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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3666 Location: New York
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 6:41 pm Post subject: GK Comic Book: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea |
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VTTBOTS issue #8 has a marvelous and exciting plot that struck me as making a fine sequel to the 1961 film.
Part 1, Expedition To Doomsday. The incredible futuristic submarine designed by Harriman Nelson, the Seaview, is deep in the North Atlantic clearing the sea lanes of the tons of icebergs with their deck cannon ______________________________________________
Note from me: One deck cannon hardly seems as if it could tackle such an enormous challenge. Also, we never saw a deck cannon on the Seaview before in film or television. For a movie, I'd have the Seaview using some kind of brand new high-tech device to obliterate the bergs.
Admiral Nelson explains Operation North Pole to his officers and crew. They're going to follow the route that famed explorer Robert Perry took back in 1909. At Thule, Greenland, the Seaview will pick up three European scientists who are all experts on the Artic.
A mystery submarine shadows the Seaview.
Nelson tells the three scientists they have brought aboard that the sea is 13,560 feet deep at the North Pole. This will be the underwater world that the Seaview will cruise.
The submarine suddenly runs headlong into an underwater canyon and barely survives.
Nelson and a team study the floor of the Artic Ocean while above, the European experts are guided by Commander Lee Crane atop of a massive berg.
An ice avalanche occurs on the berg as tests are taken endangering the scientists and crew on it, and Nelson and his people are nearly smashed by the falling sections of the berg as they plunge through the ocean.
Afterwards, as everyone is safely back on board the mighty submarine, they discover a large section from the berg avalanche floating in the water contains some kind of dinosaur frozen within it.
Nelson orders this astonishing discovery brought onto the Seaview for further study. The possibility of suspended animation of the creature is discussed, but no one can say for sure if such a theory is possible. Nelson orders chains around the ice cake holding the creature and to have it tightened as it melts.
Someone sneaks into the storage area and chops off the chains on the berg, then turns on arc lights and directs them onto the berg.
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Note from me: Why weren't any guards posted, or at least, cameras set up to monitor the creature?
Expedition To Doomsday, Part II: The Roar from One Million B.C.
The creature awakens and begins a rampage on the Seaview. No weapons on board can halt it. Nelson lures it to the Flying Sub hanger where he releases the flying sub's hatch as the creature is attacking the flying sub itself. The creature plummets into the ocean and swims rapidly away. ______________________________________________
Note from me: The comic book design for the Flying Sub looks nothing like the awesome design for the craft from the television series. We also see that there are two flying sub's in the hanger, whereas on the tv show there was only one on the Seaview.
Nelson & Crane now know that sabotage is the cause of the submarine heading into the undersea canyon earlier, as well as the revival of the ancient creature.
One of the scientists releases a mechanical drone which is cleverly disguised to appear as a fish. The drone swims ten miles to the submarine that has been covertly following the Seaview all this time. The sub captain reads the message only to discover that his secret agent on the Seaview has failed to destroy the fantastic Seaview.
What Nelson, Crane, and the crew are not aware of is that the Seaview is nearing the hidden cache of an enemy nation . . . their Z bomb. The bomb does not destroy property or populations, it can salvage both land, infrastructure, and people. It is a wonder of the age! The weapon can render humans immobile. The enemy then can choose the humans they wish to be revived via a specialized antidote; the ones not revived will remain paralyzed and eventually die.
The agent on board the Seaview releases another drone-fish to his comrades on the other submarine. It tells them to detonate a Z bomb if the Seaview makes it to within one mile of the of the cache.
Hours later, the great Seaview surfaces at the North Pole. Equipment is being unloaded from the Seaview and onto the surface for further explorations and tests. The enemy agent pretends to have gone amok, he hijacks one of the Arctic snow tracks and drives away. He reaches the cave where the Z bombs were secured a year ago. He sets one to go off in one hour, while being sure to inject himself with the antidote. He returns to the Seaview claiming that he was possessed at being the first one to reach the pole. A suspicious Nelson confines him to quarters ______________________________________________
Note from me: So this scientist hightails it off in a snow vehicle and Nelson doesn't order him followed. After all, there was another snow track available. It would also would have been a perfect time to launch the Flying Sub to conduct an air search for the scientist. And I want to see that Flying Sub in action; it's one of my favorite aircraft designs!
Nelson, Crane and Lee take Dr. Larson out to explore the polar floor in high tech underwater suits. The terrible force of the Z bomb is released affecting the Seaview crew.
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Note from me: The comic book panel shows the rays of the Z bomb as they are released. It also shows the ice cave blown to smithereens at the same time. According to the story, the Z bomb doesn't destroy property of any kind.
Nelson, Lee, Larson, having seen the mysterious rays while performing their undersea work, stealthily come back on board the Seaview. They overhear the enemy agent conversing with his submarine to now know about the Z bomb and what it has done to the Seaview crew. Nelson and Crane surprise the secret agent and subdue him. Getting the upper hand, Nelson & Crane train the Seaview deck gun on the newly arrived enemy and fire a shot over its bow, as they demand the antidote for their own crew. The enemy sub agrees and sends over the Z bomb antidote, which is then administered to the Seaview crew. The enemy saboteur suddenly jumps into the ocean and swims to his own sub. The sub submerges and purposely kills their own agent in the process. In their haste, the sub has rammed into an ice floe, causing their conning tower to be ripped off and flood the sub, sending it to the bottom of the sea. ______________________________________________
Note from yours truly: Hmm, the enemy provocateur jumping into the Arctic ocean with normal clothing on wouldn't last long in those temperatures. ______________________________________________
This imaginative tale struck me as a terrific one to adapt to a live action feature film Voyage movie. Obviously it would have to be expanded for a two-hour running time for the silver screen. Also, certain aspects of the adventure would have to be reworked to correct flaws from the comic book, as well as strive for better scientific accuracy. Producing such a film with a handsome budget and today's state-of-the-art visual effects would make every aspect of it possible today. |
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