Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan #3

Mar 10

Mar 10 Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big in Japan #3

Apocalypse Now!

With the threat of the Apocalypse Beast breaking the dimensional barriers between Earth and the dimension it was banished, the Fantastic Four and Iron Man have traveled to the North Pole where the barrier is weakest. Along with them is monster expert Dr. Yamane, the curator of the Giant Monster Museum in Japan. Using a tracking device to find the weakened barrier they come across the remains of the Kayama expedition which vanished forty years earlier while trying to find evidence of prehistoric life in the region.

They find a cavern blocked with ice and get Johnny to use his flame powers to melt the ice away. He uncovers an alien-looking construct hidden beneath the tonnes of ice. Entering the bizarrely organic construct the Fantastic Four and Iron Man discover that their shadows are actually a collective creature calling itself Kaa. The Kaa lead them to a massive chamber where four "keys" made of leather are needed to open a portal to free the Apocalypse Beast. Seeing that only one is missing, the heroes begin to theorize how the device works as Dr. Yamane secretly tries to remove his clothing. Sue spots him and that's when they notice he has tattoos all over his body that match the design of the other keys. He explains that he and the ill-fated Kayama expedition were secretly a cult of monster worshipers who sought to free the Apocalypse Beast. The last known survivor, Yamane was the protector of the final key and now that he has been brought to the portal he then quickly attaches himself to the device before the heroes can stop him.

Suddenly the barriers between reality are torn open and the massive Apocalypse Beast is able to tear itself through the barrier onto Earth. The Fantastic Four and Iron Man flee the underground cavern as the massive creature busts lose. Narrowly avoiding getting crushed by the creature's massive foot, the heroes climb on top of the creature and find that they are small enough to squeeze in through the pores of its skin. Hoping to find some kind of internal weakness, the Invisible Woman (wearing an invisible "suit" of compressed air) and Iron Man agree to venture inside the Apocalypse Beast, while the others try to find some way to stop it from without. Needing to get equipment to figure out where the Apocalypse Beast is headed, they are stopped by the Mole Man who knows exactly where this destroy is going: Monster Island.