THE ADVENTURES OF FLASH GORDON (24 x 30')

SYNOPSES

A PLANET IN PERIL

On a vital mission to save planet earth from destruction, Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov make a rocket journey to the Planet Mongo. There, frog-like gillmen save them from their crashed space ship and take them prisoner in underwater bubble craft. They, as well as Thun the lion man and Prince Barin of Arboria, escape the gillmen and flee into the wilds of Dire Marsh. After eluding the many dangers of the swamp and Princess Aura and her witch women warriors, they are captured by Emperor Ming's metalmen and taken to Mingo City. Thrown into the Palace combat arena by Ming, Flash and the Thun success-fully defend themselves from a huge ray-shooting, moving metal ball. This chapter concludes with Flash, Dale and Thun escaping the palace through underground caverns beneath the city.

CHAPTER 2

THE MONSTERS OF MONGO

Their underground escape from Emperor Ming is interrupted by giant reptiles and Flash's battle with a reptilian monster to free Dale from its huge claw. Captured by Princess Aura and her witch women warriors, Flash, Dale and Thun are flown back to Mingo City where Flash and Thun are forced into mining deadly radiation active gridium ore by the lizard woman and Dale is consigned to Ming's harem. Later Princess Aura helps them flee the mines by a secret passage which leads them into the forest kingdom of Arboria. There Prince Barin's men and their deadly ice arrows keep Flash and his group on the run. The chapter ends with Flash and his friends trapped on a mountainous precipice and from on high the dreaded hawkmen descend upon them.

CHAPTER 3

VULTAN, KING OF THE HAWKMEN

The hawkmen capture Flash, Thun, Barin and Aura and fly them to King Vultan's mile-high, suspended sky city where the winged monarch announces he will marry Aura and sends Flash and his friends to slave in his atomic furnaces. Back at the palace Emperor Ming commands Dale to marry him and advises Dr. Zarkov that earth's days are numbered. In a spectacular sky battle Vultan's hawkmen are no match for Ming's rocket forces, who blast the hawkmen's sky city into rubble. Ming rescues his daughter Aura as his metalmen capture the city. This chapter ends with sky city in ruins and Vultan, Barin, Thun and Flash departing for Arboria where they will map their revenge on Ming the merciless.

CHAPTER 4

TO SAVE EARTH

From Ming's palace Dr. Zarkov uses an astral projector to warn Flash in Arboria of the impending collision danger to earth and of Ming's planned metalmen's attack on Arboria. Even as Prince Barin's forest fighters rout the metalmen, Arboria is attacked on a second front by the molemen who burrow their way into the tree kingdom. Barin's men defeat this underground challenge and Flash and his friends commandeer the molemen's giant mole machine for a last ditch effort to save earth. Churning through molten lava, Flash guides the whirling mole machine into Ming's palace where he successfully wrests the planetary drive controls from Ming and guides Mongo away from earth. The chapter concludes as Flash and his friends on Mongo speed away from earth into unknown regions of outer space.

CHAPTER 5

THE BEAST MEN'S PREY

Prince Barin's deadly ice arrows and Vultan's fiery energy balls are no match for Ming's ray tanks and the forest kingdom's intrepid group is forced to flee Ming's palace in their mecho mole machine without Flash, Dale and Dr. Zarkov. Flash and friends escape later in a magnetic car and end up captives of the prehistoric beast men. Taken to the monsters' cave domain the captives see the beast men worship a gigantic statue of Ming the merciless. In a daring escape Flash and his friends outwit the beast men and flee by rocket ship. The chapter ends with Flash heading for new adventures in Arboria.

CHAPTER 6

INTO THE WATER WORLD

Fleeing from Princess Aura's robot rocket attack, Flash Gordon and his friends are attacked by a mysterious magnetic ray as they fly over the sea of mystery. Flash's rocket ship crashes and he, Dale and Dr. Zarkov are pulled beneath the sea into the multi-spired undersea city of Coralia. There Queen Undina has special machine altering techniques applied to Flash and his friends so they can breathe water as easily as they did air. Flash and Dr. Zarkov help Coralia Queen Undina defeat Ming's underwater laser firing submarine attack. Queen Undina rewards them with restoration of their air breathing ability and freedom, and as the chapter ends the group heads for Arboria.

CHAPTER 7

ADVENTURE IN ARBORIA

Flash and his friends arrive in Arboria and are greeted by a huge swarm of flying, poisonous squirlons. Dr. Zarkov is bitten by a squirlon as the party swings through the tree forests in an attempt to escape the airborne rodents. Prince Barin, Thun and Vultan are reunited with Flash and his friends and all undergo the unknown dangers of the deep caverns, the river dragons and Ming's metalmen's attack before they finally find the rare antidote that saves Dr. Zarkov from the near-fatal squirlon wound.

CHAPTER 8

THE FROZEN WORLD

In Prince Sarin's tree palace, Flash and his friends map plans to mount their fight against Ming the Merciless. Needing a scarce ore to power the machines to fight Ming, Flash flies to Queen Fria's province of ice and snow to search for the vital orium rocket fuel. Narrowly escaping injury from an enormous snow-dragon Flash and his party are welcomed to Frigia at gala ceremonies in the queen's glittering ice palace. Later Flash makes a friend of his enemy, Count Malo, as he saves Malo from the jaws of the giant ice worm. The chapter concludes with Flash and Queen Fria examining ways to save Dale Arden, Thun andDdr. Zarkov who have been captured by the gargantuan eight-foot giants that live in Frigia's underground caverns.

CHAPTER 9

MONSTER OF THE GLACIER

Flash and Queen Fria cleverly gain entry in the lair of the eight-foot giants who have captured Dale and Dr. Zarkov. As Flash engages Brukka, Chief of the Giants, in a fight, Queen Fria frees the others from their ice pit prison cells. Flash and friends flee the caverns of the giants and gain their freedom by leaping to a swift river far below the giant stronghold. As the party rafts down the unknown river they encounter the horrifying spectacle of the glacier monster, a huge three-tentacled electrified river eel. Flash eventually short-circuits and destroys the glacier monster, gaining freedom at last. The party concludes its visit to Frigia as it boards a rocket railroad for the trip back to Arboria.

CHAPTER 10

BLUE MAGIC

As Flash and his party rocket through the Mongo countryside enroute to Arboria they see that Ming's metalmen are following in a ray-emitting rocket train. Flash avoids capture by detouring his rocket train into the forbidden country of Syk. There, Azura, Witch Queen of Syk, saves Flash's party from the dreaded blue fire worm as she believes Flash is Gor Daahn, former Lord of Syk. The high wizard of Syk, Tahl, takes the intruders aboard his flying carpet to the throne of Queen Azura, who erases Flash's memory and installs in flash the memory of Syk's long-departed former ruler, Gor Daahn, who Flash resembles. This chapter ends with battle preparations of Syk's warriors and the smaller forces of Prince Barin and Vultan who are trying to rescue Flash and his party from Azura, the WitchQueen of Syk.

CHAPTER 11

KING FLASH

Flash, his memory erased, and Queen Azura board a great war chariot, drawn by two fierce dragon-like creatures, to lead the army of three-taloned, purple robed witch men into battle against Prince Barin's green-clad forest hunters and King Vultan's winged hawkmen. The witchmen crush the opposing forces and take Prince Barin and Vultan prisoner. Zarkov's scientific wizardry frustrates Queen Azura's plan to keep Flash under her spell as Gor Daahn as he restores Flash's memory. Azura's anger knows no bounds as she unleashes the monstrous fire king, talors, to stop Flash from fleeing her kingdom. With the help of one of Zarkov's wondrous ray weapons, Flash overpowers talors and escapes. As he departs Syk he is surrounded once again by Ming's forces and as the chapter closes Flash hears Ming warn him of this being their last meeting.

CHAPTER 12

TOURNAMENT OF DEATH

Recaptured by Ming's evil forces, Flash and his friends are chained to the combat arena in preparation for Emperor Ming's tournament of death games from which there will be but one winner. The winner will be given his freedom and the choice of any woman in Ming's kingdom. Feigning illness, Flash gains his and his party's freedom and they flee through a secret palace tunnel. Outwitting the tunnel's three giant drok dragons, Flash, Dale and Zarkov's dash for freedom is shortlived as they crash crossing the cavern of fire. They are captured by the metalmen and returned to the palace where Flash, together with lion men, hawkmen, lizardmen and iceland giants are pitted against Mongo's most horrible monsters. Flash's strength and agility overcome the monsters and he and a masked forestman (resembling Prince Barin) are the two survivors of the war games. As the chapter ends Ming announces the one who survives the green flame will be declared winner of the tournament of death.

CHAPTER 13

CASTAWAYS IN TROPICA

With flashing flame swords, Flash and the now-revealec Prince Barin fight one another on a suspended high wire over the blazing green fire in the final game of Ming's tournament of death. Princess Aura saves the two fighters and they escape with Dr. Zarkov in their newly repaired earth rocket ship. Enroute to Arboria, Ming's space patrol hits Flash's rocket ship and he lands in Tropica, a virtual Garden of Eden. Flash saves Tropica's Queen Desira from a tree-dragon attack and he and his friends are invited by the queen to be guests of this lovely, tropical country. Desira's scheming cousin Braznor drugs the queen and prepares to take over the country. Flash and friends rescue the queen and they break for freedom astride giant horse-like gryphs. Flash and his friends escape a giant lizard-like monster and survive an attack by the dreaded rock termites. As the chapter ends we see Flash and party mysteriously suspended in midair and drawn as if by a magnet into the dark depths of the deepening cavern.

CHAPTER 14

THE DESERT HAWK

In Prince Garin's treetop palace in Arboria, he, Princess Aura, Thun and Vultan discuss how to find the missing Flash Gordon. Flash and his party continue to flee from the traitorous Braznor who has seized control of Tropica from Queen Desira. With capture imminent, the party flees into the desert of fire where they are saved from a fire dragon by Gundar the desert hawk, Lord of the Fire Lands. Brazor's laser-firing armored tanks penetrate Gundar's mountain fortress and capture Flash and his friends. Vultan and Prince Garin's forces soundly de-feat Braznor and restore Queen Desira to her throne. The chapter ends with Barin, Vultan, Thun, Desira and Gundar pledging their forces to fight the battle to free Mongo from Ming's tyrannical clutches.

CHAPTER 15

REVOLT OF THE POWER MEN

At a strategy meeting in Tropica, Flash and his friends plan to recapture Vultan's mile high Sky City now under control of Ming's robot guards. Flash and Thun return to Mongo City where they team up with Ergon, Leader of the Power. Ming dispatches his trusty aide Urzeen to Tropica to capture Dale and bring her back for his bride. Flash and his party stow away on a supply rocket ship to sky city where they immobilize Ming's energy shield that protects sky city. Vultan and his winged warriors and Prince Barin and his forestmen attack and recapture Sky City. It takes the verve of Flash and the genius of Ergon to re-connect the faulty anti-gravity beams, saving the falling city just before it slams into the ground. With Sky City secure, Flash hastens to Mongo City to free Dale from Ming. As the chapter ends Flash unexpectedly meets Ming, who freezes Flash into a solid mass of ice crystals.

CHAPTER 16

MING'S LAST BATTLE

At Mongo City, Emperor Ming shows Dale Arden the frozen form of Flash Gordon and Dale agrees to marry Ming if he will free Flash. In the meantime Zarkov and Ergon work feverishly to repair the energy shield to protect Sky City from an impending attack by Ming's robot sky forces. Princess Aura frees Flash from his ice prison and the two, with the help of Queen Undina of Coralia, blast their way into the central control area of Mingo City's defense system. Vultan and Sarin's men ultimately repel Ming's full-scale rocket attack on sky city and proceed to occupy Mongo City. Flash bursts into the wedding ceremony of Ming and Dale and after an exciting sword fight, Flash gorces Ming to flee in his rocketship. Prince Barin proclaims himself as regent of Mongo and the people rejoice.in their new-found freedom. The chapter ends with Flash and Dale planning exploratory visits to other parts of Mongo and the eerie, sardonic laughter of Ming emanating from out space.

CHAPTER 17

GREMLIN THE DRAGON

Flash and Dale rescue a baby dragon from the beast men. The beast men retaliate and a battle ensues. After the battle is over, Flash and Dale tell the little dragon that he is free to go, but the dragon wants to stay with Flash and Dale. They then name him Gremlin and he becomes a part of our series.

ROYAL WEDDING

At the wedding of Prince Barin to Ming's daughter, Aura, Ming's giant robot invades the scene to capture Aura and return her to her father. The robot also takes Dale and Gremlin, but Gremlin escapes -- and locates Flash and company, who defeat the robot and Ming and the wedding festivities continue.

CHAPTER 18

SIR GREMLIN

Azura, the witch queen, orders her magic men to find Flash and bring him to her. Gremlin saves Flash from the magic men, but in turn, they capture Dale and Gremlin feels guilty for not keeping his post watching over Dale. Thun and Flash go to find Dale and when they meet Azura, she wants a trade -- Flash to become her husband for Dale's release. Gremlin bravely saves Dale and Azura's plan is defeated.

DEADLY DOUBLE

Dr. Tavv creates a duplicate of Gremlin, a robot, for Ming. Ming substitutes the robot Gremlin for the real one to lure Flash and company into a trap. Gremlin and the robot Gremlin fight it out and Gremlin disables the robot. Flash and Thun them stop Dr. Tavv and Ming, once again.

CHAPTER 19

THE GAME

Ior, of the Cavern City, sends mutant soldiers to capture people from Arboria (along with Flash, Dale and Gremlin), to play in the game. Athos, a giant, and his people are imprisoned by Ior to participate in the game also. Flash and Athos are pitted against each other and when Flash wins, he spares his life. Athos and Flash then team to defeat Ior and abolish the game forever.

THE SEED

Ming and Enak launch a synthetic meteor to the city of Arboria, which contains a plant-monster. The monster begins to terrorize the city until our heroes capture it and send it back to the magnetic mountains -- and back to Ming.

CHAPTER 20

WITCH WOMAN

The Lobus, a creature Ming had created of nuclear energy, escaped into the jungles of Mongo and has now returned to wreak havoc. Our heroes track the Lobus to a cave where lizard women protect and worship it. Flash and Dale use a radium transformer to drain its power and render it harmless.

MICRO MENACE

Vultan's Sky City is falling and as Flash, Dale and Thun rush to his aid, they are captured by Ming and subjected to his latest experiment -- a shrinking ray. They end up turning the ray on Ming himself and then getting to the Sky City with the gravity reverser module just in time.

CHAPTER 21

FLASH BACK

Flash and Dale are flying in their space ship when Flash suddenly vanishes. He emerges in another dimension and encounters a splitting image of himself. Flash #2 tells him he is now in the negative side of the universe. Dale arrives and must choose the real Flash to bring back to their own world.

THE WARRIOR

The warrior tricks Flash, Dale and Ming to come together on the unexplored continent. He tells them that there is to be a hunt, with Flash, Dale and Ming as the hunted and himself as the hunter. Only if they are able to return to their separate space ship, will they be set free.

CHAPTER 22

THE FREEDOM BALLOON

Flash and Dale answer a distress call from the pycarlan jungle, only to be captured by mutant men, -- led by Racar, the Ruler of the Kingdom. They are set to work as slaves, feeding crystals to a reactor, the power source of the city. They discover that the crystals are unhealthy for the slaves and devise a plan to destroy the reactor and the entire kingdom as well.

SACRIFICE OF THE VOLCANO MEN

Flash, Dale and Thun are captured by apemen. Thun is taken away and brought to the volcano city where he is to be a sacrifice to the gods of the volcano. Our heroes rush to Thun's aid, do battle with apemen in starfighters and just as Thun is about to be thrown into the volcano, they arrive.

CHAPTER 23

BEWARE OF GIFTS

Ming says he has a change of heart and gives the people of Arboria a gift, a stone statue created by the evil Dr. Tavv. When it is activated with a life-beam, it starts to destroy the city of Arboria. Flash and Dale locate the beam activator and program it to self-destruct, thus destroying the stone statue and saving Arboria.

THE MEMORY BANK OF MING

Barin obtains Ming's computer and reprograms it to help aid all of Arboria. Gremlin and Arnold (the computer) play a game and Gremlin accidentally feeds the wrong tape into Arnold -- Ming's tape. The computer reverts back to Ming's ways and tries to destroy all of Arboria.

CHAPTER 24

THE SURVIVAL GAME

Arkon Vae, a bounty-hunter, is hired by Ming to capture Flash Gordon. When he does, they become marooned on an island and decide to work together to escape. Flash saves Arkon's life while fighting off a monster and they join together to defeat Ming.

GREMLIN'S FINEST HOUR

Our heroes are sent on a mission into the past to the north polar region on Mongo, to find out what happened to the civilization of lizard people who lived there. The lizard people then capture Gremlin because they believe he is a reincarnation of their god. Meanwhile, Flash and Dale discover the force-field which held out the cold from the city has been broken and they set out to make things right.