Fantastic Four #123 (1972)

Brief Summary: Reed threatens to destroy Galactus' ship and strand him on Earth if he doesn't leave the planet and the Silver Surfer alone. Galactus vows to kill the Fantastic Four and consume the Earth if Reed goes through with his plan. The Silver Surfer ends the standoff by agreeing to become Galactus' herald once again. However, the Earth and the Surfer are freed of Galactus when Reed reprograms his ship so that it sends him into the Negative Zone. Detailed Summary: With Galactus on Earth, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four takes control of his ship in Earth's orbit and threatens to destroy it so long as Galactus refuses to leave the planet. However, Galactus calls Reed's bluff. He points out that while Reed will strand Galactus and sacrifice his own life, Galactus will turn his attentions to his loved ones and slay them before consuming the planet Earth, completely obliterated everything Richards cares for. After hearing this, the Silver Surfer finally acquiesces to the orders of Galactus. The rest of the Fantastic Four protest this move, telling the Surfer to not allow himself to be enslaved again. Galactus then agrees to give them twenty-four hours to come up with an agreeable solution so that the Earth is spared and Galactus gets his herald back. Meanwhile, as deliberations drag on, General Ross and an army of soldiers try to attack Galactus. The world devourer retaliates by tossing train cars at the soldiers, sending them scattering. They then fire missiles at Galactus and he uses his powers to melt them, flinging them into the nearby water. At the Baxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four, Sue returns home to find a call coming in from the President of the United States. The Commander-in-Chief and the Vice President both demand that the Fantastic Four turn the Silver Surfer over to Galactus, so the threat to Earth will resolve itself. Sue tells them that there are other alternatives and Reed patches in and assures the President that he has a plan to resolve the current crisis. When the President balks at this, Reed cuts the transmission and gets back to work. Soon, Reed arrives in Galactus' ship and relinquishes it to the world devourer. Thinking that he has won, Galactus leaves Earth in his ship, ordering the Silver Surfer to follow after him. When the Surfer begins to follow after his former master, Reed tries to tell him to stay. When the Surfer refuses to listen, Mister Fantastic tries to physically subdue him. The Surfer tries to flee, pulling Reed's stretching abilities to their limit. General Ross orders Richards to stand down and one of his soldiers hastily fires a shot, hitting Reed with the bullet intended for the Silver Surfer. The Human Torch tries to get his leader from the Silver Surfer, while the Thing clashes with the soldiers for shooting his best friend. When the military brings out their heavy guns, the Torch is forced to break off his clash with the Surfer to help out Ben. The Surfer then speeds off to a tranquil location and uses his Power Cosmic to heal Reed, saving his life in the nick of time. Reed manages to convince the Silver Surfer that Galactus has been defeated. The pair flies to Whisper Hill where he secures the aid of Agatha Harkness. The pair then returns to New York City where the Thing and Torch continue to battle the military. When they arrive at the scene, they are joined by the astral projection of Agatha Harkness. She uses her sorcery to mentally link Reed with the President and explain to him that the threat of Galactus is over. Believing the leader of the Fantastic Four, the President then calls off his soldiers. Reed uses Agatha's powers to link his mind with all the minds on Earth and explains that he managed to dispel the threat of Galactus by tampering with the controls of his ship so that it transported him into the Negative Zone. There, Reed explains, Galactus will no longer be a threat to Earth and have access to all the worlds he could ever want to consume. With the threat over, the people of New York celebrate the Fantastic Four. The Surfer soon departs, more exasperated than ever about the fickle nature of human beings.