Fantastic Four #242
Terrax the Untamed
In the vastness of space speeds Terrax, Herald of Galactus, and he is on a direct course for the planet Earth.
At that moment in New York City, at the Baxter Building headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Reed shows off his latest invention: a Christmas tree that collapses into itself to be easily put away. Sue is upset at Reed for taking the fun of cleaning up after the holidays, but they are distracted when Franklin launches one of the toy missiles from his Christmas gift. They are about to scold Franklin for setting it off in the house when Reed suddenly notices that the device has a label on it identifying that it does not fly by any means, bringing up old fears about Franklin's blooming mutant powers.
Meanwhile, out in Central Park, the Thing is going for a walk through the snow when he is suddenly stopped by a gang of muggers. However, they flee in a panic when they remove Ben's hat and reveal who he really is. He is soon joined by Alicia who has come seeking Ben as he has been avoiding him for a while after their encounter with the Puppet Master. Happy to see her, Ben takes Alicia into his arms and they walk off together. While in the Bowery, Frankie takes Johnny to the Village Theater where her roommate Julie Angel is participating in their latest production. This mundane visit is suddenly interrupted when one of the actors spots something strange going on in the sky. When Johnny and Frankie go outside, they see a massive dome being erected around the city and quickly flame on and make their way back to headquarters.
The Fantastic Four all convene in Reed's lab as he analyses the strange phenomenon and identifies it as some kind of space warp. Rushing into the Baxter Building are the two Torches who warn the rest of the team to look out. Suddenly the upper floors of the Baxter Building are blasted apart by Terrax, who has finally arrived on Earth intent on giving it to his master to feast upon. When the Thing tries to attack Terrax head-on, he is slammed through the floor and goes tumbling through the Baxter Building to the ground floor. Terrax then makes short work of both Johnny and Reed, but the Thing soon returns to the battle and punches Terrax into the building across the street and down into the street on the opposite side of that building. Recovering from the fall, Terrax spots the World Trade Center and decides that he will complete his mission from there. Raising his Cosmic Ax from the top of the WTC, he begins creating a barrier around the island of Manhattan that cuts it off from the rest of New York City, cutting off bridges and flooding tunnels.
As this is happening, reports reach the neighborhood of Queens where Peter Parker is spending time with his Aunt May. Hearing the news reports, Peter rushes out so he can change into Spider-Man. On the George Washington Bridge is Doctor Donald Blake, who slips away to change into Thor, and away at Stark International on Long Island, Tony Stark also sees the danger and changes into Iron Man. Daredevil also senses the danger and tries to swing into the city, but finds some barrier blocks his path. As the island begins to rise out of the ground and fly into the sky, both Thor and Iron Man pool their abilities to stop the worse of the flooding and free those trapped in the traffic tunnels that lead into the city. Meanwhile, Spider-Man tries to hitch a ride on the floating island but finds that the force field around it prevents his webbing from sticking to it.
Inside the force field, Reed orders Sue to use her powers to make the field opaque so as not to start a panic among the other New Yorkers trapped with them. Putting on space equipment, Reed, Ben and Johnny head after Terrax, ordering Frankie to stay behind to keep an eye on Sue. As the Fantastic Four head toward their enemy, panic and looting happen in the streets, earning the attention of J. Jonah Jameson and Joe Robertson of the Daily Bugle. Soon the three male members of the Fantastic Four reach the top of the World Trade Center where they confront Terrax. When they reach their foe he decides to show them where he is taking them: lowering the force field below the top of the WTC, he shows the heroes that they are quickly approaching the ship belonging to Galactus as it is en route to Earth, the next planet to be devoured by Terrax's master.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Frankie Raye, Alicia Masters, Thor, Iron Man, Terrax, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Aunt May, HUBERT
Continuity Notes
Terrax last clashed with the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #212-213 when the Fantastic Four last tired to stop Galactus from consuming the Earth. Following the end of Fantastic Four #50, Galactus promised Reed Richards that he would not consume the Earth. However, when Reed sought out Galactus to battle the Sphinx in Fantastic Four #210-211, he only agreed to do so if Reed released Galactus from his promise.
Reed and Sue are concerned about Franklin's mutant powers which first began manifesting back in Fantastic Four #129-141 and went dormant in Fantastic Four #150. They began resurfacing again in Fantastic Four #216.
Ben and Alicia mention their phony "marriage" that was part of a complex scheme put together by the Puppet Master and Doctor Doom back in Fantastic Four #236.
While walking through the Bowery, the Torch spots the old flophouse where he first discovered the Sub-Mariner as seen in Fantastic Four #4. As per Sub-Mariner #1, Namor was stricken with amnesia by Destiny and spent a lot of time up until the early modern age living in that flophouse with no memory of his past until it was reawakened by the Torch.
When Terrax attacks the Fantastic Four he mentions how they helped Galactus turn him into his Herald. This happened in Fantastic Four #211.
The appearance of the Twin Towers at the site of the World Trade Center should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
