Comic Book Synopsis / Plot
Doc Savage’s submarine glides onto the shore. Arina, furious at having been knocked out by Doc, boards and confronts Doc, who apologizes but continues engrossed in his work. He is trying to prevent the destruction of the area again and has established visual contact with his aides via a camera planted in Johnny’s monocle. Doc’s submarine sinks beneath the surface of the burning river, but the craft can barely withstand the pressure of the water and oil. The sub is then attacked by some sort of air weapon; Doc barely has time to distribute breathing devices to his companions before the water floods the craft….
Meanwhile, the aides are taken prisoner by the villagers and brought before The Two Who Are One. The mystic duo announces that the three-day deadline is up and the nukes will be launched. The aides suggest that the voice they hear is not from heaven but from a closer source…. The Two’s aide Da’ud demands to know why they are here in this place; they confess they don’t know the whole story but know there is something wrong. Dau’ud has them disconnect the huge energy sources, plunging the city into darkness…
Elsewhere Doc’s submarine is invaded and Long Tom, Arina, and Wei are captured—there is no sign of the Man of Bronze. Their captors are led by the long-missing Ronan McKenna who shows them his base beneath the burning river. Arina recognizes him as the legendary warlord who controls the area. He explains to the prisoners how, after the bombing of his carrier, he awoke in a North African field hospital where he remained until the end of the war. Then he returned to this area and slowly conquered the place, driving out insurgents. McKenna takes them into the room containing the nukes and finds Doc Savage waiting, as he knew he would. Doc reveals that the missiles are not armed and has deduced that they are merely to provoke the West to counter-attack, destroying the region once and for all. And that Ronan McKenna is the voice in the ear of The Two Who Are One, prophesying the coming holocaust. McKenna explains that he brought Doc to that place: McKenna intends to destroy the cancerous region and needs Doc to tell him is he is right or needed to be stopped. He don’s night vision goggles and orders the lights extinguished. The two former friends battled in the pitch black room—until McKenna lands a punch to Doc’s heart and the Man of Bronze dies….