[woman] Oh, my gosh. I can't believe it's the Fantastic Four!
[man] Hey, Torch, how about a picture?
[second man] Can I have your autograph?
Hey, Susie, going out for dinner's your worst idea
since you put curtains on the Fantasticar.
Sorry, Ben. I was hoping it'd break Johnny
out of his funk over losing Crystal.
Johnny, could I please have your autograph?
- Huh, sure. - Make it to Frankie. That's me.
Flamehead's gotta be lower than a well-digger's toenails
when he doesn't notice a hot tamale like that.
So, Ben, how's Alicia?
Huh? Oh, uh, fine.
Heh, heh. Hey, let's eat.
Oh, I've been reading about you all the time.
It must be incredible soaring up there in the clouds like that!
- Flying and... - Yeah, it's the best.
Oh...
- Frankie? What is it? - That kiss. I feel strange.
- What'd you do to her, kid? - I didn't do anything.
She burst into flame all on her own!
I'm all right. I feel fine.
In fact, I've never felt better.
- [people gasp] - [Frankie whoops and laughs]
Flame on! Hey, wait.
Come on, Johnny. Catch me if you can.
Frankie, wait! Don't go any higher!
What's the matter, Johnny? Can't you keep up?
What...? Help!
- Gotcha! - What happened?
Up this high, the atmosphere's too thin to support your flames.
And I was worried it was something serious!
Frankie, this transformation is big-time serious.
Oh, sorry, Johnny.
How about we fly back to Reed's lab and let him run some tests?
And get you some fireproof clothes.
Whatever you say, hot stuff!
Very good, Frankie. I think the hypnoscanner has discovered
the cause of your inflammatory transmogrification.
Transmoggafag...
Look, that's just peachy, Stretcho.
from when you were six years old.
My stepfather's lab! I was never supposed to go in there.
[Reed] Oh, well, apparently you didn't always obey.
It seems your stepfather was involved in chemical research
in an attempt to create an android human torch for the military.
[Thing] Daddy's little helper!
Uh-oh.
Oh, my gosh! She's burning!
She's all right, Sue. See? Frankie wasn't hurt.
Her young mind simply blotted out the traumatic incident.
Cosmic!
So somehow my body absorbed that stuff in the beaker.
And contact with Johnny provided the catalyst necessary
to activate the dormant molecular instability...
Come on, professor, you're givin' me a brainache!
You know, it's funny, but ever since I was little
I just knew I was destined for something special.
Come on, Johnny! Let's light up the skies.
Teach me some of those killer moves of yours!
Oh, my pleasure.
I'm glad Matchhead's finally checked outta Heartbreak Hotel.
Well, who knows?
We may soon be changing our name to the Fantastic Five.
Oh... I don't know, Reed,
I just hope Johnny isn't just rebounding from one heartache to another.
- Okay, I'm ready! - Okay, let's light our fires!
Hey, we're just like the song.
¶ Frankie and Johnny were... ¶
- What's with the light show? - Oh!
Frankie!
No!
Bow before me!
Humble your pitiful selves before the might of Terrax!
Oh, sure, pal.
Right after I'm through curtseyin' to Captain Kangaroo!
Careful, Ben! Terrax is Galactus' new herald.
The one who replaced the Silver Surfer.
Thor and I encountered him once before.
Oh, yeah?
Well, if he's thinkin' about settin' up my worid
as a smorgasbord for Mr. Purple Planet Eater.
Fool!
Terrax commands all soil and rock!
Foolish striplings!
Johnny!
On your knees! I command you!
My body courses with the power cosmic bestowed upon me
by Galactus himself.
Special delivery for Mr. Terrax.
Holy maloney!
I grow weary of this play.
Let the city entire behold my might and fear me!
It... it can't be.
The entire island of Manhattan is rising into the air!
Form a force bubble over the entire city!
If Terrax takes it into airless space...
Here goes.
Don't know how long I can sustain it!
You see the power I command!
Now, obey me or your entire city perishes.
What does one city matter, if you've led Galactus here
to devour our entire planet?
Ignorant fool! I am the herald of Galactus no more!
In all the universe,
only you four have defeated Galactus in battle.
For that very reason, you must battle him again.
And this time, you must end the menace of Galactus for ever.
[all gasp]
Nuts, and I wanted the weekend off.
- He's coming! - Who's coming?
[Reed] Galactus!
- How did you...? - I don't know. I just felt it.
Go!
Destroy the devourer of planets.
Hey, when did we become hired guns
for every unemployed herald in the galaxy?
Ben, we've no choice!
Millions of lives are at stake, and Sue can't maintain the bubble for ever!
Sue, open the bubble just enough to quickly let us through.
- Galactus! - I've been awaiting you.
Then you know we've been sent by Terrax.
Yeah, any special reason Mr. Charm out there
wants to put you out to pasture?
Behold, Benjamin Grimm,
the manner in which cosmic events unfolded.
When the Silver Surfer broke faith with Galactus
to protect that pale blue orb which is your Earth,
I searched the galaxy for a herald
devoid of any and all morality.
I chose Tyros, a bloodthirsty tyrant on his home worid.
A being without morals, without guilt.
I imbued Tyros with the power cosmic,
thus recreating him as my new herald.
Terrax.
He laughed as I devoured his planet, his people, his family.
Gladly did he go forth to find new life-sustaining worids
to feed my hunger.
Yet Terrax was not content with the role of servant.
He longed once more to be a king.
However, he served me faithfully
until the day he discovered Antos,
a planet whose very life essence was corrupted
by pollution and radioactivity.
A planet seething with anti-life.
Terrax sought to poison me
with the negative life essence of Antos.
He nearly succeeded.
I was weakened, but did not die.
Terrax fled to Earth to escape my wrath.
Now he has sought your help in destroying me!
In my weakened state, he may well succeed.
I detect no battle within Galactus' ship.
Can it be that Galactus is too weak to fight?
Then let Terrax himself finish what he has begun!
No!
Frankie!
- What are you doing? - I couldn't help it, Johnny.
I couldn't let him destroy Galactus.
Stretch, check out the Big G.
His equipment's absorbing Terrax's energy.
Every time Terrax uses his power,
he makes Galactus stronger!
So that's why Wing-hat's kept us alive up here,
to sucker Terrax into a fight.
- Which means... - I know what it means.
It's clobberin' time!
Enough!
No! You are weak... Dying!
Insolent worm!
Have you not yet learned who is master and who is slave?
The power cosmic is mine to bestow.
And mine to reclaim!
No! No!
No!
Terrax is no more!
What a revoltin' development this is.
Kinda puts me in the mood for some fishin', though!
In gratitude for your aid, Reed Richards,
I now undo that which Terrax has done.
- Sue! Darling! - I'm all right.
The scale is again in balance. All is as it was.
What is it? What's wrong?
The poison of Antos.
Its dark venom overtakes me sooner than I had expected.
To survive, Galactus must feed now.
And upon your Earth!
Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew ain't gonna just sit around
on his dainty orange patootie
while Old Square Eyes turns planet Earth
into a blue-plate special!
Hey!
Stinkin' ingrate! We saved you!
Galactus, I beg you. Stop in the name of humanity.
What knows Galactus of humanity?
I do what I must.
And so do I, you helmet-headed heel.
Galactus is just doing what he must to survive.
Reed, look! It's Thor!
Stay thy hand, villain! I command thee halt!
Hey, Goldilocks is hoggin' all the fun!
Flame on! C'mon, Frankie! Let's get him!
I... I... No!
- Uh... - I don't believe it!
Johnny, he's still alive.
We must keep him away from his converter.
Even weakened, Galactus is infinitely more than a match for us.
[male voice] Hear me, Galactus.
Holy smoke!
Am I missin' something?
Is everybody around here on fire but me?
They call me Ghost Rider.
I am summoned when innocent blood is shed.
And you have shed much innocent blood.
[Johnny] Ghost Rider. I thought he was a myth!
Who called him? When did this become a superhero convention?
Do you dare face the agony of those you have slain?
Mortal or demon, whichever you be, begone!
Galactus has no time for games!
This is no game!
No!
Feel the torment of a billion billion extinguished souls.
Experience the pain of eternal guilt.
- No! - [wailing]
Oh...
My task is complete.
I leave you now, Galactus, in mortal hands!
I gotta lay off Aunt Petunia's pink lemonade.
Reed! Is it my imagination or is Galactus starting to shrink?
The giant doth feed upon his own body to survive.
Then it's finally happened. Galactus is dying.
No! You have to save him! Galactus isn't evil.
He simply is what he is. A force of nature.
And he deserves your help as much as any living creature.
You're right, Frankie. Galactus must live.
Aw, my sweet bunions.
This superhero stuff gets more complicated every day.
If such is your decisión, Reed Richards, Thor will not question it.
Let the power of my enchanted hammer
sustain the giant whilst you ponder this dilemma!
Well, I have monitored several uninhabited planets in the Lambda Sector
with the life essence Galactus needs.
But I've no way to pinpoint their exact location.
And Galactus no longer has a herald to search them out.
Then there's only one solution.
Mighty Galactus, spare the Earth
and I will become your new herald.
[Johnny] Frankie, no!
Do you realize what you're saying?
- I do. - But what about... us?
Don't you see, Johnny? Your destiny is with Crystal.
You must know that. Mine is with Galactus.
Somehow, I've always known it deep in my soul.
My herald.
Stand back. He hath absorbed energy anew.
Let the power cosmic join with your own.
Behold Nova, Herald to Galactus!
Frankie! Frankie, wait!
Turn back, Johnny Storm.
Where I go, you may not follow.
I'm free!
Free! I'm free!
[laughs]
Wait!
Air's too thin...
Goodbye, Frankie.
Reed Richards, you saved my life
when it would have been far easier to do otherwise.
For this act, Galactus willingly renews
his pledge to spare your planet.
Perhaps here, as nowhere else in the limitless cosmos,
Galactus has found those he might dare name...
friends.