All-Star Comics Vol. 2 #61

The villainous Vulcan gravely injures Dr. Fate, prompting the Justice Society and Super Squad to combine their forces to take down the molten man!

Vulcan battles against the Golden Age Green Lantern and Doctor Fate. Though his fiery volley is blocked by the Golden Age Green Lantern, a portion of the energy reflects off the ring construct. The excess energy impacts with several surrounding buildings, raining masonry down on the citizens below. The Golden Age Green Lantern is forced to break off his attack to save the innocent bystanders. Vulcan vents molten magma into the sky, which showers down on the streets in a white hot rain. This, too, is blocked by the Golden Age Green Lantern. Doctor Fate attacks Vulcan, drawing his attention away from the civilians. It’s all Doctor Fate can do to stalemate Vulcan’s attack, long enough for the Golden Age Green Lantern to ferry the civilians to safety. With one last push, Vulcan’s power literally explodes out of him, demolishing the building he and Doctor Fate were fighting upon.

As Vulcan flies away, the Golden Age Green Lantern desperately searches the rubble for some sign of Doctor Fate. Vulcan, however, doesn’t get far, as an errant shaft of sunlight sends him crashing to the ground. In Gateway City, archaeologist Carter Hall dismisses the concerns of his colleague, regarding the discovery of the ancient Lemurian, Zanadu. His body preserved in a block of amber, which, unbeknownst to both men, seems to be dissolving. Vulcan comes down hard in the Penn Central Freight Yards. His momentary weakness, though, is fast fading. The Golden Age Flash, Power Girl, Wildcat, and the Star-Spangled Kid, stand outside the Justice Society of America’s headquarters, as it burns to the ground, the aftermath of their earlier battle with Vulcan. The Golden Age Flash’s wife, Joan Garrick, breaks through the police barricades, to embrace her husband. Garrick pleads with him to retire. Reluctantly, the Golden Age Flash acquiesces to her wishes.

To bolster their manpower, Power Girl summons the Golden Age Hawkman and Doctor Mid-NIte. No sooner do they arrive on the scene then the team receives a message from the Golden Age Green Lantern, begging for aid. Power Girl, however, does not depart with the team. A police bulletin picked up by her super-hearing, leads Power Girl to investigate the crash site of an extraterrestrial craft. Upon spying an alien being exiting the craft, Power Girl attacks, only to be repelled by a force field. Wildcat and Doctor Mid-Nite arrive to assist the Golden Age Green Lantern in recovering Doctor Fate. Using his infra-red vision to pick up Doctor Fate’s heat signature, Doctor Mid-Nite instructs the Golden Age Green Lantern on where to locate Doctor Fate. The team, though, may have arrived too late. Doctor Fate lies near death. While Power Girl battles against the alien, images begin forming in her mind’s eye. Only after Vulcan appears in her thoughts, does Power Girl finally comprehend the alien’s telepathic message.

The Golden Age Hawkman and the Star-Spangeld Kid engage Vulcan at the freight yards. The Star-Spangled Kid encase Vulcan in ice, but Vulcan easily burns through it. The Golden Age Hawkman’s hurled weapon, too, melts before it can impact Vulcan. The Star-Spangled KId animates the railroad tracks to try to impede Vulcan’s movements. At this point, Power Girl arrives, with the alien, XLK-JNN. It was the alien that rescued Christopher Pike, when his space module plummeted into the sun, transforming him into Vulcan. When a flaw was detected in Pike’s transformation, XLK-JNN came to Earth to repair it. Upon learning that it was the alien that transformed him, Vulcan incinerates XLK-JNN. Power Girl tells the Star-Spangeld Kid that the flaw in Vulcan’s transformation has made him especially vulnerable to sunlight. The Star-Spnagled Kid uses his cosmic rod to blast Vulcan with a beam of concentrated sunlight. Vulcan is, seemingly, vaporized. The team gathers at the hospital, where Doctor Mid-Nite informs them that only a miracle can save Doctor Fate.