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Appearing in "The Fantastic Four"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #1

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

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Items:

Vehicles:

  • Marvel-1 (First appearance) (Unnamed) (Destroyed)

Synopsis for "The Fantastic Four"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #1

Chapter 1[]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 1 0001 Title

A shadowy figure fires a flare out of a window. The flare forms the words "The Fantastic Four!"[Continuity 1]

Susan Storm is having tea with a friend. When she sees the flare, she turns invisible, gets into a cab,[Continuity 2] and offers the surprised driver a banknote when she reaches her destination.

Ben Grimm is trying to find a coat that fits him. A clerk in the haberdashery sees the flare. Grimm bursts out of the too-small door, rips a manhole out of the street, follows the sewers, and bursts out when he thinks he has reached his destination. He is struck by a taxi which is wrecked.

Johnny Storm is working on his latest hot rod in a service station. The mechanic sees the flare, which turns into the number 4. Johnny bursts into flame and flies away, destroying his car. The authorities treat him as an enemy attack, so he reluctantly melts the jets that come after him. A nuclear heat-seeking missile locks onto him, and, just as Johnny's flame starts to fade, an impossibly long pair of arms grab the missile and throw it out to sea.

Johnny's savior is the same man who fired the flare. He greets Susan, Ben, and Johnny with the words, "There is a task that awaits us ... a fearful task!" But how did these four people become so fantastic?

To beat the Communists in the Space Race,[Continuity 3] scientist Reed Richards, sister and brother Sue and Johnny Storm, and pilot Ben Grimm sneak aboard a rocket;[Continuity 4] Ben had warned the others about needing sufficient shielding for cosmic rays, but Sue challenging his courage persuaded him to fly.[Continuity 5] In space, the four are bombarded by cosmic rays.[Continuity 6] The auto-pilot lands the ship back on Earth,[Continuity 7] where they find themselves physically transformed and possessing remarkable new abilities. Sue can turn invisible. Ben has transformed into an orange, muscular "thing" with super-strength.[Continuity 8] Reed's body became highly malleable, allowing him to stretch into any shape. Johnny's body bursts into flame, and he can fly. They decide to use their abilities to become the super-team known as the Fantastic Four. They give themselves the individual names Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, and the Thing.[Continuity 9][Continuity 10][Continuity 11]

(Chapter 2) The Fantastic Four Meet the Mole Man![]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 1 Chapter 2 Title
Monster Isle from Fantastic Four Vol 1 1 001

Monster Isle

Atomic plants in the Soviet Union, Australia, and South America have been mysteriously attacked by cave-ins. Another attack occurs in Africa, where a huge monster burrows out of the ground but is recalled by a human figure. The Fantastic Four travel aboard their private jet to Monster Isle, which Reed has deduced is the same distance from each attack. There, they are attacked by a giant three-headed monster. Reed stops the monster, but a cave-in separates Reed and Johnny from Ben and Sue. Beneath the island Reed and Johnny land in the Valley of Diamonds, which temporarily blinds them. The Mole Man appears, revealing he is responsible for the attacks.

(Chapter 3) The Mole Man's Secret![]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 1 Chapter 3 Title

The Mole Man explains his origin. Having been ridiculed by humanity, he went off alone in search of the legendary land at the center of the earth. Eventually, he washed ashore on Monster Isle. Making his way through a cavern, he was caught in an avalanche and rendered almost blind.[Continuity 12] However, due to his other heightened senses taking over, he mastered the subterranean creatures[Continuity 13] and built himself an underground empire.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Ben wrestles a rock monster. Ben and Sue find their teammates listening to the Mole Man's plan to invade the surface world. He sends his monster army against the Fantastic Four. Whilst Johnny distracts the biggest one, the team flees through a tunnel, which Johnny seals shut behind them. After the Fantastic Four escape in their jet, Mole Man destroys the island so the surface world cannot trouble him again.[Continuity 14]

Appearing in "The Fantastic Four Meet the Skrulls from Outer Space!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #2

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Unnamed Central City citizens
    • Unnamed Oil-rig workers
    • Unnamed Jewelry store employees
    • Unnamed Power Plant Worker
  • Santa Claus (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

Locations:

Items:

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Synopsis for "The Fantastic Four Meet the Skrulls from Outer Space!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #2

Part 1[]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 2 Title

The Thing attacks an oil platform off the Texas shore. The Invisible Girl steals a valuable gem from a jewelry store. The Human Torch melts a statue when a town unveils it. Mister Fantastic shuts down a power plant. These impostors meet afterward and reveal how they used their shape-shifting abilities and alien technology to perpetrate their misdeeds. They are Skrulls, and they plan on invading Earth. Fearing the Fantastic Four will stand in their way, these four agents want to ruin their reputation. The real Fantastic Four, in "an isolated hunting lodge," hear the news with dismay.[Continuity 15]

Part 2[]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 2 Chapter 2 Title
Jonathan Storm (Earth-616) and Skrull Cows (Earth-616) from Fantastic Four Vol 1 2 001

Johnny infiltrates the Skrulls

The United States Army surrounds the lodge. Wanted for the Skrulls' crimes, the Fantastic Four surrender. They escape from cells specifically designed to hold them and hole up in one of their "many secret apartment hideouts", in order to clear their names. They set a trap for the Skrulls by sending Johnny to sabotage a rocket launch, hoping it will draw them out. He melts through an unused gantry,[Continuity 16] avoids the army's artillery and flames off behind a hangar. "Reed" and "Susan" pick him up and take him back to their hideout. A Fantasti-Flare out the window brings the rest of the team.

Part 3[]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 2 Chapter 3 Title
Skrull-Ship (Water Tower) from Fantastic Four Vol 1 2 0002

The water-tower ship

A fight ensues and the Skrulls are taken, prisoner. The Fantastic Four steal the Skrulls' rocket ship and find their mother-ship in Earth orbit.[Continuity 17] Posing as the Skrull agents, they trick the captain into believing that Earth is too dangerous to invade by passing off images from Journey Into Mystery and Strange Tales as real. Reed volunteers to stay behind and remove any trace of the Skrulls' presence on Earth. Convinced his army would be slaughtered, the captain calls off the invasion and awards Reed a medal for bravery.[Continuity 18] On the way home the Fantastic Four passes through the cosmic rays again, causing the Thing to briefly return to human form.

Part 4[]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 2 Chapter 4 Title

Once back on Earth the Fantastic Four clear their names by proving the existence of Skrulls to the military. The remaining three Skrulls transform into cows at Reed's instructions, and Reed hypnotizes them into believing they are real cows. They are left in a field where they can live out their lives.[Continuity 19][Continuity 20][Continuity 21][Continuity 22]

See Also

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