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"The Atom-Destruction of Earth!": Jason Woodrue has broken out of the Ivy Town prison, however his escape does not go unnoticed and the prison guards quickly deploy to capture him. Making his daring escape, Woodrue stops and picks up specific plant types creating the correct combination of crush

The Atom #24 is an issue of the series The Atom (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1966. It was published on February 1, 1966.

Synopsis for "The Atom-Destruction of Earth!"

Jason Woodrue has broken out of the Ivy Town prison, however his escape does not go unnoticed and the prison guards quickly deploy to capture him. Making his daring escape, Woodrue stops and picks up specific plant types creating the correct combination of crushed pedals to gain access to the Floral world through a tree, pulling out a female Dryad in the process. The guards trail leads to a dead end and the lone Dryad flees from the guard dogs hoping not to be discovered.

Two days later, Ray Palmer and out on a drive with his fiancee Jean Loring when Ray spots Maya, queen of the Dryads flying toward their car. Since Ray Palmer doesn't "know" who she is he listens as Maya asks Jean to seek out the Atom for help. Ray manages to excuse himself by telling Jean that he will use his shortwave radio to contact other police forces around the world in case the Atom is on a mission overseas. This allows Ray to return to his lab and change into the Atom. Calling Jean Loring's home, the Atom is transported to her residence where he learns from Maya what happened. Maya explains that Jason Woodrue has escaped from prison and has transported himself to the world of Floria. However, before she could exile Woodrue again, she learned of one of her Dryads being trapped on Earth. Leaving her realm she saved the Dryad and sent her home and decided to seek out the Atom's help in saving the world of Flora from Woodrue's machinations.

Agreeing to accompany Maya to the plant world, they travel through a portal in one of Jean's house plants into the world of Floria. Arriving in Floria they are attacked by two satyrs who proclaim that the realm has been conquered by Jason Woodrue. Maya is shocked to find that her control over plants and the creatures of Flora have some how been removed. The Atom and Maya are easily over powered when the Atom is bombarded with exploding seeds and both are grabbed by reinforcements come to help the other satyrs. The two diminutive liberators are taken to Woodrue's base of operations and put in a special chemical bath that is slowly turning them into plants.

Let to their fate, the Atom realizes that he's been placed under a fruit bearing plant and uses his breath to blow loose a fruit that knocks his bowl over. Realizing that he is slowly turning back to normal if the solution is given a chance to evaporate, the Atom uses his size controls to shake off the rest of the solution, turning back to normal. He then saves Maya from the same fate that he was doomed to by Woodrue.

The pair then fight through various plant traps, including a web-weaver plant, and swamp with gripping plant tendrils to get to Woodrue. Jason reveals that he intends to bombard the Earth with a radioactive plant seed that will turn the Earth into a desolate wasteland. When the specially made plants eject the seeds, the Atom smashes them unaware that this is playing into Woodrue's hands that when the Atom returns to Earth it will cause the deadly radiation fallout due to the seeds being crushed into his uniform.

Returning Woodrue to his jail cell on Earth, the Atom takes Maya to the Ivy University lab where botanist Professor Perry comes up with a cure for Maya's condition. Once more in tune with her world she becomes aware of the danger threatening the Earth caused by Woodrue's seeds. However, she and the Atom thwart this plan by contacting all the Dryads to come to Earth and catch the radioactive fallout in special flowers, thus ruining Woodrue's plot and saving the Earth. From his prison cell, Woodrue looks out waiting for the destruction to begin, but when the fated hour passes he wonders what could have possibly gone wrong.

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