Where Stalks the Sasquatch!

After curing the Thing of the deadly Virus X, Giant-Man has collapsed as the cancer coursing through his body is getting worse. Carrying Foster back to the Baxter Building, Ben turns him over to Mister Fantastic in the hopes that Reed can find a cure for his friend. Reed tells Ben that he will try all he can do, but Ben feels guilty about being cured of Virus X, knowing that Bill could have used to antidote to cure himself of his cancer. Outside of Reed's lab, Ben is mocked by the Human Torch who tells Ben he needs to cheer up. In no mood for the Torch's juvenile behavior, he rips out a chunk of the wall and throws it at him. But the chunk of wall is deflected by Sue who scolds them for fighting in the house. The tongue lashing is interrupted when Reed emerges from his lab and tells them that the prognosis is bad, the cancer in Giant-Man's system has been consuming his internal organs and his body is showing outward signs of decay. Reed tells them that Bill is doomed unless they can get the aid of radiologist Dr. Walter Langkowski, who teaches at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The Thing agrees to try and get Langkowski's assistance and assures Bill that he will do whatever he can to save him before taking off in the Pogo Plan and setting a course for Canada. However, when the Thing arrives at McGill University, the dean tells him that Langkowski is on a vacation in western Alberta.

Meanwhile, in the Canadian Rocky's, Langkowski is enjoying the outdoors which is such a huge change from his urban life in Montreal. He has come to the Rocky's at the behest of his former teammate the Shaman, and Walter is glad to see his old friend since the Canadian government had ordered Alpha Flight to disband. Shaman is meditating over a fire and suddenly comes out of his meditative state. He warns Walter that there is some great danger in the region which will cause much chaos and destruction. When Langkowski makes light of this portent, Michael warns Walter not to jest about the dangers ordained by his magics. The pair then begin following the trail of what has drawn Shaman to this region and they uncover a long-buried cavern. Deep inside they find strange inscriptions on the wall. After sending Walter back to camp to get equipment, Shaman -- by a stroke of luck -- activates a secret doorway. On the other side, he finds massive carvings of an indigenous people and realizes that he has found the long-lost scared tomb of the ancient shamans.

While outside, Walter reaches their camp when he suddenly spots the Pogo Plane touching down. Recognizing it as belonging to the Fantastic Four, Walter decides to greet whoever is flying the ship as Sasquatch. Stripping off most of his clothing, Walter then concentrates enough to trigger his transformation into the Sasquatch. By this time the Thing has emerged from the Pogo Plane to begin searching for Langkowski. When he bumps into the Sasquatch, the two quickly become at odds about who gets to ask the questions about the other's intent. Meanwhile, the Shaman has come across a strangely carved urn. His curiosity gets the better of him and he removes the lid, accidentally freeing Ranark the Ravager. Back outside, the Thing doesn't like how the Sasquatch is approaching him and decides to defend himself in case it is an attack. The two come to blows, and as the brawl carries on the Sasquatch earns the Thing's ire when he suggests that there is joy in being an orange monster. While the Sasquatch has superior strength, the Thing has much more experience and the battle rages on. While back in the cave, Shaman unleashes some totems to attack Ranark, who easily destroys them. Then in order to learn how the world has changed in the centuries that he has been trapped in the urn, Ranark probes Shaman's mind. Seeing what the world has become, Ranark is horrified and has decided that he is going to cleanse what he sees as a travesty.

While outside, the Thing and Sasquatch continue to fight when suddenly their battle is interrupted when the mountain containing the sacred tomb explodes. Ranark emerges from the rubble, and after dismissing the two combatants announces that he intends to ravage the entire planet before taking off into the sky. Upon witnessing this, Sasquatch suggests that they put aside their differences in order to deal with the threat of this god gone mad.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Thing, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch), Sasquatch, Shaman, Giant-Man, Ranark

Continuity Notes

• This issue makes many references to the fact that Giant-Man has contracted cancer. This happened thanks to radiation he was exposed to while battling Atom Smasher in Black Goliath #3. He is eventually cured in Marvel Two-In-One #85.

• Walter mentions how the government disbanded Alpha Flight. This happened in X-Men #140. However, the group has been operating independently of the Canadian government as of Alpha Flight #1, which happened just prior to this story.

• This story states that Walter got his powers from being exposed to gamma radiation. This was also reinforced when Walter's origins were first depicted in Alpha Flight #11. However, this is not the true source of his powers. As later revealed in Alpha Flight #25 his powers are actually derived from the great beast known as Tanaraq.

• Sasquatch mentions that he once battled the Hulk. This happened in Incredible Hulk Annual #8.