The Hate-Monger was a physical clone of Germany’s Adolf Hitler, the former leader of Germany and instigator of World War II. Years after the death of the original at the hands of the original Human Torch, Hitler's scientists created clones into which Hitler transferred his consciousness. In one such clone, disguised as the Hate-Monger, Hitler used a Nazi-designed Hate Ray to spread mindless hatred around the world. His first major attack was in the small southern country of San Gusto, where he bombarded the people with his ray, turning the country against itself. The United States had already spent billions trying to turn San Gusto into a show place of democracy, but after the Hate-Monger’s influence the country fell apart. Nick Fury, as a CIA operative, traveled to New York to enlist the help of the Fantastic Four to re-stabilize the country.

But once he arrived he found the Fantastic Four split up and only Mister Fantastic at their headquarters, the Baxter Building. The Hate-Monger had already beat him there, and had turned his Hate Ray on the four when they tried to break up a hate rally he had turned into a riot. Fury eventually convinced the entire Fantastic Four to help him, starting with Reed, who took the Pogo Plane to San Gusto in advance of the others. There, Reed stumbled upon the Hate-Monger’s Hate Ray while fighting San Gusto’s rebellion. The Hate-Monger gassed Reed with a paralyzing nerve gas and captured him. He explained to Reed that he was able to reflect his Hate Ray off of the Moon and fire it at any place on Earth, and soon he would blanket the entire planet in waves of hate and then control the haters to control the world. But before he could continue with his plan, Fury broke into the base and fired on the soldiers, threatening to shoot them unless the Hate-Monger gave Reed the antidotes to his paralysis and hate. The Hate-Monger acquiesced, but escaped shortly afterwards behind a pane of bulletproof glass.

Later, while the Hate-Monger’s soldiers fought off an attacking Nick Fury, the Fantastic Four, returned to their proper minds by Reed, helped Fury to subdue his troops. The Hate-Monger tried to turn a double-dose of his Hate Ray on the Human Torch, which would kill him, but the Invisible Girl snuck up behind him and spoiled his aim and he hit a pair of his soldiers instead. The soldiers turned on him and shot him. The Fantastic Four and Fury soon cleaned up the last of the soldiers and revealed the seemingly dead Hate-Monger as Adolf Hitler. But Hitler's mind had already transferred to a new cloned body, and he later continued his quest to rule the world.