Behold!

Metal Men #46. July 1976

“The Chemo Conspiracy”

Cover: Dick Giordano; Editor: Gerry Conway

Writer: Gerry Conway; Penciler/Inker/Letterer: Walt Simonson; Colorist: Carl Gafford

The rebuilt Metal Men try to find Doc Magnus’ cash store received when Magnus blackmailed the world in his evil phase, but the hiding place was empty. Magnus eventually joins the search and finds a chemical trail leading away from the hiding place. The trail leads to the home of the two keepers of the vault who once worked for Magnus and the vault’s guard – Chemo!

Meanwhile, in Washington DC, someone claiming to be Doc Magnus destroys a mugger …

The Metal Men attach Chemo! They drill through his ankle to drain the monster of his chemical innerds and then smash his glass exterior. Gold, Lead and Mercury give their artificial lives to achieve their victory.

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There are still a few loose ends to clean up in the Metal Men’s strange late-silver-age continuity. Gerry mops it up while re-introducing one of the MM’s popular villains. Add that it is defeated simply by draining it and smashing its glass container. Except for the environmental disaster that would result, it seems a pretty simple way to get rid of it!

Metal Men was probably not the best-selling comic in DC’s stable. Would it not have benefitted a little by being one of the “DC Salutes the Bicentennial” comics – in which one stripped off the special cigar-band logo to win a precious Superman belt buckle?  Well, it couldn’t have hurt anyway …

Once again the art and story fit perfectly with the mood of the book. The Metal Men are still finding their way in this revived continuity – they are no longer hunted and Doc is on their side, a complete reversal from prior issues. And their personalities are coming back: Lead is slow, Mercury is argumentative, Gold is the leader and Iron his (near) invincible back-up. Tin is meek and Platinum is hot.  The fun of the comic continues!

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About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!