Let's see, what's the most awesome thing about this issue? The first apearance of Dr. Doom? Thing wearing an eyepatch, pretending to be a pirate? Yeah, it's all pretty great.
Plot Summary
The Fantastic Four come face to face with Doctor Doom for the first time, the evil genius who would become the group's greatest foe. He attacks the Baxter Building, intending to recruit the Fantastic Four to perform a task for him. Taking the Invisible Girl hostage as a bargaining chip, Doom forces Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch, and the Thing to travel back in time via his time machine to steal Blackbeard's treasure for him.
In the past, the three heroes find more suitable clothing, and to disguise the Thing, Reed covers his eye with an eye patch and gives him a fake black beard. The three then go to a tavern, where they are drugged and shanghaied. They awake aboard a pirate ship, and escaping from the hold, they assist the pirates in a raid upon another ship, one which is loaded full of gems. Upon their success, the pirates choose the Thing to be their captain, and due to his fake black beard, they name him 'Blackbeard.'
The Thing tells Reed and Johnny that he wants to stay in the past, since he's the captain of a ship, while in the present day, he's merely a freak. Reed and Johnny try to convince him otherwise, but a tornado hits before the Thing can make a final decision. The typhoon smashes the ship to bits, and Johnny, Ben, and Reed make it to shore and recover the treasure chest, which Reed fills with old chains, claiming they never agreed to bring Doom the actual treasure, just the chest.
Doctor Doom, believing they have had enough time, recalls the trio. After a confrontation with a robot mimicking himself, he captures the trio once more, forgetting about the Invisible Woman as she manages to escape Doom's presence and free her comrades. They and Doom escape and go their separate ways.
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