Appearing in "The Return of the Wizard!"
Strange Tales #105
Featured Characters:
- Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (Main story and recap)
Supporting Characters:
- Fantastic Four
- Invisible Girl (Sue Storm) (Main story and recap)
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)
- Thing (Ben Grimm)
Antagonists:
- Wizard (Bentley Wittman) (Main story and recap)
Other Characters:
- GPD (Only in recap)
- Smithy
- Joe
- Numerous unnamed police officers
- Numerous unnamed convicts
- Numerous unnamed corrections officers
- Unnamed Warden
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Fantastic Four Uniforms (Main story and recap)
- Wizard's Electromagnetic Force Field (First appearance)
- Wizard's Artillery Cannon (First appearance)
- Wizard's Nerve Gas Cannon (First appearance)
Synopsis for "The Return of the Wizard!"
Strange Tales #105
In prison, the Wizard is allowed to work in the prison hospital due to his good behavior. However this plays into the Wizard's plan as he collects a series of chemicals that allow him to melt a hole in his jail cell and escape from prison.
When he hears news of the Wizard's escape, Johnny wants to go after him but his sister Sue won't let him. Johnny creates a duplicate Torch out of flame to trick his sister while he goes after his old foe. Johnny is able to easily fight off the Wizard's weapons. Realizing what Johnny has done, Sue goes after him and ends up getting captured by the Wizard, and Johnny is also captured shortly after.
The two work together and free themselves from the Wizard's trap and capture him, and take him back into custody. Later Sue scolds Johnny for going off on his own.
Appearing in "The World's End"
Human Torch #38
Feature Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- None
Antagonists:
- Professor Marko (First appearance; dies)
- Gorodok
Other Characters:
- None
Locations:
Items:
- None
Synopsis for "The World's End"
Human Torch #38
Some mysterious force is causing all the oxygen on Earth to disappear, threatening to destroy all life on Earth. Also effected are the Human Torch and Toro who do not have enough oxygen to full flame on. Falling out of the sky, the pair land in the harbor and swim to shore. There they spot two men wearing breathing masks who are witness the slow suffocation of the city. The pair overhear how they wonder why their master sucks the air away slowly, and attack the two men. They easily subdue them and remove their oxygen masks and learn that they are under the employ of Professor Marko who is trying to remove all the air from the Earth.
Taking the men's oxygen tanks and using them to provide enough oxygen to flame on, the Torch and Toro head to the professors lab where they spot a giant vacuum sucking in all the air around it. Flying in the vacuum's path, their flames are snuffed out and they are sucked into the massive device. They land inside the lab of Professor Marko and his ally a Communist spy named Gorodok. With the lab filled with oxygen, the pair are able to flame on again and fend off Gorodok's bullets, but Professor Marko manages to douse them with a fire hose and they are knocked out.
The flaming duo are placed in glass tubes with just enough oxygen to allow them to live, but not flame on. Professor Marko explains that he is trying to deprive the world of oxygen in revenge for his daughter being crippled so that he can make her queen of the world. However, Marko's daughter has no wish to follow her father's mad dreams and uses a fire axe to free the Torch and Toro. Gorodok attempts to escape outside in an oxygen mask, but the Torch follows after him and knocks him back into the lab, there Gorodok shoots Professor Marko dead as he himself dies from his injuries from the fall.
With the world on the brink of global extinction, the Professor's daughter surprises everyone when she suddenly gets out of her wheelchair to run to the controls and reverse the flow of oxygen. However the Torch pulls the switch first, restoring the world's oxygen supply. Stella thanks the Torch and Toro for their help and the two heroes fly off.