The Startling Saga of the Silver Surfer!

The Silver Surfer arrives to try and stop his master from destroying the Earth. No matter how hard he tries he is not able to stop Galactus. However, the confrontation does give Johnny the time he needs to return from Galactus' ship out in deep space with the one weapon that can stop Galactus: The Ultimate Nullifier. When Reed threatens to use it against Galactus, he agrees to spare the Earth and leave if Reed gives him back the weapon.

True to his word, Galactus leaves but not before first relieving the Silver Surfer of his herald duties and removing the Silver Surfer's space-time powers. The Silver Surfer is thus exiled on the planet he vowed to save, no longer able to roam the galaxies. After the battle Alicia arrives to thank the Silver Surfer for his help, causing the jealous Thing to think that she's choosing the Surfer over him and quietly walks away feeling nothing but rejection. The Silver Surfer also departs, vowing to return once he's traversed all of the Earth.

As life returns to normal, the press dismisses the Galactus fiasco as a hoax, while one man takes interest in news reports of the Thing roaming the city, and at Metro College the unreliable football star Whitey Mullins gives Coach Thorne a tongue lashing after being scolded for not being a team player. While at the Baxter Building, Sue storms out when Reed once again ignores her in favor of his experiments. While finally, Johnny arrives at his first day of college at Metro University. There he meets Wyatt Wingfoot and the two become fast friends, but as the two are meeting with the Dean, Johnny can't help but think about Crystal who is still now trapped in the Hidden Land behind Maximus' Negative Zone barrier.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Silver Surfer, Alicia Masters, Watcher, Wyatt Wingfoot, Galactus, Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon), Ricardo Jones (unidentified), Jim Thorne, Belle Thorne, Whitey Mullins

Continuity Notes

• The portions of this story that pertain to Galactus are retold from a different perspective in Marvels #3.

• The Silver Surfer is exiled on Earth at the end of this story thanks to a barrier placed around the Earth by Galactus. The Silver Surfer basically remains trapped on Earth for many years, finally breaking free in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #1.

• The man interested in the Thing is a man named Ricardo Jones, as revealed in Web of Spider-Man #69.

• Wyatt Wingfoot is later identified as a member of the Keewazi people in Fantastic Four #80. The Keewazi are a band of Native Americans who reside in Oklahoma.

• The barrier placed around the homeland of the Inhumans was erected in Fantastic Four #48, it is not destroyed until Fantastic Four #59.