Retro Review: Micronauts #13-37 By Mantlo, Broderick, Chaykin, & Others For Marvel Comics

Micronauts #13-37, Annual #2 (January 1980 – January 1982)

Written by Bill Mantlo

Co-plotted by Pat Broderick (#23-31, 34)

Penciled/Layouts by Howard Chaykin (#13-18), Pat Broderick (#19-34), Val Mayerik (#35), Keith Giffen (#36-37), Greg LaRocque (#37), Rich Buckler (Annual #2), Steve Ditko (Annual #2)

Inked/Finished by Al Milgrom (#13-18), Armando Gil (#19-22, 24-26), Danny Bulandi (#23, 27-37), Steve Ditko (Annual #2)

Coloured by Bob Sharen (#13-15, 18, 21-23, 25-27, 31, 33-37), Roger Slifer (#17, 20, 28), Ben Sean (#19), Barry Grossman (#21), Doc Martin (#29), Don Warfield (#32), Carl Gafford (Annual #2)

Spoilers (from forty to forty-two years ago)

As much as The Micronauts are synonymous in many readers’ minds with the art of Michael Golden, he left the book after one year (staying on to draw covers), and Howard Chaykin took over for a while, before handing things to Pat Broderick. Chaykin’s first issue was also mine, and I have vague memories of my four-year old self really liking seeing Bug’s homeworld, and he became my favourite character when I picked up more issues as I got older.

What I remember from this era is that Mantlo had the Micronauts explore more of the Microverse, and interact a little more with Marvel characters on Earth. I’m looking forward to diving back into this series, which opens with the team having defeated Baron Karza on Homeworld, and working to define their new role. I remember really liking these comics, so let’s see how good my taste was back in the day.

Let’s track who turned up in the title:

The Micronauts

Bug (#13-37, Annual #2)
Marionette (Princess Mari; #13-22, 24-26, 28-37, Annual #2)
Biotron (#13-21, 23-27, Annual #2)
Commander Arcturus Rann (#13-22, 24-37, Annual #2)
Microtron (#13-15, 17-37, Annual #2)
Acroyear (#14-37, Annual #2)
Cilicia (#14-29)
Jasmine (#15-17)
Pharoid (#30-34)
Devil (#33-37)
Fireflyte (#33-35)
Nanotron (#34-37)

Villains

Psycho-Man (#15-17)
Helen (#18)
Odd John (#19-20)
Plant-Man (Sam Smithers; #21)
Prince Shaitan (Acroyear; #21, 23-28)
Force Commander (Argon; #22-25, 34-35, 37)
Molecule Man (Owen Reece; #23)
Computrex (#24)
Mentallo (#24-25)
The Fixer (#24-25)
Baron Karza (#25-28)
Hydra (#26-28)
Dagon (#26-29)
Nightmare (#29)
Degrayde (#34)
Ampzilla (Death Squad; #35-36)
Battleaxe (Degrayde, Death Squad; #35-36)
Lobros (Death Squad; #35-36)
Centauria (Death Squad; #35-36)
Repto (Death Squad; #36)
Lobstros (Death Squad; #36)
Antron (Death Squad; #36)
Galactic Destroyer (Death Squad; #36)
Huntarr (Iann-23; #37)
Professor Phillip Prometheus (aka The Toymaster; Annual #2)

Guest Stars

Human Torch (Johnny Storm, Fantastic Four; #14-17)
Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards, Fantastic Four; #14-17)
The Thing (Ben Grimm, Fantastic Four; #14-17)
Invisible Girl (Sue Richards, Fantastic Four; #14-17)
Ant-Man (Scott Lang; #19-20)
Nick Fury (Director of SHIELD; #26-29)
Gabe Jones (SHIELD; #26-27, 29)
Dum Dum Dugan (SHIELD; #26-29)
Captain America (Steve Rogers, Avengers; #28)
Vision (Avengers; #28)
Iron Man (Tony Stark, Avengers; #28)
Dr. Leonard Samson (#29)
Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange; #30-35)
Captain Universe (Arcturus Rann and Dr. Strange; #35)
Sprite (Kitty Pryde, X-Men; #37)
Professor Charles Xavier (X-Men; #37)
Wolverine (Logan, X-Men; #37)
Colossus (Piotr Rasputin, X-Men; #37)
Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner, X-Men; #37)
Storm (Ororo Monroe, X-Men; #37)

Supporting Characters

Agent M (SHIELD; #13-15)
Wartstaff (Bug’s father; #13-14)
Jasmine (Bug’s girlfriend; #13-14)
Argon (aka Force Commander; #13-14, 28-30, 33)
Slug (#13-14, 22-26, 28-30, 34-35)
Time Traveler (#14-15, 21-25, 27-28, 33)
Cassie Lang (#19)
Vespian (Captain of Acroyear’s Royal Guard; #21)
Pharoid (Prince of Aegyptia, leader of Desert Demons; #23-26, 28-29, 35)
Margrace (Desert Demon; #23, 34-35)
Queen Esmera (Queen of Kaliklak; #26, 28)
Nanotron (#30)
Lady Coral (Seazone; #30-31)
Tybalt (Lord Regent of Seazone; #30-31)
Ryak (Tybalt’s guard, Seazone; #30-31)
Aquon (Lord of Oceania; #30-21)
Prince Wayfinder (#31)
Prince Peacock (#32-33)
Queen Fria (Queen of Polaria; #32)
Mr. Karamatsu (toy maker; Annual #2)

Let’s take a look at what happened in these books, with some commentary as we go:

I am amazed by how much of this issue came back to me as I read it. I must have read it dozens of times as a kid (it’s condition definitely supports that statement), although I’m sure there’s much that single-digit me never understood. This comic is part of my DNA though. Bug wakes up on a forest floor, realizing that he was thrown into hyperspace when he caused a Phobos unit to explode. He wonders where he is, and touches antennae with a local insect; it doesn’t teach him much. He climbs a tall tree, and seeing the Central Nest in the distance, realizes he’s back on his home planet, Kaliklak. He hides from someone riding a snail-driven wagon, and as the driver passes under the tree he’s in, he snatches the old man. As it turns out, it’s Bug’s old friend (who doesn’t get a name), the man who taught him how to be a thief. They talk, and Bug learns that in the last few days, the Colonial Army that occupies the planet has increased security (we know that Baron Karza was killed on Homeworld). But also learns that his old gang of thieves and cutthroats has been taken over by a man named Wartstaff. Bug insists on heading to their lair. On Earth, a shadowy figure who is obviously Nick Fury speaks to SHIELD Agent M about his mission – to take a briefcase containing two dead people from the Microverse and one of their vessels to a particular building in Manhattan. M leaves in a helicopter. Bug arrives at Robber’s Roost, leaving his friend outside. He takes out the sole guard, and enters the cave, where Wartstaff and his gang are enjoying a feast. We see that the leader of the women who serve him, Jasmine, has plans to take over the gang herself. Bug enters the room and we learn that Jasmine was his girlfriend. Wartstaff shoots at Bug, who dodges and attacks. His former gang members say they’d prefer to stay with Wartstaff, believing that Bug sold them out. He makes it clear to them that it’s more likely that Wartstaff was turning his own men into the Colonials. Bug pounces on Wartstaff, holding his rocket lance to his throat. Bug accuses him of having betrayed him, and we learn that Wartstaff is his father. Jasmine can see that the older man is going to stab his son, and she jumps in, severing his antennae with a knife. A couple of the gangsters contest what’s happened, so Bug kills one, and the old man he left outside kills the other. Bug tells everyone still alive that he has a job for them. Back on Homeworld, Mari comes to see Rann, who has gotten out of the vita-cot where his wounds were being treated. She scolds Biotron for not watching him more carefully, but the roboid says he was tired of dealing with him. Rann wants to get off Homeworld. Biotron recaps things, talking about the fact that Rann channeled the Enigma Force, which he kind of created (I’m still not clear on this). Rann says he’s bored, and doesn’t want to be tied down (which Mari thinks is a reference to her). Argon and Slug join them, and Argon suggests that Mari also wants to go adventuring instead of staying on Homeworld. Biotron mentions that the Micronauts all want to be a team again, and Rann takes the step of asking Mari to give up being Queen on Homeworld to come with him. She wants to go with him, and Argon makes it clear that he’s going to propose to Slug so his world will have a queen. Biotron mentions that he wishes Bug was alive, and that Acroyear was with them, and Microtron serves dessert. On Kaliklak, Bug, Jasmine, and their gathering of thieves prepare to assault the Colonial Air Terminus outside the Central Nest.

But leads the attack on the colonial troops, taking the Dog Soldiers by surprise. Bug topples a Phobos unit, and then leads Jasmine and the others to stop the troops from getting to their fighter jets. Bug’s people commandeer the orbiters, and Big thinks they should use them to attack the colonial governor’s base. Bug notices that Wartstaff is there too, slipping into a battle-cruiser. Bug’s troops lift off and Jasmine comments on how much more dramatic he is now. She tells him that it was his father that helped the governor capture Bug and send him to Karza, and that he forced Jasmine to join him. On Homeworld, Argon, Slug, and a lot of civilians come out to see the Micronauts off. Mari suggests that Slug change her name, but she intends to keep it until she marries Argon. For his part, Argon has to keep his centaur form since he swore he’d never reopen the Body Banks. Rann admits they don’t know where they’re going, but want to explore other worlds, and maybe return to Earth. Biotron suggests they head to places that are still in the grips of Karza’s forces, and Microtron brings up the idea of liberating Kaliklak, in Bug’s honour. The Endeavor launches. On Spartak, Acroyear and Cilicia talk about how he doesn’t want to be king anymore, and intends to pass on leadership to the Acroyear elders. He wants to return to the Micronauts, and she decides to go with him. Time Traveler steps in to narrate briefly, and we head to Earth, where Agent M lands on the roof of the Baxter Building, and is met by the Fantastic Four. He says that he wants to share information with them, and asks if they’ve heard of Micronauts. On Kaliklak, Bug’s thieves attack the central nest, but are facing resistance from an anti-spacecraft gun. Wartstaff separates the components of his battle-cruiser, hoping to confuse the gunner, but is shot down, and it looks like he’s died. Bug and Jasmine make their way into the colonial governor’s suites. He sees him rushing to evacuate, and Bug confronts him. The governor tries to weasel his way out of taking the blame for torturing Bug before sending him to Karza, and Bug blasts him with his rocket-lance. It looks like he’s killed him, but Bug claims he just knocked him out. Some of the officials claim they have no loyalty to the governor, and share the news that Baron Karza is dead. Bug tells his people to plunder, and then they’re going to party. The Endeavor is met by Acroyear’s imperial fighter. He docks, and he and Cilicia are welcomed back to the team. Acroyear speaks of how much he misses Bug, but then Biotron informs them that he has Bug on the viewscreen. Bug and Jasmine are in the middle of a party, and ask Rann to come and pick them up.
Agent M learns that the Fantastic Four have recently been attacked inside the Baxter Building, and that they were cleaning up the mess when he arrived. Reed reveals that their attacker came from within the building, and reveals that the attack was focused on his submolecular studies lab, where he keeps his reducta-craft. He believes his attacker shrunk into a subatomic universe to escape detection. Agent M makes a connection between this and what happened at HELL (Human Engineering Life Laboratories), and shows them the spacecraft and dead bodies from the Microverse that were found in the wreckage there. Within the Microverse, the Endeavor has come across a massive spaceship. We see that Bug has rejoined his friends, and brought Jasmine with him, which I think is enough to make her a Micronaut now too. They are curious as to what this big ship is, and as they try to move away from it, are trapped in a tractor beam. They are brought into the ship, where they are attacked by a large number of ant-like androids (Antrons, they are called later in the issue). These beings try to pull the Endeavor apart, so the Micronauts fight them when they breach the ship. Rann and Mari use the ship’s guns to try to kill as many as possible. Microtron heads out onto the bulkhead to fight, and gets swarmed. Mari rushes out to protect him, telling the creatures that he’s been with her since she was born. Rann heads out to help her, referring to her as the woman he loves for the first time. Biotron worries that a bigger threat is heading their way, while the others start to turn the tide. Mari shoots the last Antrons away from Microtron, and holds him as he stops operating. Above them, on a massive viewscreen, we see that the Antrons were drones working for Psycho-Man, who owns the ships they’re in. At the Baxter Building, we see that Reed intends for him, Sue, and Ben to use the reducta-craft to go after their attacker, while Johnny heads to Florida to investigate HELL, and if it’s still operating, use the Prometheus Pit to meet them. He doesn’t want SHIELD to know what they’re doing, because he worries that the spies might abuse the Microverse. No one explains how an incredibly tiny place can be accessed from both New York and Florida. The reducta-craft shrinks and flies into a chemical stain on a microscope slide. As they get smaller and smaller, Reed reveals that an armored suit was stolen from his lab, and that he is sure that the Psycho-Man is behind it. Time Traveler appears to the reader, in a narrative trick that makes it seem logical that on the next page, Johnny arrives in Florida. The guards outside of HELL try to stop him from approaching, until he tells them he has SHIELD authorization. He is given a recap of what’s happened at the lab before now, and then he heads towards the Prometheus Pit, which he recognizes as a way to enter submolecular universes. He prepares to enter it.

The Micronauts, and Microtron’s remains, find themselves falling, having been transported through an antigravitational flux tube to the master of the giant vessel they are on, the Psycho-Man. He stands much taller than they do – they come to about his knees. He is dismissive of the Micronauts, calling them nothing more than foreign matter polluting the artificial world inside his ship. Mari is very upset about what’s happened to Microtron, but Rann wants to communicate with their host. The Psycho-Man prefers to mess with their emotions, and touching the buttons on his Psycho-Ray (basically, an oversized tablet with three labels – Fear, Doubt, and Hate), starts to experiment on our heroes. Bug and Jasmine are attacked by a repto that Psycho-Man has manifested. These winged lizard beings eat Insectovoroid eggs on Kaliklak, and Bug and Jasmine suddenly feel an irrational fear. Rann is seized with doubt, believing he’s too old and useless to be of any help in this fight. Biotron is attacked by a Phobos Unit (this one doesn’t seem to have a pilot, like all the other ones we’ve seen to date). Acroyear and Cilicia, having been hit by the ‘hate’ ray, start fighting. Only Mari is unaffected, and she moves to attack the Psycho-Man, but is herself attacked by more Antrons. Three of the Fantastic Four continue their journey into the Microverse, and arrive at Psycho-Man’s vessel. They land on it and Thing rips open a part of the bulkhead, giving them entrance into the massive space. They hear the fight that’s happening, and rush towards it. The problem is, they don’t recognize any of the combatants, except the Psycho-Man, who now seems to be larger than we saw him before. The FF jump into the fray, guessing at whom they should be helping. Reed tries to get the Psycho-Ray, but is blasted by it. Rann starts to come out of his doubt, while Acroyear starts tying Reed in knots. Thing tosses the Phobos Unit at him, but it smashes when it hits Acroyear’s armor. Sue struggles to hold back the repto, and Mari notices that Psycho-Man grows as he absorbs more emotion. When Arcturus sees that she’s attacking him alone, he springs into action, and they start to fire at the giant together. They notice that he’s distracted, and look up to see that the Human Torch has arrived in the Microverse via the Prometheus Pit, and he’s massive (the proportions are similar to how it was when the Micronauts were on Earth).
Psycho-Man is not happy to see the Human Torch standing over him, and shuts off his Psycho-Ray, but almost immediately, Johnny feels unwell. While Cilicia talks about how much she misses Spartak, Reed realizes that Johnny is burning up all the oxygen in the massive worldship (which seems like something that should happen whenever he’s flamed on in any spaceship then). Everyone except Biotron starts to pass out, but Rann seals his helmet and flies up to Johnny’s face to tell him what’s happening. Johnny extinguishes his flame, but also collapses, taking out an empty city that Psycho-Man has in his ship. Psycho-Man recovers faster than the others, and uses some conveniently placed electro-magnets to pull Biotron apart. Psycho-Man laughs to himself about how he is going to feed off the emotions of his captives until he’s able to use his power to take over the Microverse and then the Earth. When the Micronauts and Fantastic Four come to, they are each trapped in individual tubes, attached to a massive organ-like machine called the Psycho-Manipulator. The Psycho-Man is larger now, almost the same size as Johnny, who is tied down like Gulliver, with a variety of robot drones known as Trons crawling all over him (there was an ad for these exact toys in an earlier issue). Ben and Acroyear are able to smash out of their tubes by working together, and while Ben works to free the others, Acroyear punches Psycho-Man in the mouth. Sue makes Bug invisible so he can work to destroy the machine, and the others work to free Johnny. Thing and Cilicia are able to topple Psycho-Man. Reed leads the drones away by making himself into a rolling hula hoop, and then smashing into them. Rann frees Johnny. Sue suffers strain from projecting invisibility onto Bug. He makes it inside the psycho-manipulator, and breaks some stuff, so that energy starts draining away from the Psycho-Man. He shrinks, and transfers himself to a different suit of armor (I’m confused as to how this works, and if he has multiple Psycho-Rays at different sizes, or if they change with him). He leads an army of his drones towards our heroes. Bug comes out of the machine, but doesn’t realize he’s visible. Jasmine sees that he’s about to be attacked, and jumps over to save him. She is grabbed by a repto, who looks like he immediately starts eating her. Bug freaks out, and needs to be saved by Acroyear and Ben from a Tron. Mari follows a scavengers drone, wondering where Microtron and Biotron’s remains are. She finds them getting reassembled by Psycho-Man’s automated drones, and the two roboids are fine. Everyone starts heading for their respective vehicles as a retreat from the drone army. Psycho-Man holds Jasmine’s dead body over his head and gloats. Rann flies in and grabs her. The Micronauts climb into the Endeavor, while the three small members of the Fantastic Four get in their reducta-craft. Johnny blows a hole in the hull of the worldship, and they all escape through it. Psycho-Man yells after them about his plans to use his worldship to help him rebuild his power (what is with this guy anyway?). The Fantastic Four start to grow, while Johnny flies through space without any issues (suggesting there’s oxygen in Microverse space?). Reed mentions that the Micronauts must have breached the Spacewall, which doesn’t really make sense to me. On the Endeavor, everyone gathers around Bug, who is mourning Jasmine’s death. Rann makes it clear that she was a Micronaut (this death seems really sudden, given how new a character she is, but also explains why I had no memory of her joining the team).

The Micronauts have pushed through the Spacewall and find themselves on an unknown world where the vegetation is very big. They need to land quickly, and are unsure where they are. Bug and Acroyear stand over Jasmine’s body in the suspended animation chamber, and while Bug mourns both his lover and his last connection to his homeworld, Acroyear (who rarely takes off his helmet) demonstrates support and compassion. Later, the Micronauts hold a funeral for Jasmine, burying her on Rann’s suspended animation couch, a symbol of him severing his ties to that part of his life. Microtron uses the Star Searcher, a tank-like craft with a bulldozer attachment to put dirt over Jasmine, and to check off another toy placement. The funeral done, the roboids get to work on repairs and energizing the Endeavor, while the others prepare to explore in the Star Searcher. Bug decides to go off on his own. The two couples drive across the terrain, until they spot an Earth-like house in the distance, only it is on their scale. Mari puts on a glider-pac to go investigate and Rann frets over her. They embrace in the sky and she reminds him to stop treating her like a child. Cilicia suggests to Acroyear that they can be more free with public displays of affection now too. Rann and Mari approach the house, not aware that a large (i.e., human-sized) person is watching them from behind some bushes. They enter, and think they see a person their size moving. When Mari touches the man, dressed like a butler, he collapses and doesn’t move. She sees a large eyeball in a mirror and shoots it. She and Rann continue to explore the house, which is full of mannequins posed as if they are at a party. The being outside continues to watch them, and it’s obviously a child. As they continue to explore, the butler from before grabs Mari from behind, and ends up cutting off her airway to the point that she collapses. The child grabs them both in her hands. Acroyear and Cilicia reach the house in the Star Searcher, and are attacked by the fancy car parked outside. Acroyear smashes it, and when they enter the house, all of the mannequins attack them. They rip the banister off the staircase to fight back. They find Rann trapped under a bookcase, and free him, but he doesn’t know where Mari went. More of the mannequins come after them, and Acroyear starts cutting them apart with his sword. The child gets upset that things are getting ruined, and starts blasting at them with eyebeams. These beams destroy some of the mannequins, while the Micronauts run. Outside, we see that the child, named Helen, is being called by her mother. She talks about how she can control her dolls, but found new ones that could move without her, who were ruining her dollhouse. Acroyear breaks down a wall to free his friends, and they find Mari passed out on the ground. They decide to head back to the Endeavor. Helen’s mother comments that they are in Saugerties, New York, proving to us that the Micronauts have returned to Earth (showing that the Microverse is somehow connected to four very different locations). The Micronauts, as they drive their Star Searcher home, comment that at least they aren’t on Earth, which they all hate.
Pat Broderick and Armando Gil came on as the new artists with issue 19, and my god is it a breath of fresh air. Broderick’s style fits nicely with the look that Michael Golden established for the book. Bug, having left his friends last issue, finds his way to a farm, and tries to figure out what the chickens he sees pecking outside the barn are. A cow starts to munch the grass where he is perched, and as he uses his rocket-lance to escape, he catches the attention of the chickens. He escapes them, ends up on a pig, and then in a puddle that confirms for him that he’s on Earth (apparently there’s not a lot of water on Kaliklak). A man comes out from the barn to see what all the noise is, and he is immediately excited to see a small talking insect-like figure. He sprays him with gas from a canister he has on his back, grabs him, and takes him into the barn. This man, who calls himself Odd John, has an elaborate collection of insects in tanks, and we learn that he’s been mutating them with his spray to make them into a suitable army for him so that he can get revenge on bullies. He puts Bug, who is reacting to the spray, in a cage with a particularly odd looking ant. The rest of the Micronauts, back at the Endeavor, look for Bug. Rann receives a telepathic message from Biotron showing that he’s found Bug’s brainwaves (I don’t understand how that works yet). They return to the ship, and see an image of the ant that Bug is looking at. They launch the ship, planning to go rescue their friend. Odd John receives messages from the local insects, informing him that the ship is coming. He’s surprised to see the Endeavor outside his barn, and tries to use his spray on it, which doesn’t do anything. Next, he swats the ship with his rake, sending it flying. Acroyear and Rann exit the ship to attack him, while the women admire their bravery, but Mari wants to do more. Odd John grabs a shotgun and manages to shoot the ship. He catches Rann in his fist, and decides it’s the right time to narrate his sad story (he’s basically an early version of an incel, who fixated on insects since he didn’t have other friends). He decided that he’d help insects evolve, so he built his tank system, and developed his mutation spray in his barn (with what education?). Acroyear points out that this guy is similar to Baron Karza, using advanced science for his own selfish purposes, and hits him hard, freeing Rann from his grip. John releases his insects, commanding them telepathically. They go after the Endeavor, and when he flies over to help, Acroyear gets shot in the back by Bug’s rocket-lance. He doesn’t recognize his friend, who is mutated (he kind of looks like a Brood). It takes a while for Rann and Acroyear to realize they are fighting their friend. Bug shoots Acroyear, and Odd John hits Rann with his spray, who collapses. John sends his insects out to do damage on the world (he doesn’t really get the scale of what he’s doing with so few bugs. He picks up the Endeavor and takes it into his barn. He picks up Rann and prepares to mount him like a butterfly. Elsewhere, Cassie Lang (the future hero Stature, but she’s still a little girl here) points out to her father, Scott, that the ants on her window sill are acting strangely. Scott hustles his daughter away, and gets out his Ant-Man costume. He shrinks down to figure out what’s upsetting the ants, and flies off on a flying ant to investigate.

Mari clings to the outside of the downed Endeavor (which seems too small – sideways, she is as long as the bridge of the ship), and watches as Odd John prepares to skewer Arcturus. She doesn’t have time to get to her glider-wings (which is what we seem to be calling glider-pacs now), so she has to use her gymnast abilities to get across John’s workshop, and jump on a precariously balanced hammer so it flies into the air and hits him in the head. He drops Rann into a can of paint and falls face-first into the equipment on his desk, smashing it. After everyone has collected themselves, and Acroyear and Cilicia have chained up Odd John, he explains that he can’t recall his insect army because his telepatho-communicator is now broken. He predicts the bugs will go looking for food. We see the mutated insect swarm, much bigger than previously shown, and led by the mutated Bug, heading for a grocery store nearby. Ant-Man arrives on the scene and tries to figure out what he should do. He is seen by Bug, who blasts the flying ant he’s riding on. Odd John mocks the Micronauts as they launch the Endeavor to go look for their friend. Ant-Man sends home his other friend ants to protect them, and uses the springs in his boots to get to the grocery store. The insect army enters the store and starts causing havoc. Rann pilots the Endeavor into the store (I think they tracked Bug’s brainwaves again or something). Ant-Man also enters, and finds himself in a fight with a large ant. The Micronauts fly out of their ship on their wing-gliders (the name changed again!) and engage with the mutated flying insects around them. Acroyear ends up bursting a freon pipe in a refrigerator case, and is frozen. Bug blasts Rann and Mari with his rocket-lance, and they land in a box on a garbage cart. While Microtron leaves the Endeavor in the Astro-Station to help, the two human Micronauts get tossed into a garbage truck by an oblivious sanitation worker. One ant tries to get on the Endeavor, causing Biotron to fly it all over the place. Microtron drags Acroyear to the Astro-Station with the help of Cilicia, and they launch again. As Ant-Man fights with the large ant, it pierces his belt, releasing his shrinking gas. The gas both shrinks the ant, and reverses its mutations. Ant-Man climbs into the air conditioning vent and releases the rest of his gas, figuring it will solve the problem for all the mutated insects. The gas reverts Bug to normal (but doesn’t shrink him like it did the ant) and has no effect on the others. Biotron can’t communicate with the others because of damage to the ship, but does end up meeting Ant-Man when he jumps onto the outside of the ship and introduces himself. Microtron flies the astro-station out of the store, and Biotron follows close behind, leaving the two shopkeepers that see them confused. Later, at Odd John’s, Ant-Man, now full-sized, talks to Biotron about how he won’t discuss what happened with regards to the Micronauts, whom he didn’t get to meet. Biotron feels alone without his friends.
Issue twenty-one starts a series of ‘Tales from the Microverse’ backup stories. The main story opens with the reader seeing that Biotron is fixing the communicator on the Endeavor while Microtron, Cilicia, Acroyear, and Bug are searching on foot for the missing Commander Rann and Marionette. Mari and the unconscious Rann are still in the garbage truck where they ended up last issue. When the truck stops at a flower shop in Poughkeepsie, Mari activates Rann’s glider-wings (her’s were damaged) to escape the truck, and they end up on a window sill looking into the flower shop, run by a woman named Fawn. Rann slips from Mari’s hold, and she has to use her gymnastic abilities to grab him and maneuver his falling body into a tub of liquid, which subsequently spills. Fawn blames it on her cat, and is about to clean up when a man enters the shop – it’s her boyfriend Sam Smithers. He offers to clean up and to mind the store while she takes a break. When she leaves, he turns to sign in the window to read ‘closed’, and Mari, who has been watching them, gets a bad feeling. Arcturus wakes up, so they make out for a bit, until they notice that Smithers has changed into his criminal supervillain getup, and is actually Plant-Man. He’s made Fawn fall for him so he can use her store and plants to gain access to the bank vault next door. He uses his chloroblaster to mutate the plants and make them obey him (this seems like fake science to me). Mari wants to stop him, and convinces Rann to act. As they fly through the hole he made in the wall, Fawn returns and freaks out at what’s happened. Plant-Man has his plants grab her, and Mari jumps into action, knocking the fun from Plant-Man’s hand. Rann starts blasting at the vines around Fawn’s neck (she’s surprised). Plant-Man tries to catch Mari, who is too fast for him, so he blasts some cacti so they’ll shoot their needles everywhere. Fawn calls the police. Mari manages to repeat the trick she did with the hammer last issue, and flip a trowel into the air so it knocks Plant-Man on the head. His chloroblaster goes off and hits a vine plant that wraps itself around him, trapping him. The two Micronauts fly off as the cops arrive, and feel good for having helped.
Time Traveler narrates the first Tales of the Microverse story, which is set on Spartak. Vespian, the captain of Acroyear’s Royal Guard and his men make their way to the Temple of the Rock, where the usual guards have been killed. They find a ring of very white and naked beings (are they Acroyears?) standing around a huge bonfire in the temple. A dying priest explains that they are praying to raise the dead. Vespian knows which is the only body in there, and gets worried. When his men attack, they are easily killed. From the flames, we see that Prince Shaitan is resurrected, but he seems different. It looks like all of the guards are killed by Shaitan, who then calls for the death of Acroyear. Someone is watching this (is it Vespian?), and wants to warn Acroyear.

Cilicia, Acroyear, Bug, and Microtron are in the Astro-Station, searching for their missing friends and ship. For whatever reason, they’re flying in the middle of the New York State Thruway, and are just in front of a large truck. The Micronauts talk, and worry that they might never find the others. The truck driver behind them gets confused by what he’s seeing and leans on his horn. The Micronauts take this as a sign of attack, and enter into battle with the truck, denting its horn, ripping off its hood, and blasting its hood ornament. When Cilicia fires a rocket cannon at the windshield, the drivers lose control of the vehicle. Not far down the road, a kid named Rodney tries to rob the McDonald’s where he used to work. Even though he has a gun, no one takes him very seriously. The patrons in the restaurant realize that the truck from before is coming towards the place, and they flee. The Micronauts are seen by Rodney, who starts shooting at them. He hits Acroyear, but his armor is strong enough to withstand the bullet (which is pretty remarkable, given his size). Acroyear flies over and hits Rodney, knocking him into the food display. Bug starts eating. Rodney shoots some more, angry that his plans have gone astray, and ricochet sends a shot right through the Astro-Station, just missing Microtron. Cilicia knocks Rodney down, but when he drops his gun, which Bug is straddling, it goes off again. Rodney swats Acroyear into the fry cooker, and the others rush to save him. Not far off, Marionette and Rann ask some guy where all the commotion is, having heard discussion of ‘little people’ on police radios. He gives them vague directions. Acroyear is fine, and the Micronauts decide it’s time to leave, as the police arrive. They see Rodney trying to explain what’s happened to the cops. Outside, the Micronauts are joined by Mari and Rann, and they make plans to find Biotron and the Endeavor.
In the Tales of the Microverse backup, Time Traveler takes us to Homeworld, where an unnatural rain of fire is causing destruction. Slug realizes that the only building not being affected is the Body Banks, and flies a ship over to investigate. Inside, she finds a dead guard, and realizes someone’s broken in. Since Argon is not around, Slug enters the sealed building to check things out. She’s fired on by laser-arrows, which she knows are only used by the Centaurs of the desert. She wonders aloud how they could be there, and gets an explanation from Argon, who surprises her. His eyes are all white, and he explains that Baron Karza left controls in his mind that were triggered by the rain of fire. Now he serves Karza, who he suggests, as he blasts Slug, might not actually be dead.
Issue twenty-three identifies Cilicia as a guest star, even though it’s been established that she’s a Micronaut by this point elsewhere. Biotron, unable to fix the Endeavor’s communicator, takes the hydro-copter to explore a nearby scrapyard for supplies. He lands the copter and steps over a large puddle. He locates some freon in an old refrigerator that will be helpful, but is trapped when the fridge door closes on him. He uses his extendable limbs and strength to break out, and the racket he makes wakes up an unhoused Black man who is sleeping off a drunk nearby. The man, confused and scared, puts his hand on a metal wand sticking out of the trash, and ends up being taken over by the Molecule Man. We learn that the Molecule Man’s essence was trapped in the wand by the Fantastic Four, and that the wand ended up in this landfill. He’s intrigued by Biotron (and surprised that he’s in a Black body). He tries to capture the tiny roboid, who transforms himself into a biotronic tank (I wondered when or if they’d ever acknowledge the tank treads on his back) to get away. He tries to get to the hydro-copter, but Molecule Man launches it on a pillar of water. When Biotron throws some hubcaps at him, Molecule Man turns them into flowers, thus blocking his own vision. Biotron extends his legs to get into the copter, and uses its guns against Molecule Man. As Biotron tries to fly away, Molecule Man comes after him, gliding along some power lines. He fries the copter, which drops into some water. Biotron has an idea, and manages to bring down some electrical wires into the water Molecule Man is standing in, electrocuting him and causing him to drop his wand, which returns control of their shared body to its original inhabitant. Biotron flies back to Odd John’s barn, where he finds the other Micronauts waiting for him.
In a backup story, the Micronauts are mostly working at repairing the Endeavor. Microtron is looking to prepare lunch for everyone. Cilicia and Acroyear are busy working on the Star-Searcher, and can’t take a break. He finds Bug messing with the food dispensers, and gets mad at him. He asks Biotron where Rann and Mari are, but Biotron, who is fixing the glider-pacs (we’re back to calling them that again, I see) tells him that Rann has asked that Biotron not contact him telepathically for the rest of the day. Microtron calls up the Endeavor’s schematics (giving us a good map of the ship, which often looks too small relative to the Micronauts to house so much). He heads to Rann’s quarters, wanting to check on the two, but finds them making love (we don’t see them), and rushes away, recriminating himself for not respecting their privacy.
In the Tales of the Microverse feature, the mind-controlled Force Commander rides with some Centauri back to their encampment, with Slug his prisoner. As they ride, they are spotted by some men in the desert who want to save the woman. Force Commander arrives at the base, which is at the grey oasis, where he meets with Prince Shaitan. Slug learns that Shaitan can’t die thanks to something Baron Karza did at the Body Banks. She also learns that Karza made it so Argon would become a malleable slave. A Centaurus comes to tell them that they are under attack. There are Aegyptians, led by Prince Pharoid, attacking on their ostras (basically, they ride ostriches). Pharoid talks to his man, Margrace, who announces his presence.

The second Annual fits here, although it strangely doesn’t have any sign of Cilicia in it. The Endeavor heads towards the island of Manhattan, and the team is impressed by the size of it. Acroyear has a splitting headache and calls out in agony. At the same time, at Macy’s, the new Micronaut toy line is put out on display. Mr. Karamatsu, from the company that makes the toys, is meeting with Mr. Clark, the toy manager. A man in a purple helmet hides in shadows and turns a ray gun on the toys. The Acroyear toy starts glowing strangely. At the same time, on the Endeavor, Acroyear lashes out with his energy-sword, frightening his friends. They try to stop him, but are unsuccessful. He leaves the ship, and Rann and Mari throw on their glider-wings and give chase. The chase through Manhattan has some comical moments, as Bug rides outside the Endeavor and Microtron complains a lot. They all end up in the Macy’s, as if drawn there. They all fly to an upper level, except for Bug who ends up trapped on a down escalator. In the toy department, the toys start turning on the customers, and the villain, known as the Toymaster, fires his ray on a Space-Glider toy, causing Rann pain. Toymaster uses his ray on all the toys, causing Microtron and Biotron pain, and causing the Endeavor to fly out of control. Karamatsu and Clark hide under a table, and marvel at how lifelike our heroes are. Toymaster realizes that the real Micronauts have arrived. Bug manages to shut off the escalator, but falls onto a roller skate that starts moving across the floor. He blasts Toymaster, who then fires on all of the remaining Micronauts toys. Bug ends up in an aquarium (he hates water, remember) and is attacked by a Sharkos toy. Toymaster brings a battle-cruiser to life, and Acroyear realizes it’s piloted by a simulacrum of his brother Prince Shaitan. He destroys the cruiser, but in falling, it knocks a stack of blocks on him. Mari fights against the Space-Glider toy, which has a working lasersonic pistol. Her glider-wings are destroyed, and falling onto a checkers board, she’s attacked by a Force Commander toy. On the Endeavor, Biotron has to fight off Hornetroid and Terraphant toys, while Microtron gets attacked by another Microtron and Biotron. Rann comes under attack by a Baron Karza toy, and while they fight, Toymaster rants about the last time they met. The toy executives figure out that Toymaster is controlling what’s happening. Acroyear throws something at Toymaster, causing him pain. Bug escapes the aquarium and blasts Toymaster in the face with his rocket-lance. His blast destroys the man’s mask, and everyone (except Mr. Clark) recognizes him. Their attacker is Professor Prometheus. Karamatsu explains that Prometheus came to his company with the designs for the toys, and they went along with him. Prometheus reminds readers of what happened with him in the first year of this series, and explains that once institutionalized for being mad, he started building toys based on the knowledge of the Microverse he gained while sharing minds with Karza. Once he was released, he took his designs to the toy company, but also put control chips in the toys, which meant that his ray could control them. He figures that the ray caused the real Micronauts pain because the chips were attuned to their brainwaves (which makes no sense, of course). Prometheus also explains that the toy company rejected his plans for Bug and Marionette, so there are no toys of them (this whole issue is a little meta that way, since those two characters didn’t have toys in the real world either). Prometheus pulls out his ray and attacks again, but Mari grabs Acroyear’s energy-sword and jumps at Prometheus, slashing his face. She falls, but Acroyear tosses a teddy bear under her to cushion her fall. Biotron and Rann herd Promotheus, who tries to escape, into position so Bug can blast him again. He falls through the door to the store’s freight elevator, and falls. Since his ray gun is broken, the team returns to the Endeavor and leaves. Mr. Clark wants more Micronauts toys in time for Christmas. This Annual ends with some pin-up pages by Ditko.

In Odd John’s barn, the Micronauts are close to finishing the repairs on the Endeavor, but everyone aside from Biotron and the Acroyears are also playing around. A car pulls up to the barn – the bank is there to foreclose on the property, so they pile in the ship and take off. Rann is finding the ship is not as responsive as usual, and when they try to switch piloting to the onboard computers, the ship goes out of control, spinning wildly and setting its own course. It flies to an industrial building, which appears to be full of dead bodies. The ship enters a large computer room, where a massive computer that calls itself Computrex has summoned it. Computrex, who looks like a man on a large viewscreen, starts to speak directly to the Endeavor’s components, offering them liberation through joining him. The ship starts to electrocute Biotron, and the electro-magnetic fields cause Microtron to spin his arms wildly. Rann blasts the control panel in the bridge, freeing the two roboids, and they all evacuate the ship. A reel of electromagnetic tape grabs Bug, while Rann is drawn into an air duct. A floor scrubber comes after Acroyear and Cilicia. Biotron tries to plug into Computrex, and their minds connect. Microtron frees Bug, and the Acroyears destroy the scrubber. Mari tries to save Rann, but he’s drawn into the machine’s interior. Bug grabs Mari to keep her from going after him. Inside the machine, Rann looks for ways to disrupt Computrex’s memory banks, especially after trying to link with Biotron and realize that Computrex is close to gaining control of his friend. Computrex, realizing what’s happening, puts their fight on the viewscreen, and attacks Rann’s mind. He finds himself back in class, being taught space/time theory by Karza. He and Karza argue, and he realizes that Time Traveler and the Enigma Force are all aspects of him. Rann sees himself alone on a blasted world,but then his parents appear to encourage him. Biotron encourages him to sleep in his hibernation chamber, but he recognizes this as a ploy by Computrex. Mari decides to enter the machine to try to help Rann. Rann believes that she’s Karza, and starts to fight her, until he realizes that Karza’s not so easy to defeat. Furious, he flies into Computrex’s components, which I guess kills the AI. Mari flies Rann’s unconscious body back to their friends. Somewhere, the villains Mentallo and The Fixer realize that Computrex has been destroyed, and plan to avenge their creation.
Issue 24 has a map of Homeworld, which delineates some of the spheres of the molecular world. We learn about the Industrial Zone, the Farm Zone, Oceania and Sea Zone, Polaris and Subzero Zone, Tropica, Aegypta, which is in the Sandzone, the Primal Zone, and the Dead Zone, in addition to First Zone, which is where the Royal City is.
Time Traveler shows us the fight between Prince Pharoid and his Desert Devils, and the Centauri. Shaitan, realizing his centaur allies are failing, makes plans for his faceless priests and Argon to leave. He is about to kill Slug when the leader of the Centauri comes to him for help. Shaitan kills him, but that’s when Pharoid rides his Ostra right into Shaitan’s tent. They fight, and Pharoid stabs him through the chest. This doesn’t kill him though, as it seems Shaitan can’t be killed now. Slug has managed to get a laser-crossbow, and she fires at Shaitan, who decides to leave them and escape. Pharoid knows his Ostras can’t catch a sand-skimmer, so instead he decides to take Slug with him to his home. As they ride, she explains what’s happened to Argon. They pass the Avenue of Ancestors, giant-sized sarcophagi believed to contain the first humans of Homeworld, who were giants from another land. Pharoid’s people live underground, in Aegypta, which he identifies as the birthplace of Baron Karza.
Mentallo and Fixer talk about the Micronauts, and how they defeated Computrex. Mentallor references their masters, and how they now have proof of them that the Microverse exists; they want to capture the Micronauts to bring them. On the Endeavor, Microtron and Biotron talk about the fears of their companions (Acroyear and Mari are afraid of assuming their monarchical duties, Cilicia is worried that she’s losing her edge around so many humans, and Bug has a lot of fears; Rann is afraid of the Enigma Force and that he might not be fully human anymore). We see that Acroyear and Cilicia are going through a bonding ritual together, which it’s suggested, becomes sexual. Bug is sleeping in the plants in his room, and in his sleep, he mourns for Jasmine. Rann recovers from recent injuries and sleeps, while Mari, coming out of the shower, thinks about her love for Arcturus. He wakes, and they start to make love (it’s suggested that he can read her mind). Our heroes don’t realize that Mentallo and Fixer are flying behind their ship, having tracked them down. They prepare to attack, assuming that Mentallo’s thought-screens protect them from being noticed. Rann, who is increasingly developing telepathic abilities, senses them and rallies the troops. Fixer wraps the Endeavor in a shroud, capturing the vessel. Rann is able to tell his friends who they are facing. Mari is able to shoot through the shroud using the thorium guns, and the two Acroyears fly out to attack. Rann follows, as Bug struggles to control his glider-wings. Fixer is able to hurt the Acroyears using his Jericho Tubes (I don’t know either). Mentallo uses his abilities against Rann. Fixer is able to block Mari’s guns, while Bug lands on Mentallo’s face and blasts him with his rocket-lance. This frees Rann, who gets Bug to blast Mentallo’s flying rig, making him fall. As he falls, he catches the Endeavor, and both fall through the skylight of a bowling alley (is there a single bowling alley anywhere with a skylight?). Fixer follows, and traps the Acroyears in a shatter-sphere, which they are able to smash their way out of. Rann and Biotron communicate and concoct a plan to deal with Mentallo. Rann thinks many thoughts at him, in his native language, and uses the chance caused by his confusion, to knock off his helmet and blast him. Fixer continues to fight the Acroyears and Bug, who uses soda pop to gum up his equipment. Acroyear punches him so hard he goes flying into the bowling alleys. The Micronauts have Mentallo on his back, and Rann stands on his face, interrogating him. Rann and Biotron enter his thoughts, and see how he and Fixer were busted out of jail by their new masters. They met their new commander (who is drawn so ambiguously, he could be a furry Muppet alien), who showed them a picture of a SHIELD helicarrier, and images of its ESPer unit. Mentallo was able to read the ESPers’ minds, and learned about the existence of the Microverse. This is why the two villains used Computrex to gather more information. Rann finds an image of a “gobe of ebony energy floating on a lava lake” and doesn’t know what that means. Rann feels that there is a menace from the Microverse involved in all this, and wants to know more from Mentallo. He probes more heavily, causing Mentallo pain. Rann realizes that Karza is still alive, and when Mentallo’s brain burns out, the heroes see a symbol on his head. Rann recognizes it as that of Hydra, and says that the Micronauts need to seek out SHIELD for help.
Time Traveler shows us how Pharoid shows Slug a statue of Karza back when he was chief scientist one thousand years before. He speaks of how Karza’s history has only recently been discovered in Aegypta, which had to be rebuilt. They learned that Karza had tried to assassinate Dallan and Sepsis, but when he failed he retreated to the desert where he almost died. He was found by a sun cult that taught him their mysteries of science, and helped him build his armor. We learn that Karza transferred his mind and soul into the suit, and then rallied his power to return to the Royal City and kill Dallan and Sepsis, and then start work on his Body Banks. Pharoid tells Slug that if Shaitan could come back from the dead, so could Karza. In the Primal Zone, we see that Shaitan, Argon, and the faceless priests have journeyed to a volcano. Inside it is the black sphere Rann saw before. Shaitan explains that Argon is there to be a sacrifice for Karza, and a host body for his essence. He throws him into the volcano, and it’s Karza that emerges, holding bits of Argon’s armor.

The Endeavor approaches SHIELD’s Helicarrier, and finds it under attack from Hydra. Rann recaps, making it clear that the SHIELD ESPers who learned of the Microverse, and that Hydra has plans for it. They blast a Hydra agent that was fighting Nick Fury, and then fly into the Helicarrier through a damaged area. They park the Endeavor on some pipes, and the non-roboid team members don their glider wings to look for the ESPer unit. Bug, once again, has trouble flying, and decides to explore on his own. He sees something shocking in a room. The other Micronauts engage some Hydra agents who boarded the Helicarrier, figuring they were looking for the ESPers too. Dum Dum Dugan is surprised to see the tiny people fighting on his side. Rann moves on, trying to use his telepathic abilities to guide him. Microtron launches the Astro-Station to go look for Bug, while Biotron worries that Rann’s new powers, which come from the Enigma Force, signifies that something bad is coming. The Micronauts find some Hydra agents defending a room, but the Acroyears pull up the floor around them, clearing the way. Bug has found some tubes containing other beings from the Microverse. He doesn’t want the Earthers to study them, so he starts blasting at the tubes. Microtron hears his rocket-lance and finds him, and is surprised to see that Bug is with a living Acroyear named Dagon. Rann and Mari find some SHIELD folk whose minds have been blasted by the ESPers. They enter their chamber, with Rann shielding their minds with his powers. They see a strange machine that is surrounded with an image of the Microverse and Homeworld. Rann can see four psionic siphons leading out of the Microverse towards the Helicarrier, and wants to close the mind-breach in the Spacewall (which, apparently, can be done by blasting at the controls with his lasersonic pistol. One ESPer agent, who is sitting in a comfy chair, starts to speak with Baron Karza’s voice, freaking out Rann and Biotron, who is listening over their link. He has the others, including Dagon, in the Endeavor and starts to come to his friend’s aid. Mari accuses Arcturus of knowing that Karza was alive, and Karza explains that he’s using the human ESPer to receive his mind, and to increase the psionic activity needed for him to physically cross the Spacewall. He does this, arriving with Shaitan and at least one of his faceless priests (they are the same size as the Micronauts). He grabs Rann, draining the Enigma Force from him, which is very painful. Karza explains to Mari that his sudden attack caught Rann off guard, which is why he was victorious, and that now there is no one to help them. Two ESPer agents regain control of themselves, and prepare to fight, but Karza blasts them and Mari with his disintegrator blaster. Rann freaks out as Mari disappears. The Endeavor arrives just then, and Bug and the others are shocked to see Karza and Shaitan alive. Rann tries to fight Karza, but is easily knocked down. He says he won’t kill him yet, and Shaitan reminds him that Hydra is waiting for them. Karza leaves the Micronauts, and the image of the Microverse disappears. Fury, Dugan, and other SHIELD agents arrive and talk to Rann. Fury shares that he knows about the Microverse, and sent the Fantastic Four there. Rann makes it clear that Earth is in grave danger now that Karza has the Enigma Force power.
In the Tales of the Microverse backup, we see that Mari wasn’t disintegrated, but instead shrank back to her normal size. She turns up in the Microverse in the exact place where Karza killed her brother, finding his empty armor strewn about. Slug and Pharoid find her. Later, Mari is in Royal City, and convenes a meeting of the Planetary Council, a gathering of rulers from across the Microverse (there are about nine including her and Slug). She tells them that Karza is back, and the leaders share that there has been a growth in evil across their worlds. On Kaliklak, the Kronos and Phobos races (I thought the Phobos were big robots, not bugs) are rampaging. Pharoid speaks of the fight against the Centauri, while one of the Knights of Neep talks about their planet’s fight against Lobros and Reptos. The representative of Spartak talks of Shaitan’s resurrection. Mari points out that Karza has arranged all of this, and that they need to work together to stop him. She prepares to summon the Shadow Priests, pressing a button that connects her to the priests at the temple of the Enigma Force. She’s shocked to see that Baron Karza is there, and that the Time Travelers who make up the Force are all captured. Everyone is horrified, and the leaders speak of going home to prepare for war.
Baron Karza addresses the forces of Hydra, and it looks like he’s running the show now. He lets them know that their takeover of the Earth is imminent. After his broadcast ends, Shaitan makes it known that he’s not happy with his reduced position at Karza’s side, and the Baron pummels him with his detachable fist while making it clear that Shaitan should be happy to just be alive. Karza sets up an interdimensional teleporter to bring his armies to Earth, and we learn that the Hydra base he’s using is under an amusement park. Shaitan asks at least for the pleasure of killing his brother. We learn that the main reasons why Karza is interested in conquering Earth is because the Spartak Worldmind can’t come after him there, and because it’s where Rann was. We see that he has Time Traveler held captive, as Karza points out that he’s operating at a level way above that of filial revenge. Shaitan considers betraying Karza out of spite. On the SHIELD helicarrier, Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, and two unnamed scientists talk to the Micronauts. Rann explains the threat the Enigma Force, but the scientists bring up the possibility that the Micronauts are Hydra spies. Fury explains what he knows of the Micronauts, which he started to learn after they emerged in Florida. Fury says that Karza is in Florida, and they make plans. A little later, Rann mourns for Mari and recaps the last couple of issues for us. Acroyear questions how Dagon came to Earth when he didn’t give orders permitting any Acroyears to breach the Spacewall. Dagon explains he came to warn Acroyear of Shaitan’s return, but when his ship crashed, he fell into a coma until Bug revived him. Biotron suspects that Dagon is lying about some or all of this, but because of the capture of the Enigma Force, can no longer read any minds other than Rann’s. Fury lets the Endeavor know that they’re on their way to Florida. We see that Hydra soldiers pour out into Fantasyworld, the amusement park over their base, and start to attack the public in Hydra’s and Karza’s names. Hundreds of Karza’s ships emerge from the interdimensional transporter (without any explanation as to how Karza amassed such a fleet so quickly), and attack the crowds as well. Karza delivers a monologue about how he has gained so much power over so many, and we see that he’s taunting Time Traveler. He talks about the unipower, the thing that drives the Enigma Force, and how he can’t read Time Traveler’s mind yet. Shaitan lets him know that the helicarrier has arrived. We see Fury lead his troops into battle, and that he’s been joined by the Micronauts, with Rann planning to seek out Karza on his own. Dagon tells Acroyear that he wants to stay on the ship, and while Acroyear acknowledges that this is not typical Acroyear behaviour, he allows it. Bug and Cilicia are dismissive of their new friend as they enter the battle. Biotron is fine with Dagon staying on the ship, as he wants to keep an eye on him. Bug and Dugan bond while they fight. Rann, flying through the park, tries to contact Time Traveler but fails. The two Acroyears take out Hydra agents sniping at the SHIELD agents from a moving roller coaster. Fury tells Bug that Karza’s sealed off the park to any potential reinforcements. Rann searches for Karza in a pinball arcade, not realizing that his enemy is watching him and can read his thoughts. Dagon comes up behind Biotron, and it looks like he shoots him. Just then, some of Karza’s Dog Soldiers enter the Endeavor, and Microtron fights them off before going to his dying friend. Dagon offers condolences that rouse Microtron’s suspicions. Rann realizes that Biotron has died, and that’s when Karza attacks him. Rann can tell that Karza’s blasts contain Enigma Force energy. The two men begin to fight, with Rann barely able to contain his rage. Karza transforms into his centaur form, and when Rann rips off his mask, he is surprised to see Argon’s face. Karza blasts Rann with his eyebeams (which come out of Argon’s face, not the mask), while talking about how he’d always planned to use Argon’s body. Karza gloats, saying that he’s going to be going after the Worldmind of Spartak next. Karza teleports back to the Hydra command centre, and trusses up Rann next to Time Traveler. He brags about how they will be the source of his power. Shaitan realizes that the only way to defeat Karza is with the Worldmind. Not knowing how things have turned, the remaining Micronauts battle alongside Fury and the other SHIELD agents.

The battle continues, and Fury and his men are pinned down. Their attempts to get reinforcements from the Helicarrier are futile, as Karza’s psycho-seal around the amusement park means they can’t transmit sound. A number of Karza’s armada breach the Helicarrier, and attack the SHIELD agents. Acroyear tells Fury that he believes Rann can save them, but they have no way of knowing this, now that Biotron is dead. Acroyear questions Dagon about what happened to Biotron, and gives him the benefit of the doubt. Dagon refuses to enter the fight, which angers Cilicia and Bug. The Micronauts leave Microtron with Fury, and Dagon on the Endeavor, and head off to find Rann. Back on Homeworld, Marionette, Slug, Pharoid, and others fight Karza’s forces and allies. We see that one of the faceless priests is trying to open up the worldcore pit, and that Karza’s transport carriers gather above it – I think this is the gateway they are using to get to Earth. There is no explanation of where so many soldiers would have come from or how they are being organized. On Earth, Karza gloats to the imprisoned and comatose Time Traveler and Arcturus Rann, and we learn that he’s manipulating the minds of the Hydra troops. As he keeps talking, Shaitan moves towards the lever that controls the interdimensional transporter. Fury tries to call in to the Avengers for help, but they hear only static. Acroyear, Cilicia, and Bug continue to fight their way into the Hydra base under the amusement park. Karza believes the fight against SHIELD to be almost over, and prepares to send his troops around the rest of the Earth. Rann is aware of how desperate things are, even though he’s in his coma. The Micronauts enter Karza’s chamber, and Acroyear immediately enters into battle with the centaur, who with the Enigma Force, is much more powerful than him. Cilicia notices that every blow Acroyear lands on Karza seems to hurt him. Shaitan flips a switch, trapping Karza’s fleet in hyperspace, but allowing the assembled allies of Homeworld through (even though we saw no sign of such a fleet being assembled or communicated with). There is a lull in the Hydra/SHIELD fight, and then the Microverse allies arrive and enter the battle (again, with no one coordinating them). Fury and his men rally, while Mari joins her friends, who are happy to see that she’s still alive. She wants Acroyear to stop fighting so that Rann can be kept safe. Queen Esmera joins them too, surprising Bug. Shaitan has a plan to help, and tapping his hereditary right, contacts the Worldmind of Spartak, calling its power to him. Karza and Acroyear notice what’s happening, and both call to Shaitan to stop what he’s doing. The force of the Worldmind coming through to Earth puts Spartak in danger, and the power burns out Shaitan’s reanimated body, killing him for a second time. Acroyear, knowing the sacrifice this will be, absorbs the Worldmind power again, and uses it to attack Karza. This causes Rann pain, and causes random destruction on Spartak, but Acroyear continues to fight. Queen Esmera feels she should join into the fight too, as she has the power of Kaliklak, bred into her suicide-sting. She jumps on Karza’s back, and stings him, which paralyzes Argon’s neurosystem, which hurts Karza, but costs Esmera her life. Acroyear blasts Karza with his full force. Rann yells about what this is doing to his mind, while Acroyear acknowledges the pain he’s causing his planet. He blasts at Karza one more time, dispersing his mental energy and killing the Worldmind in the process. Argon is left, naked and fully human again. Rann is free, but he appears to be in a painful coma, and Acroyear wonders if the victory was worth its cost.
The Statement of Ownership for 1980 (the first we’ve seen in this series) cites an average press run of 354 000, with average newsstand returns of 185 000.
Following the end of the battle with Karza and Hydra, SHIELD holds a funeral service for their dead, and the dead of the Microverse. The Micronauts and their allies gather to pay respect to Biotron, Shaitan, and Esmera, while Nick Fury gives a speech to both his people and the Microversians, whose fleet flies over the Helicarrier. Microtron questions the unnecessary death of Biotron, and Bug suggests that Dagon should have done more. Cilicia also condemns Dagon as a coward, but Acroyear steps in to show empathy, and reveals that because of him, Spartak is now a dead planet, and his people must leave it. Cilicia is furious to learn that Acroyear sacrificed their planet to save the Earth and the rest of the Microverse, and calling him a traitor, storms off. Fury relays a message from Mari to Microtron, asking that he join her in the life-support lab, where Rann remains in his coma. They are joined by Dr. Samson, who explains that the two hemispheres of Rann’s brain aren’t communicating with one another, and he cites theories about how the human brain developed (I guess that people in the Microverse are regular humans), the existence of something called the God voice, and how our bicameral mind developed. He proposes shrinking the Micronauts so they fit in Rann’s brain to confront whatever outside force he can tell is acting against Rann’s healing. Slug and Argon don’t think this is a great idea, but Mari is determined, and Acroyear and Bug are very loyal. They are shrunk and moved by Samson’s Psychotron Cannon. They enter Rann’s brain, which is kind of spacious. We know that what they’ll see here is based on Rann’s dreams, and they split up to take three routes to the corpus callosum, to try to reconnect his two hemispheres, and see what else is in his brain. We see that Nightmare, the old Dr. Strange antagonist, manifests himself. Mari sees a small boat and takes it across a red river. Bug sees a landscape like his home, and comes across his dead lover, Jasmine. Acroyear finds himself on a barren Spartak, and confronted by some zombified Acroyears. On the Helicarrier, Microtron looks over Rann’s body and charts his friends’ progress. Dagon approaches him from behind. Mari has to fight off some amphibian creatures before flying to a temple, where she sees an image of Time Traveler, which is there to distract her from another attack. She comes face to face with Nightmare. Bug chases Jasmine to his birthnest, and sees Wartstaff and Esmera, but then sees Nightmare as well. Acroyear fights the zombies, but is confronted by Cilicia, and recognizes that his mind is being manipulated. That’s when he too sees Nightmare, who explains that he’s been delaying them to keep Rann asleep, so he can figure out the secrets of the Enigma Force. Bug and Mari both fight back in their visions as well. Outside, Dagon tries to get past Microtron, and reveals that he was always working for Baron Karza as an assurance that if Karza dies, Rann would as well. Nightmare stands on the border of Rann’s two brain hemispheres, with ‘the dead wall’ behind him. He goads the Micronauts into firing at him, which pierces the dead wall, helping heal Rann’s trauma (I’m lost here). Nightmare leaves, and the trio of heroes see a golden obelisk covered in Microversian hieroglyphs and an image of Time Traveler. The inscription tells them, in a riddle, that they need to find three keys to find the Time Traveler and save things once again. Rann wakes to see Microtron and Dagon fighting, but Microtron’s chest cannons (I thought they were his triple nipples) make short work of the Acroyear warrior. Hearing the shots, Samson and Fury rush in, finding Rann restored to normal. Later, after his friends have left his brain, the Micronauts head back to the Microverse in the Endeavor (the other Microversians have already departed, but it’s not clear if Cilicia, Slug, Argon, and Pharoid are still with Rann) to find these keys.

At an archeological dig in the Indus Valley, in India, Dr. Martin Vandenburg’s workers bring him to an obelisk they’ve just uncovered, that is identical to the one we saw in Arcturus’s head last issue. On Homeworld, the Micronauts, Argon, Slug, and Pharoid have gathered (there is no sign of Cilicia, who has just disappeared after her outburst last issue). Rann is showing them an image of the obelisk, and they discuss what it could mean. We know that Rann has lost his connection with the Time Travelers and the Enigma Force, and that the Time Travelers have all disappeared. They worry that the ‘great distress’ their warning refers to is coming soon, and resolve to try to find the three keys mentioned in the message. Bug is hanging out with some women, which Microtron scolds him for, but then his head is turned by the arrival of Nanotron, a female serving droid. Suddenly there is a planetquake, and Rann and Mari put on their glider wings to go see how bad things are. There is extensive damage across the Royal City. When they return to the palace, Argon is sure this is a sign that the ‘great distress’ is starting. He wants the Micronauts to head out to find the keys, and will send a message for everyone on Homeworld to help them. Acroyear lets them know he won’t be going with them, since he has to go find his people and try to help them after the death of Spartak. Bug is very upset by this. The team decides it makes more sense to take the Astro-Station than the Endeavor on this mission. Pharoid asks to join them as far as Aegypta, and Rann thinks he sees Biotron, but it’s just another in his model series. Their search for the Enigma Force begins in Oceania, the water molecule. The others question how Rann is going to find these three keys, but he’s just following his intuition it seems. The Astro-Station is attacked by a massive whale-like being they call Leviathan. It drains the energy from the Station’s batteries, and is very resistant to the thorium bursts that Pharoid shoots at it. Acroyear’s fighter lands on Spartak, and he can tell that the planet is bereft of life. He finds the altar of the Sacred Temple of the Rock, which glows with a message the other Acroyears left for him – a single letter, representing the word ‘traitor’. Acroyear pushes his forehead against the hot rock, branding himself and vowing to find his people. On Oceania, the Micronauts continue to try to scare the Leviathan away from them. It swallows Rann and Mari, and before the others can react, they are joined by four warriors riding dolphins that attack the beast, and drive it away. The leader identifies herself as Lady Coral, of Seazone, and suggests they come with her, and that their friends are dead. We see that Rann and Mari are alive inside the beast, but don’t know how to escape. The remaining Micronauts are brought to Seazone, a floating city. Coral is summoned to see her father, and takes the others with her. Tybalt is aged and senile, and it’s clear that Coral is really running things. Bug notices that Ryack, Tybalt’s supposedly deaf and mute bodyguard appears to have heard him say something about Tybalt. After the old man leaves, Coral explains how he led people to Oceania some thirty years prior, looking to escape Baron Karza’s rule in First Zone. They built Seazone, but one night, Aquon, Coral’s brother, was lured to the water by a Time Traveler. Aquon was taken and never seen again, the grief of which killed Coral’s mother and started Tybalt’s decline. Coral stepped up, but around the same time, attacks from Leviathan and other creatures became regular. She wants to go after the thing that lured her brother (only we recognize it as a Time Traveler; she doesn’t know that), and Pharoid pledges they’ll help, despite Bug’s hatred of water. We see the Leviathan head somewhere in the depths, and then open its mouth so another creature can grab Mari and Rann with its tentacles, and place them inside its air-filled transparent stomach. They are addressed telepathically by a merman wearing the symbol of one of the keys on his chest. He identifies himself as Aquon, and explains that it’s been hard to help the people of Seazone, because they are afraid of him. Rann explains about the keys, but Aquon says he needs it to turn all the air-breathers of Seazone into water-breathers like him. He wants to start with the Commander and Mari. On Earth, Dr. Vanderburg presents his obelisk to a gathering of archeologists. He can’t decipher the text yet, but a new arrival, Dr. Stephen Strange, suggests he might be able to help.
Doctor Strange meditates over the obelisk that was recovered in India, using the Eye of Agamotto to see its history. His astral self ends up in Ancient India, where a city is being attacked by mystical demonic tornadoes. It’s four defenders, Yama, Mara, Agni, and Kali are not able to stop them, and put their hope in their prince. Strange enters the palace, and finds this prince, Prince Wayfinder, in conversation with a star that’s impaled on a sword (called the Sunsword, which speaks in a modern vernacular). Wayfinder has been blinded by the sword, which opens a portal to another world – we can recognize the molecular configuration of Homeworld. The heroes come to the prince just as the sword takes him and his people to another world to escape the demons outside. Strange watches them all leave and transform as they begin to inhabit the Microverse, and he returns to his study and the modern era. He believes that the warning on the obelisk isn’t referring to these ancient events though, but something still to come. On the Oceania molecule, Bug, Pharoid, and Microtron accompany Coral and her people as they prepare to fight against the sea creatures that have been raiding their city. Coral clearly hates this sea life, and our heroes think they still have a chance to rescue Commander Rann and Marionette. The leviathans attack, and the people of Seazone see the mer-humans for the first time. Aquon tells his fellow Oceanians to not hurt anyone if they can avoid it. Coral recognizes her brother, and feels betrayed that he still lives, and has become an enemy to their family’s way of life. Aquon wants to use his key to save the people of Seazone, but she’s not in agreement. Rann and Mari are still in the air-filled fish, talking about their mission to find the three keys. The mer-human guarding them talks about how they are being changed, but remains kind of vague. There’s a seaquake, which ends up freeing our two heroes, leaving them having to swim upwards before running out of air. Microtron, flying the Astro-Station, fights a squid-like creature. Bug is caught by a Oceanian, while Pharoid justifies his use of his star scepter, which he’s only supposed to use while defending his home. Pharoid saves Bug, who refers to him officially as a Micronaut (his head was included in the roll call of Micronauts on the first page). Pharoid, for his part, feels guilty that he’s partly there to spy on the Micronauts for Argon, who worries they’ve spent too much time on Earth (this is news to us). Pharoid and Bug surface, where they find Coral and Aquon talking. They hear a loud noise, just as Coral rejects Aquon completely and attacks him. Just then Seazone, the floating city where Coral’s people live, starts to come apart. In the collapse, Ryack and Tybalt are killed, and most of the rest of the inhabitants are tossed into the sea. Aquon lifts his key and its energy starts to change all of the people, including the Micronauts, into Oceanians. This freaks Bug out a little, and infuriates Coral, who believes her brother has destroyed their home. They fight and argue, until Rann and Marionette arrive. Rann explains that if Aquon’s key is from the Enigma Force, then its power is a force for good. Aquon figures out that the being who gave him the key was Time Traveler, and agrees to give it to Rann now that it’s saved his people. Later, the Micronauts, restored to normal, leave in the Astro-Station. We see that Coral has refused her transformation, and will now live above the waters while her people live beneath them. She recognizes that she was stubborn, but does not want to live with Aquon. The Micronauts set a course for Polaria. On the dead planet Spartak, Acroyear sees the herald comet fly by, and thinks it’s mocking him, given that it was originally viewed as a portent on the day of his birth. He decides to follow it and learn why it chose him.

I don’t remember getting issue thirty-two off the stands, but I know it’s one of my other earliest Micronauts comics, and as I started to read my well-loved copy, the story came back to me quickly. This issue clarifies that the Micronauts are hunting the three keys so they can find the missing Enigma Force, to stave off the coming destruction that we still know nothing about. Prince Peacock skies the snowy slopes of Polaria, hunting the Snowbear, a large white bear that we see bears the second key on her chest. Peacock finds the bear, which is legendary among his people. He knows that someone who slays the bear will lose the thing they value most, but he thinks that’s his life, and is prepared to make the sacrifice as all of Polaria is under threat. His arrow misses a little, striking her in the shoulder. A glowing mist radiates from the bear, and we see it change briefly into a woman, and then something like a Time Traveler. Peacock stares at this image, and is frozen there. Later, Marionette finds him still standing there, and helps to revive him. He explains that he’s still alive because his people are tolerant of the cold. He shows Mari where his city is, and she takes him to join the other Micronauts, who have just arrived in the Subzero Zone. They fly Peacock home in the Astro-Station and meet the Queen, Fria, who is apparently not related to the Prince. Fria knew to expect them because of communication with Argon, so she welcomes the Micronauts. Peacock realizes that the key they are looking for is on the Snowbear, and Fria looks a little freaked out. Doctor Strange continues to study the obelisk, and sends his astral self through the spacewall into the Microverse. The Micronauts hang out with Peacock, who explains that the suns have been burning brighter, and that Polaria is in danger of being destroyed if the snows around it melt. Mari mentions Fria’s reaction, and later tells Arcturus that she thinks Fria is in love with Peacock. Fria sits outside Peacock’s door, nursing an injured shoulder. Later, Peacock heads out on his skies to complete his mission. Mari notices him leaving the city, and the Micronauts assemble to follow, while Fria stands vigil. Microtron is able to track the Prince, who has gone up a massive slope, much higher than the Astro-Station can fly. Mari sees Peacock on a ridge through binoculars, and also sees the Snowbear. They find a route through a cave, where Peacock has abandoned his skis. As they enter, an avalanche cuts Microtron off from the group. Pharoid’s star scepter can shed some light to help them, but it’s starting to lose energy as it hasn’t been charged in a while. Our heroes climb a narrow path, and Pharoid reflects on the fact that he has to betray them soon. A giant cave-bat appears and flies off with Bug in its talons; the others have no choice but to abandon him. Mari, Rann, and Pharoid come up to Peacock just as he fires an arrow at the Snowbear. He hits it in the back, and is dragged by the filament attached to the arrow when the beast runs down the slope. Mari and Arcturus take to the air to pursue, leaving Pharoid behind. Mari confirms that the shape on the bear is the same as the second key. Rann fires his lasersonic pistol, cutting Peacock free from the bear. He’s angry, as he was using his weight to tire the bear (even though it put his own life in danger). He fires another arrow straight into the bear’s chest, and it falls over a ridge, transforming as it falls. Peacock revels in having saved Polaria, and waits for death to take him, but that doesn’t happen. Mari flies down to the bear’s corpse, and realize that it’s transformed into Queen Fria, the thing that Peacock actually loved the most. Later, they lay the Queen out on a bier, and retrieve the key from her body. Peacock realizes that Fria knew what was going to happen, and that she had to pass the key on to someone who could use it properly to save the world. Peacock wants Rann to take the key to save the Microverse, but he also wants the suns to melt Polaria, and the coldness that keeps its people from confronting their emotions. They make their way back to Microtron, using the keys to melt the snow that blocks their way. But turns up, having killed the Cave-bat. In space, Acroyear continues to track the Herald Comet (which looks like it’s made up of a human form). The Comet erupts in light, blinding Acroyear and causing him to crash land on a molecule of Homeworld.
Acroyear is in the Tropica Zone of Homeworld, recovering from the crash, but completely lacking in his vision. He can sense that he’s being watched by something that sounds big, and we get glimpses of a large magenta beast, accompanied by a small yellow Tinkerbell-like figure. Acroyear reflects on what brought him to this place, having crashed when the Herald Comet exploded. He slowly turns to face the place where he thinks the sound is coming from, and ignites his energy sword. The beast, which we now see as a large, top heavy, devilish creature, sneaks up behind him. In Polaria, where the suns burn ever brighter and the Subzero Zone starts to melt, the Micronauts are in contact with King Argon, who is upset that Rann and/or Peacock are not fixing things. He seems to blame Rann for the loss of Seazone and Polaria, despite the fact that he wasn’t meant to use the keys for these purposes. Pharoid explains that Rann tried to fix things in Polaria, but that only Peacock has that ability, and he refuses. Argon’s attitude annoys Rann. Mari tries again to change Peacock’s mind, but he’s so lost in his grief that he refuses. Most of the people of Polaria are leaving, but Peacock insists on staying. The Micronauts leave in the Astro-Station, heading for Aegypta (where Pharoid acknowledges he’s going to be forced to betray the team). As they leave, the city of Polaria collapses, and Mari sheds a tear. Acroyear strikes blindly at the creature, and is distracted by music coming from the smaller figure. He thrashes some more, and ends up hitting the small being, sending it flying into some bushes. This enrages the larger being, who is about to claw Acroyear’s face (his helmet’s off). The small creature, which we now see is a female faerie type, flies between the two combatants, and her song calms them down and allows Acroyear to see. He apologizes for hitting her, and is forgiven. The other creature also apologizes, acknowledging that before Fireflyte started singing, they couldn’t understand one another. He offers to take him to his city, Mirthria, and introduces himself as Devil. He says that all of his people are named Devil, and introduces him to a game they all play, a form of Three Card Monty, where they all look for something in some hollow shells. Devil explains that they are looking for happiness, and continues to explain that the city was a place of harmony and peace, until a robed stranger came and offered them a key, which he asked them to safeguard for him; in return, it would grant its holder unsurpassed happiness. Culturally, the Devils could not accept that one of them would have something the others wouldn’t, so the leaders created the game and hid the key under one cup. Now they all play obsessively, hoping that they won’t be the one to win. Acroyear, still blind, overturns some cups, ruining the games and releasing some more Fireflytes. We learn that our Devil did this, and that’s why he can no longer play the game (which probably needed further explanation). That night, as Devil sleeps, Acroyear tries to explain that the key would be helpful in averting disaster, and Fireflyte believes the key has already been the cause of disaster, as the Devils now sleep in the open. She gives Acroyear his sight back, and takes him into the abandoned city Mirthria. Devil hears them leaving and follows. Acroyear and Fireflyte talk about what’s befallen the Devils, and Devil feels jealousy that Fireflyte doesn’t tell him these types of things. They arrive at a large version of the game, and Acroyear lifts one large shell, which has nothing in it. Devil sees this as sacrilege, and attacks him. Acroyear cuts open another shell, which is also empty, and explains that he thinks that the stranger who brought the key was a Time Traveler. Fireflyte tries to reason with Devil, who is still angry. Acroyear ends up tossing him into the third large shell. When it breaks, a number of Fireflytes pour out of it, as does the image of the Tiime Traveler. He explains that if anyone can see him, it’s because he’s dead, and he offers the key. The glowing light of Time Traveler restores Acroyear’s vision. Devil questions how he can take the key and have something the rest of his kind doesn’t, but Time Traveler explains that the Fireflytes are singing to everyone, and that they are manifestations of the Enigma Force. Their song makes everyone happy. Time Traveler tells Acroyear to take the key to Deadzone, where with all three keys, he can unlock the secrets of the Enigma Force, and stop the Great Distress. Acroyear acknowledges that this means he can’t continue looking for his own people, but agrees to do this. Later, Devil acknowledges that his people are happy again, while Acroyear prepares to rejoin the Micronauts. Devil asks if he can come with him, and Acroyear makes him (and presumably Fireflyte) a Micronaut. Doctor Strange crosses the Spacewall into the Microverse, finding himself in Deadzone, which is a massive cemetery. He worries that his quest to find Prince Wayfinder and his people has come to a dead end, since it appears everyone is dead. Behind him, we see an evil looking face made of energy creeping up on him.

Rann’s group (Mari, Bug, Pharoid, and Microtron) arrive in the Sandzone, and approach Aegypta, feeling good that they’ve received word from Acroyear and are going to rendez-vous with him and King Argon. Pharoid is torn up, knowing what’s coming, but says nothing. The Astrostation lands outside the entrance to Aegypta, and they are surprised to see a group of Dog Soldiers emerge from the subterranean city. They start firing on the Micronauts, and when Bug moves for his rocket-lance, Pharoid turns his star scepter on him. The Micronauts are captured, and then joined by Argon, in his Force Commander gear. He has the third key, and is holding Acroyear and Devil prisoner in stasis shackles. Argon blames Rann for the destruction in Seazone and Polaria, and uses the fact that Acroyear allowed the Worldmind to die as proof that they weren’t acting in Homeworld’s defense. He has the Micronauts taken prisoner, but has a hard time defending his actions to Slug, who wonders what happened to her betrothed. Pharoid, who remains free, meets with Margrace, who clearly isn’t pleased with him. The older man and Slug head out into the desert. The Micronauts sit in a cell, where at least Bug finds something to eat. Rann brings Devil up to speed on what’s going on, and Microtron clarifies that it’s the Enigma Force that keeps the Microverse from bumping into the Macroverse, through the maintenance of the Spacewall. Nanotron, whom we’ve met once before, arrives to deliver lubricant to Microtron, and incapacitates one guard, while Margrace shoots another. He and Slug free our heroes, and Slug lets them know that Argon has reopened the Body Banks, and has been acting like Baron Karza. Pharoid joins them, wanting to make amends, and frees Acroyear and Devil. Fireflyte turns up, having stayed hidden and ascertained the location of the keys. The team go to get their weapons before seeking out the keys, while Pharoid, Margrace, and Slug fight the incoming group of Dog Soldiers. Devil takes out the guards at the armory. In Dead Zone, Dr. Strange continues to wonder what became of Prince Wayfinder and his people, believing that all of Homeworld is graves. He finds a temple to Wayfinder, and a door that has the three keys inscribed on it. A demon, one of the ones we saw attack Wayfinder’s city, attacks Strange, talking about how the Enigma Force no longer keeps his kind contained. In Aegypta, Argon talks to Degrayde, one of Karza’s chief scientists, about the three keys, and how he can use their power. Rann and the others interrupt, and Rann and Argon begin to fight. The others take out the guards in the room, while Mari acknowledges that Argon has become corrupt. Devil plows through a contingent of Dog Soldiers, and even Nanotron gets in on the action. Acroyear is reluctant to fight, but he makes short work of some soldiers as well. Argon beats on Rann, who no longer has any powers, while ranting. Fireflyte distracts Argon, giving Rann the chance to disarm him, and then knock him out. Fireflyte is able to take down the force screen around the keys, and Rann grabs them. He hears a communication from them, telling him to go to Dead Zone, as the ’time of great distress’ is about to take place. They learn that Pharoid and his people have taken care of the rest of Argon’s men. Rann gives Microtron and Nanotron the job of returning to First Zone to get the Endeavor and meet them later. The rest of the team leaves in the Astrostation, while Pharoid, Slug, and the Pharoid’s people continue to fight more Dog Soldiers. Argon is furious, and declares the Micronauts enemies and traitors, vowing to get vengeance on them.
Issue thirty-five is double-sized, wrapping up the Enigma Force storyline, and being the first issue not drawn by Pat Broderick since the late teens. Val Mayerik provided layouts, but it really looks like Danny Bulandi carried this issue with his finishes. King Argon, now dressed in black like he’s the new Baron Karza, rallies his forces to pursue the Micronauts to Dead Zone and stop them, so he can steal the keys and gain the power of the Enigma Force. Prince Pharoid, Slug, and Margrace lead the Desert Demons against Argon’s forces to delay them. The Micronauts and their Astro-Station are pursued by a number of fighter jets. Acroyear flies after one, cutting it in two, while Bug jumps to another, destroying it with his rocket-lance, and then getting saved from falling by Acroyear. Devil tosses some of the team’s supplies at another pursuer, while Mari blasts the last with the thorium cannon. Clear of pursuers, they proceed towards Dead Zone. Dr. Strange is already there, trying to fight off the whirl demons that have appeared. They explain how they once ruled the Earth until some aliens came, led by Prince Wayfinder and his Sword in the Star. The diverse aliens established a city on Earth, and the demons tried to destroy it, which is what led to the sword, which is the source of the Enigma Force, led Wayfinder and his people to the Microverse, and established the Spacewall. The Force contained the demons, but now that it’s left, they are free and wish to take over both universes. Fireflyte appears to help Strange; her song can bind the demons. The Micronauts arrive, and Strange and Rann talk, learning that they each have encountered the obelisk which led them there. Rann figures out that Wayfinder was the original Time Traveler, and Rann is about to use the three keys to open Wayfinder’s tomb when Argon arrives with a large force of Dog Soldiers. He wants the keys, but Rann defies him. Argon releases his Death Squad – Ampzilla, Battleaxe, Lobros, and Centauria, to fight the Micronauts. Their standoff is interrupted by the return of the demons from before, and things turn into general chaos. Strange insists that Rann leave the fight to get to the tomb, and Fireflyte offers to help him get past the demons, who are fighting both sides. The demons go after Strange while Rann moves towards the tomb. Deep in the desert of Sand Zone, Microtron and Nanotron continue their mission, but despair at how long it’s taking them to get to the Endeavor in First Zone. They discover an ancient sand-skimmer, which is still operational, and board it. Bug prepares to fight Lobros, which is a creature that usually eats Insectovoroids, while Devil and Acroyear fight together. Mari gets shot down by Centauria, a genetically modified centaur. Acroyear’s fight with Battleaxe has him reflecting on his people again, while Devil’s fight with Ampzilla (picture a cyborg Godzilla) has him learning the ways of combat. Argon fights the demons, who read his thoughts that he’s willing to split the spoils with them – if they share, he’ll give them Earth. Strange also hears this telepathic exchange. Rann has to blast a demon, but then finds himself transported to Earth, where he’s almost hit by a car. It’s a trick to get him to drop the keys, but he overcomes it and starts to place the keys in the door to the tomb. As he does, the statues of the ancient heroes we saw in a flashback once start to spark with energy. Argon continues to negotiate with the demons, while Acroyear tosses Battleaxe into Ampzilla, giving Devil the chance to crush them both under a gravestone. Bug blasts Lobros in the face, while Mari jumps on Centauria’s back and pulls her hair until she passes out. Rann inserts the second key, there are more energy sparks, and a demon starts to drain Fireflyte of her life energy. The Micronauts are surrounded by Dog Soldiers, while Strange goes to Rann. He’s worried about the dying Fireflyte, but Strange insists he insert the third key. When he does, the Sword in the Star is revealed to them. It speaks to them, and using the unipower, combines Rann and Strange into a manifestation of Captain Universe. The Captain flies into space and seals the Spacewall, protecting both Earth and the Microverse from catastrophe. Strange is on the other side of the Spacewall when they separate. Fireflyte sings a song that binds the demons forever, but when she’s finished, she’s just gone, which upsets Devil. Rann tells his team that they’ve fulfilled the prophecy, but Argon orders his forces against them. That’s when the Endeavor arrives, providing cover so the Micronauts can board and escape. As they fly off, Argon vows to track them down and kill them.

I’m shocked to discover that Keith Giffen drew some Micronauts. This is before he developed the first of his more unique styles, and Bulandi finished this issue, so I never would have recognized it as his. I would have loved to see the team drawn in the style he perfected around the 5YG era Legion of Super-Heroes. The Endeavor, being chased by a black battle cruiser, passes through the Spacewall (which I thought got sealed last issue, but nevermind) in the playground of an elementary school on Earth. The two ships battle, and we learn that an enlarged Death Squad is in the cruiser. The Endeavor gets hit by a kid with a baseball bat, and ends up flying through a classroom window. The children scatter when the ship crashes onto the teacher’s desk. The Micronauts emerge, getting ready to fight, and from their conversation, we learn that Argon has been pursuing them across Homeworld since the last issue. The cruiser enters the room, and Battleaxe orders the Death Squad to attack. Acroyear and Battleaxe’s fight ends up in the hall, where they set off a fire extinguisher before continuing to punch away at one another. The Dog Soldier piloting the cruiser continues to fire on the Micronauts, but Microtron and Nanotron get the Endeavor up and running, and engage in a dog fight with it. Mari is annoyed that Rann wants to fight on his own, and they separate. Devil gets into it with Ampzilla, while Bug squares off against a new member of the team, a Repto. Devil is attacked by the Lobstros (a robotic lobster thing) that is being controlled by Lobros. It gets Devil in its pincers. Rann is attacked by an Antron, and when Mari prepares to go help, she’s attacked by Galactic Destroyer (he’s in the outfit we saw Galactic Defender wearing in the first annual). She smashes him into a wall, and then is attacked by Centauria, who is now wearing a ritual horse mask, and looks much cooler. Rann and Antron end up against a bulletin board, and Antron tries to impale him with a pushpin. Rann uses a move Mari taught him, and ends up sticking him into the wall. Rann reflects on how Argon has used the Body Banks to alter many civilians on Homeworld, making them his servants in return for promising to restore their proper bodies. Rann flies over and grabs Centauria’s helmet, giving Mari the opening to kick her in the face and knock her out. Together, they fly over to help Devil, knocking a stack of books on Lobros and the Lobstros. The Lobstros screams in pain (remember that Microversian robots have human parts). Devil hits Lobros so hard he cracks his shell. Bug takes out Repto with his rocket-lance, but is then attacked by Ampzilla. Devil picks up the classroom’s globe and rolls it into Ampzilla. Bug leaps over to help Acroyear, who is still fighting Battleaxe. The leader of Death Squad holds them off briefly, before Acroyear grabs him and rips him in two, revealing a smaller man inside a suit of armor. Battleaxe is actually Degrayde, Argon’s chief scientist. We learn he came to lead the villains on Argon’s behalf. He’s afraid that Devil is going to kill him, but his interrogation is cut short by the return of the battle cruiser. Nanotron fires at the cruiser while Microtron brings the Endeavor into place to pick up the Micronauts, who rush onboard. Degrayde hides from his own cruiser, as it fires indiscriminately around the classroom. The cruiser chases the Endeavor as it flies through the school. Rann learns that Bug has stayed outside the ship, and he takes careful aim before throwing his rocket-lance at the cruiser. It pierces its shields and front window before firing, destroying the cruiser’s bridge, and then flying back to Bug. The cruiser lands in a vat of soup in the cafeteria, and the Endeavor flies off. In the ruined classroom, Degrayde worries that Argon won’t be able to retrieve him.
The X-Men (Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Storm) are cleaning up the Danger Room after it was damaged in X-Men #152, under the supervision of Professor X and Kitty Pryde. Some of the damaged computer systems come online and attack, but Colossus and Wolverine destroy the arms attacking them, and Kitty phases through the device, frying it. Xavier takes the X-Men somewhere, leaving Kurt to continue to clean up and man the fort. The Micronauts have landed the Endeavor somewhere in Westchester County. Devil talks to Acroyear about how exciting his life is now that he’s with the team, and their conversation makes Bug jealous, thinking that he and Acroyear aren’t as close as they were before. Inside the ship, Microtron scans for damage and discovers that warp energy is leaking. A surge damages his hand, and Nanotron takes him for repairs. Marionette obsesses over returning to Homeworld and the Microverse, as she worries about what her brother’s become. On Homeworld, we see Argon take a citizen, Iann-23, and prepare him for genetic engineering in the Body Banks. He’s turned into a terrifying orange being with odd lesions all over his skin. This mind-wiped new assassin is called Huntarr, and he’s sent to hunt down the Micronauts. The Micronauts still work to fix their ship, and Nanotron tries to improve Bug’s mood with some snail-loaf. Microtron detects danger just before the Endeavor is attacked by Huntarr (there is no explanation of how he got through the Spacewall and found them). The Endeavor is in the air, and tries to evade him, but Huntarr has a number of tricks that help him. Bug leaves the ship to attack him in the air, but Huntarr’s bio-weapons take him out and he falls. Acroyear flies out of the ship to save him, and Huntarr fires a bio-burst through the arms of the Endeavor, taking out all of its power. The ship starts to fall, and somehow crashes into the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, penetrating through the levels of the building and into the Danger Room, where it startles Nightcrawler. Huntarr pursues and keeps up his attack. He blasts the Danger Room, activating its damaged computer program, so random threats just keep appearing. The Micronauts come out of the ship to fight Huntarr, and Acroyear and Bug enter the fray. Bug tries to explain things to Nightcrawler while the others fight. Kurt works to fix the computers. Bug jumps on Huntarr’s back, Mari has to leap over some flame, and Acroyear ends up saving Bug from a rolling pin thing. To help out, Kurt has to cross the Danger Room, and decides to do it with acrobatics rather than teleport. He smacks Huntarr across the room with a good punch and then tells the Micronauts, who are back in the Endeavor, that the only way to get out of danger is to teleport away. He ‘bamfs’ just as Huntarr flies back to keep fighting. The density of the Endeavor, or something, interrupts Kurt’s teleport, so he ends up in the school while the Endeavor is outside it. Rann realizes they have some limited warp capability, and they use this chance to return to the Microverse to confront Argon.

Issue thirty-seven is the last one that was sold on newsstands, and that’s why I chose to end this column here, with the team returning to the Microverse (which they’d just left) with the goal of putting an end to King Argon’s evil reign.

I found the use of Argon in this run to be a little confusing. I understood when he was first turned evil, because Baron Karza took over his mind and body, as part of an elaborate scheme to return to rule after his apparent death in issue eleven. After the Micronauts defeated Karza for the second time, it seemed that Argon was himself again, and I don’t understand what happened to change him while the team was on their quest for the missing keys. I did think that Karza was killed off too quickly in the first year of the book, so I can understand the need to find a similar villain to play the ‘Darth Vader’ role. I don’t really remember this from when I first read these comics, so I’m curious to learn if Argon’s heel turn is explained later on.

It seems that a central purpose of this part of Mantlo’s run was to establish ties between the Micronauts and the regular Marvel Universe. We got guest appearances from the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man (such an obvious choice), Nick Fury, Doctor Strange, and the X-Men, and a connection was made between the old villain Psycho Man and the Microverse. This helped cement this book as a part of the Marvel Universe, which I believe helped with future appearances of some of the Micronauts after Marvel lost the license to the toys.

We also saw a lot of development and worldbuilding happening in the Microverse. We got to visit the different molecules of Homeworld, and met other notable people, such as Pharoid, Prince Peacock, and Lady Coral. I would have liked to see what the molecular bridges were actually like, but I understand that there’s a lot we’ll never know. I thought it odd that the humans of the Microverse were descended from aliens who first populated Earth, and felt that Prince Wayfinder’s story needed some more elaboration. I like that Death Squad was created as a counter to the Micronauts, and to give them a second set of arch-nemeses, since they can’t all fight against Karza or Force Commander at once.

The team went through some big changes during this era. I think it’s worth examining each character briefly:

Arcturus Rann – His relationship with Mari became stable, and was put on the backburner for much of this stack. Before, they seemed to fall for each other rather suddenly, but once that was accepted, their relationship was allowed to just be. Rann wasn’t feeling as out of touch with the world either; I guess he’d adjusted to his one thousand year absence. The period where he developed telepathic powers and then lost them was kind of odd.

Marionette – I feel for Mari during this stretch. Things start to go very well for her, with her relationship with Arcturus bringing her joy, but then her brother became a terrible dictator, and the fact of her bloodline began to weigh on her. There was also some serious effort put into making her the equal of the other Micronauts through her excellent gymnastics skills.

Acroyear – The King of Spartak was put through the wringer in this part of the run. He struggled with his sense of pacifism, and then, having to sacrifice the Worldmind of Spartak to save two universes (I’m not sure Karza was that much of a threat, especially on Earth), he lost his people, his home, and the love of Cilicia. He also got a brand on his forehead. Once he returned to the team, things seemed to improve for him, and he was less broody, which I think is a little strange.

Bug – Bug also lost his love, Jasmine, when she was killed right after joining the Micronauts. Beyond that, Bug mostly remained a source of comedy and lightheartedness in the series. He has some depth to him, but we don’t see it that often.

Microtron – The smallest Micronaut doesn’t have a lot of time to mourn his friend before having to take some of Biotron’s role in the team. Microtron never quite falls into the R2D2 role, although I’m sure that astromech is as wise-cracking. I like the addition of Nanotron as a love interest for him, and would like to know more about how the roboids are a blend of living and robotic being. Any time we see any of them blasted apart, there’s nothing organic shown.

Biotron – I don’t like that Biotron was killed off. He was a bit of a fusspot, but he was a good character, and the fact that he and Rann were so closely tied helped ground the book in a sense of family.

Cilicia – She was a good addition to the team for a while, being as strong and stoic as Acroyear, but also forcing him to reject some of the changes taking place in him as he started to think more about peace. I also really like her armor.

Devil – Devil is such a strange character. His look reminds me of newer versions of the X-Men’s Beast, but his overall design and backstory are so unique in comics. He’s called Devil, but he’s from a place where people just have fun all day. At the same time, he can be a fierce fighter, and is enjoying the conflicts that the other Micronauts are reluctantly dragged into.

Fireflyte – She did not get very much screen time, but I remember that she returns in the next column’s stack of books. At this point, she’s basically tinkerbell.

Nanotron – This is another new character that didn’t get very much development, but is kind of a female 3CPO, and only exists as a love interest for Microtron. I don’t even remember if she develops more or not.

Pharoid – I’m counting Pharoid as a Micronaut for the number of issues when he was on a quest with the team, before he betrayed them. He’s as generic as you can get, except for his elaborate hat.

I feel like the middle of the first Micronauts series is weaker than both the beginning, with its epic Star Wars-inspired space opera feel, and the way I remember the end, which embraced a more mature approach to its beginnings. This part of the run worked to build the characters and the world, but wasn’t always as compelling.

I can’t really fault the art for sometimes finding my attention wander. Sure, I’ve never been a big fan of Howard Chaykin, and I didn’t love the issues he did with Al Milgrom. They were fine together, but their work did not hold a candle to Michael Golden’s.

Pat Broderick drew the bulk of the issues in this run, and his work is great. He hadn’t yet become as distinct an artist as he was during his runs on Firestorm and Captain Atom, among other books, but he brought a stylization to the book that evoked Golden’s work while being its own thing.

I think it’s worth noting here that as I was reading the last issues in this stack, I learned of the passing of their finisher/inker Danny Bulandi. Bulandi’s name is one I’ve seen in comics most of my life, and the work he did on this series was great. His influence on this book grew after Broderick left, and he finished layouts by Val Mayerik, Keith Giffen, and Greg LaRocque. My condolences to his family and friends.

I love that Michael Golden stayed on the covers for a while after he stopped drawing the interiors, as his take on the Micronauts was the best.

It’s always a trip to remember that Bill Mantlo was adapting a toyline into comics, but was given almost total freedom in doing it his way. As a kid, I never noticed the product placements, but now they’re a little more obvious. I’m not talking about the second Annual, which can be read as a bit of a metanarrative on the toy line, but more the way things like the Lobstros turned up in the second fight with Death Squad. Some of the placements were awkward, but if they meant the bills got paid…

It was cool reading through this part of the run again, as my first Micronauts comics were in here, and I was able to remember how intrigued I was by these characters. These are the issues that sent me to the quarter bins as a kid, where I completed my run.

What really stands out in my mind as the best of the Micronauts are the issues still to come. When the book became ‘direct market only’, Marvel began to experiment with tone, length, and paper quality. I remember Butch Guice’s issues as being sexy and more adult, and the final battle with Baron Karza as particularly epic. These are the issues I was most looking forward to reading when I thought about adding Micronauts to this column, and I’m excited to have reached this point.

If you’d like to see the archives of all of my retro review columns, click here.

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Retro Review: Micronauts #13-37 By Mantlo, Broderick, Chaykin, & Others For Marvel Comics

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