The Annihilation Gambit! * This Issue is direct continuation of Fantastic Four #256
* "Annihilus" Appearance
The invisible barrier which surrounds the Baxter Building is the work of the Fantastic Four's nemesis, Annihilus, who has escaped from the Negative Zone and trapped the foursome therein. Having lost the Cosmic Control Rod which sustained his immortality, the mad villain has decided that if he must die, so must all living things. He has therefore generated a "null-field," within which a positive-energy field grows; when the two meet, Earth's universe and the Negative Zone will merge and be destroyed. The Avengers assemble, but fail to breach the field or slow its inexorable growth. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch arrive to help, but when the android steps through the barrier, he is instantly deactivated. Fortunately, Starfox recognizes what Annihilus is attempting, and a plan is conceived. Captain Marvel flashes into space in light form and merges with a beam from the sun-orbiting Starcore satellite, becoming a gamma-ray laser which succeeds in neutralizing the null-field. Entering the Baxter Building, the Avengers find the Fantastic Four, who have returned from the Negative Zone.
