Fantastic Four (1961 series) #24

The Fantastic Four are displaying their abilities for Life Magazine but the reporters seem most interested in Sue Storm. But then they rush out to catch a scoop in Times Square. The FF follow in the Fantasticar but find themselves trapped by a giant floating milk bottle. Human Torch melts a way out for them but they see that the streets have been turned into a walled maze and a giant spinning top is wandering around. HT throws a white-hot fireball which causes it to blow up, to be replaced by a big green robot. Thing smashes a way through a maze wall for himself and Invisible Girl. But when he punches the robot it generates a duplicate, and every subsequent blow multiples them until they're filling the street. Then on a hunch Mr Fantastic suggests that the police, etc turn on all their sirens ... and the robot army fades away, probably because the person behind them lost concentration.

Then they see a bulky green alien in a purple outfit wandering among pedestrians doing strange things like using beams from his antennae to turn a street lamp into a plant with berries to eat, and causing a faucet to appear in a brick wall which pours soda for him to drink. Reed Richards theorises that the alien means no harm and Sue turns invisible to study him closer. But then the flash bulbs of the press startle the being and his beams push them away. Shocked Sue turns visible which also frightens him and his beams pull a passing meteor shower from space, and some of them make it through being burned up in the atmosphere to pepper the ground around our heroine. MrF rescues her and HT stops a big 1 from hitting Ben Grimm. Reed now deduces that the alien is a child.

Gang boss Big Joe sees all this on the news and figures he can make money out of it. Some of his men cruise the area until they spot the alien and then entice him into their car with sweets.

Meanwhile the FF have retreated to their Baxter Building HQ to cook up a plan. Reed recalls the French expression enfant terrible for a child who does dreadful things. This child seems to be able to mentally do anything on a whim. He could destroy a city, or reduce anything on Earth to toy-size. He could mess with the Moon, or the other planets or even the Sun. If he saw that enticing bright thing he might bring it closer and burn up the world. The other 3 are eager to go find the alien but Richards says he want to stay here because he has the beginning of an idea. The others leave him to it.

Meanotherwhile Big Joe has persuaded the Infant Terrible to mentally bring him an armoured car full of money. The gang drag sacks of moolah out of the van but in their hands they turn to pigs or mud or sprout wings and fly away. The IT thinks it's all a game. Big Joe doesn't get angry but instead mimes the diamond in his ring growing larger. The child complies but then the huge diamond 'hatches' to release a chick. *Now* BJ gets angry.

Just then the Fantasticar arrives and Human Torch flies at the gangsters who shoot at him without effect. Thing charges at them and breaks their guns and then bends down a tree and attaches them to the top before letting go. Big Joe tries to escape on his car but Sue uses her forcefield to stop it moving. Then Thing pulls off its tires and stuffs them down over the gangster's body, and Torch welds them together. Now they turn their attention to the Infant who reacts by creating a huge warrior out of boulders.

Back at the BB Mr Fantastic uses the most powerful ultra-sonic radio transmitter on Earth to broadcast a message into space. Then he scans the sky with his ultra-powerful electron telescope, 2nd only to Mount Palomar Observatory.

Back with the Infant Terrible Thing is having no luck knocking the boulder-thing down. Then Torch burns a big hole in the ground and Ben pushes it into it. But then IT has a temper tantrum and encases the trio in a flameproof bubble with limited air. Fists, fire and forcefields can't get them out. And the alien generates its own mini-tornado to take it back to New York and the top of a building overlooking Columbus Circle where a helicopter crew try to grab it with a long pincer, but it disintegrates their chopper leaving them to parachute to safety. Then the angry child sends lightning bolts into the crowd below, and makes all their loose possessions rise into the air in case they are weapons. The crowd flee in panic, and among them is Ben Grimm's blind girlfriend Alicia who is knocked over and faints.

MrF spots a spaceship approaching so he signals to it and it hovers above the Baxter Building. Meanwhile the clouds above get heavier and sink to the ground stopping all traffic. And then Reed's worst fears are realised as it spots the unobscured Sun and reaches out to it with its mind ...

... but then a larger green-in-purple arm reaches out to stop the kid. Immediately everything the Infant Terrible had done is undone including the bubble holding the Fantastic 3. They quickly fly the Fantasticar to NY and spot Alicia lying in the street with a driverless car heading towards her. Leaving Johnny Storm and his sister to take over the controls Ben leans out and whisks his girl out of danger. They head to HQ and the giant spaceship above it, in time to see 2 larger aliens walking through the air bringing their child home. Reed had correctly gambled that such an advanced and powerful species would be peaceful, and they wave the aliens goodbye.