—ThingWhy, you overblown pile o' scrap iron, I'll-- Hey! What in the name of Aunt Petunia's goin' on here?
Appearing in "...And Be a Villain!"
Featured Characters:
- ⏴ Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) ⏵
- Namor (Main story and recap)
Antagonists:
- Fantastic Four
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Main story and recap)
- Thing (Ben Grimm)
- Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
- Invisible Girl (Sue Storm)
Other Characters:
- Shroud (First appearance)
- Triton (Only in recap)
- Medusa (Only in recap)
- Johnny Carson (Mentioned)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Doom's unnamed vehicle seen in the previous issue
- Doom's unnamed teleportation device
Synopsis for "...And Be a Villain!"
Reed Richards is working away at the Baxter Building when he's suddenly interrupted by an injured Namor crashing into the room. Put in a tank of water, Namor revives and is joined by the rest of the Fantastic Four. He tells them of his recent failed alliance with Dr. Doom and that after Doom sought revenge against the undersea monarch, he used a weapon to render the suit that allows him to stay on the surface inoperative, putting him at risk of death. Doom then took Namor back down to Atlantis, where the Latverian monarch destroyed some of the buildings. He then tells Namor that if he doesn't vow his loyalty to Doom, he would let Namor die and destroy his kingdom. Namor swears, and so Doom spares him by giving Namor a serum that will keep him alive for 24 more hours. Doom offers Namor one way out: to see if Reed Richards can repair his suit in time.
A hologram of Doom appears and mocks the heroes, boasting that Richards will not find a way to cure Namor and that the Sub-Mariner would be honor bound to ally with Doom after the 24 hours elapses. Not willing to give up, Reed vows to Namor that he will do everything in his power. As the rest of the Fantastic Four work on a way to cure Namor, the Human Torch spots someone spying on them from the rooftop across the street.
Investigating puts the Torch in a battle against a new costumed super-human named the Shroud. The Shroud easily defeats the Human Torch by overpowering him with a somersault kick and putting out his flame with his asbestos-lined cape. He makes his escape, vowing that he will defeat Dr. Doom. Meanwhile, back inside the Baxter Building Reed Richards is almost successful, however Namor's patience and time runs out and the Sub-Mariner angrily smashes out of his tank of water and tries to make it back to the ocean. However, he instantly begins to suffocate once outside, and is teleported away by Dr. Doom.
Witnessing Namor's capture, the Fantastic Four vow to rescue him from Doom's clutches, however they are unaware that the Shroud also intends on going after Dr. Doom as well. This story is continued next issue...
Notes
- This issue contains a letters page, "Bad Tidings". Letters are published from Doug Zimmerman, Bob Allen, and T.E. Pouncey.
- This issue contains a Series "B" Marvel Value Stamp Vol 1 67: Spider-Man [1]
- As seen on page one, this issue is Story# JV252.