—Mister FantasticStop sounding like a wife, Sue! I still make the decisions for this team!
Appearing in ""Beware the Hidden Land!""
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Dragon Man (See chronology)
- Maximus (First appearance)
- Alpha Primitives (First appearance)
- Seeker
Other Characters:
- Seeker's Henchmen
- Alicia
- Aireo (First appearance) (Unnamed)
- Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Mentioned)
- Aunt Petunia (Mentioned)
- Franklin Storm (Mentioned)
- Mary Storm (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Inhumans
- Inhuman Dogs
- Robots
- Mutants (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Prime Marvel Universe
- Earthspace
- Milky Way
- Sol System
- Earth (seen in space)
- North America
- South America
- Andes Mountains
- Great Refuge (First appearance)
- Andes Mountains
- Dragon Man's Desert Island Sanctuary (Mentioned)
- Earth (seen in space)
- Sol System
- Milky Way
- Earthspace
Items:
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Atmo-Gun (First appearance)
- Homing Device
Vehicles:
- Private jet
Synopsis for ""Beware the Hidden Land!""
The Human Torch and the Thing fly off to confront the Dragon Man, leaving Reed and Sue in the Seeker's Fortress to look after Triton. Without water to revitalize him, Triton is quickly suffocating. Sue erects a force field around his body to keep him steady, while Reed pumps water from a fire hose into the bubble to replenish him.
Outside, the Thing and the Torch tangle with the Dragon Man. The Dragon Man slaps the Thing with his tail, sending him crashing through the window of Alicia Masters' studio apartment. Johnny continues the fight and changes his heat blasts to ultra violet radiation. Intensifying the heat, he weakens the Dragon Man and the creature eventually falls down unconscious.
Back at the Fortress, the Seeker arranges to collect Triton. Reed has succeeded in saving Triton's life, but he is reluctant to interfere with Inhuman law. Sue pressures him to do something, but Reed snaps at her. Before the Seeker takes Triton away, Reed secretly plants a homing device on the Inhuman.
Meanwhile, the Royal Family of the Inhumans returns to their home land, the Great Refuge. The reigning king, Maximus, learns of their arrival and unleashes the Alpha Primitives to combat them. Maximus is the brother of Black Bolt. Black Bolt flies directly into the Primitives sending them scattering. After a brief battle, Maximus enters the chamber and apologizes for the effrontery. He claims that the Alpha Primitives had escaped on their own. Realizing that he cannot hope to win out over Black Bolt's courageousness, Maximus hands the crown of leadership over to his brother.
The Fantastic Four take a private jet to the Andes Mountains and locate the Great Refuge. They set down and Reed and Sue bicker some more. Sue decides to change her hairstyle to get Reed to notice her more.
They eventually come upon the Royal Family. Crystal and Johnny are reunited, but Black Bolt stands ready for battle. Speaking for her liege, Medusa declares that non-Inhumans are not welcome in the Great Refuge. Reed says that the Inhumans should not have to live in seclusion, and should live alongside the rest of humanity.
Meanwhile, Maximus retires to his laboratory. He preps his Atmo-Gun and declares that he will use it to destroy all of humanity.Appearing in "The Coming of Galactus!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Watcher (See chronology)
- Alicia (Voice only)
Antagonists:
- Maximus
- Seeker
- Galactus (First appearance)
- Heralds of Galactus (First appearance)
- Silver Surfer (First appearance) (See chronology)
Other Characters:
- House of Agon
- Aunt Petunia (Mentioned)
- Joseph E. Levine (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
Races and Species:
- Inhumans
- Humans
- Zenn-Lavians (First appearance) (unnamed)
- Watchers
- Skrulls
- Taa-ans (First appearance)
Realities:
Locations:
Items:
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Atmo-Gun
- Matter Mobilizer (First appearance)
- Negative Barrier (First appearance)
- Power Cosmic (First appearance) (Unnamed)
Vehicles:
- Airjet-Cycle
- Silver Surfer's Surfboard (First appearance)
- Taa II
- Galactus' Star Sphere (First appearance)
Events:
- April Fools (Mentioned)
Synopsis for "The Coming of Galactus!"
Brief Summary:
Maximus fires his Atmo-Gun with the intent to destroy the human race. However, the gun fails and Maximus resorts to creating a negative zone around the Great Refuge that separates the Inhumans from the rest of the world. The Fantastic Four escape and head back to the Baxter Building. There they are visited by the Watcher who warns them of the coming of Galactus. The Watcher tried to hide the Earth from his herald, the Silver Surfer, but was unsuccessful. The Surfer arrives and summons his master.
Detailed Summary:
Maximus fires his Atmo-Gun. While the vibrations produced by the weapon proves ineffective against Inhumans, it has the potential to wreak havoc against normal human beings. The ground of the Great Refuge trembles from the power of the weapon and everyone is thrown about. Maximus cackles with glee as he envisions the deaths of millions of helpless humans.
For all of his mad genius, however, Maximus' plan fails. Aside from a few massive ground tremors, humanity is perfectly safe. Gorgon and Karnak make a move to apprehend Maximus, but he darts past them and heads towards his Atmo-Gun. He reverses the polarity of the weapon, creating a null field of negative energy to slowly encapsulate the Great Refuge. Reed knows that there is nothing they can do to counter the effects of a complete negative zone. Reed, Sue and Ben race to escape from the city, but Johnny wants to stay behind. He doesn't want to leave Crystal. Crystal wants to remain with Johnny as well, but the rest of her family draw her back. Ben scoops Johnny up and manages to get outside of the null field barrier just as it completely seals the Great Refuge off from the rest of the world. Everyone feels Johnny's sorrow, and he is convinced that he will never see Crystal again. The team boards their private charter and returns to the United States.
Meanwhile in the depths of outer space, a sleek, shining being known as the Silver Surfer streaks through the cosmos atop a metallic surfboard. While soaring through the Andromeda Galaxy, he draws the attention of the Skrulls. The Skrulls know that wherever the Silver Surfer appears, his master, Galactus, cannot be far behind. Terrified, the Skrulls do everything they can to conceal their world from the Surfer's perceptions.
In New York, the Fantastic Four arrive home to witness a most startling spectacle. The entire skyline appears as if it had caught on fire. The Human Torch flies through the city canyons to get a closer look, but panicking New Yorkers begin to suspect that the Torch may actually be responsible for the strange phenomena. The FF return to the Baxter Building and Reed sequesters himself inside of his laboratory to analyze the situation. The flames in the sky dissipate giving way to an unending field of space debris.
The powerful being known as the Watcher appears inside of Reed's laboratory. He explains that he is responsible for the atmospheric disturbances, for he has been attempting to conceal Earth's existence from the attention of the Silver Surfer. He further explains that the Surfer is the advance scout of Galactus, a powerful cosmic being that consumes the elemental energies of entire worlds, leaving them as little more than dried, lifeless husks.
The Surfer meanwhile, investigates the debris field, and finds Earth hidden beneath it. He flies to the roof of the Baxter Building and sends out a cosmic signal for Galactus. The FF race to the top of the building, and the Thing rams into the Surfer knocking him off the edge. The Surfer is no longer a major concern however. In the sky above, Galactus' planet devouring world ship, Taa II, appears in the skies above Manhattan. The giant Galactus exits the ship and declares his intention to consume the entire world.