 During the wedding , Reed 's systems detect the phenomenon approaching New York City , which suffers a blackout since from the objects electromagnetic pulses . Johnny Storm pursues the object , discovering it to be a silver humanoid on a flying surfboard . The " Silver Surfer " drags him into the upper atmosphere , suffocates and then drops him . Johnny barely survives , successfully flying only at the last moment . Later , Sue and Johnny find they have switched powers after touching , prompting Reed to deduce that exposure to the Surfer has affected Johnny 's molecular structure , allowing these transfers of their powers . Tracing the Surfer 's cosmic energy , Reed discovers that a series of planets the alien has visited are all destroyed . 
