Story title: "Koth and the Seven, Part 4"
Cover Date: December 1936
By: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
One more day, one more part of this story, let's get to it:
The story starts with a summary, and from the way it's drawn, I can only imagine Koth (or whoever that is) reciting it with the most serious tone while staring directly at the reader.
Then, with the press of a button, the belt puts Occult airborne. So the "magic belt" just had a grappling hook attached to it? Nah, he's probably flying...
So, even with his new flying abilities, the Doctor isn't going fast enough to save Zator (if you remember, the last part ended with him surrounded and the Doctor distracted with some box), but then he presses another button and the bad guy just turns to stone!
I figured the belt would be overpowered but flying and turning people to stone? That may be too much. Even Koth's "monsters" know that, because then they run away.
So, Occult wants to go take care of Koth right now, but Zator is quick to ruin the fun: apparently, first, they have to report to The Seven for... For what again? Oh right! The script says so! Seriously though, they have the villain right there in his home, they have the magic item and all. But no, first we've gotta learn about Koth's backstory!
Putting that aside, the backstory itself is pretty cool for what it is. The concept of a backstory is something I quite like, and it being such an integral part of comic books, I'm happy we're getting our first one.
So, this is how it goes:
A long time ago, a spaceship crashed on our planet.
The crew survived the impact, but then a group of cavemen attacked, fearing the unknown (as cavemen do), and only one member survived: Koth.
Ok, so, how come these space travelers with super advanced technology weren't able to fend off a few cavemen wielding sticks and stones? Did they think it a good idea to visit an unknown planet unarmed? Didn't they have magic back then? Or is that just Koth's thing? Also, how old is this dude? Besides, we've been told Koth is an "inhuman being" which I guess it's technically true, but they made it sound like he was some kind of demon or eldritch demigod, when it turns out he's just an alien.
Anyway, since then, Koth has been wiping out entire civilizations one after the other, and now, he has finished preparing an army to destroy the whole world!
Ah yes, the old villain trick of not seeking revenge against the people who actually hurt you, but on everyone and everything even remotely related to them. It was pretty obvious this guy has some issues though, he did after all kill one of his own subordinates after receiving bad news.
And that's the end of this part. No "to be continued" this time.
Before the ratings, remember you can read this and every other old Doctor Occult story here, and you can also read this particular one on its DCRO entry.
Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5
I was going to give this a 2 because the fact that they could've gotten rid of Koth right then and there but they decided to flee for no reason whatsoever was a bit much, but I dig the backstory (and more so, the fact that it's there) quite a bit, so there's that.
Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 2/5
Extra point for having the first backstory in the entire order!
And that's it. Next time, the conclusion to this storyline, so stay tuned for that. For now, thanks for reading and have a nice rest of your day!
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