Tales of Suspense #43
Iron Man Versus Kala, Queen of the Netherworld!
At Stark Industries, a wind tunnel experiment goes haywire. A call from security goes out to Tony Stark who quickly arrives as Iron Man. Entering the wind tunnel, Iron Man spins in the opposite direction of the fan until his counter-force causes it to explode. Iron Man then takes off so he can show up to assess the damage as Tony Stark. As soon as he returns, Stark is shocked when one of the security guards suddenly vanishes. This is followed by one of the scientists. Suddenly, an unbreakable crystal forms around Tony himself and pulls him into the ground.
Tony finds himself being pulled through the layers of the Earth until he arrives at a massive underground city. Once the crystal lands, Tony is greeted by Kala, who introduces herself as the queen of this domain which she calls the Netherworld. After confirming that his two employees are safe, Tony learns from Kala that they were brought here in error as they were searching for Stark. She explains that her civilization used to exist on the surface and that her people are descendants of the people of Atlantis. Eons ago when Atlantis was threatened by a great flood, her people were able to protect their realm by erecting a dome over it as it sank into the ocean. Their kingdom continued to sink until it sank below the ocean floor.[1] Having her commander Baxu show off the Netherworld arsenal, Kala explains that they have brought Stark here to build a device to help her armies get to the surface so she can conquer it for her people.
Stark and Kala engage in a debate over if her weapons are any match for Iron Man. This all ends up being a moot point as Tony agrees to help Kala anyway, making his employees think he is a traitor. As he is escorted to the lab, Tony then sows the seeds of dissent by suggesting that Baxu use his control of the military to overthrow Kala. Alone in the lab, Tony uses privacy to build a duplicate set of Iron Man armor. As Iron Man, he quickly overpowers Baxu, but spares his life as he intends on the military leader to take control of the Netherworld.
Iron Man then confronts Kala who orders her armies to attack him with their weapons. However, Iron Man has a countermeasure for each one. Eventually, he grabs Kala and burrows up to the surface. There, Kala begins to rapidly age on the surface, proving to her that the invasion of the surface would be a folly. He returns to Kala to her kingdom where she regains her youth. Agreeing to cease her aggressions against the Earth, Kala then agrees to marry Baxu and live in peace.[2]
Once back on the surface again, Tony Stark attends a party where he overhears some men complaining that they have to compete with Stark again now that he is back from his adventure below the surface of the Earth.
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Kala
Continuity Notes
Kala makes the claim that her kingdom was part of Atlantis. She’s technically correct. As clarified in the Kala profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe ‘89 Update #3. It states that Kala’s kingdom was a city called Netheria on the continent of Atlantis and should not be confused with the city of Atlantis that is best known as home to the Sub-Mariner.
When Kala appears again in Fantastic Four #127 she states that Baxu died in the time in since her appearance in this story. His cause of death is unspecified.
Topical References
The phones used in this story are depicted as rotary phones.
