Fantastic Four #171
Death is a Golden Gorilla!
In order to find out the limits of Ben's new Thing exo-suit, by having him beat up a specially prepared Life Model Decoy. Ben knocks the creature out surprising Reed who only figured that the suit would make Ben as strong as Power Man but it turns out that the suit is just as strong as his old form. Ben, however, can do nothing but complain before taking the suit off and going to take a shower. After his shower, Ben realizes that he is growing insecure as he used to be the strongest man on Earth until Thor, and other super-strong heroes began turning up. Walking through the Baxter Building, Ben happens upon Sue in the middle of a training session and finds that even Sue's powers are getting stronger. Talking about the benefits of being human again, Sue points out that Alicia is really enjoying taking care of Franklin and suggests that perhaps Alicia is becoming interested in being a mother.
Meanwhile, Johnny Storm has managed to convince his new love interest Frankie Raye to go out on another date to the Central Park Zoo. When asking her why she fled when he fought the Crusader as the Human Torch, however, Frankie can't explain her fear. They are interrupted by the sound of an alien craft that suddenly passes overhead. When the ship lands the police arrive and surround it. From inside the ship emerges a golden gorilla, and once exiting the ship the ape begins to grow in size. Instinctively, Johnny flames on to go into action at the Torch until he realizes that Frankie is horrified and goes back to her. The police cannot stop the ape and it goes a rampage across the city, ending up at the Baxter Building, where it smashes it's fist through the wall and grabbing Sue before climbing up to the roof of the building.
Reed and Ben rush to the Fantsticar to fly up to the roof and attack the golden ape that has nabbed Sue. Their attacks are ineffective and the beast easily fights them off. At Frankie's apartment, Johnny hears a radio report about the golden gorilla's attack on the Baxter Building and cannot stay on the side lines any long and rushes off to rescue his family, leaving Frankie behind in tears. When Johnny arrives, his flame powers frighten the creature, however he throws Ben at him, knocking both out of the sky, prompting Reed to break off his attack and save them.
Sue manages to break free by putting an invisible force field between her and the ape's grip freeing herself from it's grasp and getting to safety. On Reeds orders, Sue puts an invisible force field around the giant ape cutting off it's air until it passes out. As the ape falls off the roof of the Baxter Building it begins to reduce in size, and is saved from a fatal fall by the Human Torch. Taking the creature inside and restraining it, Reed and the others are shocked to find that the ape can talk. Introducing itself as Gorr, the ape tells them that he has travelled 200,000 miles to Earth to seek out the Fantastic Four's aid in stopping Galactus.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Frankie Raye, Gorr
Continuity Notes
Ben is testing out the limits on his new exosuit that mirrors the powers he lost in Fantastic Four #167. He began wearing this suit in Fantastic Four #169 and will continue to do so until his powers are restored in Fantastic Four #175.
Johnny and Frankie Raye go on a second date in this story, their first date was interrupted by the Crusader in Fantastic Four #164.
Frankie Ray's fear of Johnny is because at this moment she suffers from pyrophobia as explained in Fantastic Four #238. It stemmed from the fact that he stepfather Phineas Horton -- creator of the original android Human Torch -- accidentally doused her in chemicals that endowed her with flame powers of her own. Horrified by what he had done, Horton used hypnosis to submerge those memories and give her a fear of fire.
Johnny compares Gorr to Tomazooma. Johnny fought a robot of Tomazooma in Fantastic Four #80.
Later Johnny compares Frankie to his first girlfriend, Doris Evans. Johnny dated Doris from Strange Tales #113-133. The couple broke up in Fantastic Four #45 when Doris decided to start dating other men after growing tired of Johnny's life as a super-hero.
When Reed uses his stretching powers he begins favouring his left arm. Although it is unspoken until Fantastic Four #174, this is a visible sign of the fact that Reed is losing his powers, something he first noticed back in Fantastic Four #157. Reed eventually loses his powers completely by Fantastic Four #178 but gets them restored in Fantastic Four #197.
Reed shackles Gorr to the same device he used to restrain the Hulk in Fantastic Four #166.
Gorr mentions the renewed threat of Galactus. The Fantastic Four last clashed with the world devourer in Fantastic Four #120-123.
