Here we
go! An anniversary issue, from back when
that meant something! Before a time when
the comics were just rebooted every time
management wanted a boost in sales. That
being said, in the nineties, when there was an anniversary, or even just some
kind of special event, we got not only a double issue, but also a fancy cover
of some kind. This one is odd. Usually the fancy cover would be some kind of
holofoil or embossed, or something. This
cover is kind of holographic, with a little raised ink, but it’s kind of stuck
halfway between the two. Almost like
they were trying something new with this cover and it didn’t take. Regardless of the cover, let’s see what the
interiors hold for the Guardians and the Silver Surfer.
This is
the big one, the big showdown between two huge cosmic forces! But first, loads and loads of
exposition. First, we get a recap of
last issue, which takes all of one page, then we get an even more in-depth
accounting of what the Silver Surfer has been up to. Apparently he was stripped of his power
cosmic by Galactus but was saved by a Watcher named Aron, who convinced the
Surfer that the power cosmic was in him the whole time (how very Walt Disney)
which gave the Surfer his power back. 
To help
battle the giant threat that is Galactus, Vance calls up Mainframe and Martinex
to see if anyone else is available.
Unfortunately the connection was severed, by what, we won’t know until
the second annual (review coming next week).
So the Guardians basically have to go it alone on this one. Even the Surfer, who dwarfs pretty much everyone
with his power is not available to help as he is transporting the people on the
planet below out of the way of the planet-eater. Luckily, the Guardians have Firelord to
assist them against Galactus…for all of five minutes… as Galactus makes short
work of his former herald. 
At
this, Charlie decides that is up to him, Starhawk and Talon to stop Galactus
(much to Talon’s chagrin). They head
outside after suiting up and basically buzz around Galactus like flies while
Firelord is being tended to by Nikki.
Outside the ship, Talon pulls out some magic that he learned as an apprentice
to Krugarr, the sorcerer supreme and it starts to get out of hand. Doctor Strange shows up and reverses the
spell, saving everyone in the process but confesses that he is too weak to do
anything else and leaves. Doctor Strange
is a jerk. Luckily the loss of Doctor
Strange is softened by the return of Firelord.
While
all this is going on, Vance goes to find Yondu, who has been praying this whole
time. Doctor Strange is a jerk, but
Yondu is just a shitty teammate. Apparently
the people of Centauri IV that Yondu thought were all extinct were not. He’s been super emo this whole time for no
reason is what that amounts to. Anyway,
he realizes it’s his purpose in life to go be amongst his people. Unfortunately, Yondu can’t teleport
planetside with the power of his Guardian Star alone, so Vance gives him his as
well, which gives him enough power to teleport down. Why Yondu couldn’t have waited until the
battle was over, maybe help defeat Galactus first, I have no idea.
Back
outside, Charlie grabs a gun off of the space ship and shoots it at Galactus
(nope, not sure how he does this either).
This doesn’t do anything at all to Galactus, who just flicks the air in
front of Charlie and Talon and they fly back.
Firelord keeps fighting until the Surfer, fresh from having teleported a
whole society off the world below, shows up and is now the size of
Galactus. How? Again, I have no idea. Those two go back and forth a bit until the
Surfer has the upper hand and is about to deal the killing blow, when Eon, that
creepy bastard, pops up and tells the Surfer to spare him. Instead of killing Galactus, the Surfer
actually allows him to eat the now uninhabited planet below. So, basically, this whole story was
unnecessary as Galactus feasted on a planet anyway. 
After
Galactus is done, Eon suggests that the Surfer travels with Galactus and helps
him find suitable planets to feast on…basically the same thing he was doing as
a herald, except now he’s saving the people on the planet below instead of
condemning them.
To wrap
things up, we see Yondu meet his people, Nikki and Firelord have a relationship
talk where they decide to just be friends, and Eon tells Firelord he is still
the Protector of the Universe because the Surfer has reformed his board and is
now a quasi-herald of Galactus again.
The
end? The end.
Next
Issue: We take a step back and look at the second annual before moving on to
issue twenty-six in two weeks.
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