Aquaman Vol. 1 #60

Still upset over the loss of his son and his missing wife, Aquaman wages battle with the Scavenger as Kobra watches on with a captive General Hogan held hostage. Plus: Mera prepare to brave the Pit!

Scavenger, Ravager, Plunderer, Thief!

Aquaman is in hot pursuit of the Scavenger, an undersea pirate who has looted the cargo holds of the sunken ship, Bellerophon. Spying Aquaman’s approach, the Scavenger ramps his scorpion shaped submersible into high gear. Aquaman telepathically directs an armada of barnacles to cling fast to the hull of the Scavenger’s submersible. The added weight disrupts the thrust of the submersible’s jets, forcing the Scavenger’s vessel down to the sea floor. The Scavenger electrifies the hull of his ship, removing the barnacle encrusting encumbrance. The delay, however, has given Aquaman the time to catch up to the Scavenger. The Sea King crashes through the hull, and engages his old foe in pitched combat. Aware that his operative, the Fisherman, has failed to secure the Bellerophon’s cargo, Kobra readies his personal craft, intent on retrieving the cargo, from the Scavenger, personally. On board the Scavenger’s vessel. Aquaman has quickly gained the upper hand. The Scavenger activates a device, onboard his ship, that creates huge pockets of evaporated sea water in the ocean. In his haste, the Scavenger momentarily forgets that his vessel cannot traverse the air pockets. Traveling through one causes the vessel to instantly crash into the ocean bottom.

Though Aquaman can breath air , as easily as water, a group of Atantean farmers are jeopardized by the air pockets, and begin suffocating. Aquaman abandons his fight with the Scavenger, rescuing the farmers by pushing them out of the pocket and back into the ocean proper. This gives the Scavenger time to regain control of his ship, and, more importantly, it’s considerable arsenal. Aquaman is struck down by the scorpion submersible’s tail, then finds his legs flash frozen by an ice projector. The Scavenger scoops up Aquaman in the ship’s pincers and proceeds to crush the Sea King. Suddenly, the Scavenger’s vessel is bathed in crimson light, and the Scavenger vanishes. Kobra has arrived. The so-called “Deadliest Man Alive” transfers the Bellerophon’s cargo from the Scavenger’s hold to his own. Without the Scavenger at the ship’s controls, Aquaman is able to break free from the scorpion ship’s pincers. Before he can completely pull himself loose, Kobra destroys the Scavenger’s ship. The resultant explosion leaves Aquaman too stunned to pursue Kobra’s vessel, as it rapidly ascends to the surface. As the ocean air pockets begin to slowly collapse, filling once more with sea water, Aquaman grimly resolves to bring Kobra to justice.

The Edge Of Nowhere

Having ended Leron’s tyrannical reign over her native Dimension Aqua, Mera finds herself peering into the abyssal depths of “The Pit”. Leron has thrown all scientific devices that might have been used against him into “The Pit”, including the healing machine Mera needs to save the life of her infant son, who lays at death’s door in Atlantis. Mera dives into “The Pit”. Plunging down into the dark depths, Mera is startled to see something moving towards her, as she nears the bottom. A monstrous Earth Elemental emerges from the ink black depths. Mera barely has time to construct a hard water shield around herself before it strikes her. The blow is so powerful it sends Mera hurtling back up out of “The Pit”. The enormous creature follows Mera out of “The Pit”. Behind it comes an equally gigantic Fire Elemental and a Water Elemental. The Earth Elemental attempts to bury Mera beneath an avalanche launched from the sea floor. Mera blocks the earthen deluge with another of her hard water shields. Mera hurls herself at the Earth Elemental, driving it back down into “The Pit”. The other Elementals pursue Mera back down to “The Pit’s” bottom. Mera binds the Earth Elemental in bands of hard water. Mera spies the sunken scientific devices, and quickly locates the healing machine. Momentarily distracted, she fails to see the Fire Elemental launch a fiery bolt at her. The bolt strikes the scientific equipment causing a massive explosion, vaporizing the Elementals. Somehow, Mera survives. Mera swims up out of “The Pit”, and returns to Atlantis with the healing machine. Her efforts, tragically, have all been for naught. Vulko informs Mera that while she was in Dimension Aqua, retrieving the healing machine, her infant son, Arthur, Jr., passed away.