Cover by Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr. Script by Steve Gerber, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Joe Sinnott
"Vengeance of the Molecule Man!"
The Thing, still trying to get home, sees a magazine cover featuring the Man-Thing in a small town Bus Station. Upset by the similarity of his and Man-Thing's names, he decides to travel to Florida instead of New York.
The Molecule Man, confined to his other-dimensional prison, tells his son to avenge him by destroying the Fantastic Four, and then apparently dies. The construct then undergoes a process similar to that which gave Molecule Man his powers. He attempts to teleport to New York City, but instead appears in the Florida Everglades, face to face with the Man-Thing.
The Thing arrives and is surprised to see the Molecule Man. He charges the villain, but the Molecule Man uses his wand to transform both the Thing and the Man-Thing back into their human forms. The two men are believed to be human again, but realize that they must still stop the Molecule Man before he fulfils his vow to destroy the entire Fantastic Four.
By the time they catch up to him, the Molecule Man has reached the nearby town of Citrusville and is wreaking havoc with the powers of his wand. He even turns an innocent pedestrian into a likeness of Mister Fantastic and kills him. The Molecule Man notices that Ben Grimm and Ted Sallis seem more compassionate and driven to stop him in their human form than in their more monstrous forms, so he transforms them back to the way they were before. It is his wish see the two destroy each other. The Thing punches his fist through the Man-Thing's body and withdraws a fistful of muck. He hurls the slime at the Molecule Man, striking his wand. The cosmic device flies from his hand and rolls through some cracks in the wreckage. As the wand is the reservoir for his power, the Molecule Man desperately tries to retrieve it. His power levels are quickly depleted his life essence drains away. After the construct dies, the Thing recovers the Molecule Man's wand, while the Man-Thing instinctively begins lumbering back to his swamp. The Thing hands the now-powerless device to a nearby child.
Related:
"Inside Black Spectre!":
Daredevil, the Black Widow, Mr. Fantastic (of the Fantastic Four), and Wundarr guest star
Ben brings the mysterious man Wundarr to his big-brained buddy, Reed Richards for some tests. Plus, Thing and Daredevil take on the secret criminal organization known as Spectre, but why is Horn Head's erstwhile girlfriend, the Black Widow, working for them? The letters page includes Marvel Value Stamp #89 (Hammerhead).
"Only the Swamp Survives!":
Guest-starring the Man-Thing, Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, and the Howling Commandos
When the Thing crash-lands in the middle of the dark foreboding swamp he comes face-to-face with the macabre Man-Thing. Plus, see Ben Grimm in a flashback adventure side-by-side with Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos.
