Escape -- To Terror! Synopsis for "Escape -- To Terror!"
Plot by Byrne, script by Lee.
Still trapped on Earth, the Silver Surfer laments over his plight, which leads him to recalling the events that led to him becoming the Silver Surfer. He also reflects on his first encounter with the Fantastic Four and how through meeting Alicia Masters he renounced his role as Galactus' herald, and it was this event that trapped the Surfer on Earth. Trying once more to pierce the barrier, the Surfer fails. He then decides to seek the help of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four to try and free him from the barrier. Reed comes up with an alpha ray device which temporarily weakens the barrier allowing the Surfer to fly out. He cautions the Surfer though that they can only do this once, if he comes back to Earth again he'll be trapped once more. The Surfer tries it out and it works.
Happy to finally be free of the Earth, the Surfer speeds off to Zenn-La to be reunited with Shalla Bal. Arriving on the planet, the Surfer finds the place decimated. He's attacked by his own people, after stopping them he learns that after the his betrayal, Galactus came back to Zenn-La to consume it in revenge against his herald. When he inquires about Shalla Bal he learns that she had been kidnapped by Mephisto. The Surfer then recalls his last encounter with Dr. Doom in which he used what was apparently an exact duplicate of Shalla Bal and realizes that she was the real Shalla Bal all along. The Surfer then speeds back to Earth to find his true love, unaware that Mephisto has been watching the whole time, and that this will suit his ends of trying to obtain the Surfer's soul.
When the Surfer returns to Earth, he tracks down Shalla Bal who has spent the past months working in a kitchen in Latveria. When he confronts the girl she is kidnapped by Mephisto again. Following the lord of lies into his own domain, the Surfer confronts Mephisto who tries to use his powers to force the Surfer into submission, but fails. The Surfer and Mephisto are then locked in physical combat, until Mephisto strikes out at Shalla Bal.
The Surfer breaks off his attack, and Mephisto uses the moment to commit one final act: He transforms Shalla Bal into energy and sends the energy orb out into space. The Surfer chases after it, however when he realizes he's once more trapped in the barrier around the Earth, the Surfer gives Shalla Bal a portion of his power cosmic. Although he's trapped on Earth again and Mephisto's revenge complete, the Surfer still has a minor victory: When Shalla Bal returns to Zenn-La, she finds that the power cosmic given to her has given her the ability to revitalize the decimated planet.
Escape--To Terror! Script by John Byrne and Stan Lee, art by John Byrne and Tom Palmer; The FF help Surfer break the barrier of Galactus, ending his exile on earth & granting him the freedom to roam the spaceways once again; The Surfer returns to Zenn-La to reunite with his love Shalla-Bal but finds that after he betrayed Galactus on earth, the world eater devastated his home world in retaliation; Informed by the survivors that Shalla-Bal was captured by the demon Mephisto, the Surfer flies back to earth & battles the monster in his own realm for her freedom; Beaten but still victorious, Mephisto returns Shalla-Bal to her home world while the Surfer is again trapped on earth. 52 pgs.
