I: Feature Story: Part 1: "Captives of the Deadly Duo!"
Part 2: "When Super-Menaces Unite"
Part 3: "When Friends Fall Out!"
Part 4: "Trapped!"
Part 5: "The End Or the Beginning?"
Pages: 23
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Unknown
Villain: Dr. Doom
First Appearance: Tommy
Guest Appearance: Sub-Mariner, Tommy
Marvel Milestones: First mention of the name "Baxter Building", first Yancy Street Gang, first mention of unstable molecules
Gadgets & Technology: belt-buckle activated elevator, the Grabber
Synopsis: The Human Torch and the
Invisible Girl are racing to the Baxter Building, shocking and amazing bystanders
by the use of their powers. Sue arrives through the
door and uses the invisible beam on her belt buckle to activate the elevator
and rises to the 34th
floor.
Inside she finds the mail has arrived but no news about the location of
Dr. Doom. Reed receives
a letter from a sick child named Tommy. The hospital is only a few blocks from
the Baxter Building, so he stretches over to the boy's room for a quick
visit. Thing receives a threat via "fan mail" from the Yancy Street gang. Johnny
asks how he will respond to their derision, and he replies by rolling a plate
of titanium steel in half and saying he's going to mail it back to them.
Meanwhile, the Sub-Mariner is swimming with dolphins when he is discovered by
Dr. Doom, who is looking for an ally to face off against the Fantastic Four.
They share a common hatred for the FF, but Namor is reluctant
to join forces. In Namor's home, Doom reminds him of man's atomic tests in his
homeland and an angered Namor finally agrees to join him in his fight. But, Namor
makes it clear that he will not harm Sue Storm.
Doom lays out his plan by introducing a new device- the "Grabber". When the
small cylinder is placed on an object, Doom can remotely control that object, no
matter how large or heavy it is.
He proves this by sending the Grabber out to fix itself on an enormous
underwater statue, and then pulls it towards them with his
remote control. Namor takes the Grabber and flies straight to the Baxter
Building.
Inside, Johnny has found a secret portrait of Namor in the library. He finds out
it's Sue's, and he burns it in front
of
his sister, wondering why she'd have such a photo. Reed confronts Sue about
her mixed loyalties, but Namor arrives before she can explain. Thing
and
Torch attack him but Ben is restrained by reed. Torch melts the floor
underneath but the Sub-Mariner hovers above the hole. Reed and Johnny
check the security monitors but find no sabotage in the building. For his part,
Namor claims to have come seeking their trust and friendship.
Suddenly the entire Baxter Building rises into the air! Doom is using his
Grabber, and is dragging the building out of the atmosphere with his
spacecraft. If the building rises higher, Namor says, the oxygen will run out
and all
will perish- and Namor realizes that number would include him! The FF's
plane has been damaged so they
can't escape that way. Reed passes out space helmets as the oxygen is rapidly
running
out (as Johnny learns when he tires to flame on!) Reed tries to stretch
himself to the limit and reach Doom's ship but is seriously burned by Doom's
engines blasting back at him.
Doom steers the building closer to the sun where he will let go of the Baxter
Building and burn it in the heart of the star!
Only Sub-Mariner can save them now. Once he restores himself to his peak powers
inside a water tank, he bursts out of the tank and out into space. He bounces
across some meteors until he reaches the ship. Doom tries to pin him to the
hull magnetically but the Sub-Mariner tears his way through. Doom electrifies
the airlock to stop Namor's rampage but the Sub-Mariner channels the powers of
the electric eel and creates a feedback loop which stuns Doom. Doom falls out
of an escape hatch and catches a passing meteor which hurdles him away from
the solar system.
The Baxter Building lowers into its proper place. The Torch discovers the
Grabber but it flies away before they can examine it. The Grabber joins up with
Doom's spaceship, which the Sub-Mariner crashes into the ocean so nobody can
use them for futher. He dives back into the ocean to continue his lonely life
away from his people.
--synopsis by Jonathan Clarke, aka doesitmatter, with Gormuu
Issues Reprinted
Fantastic Four #1-10
Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.