By Request: Challengers of the Unknown #5

A longtime commenter sent me an email requesting a review of this issue, so I thought I'd tackle it. For starters, the pencils are by Jack Kirby, with inks by Wally Wood, so we're talking two legends of the medium here. Although I am not a huge fan of Kirby's artwork personally, I do think he was the absolute master of page construction. His pages demand that you read them, drawing you through the story like nobody before or since.

I do not classify the Challengers as superheroes, but as an adventure team, much like Sea Devils or Rip Hunter, Time Master. But this issue shows that the line between the two can be rather blurry indeed. As the story begins, a South American train is attacked by a super-powered being. When the guards try to intervene:

Throwing balls of fire would be the hallmark of a character that Kirby would assist in resurrecting a couple years later: the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four.

The Challengers hear about this from June Robbins, who is down in South America on an archaeological dig. It turns out that Vreedl, another member of that party, had stolen a "Star-Stone" from the dig:

So the Challenge in this issue is to prevent Vreedl from getting all four stones (he's already collected one, which accounts for his flame power. But when they pursue him in the jungle, they run into problems. Vreedl starts a fire:

He also starts a stampede, but Red saves them by using an old circus trick. Still Vreedl gets the next gem, and then it's off to India to save a rajah from losing his special diamond. Vreedl's new power from the second gem is that of flight:

But his flying ability is only temporary, and when the Challs close in, he's not above using the superstition of the natives to get away:

The crowd quickly subdues the Challengers and imprisons them. It looks as though they will be unable to get word to the rajah that they are there in time to prevent Vreedl from obtaining the last gem. But, in an amazing coincidence:

She diverts the guards' attention and the Challengers are able to escape. They chase Vreedl to the final gem:

But he escapes with the pearl needed and so (after a battle with some sharks) they chase him onto the land, where he demonstrates his new powers (as shown on the cover). But Ace points out a flaw:

So Vreedl destroys the star stone, and unfortunately for him:

Is Ace making an observation about villains in general, or about comic-book villains?

Comments: Solid, entertaining story with lots of exotic locales and perilous situations. I wouldn't put it down as a classic, but it clearly deserves note as an above-average yarn with way, way above-average art. I like that June plays a fairly prominent role in the story, even if it does seem just a little too convenient for plot purposes.

The GCD does not have a guess for the writer. One thing I noted was the use of the word "fellers". It's not the correct spelling (fellows) or the usual vernacular (fellas). I know I've seen that in other comics but a specific citation is escaping me right now.

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Dynamo #1

In addition to launching the THUNDER Agents as a group, Tower also published a few solo books for Dynamo (four issues) and NoMan (two issues).

This one starts out with a Wally Wood-illustrated story. Somebody is bombing radar installations and space observatories. We can rule out the commies:

So it appears to be coming from space. They decide to send NoMan on a one-way trip to the moon, as he can always beam his mind back to another android body on earth. This is an imaginative use for NoMan's powers. They've even planned for the possibility of the rocket crashing early:

However, he does not report back immediately, and so Dynamo volunteers to go on a second rocket:

Just after he blasts off, NoMan returns. He radios Dynamo to land on the light side of the moon, as the dark side is crawling with aliens. However, even on the exposed side there's a welcoming committee:

Using his strength, he hurls a boulder at the alien ship. When robotic tanks arrive, he hops into one of them and gets a ride to the alien HQ. But he is captured and imprisoned in a glass tank without a helmet, so he can't escape. But NoMan pops back up to his android body that is already on the moon and gives him a helmet. Dynamo defeats the aliens and rides back to earth on one of their flying saucers.

Comments: An entertaining story featuring good use of the NoMan character.

The second story is A Day in the Life of Dynamo, drawn by Mike Sekowsky. Len Brown wakes up and decides to ask for a raise due to all the risks he's taking as Dynamo. His boss sends him via a teleporter to Hong Kong, where the local THUNDER office turns out to have been taken over by a communist hero:

The reds have planned this so that Dynamo will be unable to prevent a giant robot from running amok in New York City. But then some apparent THUNDER Agents come up through the floor and chase off the communists. Unfortunately for Dynamo, they're not really with his group:

They have an old acquaintance of his with them:

But when she learns that the Subterraneans' plan is to start a global thermonuclear war, the Iron Maiden frees him. She sends him back to New York via a missile, and he defeats the robot to save the city.
Here's a little cultural reference that non-Boomer readers might miss:

In the 1950s and 1960s, "Made in Japan" meant that the product was shoddy and of inferior workmanship. Of course, ironically in the intervening years it became synonymous with high quality and dependability.

But he gets little respect from his boss:

Comments: Clearly intended to be an off-beat tale. Len never does ask his boss for that raise.

We get a super-villain team-up by Crandall and Wood in the next story, as Demo and Dr Sparta meet:

Dr Sparta's assistant has an interesting way of springing them from jail:

The villains manage to send Dynamo to a valley that time forgot, with cavemen and dinosaurs. But he convinces the cavemen that he's a legitimate god with the strength he gets from his belt and they show him the way out of the valley to where Demo and Dr Sparta are.
Comments: Solid, entertaining story and Crandall and Wood work well together.

The fourth story came as a bit of a surprise. Here's the splash:

I have to admit, I was unaware that Ditko worked for Tower. What a treat the art is in this story! We learn that 20 years earlier, the Subterraneans had captured a human orphan, and raised it to have incredible strength and mental abilities:

But despite his supposed cold-hearted nature, he reacts instinctively to save a young woman:

Who just happens to be a THUNDER agent, getting him into the headquarters, where he attacks Dynamo:

And Dynamo looks doomed until:

Andor returns to the Subterraneans, where he kills the scientist responsible for raising him.

Comments: Beautiful art and an entertaining story. There are hints that Andor might return, but if he did, it was not during the 1960s run, according to the GCD. Correction: As pointed out in the comments by Earth-Two, Andor does return in Thunder Agents #9 in a Lightning story. Discussion here.

The final story is another offbeat tale about Weed, a THUNDER agent with no special powers. He senses this is causing him trouble with the ladies:

Fortunately for him, it's an urgent call requiring the services of Lightning, who was just about to drive away with his "beautiful chick". She decides to go out with Weed instead, and they stop at a nightclub for a magic act:

The magician is a hypnotist, and convinces Weed that he has super-powers like flying and enormous strength. Obeying the comic book law of delusions, the other THUNDER agents humor him:

They follow him back to the hypnotist, but a caught off guard by a sleeping gas.
Meanwhile, Weed has discovered that he doesn't really have super-powers. But:

He rescues Dynamo and Lightning, and in the end he even gets the gal:

Comments: Amusing ending. Weed must surely be one of the very few heroes to smoke cigarettes.

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