Tomb of Dracula #42 (1976)

Continued from last issue.... Dracula and Blade have joined forces to destroy the evil Dr. Sun, who has taken control of a military unit with hypnotic powers he stole from the vampire lord. As they fight through the soldiers that defend Sun, they are unaware that the vampire whom Blade has been hunting is secretly watching their confrontation. As the battle rages on, Dr. Sun opens a trap door under Blade's feet, sending him falling into a pit of spikes; however, Blade manages to break his fall by bracing himself against the pit's walls. However, this proves to be a short-lived solution as his hands are skinned against the concrete of the pit's walls and the blood that is forming from this is causing him to slip toward the spikes. Dracula finally makes his way to Dr. Sun and the two prepare for their final battle. Meanwhile, back at Harold H. Harold's apartment, Frank Drake believes that they have waited too long for the battle to end and decides that they should take a more active role in the battle. All agree to join him except for the cowardly Harold, who is once more guilted into tagging along by Aurora, and Quincy, who stays behind. Back in the pit, Blade manages to brace himself with his feet, preventing his slow descent toward the spikes and begins working his way out of the deathtrap. Dracula, meanwhile, is battling Dr. Sun: Sun is using his powerful mind bolts to try and force Dracula to assume his mist form; however, Dracula resists the transformation. As Frank Drake and the others sneak into Sun's hideout, Blade makes it out of the deathtrap that almost killed him. He is confronted by a bunch of enslaved soldiers and, as he fights them, he notices the vampire who killed his mother watching them. Distracted by this, he is knocked out when one of the soldiers strikes Blade with the butt of his rifle. Back in Dr. Sun's chambers, Dracula manages to fight off the forced transformation into mist, and Sun attempts another means of destroying Dracula: light beams in the shape of crosses. Dracula manages to fight this off by asking for aid from the Dark Gods and is able to fight off Dr. Sun's attack and advance on his foe, threatening that he will be destroyed once and for all. As Dracula reabsorbs the power that Sun had stolen from him, Blade revives to see the soldiers slowly become free of Sun's control and also notes that the vampire he saw earlier is gone. Meanwhile, down below, Frank Drake and the others arrive to witness Sun's machines explode. When the smoke clears they see Dr. Sun's brain, blown clear from its protective casing, on the ground. Dracula appears and reveals that he is still alive and that he is now back at his full strength, having regained the powers that Sun had stolen from him. Blade suddenly enters, distracting Dracula and Frank points out that Sun needs to be finished off. When Harold approaches Sun's brain, wondering how a disembodied brain can still be a threat, he is pulled away by Dracula just in time to stop Sun from killing him with a mind bolt. The bolt strikes Sun's machines, causing another explosion, the flames of which consume Sun's brain, seemingly killing him. With Dr. Sun seemingly killed, Rachel van Helsing wonders if Sun has indeed been destroyed for good and who exactly he was and what were his motives. Blade interrupts by making demands to Dracula: help him find the vampire who killed his mother, or die by his hands. This story is continued next issue...