I: Feature Story: "The Coming of Galactus!"

Pages: 20

Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek

First Appearance: Galactus, Silver Surfer

Villain: Maximus, Galactus

Guest Appearance: Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Gorgon, the Watcher, Silver Surfer

Cameo Appearance: The Seeker, Skrulls, Galactus

Marvel Milestones: "Negative Zone" seals up the Great Refuge

Gadgets & Technology: Matter Mobilizer

Synopsis: (continued from FF #47)

Maximus' Atmo-Gun threatens to shake the Great Refuge apart. Black Bolt finds the Seeker and Maximus near the weapon. The Seeker begs forgiveness but Maximus gloats. His ray will destroy humanity and leave the Inhumans unscathed, allowing them to rule the earth, with him as leader! Black Bolt disdainfully slaps him to the ground and Medusa rebukes him, showing him on video screens that the ray has had no effect on humanity. This proves humans and Inhumans are actually the same race, countering the logic they have used to keep themselves secret from the human race these many years! Maximus goes completely insane at this thought and reverses the charge on the Atmo-Gun. It begins to form a "negative zone" around the entire city. The Fantastic Four have just enough time to escape but the Inhumans, including Crystal, are trapped inside.

The negative zone around the Refuge is impenetrable even to Johnny Storm's frantic assault on it. Reed declares that there is nothing know to man that can penetrate the barrier, and as they fly away, the dome that covers the Great Refuge slowly sinks into the earth. Johnny sinks into misery at the idea that he may never be able to see Crystal again.

At that time, deep in outer space, a lone silver figure on a board races across the galaxy. A Skrull ship is terrified at the sight of him, and makes an effort to cloak their solar system from his view. As the Skrull commander fearfully speaks, "where the Silver Surfer soars, Galactus is not far behind!"

As the Fantastic Four fly home, they see two suns in the sky. The new sun grows to envelope the atmosphere, setting the very air aflame. There is panic in the streets and the Fantastic Four try to calm things as best they can. Johnny flies ahead to check things out, and senses that there is no heat to the flames that fill the sky. Unfortunately, the crowd blames the Human Torch for the inferno and the Thing can only rescue Johnny from the angry mob.

Reed locks himself in the lab as, unbeknownst to him, the Silver Surfer soars ever closer. Later, the fire in the sky is changed to floating chunks of space debris. Sue bursts into Reed's lab demanding that he start acting like her husband and not some mad scientist, but when she enters, she finds the Watcher is there. He tells her that it was he who caused the strange phenomena in the sky, in an effort to shield the Earth from the Silver Surfer, the herald of Galactus. If Galactus arrives on this planet, Uatu says, he will drain it of all life energies and leave it a lifeless husk. Despite his pledge to not interfere with mankind, he could not let this happen.

But the Watcher's plan fails. The Silver Surfer has made it through the cloaking deception and lands on the Baxter Building, sending a burst of energy into the sky. The Thing punches him off the roof but it is too late. A ship shaped like a sphere enters the atmosphere and sends a bunch of other smaller ships down into the sky. The Watcher explains that these ships are testing the Earth's elemental composition. Then, the ship lands on the roof and a giant in armor steps out. Galactus has come.

(continued in FF #49)

--synopsis by Jonathan Clarke, aka doesitmatter, with Gormuu

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