Iron Man and the Fantastic Four!

(as seen in the pages of Advanced Iron #59)

FANTASTIC FOUR #242-244

"The Trial of Galactus" - 1982

Story and art : John Byrne

For those of you who are not familiar with this saga, simply know that it is generally acclaimed at one of the greatest FF stories ever told.

The story begins with Terrax the Tamer, Galactus' herald at the time, attacking the Fantastic Four and actually levitating part of the island of Manhattan into the Earth's orbit! While the FF deal with the mad Terrax up there, other heroes are left to deal with the repercussions down here! Iron Man and Thor combine their powers to save the people trapped in the many New York tunnels that are rapidly being filled with water.

Of course, when the herald of Galactus shows his mug, you know his master isn't far behind! And so for the second cataclysmic time, the world devourer sets foot on our little planet, once more intent on having it for dinner. It is up to the FF, the Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Cap and the Wasp) and Doctor Strange to stop the hungry demi-god!

These three comics are truly excellent, this is John Byrne at the top of his form. Definitely one of his greatest masterpieces ever.

I am a huge Byrne fan myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of his great works on titles such as the X-Men, Alpha Flight, the FF, Hulk, Avengers, Omac, Superman, etc. I love his storytelling, his originality and his characterisation. I also love his art, this man will always be one of my favourite artists in American comics.

Iron Man may not play a very big part in this story, but hey, he's there and that only makes a great story even cooler. Also, let's not forget that these three comics launched a saga of cosmic proportions that would have many far-reaching repercussions in the following years. Following the events that take place in these pages, a chain of events is set in motion that will involve the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, the Skrull and Shi'ar empires, the Watcher, Odin and the living embodiment of the universe itself: Eternity (not to mention aunt May and Byrne himself who will play a part in one of his own stories).

The entire storyline (FF #242-244 and 257-262) were united into a very thick trade paperback simply entitled «The Trial of Galactus». If you like cosmic stories, then believe me, this is well worth the 13 Yankee bucks you'll pay for it.

Iron Man thinks to himself: "I hope Richards knows what he's doing; I'm doubtful we could defeat Galactus a second time tonight, and if he should fail to be grateful enough for our help… it could quite literally mean the end of EVERYTHING! "

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