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At this point in
their careers, the Challengers look broke as well as homeless.
Challenger Mountain is gone, blown up, taking a ton of expensive
equipment with it. The loss might have exhausted Prof's inheritance.
The Gizmo made a rough landing, requiring a complete overhaul
and inspection by the FAA, which can't run cheap. Furthermore, with the Gizmo shaky, the Challs probably can't dive to their underwater Pacific base, so it's permanently out of reach. Rocky hasn't won any prize money in a while. Ace is always in debt, and Red never had two nickels. So they crash in apartments and get around by car. Needing cash might
determine which cases they take on. And might account for their
going undercover on dangerous government missions. |
The Challs accept an eerie "Invitation to a Hanging!" (COTU 64) They see three villains hang: Wolf Dengon, Shark Powell, and Snake Saunders. Doc Hemlock has promised to bring them back for revenge, but then Doc commits suicide. Yet Wolf, Shark, and Snake come alive to kill again. Summoned to Cobra
Canyon by a madman, (COTU
65) the
Challs are captured by a giant half-insectoid alien who pits
them against human-sized bugs in "The Devil's Circus". |
Somewhere along the way, Prof rents or sets up a lab. Always intrigued by ways to enter the unknown, he experiments with entering dreams... ... An avenue that
comes in handy when Tino is harassed by "The Dream Killers!"
(COTU
67) Tino
suffers nightmares that bring physical damage. The Challs learn
fiends are infesting peoples' dreams. The entire city of Boulder,
Colorado fears to sleep until the Challs literally descend into
a nightmare and destroy a sinister alien mind. (The monster resembles
Chu of COTU
70.) The Challs get
another shot at the League of Challenger-Haters, and wrap it up
nicely. But the brawl uncovers an alien artifact that temporarily
drives Ace crazy. The heroes call in Doc Magnus and the Metal Men to haul the artifact to STAR Labs. (JLA 42) Ambushed in Endless
Caverns, a criminal genius traps Ace in an iron mask that might
destroy the city, making him "Ace: The Beast in the Bomb!"
(COTU
67) |
If you ever wondered who patches the Challengers after their many misadventures, the answer is Doctor Stevens of Boulder, Colorado, (COTU 67), who's seen everything.  (A bigger question,
still unanswered, is: Who cooks?) |
In "One of Us is a Madman!" (COTU 68), it's Prof's turn to get infected by an evil electro-monster spawned by a computer. They scotch the monster, but Prof's spiritual possession lingers. On Skull Mountain in the Ozarks, Algernon Stark designs and tailors five new uniforms for the Challengers... The Challs venture to the Ozark Mountains to investigate "The Secret of Skull Mountain!" (COTU 69) A brute turns out to be a failed experiment of Algernon Stark. The Challs are aided by the villain's daughter, the enigmatic Corinna Stark with extra-sensory perception (ESP). Prof has been silently battling the evil inside him. He rushes Algeron Stark and is gutshot. Rocky, always emotional, flips out because he couldn't protect a friend and shreds his yellow uniform. With Prof out of action, Corinna invites herself onto the team! For the first time,
romance collides with loyalty. While June Robbins was always
treated like a kid sister, the exotic Corinna turns heads. Rocky
falls hard but is rebuffed. Red resents Corinna but succumbs
to her charms. Rocky and Red's friendly feud becomes all-out
war. Can one woman crush the Challs where dozens of super-villains
failed? |
Still stunned by Prof's near-fatal shooting, the Challs are further surprised when Corinna Stark stuffs Prof into a cryogenic unit, then plucks new uniforms from a chest. Skin-tight purple uniforms made for cold weather have yellow stripes and fur collars. Including one for Corinna. (Why did her father make up uniforms? Did he plan to put the Challs on display? If so, why would Corinna get a uniform? Or did Corinna and her father lure the Challengers to Skull Mountain just so Corinna could join the team? Read more speculation in Corinna's Bio.) And what will June say?  Racing to get a
doctor for Prof, the Challs are bushwacked by a cult leader who's
turned hicks into the Slaves of Chu hearing "A Scream of
Yesterdays!" (COTU 70). The fraud-god is, what else, a lumpy
alien. (Who resembles the alien dream-killer of COTU 67.) The Challs are primed
as sacrifices after Chu killed Corinna's father, Algernon Stark.
The Challs dump the villain on his can and destroy thousands
of spores before they can grow into aliens. But when they find
the cryo-unit, Prof is gone! |
Worried about Prof and arguing among themselves, the Challengers get sloppy "When Evil Calls!" (COTU 71). They're again captured by Chu, the alien cult leader. Tino Manarray leads a rescue, and a sheriff shoots the alien. The dying sheriff donates his eyes to Red. Red and Tino each receive an eye transplant, so get back 20-20 in both eyes. (Are they the same color?) Meanwhile "A Plague of Darkness" (COTU 72) hits the city. Passed by cat scratch, people become white-faced zombies, including two Challs. With Corinna, the Challs spot the villain and save the city. In "The Curse of the Killer Time Forgot" (COTU 73) the Challs shed fur collars and investigate how astronauts were killed in space. Corinna wanders off alone and must be rescued - then gets to be America's first woman in space! While in space,
Ace makes a space-walk and moon-walk. |
Johnny Double, PI, brings the Challs into a jewel theft turned soul theft. The Challs need "To Call a Deadman" (COTU 74) to save a little girl's life. Deadman recalls this adventure in flashback in "Murder Haunts the Midway". (Adventure 459) On a rainy night
in the city (COTU 75), the Challs tell Corinna the story of "Ultivac
is Loose!" But again, what will June say when she meets Corinna? Corinna walks away.
(Not recorded. Perhaps she takes a hint when June returns in
the next adventure. But Corinna will bounce back when least expected.) |
Next: Blasts from the past... |