This tale opens with Sub-Mariner being hailed as their Prince by his Atlantean people who he has found in their new city of Atlantis somewhere in the Atlantic. In particular he is greeted by his old love Lady Dorma who in Namor's long absence has pledged to marry Warlord Krang. Krang is unhappy to see her return to Namor's side and swears to win both her and the crown from his rival.
The Fantastic Four are at home in the Baxter Building where Human Torch plays 1 of his tricks on Thing and their resulting fight causes lots of damage especially to some of Sue Storm's expensive clothes. Reed Richards makes it up to her by booking them all on an Atlantic cruise. (They actually go for free because the cruise line likes the publicity.) Reed is especially interested in some recent sightings of sea monsters on their route. Ben Grimm's girlfriend Alicia accompanies him, and teenage Johnny Storm leaves the couples to go looking for girls.
But sea monsters they do see and the team take a rowboat to investigate. Torch flies around until a large archer fish shoots a gas bubble at him which makes him fall asleep so he falls into the water. Mr Fantastic extends his body into the ocean to try to save Sue's brother but he's engulfed by an giant magnetic sea shell. And a large squid-like fish encloses the boat containing Thing and Invisible Girl in a membrane and drags them down to join the other 2 in an air-filled plasti-dome where Prince Namor addresses them and welcomes them to his empire.
He tells Sue that as usual she herself need not fear him, but she replies that she stands with her teammates. Subby shows them the huge tele-fish who's sensitive spines recorded images of them on the cruise ship which it can later project through its eyes. Ben is particularly incensed by an image of Alicia. But Namor tells them that he has created a jet current which is currently speeding the ship back to New York. He explains that he caused the display of sea monsters to lure MrF here, and now he will send them back with a message to the United Nations - that he claims the 7 Seas and the air above them for Atlantis and no surface boats or planes are allowed there.
He tells them to go to the transparent 'rocket' at the end of the plasti-dome. It uses concentrated water pressure to propel them out of the ocean and into the sky. Atlantean science then guides the rocket to NY where its 'plastic' body forms a parachute behind it to land them safely on the roof of their HQ where it evaporates to nothing. Ben rushes off to make sure Alicia gets back safely. Reed and Sue separately brood over her attraction to the undersea 'villain'.
Richards contacts the UN and relays Sub-Mariner's ultimatum. The Russian leader denounces it as a capitalist plot. An expert on the Atlanteans tells the assembly of the history of Homo Mermanus. Just as the ancestors of the mammalian whales returned from the land to the sea so too did some proto-humans. They gradually developed their own civilisation in their own way. They domesticated some sea life, eg dolphins, just as man made use of eg horses and dogs. They too developed warfare, arts and science into the legend that we dimly recall as Atlantis. Then in 1920 Capt Leonard McKenzie of the ice-breaker Oracle used depth charges in the Antarctic that accidentally damaged the undersea city of Atlantis. The king sent his daughter Princess Fen to lead an expedition to investigate, but she impulsively went alone. She climbed onto the ship and met its occupants. Over time she learned their language and she and McKenzie fell in love and were married. But the king sent a war party to 'rescue' her, McKenzie was killed and Fen was taken home. But she was pregnant and the amphibian Sub-Mariner was born.
Richards takes over to say that Namor has been an enemy of mankind ever since an underwater H-Bomb test accidentally destroyed Atlantis. In FF#4 he returned to attack coastal cities with monsters like Giganto. The FF have fought him several times since, driving him back but never defeating him, and Richards has warned the world of the danger he poses. Now is the time to decisively defeat him.
At this the expert throws off his disguise to reveal himself to be Namor who declares war and flies out of the UN building to signal to his flagship in New York Harbour. Atlantean subs immediately dock at the Harbour and disgorge tanks, troop carriers and flying craft. The Atlantean troopers wear fishbowl helmets filled with water to breathe. Their 1st move is to round up all the police and imprison them in their own jails. Some of the flying craft encase the upper floors of the Baxter Building in quick-drying cement to trap the FF. But HT burns a way through and attacks the planes. Inside Reed discovers that the invasion is happening all over the world. He sends Thing out to capture some prisoners and their equipment so he can examine them for weaknesses. Some troops have a cannon trained on the entrance of the building. He jams his fist into its barrel so it explodes and knocks the soldiers out. Then he carries them inside. Richards deduces from their water-helmets that Namor is the only 1 who can breathe air. So he plans to evaporate all their water.
Namor declares the city under martial law, and any defiance will earn swift retribution. The Pentagon won't send the army in for fear of what he'll do to the citizens. And of course they can't bomb the place. Meanwhile Richards has built a large device with the help of Sue. But he hasn't bolted it to the floor and it topples over towards them both. He pushes Sue out of the way and his flexible body survives being crushed until Ben lifts it off him. But he's injured and it's up to Ben and Sue to operate the machine. Sub-Mariner is leading a triumphal march through the streets with Kang at his side. Suddenly there's an eerie hum and the troops lose all the water in their helmets. They have to flee back into the ocean. Prince Namor learns that it's happening all over the globe. And he knows Mr Fantastic must be responsible.
He rushes into the FF HQ and finds his weakened arch-enemy lying on a couch. MrF allows Subby to compress him against a wall like a spring, but then springs back knocking the foe over. He bounces around like a rubber ball until SM catches him and stretches him into a punching bag which he hits. But then the other 3 arrive. Thing tries to hit him but only punches through a wall. Torch attacks him with flames but Subby opens a gas jet and flies Invisible Girl out of a window before the explosion blasts the 3 male FFers.
When they recover Johnny Storm flies out to save his sister. Over the ocean he creates a probe of flame that Reed taught him to construct, and starts scanning for a Subbymarine. Sue is captive inside Namor's flagship in a room where the air is moist enough for Atlanteans to survive without helmets. Dorma and Krang are there too. Torch's heat sonar is detected and Subby flies out to confront him. He throws sprocket-fish to smother him with gum but HT dodges them all and directs his flame into the shallow ocean to a dormant volcano which erupts showering Namor with boulders. Then a 'vacuum cleaner' sea-creature tries to suck Torch in but Mr Fantastic shows up to strangle its 'throat'. He and Thing have arrived in Reed's experimental U-Car. The 3 heroes attack but their foe curls MrF's pliable body into a candle-snuffer to snuff out HT's flame. The 2 fall into the water and swim to the U-Car where Thing waits. But the monarch of the seas sends 3 hammerhead sharks to disable their craft.
Inside the Atlantean flagship Sue begs Krang to do something to stop the fight before any of the 4 men are injured. Krang realises that she has feelings for Namor as well as her teammates, and that the Prince reciprocates the emotion. Krang hopes that this means Dorma will return to loving *him*, but the jealous female smashes a porthole to let the water in and kill her rival. With her hands bound behind her desperate Invisible Girl takes a deep breath and dives through the porthole into the ocean. Meanwhile Namor is fighting Thing on top of the U-Car. They fall into the water and both see Sue snagged in some kelp. They free her and bring her to the U-Car. Reed determines that she needs immediate medical attention but their U-Car can't move. Subby dives into the ocean to his waiting flagship. He orders everyone out to lighten the ship because he needs it to take Sue to hospital as fast as possible. Dorma and Krang are angry but must obey.
Namor steers the flagship to the U-Car and takes Sue away. He can't afford their extra weight so he leaves the other 3 to repair their craft. Reed say where Sue's life is at stake he *trusts* Namor. They get the U-Sub working and head home. They find out that Sue is in Manhattan General and find her in bed but recovered. The doctors say Sub-Mariner got her there just in time. Sue apologises to Reed for her feelings for Namor. Ben sees him walking regally through a jeering crowd. And when he takes his flagship beck to New Atlantis he finds his people have deserted it and him.
For the special marvelite in you
Story #2The fabulous Fantastic Four meet Spider-Man
Writer:
Stan Lee.
Penciler:
Jack Kirby.
Inker:
Steve Ditko.
Colorist:
Stan Goldberg.
Letterer:
Ray Holloway.
Synopsis
Spider-Man walks a web tightrope to the Fantastic Four's HQ atop the Baxter Building to ask them if he can join their team, figuring it would pay well. He swings in through an open window but trips an alarm and a plexi-glass cage starts to shut around him. However he forces the cage to open and steps iut to be met by Thing's fist, but manages to toss the big guy aside. Thing rips up the floor under his feet but Spidey leaps to stick to the wall. Dodging a thrown something he throws a web net over his opponent and sticks the end of the netting in an electric socket giving Ben Grimm a shock.
Mr Fantastic is up next. He worms his way out of more webbing and forms himself into a roller to squash the spider. But a solidified web column stops him so MrF changes tack again and swipes at Spidey with his hands turned into large bats. SM ends that by webbing Reed Richards' arms together.
Sue Storm turns invisible and whirls a lariat to corral the intruder. But Spidey dodges and then works out where Invisible Girl is and spins her round like a top. She's staggered but not so much that she can't switch on a stun-gun in the wall. But Spider-Man forms a shield out of more webbing. So IG then switches on a giant fan which blows SM away until he shoots more webbing to gum it up.
Lastly Human Torch attacks with a flame circle which Spider-Man leaps out of to stick to the ceiling, but HT uses his flame to cut that piece of ceiling free. Johnny Storm hurls lots of low-intensity firebombs but Spidey knocks them aside with a web-bat.
Sue unplugs the web net freeing Ben who pulls Reed's webbed-up arms apart. Mr Fantastic then extends his body to trap Spider-Man and asks him what he wants. He says he came here to join the team, and now they've seen the things he can do. He asks how much the job pays but is disappointed to learn that they're a non-profit organisation and it pays no salaries, just living expenses. And they say he's a wanted criminal, so Spidey webs away in disgust.