A
battle in Queens between the Silver Surfer and Tyros the Destroyer destroys an
apartment building on Ocean Avenue, killing many. Among the survivors are Joan
Weis who saw the Surfer through her telescope, a burglar named Clyde Comeaux,
and Dr. Ronald Burns whose mistress is killed. Private investigator Roman
Stewart, hired to discover Dr. Burns’ infidelity, witnessed the disaster and lost
his elderly parents who also lived in the building. Clyde decides he is lucky
and commits himself to being the best thief there is. Dr. Burns was heavily
disfigured in the fire and his angry wife sues for divorce, intending to take
everything he has. A lawyer approaches Joan about joining a class action suit against
the Fantastic Four as the instigators of the battle; Joan doesn’t believe they
are responsible and turns the lawyer away. Jay Nathan forms the Ocean Ave.
Survivor’s Group and applies for government aid through FEMA and other
government agencies but is turned down. The class action suit is delayed. Roman
and Joan meet and he is interested in her theory that alien beings can be
tracked by their energy signatures….
Two
years later: Clyde is hijacking trucks belonging to the Kingpin, reasoning that
he is too small a target for the gang boss to notice—and then he learns he has
cancer. Dr. Burns is homeless, approaching former colleagues for money or drugs
to help a group of homeless and destitute people he is associated with. Joan
earns a doctorate in astrophysics and Roman comes back into her life and they
start a relationship; he still wants to confront the Silver Surfer over his
part in the disaster. She shows him her experiments in tracing the energy
signatures of cosmic beings, identifying Quasar and Super-Skrull. Joan also
mentions that Stark has invented a hand-held particle beam projector which
could theoretically kill the Surfer but she believes he is a friend to the
human race….
Months
later, Kingpin gives orders to kill Clyde, Burns is in despair over the homeless
needing more than he can give, the survivors group has been turned away by the
Supreme Court and decide to take their case to the media, Joan detects a
signature that may be the Silver Surfer on his way to Earth, Roman breaks into
Stark international and steals the particle beam projector.
The
next day, five years after the disaster, survivors arrive at the site, a new building having been erected in its place. Kingpin’s henchman
Maltese is there to murder Clyde and destroy the new building but Clyde doesn’t
care, he has only months to live. And then the Silver Surfer arrives. He knows
each of the people who survived the disaster, having saved as many as he could
during the incident, and presents the group with a huge blue diamond that will
fund homes and a new life for all the survivors. Clyde and Maltese fall out of
a window together and the Surfer catches them, sending the hitman back to his
boss with a warning and healing Clyde by withdrawing the bit of the power
cosmic which has poisoned him. The Surfer gives Burns encouragement to build a
clinic to help his destitute friends. Roman steps forward, intending to kill
the Surfer but Joan interposes her body to protect him. Roman realizes his live
for Joan outweighs the hatred he has carried for years and everything is oaky.
The Silver Surfer departs.