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in: Dick Giordano/Cover Artist, Jim Shooter/Writer, Jim Shooter/Penciler,
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DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest Vol 1 8

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"Escape of the Fatal Five!": This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #365.

DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #8 is an issue of the series DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1981.

Synopsis for "Escape of the Fatal Five!"

This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #365.

When the peaceful planet Talok VIII becomes a belligerent, warlike world, the United Planets Director calls upon the Legion to investigate. The world's heroine, Shadow Lass, who had been off-planet on a mission, accompanies four Legionnaires, Superboy, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, and Karate Kid. As Talok's warlords have completely sealed off their world, the five heroes parachute into a barren desert, intending to make their way into Talok's capital, which they do despite obstacles placed in their path by the mysterious agency behind Talok's transformation.

Gaining entrance to a fortress, the heroes are struck by rays which teleport each into a death-trap. Karate Kid finds himself trapped inside a gigantic, hollow diamond. Cosmic Boy encounters five large, non-magnetic, metal balls which rush at him in a short hallway, Superboy is slowly being crushed in a tiny sphere, Brainiac 5 is imprisoned in a small chamber with spiked walls moving in on him, and Shadow Lass appears in a room flooded with bright, glaring lights, which weaken her darkness-casting power and can eventually kill her. In the citadel throne room, the mysterious villain and his lackey watch as the imperiled heroes summon every ounce of strength and ingenuity to escape the traps, as the villains were counting on happening.

All of that energy is collected into gigantic batteries, and the lackey now uses it on the barrier imprisoning his master to crack it. The barrier falls, and out of a dimensional warp step the Fatal Five. After being blasted there following their partnership with the Legion against the Sun-Eater, they had found Talok VIII through a dimensional window. Tharok had mentally enslaved its populace with a mind-control unit and turned it into a warlike world, knowing the Legion would investigate. As the freed Legionnaires rush to the citadel's throne room, the Fatal Five depart in a ship, leaving the exhausted heroes to face an army of Talokian warriors.

Continued next issue....

Appearing in "Escape of the Fatal Five!"

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Synopsis for "The Fight for the Championship of the Universe!"

This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #366.

Continued from last issue....

The Legionnaires are almost defeated by the Talokian army, until they accidentally smash the mind-control machine, whereupon the warriors stop fighting. The heroes then leave Talok to pursue the Fatal Five.

Meanwhile, traveling through space, the villains debate what to do now that they are free. Tharok threatens to loose Validus on the other three unless they obey him, and he outlines his plans. Later, in Metropolis, the Five wreak havoc throughout the city, decoying the police, and leaving Tharok free to attack the Presidential Palace. The Persuader similarly attacks the 30th century equivalent of the Pentagon, and before long Metropolis is under the evildoers' complete control.

The Five make their headquarters in the Presidential Palace, and when the Persuader complains to Tharok that the United Planets could attack soon, he responds by unveiling the Universal Weapons Control Panel, which controls every defensive weapon of every planet in the U.P., and which the Five can now control if they can gain the third of three control keys, which rests in the Legion Clubhouse. The villains find the Clubhouse deserted, but when they attempt to break in, the five heroes who have returned from Talok VIII suddenly blast them back. Validus hurls a piece of pavement at them, and the Five fence them inside the Clubhouse with atomic barbed wire, demanding the third key, or their lives.

Deciding not to destroy the third key, the heroes make plans to "hold the fort" until help arrives. Suddenly, a blast nearly caves in the Clubhouse walls, and they realize that Validus, under Tharok's control, is blasting them with his mental lightning. Brainiac 5 hooks up his belt to the force blaster to project a force shield around the Clubhouse, and tends to Shadow Lass, who suffered a sprained arm and shock during this second attack. Meanwhile, the Fatal Five fail to break through the force shield, and Tharok contacts the Legionnaires to offer an ultimatum: they must give the villains the key or they will destroy Metropolis. The heroes confer, and contact the villains to reject both terms; instead they offer a fight to the finish, winner take all. Shadow Lass offers to join, evening the sides, and is sworn in as a Legionnaire just before the battle begins.

The five villains pair off with their hero "victims" and quickly gain the upper hand, but Shadow Lass knocks out the Emerald Empress and casts a deep shadow over the area, which allows her comrades to escape. Just as the Fatal Five prepares to strike again, the U.P. forces finally arrive, and the villains escape in a swift Legion ship. The President of Earth decorates the five Legionnaires for their bravery, and the heroes then turn to the matter of rebuilding the ruined Clubhouse.

Appearing in "The Fight for the Championship of the Universe!"

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Synopsis for "No Escape from the Circle of Death!"

This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #367.

As construction progresses on the new Legion Headquarters, Karate Kid greets Brainiac 5 and Sun Boy with the news that he is about to depart to Japan for a much-needed vacation. After the three tour the complex, Karate Kid takes his leave, while his comrades examine the many items they have received as housewarming gifts, including one marked in an indecipherable alien language.

Meanwhile, a mysterious group called the Dark Circle spies on Earth from halfway across the galaxy, and decides that now is the time to strike. As Karate Kid arrives in Tokyo and visits his aged mentor, a blast from outside tears a hole in the wall of their building and nearly kills them. Karate Kid stares through the hole to see an army of alien invaders. He fights back, but is overwhelmed by sheer numbers. His attempt to contact his fellow Legionnaires and obtain assistance is useless, as they too are fighting the aliens, who are appearing all over Earth.

At Legion Headquarters, the Legionnaires fight valiantly, but are eventually taken captive. Only Brainiac 5 escapes, and since the Legion arsenal is under close guard, he sneaks into the storage area and frantically searches among their gifts for a suitable weapon. When several aliens come to investigate the noise, he wishes Karate Kid was present to hold them off, and the Kid suddenly appears. Realizing what has happened, Brainiac 5 recovers the crate with the strange writing, and removes the machine inside it. He grasps the device and concentrates, and in a sudden burst of incredible force, the aliens are swept off Earth back to their own worlds, and the new Legion Headquarters complex is instantly completed.

Brainiac 5 tells his awestruck comrades that the device is a Miracle Machine, a device that converts thoughts into reality. He theorizes that it originated in the Controllers' universe, and this is confirmed when a Controller materializes before them, and warns of its vast potential for disaster. Heeding that warning, the Legionnaires seal the Miracle Machine in a cube of inertron until mankind is wise enough to use it.

Appearing in "No Escape from the Circle of Death!"

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Synopsis for "Lost: A Million Miles From Home"

This story is reprinted from Superboy #202.

As Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet return to Earth from deep space, their Legion Cruiser mysteriously conks out, leaving them stranded a million miles from home.

Appearing in "Lost: A Million Miles From Home"

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  • An unnamed sniper (pirate)

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  • Telepathic Plugs

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Synopsis for "The Fatal Five Who Twisted Time!"

This story is reprinted from Superboy #198.

The Fatal Five travel back in time to 20th Century Smallville to destroy Superboy, in order to fulfill a destiny of wiping out the Legion in the future.

Appearing in "The Fatal Five Who Twisted Time!"

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  • Vashnu (Hindu Fakir) (Cameo) (First appearance chronologically)

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