Amazing Adventures (1970 series) #13

Three villains have gathered: Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) gloats over having seized control of the Beast’s mind while the big bruisers Unus and Blob are not impressed. Mastermind points out that their powers are defensive, only he can attack. He creates the illusion of fire in Beast’s mind to force him to come their way where he is bounced around by Unus and Blob. When things have settled down, Mastermind tells Beast they are all mutants, treated badly by the world when all they want to do is bring peace and freedom to man and mutant alike. The amnesiac Hank agrees to join them since he needs friends. They take Hank back to their hideout in a carnival where strange-looking people can blend in. Wyngarde has a question: Is the furry Beast any relation to Beast of the X-Men? Hank, his brain addled, insists he is unique, which is a load off Mastermind’s mind….

Air Force Captain Robert “Buzz” Baxter arrives at the Brand Corporation, accompanied by his wife, former model Patsy Walker. He has been assigned by the Pentagon to investigate the incidents with the Beast. The Director takes them to meet Hank McCoy but Hank is gone and no one knows where he is. They talk to Linda Donaldson who grows visibly upset at the idea that foul play could have overtaken Hank (though she’s mainly upset at the thought that she has failed her mission for the Secret Empire)….

Baxter and Patsy go over to Hank’s apartment but there is no answer. Patsy stops Buzz from breaking in and they leave. A woman standing in the shadows watches them and wonders if Patsy is Hank’s new lover….

The trio of villains takes Beast to an Upper East Side townhouse. Wyngarde explains that the place is a fortress because the owner possesses the Rahmur Diamond, the world’s largest gem; Mastermind’s plot is to steal it to show to potential buyers and then Mastermind will sell them an illusion of the gem. There is only one unguarded entrance, a circular window on a high floor. Blob and Unus press their force-fields together and Beast is catapulted into the air, leaping across the street and through the window. Inside he uncovers the safe and puts his arm through the electric eye beams and extracts the diamond. He returns to the others but balks at turning the diamond over to Mastermind because it seems crooked. Wyngarde creates the illusion of flames around the Beast so he hands over the gem. But Mastermind has dropped his invisibility illusion so they are spotted by a band of rednecks who want to beat up some Muties but Mastermind creates the illusion of a giant monster to scare them off….

Back at the carnival, Beast’s memories return and he fights with the three bad guys; after a great deal of struggling with Blob and Unus, he tricks them into a cage where their respective powers work against each other and they are unable to escape. Beast corners Mastermind who tries to scare him off with an array of illusions but Hank is aware they are not real and his relentless pursuit of the villain drives Wyngarde mad. Hank telephones the police and he walks away, leaving the villain raving in the street….