This is the first appearance of Crusader.
Thing punches him in the face!
Bfok!
Crusader, we will learn later, is an Eternal who looked a lot like Marvel Boy. That his costume is nearly identical to Quasar, the next owner of the nega-bands, is even more annoyingly confusing.
Crusader’s powers are derived from the sun so…
Reed creates a cloud gun to block the solar rays.
It’s also the first appearance of Johnny Storm’s new gal, redhead Frankie Raye—who ultimately…Well, I won’t spoil it. Johnny gets dressed up for the date.
Ugh.
Anyway, the story is pretty good overall.
Crusader “dies” in the end. All the confusion over who Crusader really is comes later, when other Marvel writers revive him in future stories.
The best part about these issues is that George Perez signed on as penciler.
And on the letters page….
Peter Gillis!