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New Fantastic Four: Marvel Tales Vol 1 1

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Quote1 Hold it, Hulk! The only way you'll get to her is over my dead body! Quote2
—Mr. Fantastic

Appearing in "Big Trouble on Little Earth!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #347

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Synopsis for "Big Trouble on Little Earth!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #347

In deep space the Skrull renegade known as De'Lila is fleeing her pursuers in the Skrull empire. Heading toward Earth with her ship heavily damaged, she is forced to crash land. Although she manages to escape unscathed, her ship explodes stranding her on Earth.

Meanwhile, at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed and Sue Richards are spending time with their son Franklin, taking a break from trying to unlock their son's dormant mutant powers. Elsewhere in the facility, Alicia Masters approaches her husband the Human Torch who has been troubled ever since the Fantastic Four returned home from their mission in time and space. Troubled with the fact that he has feelings for Nebula who possessed his mind after the mission, he cannot bring himself to tell his wife about the situation and storms out of the room. In the training room, Ms. Marvel is lifting weights while mulling over how she briefly regained her humanity while the Fantastic Four were trapped on a prehistoric island. She comes to realize that she is trapped in this shell that is keeping her apart from the man she loves. Suddenly, her boyfriend Ben Grimm comes waltzing in with some flowers for her. He also has tickets for a show, but Sharon is less than interested in going out in public that day. Catching on to how Sharon is depressed, Ben relents and tells her if she needs anything to come and see him.

At that moment in deep space, a Skrull warship appears in Earth's solar system hot on the trail of De'Lila. The captain of the ship is furious over how she has escaped their attempts to capture her and demands that his crew capture the fugitive no matter what. Meanwhile, De'Lila has taken on a human guise and takes a moment to distract the security guard at the Four Freedoms Plaza in order to slip inside the headquarters of the Fantastic Four. Finding the Human Torch still brooding over Nebula, De'Lila reads his mind and assumes Nebula's form. Revealing herself to him, De'Lila seduces Johnny, getting close enough for her to knock him out with a weapon she has attached to her hand. Assuming the form of Alicia Masters she then pulls the same trick on Ben, using her "concerns" over Johnny to get close enough to knock Ben out as well. After putting Franklin to bed, Sue is confronted by what appears to be the Sub-Mariner and falls for De'Lila's tricks as well. "Namor" is confronted by the real Alicia Masters who demands to know what is going on, but De'Lila silences her with a single blow across the face. Knowing that Ms. Marvel would be too powerful for her weapon, the Skrull renegade disguises herself as Ben Grimm and tricks Sharon into drinking a drugged cup of tea. Finally, assuming the form of the Invisible Woman, De'Lila tries to attack Reed in his lab. His naturally pliable body allows him to resist the jolt from her weapon, but after a brief struggle, she manages to knock out Reed as well.

The Skrull ship soon arrives in Earth's orbit and seeking a means of tracking De'Lila down, the Skrulls on board begin scanning the planet. They find readings of creatures that share similar features to Skrull physiology and track it to Monster Island. Landing on the island, two Skrull scouts are sent out to investigate and they are horrified to see that the island is infested with monsters and retreat back to their ship. After a deeper scan they discover that these monsters are what their scanners were picking up. Deciding to utilize these monsters to hunt down De'Lila, the Skrulls fire devices that put the monsters under their control. They then prepare to scatter them across the planet hoping that this will flush their prey out. Meanwhile, deep below the Earth in Subterranea, one of the Mole Man's Outsiders informs him that someone is stealing the monsters from the island above. Furious at this affront, the Mole Man gathers his forces to confront those on the surface who are stealing his creatures.

Back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, De'Lila is accessing the Fantastic Four's data banks to locate other super-heroes who she can trick into assisting her on her mission. She is briefly interrupted by news reports about monsters attacking various cities in the world, tipping her off to the fact that her pursuers are getting closer. However she finds who she is looking for and begins to put plans into motion to gather the heroes she needs.

Later, Spider-Man is swinging through the city when suddenly his Spider-Sense starts going wild and compels him to go to the Four Freedoms Plaza. There he finds the Hulk and Wolverine are already on site in the heat of an argument. Spider-Man interrupts before the pair can come to blows and asks them why they are there. The pair tell Spidey it is none of his business, but before they can talk further the security guard comes out of the building telling them that they have been summoned by Susan Richards and that he is to invite them into the Fantastic Four's headquarters as soon as the fourth guest arrives. They suddenly discover who it is when the Ghost Rider speeds by on his motorcycle and begins driving up the side of the Four Freedoms Plaza to the top floors. Spider-Man and Hulk follow suit, ascending the building in their own unique ways leaving an embarrassed Wolverine behind to take the elevator up. Wolverine arrives to see what appears to have been a battle in the FF's headquarters. Unaware that "Susan Richards" is really De'Lila, she tells them that her team was attacked. She then shows them into Reed's lab where Reed, Ben, Johnny, Sharon, and Alicia are laid out on slabs with blankets over their faces. She tells them that the Fantastic Four have been murdered.

She explains that she hasn't made the news public for fear that the Fantastic Four's enemies may all come out of hiding upon the news getting out and asks the four assembled heroes to assist her on tracking down the "killers". She explains that her enemy is responsible for the monsters being set loose all over Earth and provides them with a Sub-Photonic Spectro-Analyzer that she claims will allow them to track the unique energy source of their foe. With "Sue's" proposal finished, Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk and Ghost Rider all agree to help track down the "killer" and bring them to justice.

Appearing in "Where Monsters Dwell! (Or Is It... Where Creatures Roam?)"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #348

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Where Monsters Dwell! (Or Is It... Where Creatures Roam?)"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #348

Tricked into thinking the Fantastic Four have been murdered, Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, and Ghost Rider have been gathered by the Skrull renegade De'Lila (disguised as Susan Richards) and sent on a mission to collect the item she is searching for, under the false pretense that they are seeking out the Fantastic Four's "killers".

Going over how "Sue" had shown them the "dead bodies" of the Fantastic Four, the so-called New Fantastic Four race off in a rocket cycle using a tracking device that will allow them to find what they think is their intended target. As they speed off, De'Lila -- still disguised as Sue Richards -- begins the next phase in her plan. She begins looking into the Fantastic Four's database on the Skrulls to see if there is any reference to the device she is looking for. With little time and her ability to navigate Reed's devices being limited, De'Lila decides to use his family as hostages in order to force him to do her bidding.

Meanwhile, on Monster Island, the Skrulls are monitoring the status of the monsters they used from the island to attack the world in an effort to flush De'Lila out. The commanding officer hopes that they can accomplish their mission without anyone discovering their involvement. However his hopes are not going to happen as the Mole Man and one of his Giganto beasts are observing the alien ship that has landed on his island. Discovering the intruders are not from Earth, the Mole Man orders his creature to attack.

Back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, De'Lila has tied up the rest of the Fantastic Four and Alicia Masters and leaves them trapped in the elevator. She then goes back to the medical lab where she revives Reed, and using her telepathic abilities, she begins pushing Reed to assist her in her search for an Inorganic Technotroid, a powerful robot that is hatched from an egg. With his family's life at stake and his mind falling under the influence of De'Lila, Reed has no choice but to help her. As Reed continues to work on searching for her query, he can't help but find De'Lila attractive while in the form of his wife.

At that very moment the New Fantastic Four are flying onward to their destination. Wolverine checks the news reports and learns that monsters are attacking Moscow, San Francisco, and Mexico City. Near Washington D.C. the heroes spot a commercial airliner that is being attack by the monster known as Skreeal. The Hulk dives from their ship to attack the creature head on. With the cabin of the ship breached, Spider-Man dives down and uses his webbing to seal the damage, while Ghost Rider unleashes a fury of Hell-Fire infused chain links at the monster. As the battle rages, the Skrulls on Monster Island finally locate De'Lila in New York City. Before they can arm their weapons to destroy the city from afar, the ground under the alien ship suddenly collapses into a massive sink hole.

Back over Washington, the New Fantastic Four force Skreeal to flee the scene and they follow it all the way to the Bermuda Triangle. There they pass through a strange distortion field that brings them to Monster Island. There they spot the hole in the ground where the Skrull ship sank and follow their readings down there. Back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed has discovered a possible clue as to what happened to the Inorganic Technotroid after discovering a tabloid report about a strange monster that was spotted grabbing a UFO matching her description, near the Catskill Mountains. Believing that this might be the Technotroid, Reed and "Sue" head out immediately. As he leaves, Reed tells his robotic receptionist that he is leaving for a "day trip" and tells her that everything is fine and she should tell that to his "friends in the marines". They soon fly a sky-cycle to the location where the monster was reportedly seen. There they find a cave entrance that has been sealed. De'Lila uses her blaster to clear the rubble and they make their way inside.

Deep below the Earth in Subeterranea, the Mole Man has Giganto shake all the Skrulls out of their ship. He then begins blasting at their feet with his power staff, making demands to know what they are doing with his monsters. At that moment the New Fantastic Four are trying to sneak into the scene, but give themselves away when the Hulk accidentally walks into Giganto. When the Hulk tries to fight the creature it grabs him, but it eventually flees when Wolverine sticks one of his claws between its toes. The Mole Man has noticed their presence by this point and demands to know what they are doing intruding in his domain as well. Seeing the army of Moloids out number them, Spider-Man decides that diplomacy is the best avenue and explains to him why they are down in his domain. Learning that the Skrulls have been captured, Spider-Man asks to see them. When they are brought to the prisoners, the Mole Man notes that their commanding officer is missing. Recalling how Skrulls are shape-shifters and nobody could have escaped from the cavern, the New FF deduce that the commanding officer must have disguised himself as a rock. When they start smashing rocks, the Skrull commander loses his nerve and reveals himself before he can be pulped by the Hulk's massive fist.

With no time to waste, the Ghost Rider uses his Penance Stare to force the Skrull commander to explain why he and his crew are on Earth. He explains how they have come to Earth to prevent De'Lila, a Skrull renegade, from obtaining an Inorganic Technotroid, a powerful weapon that is used to defend the ruler of the Skrull empire. When Spider-Man reveals the device they used to track the Skrulls and how they got it from a "lady in New York", they suddenly realize that "Sue Richards" must have been De'Lila in disguise. Recognizing the device, the Skrull commander explains that it can be reconfigured to find her. Just as they do so, they soon realize that De'Lila is on her way and she soon arrives with Reed Richards still in her thrall. When the Hulk orders Reed to stand aside so they can deal with the Skrull renegade, Reed is now fully convinced that the Skrull is his wife and refuses to turn her over, telling the Hulk that it will be over his dead body. The Hulk informs Reed that they have already seen Reed's "dead body", implying that Reed is also a Skrull in disguise and that he is going to get his wish.

Appearing in "Eggs Got Legs"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #349

Featured Characters:

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Locations:

Items:

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Synopsis for "Eggs Got Legs"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #349

The only thing standing between the Skrull renegade known as De'Lila and the various forces against her (which include Skrull soldiers hunting her, the New Fantastic Four, and the Mole Man and his legions) is Reed Richards, who is under her telepathic control. Before a fight can break out De'Lila calls a halt to hostilities and reveals her true form. She then begins to appeal to the Earthlings and ask them to kill the Skrulls that are after her. De'Lila's telepathic influence begins to affect the Mole Man, who empathizes with her role as an outcast and orders his minions to kill the other Skrulls. The only one unaffected by De'Lila is the Ghost Rider who decides that the Skrulls should not die by her thralls and erects a Hell-Fire barrier around the aliens. This interruption also causes the rest of the New Fantastic Four and the Mole Man to snap out of it. Realizing her plan is a bust, De'Lila then orders Reed Richards to take her out of the area and they flee on his Sky-Cycle. The Hulk tries to stop them by tossing a boulder at them, but misses. In the aftermath of the battle Spider-Man realizes that they have been duped by De'Lila the whole time and that the Fantastic Four have been alive the whole time, and their group has been nothing more than her pawns.

The New Fantastic Four then head after them with the Mole Man and his armies in tow. Spider-Man uses his Spider-Sense to help lead his comrades through the tunnels after their foe. However down a ways they trigger off an explosive and are almost buried alive if not for the Hulk holding up the cave with his immense strength.

Further down the tunnel, De'Lila has Reed land the Sky-Cycle and she shape-shifts into the form of Susan Richards in order to reassert her control over Reed. Apparently falling in love with De'Lila, Reed kisses her. Feeling attracted to Richards herself, De'Lila explains what the Inorganic Technotroid is: an incubated defense robot that is used to defend Skrull rulers, that is hatched from an egg. The Technotroid then imprints and becomes loyal to whomever it sees first, thus making their need to find it important lest it imprints itself on something else. Still trapped under the rubble, Hulk tells his teammates to get a move on so they can get out of the cave alive. Ghost Rider offers up a solution, by spinning his bike chain around at incredible speeds he is able to bore through the rock and dig them a tunnel to freedom.

Meanwhile back at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Sue, Sharon, Ben, Alicia and Johnny awaken to find themselves bound up in the elevator. With the series of knots set up to choke them if they try to escape and Johnny having an asbestos lined bag on his head, it seems like they are stuck until they are rescued. No sooner are they awake that the elevator kicks into gear again, and they are discovered by Franklin. Franklin frees them and the Fantastic Four rush into the control room where they find their robotic receptionist Roberta. She explains that Reed left with a woman who appeared to be Sue, but used the code "Tell all my friends in the Navy" suggesting that something was up, leading to her discovering the rest of the team and getting Franklin to assist in rescuing them. Learning that Reed is somewhere below Monster Island, the Fantastic Four rush off to get to him, leaving Franklin in the care of Alicia.

Back below the tunnels, De'Lila and Reed are continuing to search for the Technotroid. Along the way Reed discovers strange hieroglyphics on the walls from centuries ago. Reed is curious, but De'Lila forces him to continue on their trek. They soon find a female Giganto sleeping with a Skrull saucer in her grasp. Reed tosses a rock far off and the noise causes the Giganto to go to investigate. As they approach the Skrull saucer they are stopped by the New Fantastic Four who have finally caught up with them. De'Lila then takes Reed hostage and threatens to kill him if they do not free the egg from the Skrull Saucer. She explains that she selected the four heroes to be the "new" Fantastic Four because their unique powers would allow her to free the Technotroid egg from its protective casing. The Hulk uses his strength to smash into the ship and remove the egg, while the Ghost Rider's Hell-Fire strips away a defensive coating, that only a mystical instrument can remove. With a spinning ream of lasers blocking the shut-off switch, Wolverine disables their mechanisms with his Adamantium claws. Finally Spider-Man fires his webbing to activate the release mechanism freeing the egg from within.

However before De'Lila can grab the egg, the Hulk stands in her way. To make matters worse the Mole Man and his armies have arrived to claim the egg for themselves. Before a full on battle can erupt, the real Fantastic Four arrive on the scene. Mere moments later the monsters also return after being called back by the Skrulls. While most of the heroes fight back the hordes of the Mole Man, Spider-Man races to stop De'Lila from getting the egg. In order to throw the hero off, she changes her form into that of his wife Mary Jane, causing Spider-Man to pause long enough to be blasted away. Spider-man quickly recovers, he webs the egg and tries to throw it as far as possible from De'Lila. The egg ends up landing in the female Giganto's hands. The Mole-man orders his armies to seize the egg from her. Suddenly the fight is interrupted by the return of the male Giganto. The Skrull captain reveals that the egg was stolen in order to become the perfect assassin and slay the Empress. Their orders are to either reclaim the Technotroid or destroy it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. This will also destroy the great cave and everything in it. During this stand-off, the egg hatches in the hands of the female Giganto and the Technotroid imprints itself on the Giganto. She then orders her "child" to destroy the Skrull commanding officer, which it does. With the Skrulls leverage destroyed, De'Lila tries to make a break for freedom by changing back into the form of Sue Richards and trying to enthrall Reed once again. Reed seemingly falls for it by embracing her in a kiss, but this is all a ploy to steal her weapon. Reed then knocks her out and runs to his wife and kisses her.

Meanwhile, De'Lila has recovered from the punch and is left to the mercies of the Ghost Rider who forces her to gaze into his Penance Stare, causing her to go mad, he then turns her over to the Skrulls and suggests they leave. Having had enough the Mole Man demands that they all leave his domain or prepare to die, but Spider-Man manages to talk him down as they all seem to have accomplished what they set out to do and will leave willingly, pointing out that a battle would only cause more damage to the Mole Man's domain.

Meanwhile, above the surface, the Punisher is following the Tricephalous in an Apache helicopter as it flies back to Monster Island, intent on bringing his personal war against crime down on the mysterious island. However as he passes through the clouds and is able to see the island he spots the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and the Hulk on the island surface. Believing that they have the situation well under control, the Punisher turns around to check the next thing on his list.

Solicit Synopsis

Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ghost Rider and the Hulk unite as we celebrate the legacy of the House of Ideas with MARVEL TALES! This anthology series shines a spotlight on fan-favorite characters, features timeless stories and highlights some of Marvel's most impressive talent from the past eight decades. And creative duos don't get much better than Walter Simonson and Arthur Adams, who ushered the World's Greatest Comics Magazine to surprising new heights in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #347-349! When the Fantastic Four fall, the Invisible Woman summons a blockbuster quartet to seek vengeance. But as this hastily assembled team heads to Monster Isle to tackle the Mole Man and his rampaging behemoths, they soon learn that there's more going on than meets the eye. Can the "New Fantastic Four" unravel the mystery and identify their real enemy in time to save the day?

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