Fantastic Four (1961 series) #20

Reed Richards is examining a meteor and finds it hard to penetrate so Thing pulls a large chunk off revealing something inside which he determines is dehydrated organic matter. He's excited because it proves there must be life out in space. (Has he so soon forgotten the Skrulls, Kurrgo, Impossible Man and the Watcher?) Then Johnny Storm spots a large blazing ball in the street and flies out as Human Torch to investigate, but it's whirling so fast he drags him into orbit around it. Mr Fantastic tries to enclose it in a box of his pliable body but it passes through him like X-rays. Thing rips up a massive water main from under the street fire water at it but the jet is directed back at him, and Reed complains they'll have to pay the City for the damage (he's not complained lots of other times!). Invisible Girl probes it with a rod but it sucks her in and the other 3 follow to save her ...

... and find themselves in the presence of the Watcher (from #13). He tells them he sent the ball to fetch them to him because there's a menace on Earth which could endanger the Galaxy and might even threaten his own people. He shows them an image of a puny Earth lab technician who could even destroy the universe. Then he shows them what happened to this man who was a lowly disgruntled employee of Acme Atomics Corp. But while he was bemoaning his fate at work he didn't keep his mind on the job and he was hit by an atomic blast which left lightning-like marks on his face (and even made his lips jagged). But now suffused with power and carrying a wand he went to the company president and used the wand to turn the molecules of the air around the man to ice. He called himself the Molecule Man because he has total control of molecules.

Now with a gesture the Watcher returns the Fantastic Four to New York via the energy ball. But once there they find that the Baxter Building skyscraper containing their HQ had been torn away from its foundations. And they also find that no-one's around because everyone's gone to Times Square where the MM is standing on the front of the building which he has hovering over the square. Mr Fantastic attacks but the foe turns the bricks of a nearby wall into a giant fan whose blades snatch at the elastic hero and hurl him away. Then he turns air into 2 giant magnets with opposite poles to attract his hands and feet to stretch Stretcho a *really* long way. Human Torch flies to the rescue and melts the magnets, and Thing catches MrF as he falls. Then HT attacks the villain but is met with a fireproof shield. MM adds a spring to the base of his surrounding shield to bounce out of the way of Torch's nova fireball, then converts the shield to a parachute to land safely. When threatened by Thing he magics the road surface into a towering barrier that Ben Grimm falls down, but then just smashes through. MM zaps him with all the 'molecules' of electricity from a big theatre billboard and Thing has to escape by diving down a manhole. But MM causes pipework and cables to come alive and wrap around our hero until HT does the melty thing again. Reed and Sue have been hiding in the tunnel Ben made through the upraised street. Now they make a planned concerted attack. Mr Fantastic distracts the foe who sends wall bricks at him again while Invisible Girl sneaks up and tries to grab his wand. But MM won't let go and causes her to get wrapped like a mummy in newspaper pages. Reed's elastic arm pulls her away and Thing rips the papers off. HT surrounds the bad guy with flame giving the FF time to escape to make a new plan.

Molecule Man causes a wooden water tower to bend over and douse the flames. Cops try to arrest him but he creates a transparent barrier which their bullets bounce off. Our team use the subway to get away but MM creates an air-porous dome over the city and demands that the populace bring the FF to him. But the Yancy Street Gang won't let anyone *else* hassle their favourite target Thing so they get the team safely to the apartment of Ben's girlfriend Alicia. Reed has noticed that MM only changes inorganic molecules never living things, and he gambles that it's because he *can't*. So he gets the blind sculptress to make 4 'statues' of them. She then uses the FF flare gun to signal to the villain who arrives on a giant slide made from dust in the air. He sees statues of the heroes and decides to mess with them but they don't respond and he suffers intense feedback which makes him drop the wand. The team  reveal that the 'statues' are just them covered in plaster and MrF reaches out and picks up the wand. At that moment the glowing sphere reappears and takes the menace away. Watcher pops in to say that he wasn't allowed to interfere with their battle but now that they've won he can take the villain somewhere safe. (Sounds to me more like Uatu knew that MM with the wand could beat *him*.) He also mentions that he's undone all MM's changes, including putting the Baxter Building back where it belongs. The team have the wand which now seems harmless.