“THE FIEND WITH FIVE FACES!” The Phantom Stranger and his mystical abilities are called upon when a family of ancient gods begins to terrorize the Earth!
Aquaman drags himself onto the shore, in Honolulu, before collapsing. Struggling to get to his feet, Aquaman staggers down the dock. Aquaman is attacked by two lowlifes. After beating down the two men, Aquaman stumbles to a cab. Aquaman asks to be driven to the Bristol Building. The cabdriver escorts Aquaman up to the roof, where Aquaman accesses a Justice League Transporter Tube. Aquaman teleports up to the Justice League of America's satellite headquarters, where he collapses before the Elongated Man. The Elongated Man summons the Justice League of America. The Black Canary beats down the Boxer Bandits, before responding to the signal.
University physicist, Ray Palmer, excuses himself from his date with his fiance, Jean Loring, before responding to the signal, as the Atom. The Flash, and the Green Lantern, investigate a mysterious forest, in the Pacific Northwest. When the Flash attempts to take a clipping of the flora, for analysis, he is struck down, by a tree limb. Tane, the Oceanic God of Nature, confronts the Green Lantern. Tane subdues the Green Lantern, with strangling tree limbs. The Justice League of America assemble, at their satellite headquarters. Aquaman tells his tale. Aquaman had encountered a pod of sperm whales, swimming in a panic.
So terrified were the whales that they refused to heed Aquaman's telepathic commands. Aquaman was caught in the stampede, and struck down. Aquaman picked up mental images, from the memories of the fish, of a continent-sized volcano emerging in the Pacific Ocean. Aquaman swam to the location, and discovered a temple, on an island. Atop the temple was a statue, of a figure, with five faces. The statue came to life, and struck Aquaman down. For two weeks, Aquaman lay upon the sea floor, being nursed back to health by marine life. Finally, Aquaman had the strength to journey to Hawaii, to warn the Justice League of America. His tale told, Aquaman collapses again.
The Phantom Stranger appears. NATO contacts the Justice League of America, asking for help in quelling a conflict between NATO troops, and Warsaw Pact soldiers. The Justice League of America splits into two teams to deal with the crises. The Atom, the Batman, the Phantom Stranger, and the Red Tornado journey to the pacific island. Investigating the temple, the Red Tornado is struck down by a water elemental. The Batman confronts the water elemental, but is ineffective in subduing it. The Atom attacks the molecular structure of the water elemental, causing it to explode. The Black Canary, the Elongated Man, and Superman arrive at the battlefield, in Eastern Europe.
The conflict appears to be conducted by two strange figures. Superman confronts Ku, the Oceanic God Of War. Ku quickly fells the Man of Steel. The Black Canary, and the Elongated Man, attack Rongo, the Oceanic God of Mischief. Rongo horrifically transforms the Elongated Man into a tree. Rongo reveals his origins to the Black Canary. Millennia ago, the last five Gods of Oceania ruled the world. A coming cataclysm forced the five Gods to merge into one, to survive the coming crisis. Their island nation was consumed by the pacific ocean. The Gods slept. Eventually, the sea receded, and the island rose to the surface anew.
Tangora, the Oceanic God of Wisdom, was imprisoned by the other Gods, who then went out to claim the modern world. The Flash, and the Green Lantern, awake, bound in roots, to a large tree. Tane has taken possession of the Green Lantern's ring. The Flash attempts to escape, by vibrating at super-human speed. The Flash fails, nearly dying in the attempt. The Justice League of America discover Tangora. The Phantom Stranger attempts to release Tangora, from the enchantment imprisoning him. Superman taunts Ku into another battle. Superman stomps on the ground, creating a shockwave that unbalances Ku, causing him to drop his sword. Superman beats Ku down.
The Black Canary entices Rongo into coming in close to her. The Black Canary subdues Rongo with a pointblank canary cry. The rising sun poisons Tane, causing him to collapse. Distracted by the Flash's escape attempt, Tane was unaware the Green Lantern had willed his power ring to alter Tane's metabolism, making the sun's radiation lethal to Tane. With the Red Tornado's help, the Phantom Stranger succeeds in releasing Tangora. The Oceanic God of Wisdom draws the other Oceanic Gods to him. Once more the five Oceanic Gods are merged into one, as the island sinks beneath the waves.
The Atom asks for advice, regarding whether or not he should reveal his secret identity to his fiance, Loring. The Batman, and Superman, caution against it. The rest of the team support the idea. Ultimately, though, the decision is the Atom's alone to make.
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