Metal Men #45 is an issue of the series Metal Men (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 1976.
Synopsis for "Evil Is in the Eye of the Beholder"
Doc Magnus is brought back to the US by the CIA and he is under intensive care to try and reform him back into a patriot. Meanwhile the Metal Men (who have shed their human identities) are going around the country giving shows displaying their abilities. Inside the secret base where Doc is housed arrives a bureaucrat named Whittier, he informs the doctors treating Doc that they need to wrap up soon as the project is running over budget. As a last ditch effort a ‘work-therapy’ is proposed, hoping that Doc would find his old convictions in the only thing he still liked doing, building robots. Unknown to the others, Whittier banks on Doc building a terror-machine, and he is right when the Plutonium Man is unveiled. The soldiers and scientists are terrified by the robot composed of such volatile material, but Whittier points a gun at them to ease their worries. The Plutonium Man breaks free from its prison, as its Responsometer was fashioned after the mental state of Doc, who hated to be locked up. Whittier, and Doc go after the Plutonium Man and they see the carnage it causes in Washington DC. Whittier explains that he is a spy from Karnia, who wanted to force the US to pay reparations for what damage Magnus and his robots did to the country, even after the dictator was removed from power. He wanted to ransom the US with the creation of Doc, which he manipulated him into making. The Metal Men, who are giving lectures in Washington DC, quickly find the robot and try to stop it. Whittier didn’t count on it running amok, because of its emotions, so he gets himself killed by the robot while he shoots its control panel to bits to vindicate his people. The Metal Men are also getting destroyed by the powerful menace, his heat melting them all, Tina fuses with the Plutonium Man, to trap the heat of the exploding robot-bomb, which could erase the city off the map. Doc sees this all, and Tina’s sacrifice breaks the mental blocks in his head, returning him to normal, so he can love the Metal Men once again. While Whittier is getting a hero’s funeral, Doc decides to rebuild the Metal Men, and start things anew.
Appearing in "Evil Is in the Eye of the Beholder"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Plutonium Man (First appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
The letters page is dedicated to explaining that the Metal Men are back to being robots, and they are the ones that saved Magnus from Karnia, all of this happens off-panel.