Amazing Adventures #4 (1971)

The story opens with the Inhumans in an ancient ruin, where Black Bolt removes a strange sphere from an idol’s eye. The object suddenly rockets away through collapsing corridors, and while Black Bolt pursues it, the team splits up and walks into the Mandarin’s trap. In parallel, the Mandarin and his robed “master” recover the sphere, crack it open with the rings, and unleash a massive ancient energy source. Once empowered, the Mandarin turns on his own ally, demonstrates near-godlike control over destructive forces, and engages the Inhumans in a brutal sequence of ambushes. Karnak is dropped into a deep chasm and saved by Medusa, Triton is manipulated into helping the villain, and the Inhumans are briefly contained in an “atomic cage.” The second half escalates into full-scale disaster as the Mandarin boasts he can boil seas, spawn tornadoes, and even shatter the moon if resisted. Black Bolt returns, frees his teammates, and the Inhumans counterattack together. Gorgon’s shockwave interrupts the Mandarin’s focus, Black Bolt creates a disorienting sonic-hypnotic pattern, and Karnak exploits the opening to physically take him down. With the Mandarin defeated, his rings are removed and abandoned, and the Inhumans evacuate while Black Bolt seals the ruin with a final cataclysmic blast. The issue closes on the destruction of the hidden power site, ending the Mandarin’s attempted rise to planetary domination.