. Scorpio seizes the upper hand and knocks Nick unconscious before escaping to his ship, promising to destroy the building and all inside. Outside, Hackett is fatally shot by his assailant, but he manages to squeeze off one more shot as he collapses. It goes horribly wide, however, and hits the flying ship above him in a critical spot! Spiraling out of control, the ship plunges nose-first into the desert. Val and Fury look on helplessly, sure that Scorpio must have perished in the crash—and still they don't know who he is.

Nearby, Flip Mason is placing a call to San Francisco to tell his wife about the money and thinking happy thoughts about how the conversation will go, when suddenly the suitcase bomb detonates and utterly destroys the phone booth and the man inside.

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Links and References

References

  1. Entrope Phase Barrier Guard-System. Aren't you sorry you asked?
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