—Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd)Completely mad. But perhaps he did have a point.
Sure, at the top of his head.
Was that a joke?
Appearing in "The Lesson?"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- ⏴ Captain America (Steve Rogers) ⏵ (Main story and recap)
- Impossible Man
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) (Only in recap)
- Moondragon (Heather Douglas) (Only in recap)
- Starfox (Eros) (Only in recap)
- Mentor (A'Lars) (Only in recap)
- Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) (Only in recap)
- Thanos (Only in recap)
- Thanos-Thralls (Only in recap)
- Avengers (Only in recap)
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) (Only in recap)
- Vision (Only in recap)
- Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) (Only in recap)
- Thor Odinson (Only in recap)
- Swordsman (Jacques DuQuesne) (Only in recap)
- Mantis Brandt (Only in recap)
- Black Panther (T'Challa) (Only in recap)
- Beast (Hank McCoy) (Only in recap)
- Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Mentioned)
- Invisible Woman (Sue Richards) (Mentioned)
- Adam Warlock (Only in recap)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Only in recap)
- Thing (Ben Grimm) (Only in recap)
- Characters impersonated by the Impossible Man:
- Thanos (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Silver Surfer (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Frankenstein's Monster (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- clown (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Charlie Chaplin (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Groucho Marx (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Yoda (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Master Po (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Lockjaw (Illusion or holographic simulation)
Races and Species:
- Zenn-Lavians
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Titans (Only in recap)
- Alien Races (Only in recap) (Unnamed)
- Asgardians (Only in recap)
- Mutants (Only in recap)
- Synthezoids (Only in recap)
- Poppupians
- Inhumans (Illusion or holographic simulation)
Locations:
Items:
- Power Cosmic
- Captain America's Shield (Main story and recap)
- Cosmic Cube (Only in recap)
- Nega-Bands (Only in recap)
- Mjolnir (Only in recap)
- Panther Habit (Only in recap)
- Swordsman's Sword (Only in recap)
- Iron Man Armor Model 3 (Only in recap)
- Web-Shooters (Only in recap)
- Spider-Man's Suit (Only in recap)
- Soul Gems (Only in recap)
- Space Gem (Only in recap)
- Time Gem (Only in recap)
- Reality Gem (Only in recap)
- Mind Gem (Only in recap)
- Power Gem (Only in recap)
- Reality Gem (Only in recap)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Lesson?"
Brief Summary:
The Silver Surfer travels to Earth to learn more about Thanos from the Avengers. Captain America tells him the back story of their conflicts with him and then suggests that the Surfer travel to Titan to learn more about Thanos. As he departs Earth, the Surfer again runs into the Impossible Man, who insists that he needs to lighten up in order to defeat Thanos. At first the Surfer resists, but eventually gives in and agrees to give it a try.

Detailed Summary:
The Silver Surfer travels to Earth to learn more about Thanos. He arrives at Avenger's Mansion and is mistaken by She-Hulk for an intruder. Captain America corrects her mistake and welcomes the Surfer.
Captain America reviews with the Silver Surfer the times that the Avengers have battled Thanos in the past. How they and Captain Marvel stopped him from using the Cosmic Cube from becoming a god and how, with Adam Warlock, they stopped him from using the Soul Gems from destroying the universe's stars. They thought he had died after their last conflict, but the Surfer regrets to inform Captain America that he is back with a new plan to cause universal destruction. Cap recommends that the Surfer visit the Saturn moon of Titan to learn more about Thanos.
As the Silver Surfer departs Earth, he once again runs into the Impossible Man. Despite the Surfer's protests, the Impossible Man insists that he needs to teach him to lighten up. He understands that the Surfer is trying to stop Thanos, but he knows that he can't succeed on toughness alone. He has to be the opposite of Thanos. At first the Surfer resists, but eventually gives in and agrees to try and lighten up.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- The Silver Surfer met Thanos after he was resurrected by Death. [1]
- The Silver Surfer and She-Hulk seem to have forgotten that they met each other back when he was still trapped on Earth and she was part of the Fantastic Four. [2]
- Thanos plans to kill half of the universe in order to correct a cosmic imbalance felt by Death. [3]
- Captain Marvel and the Avengers stopped Thanos from using the Cosmic Cube to become a god. [4]
- The Silver Surfer and Reed and Sue Richards traveled into a black hole to find the Soul Gems for Galactus. [5]
- Adam Warlock and the Avengers stopped Thanos from using the Soul Gems to destroy all the universe's stars, killing him in the process. [6]
- Eros manipulated the Silver Surfer's and Nova's emotions after he had defeated Firelord in battle. [7]
- The Impossible Man didn't make a good impression with the Silver Surfer the first time that they met. [8]
Trivia
- "The Cosmic Pipeline" letter column has letters published from: John Migala, Shawn Childress, Terry Mefford, Dylan Beaumont, William Blevins, and David Rubin.
See Also
Recommended Reading
The story references:
- Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #15 to Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #18 - The Silver Surfer and Reed and Sue Richards adventure to find the Soul Gems in order to save Galactus' life.
- Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #33 - The Silver Surfer's first meeting with the Impossible Man.
Links and References
- ComicBookWire (11 February 2020) Classic Review: Silver Surfer- Rebirth of Thanos ComicBookWire. Retrieved on 2 Nov 2021.
- Grand Comics Database Silver Surfer Vol 1 36 Grand Comics Database. Retrieved on 7 Nov 2021.
- Huddleston, Mike (19 March 2015) The Return Of Thanos: Silver Surfer 34-38 Comic Book Daily. Retrieved on 21 Feb 2021.
- LOTRKing (7 October 2008) Flashback: Review of Silver Surfer 36 LOTRKing’s Comic Book Reviews and Other Random Stuff. Retrieved on 7 Nov 2021.