"Astronauts"
Edited, written and drawn by Jack Kirby
Letterer and Inker- Mike Royer
Consulting Editor- Archie Goodwin

SUMMARY

Brother Tode, carried by his servants, leads Kro to an important work area within Lemuria. Here, Tode has constructed a "gift" for the Celestials- an immense bomb, designed to destroy their mothership! Three Deviants in armor have been selected to pilot this bomb into space and sacrifice their lives to destroy the Celestials. Tode has even more in mind.

Tode:"You should be PROUD! PROUD! Yours will be a MONUMENTAL feat! The blow-up will not only destroy a vessel of the Space Gods-- it will SCORCH vast areas of this planet and rid us of MILLIONS of cursed humans! When it is over, the Deviants shall rise SAFELY from the depths of the sea and wrest control from our SHATTERED cousins. YOUR MISSION IS CLEAR! TO DESTROY IS TO TRIUMPH! DEPART, AND FLY-- FOR THE GLORY OF ANCIENT LEMURIA!"

The Deviant Astronauts board the bomb, and fly out of the waters, heading for earth's orbit.

But someone is already investigating the Celestials. Two US Astronauts, Terry Parker and Matt Durgan have been sent on a special flight to investigate the mothership, armed with advanced telescoping materials!

Back in Olympia, Sprite, the only Eternal who did NOT enter the Uni-Mind, sees the bomb leaving earth on Domo's monitor!

Sprite:"WOE TO THE WORLD, IF THE GODS RETALITATE! WOE TO THE ETERNALS IN THIS UNEXPECTED MOMENT OF IMPENDING HOLOCAUST!! [thinks] Woe to poor SPRITE who was charged with this duty! How EAGERLY I accepted it! What fun, I thought...to pry into the world's corners with the mechanisms of ZURAS and peer at mortals pursuing their follies! Oh, stupid Sprite--! Monarch of muddle-heads! You've seen TOO much! THE FATE OF THE EARTH HAS BEEN THRUST INTO YOUR QUAKING LAP! [aloud] SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!"

Sprite takes off to find another Eternal- someone who can stop the Deviants. But it is hopeless. Everyone has departed. Except...

Sprite[thinks]:"This place may be empty of all but-- HOPE! Like any adherent to the wisdom of Zuras, I've OVERLOOKED the FORGOTTEN ONE! Do I DARE break an edict of CENTURIES-- and got to him?"

Sprite travels to a tiny hut, far from the great towers of Olympia, at the edge of the mountains. Within is an immense man, hidden in shadows.

Sprite uses his powers to create a spacesuit for the Forgotten One, a brilliant silver suit. For a spacecraft, he turns the Forgotten One's hut into a vessel!

Up in space, the human Astronauts continue to survey the immense mothership, when they suddenly detect another vessel- a very LARGE one!

Durgan:"Look for MARKINGS!"
Parker:"It's an UNIDENTIFIABLE! If the Russians built that, it must have been done in TRANSYLVANIA!"
Durgan:"There it is! BELOW us! It looks like some kind of WHALE! Only it's spouting FIRE from various points in its hull!"
Parker:"You won't believe THIS, Matt! A NEW VEHICLE! YET ANOTHER MYSTERY SHIP! We've become a damned PARADE!"

As the three vessels streak through space, nearing the mothership, the One Above All- the only Celestial aboard the mothership- decides upon a course of action. Suddenly, Parker and Durgan find their vessel boarded by the Deviant Astronauts! Before the Deviants can kill them, they vanish- and find themselves aboard the Forgotten One's ship!

As for the Forgotten One, he is aboard the Deviant bomb! He finds his way into the heart of the bomb, where the trigger is located! Using his powerful muscles, he tears into the framework...

Narration:"The powerful Eternal proceeds to his Herculean task. Heat, radiation, and the crackle of unleashed forces have made the ship's environment deadly to ordinary men. In seconds, there will be contact with the Celestial ship. In seconds, there will be death for MILLIONS! The Eternal has only mere seconds to do the IMPOSSIBLE..."

Back on earth, Parker and Durgan land the Forgotten One's ship at a NASA airfield, not sure what to tell their superiors!

The Deviants, aboard the US spaceshuttle cannot control the ship, and crash into the sea, dying instantly.

In space, the Forgotten One has torn apart the bomb, as it is destroyed harmlessly in orbit. The Forgotten One is left to drift in space.

Narration:"Centuries of isolation HAVEN'T changed this Eternal. A legendary HERO to the humans, he has lived up to his calling with FULL measure. Now, he drifts free of the FLAMING wreckage, until his injured body is drawn into the giant Celestial ship. There it rests...unable to function...smashed by an ordeal of INDESCRIBABLE limits. Thus, when the hand of the One Above All reaches for him, his form is like a flea in its shadow. However, he is a flea proven WORTHY OF THE GODS!!"

And the last thing we see is the shadow of the One Above All's hand, reaching for the fallen hero.

COMMENTS

I just love this story. We've got Deviants, humans, Eternals and Celestials all encountering one another.

You have to wonder if Parker & Durgan turned that ship over to Area 51...

The One Above All [who is still unseen] reaching out to the Forgotten One is a significant moment. Up till now, the Celestials have been very reactive- when the Deviants or humans attack, they counter to defend themselves- this time, he finds the needed solution- the Deviants are killed, the humans return home safely, and the Forgotten One is able to save the day. And then he reaches out to save the hero. Very moving. Up till now, there was no evidence that the Celestials cared at all for humanoids. Yet, as we shall [hopefully] see, the Forgotten One is honored beyond that of any other Eternal, by being allowed to live with his gods.

There's just something wonderful in the seemingly useless Sprite and, uh, forgotten Forgotten One saving the earth.

The Forgotten One is the last significant Eternal we'll meet for a time. We're never allowed a full look at him- his face is always shadowed. It isn't really important- he's a hero, and his actions speak for him. And as well shall [definitely] see, the Forgotten One is one of the most engaging members of the immense cast.
 

Next: Well, after this, it's all down-hill, right? Actually...yes. Not that the rest of the series isn't worthwhile...we're just past the excellent stuff. So, be here next time for Ikaris vs. the Cosmic-Powered Hulk [I have to be here- it was my idea!].