The Avengers #215

"All the Ways of Power!"

Tigra causes a stir at a bank when she opens an account and deposits her stipend check. Another customer gets a little too friendly with her and she lashes out at him. Later, she has to concede her appearance provokes the wrong type of attention, so she spends some money on a new wardrobe. But even as she does so, she mulls over the fact that she hasn’t really pulled her weight as an Avenger.

Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer happens upon the Molecule Man's discarded wand, but proves invulnerable to its power of possessing the bodies of those who touch it. He discards it and is about to leave, but the Molecule Man manages to recreate his physical body.

The curious Surfer engages the Molecule Man in conversation. Molecule Man tells the Surfer his story and in turn the Surfer relates his own origin. As he’s speaking, Molecule Man realizes he doesn’t really need the wand to manifest his molecular control abilities. (He creates an ostentatious helmet for himself and embeds the wand within it.) Moreover, the Surfer’s story has inspired the deranged villain with a new plan: he will mimic Galactus by EATING the Earth, something he can theoretically accomplish with his powers. The Surfer threatens to oppose him but Molecule Man easily imprisons him and saunters away.

The Surfer wills his surfboard to fly to the Baxter Building in hopes of eliciting help from the Fantastic Four. They are away on a mission however, but Iron-Man retrieves the board and takes it back to Avengers Mansion. The team realize it’s a distress call from the Surfer but are unsure how to respond, until Tigra (attempting to crack a joke) jumps on top of the board and it suddenly transports her to the Surfer’s location. Thor, Iron-Man, and Captain America follow her.

After the Surfer explains the situation, the Molecule Man isn’t too hard to find as the villain has erected a huge dome over the New Jersey countryside which now contains his newly constructed palatial headquarters. As the team heads off to confront him, Tigra hitches a lift on the Surfer’s board. The Surfer remarks how Tigra seems to hide her genuine intelligence with flippant humor.

The shield over NJ repels the individual heroes attempts to breach it. But Thor, Iron-Man, and the Surfer concentrate their collective blasting power on one tiny area. They rupture the force field just enough that Cap is able to smash a hole in it with his shield. Tigra, eager to prove her worth, leaps through the hole to scout around. Unfortunately, she’s captured pretty quickly by the Molecule Man.

The rest of the team finally pierce the barrier and confront the Molecule Man. But the diminutive villain shows off his power by disintegrating the Surfer’s board, Iron-Man’s armor, Thor’s hammer and even Cap’ shield! With their devices and weapons neutralized, Molecule Man takes them by surprise and defeats them all, save for Cap. He snatches away the villains’ wand, believing that will render him powerless. He’s in for a surprise though as he’s knocked unconscious.

Afterwards, Molecule Man places the defeated Tony Stark, Don Blake, Cap and Surfer in a giant “crushing boot”. He makes Tigra an offer, become his “friend” or join her team-mates in death. Terrified, Tigra sides with him and begs him to spare her life. He does, but activates the boot, seemingly crushing the rest of the team to death.