The Defenders #132
In "The Phantom of Gamma-Ray Flats!", writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Don Perlin deliver a gripping tale of mutation and survival as Ephraim Soles, transformed by a gamma-irradiated desert plant, becomes a threat to the New Defenders. After a violent clash at their base, Iceman defeats him by draining his moisture—only for Ephraim to vanish, reborn in a mysterious, spore-like form carried away by the wind. The cover by Sandy Plunkett and Alan Weiss captures the eerie, otherworldly tone of this unsettling story, making it a standout in the series.
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Ephraim Soles is mutated after eating a gamma-irradiated plant in the desert. Stumbling across the New Defenders base, Ephraim attacks them. Iceman is forced to drain him of moisture to defeat him, apparently destroying him. Unknown to the Defenders, Ephraim survives in spore-like form and is taken away by the wind.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).