Adventures into the Unknown #100 (1958)

In 2164, a spaceship discovers the ruins of a long-dead civilization on a distant planet, uncovering the preserved remains of a man who once dreamed of being the "Head Man"—a title that echoes the ambition of Ed Wilson, a man whose life in 20th-century Earth was shaped by love, betrayal, and an unrelenting drive to rise above his circumstances. As the story flashes back, we see Ed leave his small town for New York, chase power and wealth, and ultimately end up in prison, only to learn the devastating truth about the woman he loved—Frannie—whose life took a path he never expected. Now, years later, he returns to her doorstep with a storm of emotions, unaware that his past is about to collide with a new, unexpected reality.

In a haunting tale from *Adventures into the Unknown* #100, psychiatrist Dr. Glenn Ormsby listens to his patient Helene Verral, who recounts a vivid dream in which she witnesses her uncle Martin’s death—and then finds herself at a surreal preliminary hearing in the Court of the Unknown, where Martin’s passage to the afterlife is debated. As the dream blurs with reality, Helene begins to question whether her sleepwalking episode that night was truly just a nightmare, or if something far stranger occurred.

In 1958, Captain Robert Davis, a descendant of 19th-century inventor Ichabod Davis, prepares to command the Navy’s newest atomic submarine, the Moray. That night, the long-lost prototype submarine, the Mermaid, mysteriously rises from the ocean floor—just as a sabotage plot unfolds, with a descendant of the original rival, Hosmer Everson, attempting to destroy the Moray with a hidden mine. The Mermaid’s sudden reappearance, seemingly guided by forces beyond explanation, intervenes at the last moment, thwarting the attack and leaving behind a haunting mystery.

Joey Halloran is convinced nothing ever happens to him—until a bizarre encounter in the woods leads to an unexpected journey to a distant dimension, where he becomes the subject of a strange scientific experiment. Though he’s temporarily whisked away and given a mysterious gift, he returns to his ordinary morning walk with no memory of the adventure, still believing his life is unremarkable.