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"Superman: Battle Beneath the Earth!": The Mole takes a weakened and barely conscious Superman to his hideout-- an abandoned underground city. His men right away want to beat Superman to death, but the Mole has other plans and orders them to tie h

Quote1 Superman's in terrible danger at the center of the Earth and all you can do is stand here arguing! Help us, Carson... For his sake! Help us... or so help me God, I'll do it myself! Quote2
Lois Lane

Action Comics #536 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1982. It was published on July 22, 1982.

Synopsis for "Superman: Battle Beneath the Earth!"

The Mole takes a weakened and barely conscious Superman to his hideout-- an abandoned underground city. His men right away want to beat Superman to death, but the Mole has other plans and orders them to tie him up and lock him up. Upon coming around, Superman wonders how he will get himself out of that situation. He has been split up in two supermen, he has lost his invulnerability and it'll be a while until his strength returns fully.

Meanwhile, the Omega Men return to Metropolis General Hospital and learn the Mole has turned the place into ruins and kidnapped Superman in spite of Lois Lane's efforts. The team decides to save Superman, but the Mole has collapsed his getaway tunnel, and they can't drill through it fast enough. Lois, though, knows of someone who can help.

In the meantime, Mole has chained Superman to a pillar and summoned a gathering of super-villains, every one of them wielding a weapon. Mole will let the one with the greatest weapon kill Superman in exchange for his weapon.

Meanwhile, Lois and the Mole Men make their way to S.T.A.R. Labs. Cave Carson is away, but Kalista's magic teleports him and his Mighty Mole in. At the beginning, Carson wants nothing to do with their problems until Lois tells him Superman is in danger.

As digging their way to their destination, Carson says he suspects where they're heading to. Long ago, he and his friends found an underground ciy. He also suspects the Mole is a former assistant of his who made off with an old model of the Mighty Mole and several underground charts, the first of several incidents which led Carson to stop trusting people.

Far below, a villain named the Hunter shows off his Omni-wave blaster, claiming it can kill even a full-powered Superman. Hunter wins the chance to kill Superman, but the Omega Men turn up before he can shoot his weapon. Superman takes advantage of the chaos caused by his arrival and breaks his chains. Superman and the Omega Men join forces and take down the gathered villains easily. Lois shoots Hunter in the shoulder before he can fire his blaster at Superman, and Superman smashes the Mole into a wall. Superman thanks all of them, but Carson states what he only did what was necessary and walks away.

Later, Superman and the Omega Men are in the Fortress of Solitude. Superman has ascertained the elements the Omega Men need to fuel their trip back home don't exist in Earth, but he can obtain them anyway.

In the Justice League Satellite Superman is providing them with their much-needed fuel when the emergency alert sounds. Superman checks someone has gotten past the perimeter defenses and is floating out in the space. Superman tractor-beams the figure inside the Satellite and is shocked to meet the Teen Titans.

Appearing in "Superman: Battle Beneath the Earth!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • Omni-Wave Blaster (Single appearance)
  • Fortress of Solitude Key
  • Super-Computer

Vehicles:


Synopsis for "Aquaman: I Talk to the Seas, But They Don't Listen to Me!"

Aquaman has a dream of Mera calling to him for help.

After he awakens, he keeps an appointment to see Dr. Todd Carmel and Admiral Murphy at a S.T.A.R. sea station. They hope to learn how Aquaman telepathically "talks" to sea creatures, so that normal men will be able to do the same, by using a "brain-print" machine on Aquaman.

When Aquaman asks if the device can be used to tap into a person's memories, and is told it might be possible, he has Carmel use it on him to focus on his memory of Mera's dream. When the readout on the dream-memory is compared to a real memory he has of Mera, the two readings match. This indicates that Mera's communication was real, and not just a dream.

The process is interrupted by a quake that rocks the sea station. Aquaman checks outside and sees that the water around the station has turned solid, but is being ripped apart by tidal action. He breaks through its hard surface layer and discovers that the water below it is liquid. Aquaman summons whales to steady the sea station and rescues a helmeted diver trapped in the solid water. When he gets the diver back on the surface and the diver's helmet is removed, Aquaman is astonished to learn the person's identity: Mera.

Appearing in "Aquaman: I Talk to the Seas, But They Don't Listen to Me!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • V'lana (possessing Mera) (First appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Citizens of New Venice (Unnamed) (Cameo)
  • Hawkman (Mentioned only)
  • Hawkwoman (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
  • S.T.A.R. Labs
    • Dr. Todd Carmel (Single appearance)
  • U.S. Navy
    • Admiral Murphy
    • Sailors (Unnamed)
  • Dolphins (Mentioned only)
  • Porpoises (Mentioned only)
  • Giant Seahorse (Cameo) (In dream sequence only)
  • Captain Cold (Mentioned only)
  • Whales
  • Superman (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:


Notes



See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

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