Black Panther #3
Race Against Time
The Black Panther, Princess Zanda, and Abner Little have inadvertedly used King Solomon’s Frog to bring a hyper-evolved human — dubbed Hatch-22 — to the present day.[1] Now they find themselves in a race against time to find a second frog, hidden in King Solomon’s tomb, so they can return Hatch-22 to his proper era before he uses his highly destructive mental powers to destroy the present day.
In order to get there, the Black Panther and his uneasy allies board Abner Little’s super-powered jet plane. When they reach the mountain range where King Solomon’s tomb is located, Abner instructs T’Challa to fly in the side of a mountain. Although this goes against common sense, T’Challa complies and a secret doorway suddenly opens revealing what appears to be an ancient runway. However, after they disembark from the plane, Hatch-22 wakes up and uses his mental power to destroy the craft. Although it has shaken off the effects of a knock out dart, the alien being is still drugged and not able to use his full power.
The trio race to the chamber which contains King Solomon’s Tomb. There they find a sophisticated lock that is powered by electricity despite being centuries old. Luckily, Princess Zanda has a similar device in her collection of antiquities and knows how to disable it. Once inside, they discover an animated statue defending the tomb. While T’Challa fights this guardian, Abner Little deduces that it is too powerful for the Panther to defeat. Quick thinking, Little doubles back and lure Hatch-22 to the tomb and tricks it into using the destructive mental beams to destroy the guarding. This also punches a hole in the tomb wall revealing a massive treasure trove. Seeing this fortune in gold and jewels briefly distract Abner and Zanda until T’Challa reminds them that they need to find the twin to King Solomon’s Frog.
The find the second frog in the nick of time and by combining the pair, the Black Panther is able to fire a beam of energy that sends Hatch-22 back to its proper time.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Princess Zanda, Hatch-22, Abner Little, Collectors (Nigel Pigman, Andreas Zorba, Silas Mourner)
Continuity Notes
Hatch-22 comes from a possible future some six-millions years after the Modern Age. Per the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe, this future timeline has been designated as Reality-77211.
Topical References
References to the present day taking place in the 20th Century should be considered topical. Due to the Sliding Timescale, the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe does not start until after the beginning of the 21st Century.
