There seems to be this perception that Challengers of the Unknown had a huge drop-off once Jack Kirby departed from the title after issue #8. However, from the stories that I've sampled, I've not found that to be the case. While Bob Brown may not have been Kirby, he was a pretty good artist, and once Arnold Drake came on board as writer, the stories were quite entertaining. And the best of those stories always seemed to center around a guy named Duncan Pramble...



"Multi-Man, Master of Earth"

Writer: Arnold Drake

Artist: Bob Brown


The story begins in the Challengers' cave HQ, where three of the group tensely await news from Ace and Rocky on the whereabouts of their arch-foe Multi-Man:


We then get a flashback to Multi-Man's previous escapades. We hear of how Duncan Pramble first acquired a vial of liquid light that allowed him to transform into amazing life-forms. He later acquired a super-brain, and a rather withered looking body [This would be Multi-Man's fourth go-round, and each of his appearances had built upon the prior ones].

Ace and Rocky have tracked down their nemesis to a remote island in the South Pacific. Prof agrees to stay behind in the lab to work on an antidote to Multi-Man's powers that worked in a previous clash, while the others take off in pursuit.

Meanwhile, we find that Multi-Man has made another leap forward in mastering his abilities:


In the pouch around his neck, he has numerous pellets that he can take to instantly morph into different forms. He demonstrates to his gang by swallowing a red pill which transforms him into an energy being, and zapping a nearby volcano. The Challs arrive to witness the explosion, and through binoculars are able to see how their arch-foe is now able to change his shape at will.

Later, under cover of darkness, the group splits into two pairs to approach Multi-Man's stronghold. Ace and Rocky get there first and immediately try a frontal assault:


[It's never really explained what Multi-Man's green pill did - maybe he's supposed to be full of helium?]

Losing the element of surprise, the two Challengers beat a hasty retreat, and Rocky attempts to hold off pursuit by using a nearby torch to set fire to the grass next to the camp. But their foe easily counters this maneuver by making like a sponge:


After taking the pair captive, Multi-Man brags to them about how he will soon be emperor of Earth. Rocky laughs at him, but MM assures him he is deadly serious:


Shades of Jax-Ur! Will this guy really blow up the moon? As it turns out, it causes a huge explosion on the lunar surface. Multi-Man feels this will send enough of a message to earth's leaders, and he prepares to depart to deliver his ultimatum. But first, he needs a mineral in the nearby mountain. Apparently, one fault in his powers is that he loses his brain powers when he changes to another form, and this mineral will allow him to fix that problem. MM departs the camp, leaving a detachment of two guards, but that proves to be a mistake as Red and June now appear on the scene and quickly dispatch them and free their buddies. [Rather careless of Multi-Man here - he had to know the other Challs were lurking around somewhere!]

The four Challs now chase after their foe, and catch up to him just as he's swallowed the mineral cure and become a super-smart energy being:


Prof now approaches, but MM makes short work of the copter:


But as Prof leaps from the aircraft with a handy parachute, he's able to get close enough to Multi-Man to splash some of the antidote on him, sending MM into a death-dive:


The Challs explore the explosion site, and are astounded to see that their foe has survived the fall. But it's brought about yet another change to him:



So Multi-Man is apparently a changed man. But we all know how those things usually turn out, don't we?

What can I say - I have a soft spot for these MM tales. I love how Drake built each Multi-Man tale upon the previous one, upping the ante each time. The character's amorphous nature really allowed him to cut loose with these stories, and they were always a highlight of the early 60s Challs.

And Bob Brown did some nice work here too, particularly with the fight scenes.

All in all, not a bad little story.



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