—The Mighty ThorStay thy hand! 'Tis the God of Thunder who doth command thee!
Appearing in ""The Flames of Battle --""
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Other Characters:
- Odin (Vision or hallucination)
- Dr. Doom (Victor von Doom) (Mentioned)
- Wrecker (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Asgardians
- Asgardian-Frost Giant Hybrids (Vision or hallucination)
Locations:
Items:
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Demolo-Gun (First appearance)
- Mjolnir
- Daredevil's Suit and Billy Club
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
Synopsis for ""The Flames of Battle --""
This story takes place after the events of Daredevil #38...
Tricked into believing that Doctor Doom is disguised as Daredevil as part of a sneak attack on the Baxter Building, Reed, Johnny and Ben prepare for his arrival. In reality, it is the real Daredevil, coming to warn them of Doctor Doom's latest scheme. But when he approaches the Baxter Building he is attacked by the Human Torch. He manages to douse the Torch's flame by tricking the youth into crashing into a water tower. As Daredevil pulls the Torch out of the water, he is approached by Spider-Man who believes DD when he explains his situation. Deciding they need more assistance, Spider-Man goes out looking for anyone else who might be able to help them and finds Thor stumbling through the city. When Spidey tries to convince Thor to help, he initially denies the request because he has another task ahead of him, but changes his mind when Spider-Man questions his bravery.
Meanwhile, Daredevil has reached the top of the Baxter Building and is attacked by the Thing and Mister Fantastic. As they struggle, Daredevil manages to activate the demolo-gun that Reed had set up on the roof in order to break free. Seeing the devastation below, Spider-Man and Thor rush to the scene. They arrive just as the Torch revives and rejoins his teammates, attacking Spider-Man and Thor. As Daredevil battles Mister Fantastic, Thor struggles with the Thing and Spider-Man clashes with the Torch. Because his strength has been sapped by a spell, Thor convinces his father Odin to briefly restore his full strength so he can hold his own against the Thing.
Just as Reed manages to subdue Daredevil, he is prevented from hitting the hero by one of Sue's invisible force fields. She interrupts the raging battle and points out that Daredevil cannot be Doctor Doom, as Doom was just on television making a public address. With the battle over, and the truth revealed, Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Thor all part company leaving the Fantastic Four to wonder about what to do about Doom next. Reed tells them that they cannot invade a sovereign nation, and hopes that Doom does not leave his homeland anytime soon.
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- Daredevil appears here following his clash with Doom in Daredevil #36–38. In that story Doom uses a device to swap bodies with Daredevil in Daredevil #37. Daredevil forced Doom to switch back when he ordered the Latverian military to prepare to go to war against its neighbors, forcing Doom to reverse things so he could stop it in Daredevil #38. However as a final revenge, he convinced the Fantastic Four that he was still posing as Daredevil, leading to the battle in this issue. Daredevil last interacted with the Fantastic Four back during Reed and Sue's wedding in Fantastic Four Annual #3. Following this story, Daredevil next appears in Daredevil #39 where he clashed with the Unholy Three and the Exterminator.
- Although not seen in this issue, Doctor Doom survived crashing into the barrier put around the Earth by Galactus as seen in Daredevil #38. This barrier was put up around Earth to keep the Silver Surfer exiled on Earth after he betrayed Galactus in Fantastic Four #50. Doom temporarily stole the Surfer's Power Cosmic in Fantastic Four #57. He lost this power when he slammed into the barrier and seemingly perished in Fantastic Four #60.
- Spider-Man last encountered the Fantastic Four when the teamed up to stop the alien known as Krakatoom as seen in a flashback from Amazing Spider-Man #657. Spider-Man's appearance here occurs between a stint of amnesia between Amazing Spider-Man #55–59. After this story he went on to expose the corrupt political campaign of mayoral candidate Richard Raleigh in Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1.
- Thor also last encountered the Fantastic Four during Reed and Sue's wedding in Fantastic Four Annual #3. At this point in time, Thor was in pursuit of the Wrecker in a story that occurred between the pages of Thor #148–150. His battle with the Fantastic Four occurring between Thor #149 and 150. Thor is weaker here as he was stripped of his godly might in Thor #145 when he refused Odin's call to return home. Thor's strength was later restored in Thor #151 when he was forced to fight the Destroyer armor that was powered by the soul of his lover Sif.
- Sue is not an active member of the Fantastic Four here because she discovered she was pregnant in Fantastic Four Annual #5. She has been on a leave of absence since Fantastic Four #71.
Publishing Notes[]
- This issue contains a Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation.
- This issue also features a letters page, Fantastic Four Fan Page. Letters are published from SP4 Bruce Long, Rick Workman, Sandy Haliberg & Karen Izui, Michael Burton, Mike Silvers, Paul Laginess, and Val Perkins.