Prisoners of Kurrgo, Master of Planet X
On the far off Planet X, its master Kurrgo spies on the Fantastic Four as they go through their mail. Kurrgo's advanced race of pale, big-headed beings are in catastrophic danger. A rogue asteroid is closing in on their planet with enough destructive power to end all life. His people, advanced as they are, have never been all that into space travel for they only have two spaceships in the entire world. Not enough to rescue all the inhabitants. Kurrgo thinks that the Fantastic Four would be able to help him find a solution. Through force. So he sends his indestructible robot guard to earth to capture them.
In the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four are arguing over attending a dinner the United States Congress is holding in the group's honor. Sue, Johnny & Ben all argue that they'll be too nervous which will cause their powers to go off; making a national embarrassment of themselves. Reed, being the leader, tells them they are all being silly so they should all just get ready. They can't refuse a request from congress.
As Johnny goes to take a shower he makes some snide remark towards the Thing. During his shower, Ben sneaks in and carefully, without detection, makes Johnny's water too hot. This causes Johnny to flame on, which causes the water to create smoke as it falls onto his fiery body. The smoke permeates through the building, alarming Sue & Reed. Reed stretches through a vent to find a source for the smoke when they hear the commotion between the Human Torch and Thing. Thing explains he was just trying to start something to get out of going to the dinner party.
Entering earth's atmosphere, the spaceship from Planet X arrives. Detected by a newly installed satellite, the spaceship alerts US intelligence. The spaceship is just nearly spotted by Thing as the Four travel to Washington in the Fantasticar. Ben just figures it was some kind of rocket test. The spaceship plows right through jet interceptors and then lands undetected in a remote valley.
With the entire Congress and military suddenly after them, the Fantastic Four flee. Johnny flames on and flies out. Reed uses his stretching powers to hang from a chandelier Sue turns invisible and fools the servicemen into tripping over each other. The Thing lifts up a chunk of wall out of place and then hides behind it. Once outside and in the Fantasticar, Reed, Johnny and Sue, wait for the Thing to emerge, which he does by bursting out of the ground. Thing grabs an extended leg of Mr. Fantastic's as they fly away.
The Planet X spaceship chases the Fantasticar. Reed attempts to out maneuver it. Failing that, he guides it towards the roof of the Baxter Building. Once they've all landed, Kurrgo's robot emerges. With a riled up crowd forming at the base of the tower, the robot prophecies how each one of them will be captured by the forces of earth. They agree the only course of action is to join the robot back to Planet X. The reluctant Thing senses a trap. On the way there Reed and Thing have a brief conversation about Reed wanting to go along out of curiosity.
After a faster than light journey through space, the Fantastic Four land on Planet X. Immediately they are confronted by Kurrgo, who describes the situation...
Reed wonders why they don't fly away since they have the means for space travel. Kurrgo replies that they have never cared for it so they have only built two spaceships on the entire planet. The population of 5 billion would never fit.
Thing thinks they should just head back home from this hopeless situation, but he is immediately swatted away by the robot guard. Johnny flames on and attempts to destroy the robot with a super nova blast, but is stopped by his sister. As Reed proclaims, if Johnny had flamed on to that intensity he would kill them all. Kurrgo then announces that they have only 24-hours to find a solution or they are all doomed. As Planet X begins to shake apart from the proximity of the asteroid's gravitational pull, Reed starts thinking. Kurrgo reveals all he cares about is his subjects living so he can retain being their Master.
Reed immediately sets the team to task. With only a few hours to spare Reed reveals his inventions; A giant cannon that the Four have helped him assemble and some capsules to put inside the cannon. Inside the capsules is a shrinking formula (not unlike Henry Pym's). With these, he plans to shrink the entire populace so that they can all board one of the spaceships while the FF take the other one back to Earth. Kurrgo agrees to this solution and takes the enlarging capsule with him.
As Planet X begins its violent death throes, the Fantastic Four race across the crumbling surface to reach the waiting spaceship. The shrunken Planet-Xians all board the other one. All except Kurrgo who is struggling with the enlarging gas capsule. He gets to thinking only he will take the enlarging serum and keep the others small so he can rule over them more easily. This greedy thought causes him to lag behind the others. They fly off as Kurrgo stumbles and refuses to give up his dream of absolute power. Leaving the master behind as the world is split asunder. As the Fantastic Four head back to earth in the spaceship, Reed reveals that there was no enlarging gas, so the Planet Xians will have to remain small.
Notes:
This isn't a great issue, but I feel like the Fantastic Four have found their voice with this one. Thing in particular is sounding like how we'll get used to him sounding as the series continues. Reed shows himself as the leader of the group. Not just a leader and a scientist but also an adventurer. I think the whole family/team dynamic is a lot more solid here than it has been thus far. It's better at the small stuff going on rather than the big plot stuff.
This is the first time the Fantastic Four have gone on an interstellar mission. The first time we see some of Marvel space outside of Earth. A very small sliver of what is to come. They also now have a spaceship. An actual alien spaceship that Reed didn't invent.
Gaffe: As they are leaving Planet X, Reed says, "there was no reducing gas", but he clearly is meant to be saying there was no "enlarging gas" because the aliens did indeed shrink.
Head Cannon thoughts: I wonder if that ray that made people hostile had any lingering effects and that in part is why a lot of people in the Marvel Universe seem particularly angry when it comes to superheroes. It could also have something to do about the upcoming oddball supervillains about to show up in the Human Torch's stories in Strange Tales and many other upcoming series.
The List
- Amazing Fantasy (Spider-Man) #15
- Fantastic Four #1
- Fantastic Four #4
- Incredible Hulk #1
- Fantastic Four #5
- Amazing Adult Fantasy (X-Men) #14
- Fantastic Four #6
- Journey into Mysetry (Thor) #85
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #83
- Fantastic Four #2
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #35
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #84
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #27
- Fantastic Four #3
- Incredible Hulk #2
- Fantastic Four #7
- Incredible Hulk #3
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