On the street, the Human Torch, Johnny, thought, I couldn't reach Sue or Reed at all last night. Don't tell me those two were off doing something they shouldn't…
Ahead, the black-robed Doctor Doom was wrecking everything in sight. Johnny's flames roared higher and he hurled a barrage of fireballs.
Doom glanced at the incoming blasts with disdain. A heartbeat later, they struck him head-on. Johnny grinned—his heat was already near the sun's surface temperature. "Arrogant punk—take my hit and you'll be charcoal."
But when the flames burned the robe away, the figure beneath gleamed darkly—Doom's whole body had become some unknown alloy, a metal man. Johnny's proud heat barely did a thing; it couldn't inflict any meaningful damage.
"Is that all you've got?" Doom said coolly. "You little firebug."
Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, had returned to the Fantastic Four's HQ. On the big screen, a live feed showed Doom trading blows with Johnny. Reed frowned. "Who is that metal guy—and why is he fighting Johnny?"
Reed hadn't yet realized that Doctor Doom was Victor, the head of their space-probe project. When Reed and the others went into space, the solar radiation gave them powers—but it also destroyed a lot of equipment. The consortium funding the project pulled out, and Victor, furious and humiliated, blamed the Fantastic Four for everything. Discovering he'd gained tremendous power and a metallic form, he went looking for revenge; when he didn't find them, he turned to trashing the streets.
As Reed watched the screen, Sue hurried in from outside, fresh from the hotel. She looked at him, awkward, at a loss for words. Reed, still angry but focused on the crisis, said coldly, "Johnny's fighting a metal man in the street. We need to go. Now." He ran for the exit, and Sue followed at once.
Next door, a huge device filled a room—Reed's solar-radiation reversal machine. The Thing, Ben Grimm, had suffered a complete change in body and appearance; his wife had left him over it. Heartbroken, Ben had begged Reed to build a machine to turn him back. After long work, Reed succeeded. Now, restored to human form, Ben stepped out and headed toward the adjacent room.
Out on the street, Johnny strafed Doom again and again, but the searing flames still couldn't harm that hardened body.
A helicopter circled above. S.H.I.E.L.D. had, of course, noticed Doom's rampage. To stop him, they'd dispatched the Hulk and Natasha. "Big guy, this one's yours," Natasha told Banner. "Show him what you can do." Banner's face didn't change. "It's not really 'me' you need—just the Hulk." He stepped toward the open door.
On the ground, Doom slammed a fist into a parked car; the vehicle detonated, fire and shrapnel fanning in all directions. Suddenly, a figure tumbled from the sky and crashed onto the pavement in an awkward heap.
Doom glanced at the newcomer, puzzled. Seriously? If you're going to jump, why right in front of me? He dismissed the crumpled form and kept striding down the street.
Reed and Sue arrived and shouted up to the flaming figure, "Johnny! What happened—who is that metal man?"
Doom turned toward the voices, saw Reed and Sue, and his face twisted. "Reed—you finally came. That one beside you is the woman you love, right? Good. I'll send you both to hell together."
"He's Victor—how did he end up like this?" Reed breathed.
Before he could say more, a thunderous roar erupted behind Doom. He started to turn—too slow. An enormous force hammered into him and blasted him dozens of meters away. A towering green figure loomed into view: the Hulk.
Natasha stepped forward and flashed her credentials. "S.H.I.E.L.D. We're here to take him in. You can help the big guy subdue him." The Fantastic Four had previously refused S.H.I.E.L.D.'s invitation—too independent by half—but hearing Natasha, they understood the green brute was an ally.
Doom got to his feet again, unfazed. He eyed the Hulk with contempt. "Strength's too small. Hardly any bite at all."
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