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Marvel Collectors' Item Classics Vol 1 10

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The Thinker forgets nothing!

—Mad Thinker

Appearing in "The Fantastic Four Battle the Mad Thinker and His Awesome Android"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #15

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Synopsis for "The Fantastic Four Battle the Mad Thinker and His Awesome Android"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #15
Fantastic Four Vol 1 15 Title

After receiving a call from the mayor to deal with the recent surge of mob activity in the city, Reed Richards summons the other members of the Fantastic Four, even though it will interrupt his crucial DNA experiments to do so. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, a super-genius known as the Mad Thinker revels over how he and his computing machines have been able to assist the local mobs into committing their crimes without being captured. The Thinker then decides to set higher goals and begins plotting to take over the world. When the mob warns him that the Fantastic Four will try and stop him the Thinker tells them that he has already come up with a means to eliminate the heroes and prevent them from interfering in his operations.

Sometime later, the Human Torch is visited by his cousin Bones who informs Johnny that his circus is starting to fail without an attraction to draw people in. Meanwhile, Reed Richards is offered a research position with the prestigious General Electronics Corporation. This also happens to coincide with the Thing being offered a wrestling career and Sue being scouted by a Hollywood agent.[Continuity 1] Returning to the Baxter Building, each member of the Fantastic Four express their desires to seek out these other opportunities and agree to disband for a short period to see if this is what they truly want.

As it turns out these events were orchestrated by the Mad Thinker, and after a meteor strikes the Earth disabling the Baxter Building's security systems, he and the mobsters take over the Fantastic Four's abandoned headquarters. Meanwhile, each member of the Fantastic Four finds their new careers fulfilling compared to their lives as super-heroes. They all decide to return home and are shocked to find the Baxter Building surrounded by crystal. The Thinker then projects a hologram of himself daring the Fantastic Four to face him in their own headquarters. The foursome easily breaks through the crystal barrier and defeat the mobsters armed with Reed's own weapons. They next battled the so-called Awesome Android, an android created by the Mad Thinker based on Reed's own research. They are able to defeat the creature when Reed points out its single weakness.

The Mad Thinker then faces the Fantastic Four alone, but suddenly finds none of the devices in Reed's lab work any longer and is quickly subdued. Reed then reveals that the Mad Thinker was foiled thanks to a contingency plan that he could not have foretold: Before leaving the Baxter Building to take his job at General Electronics, Reed hired their mailman Willie Lumpkin to press a button outside their headquarters every day that would temporarily deactivate all the devices within. With the Mad Thinker's plot ruined, the Fantastic Four turn the criminal mastermind over to the authorities.

Appearing in "Iron Man Battles the Melter!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Tales of Suspense #47

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Synopsis for "Iron Man Battles the Melter!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Tales of Suspense #47

Bruno Horgan, one of Anthony Stark’s former competitors, is on a rampage as the Melter. The Melter has been sabotaging Stark's weapons, embarrassing him in front of his military customers during an unveiling ceremony. While checking his inventory, Stark is ambushed and knocked unconscious by the Melter. As he stands over Stark’s unconscious body, he reflects on how he became the Melter. Bruno Horgan was once a competitor of Stark Industries who was bankrupted when Stark turned in a report to the Pentagon showing that Horgan was doing substandard work on his defense projects. While overseeing the disassembly of his factory, Horgan discovered malfunctioning inspection device that produced a beam capable of melting iron. He reconfigured this device into a melting beam weapon and created the identity of the Melter in order to get revenge against his enemies, including Anthony Stark. The Melter leaves the unconscious Stark behind and continues with his business of sabotage.

Happy Hogan finds the unconscious Stark and takes him back to his office. Once in private, Stark plugs in his chest plate and convalesces. Meanwhile, the Melter is running loose in Stark's manufacturing facility. As the Melter is focusing on a large generator, Iron Man appears on the scene. The Melter turns his melting beam on Iron Man's armor and completely melts off the armor’s left arm! Fearing damage to his chest plate, Iron Man hastily retreats, using his armor’s magnets to break open a steam pipe to drive the villain away.

Later, Stark focuses his attention on repairing the damage caused by the Melter. He is called to Washington DC, where he has to explain to members of the Defense Appropriation committee that he has been unable to deliver a reliable product due to the acts of sabotage perpetrated by the Melter. Several of the senators even doubt the existence of the Melter.

Back at Stark Industries, Iron Man assists the repair crews by clearing away the wreckage left by the Melter. He has resolved to take the fight to the villain so he can get his life back. While he is working, the Melter spots him and decides to wage his final assault against Iron Man! He walks up to Iron Man and completely melts the large chunk of scrap metal he is holding over his head, covering him with molten metal, which Iron Man clears away using his jet blowers. The Melter turns his beam onto Iron Man once again, this time with no effect! The astonished Melter then melts through a crane that is holding a large boulder above a crowd of bystanders that includes Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. Iron Man saves the crowd from the falling boulder, then pursues the fleeing Melter. After a brief showdown, the Melter melts a hole through the floor and escapes into the currents of an underground sewer system.

Iron Man reveals that he tricked the Melter. He had redesigned the armor he is wearing, making it from tough extruded aluminum so that it was immune to the Melter’s Melting Ray.

Appearing in "Hands Off!"

Reprint of the 4th story from
Tales of Suspense #54

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  • Ikor (Only in flashback)
  • Emnu
  • Yrds (First appearance)
  • Fates (Mentioned)

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Synopsis for "Hands Off!"

Reprint of the 4th story from
Tales of Suspense #54
Starting where the previous issue ended, Uatu is still angry and confused by the vow that he was forced to take, never to interfere, only to observe. On another planet, alien beings have run out of room to store all their radioactive waste, and have decided to shoot it into outer space, even though this action may harm another world, because it will at least save their own. Uatu sees the radioactive waste hurtling through space, and he also sees a runaway planet heading towards another world. He briefly considers stopping both of these potentially calamitous events, but remembers his vow. The radioactive waste hits the runaway planet, stopping both in their tracks, and disaster is averted without the Watcher having done anything but observe. He now sees the wisdom of the vow of his people.

Appearing in "The Terror of the Toad Men!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Incredible Hulk #2

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  • Tribbitite Spaceship (First appearance)
  • A tank

Synopsis for "The Terror of the Toad Men!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Incredible Hulk #2

Part 1: Enter... the Toad Men

A sheriff sees the Hulk wade out of a swamp. He warns the inhabitants of his small town, who take refuge indoors. When the Hulk arrives, a truck rams into him, and a group of state troopers try to tackle him, all without effect. Rick Jones arrives and leads the Hulk away.

The next morning, after the Hulk reverted back into his human form Bruce Banner, Banner pleads with Rick to leave him, since he cannot control the Hulk and doesn't want his friend to be killed, but Rick refuses, since Banner saved his life in the accident that caused Banner to become the Hulk at night. Banner then says that there is no place where he can hide the Hulk, and says that every night will be a war between Hulk and mankind.

A ship of Toad Men lands. Their mind detector puts them on the trail of Bruce Banner, "the most brilliant scientific mind on Earth," so that they can gauge the potential resistance to their coming invasion. Banner and Jones meet General Ross and Betty Ross as they set out "to conduct a little scientific research." They go to a cave Banner found; he has set up a ten-foot-thick concrete door that he hopes will keep the Hulk contained at night. Jones promises to seal and reopen the door for him. Suddenly, a beam pushes Banner and Jones against a wall and holds them there!

Part 2: Prisoners of the Toad Men!

Bruce Banner (Earth-616) and Tribbitites from Incredible Hulk Vol 1 2 0001
The Toad Men use magnetic beams to carry Banner and Jones to their ship. They go into orbit. The captain, Torrak, tells Banner that their fleet is ready to invade Earth and that their mastery of magnetism makes them invincible. Banner refuses to talk. The Toad Men send Jones back to Earth in a "plastic cylinder." The ship passes behind the Earth, thus bringing night and turning Banner into the Hulk. He bursts out of his cell and locks up the crew. Seeing the amazing weaponry on the ship, he vows to "be the hunter instead of the hunted."

Below, the military launches a barrage of missiles at the Toad Men ship. They hit! The ship crashes in the desert. General Ross and his men surround it.

Part 3: Bruce Banner, Wanted for Treason!

Out of the wreckage steps Banner. Ross arrests him for treason. The Toad Men create an underground tunnel and escape; once clear, they fire a flare to summon their fleet. Betty tries to plead Banner's case with her father, but the phone rings. A fleet of alien ships has appeared in the skies. The Toad King overrides all the television and radio signals and makes an announcement.

Part 4: Hulk Runs Amok!

The Toad King says that his fleet will train all their magnetic rays on the Moon and draw it towards the Earth. If the Earthlings do not surrender, the Moon will crash into the Earth, killing everyone.

Man or monster?

Man or monster?

In his cell, Banner watches the sun go down. As the Hulk, he breaks through the wall, destroys an artillery piece, and topples a guard tower. He remembers that Ross put him in jail. At Ross's house, he frightens Betty, who screams and draws the attention of soldiers outside. Ross, the soldiers, and even a tank enter a tense stand-off with the Hulk.

Part 5: The End of the Hulk?

The soldiers pile on the Hulk, but he shakes them off. He grabs Betty, lifts the side of the house, and drops it back in place once he's outside. At Banner's lab, Betty asks, "Who are you?? Why do you hate us so??" The Hulk says, "Hate you?? Why shouldn't I hate you? Why shouldn't I hate all mankind?? Look what men have done to me!" Rick appears, but his efforts to calm the Hulk fail. Before the Hulk can attack Rick, the sun rises, and the monster transforms back into Bruce Banner.

Told of the situation, Banner realizes that he must turn his Gamma Gun on the Toad Men fleet. No one knows how gamma beams and magnetic fields will interact, but it's the only weapon that may work. With soldiers breaking down the door of his lab, Banner readies the gun. They break through. Jones holds them back with a fire hose. The gun fires! The gamma beam reverses the polarity of the Toad Men's magnetic propulsion, "sending the Toad ships spinning across the void of space, helplessly out of control... forever!"

For saving the world, Banner is cleared of treason. Betty tries to tell Ross that Banner is a good man, but Ross still suspects there is a connection between Banner and the Hulk...

Notes

  • In this issue, the original issue numbers of "Iron Man Battles the Melter!" and "Hands Off!" are reversed. They are incorrectly said to have been published in Tales of Suspense #54 and #47, respectively.
  • "The Terror of the Toad Men!" is split into two issues. Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #9 contained the parts 1, 2, and 3, while this issue contains the parts 4 and 5.
  • This issue includes a pin-up of Dr. Strange by Steve Ditko:

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. ↑ Although appearing to be a one-off character, the wrestler known as Fatal Finnegan in this story is revealed to be a fan favorite of the Yancy Street Gang in Fantastic Four: First Family #3
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