- Title: Fantastic Four #48
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Stan Lee
- Artist: Jack Kirby
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the first appearance of Galactus as Fantastic Four Week continues. Released at the end of 1965, Fantastic Four #48 begins with the Fantastic Four defeating Maximus, in kind of a weird disconnected story, and returning home to find the skies of New York on fire. Inside the Baxter Building, the group are met by the Watcher who is attempting to shield the planet of prying eyes from the most dangerous threat the Fantastic Four, or the Earth, have ever encountered.
Despite his attempts to hide the planet, Earth is discovered by the Silver Surfer (a character conceived by Jack Kirby as an afterthought who would become pivotal to Stan Lee’s three-issue tale and beyond and become one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time), who calls his master: Galactus, the devourer of worlds to feed on the planet.
Although the first-half of the issue is completely superfluous, and the Watcher’s scheme is a bit hairbrained, the comic works in introducing us to both the characters of the Surfer and his master who will reappear in the next two issues with the Surfer finding things about Earth to appreciate, and fight for, and the Fantastic Four (with lots of help from the Watcher) warding off Galactus and leaving the Earth safe once more.
[Marvel, 12¢]