Title:
Death from Above!: The Asteroid Terror, Part 3
Date of Publication
October 1990
Cover Price
Our Rating:
Credits:
Adam Kubert
Cover Penciler
Comic Book Synopsis / Plot
Chip Savage has returned to aid his grandfather Doc in stopping the deadly asteroid swarm heading for Earth. Doc asks the older aides to head for the Fortress of Solitude; at the Hidalgo Trading Company, though, they are met by a squad of heavily armed soldiers with orders to capture them. The old aides defeat them in a pitched battle, demonstrating they still have what it takes to be on Doc Savage’s team. The older men arrive at the arctic Fortress and are met by Patricia, joining the adventure for old time’s sake. Meanwhile, Doc sends one of the captive soldiers, under hypnosis, back to his hideout and uses the fax machine there to trace Cordelia Lear’s transmissions to their source. It turns out to be a military base in a remote area of Canada. Doc and Chip enter and set off explosives to create a diversion so they can capture the control center. Doc launches Lear’s missiles at the approaching asteroid swarm just as the aides do the same from the Fortress. The combined firepower ends the threat. Lear arrives and shoots at Doc but Chip takes the bullet for him; Doc manages to escape with the wounded hero. Lear then discovers that a missile silo has been set on overload, and she dies in the blast. Doc and Chip make their peace in the hospital, as all the aides gather around, looking forward to the next adventure.
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Reviews
By Peter Silvestro
The final installment of the creative trilogy ties up a few loose ends: Chip is back and any conflict with his grandfather is ironed out completely, with only a hint of bad feelings (note Monk and Ham’s reaction to his return). The story is too crowded though: while the old aides acquit themselves nicely, the new aides are underused and the villain seems like she’s barely in the story. An interesting idea but it never caught fire the way it could have. The series itself is wrapped up in a competent fashion: the valedictory tone of the cover (“The Man of Bronze Fights His Final Battle!”) and the last page, along with the reappearance of Patricia and Chip, create a bit of instant nostalgia for the series, which, while it had its flaws, was still Doc Savage.
Score: 3 (out of 5)