World’s Finest Comics – 249

Synopsis

Wonder Woman recognises that Sergeant Rock has been hypnotised and tries to gently reason with him to come to his senses. She reaches out her hand and she can see the conflict raging within the soldier, as he fights to control his own will.

But Psycho’s hold over him is too strong and he fires. In a blur before his eyes, Wonder Woman uses her bracelets to defend herself and as he unloads the whole magazine at her, he sees she remains unharmed.

Quickly she clouts him to the floor and crushes the gun. As she asks if he is all right now, Sergeant Rock nurses his jaw but confirms he is back to himself. He tells her how Doctor Psycho forced him to attack her and she in turn tells him that although she has destroyed the bombs in the factory, they still have another problem.

She leads him to where the unconscious alien still lies on the ground. She says to Rock that they need to question him in private and picking him up, she races across the grounds towards the perimeter fence. She rips through the fence and with Rock following she runs to a secluded spot in the forest.

Meanwhile in the factory, one of the guards reports back to Psycho, telling him that Wonder Woman and Rock have escaped together with one of the aliens. The lead alien turns to the little man and warns that if his comrade has been harmed there shall be a reckoning! Psycho replies that indeed, there will be a reckoning. He then turns to the three captured GI’s and uses his powers on them to twist and shape the spiritual Ectoplasm in the air around them. Their perceptions change until they see a world that does not exist except in their minds. As of now, they believe they are cavemen living in prehistoric times, regarding each other as mortal enemies. He smiles as they begin to fight with each other, revelling in his manipulation of them.

The alien watches impressed and asks how on earth a human could achieve such mastery? Psycho then recounts how he was once betrayed by a woman who had been his fiancee. He had been accused of theft and at the trial she had lied to protect her other lover. However, while he had been serving his time in prison he studied the dark secrets of the occult, uncovering forgotten mysteries such as the manipulation of Ectoplasm. Using his newly gained abilities he escaped and began his vengeance against womankind!

That vengeance eventually brought him to Germany whose people also understand the true evil of femininity – evil which must be subjugated to the wisdom of man. Under Nazism, the world will be devoid of strife caused by women and there will be peace forever. The alien replies that the dream is indeed worthy. However, surely this “Wonder Woman” is a threat? Psycho assures him that she will not be for long and sends out the savage cavemen to track down and kill her and Rock.

Many miles away in London, Major Trevor tries to reason with a British General who has just ordered a squadron of Bombers to level the German factory. The General tells Steve that he and Blankenship should have informed the Prime Minister of their secret mission to send American troops to destroy the base. Now it is too late to recall the bombers! As the British General leaves, Steve pleads with Blankenship to stop the planes but he is told that the British are right and that they had no right organising a covert mission of their own without informing the Prime Minister. All they can do now is pray…

Back in Germany, Wonder Woman has wrapped her magic lasso around the now conscious alien and begins to question him. She asks him who he is and he replies that he is a descendant of the Krell, once rulers of this sector of the galaxy. But over time they have dispersed and their empire is in decline for the last few thousand years. Long ago the Krell Empire controlled all planets in the galaxy bringing light and justice to a billion worlds and peoples. However, three thousand years ago in a single night the Krell disappeared leaving only the relics of their civilisation, their eternal machines and weapons. The descendants of the Krell were determined to rebuild the empire and to seek out the lost worlds, returning a semblance of sanity to a universe gone mad. Under their leader, they left their home planet two hundred years ago on a five hundred year mission to explore new worlds and contact old civilisations. Wonder Woman asks him whether this mission includes interfering in a world’s private war by aiding and abetting madmen who would enslave mankind? He replies that they had been told that the Allies were the menace and saw no reason to disbelieve.

Just then Sergeant Rock alerts her to someone approaching and they turn to see the three cavemen lumber from the undergrowth. Rock recognises his buddies and cannot believe it. He tries to stop one of the approaching Neanderthals with a punch, but the brute is unfazed and uses his club to smash Rock to the ground. The three cavemen then surround Wonder Woman, who realises that these men have been hypnotised against their will and she does not wish to hurt them. However, she has no alternative and as they attack she grabs two of them by their club wielding arms and swings them into each other. The third advances and she grapples with him while the first two get back on their feet. Rock watches in a daze, knowing that his men are trained fighters and that only one of them needs to slip through her guard before it is all over. But his men are fighting an Amazon warrior, trained at birth in all forms of combat. She moves like a blur and within moments the battle is over and she stands victorious!

She uses her lasso to ensnare the cavemen and command them to see through Psycho’s illusion. Before Rock’s eyes the cavemen transform back into his comrades and after the necessary explanations, Wonder Woman tells them that they must capture the alien spacecraft so that they can demand an audience with the alien leader. With directions obtained from the captured Krell, Rock and his men set off for the craft while Wonder Woman sets her sights on confronting Psycho.

Meanwhile, one hundred and fifty miles south, the British bomber squadron closes in on the factory…

As dawn breaks over the factory complex, Doctor Psycho congratulates himself as by now the Amazon must surely be dead. The alien leader says to Psycho that he is disturbed by his attitude, as relishing death is not the reactions of a peaceful man. Psycho warns the alien not to dare lecture him about war, because the Allies are their enemies and enemies must die. He goes on the tell the astonished alien that he has only gone along with the alien’s self-serving “peacefulness” because the Krell had the knowledge that Psycho needed. But the time for pretence has ended. He orders the alien to obey him or he will crush him like a bug. With that Psycho grows into a giant before the terrified Krell’s eyes.

Just then a voice behind him tells the Krell leader not to believe the grotesque little man and that Psycho is using his manipulation of Ectoplasm. to fool him. Wonder Woman enters the room together with the other alien and she removes her tiara. She throws it at the giant Psycho and it passes right through the illusion. An enraged Psycho tells her she is no match for his powers and she responds that while that may be so, he requires a medium to focus those powers. With that she races across the room knocking out a German guard who gets in her way. She knows she does not have time to reverse the hypnotic spell he has over the female psychic he is using and has to resort to clouting the girl unconscious instead. Instantly the giant figure of Psycho shrinks back to normal.

With his powers gone, Psycho wails that she has destroyed him and Wonder Woman replies that he had destroyed this poor woman’s free will. He has now revealed himself to the Krell as nothing more than a pathetic dwarf seeking vengeance on a world he sees as ugly.

Just then they hear the rumble of explosions and looking out of the window see bombs falling on the factory. Quickly Wonder Woman carries the girl outside while the two aliens follow. They race to the spot where the Krell spaceship waits, which is now in the hands of Sergeant Rock and his men. Rock stops the aliens from getting inside but the Amazon Princess informs him that the aliens have had a change of heart now that they have seen the true side of Doctor Psycho He therefore allows the aliens onboard and blasting off, they escape the exploding factory complex just in time.

As they make their way back to England courtesy of the Krell, who have decided that they want nothing more to do with this war, Sergeant Rock says to Wonder Woman that if the Allies had a few more fighters like her, the war would be over in a week! She replies that the army has enough heroes to stop the Nazis in the form of the Sergeant and his brave company of GI’s.