Fantastic Four Vol 1 50

Brief Summary:
The Silver Surfer confronts Galactus and tries to force him to leave the Earth. No matter how hard he tries, the Surfer is not able to overpower his master. Meanwhile, the Human Torch returns from his mission with the Ultimate Nullifier which Reed uses to threaten Galactus. Afraid of the weapon's power, Galactus agrees to leave Earth alone. As punishment, he banishes the Surfer to Earth forever. With the crisis over, life goes back to normal. Sue gets mad at Reed ignoring her and Johnny attends his first day at college.

Detailed Summary:
The Silver Surfer arrives to try and stop his master from destroying the Earth. No matter how hard he tries he is not able to stop Galactus. However, the confrontation does give Johnny the time he needs to return from Galactus's ship out in deep space with the one weapon that can stop Galactus: The Ultimate Nullifier. When Reed threatens to use it against Galactus, he agrees to spare the Earth and leave if Reed gives him back the weapon.

True to his word, Galactus leaves but not before first relieving the Silver Surfer of his herald duties and removing the Silver Surfer's space-time powers. The Silver Surfer is thus exiled on the planet he vowed to save, no longer able to roam the galaxies. After the battle Alicia arrives to thank the Silver Surfer for his help, causing the jealous Thing to think that she's choosing the Surfer over him. The Thing quietly walks away feeling nothing but rejection. The Silver Surfer also departs, vowing to return once he's traversed all the Earth.

As life returns to normal the press dismisses the Galactus fiasco as a hoax. While one man takes interest in news reports of the Thing roaming the city, at Metro College the unreliable football star Whitey Mullins gives Coach Thorne a tongue lashing after being scolded for not being a team player. At the Baxter Building, Sue storms out when Reed once again ignores her in favor of his experiments. Finally, Johnny arrives at his first day of college at Metro University. There he meets Wyatt Wingfoot and the two become fast friends, but as the two are meeting with the Dean, Johnny can't help but think about Crystal who is still trapped in the Hidden Land behind Maximus's Negative Zone barrier.

Notes

The portions of this story that pertain to Galactus are retold from a different perspective in Marvels #3.
To date there is no known origin for the Ultimate Nullifier. Although referenced and seen in many flashbacks and alternate reality tales, the Nullifier native to Earth-616 is not seen for many years until Fantastic Four #341.
The Silver Surfer is exiled on Earth at the end of this story thanks to a barrier placed around the Earth by Galactus. The Silver Surfer remains trapped on Earth for many years, finally breaking free in Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #1.
Defeated here, Galactus is next seen in Thor #134 where a group of Rigellians and Thor narrowly avoid an encounter with the world devourer.
The man interested in the Thing is named Ricardo Jones, as revealed in Web of Spider-Man #69.
Wyatt Wingfoot is later identified as a member of the Keewazi people in Fantastic Four #80. The Keewazi are a band of Native Americans who reside in Oklahoma.
The barrier placed around the homeland of the Inhumans was erected in Fantastic Four #48. It is not destroyed until Fantastic Four #59.
The Thing refers to the Silver Surfer as a gleamin' gladiator, foreshadowing what he will become in the Planet Hulk story in the Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #95.

Trivia

The Mail page contains a letter from a 14 year old fan named Gerard Conway. He will grow up to be better known as Marvel Editor-in-Chief Gerry Conway (amongst other things).

Links and References

References

Marvel Database

Fantastic Four Vol 1 50

Appearing in "The Startling Saga of the Silver Surfer!"

Synopsis for "The Startling Saga of the Silver Surfer!"

Notes

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