Challengers of the Unknown #31
In "The Man Who Saved the Challenger's Lives, Chapter 1," the origins of the Challengers of the Unknown take a gripping turn as Red, Ace, and Clayton recount their separate pasts—each a moment of quiet courage that would later define them. Written by Arnold Drake and illustrated by Bob Brown, this pivotal issue reveals how a young boy’s plea on a South American radio tower, a daring nitro delivery, and a mysterious rescue after a crash all led to their fateful bond. The story’s foundation is set with the cover by Bob Brown, capturing the team’s enigmatic beginnings in a world where heroism starts long before the spotlight.
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Before they all met, Red worked on a radio tower for President Domingo in a South American country where a kid asks Red to stop the dictator's evil plans, teaching Red true heroism. Ace ran a tiny air service delivering nitro to prospectors and when a crate breaks loose he heroically delivered the cargo. Flying to their appearance on the Heroes TV show, Ace's plane crashes and they become men "living on borrowed time." Clayton claims that what they don't know is that he saved their lives after the crash. In return, he wants them to go to South America and assemble a giant statue for him.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).