Fantastic Four #1 (1961)

In Central City, California, a shadowy figure fires a flare out of a window. The flare forms the words "The Fantastic Four!" The figure notes that this is the first time they’ve needed to fire the flare and hopes it’ll be the last. Susan Storm is having tea with a friend. When she sees the flare, she turns invisible, surprising her friend by her sudden disappearance, gets into a cab, and offers the surprised driver a banknote when she reaches her destination. Ben Grimm is in disguise and trying to find a coat that fits him. A clerk in the haberdashery sees the flare. Grimm discards his disguise, bursts out of the too-small door, which scares the local citizens, rips a manhole out of the street, follows the sewers, and bursts out when he thinks he has reached his destination. He is struck by another taxi which is wrecked. Police officers arrive to investigate reports of a monster, but find nothing. Johnny Storm is working on his latest hot rod in a service station. The mechanic sees the flare, which turns into the number 4. Johnny bursts into flame and flies away, destroying his car. The authorities treat him as an enemy attack, so he reluctantly melts the jets that come after him. A nuclear heat-seeking missile locks onto him, and, just as Johnny's flame starts to fade, an impossibly long pair of arms grab the missile and throws it out to sea. Johnny's savior is the same man who fired the flare. He stretches his body between two buildings and Johnny is able to grab onto it as he falls. They both enter their headquarters through a window. The man who fired the flare greets Susan, Ben (now disguised again), and Johnny with the words, "There is a task that awaits us ... a fearful task!" But how did these four people become so fantastic? The origin of the team is recounted. To beat the Communists in the Space Race, scientist Dr. Reed Richards, sister and brother Sue and Johnny Storm, and pilot Ben Grimm sneaked aboard a rocket and flew into space, orbiting Earth. Ben had warned the others about needing sufficient shielding for cosmic rays, but Sue challenging his courage persuaded him to fly. In space, Ben was proven right as the four were bombarded by cosmic rays. Johnny began to feel as though his body was on fire, and Ben’s body got heavier, causing him to need to lie down, which meant he could no longer pilot the rocket. The auto-pilot landed the ship back on Earth, where they found themselves physically transformed and possessing remarkable new abilities. Sue turned invisible, causing the group to worry about whether she’d be visible again. Ben transformed into an orange, muscular monstrous form with super-strength. He attempted to attack Reed for convincing them all to fly into space, despite the warnings about the shielding, but Reed's body became highly malleable, allowing him to stretch into any shape and avoid Ben’s attack. Johnny's body suddenly burst into flames, and he could fly. They decided to use their abilities to become the super-team known as the Fantastic Four. They gave themselves the individual names Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing. Atomic plants in the Soviet Union, Australia, and South America have been mysteriously attacked by cave-ins. Another attack occurs in Africa, where a huge monster burrows out of the ground, causing an Atomic plant to fall below the ground, and crushes a tank, but is recalled by a human figure. The Fantastic Four travel aboard their private jet to Monster Isle, which Reed has deduced is the same distance from each attack. There, they are attacked by a giant three-headed monster. After Sue turns invisible and confuses the monster, Reed stops it, but a cave-in separates Reed and Johnny from Ben and Sue. Beneath the island Reed and Johnny are knocked out. When they regain consciousness, wearing adhesive suits, they find themselves in the Valley of Diamonds, which temporarily blinds them. The Mole Man appears, revealing he is responsible for the attacks. Back on the surface, Ben wrestles a rock monster to save Sue. Then they go in search of Reed and Johnny. Below the surface, the Mole Man explains his origin. Having been ridiculed by humanity, he went off alone in search of the legendary land at the center of the earth. Eventually, he washed ashore on Monster Isle. Making his way through a cavern, he was caught in an avalanche and rendered almost blind. However, due to his other heightened senses taking over, he mastered the subterranean creatures and built himself an underground empire. The Mole Man claims he has learned to sense things in the dark. He demonstrates by instructing Reed to attack him with a stick. Reed does and Mole Man is able to defend himself. Ben and Sue find their teammates listening to the Mole Man's plan to invade the surface world, after destroying all the Atomic plants in the world. He sends his monster army against the Fantastic Four. Whilst Johnny distracts the biggest one, the team flees through a tunnel, which Johnny seals shut behind them. After the Fantastic Four escape in their jet, Mole Man destroys the island so the surface world cannot trouble him again.