Issue(s): Silver Surfer #7
Cover Date:
Title: "Triangle!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Marshall Rogers - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein - Inker
Michael Higgins - Editor

Review/plot:
The Silver Surfer rushes back to Zenn-La to fight off the Kree invading party...

...and handles that quite easily.

For an encore, he heads to the Kree homeworld and tells the Supreme Intelligence to leave Zenn-La alone, and the Supreme Intelligence surprisingly agrees.

But then the Surfer really pushes his luck and tells Supremor to leave Earth alone too...

...and that's when the Intelligence uses his Soul Gem to suck the Surfer instead his giant collective brain.

The Elder Contemplator (really a Skrull, as we'll later learn) had been visiting the Supreme Intelligence, hoping to negotiate a trade of the Soul Gem, but the Intelligence says that he needs it to keep the pink and blue brains inside of him from fighting each other.

Meanwhile, Mantis is born into a new body on Earth (some cheesecake from Marshall Rogers, plus commentary on Mantis' lust for "honorable men").

She makes her way to the secret meeting of the Elders, who are discussing the Soul Gems and how they intend to use them to kill Galactus.

They then notice Mantis, and capture her, with the Gardener's control of plants proving superior to her own.

She does try to get a telepathic message off to Shalla Bal, but it goes unheeded.

A nice continued build up of the Elders' plot and the Kree-Skrull dispute.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: I'm allowing the Surfer to be captured for an indefinite period of time before the beginning of next issue, but this should take place prior to Fantastic Four #312, since that takes place before Silver Surfer #10.

References:

• The Kree invading party says that Zenn-La was in decline even prior to Galactus devouring its energy resources in 1982's Silver Surfer #1.
  
• It was thought that all but one of the Soul Gems was destroyed in Avengers annual #7, but that turns out to not be the case.
  
• The surviving gem was left on Warlock's grave in Marvel Two-In-One annual #2, but then the Gardener took it, as shown in Hulk #248 (actually that issue had the Hulk pounding it into the center of Jarella's micro-world, but i guess the Gardener took it back after the Hulk left).
  
• The Collector was killed in Avengers #174 and was brought back in Contest of Champions as part of the Grandmaster's scheme against Death.
  
• The Elders remember that the Surfer and Mantis were eavesdropping on them in Silver Surfer #4, and they discover Mantis spying on them again.
  
• When the Supreme Intelligence says that Zenn-La's technological prowess was destroyed by Galactus, there's a footnote to Silver Surfer #2, which i guess is when the Surfer returned to the planet and saw that.
  
• The Intelligence won't leave Earth alone because it's proven critical in the past, including:
  • Rick Jones using humanity's untapped potential to end the first Kree-Skrull War in Avengers #97.
    
  • Rick's powers almost revitalizing the Kree's evolutionary stagnation in Captain Marvel #41.
    
  • The fact that Earthling's genetic potential was tapped by the Kree before, as shown in the Inhuman back-up story in Thor #147.
    
  • The fact that an Earthling became the Celestial Madonna in Giant-Size Avengers #4. That's not just a passive interest, since the Cotati and the Kree have a history.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Just a heads up: I think the 3rd scan is broken.

Thanks! Fixed it.

Very excited at the time I had a cool new regular series in which we could finally see what the cult whispering was about in regards to the legendary Surfer. It was a fun era for bringing back favorites lost to time for a new audience. John Workman gives the title extra spark,does he not?
Even without a long collecting history, you could feel this and other titles going bold directions and leaving status quo. A lot of titles at DC especially were breaking with iconic presentations, like Hulk's doing. And finally we are getting a cosmic Surfer!