Synopsis
In the Everglades, the megalomaniacal Victorius relates his history to the captured heroes: as Victor Conrad, he had developed a super-soldier serum for A.I.M. Injecting himself with it he became Victorius and battled Ka-Zar, resulting in an apparent fall to his death. Recovering, he fell in with the Cult of Entropy and now with the Cosmic Cube he has resurrected their dead leader into Jude, the Entropic Man, to spread their message of decay to the world. An enraged Thing leaps at Victorius and is blasted into unconsciousness by the Cosmic Cube. Captain America challenges his enemy to battle without the Cosmic Cube; Victorius proves to be a match for the super-soldier. Meanwhile, the Man-Thing, attracted by the strong emotions, emerges from the swamp and reaches out and takes the floating Cube. The Entropic Man, bored with the futility of the battle, hypnotizes Cap into adopting his nihilistic principles and beckons him into entering his cloak, which is the gateway to emptiness. Thing leaps forward and hurls Cap out of the way and is drawn into the Entropic Man’s cloak himself—and emerges as the normal Ben Grimm. The two heroes argue with Victorius in favor of life and the human spirit, causing Jude to reconsider his mission. Victorius spies Man-Thing and tries to wrest the Cube from the monster. Jude decides that life prevails in this realm and that those who seek entropy must do so of their volition. As Jude touches Victorius to take him away, the touch of entropy fills the villain with fear—and whatever knows fear burns at the Man-thing’s touch! The ensuing explosion turns Ben back into the Thing, Victorius and Jude are transformed into crystal, and the Cosmic Cube is drained of power. Cap and Ben head back to New York, and the Man-Thing touches the crystal, and its hand is restored to its human form. As the muck monster tries to remember what that signifies, it walks back into the swamp slowly reverting to muck again.