Appearing in "Once Upon a Time... The Silver Surfer!"
Featured Characters:
Other Characters:
- Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) (Only in recap)
- Galactus (Galan) (Only in recap)
- Fantastic Four (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
- Zenn-Lavians (Only in recap)
- Taa-ans (Only in recap)
Locations:
Items:
- Badoon Mento-corder Recording device (First appearance) (Destruction)
- Power Cosmic (Only in recap)
Vehicles:
- Starship Captain America
- Silver Surfer's Surfboard (Only in recap)
Synopsis for "Once Upon a Time... The Silver Surfer!"
Martinex and Charlie-27 find a ship's recording device floating in space. It turns out to be a Badoon Mento-corder that has recorded the Silver Surfer's early battle with the Badoon. After learning how the Surfer saved Earth from the Badoon, Vance Astro destroys the device out of anger. He remembers how the Silver Surfer saved the Earth from Galactus and yet was never appreciated by his fellow Earthmen. This other tale was just another reason why Earth didn't deserve the Surfer's protection.
Appearing in "When Lands the Saucer!"
Silver Surfer #2
Featured Characters:
- Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- Shalla-Bal (Main story and flashback)
- female captured by Badoon
- United States Army
Antagonists:
- Brotherhood of Badoon (First appearance)
- Brother Royal (First appearance)
- Monster of Badoon (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Galactus (Mentioned)
- male acquaintance of Shalla-Bal
- NYPD (New York City Police Deparment)
- Miss Norman
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Zenn-Lavians (Main story and flashback)
- Badoon (First appearance)
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Sol Star System
- Deneb Star System
- Zenn-La (Main story and flashback)
- Lomora Star System
- Moord (Mentioned) (Unnamed)
Items:
- Badoon Items
- Invisibility Tube (First appearance)
- Basic Weapon (First appearance)
- Power Cosmic (Name revealed)
Vehicles:
- Silver Surfer's Surfboard
- Badoon Vehicles
- Badoon Saucer (First appearance)
- Flying Disc (First appearance)
Synopsis for "When Lands the Saucer!"
Silver Surfer #2
Brief Summary:
While the Silver Surfer was unsuccessfully trying to escape Galactus' barrier, he noticed an alien ship hovering over Earth. He realizes that no one but him can see the ship and soon discovers that the aliens on board, the Badoon, are here to take over humanity. He battles the invisible aliens, while the people below see a crazed Surfer fighting himself. The army fires up at him, hitting the cloaked space ship. Thinking that they have lost the element of surprise, the Badoon abandon their mission and leave Earth.
Detailed Summary:
The Silver Surfer is floating on the edge of Earth's outer atmosphere, mourning his continuing exile, when he's shocked to his senses by a falling meteor that crashes into him. He realizes that he cannot aimlessly drift over this planet for ever and decides that he should try and find a home among the humans with whom he is forced to live.
He arrives at an Alpine town with the intent to live there, but the Surfer is driven away by the panicked locals who distrust the Surfer because he looks different. The Surfer once more tries to integrate into society by going to an American city instead, however his arrival there is also met with fear, distrust, and hatred.
Returning to space, the Surfer laments humanity's many ills and desperately tries to force himself through Galactus' barrier. Over and over he tries to ram through the invisible barrier, unsuccessful each time and finally stopping only from exhaustion. While resting, he thinks of his beloved Shalla-Bal. At the same time, Shalla-Bal is mourning her loss of Norrin Radd. Thinking of the times they had with each other back before he became the Silver Surfer.
Just then the Surfer notices the arrival of an alien space ship, hurtling towards Earth. He follows the ship down as it heads to New York City and is surprised to find that no one else seems to be able to see it. The Surfer tries to warn the people on the street, but is attacked by them instead as they accuse him of trying to start a riot. Thrown into jail for disturbing the peace, he escapes by having his board crash through the prison's wall.
He decides to confront the aliens directly. They let him enter their space ship and introduce themselves to the Surfer as the Brotherhood of the Badoon. They state that they come in peace and only want to share with Earth their knowledge and technologies. The Surfer is skeptical of their intentions as he had heard of the Badoon, in his past travels, and the fear and dread that they bring with them. The Badoon insist that they can be trusted, but an earth girl suddenly bursts into the room to warn the Surfer of their true intentions. She said that she was captured by the Badoons and that they intend to invade the Earth. However, before she can say anymore, the girl is shot by the Badoon and falls unconscious into the Surfer's arms.
Let Earth Be The Prize!
The Surfer leaves the ship with the injured girl, promising to save the Earth by himself. Before he can do this though, he needs to keep the girl safe by wrapping her in a protective field of spatial energy. With this completed, he's able to return to New York City and confront the Badoon.
The Badoon launch a rocket at Silver Surfer that can follow his every move, but he is able to out maneuver it and lead it into the side of a mountain to explode. They unleash the Weapon of Weapons on him and the creature known as the Monster of Badoon crashes into the Surfer. As they battle over the city, the people below are once more put in a state of panic because the Badoon's cloaking technology makes it look as though the Surfer is on another rampage. The Surfer unleashes the full extent of his Power Cosmic at the monster, but the Badoon retrieve their weapon before it can be defeated.
Meanwhile, the military start their attack on the Surfer. Launching a volley of missiles in his direction, but hitting the cloaked Badoon ship instead. The Badoon think that their invisibility is lost and that the humans can now see them. They quickly retreat and head towards space. The Surfer sees an opportunity to escape Galactus' barrier and flies close to the fleeing ship, protected by its force field.
At the last second, he remembers the injured girl that he left behind and he begrudgingly leaves the protection of the ship and falls back to Earth. He begins to heal the girl with his cosmic energy, but the military continue their attack on the Surfer with another missile strike. Realizing that he can't stay with the girl (because of the military's hostility towards him), he leaves her to be recovered by them, barely clinging to life.
Notes
"Once Upon a Time... The Silver Surfer!"[]
- Story takes place in 3015 on Earth-691.
- Vance Astro refers to how the Silver Surfer saved the Earth from Galactus. [1]. Since these events take place before the Earth-616 and Earth-691 timelines split, the referenced characters and events occur on Earth-616. The two realities do not split until some years after these events. [2]
- The idea that the two timelines diverged as the result of Vance Astro's actions in that issue has been disputed. Additionally, a rival theory about the nature of the Marvel Multiverse claims that such divergent timelines were always separate realities that were identical up until the point at which their histories diverged.
"When Lands the Saucer!"[]
See Also
Recommended Reading
The story references:
- Silver Surfer #2 - Silver Surfer versus the Badoon.
- Fantastic Four #50 - Silver Surfer betrays Galactus.