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Marvel Collectors' Item Classics Vol 1 8

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I've failed! I've been defeated-- by the accursed Fantastic Four!

—Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom)

Appearing in "The Return of Doctor Doom!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #10

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Synopsis for "The Return of Doctor Doom!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #10
Fantastic Four Vol 1 10 Title

Reed Richards is conducting an experiment on how to photograph Sue while she is invisible when suddenly the team notices the Fantastic Four signal flare in the sky. Trying to rush to the signal, Reed finds the locking mechanism on his lab door jammed and uses his stretching powers to try and reach the release on the other side but his arm goes the wrong way, forcing Johnny to use his flame powers to melt through the lock. The group rushes through avid fans to the apartment of Alicia Masters, Ben's girlfriend, where Ben reveals that he just wanted to show his teammates the various sculptures that Alicia has made of the Fantastic Four's various foes.

Meanwhile, at the offices of Marvel Comics, writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, who have been licensed to create Fantastic Four comic books based on the heroes' adventures, are stumped over creating a new villain for the group to fight as all their other previous foes have been vanquished. As Jack is trying to pitch a new villain named False-Face they are interrupted by Dr. Doom who demands that they call Reed Richards to their office to lure him in a trap, threatening to show them his horribly scarred face if they do not comply.

Part 2:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 10 Part 2 Title
Victor von Doom (Earth-616) and Reed Richards (Earth-616) from Fantastic Four Vol 1 10 0001
Reed is called over, but when he arrives he is gassed by Dr. Doom who then teleports away with Richards as his prisoner. When Reed awakens at Doom's laboratory, Reed is shocked to see his old foe who was last seen being carried away on a meteor[1]. Doom explains that he survived when he was rescued by an alien race called the Ovoids. Learning that these creatures had great mental powers, Doom forced them to teach him their method of transferring minds into other bodies before they returned him to Earth. Doom then demonstrates this ability by swapping bodies with Reed. The two fight it out, but Dr. Doom has the advantage by using Reed's own stretching powers against him.

Part 3:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 10 Part 3 Title
Reed Richards (Earth-616) trapped in Doom's body from Fantastic Four Vol 1 10
Soon the rest of the team, tipped off by Stan and Jack, arrive at Doom's lab and easily subdue "Dr. Doom", Reed's attempts to convince his team that Doom has swapped bodies with him fall on deaf ears. Doom (pretending to be Reed) then convinces the team that the only way to be rid of Doom is to trap him forever. While the other members of the team suggest ideas to do that, "Reed" has a better idea and shows them a trap that he devised in the basement of the lab. With "Dr. Doom" trapped in an unbreakable glass cage, the rest of the team leaves, leaving Reed and Doom alone. Doom gloats over his victory, pointing out that the air cylinders in the unbreakable glass cage will run out of air in exactly an hour and then leaves Reed to his fate.

Part 4:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 10 Part 4 Title

While pretending to be his greatest enemy, Dr. Doom then begins working on a shrinking ray and starts testing it on animals that his teammates realize have gone missing from one of the local zoos when the animals might break free. When Sue and the others start to question "Reed's" work, Doom tells them that he has come up with a theory that the dinosaurs went extinct due to their large bodies and small brains. He then suggests that through a process of shrinking someone in size and then restoring them to normal could boost not only their mental power but their physical abilities. Doom then sells the team on the fact that with this method the Torch would be able to fly in space, Sue would be able to turn selected parts of her body invisible, and Ben would be able to revert back and forth from human form. The group is ecstatic and Doom tells them that he will use it on them once the tests are completed. However, Doom really intends to shrink the group down to nothingness, eliminating his hated enemies forever.

Meanwhile back in the unbreakable glass cage, Reed tries to break through a flaw in the glass using Doom's mask and succeeds in punching holes in it. He then takes one of the air cylinders and plugs the hole with it, then tosses another at the first cylinder. The resulting explosion breaks the glass, freeing Reed from his death trap. He then goes to Alicia's apartment and tries to convince her that he is really Reed Richards trapped in Dr. Doom's body.

Part 5:

Fantastic Four Vol 1 10 Part 5 Title

However, Reed is unaware that Sue was there to tell Alicia the "good news" and she manages to knock Reed out by smashing a vase over his head. When Ben and Johnny arrive, they try to attack "Dr. Doom" but Reed manages to instill doubt in their minds, convincing them to bring him back to the Baxter Building with them. However, they bring "Doom" to "Reed" who binds Reed up so he can conduct his shrinking experiment on the other members of the Fantastic Four. When Doom decides to start on Sue first, Reed tries to protest, raising more doubt in the mind of Johnny and Ben.

Johnny decides to test his suspicions by using his flame powers to create a mirage of a stick of dynamite. When the mirage appears, "Dr. Doom" tries to shield his teammates from the blast with his own body while "Reed" tries to flee the scene. Realizing that "Dr. Doom" was telling the truth, Ben grabs "Reed" and pulls him back into the room. With the ruse revealed the process reverses itself. With Doom back in his original body, he begins to attack the Fantastic Four. During the scuffle, Reed is knocked back into the controls of Doom's device. In a bit of irony, Doom's shrink ray blasts himself causing him to shrink to seeming nothingness, leaving the Fantastic Four to wonder if their foe has been vanquished forever.

Appearing in "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Tales of Suspense #45

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Synopsis for "The Icy Fingers of Jack Frost!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Tales of Suspense #45

As Iron Man whizzes down the highway at high speeds using his jet-skates, he draws the attention of a pair of traffic police, who try to chase him down. He arrives at his sports car further down the road and and changes into Anthony Stark. Stark arrives at the speedway just in time to climb behind the wheel of "The Stark Special" and begin the race. Some time into the race, he feels his heart seize up on him, causing him to spin the car out of control and crash. As the car bursts into flame, Stark finds that he is trapped and cannot move. A bystander braves the flames and pulls him out of the wreckage and drags him to safety. Stark begs the man to quickly take him to his hotel room and not ask any questions. The man agrees and they take off in his car.

At the hotel, Stark plugs his chest plate into a wall outlet, which begins to stimulate his heart back to normal function. He remembers the man who rescued him and decides to offer him a handsome reward. That man, Happy Hogan, is a retired boxer who rips up Stark's check for $50,000, stating that he would prefer a steady job with three weeks vacation and a pension plan. Stark in turn offers him a position as his chauffeur, which Hogan eagerly accepts. They head over to Stark's main office in Flushing, New York, where he introduces Hogan to his secretary, Pepper Potts. The bickering between Pepper and Happy begins almost immediately! Although they bicker, Hogan confesses an attraction to Pepper, who rebuffs him saying she's saving herself to be the future Mrs. Tony Stark.

Stark excuses himself and goes to his private office to test out his Iron Man armor. He goes through checks on a few of his latest innovations, when suddenly an alarm goes off. As Iron Man, he immediately heads to the basement where he discovers one of his employees, Professor Gregor Shapanka, trying to break into a vault. Shapanka fires a gun at the approaching hero, to no avail. Iron Man apprehends Shapanka and shoves him into the vault, closing it securely behind him. A few minutes later, Tony Stark arrives with armed guards, and explains that he's letting Shapanka go free because of the brilliant work he had done in the past. Since he can no longer trust Shapanka with the vital secret projects that Stark Industries is involved in, Stark fires him. As Shapanka is being escorted away, he insults Stark, who makes a comment warning him to leave now before he "gets cold feet." This comment makes Shapanka laugh out loud and thank Stark for helping him mentally "connect the dots" on a solution to his money problems. Thinking Shapanka "nuttier than a fruit cake," he is set free.

Weeks later, Shapanka is working in his private laboratory. He has developed a process to prolong human life by freezing a person within a block of ice. Using Stark's comment for inspiration, he develops a special freezing suit that lowers his body temperature without placing him within a block of ice. The suit also gives him the ability to freeze objects near him. A week later, Shapanka walks into a bank wearing his new "ice suit" and encases the armed guards and customers within blocks of ice. He robs the bank vault and then saunters outside, icing up nearby policemen (and the bullets they are shooting at him). The newspaper headlines scream about the new threat of "Jack Frost." Enjoying his newfound power and fame, Shapanka decides to make his next move against Tony Stark.

Covered in ice, the newly anointed Jack Frost walks into Stark Industries' main office and encounters armed guards, who open fire at him. Nearby, Pepper Potts uses the telephone to warn Stark that that Jack Frost is breaking in. In his office, Stark quickly changes into Iron Man. Meanwhile, Happy Hogan rushes in Pepper's office and picks up one of the fallen guard's rifles. As he races inside Stark's office to check on his boss, he is frozen solid by Jack Frost. Iron Man immediately recognizes Jack Frost's voice as Shapanka's. He triggers a trap door to open beneath Jack Frost's feet, but he grabs hold of the side of the door and uses his ice powers to climb out. Iron Man then uses a heat ray from his chest plate to melt Jack Frost's icy coating, stalling him long enough to assemble a miniature transistorized furnace from his utility belt. Placed on the ground, the furnace emanates a heat wave that disables Jack Frost's powers and melts all of the ice that he has generated. As the defeated Jack Frost is arrested, Happy Hogan is left to ponder whether he's given up prize-fighting for the wrong vocation!

Appearing in "The Possessed!"

Reprint of the 3rd story from
Strange Tales #118

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Synopsis for "The Possessed!"

Reprint of the 3rd story from
Strange Tales #118
Doctor Strange spots supernatural forces at work in the Bavarian Alps. He travels to a valley there, where he discovers that many villagers have become possessed, walking around in a trance. He attempts to probe the mind of one of the possessed, but the possessing spirit flees before Strange can find him. Passing through a magical entrance, the fleeing spirit tells his master of the newcomer. The leader orders the spirit to take possession of Doctor Strange. Strange foils the possession attempt and by probing the spirit, he discovers they are beings from another dimension attempting to take control of the Earth. The possessed mayor arouses villagers against Doctor Strange, but the rabble is easily thrown back by Strange's magical might. Doctor Strange finds the hiding place of the invaders, defeats their leader in a battle of wills and forces the possessors to leave and never come back.

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...

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