Fantastic Four #121
The Mysterious Mind-Blowing Secret of Gabriel!
Gabriel the Air-Walker has appeared on Earth and has announced that the planet Earth is doomed. When Reed Richards attempts to protest, Gabriel balks at his appeal in the name of humanity and hurls the Fantastic Four and other bystanders away in a gust of wind. As the Fantastic Four scramble to save those endangered by the powerful winds, Gabriel calls an end to the storm. When one of the bystanders suggests that they surrender to Gabriel in the hopes that he will show mercy, the Thing gets upset and is about to strike the man when Reed gets in the way. Seeing this, Gabriel then orders the gathered masses to destroy the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four are shocked when the people around them begin to follow Gabriel's orders. However, regardless of the crowd's attempts to kill the Fantastic Four, the Human Torch sends them fleeing with his flame powers.
Seeking to address the world in the hopes of keeping things calm, the Fantastic Four enter a nearby television studio. When the guards refuse to let them into one of the studios, they subdue them and continue on anyway. When they get up into the newsroom, they find nobody is working. When Reed asks a newscaster why nobody is doing anything, he is shown reports from around the world of complete anarchy in the streets as people have come to believe Gabriel's claims that the world is doomed. With no time left and the authorities coming up to the studio, the Fantastic Four make a quick exit to the roof and rush back to the Baxter Building.
There, Reed sends Johnny and Ben ahead to the Fantasti-Car while he and Sue collect a weapon constructed in his lab. They then rush after Gabriel who has resumed his walking across the Earth. Over New York Harbor, Reed tries to blast Gabriel with his weapon, but it has no effect on him. Gabriel responds in kind by trying to drop a freighter ship on them. Making an emergency landing on the water, the Fantastic Four narrowly avoid getting crushed but are capsized. Gabriel then uses his power to create a massive tsunami that washes the Fantastic Four back into New York in a lethal flood. The Fantastic Four get to safety, but, when Gabriel confronts the Thing, he chastises the alien for senselessly drowning the people down in the streets below. Gabriel responds by calling back the water before anyone is killed
As Reed and Sue rejoin the rest of the team, both Ben and Johnny try their best to attack Gabriel at full force, but he manages to overpower them. Watching this from the sub-stratosphere is the Silver Surfer. Unable to simply watch events unfold, he decides to deal with the threat himself and flies to New York. The Surfer is shocked to learn that luring him out was the Air-Walker's plan all along. The Surfer and Gabriel fight it out, but, just when it appears that Gabriel has the upper hand, the Surfer unleashes the full force of his Power Cosmic. When Gabriel falls to the ground, he smashes into pieces, revealing to everyone gathered that he was nothing more than a robot. With the battle over, the Fantastic Four wonder who sent Gabriel. Suddenly, Galactus appears in the sky above them, telling them that the world is indeed doomed.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Silver Surfer, Gabriel the Air-Walker, Galactus
Continuity Notes
As revealed in Thor #306, the Air-Walker robot was based on a real living being named Gabriel Lan who was turned into a herald of Galactus before being slain battling the Ovoids.
Destroyed here, the Air-Walker's remains end up in the possession of the Machinesmith as seen in Captain America #249.
The Silver Surfer is trapped on Earth after he betrayed Galactus to the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #50. He will remain trapped on Earth for years until he finally escapes in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #1.
