Comics:Fantastic Four Vol 1 48

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"The Coming of Galactus!"

Gallery

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #48
March, 1966

Editor-in-Chief

Stan Lee

Cover Artists

Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott

Writers

Stan Lee

Pencilers

Jack Kirby

Inkers

Joe Sinnott

Letterers

Artie Simek

Editors

Stan Lee

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Fantastic Four #47

Fantastic Four #49

My journey is ended! This planet shall sustain me until it has been drained of all elemental life! So speaks Galactus!

-- Galactus

Appearing in "The Coming of Galactus!"

Featured Characters:

• Fantastic Four

• Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
• Invisible Girl (Susan Richards)
• Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards)
• Thing (Ben Grimm)

Supporting Characters:

• Alicia Masters (behind the scenes)

Villains:

• Galactus (First appearance)
• Maximus
• Seeker
• Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd)

Other Characters:

• Inhumans

• Black Bolt
• Crystal
• Gorgon
• Karnak
• Lockjaw
• Medusa
• Triton

Locations:

• Andromeda Galaxy

• Skrullos

• New York City

• Manhattan

• Baxter Building

• South America

• Andes Mountains
• Great Refuge

Items:

• Atmo-Gun
• Matter Mobilizer

Vehicles:

• Airjet-Cycle
• Silver Surfer's Surfboard
• Taa II
• Private jet
  
  

Synopsis for "The Coming of Galactus!"

Maximus fires his Atmo-Gun. While the vibrations produced by the weapon proves ineffective against Inhumans, it has the potential to wreak havoc against normal human beings. The ground of the Great Refuge trembles from the power of the weapon and everyone is thrown about. Maximus cackles with glee as he envisions the deaths of millions of helpless humans.

For all of his mad genius however, Maximus' plan fails. Aside from a few massive ground tremors, humanity is perfectly safe. Gorgon and Karnak make a move to apprehend Maximus, but he darts past them and heads towards his Atmo-Gun. He reverses the polarity of the weapon, creating a null field of negative energy to slowly encapsulate the Great Refuge. Reed knows that there is nothing they can do to counter the effects of a complete negative zone. Reed, Sue and Ben race to escape from the city, but Johnny wants to stay behind. He doesn't want to leave Crystal. Crystal wants to remain with Johnny as well, but the rest of her family draw her back. Ben scoops Johnny up, and manages to get outside of the null field barrier just as it completely seals the Great Refuge off from the rest of the world. Everyone feels Johnny's sorrow, and he is convinced that he will never see Crystal again. The team boards their private charter and returns to the United States.

Meanwhile in the depths of outer space, a sleek, shining being known as the Silver Surfer streaks through the cosmos atop a metallic surfboard. While soaring through the Andromeda Galaxy, he earns the attention of the Skrulls. The Skrulls know that wherever the Silver Surfer appears, his master, Galactus, cannot be far behind. Terrified, the Skrulls do everything they can to conceal their world from the Surfer's perceptions.

In New York, the Fantastic Four arrive home to witness a most startling spectacle. The entire skyline appears as if it had caught on fire. The Human Torch flies through the city canyons to get a closer look, but panicking New Yorkers begin to suspect that the Torch may actually be responsible for the strange phenomena. The FF return to the Baxter Building and Reed sequesters himself inside of his laboratory to analyze the situation. The flames in the sky dissipate giving way to an unending field of space debris.

The powerful being known as the Watcher appears inside of Reed's laboratory. He explains that he is responsible for the atmospheric disturbances, for he has been attempting to conceal Earth's existence from the attention of the Silver Surfer. He further explains that the Surfer is the advance scout of Galactus, a powerful cosmic being that consumes the elemental energies of entire worlds, leaving them as little more than dried, lifeless husks.

The Surfer meanwhile, investigates the debris field, and finds Earth hidden beneath it. He flies to the roof of the Baxter Building and sends out a cosmic signal for Galactus. The FF race to the top of the building, and the Thing rams into the Surfer knocking him off the edge. The Surfer is no longer a major concern however. In the sky above, Galactus' planet devouring world ship, Taa II, emerges in the skies above Manhattan. The giant Galactus exits the ship and declares his intention to consume the entire world.

Notes

• This issue is reprinted in Marvel Masterworks #25, Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four #5, 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time #1, Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby, Volume 1, Essential Fantastic Four, Volume 3, Marvel's Greatest Comics #35, the Silver Surfer: The Coming of Galactus trade paperback and Fantastic Four (Fireside).
• First appearance of the Silver Surfer and Galactus.
• The Watcher appeared last in Fantastic Four Annual #3.
• Black Bolt, Crystal, Karnak and Medusa all appear next in Fantastic Four #50.
• Gorgon and Maximus appear next in Fantastic Four #52.
• Triton appears next in Fantastic Four #54.
• Lockjaw appears next in Fantastic Four #55.
• Final appearance of the Seeker to date.
• Alicia Masters appears next in Fantastic Four #49.

Trivia

• Some of the plotlines used in this issue were adapted for the 2007 feature film, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
• This storyline was also adapted in the "Galactus" episode of the 1966 Fantastic Four animated series.
• This storyline was also adapted for the two-part "The Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus" episode of the 1996 Fantastic Four animated series.
• The negative zone barrier that Maximus erects around the Great Refuge is not to be confused with the inter-dimensional reality also called the Negative Zone.
• Alicia Masters makes a behind-the-scenes appearance on the telephone in this issue.

See Also

• Discuss Fantastic Four Vol 1 48 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Fantastic Four series

Recommended Reading

• None.

Links and References

• http://www.ffplaza.com/library/?issue=ff48