Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown #1

In "The Secret of the Sorcerer's Box! [Chapter 1]," four heroes survive a catastrophic plane crash only to find themselves unharmed—down to the second on a working watch—leaving them certain they’re living on borrowed time. Determined to make every moment count, they embrace the unknown, answering a mysterious summons from Morelian, descendant of Merlin, who calls them to unlock the first of four chambers in an ancient alchemist’s box. What lies within defies reason, and the first trial has only just begun.

In "Dragon Seed! [Chapter Two]," the Challengers of the Unknown face a new peril on a tropical island, where a mysterious box they've relocated unleashes a legendary stone giant from a hatched "Dragon's Egg." The creature devastates passing ships and withstands an atom bomb, leaving the team scrambling. With the island still unstable, Rocky prepares to open the next chamber, unaware of what ancient force might stir next.

In "The Freezing Sun! [Chapter Three]," Red returns to the island to discover the second chamber open and Rocky frozen solid, as a mysterious, sentient sun from beyond begins draining all heat from its surroundings. With the island under siege, Red races to build a vacuum chamber to trap the frozen menace, while Prof, stranded at sea, realizes the Dragon Seed Giant’s invulnerability points to a deeper truth—its existence may hinge on thought alone. High above, Morelian watches, silent and unseen, as the fate of the island hangs in the balance.

In "The Whirling Weaver! [Chapter Four]," the Challengers of the Unknown face a new threat as a mysterious tube unleashes a spinning device that ensnares entire cities in endless ribbons. As they track the source, they uncover a hidden dial that halts the machine—but their relief is short-lived when they return to the island to find Morelian has opened the fourth chamber, driven by greed. He claims a diamond ring of immortality, unaware the box’s cryptic inscription holds a deadly truth.

When a desperate German scientist named Felix Hesse begs the Challengers of the Unknown for help, he warns them of Ultivac—a machine he built, now running wild and taking him hostage. With a giant robot hand crashing through the window and hauling him away, the team springs into action, setting off on a high-stakes chase to track down the rogue creation before it’s too late.

In "The Fearful Millions [Chapter Three]," Hesse and Barker celebrate their victory as Ultivac lies defeated—only for the robot to send a desperate mental signal to June. With the crowd watching in shock, Ultivac breaks free, snatching June and fleeing beneath the waves, dragging her into the ocean’s depths. Ace takes to the skies in a jet, attempting to negotiate, but the robot’s devastating vibration beam destroys the aircraft. As Prof, the master diver, plunges into the sea to rescue her, he’s struck down by another vibro-beam and captured—leaving June’s fate hanging in the dark, uncharted depths.

In "The Fatal Prediction! [Chapter Four]," the Challengers of the Unknown face a chilling twist when their battle with the seemingly defeated robot Ultivac reveals a deeper deception. With June urging caution and humanity, the team confronts a machine whose true intentions remain shrouded in mystery—until a shocking betrayal turns their victory into a moment of profound loss.

In "The Day the Earth Blew Up," the Challengers of the Unknown are summoned when two scientists vanish in Antarctica, leaving the Pentagon baffled. As Ace, Rocky, and Red race to the frozen south, they're joined by Prof, only to find a volcano erupting from the ocean floor near New Guinea and a snow-tractor stranded in a blizzard. When Ace and Rocky fall through thin ice, they awaken on a strange, futuristic bridge—just as Prof and Red are taken by mysterious orange aliens in bubble-suits.

In "The Tyrans [Chapter Two]," the Challengers of the Unknown are thrust into a desperate fight for survival after being dropped into a vast, miles-deep airlift shaft. Ace and Rocky navigate treacherous tunnels, uncovering an underground alien city where a hidden army prepares to reshape Earth by detonating global charges to reduce the planet’s mass. With the missing scientists now in captivity and the aliens’ true plan unfolding, the team must find a way to strike back before the invasion reaches its final stage.

In "The Thing That Came Out of the Sea [Chapter Three]," the Challengers of the Unknown race against time as they confront an alien threat beneath the Earth’s surface. With gravity turned to a crushing force and a deadly bomb ticking down, the team splits to tackle the crisis—Ace and Rocky fight their way through gas and gunfire, while the Prof and Red race to warn the military and disarm the device. Meanwhile, a monstrous claw-machine erupts from the Pacific to attack the Navy, adding new urgency to their mission.

In "One Minute to Doom [Chapter Four]," the Challengers of the Unknown face a ticking clock on a remote Pacific island as Red unleashes a deadly corrosive gas that eats through the alien machine. With time running out, Ace rallies a fleet of bombers to strike the crumbling base, pushing the team to the edge of survival.

In "The Menace of the Ancient Vials! [Chapter 1]," Karnak and his crew find themselves stranded on a remote island during a tense escape from the Challengers, only to stumble upon Amos Hunter and five enigmatic vials. When the first vial is opened, it triggers a sudden and terrifying transformation, turning two of Karnak’s men into towering giants.

In "The Traitorous Challenger," the Challengers of the Unknown face a terrifying, indestructible one-eyed monster that leaves destruction in its wake—until June’s unexpected sabotage throws their mission into chaos. With the creature’s solar-powered eye as their only clue, the team races against time as the sun sets, unaware that June’s actions, born from a chilling prediction, may have altered fate itself.

In "The Monster Maker," the Challengers of the Unknown face off against the ambitious Roc, who wields mind-over-matter to summon a giant ape and missiles. When the scientist behind the power source grants Ace similar abilities, the team counters with a surreal showdown of conjured beasts, knights, and bizarre machines—until Ace uses spinning circles to turn the tide.

In "The Secret of the Sorcerer's Mirror," the Challengers of the Unknown race against time to recover a stolen mirror and chart linked to ancient secrets hidden by long-forgotten civilizations. With the mirror revealing three perilous locations—the sea floor, a towering stone needle, and the fabled Sinbad’s Island—the team splits up, each facing deadly trials in their quest. As Hillary Mycroft closes in on assembling the fabled globes to summon a genie, Red’s hidden move may be the key to stopping him—but the true cost of victory remains uncertain.

In "The Menace of the Invincible Challenger," the Challengers of the Unknown are drawn into a bizarre experiment when a monkey, enhanced by a meteorite-derived pill and sent into space, crashes back to Earth. Rocky, one of the team, unknowingly takes the same pill and rockets into orbit—returning with shocking powers like freeze rays, super strength, and invisibility, but also a fractured mind. As a crook tries to exploit Rocky’s abilities for a string of bank robberies, the Challengers and June arrive just in time to see whether the hero’s buried decency can surface before the power—and madness—consumes him.

In "The Wizard of Time," the Challengers of the Unknown are drawn into a mystery when a group of men in ancient Greek garb attempt to steal a plane, leaving one captured. The soldier’s only plea is to return to the "Island of the Wizard," leading the team to a remote shore where they encounter the reclusive scientist Darius Tiko, whose experiments with time travel have spiraled beyond control. When Tiko vanishes into a time cube, the Challengers and the soldier pursue him through time itself, racing to recover his dangerous technology before it falls into the wrong hands.

In "The Men Who Rode Across the Sun [Chapter II]," Ace and Rocky are scattered across ancient Greece, hunted as harbingers of doom by a wary oracle. With time running short, they flee through crumbling ruins, desperate to locate Tiko’s stolen plane and reunite with Prof and Red before the time cube’s return.

In the sands of Egypt, Prof and Red confront the aftermath of Tiko’s theft, destroying the stolen telescope before rejoining Rocky and Ace. With time itself at their back, the team races into the 15th century, chasing the trail of Nostradamus—and Tiko, who’s already vanished into the past.

In "The Mechanical Judge [Chapter IIII (sic)]", the Challengers of the Unknown are thrust into the year 3,000 AD, where they’re swiftly arrested and brought before a cold, unfeeling machine that serves as the ultimate arbiter of justice. As the device evaluates their fates, it dismisses all charges—only to send them back to their own time in a single, sealed cube, leaving Jo and the others to wonder what awaits Tiko when they arrive.

In "The Riddle of the Star-Stone [Chapter One]," Professor Brandon’s assistant Vreedl vanishes with the ancient Star-Stone, a relic forged by a long-dead sorcerer, and begins a desperate quest to gather powerful gems—each one unlocking a new, terrifying form. With the first gem fused into his body, Vreedl becomes a living flame, unleashing chaos and a stampede to buy time as he hunts for the next.

In "The Challenge of the Super Creature!", the Challengers of the Unknown face off against Vreedl, a man transformed by a mysterious gem into a fish-like creature, as he evades capture and exploits his new form to stay one step ahead. When Vreedl gains a fourth gem and becomes seemingly invincible, the team must confront not just his physical power, but the dangerous idea that such strength could be replicated by anyone who possesses the stone.

In "Captives of the Space Circus," the Challengers of the Unknown answer a distress call only to be ensnared by a sinister space circus, forced into brutal performances as captives among other alien performers. Trapped in a dazzling yet deadly spectacle, they must survive the circus’s twisted acts—especially the terrifying Quadro, the Four-Finned Demons—before finding a way to turn the tide.

In "The Sorceress of Forbidden Valley," June Robbins awakens on a mysterious island after a crash, only to stumble upon an ancient lamp in a hidden cave—its fumes quickly overwhelming her. When the Challengers arrive to track her down, they uncover a secret valley where June, now under a strange spell, wields unexpected powers, all under the unseen control of the sinister Charles Agar.

When a friend alerts them to a crashed spaceship, the Challengers of the Unknown rush to investigate—and uncover three alien creatures imprisoned inside. Now, with time running short, they must decide whether to risk everything to return the beasts to their sealed cages before they break free.

In "The Isle of No Return," the Challengers of the Unknown team up with honorary member June Robbins to track down a thief who can walk through walls, leading them to an abandoned lab once owned by the reclusive Prof. Macon. There, the fugitive Anton Zammer unleashes a shrinking ray to trap the team, but June’s quick thinking and courage turn the tide—helping the Challengers break free and bring Zammer to justice.

In "The Man Who Stole the Future," Jo and the Challengers are drawn into a high-stakes mission when Marie, a friend of June’s, seeks their help to uncover strange occurrences in her homeland, Mordania. There, they confront the cunning Drabny, a brilliant but dangerous scientist whose advanced inventions have given him control over the nation.

In "The Men Who Lost Their Memories!", the Challengers of the Unknown wake to find their minds wiped—only June Robbins remembers who they are. With no time to waste, she pushes them to reclaim their skills through sheer will, guiding them through their forgotten feats of courage. As they infiltrate the villain’s castle, June prepares to restore what was stolen—before the machine’s power can claim them again.

In "The Plot to Destroy Earth!", the Challengers of the Unknown race against time when they uncover a bizarre alien scheme to disassemble the planet piece by piece. A mole-creature, a sea monster, and a sky-bound beast are all part of a coordinated plan, each tasked with a different role as a robotic ship prepares to harvest pie-shaped chunks of Earth. With no clear lead on how to stop it, the team devises a clever ruse—using giant balloons to mimic the creatures’ demise—tricking the automated system into abandoning its mission.

In "The Challenger from Outer Space," the Challengers of the Unknown face a cosmic threat when four-armed alien giants attack Earth after terrorizing their home world, S’Ntaga. With the team overwhelmed and their professor knocked out, S’Ntaga takes desperate measures—placing Prof in suspended animation and a revitalizing machine to save him. When the aliens reveal their plan to conquer S’Ntaga with a monstrous device, the heroes must find a way to stop them, even as S’Ntaga’s weapons fail. The story builds to a high-stakes showdown where the revived Prof’s newfound strength becomes the key to breaking through the aliens’ defenses.

In "The Three Clues to Sorcery," the Challengers are thrown into a high-stakes race against time when Dr. Fenton takes June hostage and demands they retrieve three mysterious artifacts: a chest on a mountain, a bottle beneath the sea, and a ruby from an ancient idol. As Red and Ace secure the chest, Prof locates the bottle offshore, and Rocky steals the ruby, each piece feels too easy—until the team reunites and realizes something’s deeply wrong with the mission.

In "The Prisoner of the Tiny Space Ball," the Challengers encounter Zanna, a deposed alien ruler reduced to the size of a marble and cast into the void by his rebel general Dakyah. When they journey to his homeworld of Ak-Sel, they join his hidden resistance in an extinct volcano, only to be thrust into a desperate flight across a skyborne island as Dakyah’s forces close in. With cunning and daring, the Challengers turn the tide by launching a surprise assault from the floating island, using jet-sleds to dismantle the palace’s defenses.

In "The Creatures from the Past," the Challengers of the Unknown join June and Dr. Henry on a quest for the Golden Fleece, only to find the treasure triggers strange, terrifying visions. When Rocky dons the fleece, he’s overwhelmed by visions of mythical beasts—first a flame-breathing dragon, then a cyclops, and finally a mermaid who leads him to a fateful confrontation. As the team scrambles to untangle the mystery, the line between myth and reality begins to blur.

In "The Return of Multi-Man," a man who survived a catastrophic explosion gains super-strength and breaks free from prison, only to be drawn into a dangerous mission with the enigmatic Gurk. Together, they hunt for fragments of an ancient statue, leading the Challengers of the Unknown across Central America in pursuit. As the stakes rise and the truth behind the statue unfolds, the line between ally and enemy blurs—especially when one of their own is transformed in ways no one could have predicted.

In "The Lady Giant and the Beast," June’s experiment with mysterious space spores on Challenger Mountain spirals into chaos when they explode, leaving her giant-sized and disoriented. When the Challengers return, they find her unconscious and the mountain under threat from a colossal red dragon-beast terrorizing a nearby town. As June regains her senses, she must confront the creature—only to discover it’s not what it seems, and the key to stopping it lies in a simple stream and a fire hose.

In "The Incredible Metal Creature," the Challengers of the Unknown chase a fugitive only to discover he's teamed up with Halanka, a metallic alien from another world. When Halanka uses magnetism to pull their Jeep and melts it with heat, the team must rely on an interplanetary lawman, Thark, to turn the tide—using his force-field gun to get close enough to finally bring the alien down.

In the heart of a shifting desert, June Robbins stumbles into a fleeting medieval realm born of mirage, trapped between worlds. The Challengers race to her rescue, facing armored knights and a deadly chariot duel—where loyalty is as fragile as the illusion itself—before the entire city dissolves into the heat haze.

In "The Genie Who Feared June," the Challengers of the Unknown face a magical threat when a genie bursts from a bank during a routine outing, leading them to the sinister magician Malvolio. As June’s mysterious connection to magic becomes key, her whispered words send the genie Ahmed fleeing—only for the team to chase Malvolio through a factory and into an old mine, where the true battle for control of the ram’s horn begins.

When a Navy destroyer accidentally unleashes four mysterious space capsules, the Challengers of the Unknown spring into action—only to face a vine-limbed creature that attacks the ship. As the team tracks the remaining capsules, they encounter a drill-nosed monster that vanishes into the depths, then meet two aliens from the third capsule who reveal they’ve been hiding on Earth since the last ice age. With oxygen from the fourth capsule their only hope, the Challs help the aliens escape—just as the fate of the mysterious monster is revealed.