Tales to Astonish #95
A World He Never Made!
En route to the planet Wundagore II to be used as a solution to the rebellion of the Knights of Wundagore, the Hulk is completely unaware that he is to be used as a pawn for the High Evolutionary. With Sir Ram knocked out, the Evolutionary tries to warn the ship that they are about to fly into a cosmic radiation storm, to no avail.
When Sir Ram revives and realizes the truth, it is too late and the entire ship is bombarded with radiation. The resulting bombardment kills Sir Ram and causes Hulk to transform back into Bruce Banner. When the ship arrives on Wundagore II, the High Evolutionary is shocked to find Banner instead of the Hulk. However, the Evolutionary realizes that he can still use Banner to solve his problem. Distracting Banner by showing him his scientific achievement, the Evolutionary uses a weapon to knock out Banner and place him on a machine that will advance Banner's evolution by ten million years, so that he can use the advanced being against the invading Knights of Wundagore.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, HIgh Evolutionary, New Men (Sir Ram,Knights of Wundagore)
Continuity Notes
The events of this story are recapped in West Coast Avengers Annual #3.
The Power of the Plunderer
On their way back to Atlantis following their battle against the Gnome, the Sub-Mariner and Dorma come across a domed city at the oceans floor, built there by surface dwellers. Namor is furious that the surface dwellers would place such a city near Atlantis and decides to go and demand to speak to the creator of this city. Upon reaching the domed city, he is attacked by a pair of surface men in diving gear and fights them off. Namor is about to flee to Atlantis in order to return with an army when he is confronted by the cities creator Dr. Walter Newell, who offers Namor to come and talk.
Boarding Newell's craft, the prince of Atlantis agrees to listen to Walter's words on Droma's urgings. Aboard Newell's craft, Namor is told that Newell has come up with a project to deal with the surface world's growing population, finding a solution to finding space for all the people by building domed cities on the oceans floor. Despite Newell's offer of fair trade for allowing this plan to continue, Namor refuses, finding the offer worthless. Returning to Lady Dorma they are about to return to Atlantis when suddenly a giant submarine piloted by the Plunderer arrives and attacks in the hopes of robbing the undersea city of all it's valuables.
In the firefight between the Plunderer and Newell, the glass dome around the city is cracked causing it to flood with water. Namor refuses Dorma's request that he try and save the surface dwellers who might drown, however, he decides to get in the middle of the fight so that the threat doesn't endanger nearby Atlantis. Namor's attack prompts the Plunderer to use a suction device to pull Namor aboard where he attempts to kill the prince of Atlantis with his vibra-gun.
Although the Sub-Mariner has the upper hand, the Plunderer distracts him by showing him a video screen that shows the Plunderer's men going after Dorma. This leaves Namor open to a direct blast from the vibra-gun leaving the Plunderer to believe Namor dead and resumes his attempt to rob the underwater city. Dorma is rescued by Newell, however, the two are sucked into the whirlpool caused by the rapidly flooding dome city. The city is completely submerged when the Plunderer rams his sub into the come, cracking it open and flooding it entirely.
When the Sub-Mariner revives alive and well, the Plunderer has no desire to fight him further and ejects him out a vacuum ejector tube and begins stealing supplies that he plans on using to turn his base on Skull Island into an indestructible fortress. As Namor recovers Dorma from Newell (warning him from developing near Atlantis again), the Plunderer escapes and those trapped in the destroyed city manage to escape to the surface where they are picked up by a cruise ship.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Sub-Mariner decides that the Plunderer is too big a threat to allow to continue to operate, for fear he may attack Atlantis next so he and Dorma decide to return to Atlantis to plot how to deal with the Plunderer and end his threat.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner, Lady Dorma, The Plunderer, Walter Newell
Continuity Notes
The Plunderer mentions how he had recently broken out of prison in England. This was following his defeat in Daredevil #24 at the hands of Daredevil and Ka-Zar.
