Fantastic Four #18
A Skrull Walks Among Us!
After watching the news coverage of their battle against Doctor Doom, Reed and Sue prepare to go on a test run to the Hawaiian islands in the new experimental passenger I.C.B.M. device. While they are gone the Torch and the Thing go on separate dates.
Meanwhile, in the fifth quadrant of the Andromeda galaxy, the emperor of the Skrulls has finalized his plans to destroy the Fantastic Four after his people's last failed attempt to invade the Earth. This time the Skrulls have created a new warrior called the Super-Skrull who can mimic all of the abilities of the Fantastic Four but is far more powerful than his foes. After demonstrating his powers, the Super-Skrull is given orders to conquer the Earth.
A week later, the Fantastic Four are out shopping when they hear radio reports that an alien being had landed in Times Square. They arrive just as the Super-Skrull had declared the Earth as belonging to the Skrulls and planting the Skrull flag. When a mob of people confronts the alien, the Super-Skrull easily bats them aside. When the group tries to battle the Super-Skrull, they find that they are no match for his superior abilities, especially when he combines them and uses his naturally born Skrull shape-shifting powers. When the Fantastic Four are forced to flee the scene, the Super-Skrull allows them to leave, planning on going after them later. Back in his lab, Reed begins investigating the source of the Super-Skrull's power as they are not natural. He soon deduces that the energies needed to power him are beamed from the Skrull homeworld. With this knowledge, Reed constructs a device that will jam the Super-Skrull's powers. The FF then goad the Skrull into meeting them on a deserted island for their final battle.
There, the Fantastic Four keep the Super-Skrull occupied while the Invisible Girl plants the jamming device on their foe. The device works as planned, blocking the energies needed to power the Super-Skrull. Without his powers, the Skrull is knocked into a crater on the island and is trapped below by the Torch who uses his powers to fuse sand over the opening.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Emperor Dorrek, Super-Skrull
Continuity Notes
The Fantastic Four reference their last battle with Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four #16-17.
The Skrull homeworld was identified as Tarnax IV in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10.
Emperor Dorrek VII was not named until Fantastic Four #205 he is identified as the 4th Dorrek in Marvel: The Lost Generation #11.
Reference to the the Fantastic Four first battle to the Skrulls are made in this story. That happened back in Fantastic Four #2.
