| Reed Richards |  Johnny, There's only one thing to do -- !  |
| Johnny Storm | Don't say it! I'm way ahead of you Boss Man! FLAME ON! |
Appearing in "Mystery on the Moon!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Kree Sentry 9168 ⏵ (First appearance)
- Nameless Mass (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Franklin Richards ⏵
- Neil Armstrong ⏵ (Topical Reference)
- Col. "Buzz" Aldrin ⏵ (Voice only) (Topical Reference)
- Ivan
- Sonia
- Walter Cronkite (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- NASA Rocket
- Apollo Unit (First appearance)
Events
Synopsis for "Mystery on the Moon!"
It is July 1969, and the United States is about to send the first manned mission to the Moon. Kree Sentry Vol 1 459 has deemed that the mission to the Moon must end in failure and rockets itself across the ocean to an island made to resemble the moon's surface. Inside this island lays a device the Sentry intends to use to insure that the Apollo mission ends in failure.
Learning of this plot, Reed takes Ben and Johnny with him to the island to battle the Kree Sentry and destroy the device it intends to use to destroy the Apollo space shuttle. After a battle against time, they manage to defeat the Sentry, and Ben is able to destroy the device that is to be used against Apollo. Ben carries Reed and Johnny back to the their ship and blasts off for home, just as the Apollo space craft lands and Neil Armstrong says his historic words: "That's one small step for a man-- one giant leap for mankind!"
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- The narrative of this story states that it is July 1969, during the days leading up to the first Apollo 11 manned moon landing which occurred on July 16, 1969. All references to this story occurring during the actual first moon landing should be considered topical references as per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. As such references to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin must be considered apocryphal in nature. Recent editions of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe generalize the events in this story stating that it was a manned mission to the moon, instead of the first one.
- The story overlaps with Marvel: The Lost Generation #6, in which the Skrulls also try to sabotage the mission, and Astonishing Tales #1.
- Sentry 9168 should not be confused with Sentry 459, last seen in Fantastic Four #64. At the time of this story, the 459 was inert and in the possession of NASA as seen in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and would not be reactivated again until Captain Marvel #47.
Publication Notes[]
- This issue contains a letters page, Fantastic Four Fan Page. Letters are publsihed from Soloman Arrington, Glenn G. Hakanson and Dave Layton.
- As seen on page one, this issue is Story#123.
Trivia
- This comic quotes Armstrong as saying, "for a man". Whether he said "a" in "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" is unclear.
