Tales To Astonish (1959) #71, "Escape...To Nowhere!"

Let's put the multiple book crossover theme to rest and check back in with a quest first discussed here last October.

In Tales To Astonish #70, Namor embarked on a search for Neptune's trident. Krang had stolen the throne of Atlantis from Namor by dastardly means but recovering the trident would prove to the people of Atlantis that Namor is truly the only amphibian for the job.

At the book's conclusion, Namor had found the first clue in a seashell but was trapped in a cave with an angry giant squid! #71 picks up right from there.

Namor uses the shell to defeat the squid...

This releases an apparition from the shell. It is of Neptune and the old king gives Namor his next set of instructions in order to locate the trident. The Submariner must face his next peril in the "Forbidden Deeps".

But first he has to make his way out of the cave and to do so, he uses his power of...burrowing.

Yeah, I don't know about that one...

What he finds are a couple of Krang's soldiers, those who blocked the cave and were unaware of Namor's incredible drilling prowess. He deals with them easily and continues his quest. And when he reaches the (not-very-well) hidden (and forbidden) deeps...

That...Doesn't seem so bad. But it actually is.

Why don't you just drill through it?

I kid but this whole quest thing is pretty fun. As you read you find yourself wondering what madness Stan Lee will come up with next. When we get around to #72, we'll see how he tops Seaweed Man!