COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Fantastic Four 186 Universal
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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1038303007
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Owner:
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WARREN STRICKLAND
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Universal Grade 9.8
OFF-WHITE TO WHITE Pages
Published, September, 1977
1st app. Salem's Seven (Hydron, Thornn, Gazelle, Brutacus, Reptilla, Vertigo,
& Vakume). Letter from Kurt Busiek.
Len Wein story George Perez & Joe Sinnott cover & art
Title: "ENTER: SALEM'S SEVEN!
Several hours after their defeat, the Fantastic Four awaken in a New Salem dungeon, where Agatha Harkness and Franklin are also imprisoned. Sue is happy to be reunited with her son, and Agatha apologizes for involving them all in the affair. Reed asks why she took Franklin away, and she answers that she had hoped his special powers would protect her from the New Salem Witches, who sought to return her to the town against her will. Unfortunately, it turned out that Franklin's power was gone, but she did not know this, and there was nothing she could do to prevent her abduction. Reed describes how they traced the Eliminator to New Salem and had to battle the witches' gargoyles and then the witches themselves. Sue asks who all these people are and how they acquired their powers but before Agatha can answer, Nicholas Scratch, the leader of the witches, enters, accompanied by a hooded bailiff and a blonde-haired witch. The bailiff pronounces sentence on Agatha, declaring her guilty of treason and ordering her public execution.
At this point, Ben and Johnny promise to lay waste to the entire town if Agatha is harmed. Scratch replies that even though such action would be quite useless, he believes they will try to make good the threat, so he uses his power to teleport Franklin away out of Sue's arms. Nearly hysterical, Sue is calmed by Reed and Agatha, who assures her that her son is quite safe. It is, she says, New Salem's way of insuring that the Fantastic Four will not interfere in what will happen. Agatha then departs with Scratch and the dungeon door shuts behind them.
But suddenly, they all mystically change into unhuman warriors—Salem's Seven. One of them, Vakume, says that they had been created solely to combat the Fantastic Four's superhuman powers. Ben immediately attacks the leonine Brutacus, who retaliates by slamming Ben with his fist. Johnny flames on but Hydron blasts him with a stream of water and extinguishes his flame. Then the snakelike Reptilla wraps Johnny up in her constricting arms. Reed slams Hydron, while Thorne fires a salvo of "power spines" from his forearm at Sue, who deflects the attack with her invisible shield. Ben attacks Vakume, but the witch-warrior turns himself immaterial, and Ben passes through him and smashes into a wall. Then the agile Gazelle attacks Reed. By this time, Johnny is dry enough to flame on, and he burns free of Reptilla's coils. Sue repels Gazelle from Reed with her force field, but one of Thornn's power-spines explodes and knocks her unconscious.
As Nicholas Scratch presides over Agatha Harkness's trial he relates some of the history of New Salem's Witches. Centuries ago, he says, they lived in old Salem, where they were persecuted and many were hanged. So they departed to found their own community, calling it New Salem and swearing never to involve themselves with mortal men again. Agatha Harkness was once their leader, but for unexplained reasons she defied their oath, left New Salem, and—most unforgivable of all•—revealed their existence to outsiders. Then Scratch orders seven witches to surround Agatha and raise their power•staffs.
But before they can do anything, a pillar of flame arises from the floor, and the Fantastic Four climb out of the dungeons through the hole in the floor to the place of judgment. Agatha asks Reed for the sake of his child not to interfere, but Reed addresses the New Salemites and demands to be heard. He informs them that Agatha never once betrayed her trust. They discovered New Salem only after their son was kidnapped an abduction that Scratch himself arranged. It is thus Scratch who is the traitor, declares Reed, not Agatha Harkness. Scratch tries to silence Reed with his Satan-Staff, but Sue, invisible, snatches it from his hands.
Soon the pogo plane takes all from New Salem, carrying the Fantastic Four, Agatha Harkness, and Franklin. As they watch the town from above, it starts to glow, and all of a sudden it vanishes. Johnny had been wondering what a town full of witches could have contributed to the world, and now he realizes that, whatever it was, the people of New Salem decided that what mortal men might offer them in return did not warrant their remaining on Earth. They are gone, says Agatha, to a better place, where the memories can finally be healed. Ben comments that after all they did to her, she must surely hate Nicholas Scratch. But she feels only pity, she replies. How could she hate her own son?
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