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Quote1 It can't end like this! There must be a way to save Johnny -- and to strike back at them! Think, my darling -- you've never failed us yet! Quote2
Invisible Girl

Appearing in "Lo! There Shall be an Ending!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #43

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  • Doctor Doom's physician
  • NYPD
    • Sgt. Donnegan

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  • The Wizard's Anti-Grav Airship

Synopsis for "Lo! There Shall be an Ending!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #43

Continued from last issue...

After rescuing the brainwashed Thing from the Frightful Four, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl flee from the Wizard and his other seemingly brainwashed thrall, the Human Torch. When they escape in Johnny's car, the Wizard decides to break off pursuit and free his other Frightful Four teammates, who were taken out of the fight by his own anti-gravity discs. After the Wizard and the Torch get them down, the Frightful Four realize that the Torch had deliberately hampered them whenever they tried to harm one of his former teammates.

Reed and Sue return to the Baxter Building, where the Thing begins to fight back. They quickly subdue him with knockout gas, and Reed begins the long task of trying to find a cure for the Wizard's brainwashing process. Meanwhile, the Wizard and Medusa inspect the ID Machine, and confirm what the Wizard suspected: someone tampered with the machine during the battle, and the Human Torch has only been pretending to be under their control. They ambush the Torch and knock him out, so the Wizard can prepare the final phase of the revenge against the Fantastic Four.

At the Baxter Building, Reed has finished constructing a device that he hopes will revert Ben's personality to normal. But when Reed activates the device it overloads and explodes. Reed rushes in to pull the control helmet from Ben's head before he is permanently harmed, with Sue throwing a force field around him for protection. They then drag Ben into a nearby bed where they can only hope that he will awaken cured. At the Latverian Embassy, Doctor Doom inspects his hands and finds that they have healed after his last battle with the Fantastic Four. Doom is furious over such an ignominious defeat, but he has already planned a suitable revenge, as his Emotion Changer ray is complete and ready to use.

Back at the Baxter Building, the Frightful Four's anti-grav ship lands on the roof and the villains begin infiltrating the building. Reed completes his tests and concludes that the Thing has been cured, just as the Frightful Four ambush them. The Wizard shows Reed and Sue that he has Johnny trapped outside on a massive anti-gravity disc. The Wizard then threatens to send Johnny up into space to suffocate unless the Fantastic Four surrender. When Reed tries to save Johnny, the Wizard and his cohorts show that they mean business. The Wizard then gives Richards ten seconds to surrender. However, before this time is up the Thing awakes and attacks the Wizard, rending the villain's armor with his bare hands, destroying his anti-grav control unit. As Reed and Sue attack their foes, Johnny is able to break free from the now deactivated disc and join the fight.

As the battle rages, Medusa decides to retreat. The Torch sees her, but fails to prevent her escape in the Wizard's anti-grav ship. With Medusa's departure the survivors of the Frightful Four are easily subdued. But when Reed telephones the police to have them send an officer over to collect the prisoners, the officer on the phone thinks it's a prank call. After Johnny leaves to drop off their foes with the authorities, Reed and Sue check on Ben and welcome him back to the group. Ben is surprised by this, after the hatred he displayed earlier. But Reed points out that Ben couldn't help himself, and he is welcomed back to the team.

Appearing in "The Bouncing Ball of Doom!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #131

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  • Johnny Storm's Modified Stingray

Synopsis for "The Bouncing Ball of Doom!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #131

When the Human Torch and Thing are asked to stop some crooks who just robbed a bank, they are unaware that this is yet another crime planned by the Mad Thinker. This time to deal with any members of the Fantastic Four who may interfere with his plans, the Thinker has created a giant remote control "Bouncing ball" to attack his foes with. Setting it loose on the two heroes, they are disorientated by the device at first, but the Torch eventually destroys it with his flame powers, and the Thing nabs the bank robbers, foiling the Thinker's plot.

Appearing in "Bedlam at the Baxter Building!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four Annual #3

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Synopsis for "Bedlam at the Baxter Building!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four Annual #3

Reading a newspaper announcement of Reed Richards and Susan Storm's wedding day, Dr Doom plots to ruin it by using his emotion changing device to incite the entire super-villain community (whether or not foes of the Fantastic Four) to attack the ceremony. A crowd has gathered outside the Baxter Building, where the wedding is to take place, to watch the celebrity guests arrive. The onlookers include both Millie the Model and Patsy Walker.

Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. are providing security for the wedding, and prevent a guest whom the Puppet Master is controlling from poisoning the Thing. While the Thing is considering whether to tell Reed about the incident, Mole Man and his subterranean Moloids attack from beneath the building. Professor X summons the X-Men to aid the Thing in warding them off. Meanwhile Reed, Sue and Johnny are attacked by the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, until the latter are banished to another dimension by the newly arrived Dr. Strange.

With the initial attacks defeated, Dr Doom increases the power inciting villains including the Mandarin, the Black Knight, Kang the Conqueror, the Awesome Android, and the Grey Gargoyle to attack. Whilst on his way to the wedding, Thor is attacked by the Super-Skrull. Daredevil spots Hydra agents attempting to collide a missile with the Baxter Building and succeeds in driving it off, dumping it into New York harbor: the missile's detonation destroys an attacking undersea force led by Attuma the Barbarian. The arriving Avengers, Captain America and Hawkeye battle the Cobra, the Executioner, the Enchantress, Mr Hyde and the Mad Thinker, with the help of Spider-Man.

While Daredevil is being chased by the Black Knight, assistance from the X-Men is interrupted by the arrival of the Mandarin, Electro, the Unicorn, the Melter and the Beetle, whilst Quicksilver simultaneously battles the Human Top.

These events rapidly culminate in an all-out battle between the heroes and villains, until Reed Richards is summoned to the Watcher's citadel, where he is given a device that will allow him to transport all the attackers away, with no memory of what has transpired. With the villains defeated, Reed and Sue are married. Outside, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are turned away from the ceremony as they do not have invitations, and leave muttering dire threats of retribution.

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