Mystery in Space # 77
August, 1962
Where Was I Born -- Venus? Mars? Jupiter?
Writer: Gardner Fox
Penciller: Sid Greene
Inker: Sid Greene
Synopsis: The Star Rovers, working together on an Antarean planet, find a map that will lead them to find the legendary Sword of Starhedron, fabled weapon of the ancient star-warrior Takkan Dor, which is made of the rare element X-7. Word of the discovery reaches the solar system, and one week later, on the planet Adanalla, they find the sword, which turns out to be highly radioactive. They then speak of how proud the people at home will be, but when stating the name of their home planet, Rick says it's Venus, Karel says it's Mars and Homer says it's Jupiter. The three of them argue for a while, and then decide that they will leave the sword, which is no longer radioactive, sealed in plastic on an asteroid while they attempt to prove which planet they're from. Rick goes to Venus, where he's greeted by many old girlfriends. A Venusian official asks where the sword is, and Rick tells him of the home-planet problem they'd had. During the celebration parade for Rick, the official explains that Venus needs the sword becuase it would destroy the underground creatures that threaten the human Venusians. The Venusians then supply Rick with proof that all three Star Rovers are from Venus, and he takes off to meet the others. On Mars, Karel is also greeted with a celebration, during which her sister greets her, and during which an official tells her that the sword would enable Mars to seed its clouds and cause rain. On Jupiter, Homer disembarks and trips due to not having set his gravity controls properly in his spaceship. After being reunited with his family, Jovian officials tell Homer that they can prove to him that Rick and Karel are from Jupiter, and that the red spot of Jupiter is poisonous, and that the sword could detoxify it. The Star Rovers meet on the asteroid and discuss their experience on the different planet, each one concluding that they had been wrong - Rick because he would never date a green-eyed girl, like those who met him on Venus, Karel because the person representing herself as her sister on Mars called her Karel, although her real name, which her true sister would have used, is Mary Smith, and Homer because he had instinctively set his gravity controls for Earth rather than Jupiter, leading him to guess that Earth is really their home planet. They discover that the sword had been stolen, and conclude that the people from Venus, Mars and Jupiter must have scanned their minds, stolen it, and brought it back to Adanalla, as that is the only place where it had the radioactivity that they required. The Star Rovers get to Adanalla and stop the thieves just before they reach the sword by blasting the roof above them and letting the debris pin them down. The three then reveal to the Star Rovers that when word got out that the Star Rovers were going to find the sword, representatives of their planets planted hypnosis devices in their spaceships to make them think they were from those worlds and that those worlds had a dire need for the sword. Their true plan had been to use the sword to poison Earth's atmosphere, and then their planets would not be considered inferior because they have to manufacture their own air. The Star Rovers inform the thieves that Earth never regarded the other planets as inferior, and, a month later, after the Star Rovers present the sword to Earth, it is placed in perpetual orbit equidistant from Earth, Mars and Jupiter, to symbolize the friendship between the planets and the equality of all.
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