The Horror That Walks on Air!

Mister Fantastic has the Human Torch test out his new fireproof plastic when an alarm suddenly goes off. Reed and Sue check it out, and they soon learn that a gang of thieves is trying to break into their Baxter Building headquarters in order to steal Reed's various inventions. They manage to shoot their way through the lobby and up the private elevator. But when they attack the Fantastic Four, Sue uses her invisibility powers to make their arms disappear. This makes the masked thugs disoriented long enough for Ben, Johnny, and Reed to incapacitate the trespassers. When the cables of the elevator suddenly snap, Ben lunges out and catches them before the elevator can crash down to the ground floor and kill the hostages inside. After they get the people to safety, the Thing is approached by their landlord, Walter Collins, who is unimpressed by this recent incident and damage to his building and once again demands that the Fantastic Four pack up and leave. When Collins blows cigar smoke into Ben's face, the Thing begins to lose his temper. When Johnny starts trying to hold Ben back, a very frightened Walter Collins makes an abrupt exit.

The amusement is short lived when the Fantastic Four is suddenly contacted by Agatha Harkness through her mystical powers. She warns the Fantastic Four that there is a great danger coming to Earth from space but cannot tell them anymore before her image vanishes. Reed and the rest of the team make a run for the communicator to scan for any sightings. At that moment all around the world, people spot a strange man with a flaming cape that appears to be walking on the very air itself. With this strange visitor heading toward New York City, the Fantastic Four climb aboard the Fantasti-Car to go and meet him. When they spot the alien, Reed orders, Johnny, to get the mysterious man's attention with a fireball. The ploy works and the strange visitor follows them back to the Baxter Building. Reed then tells his team to keep them distracted while he goes down into his lab. Sue, Ben, and Johnny then begin to try and impress the alien by showing off their various super-human powers. When this fails to impress the stranger, Ben tries to rattle him by lifting up the Fantasti-Car. This also fails, but the strange alien does react to a passing Air Force jet, easily blowing it up. Seeing this from his lab, Reed calls General "Thunderbolt" Ross and has him fire missiles at their strange intruder. The mysterious alien is able to deflect the missiles with a gesture, sending them tumbling into the Hudson River. He then lands on top of the Baxter Building and shows he has equal strength with the Thing by lifting up the Fantasti-Car one-handed.

The alien then flies down to the ground below, and, when a crowd of people begins to try and rush him, he holds them back as well. When the Army arrives with tanks, the powerful alien is also able to destroy those weapons. Finally, the alien speaks, telling all gathered that the entire world is doomed. Seeing this as a threat, Johnny tries to attack, but the alien makes short work of him. As the rest of the Fantastic Four come to the aid of their youngest member, the mysterious alien then pulls a trumpet from his belt that grows to regular size. Announcing himself as Gabriel, the alien figure then begins to blow his horn, announcing the end of the world.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Agatha Harkness, Gabriel the Air-Walker, Walter Collins, General Ross

Continuity Notes

• As revealed in Fantastic Four #122 Gabriel the Air-Walker is actually a robot. It is later revealed in Thor #306 that the Air-Walker robot was based upon a Gabriel Lan a former member of the Nova Corps that was transformed into the Herald of Galactus. Galactus built after the original Air-Walker was struck down by the Ovoids.