The first appearance of Rama Tut, who would become Kang the Conqueror in Avengers #8, and then, much much later, became Nathaniel Richards, and then Iron Lad of the Young Avengers.
Dude gets around.
The story starts with an Egyptology exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, where Reed interprets some strange heiroglyphics…
Reed figures that if they could cure blindness in ancient Egypt, then the team should go to Latveria and see if they can fix Dr. Doom’s time travel machine.
I like that the reason for this whole adventure is purely scientific: To find a cure for blindness. It’s really the core of what makes the Fantastic Four different from just about every other superhero team out there, Marvel and DC alike.
Anyway, back in time they are captured by an evil ruler named Rama Tut.
Who reveals himself to be a time traveler…
…who was bored with utopia and so sought to travel through time, which he did in a giant ship that later became The Sphinx.
But then Rama got stuck in the past, and became its ruler. (Oh, and he did in fact discover a cure for his own blindness, induced by radiation from the time travel.). So we see a parallel to Reed Richards’ own space exploration and his constant need to seek adventure. No, I’m certain Stan Lee hadn’t planned to make Reed and Rama blood-relatives, but the seeds are in fact here.
I don’t know if it’s racism or daddy issues, but apparently Rama really wanted a blonde to keep him company–so he takes Susan as his queen and enslaves the rest of the FF. But Thing, as a result of the heat of Ancient Egypt, goes human again, and slips his manacles.
And he saves the day.