DCRO 29- More Fun Comics (1936) #17 [E Story]

Story title: "Koth and the Seven, Part 5" 

Cover Date: January 1937

By: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

DCRO Entry

So, this is the last part of the story. In the previous issue, Koth was about to destroy the world, so let's go and see if the Doc can stop him... I'll go out on a limb here and say he will.

Through unknown means (this is starting to be a common phrase in this series), news of Koth's invasion reaches The Seven, so they, together with Occult and Zator, depart to the battlefield.

The battle begins after a very short-lived (and poor) attempt at negotiation. It's "a few thousands" against nine... This will go well.

And to think this could've been avoided so easily... If only the Doctor would've gotten rid of Koth last time when he was already inside his pyramid. I know I've already mentioned this like three times, but it's arguably the worst Golden Age convenience we've seen so far. There isn't even a poor excuse or any sort of reasoning as to why the Doctor and Zator had to report to The Seven then and there. They just did it without even thinking about explaining why...

Anyway, the Doctor starts pressing random buttons on his newly acquired magic belt. I can't blame him for that. Given the other powers that thing has, there must be something useful right now in there!

Sure enough. A phantom army comes out of nowhere, so now the fight is a bit more balanced. Wow, we might also be getting the biggest Deus Ex Machina yet!

So, if you thought the belt was overpowered before, wait till you hear this: This "phantom army" is not only one, free, and two, inexhaustible, but also self-replenishing! Apparently, when one of the phantoms "dies" another one simply takes its place.

Koth, knowing he doesn't have much of a chance against this army, goes straight to the Doctor to get the belt.

However, instead of instantly killing him, he had to give his final speech, and that's how he loses. The Seven then do some "Hip hip hooray" bullshit and that's the end of Koth.

After that, a member of The Seven congratulates Occult for his assistance. Bitch, what assistance? He literally just pressed buttons on the belt. It's not like it is the sort of magic item that requires some effort or some sacrifice on the wielder's part... Furthermore, they didn't even need him to retrieve it! Any of them and even maybe Zator alone could've taken care of that... As I'd said before, the main character doesn't need to be the center of the universe, but I hope the Doctor starts actually having an important part in his own stories sometime soon.

Also, I gotta say, some of these characters are looking almost like actual superheroes...

Zator specifically looks like he's dressed with only the outer layer of Superman's outfit. You know, just the cape and the Speedo.

Anyway, that's the end of this story.

Seems like we'll be getting another multi-parter the next time the Doctor shows up on the order. If you want to find out early, you can read every Golden Age story of the Doctor here, and this particular one on its DCRO entry. Now, let's see the ratings:

Quality/Enjoyment: 3/5

Once again, I was close to giving this part a 2, especially with how ridiculous the Deus Ex Machina was, but you know what? That kind of thing was extremely common back then, and I enjoyed seeing the large-scale battle, which was portrayed very decently (most of the panels were pretty big). So a 3 it is.

Historical/Cultural/Narrative Significance: 1/5

Very well, the streak of multi-parters finally ends with this one, so next time we'll read an auto-conclusive story starring The Clock. Until then, thanks for reading, and have a nice rest of your day!