We'll pick up where we left off with The Iron Skull. Here, he follows a hunch and checks in on this scientist (he handily just happens to know the address).
That Iron Skull is normally bulletproof, yet this hypodermic needle pierces his skin easily, is proof that I was on the right track with Armor Class for superheroes. Unless they are intentionally buffing themselves with defensive powers, they should always be vulnerable.
It's unclear what the needles contained, but the drug seems to have only rendered them unconscious.
It's interesting that the cage is located far underground -- suggesting a multi-level hideout -- yet there's a window in the room with the cage. Unless that's just a giant chart on the wall...
The giant women appear to be about 20' tall, making them around the size of cloud or storm giants in That Other Game. Cloud giants will be called moon giants in
H&H 2nd edition, though they may not be included in the basic book. I'm tempted to stat these girls differently, as they are called Amazon giants in this story. These giants are so strong that they can accidentally wreck things.
Iron Skull is buffing himself offensively again.
Though 100 girls were kidnapped, only a few Amazon giants are encountered (by next page, we'll have seen 6 of them), suggesting a high rate of failure at transformation.
Here we have a precedent for grappling attacks being able to work despite size difference.
Iron Skull finally activates the one defensive power he's been saving, giving himself Super-Tough Skin. The breaking of the wrist is just flavor text; Iron Skull simply did x hit points' worth of damage while grappling.
Despite the fact that this is an underground secret passage, for some reason there is a hill covered in boulders inside it -- proving that hideout design can be totally random and make no sense.
The high-speed elevator here is essentially a trap -- stand underneath it and you'll take crushing damage, unless you can wreck it first. This is the only time this story Iron Skull using his wrecking things ability. Should there be a limit to how many times per day a superhero can wreck things?
You know, Dr. Toyat's jaw might have been healed better had he not taken the effort of saying out loud that it was out of place...
So that helmet machine is a ...giant shrinking machine? It seems pretty specific in its design to go over a giant's head. Note how dangerous it is to use if you don't know the right way to touch it when activated. Trophy items can have downsides like that.
Magician from Mars debuts this issue and it's got several firsts going for it here. One, it's our first non-human magic-user hero. Two, it's our first half-alien (the half-alien race debuted in
Supplement I: National). Three, it's our first magic-user who gains powers through science, not through occult study. Four, it's the first and probably only instance of a cathode tube -- the same technology you would find in a TV set -- giving someone special abilities.
Our "1st level" magic-user demonstrates some sort of Mending spell, Minor Creation (the ice cream cone), and Telekinesis, all in the same afternoon. She must have at least two brevet ranks to raise her up in level high enough where she can cast three or more spells per day.
This page makes some rather bold assertions, that Jane can destroy time and space, run faster than anyone, think quicker than anyone, and she knows more than anyone in the universe -- but all we see her do is use a Levitate or a Fly spell, and use Telekinesis on a weight, admittedly, heavier looking than the spell would normally allow.
(Scans courtesy of
Digital Comic Museum)
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