FANTASTIC FOUR #255

"TRAPPED!"
Chronicler: John Byrne | Letterer: Jim Novak | Colorist: Glynis Wein
Editor: Al Milgrom | Tall: Jim Shooter

The Plot: As Daredevil patrols Manhattan, he bumps into an invisible barrier and sets out to find its cause. Meanwhile, Annihilus reveals to Alicia Masters that he plans to merge the Negative Zone with our reality, destroying both. He then reveals his true face to Alicia and prepares to kill her.

In the Negative Zone, the Invisible Girl, the Thing, and the Human Torch fight Taranith, but he escapes to the bridge of his starship and takes off with the Fantastic Four aboard. As the FF make their way to the bridge, Mister Fantastic’s intellect lives on in Taranith’s computer and he asserts control over the ship. Taranith departs in an escape pod, but it explodes.

Reed sets course for the Negative Zone portal, and two weeks later, as the FF make their final approach, he gains control over his body using a cyber-helmet. But the FF are soon alerted to the fact that the portal has been destroyed, leaving them stranded in the Negative Zone.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Annihilus explains to Alicia that his body is wasting away thanks to an encounter with rival warlord Blastaar in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #75.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #241

"IN THE BEGINNING..."
Scripter: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Frank Giacoia
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Glynis Wein | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man comes around, still inside the New York Coliseum, then snags a walkie talkie from Lt. Kris Keating and goes in search of a spider-tracer with which he tagged the Vulture during their fight. The police are also in pursuit of the winged villain and his captive, Gregory Bestman, and Spider-Man hitches a ride on a police chopper which chases the Vulture to a wooded area on Staten Island. The Vulture enters the forest and Spider-Man follows, while the police circle overhead.

The Vulture takes Bestman to his "Vulture's Nest", a farmhouse and silo filled with technological gear and, as Spider-Man listens in, recaps his origin as an ex-business partner of Bestman's driven to crime by the other man's underhanded business practices. As the Vulture prepares to finish Bestman, Spider-Man drops in and challenges his old foe. Their fight takes them out into the woods, where Spider-Man uses the close quarters to his advantage and defeats the Vulture.

The web-slinger turns his enemy over to Lt. Keating, who reveals to Bestman that the police overheard the Vulture's entire story and believes the District Attorney may want to hear it as well. Later that day, photos of the Vulture's capture, taken by Spider-Man's automatic camera, grace the front page of the Daily Bugle.