Mystery in Space! - Recap

The villain Equinox has captured Gorilla Grodd and the Question, and strapped them to opposing dishes on a giant scales of Justice. Equinox informs them that Grodd would have upset the world’s balance so must be eliminated, and the Question must die to even the balance.



Batman arrives as Equinox lowers his two captives into the fire and then runs off. Batman jumps onto the Question’s dish, realizing that Equinox wouldn’t let two heroes die for one villain and upset his vision of universal balance. The two heroes go after Equinox but when the Question closes in, Equinox notes that the odds are two to one and the hand of fate should intervene. Sure enough, the fire escape the Question is climbing breaks off. Batman grabs the villain, who warns Batman that either they will both die or both escape. Equinox pulls Batman over the ledge of the building and Batman saves himself. Equinox falls to the alleyway below but walks away, unscathed, and warns that he’ll be back.



Batman goes to a tropical island and waits for a scheduled event. He hears Aquaman singing a whale’s lament and asks the aquatic hero what the matter is. Aquaman appears depressed but isn’t interested when Batman explains that he’s waiting for a Zeta Beam to teleport him to the planet Rann to help Adam Strange. Surprised, Batman invites him along anyway and Aquaman says that he’s realized that he can’t help anyone. Batman insists on him coming and the two of them are teleported to Rann.

The heroes appear in the middle of a firefight in the sky. Adam Strange rescues them and takes them to Ranagar, Rann’s capital city. They meet with Alanna, Adam’s wife, and her father Saradath, the leading Archon of the Science Council. The alien invaders, the reptilian Gordanians, call upon the council to surrender. When Saradath refuses, the Gordanian leader, General Kreegaar, attacks with a Gordanian Battle Tripod.



Aquaman suggests they’re all doomed and should surrender, but Batman and Adam Strange insist they go after the Battle Tripod. They fight their way inside but Kreegaar reveals it’s a trap. He traps them in a glass cylinder, turns on a heat beam, and departs with his men.



Batman burns through the floor with Adam’s jetpack and they make their escape. Back at the Council building, Adam realizes that Kreegaar is seeking the Eye of Zared, an ancient artifact that focuses solar energy to emit a beam of devastation. Kreegaar is heading to an ancient underwater city and Adam and the others go to investigate, accompanied by Alanna.



The heroes find Kreegaar and his men as they discover the Eye of Zared. Aquaman reluctantly summons Rann’s underwater creatures to help, but when he sees that they’re whales he orders them away. Adam challenges Aquaman as a coward and Batman asks for a minute alone with his friend. Aquaman explains while on a mission, he witnessed the deaths of several beluga whales at the hands of whalers. Depressed, he blames himself and doesn’t think there’s anything heroic in what he does. Batman says that they need the old heroic Aquaman, the one who never gives up. Aquaman sadly tells him that the Aquaman Batman once knew no longer exists.



The Gordanians attack the heroes, pinning Adam under debris. They close in to capture Alanna, who reaches out to Adam. He tries to rescue her but disappears: the temporary effects of the Zeta Beam have worn off. Adam arrives back on Earth and calculates that he has 45 minutes to intercept the next Zeta Beam. Meanwhile, Aquaman and Batman try to defeat the soldiers but Kreegaar takes command of the Eye of Zared and flies away to attack Rann.

On Earth, Adam outraces a train to get to the precise point where the Zeta Beam strikes. Adam is teleported away just as the train would have run him over. He arrives back on Rann to discover the population is in chaos as Kreegaar sweeps across the planet, while holding Alanna captive. Batman realizes that the Eye runs on solar power and as long as Kreegaar keeps it on the sun side of Rann, the machine will run forever. Adam despairs but Aquaman, inspired, reminds him that he’s a hero and rallies the troops.



Aquaman comes up with a cunning plan: they will use the Zeta Beam Cannon to temporarily teleport Earth’s Moon above the Eye, blocking the sunlight that powers it. He swims down to Rann’s undersea volcanoes with a cable to transmit the additional power to the cannon. Batman prepares to aim the cannon while Adam distracts Kreegaar by launching an attack on the eye and rescuing Alanna.



The plan comes together and Batman fires the cannon while Adam enters the Eye. He defeats Kreegaar and rescues Alanna. The general can only scream in horror as the Moon eclipses Rann’s sun, depriving the eye of power. As Adam and Alanna escape, the Eye crashes to the ground and explodes.



The Zeta Beam wears off and the Moon is restored to Earth’s orbit. Batman and Aquaman look on as the happy couple embrace.



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