Escape from Mongo

Escape from Mongo
Original airdate:	1986
Writer:	Dick Robbins and Bryce Malek
Preceded by:	N/A
Followed by:	The Creation of Monitor

"Escape from Mongo" is the first episode of the Defenders of the Earth animated TV series.

Plot summary

On a stormy night, a spacecraft crashlands outside Mandrake's and Lothar's residence. The uncountious pilot turns out to be Flash Gordon, whom they take into the house. Flash informs them that Ming the Merciless have decided to invade Earth because his planet, Mongo, is running short of resources. Flash came to warn them, but was shot down by Ming's ice robots.

Suddenly, three ice robots attacks and everyone except Mandrake take cover. Mandrake hypnotices them to not see Flash and seeing the ship take off.

At Ming's headquarters, Octon reports about Garax', the ice robots leader's, failure. Ming orders the prisoners, Flash Gordon's wife and son, to be brought to him, however, they try to escape and Rick, Flash's son, succeeds with he help of a friendly strange creature. Rick then tries to free his mother but is apprehended by Mongor, Ming's serpent-like pet, thanks to the strange creatures sharp teeth, they manages to get away though.

Ming then uses a machine to drain Flash's wife of all her knowledge, and life-force as well. Rick sees it and attack and Ming and his pet is forced to find cover before the pet drives them away, the process has stopped, but apparently too late. The strange creature, however, takes a crystal that Rick's mother is holding in her hand.

Then, Flash attacks together with Mandrake and Lothar. Thanks to Mandrake's masshypnosis, they appear to be five ships instead of one, with the result that Ming's headquarter is destroyed by his own troops. Ming quickly escape to Earth. Meanwhile, Flash, Mandrake, and Lothar lands and rescues Rick and retrieves the body of Flash's wife, the strange creature, called Zuffy by Rick, follows them and gives them the crystal.

Meanwhile, Ming decides to settle in the arctic and orders the immediate construction of his new headquarter. He also introduces some unfortunate earthlings which are coated with a vinear(?) of frost which makes their hearts cold and their wills Ming's to command.

In order to find Ming, Mandrake suggests that they should consult the Ghost Who Walks. In Africa, they quite soon get captured by the Bandar natives, but is freed when, Jedda, daughter of the Phantom, appears. In the Skull Cave, the Phantom agrees to join them in the fight against Ming, but being concerned with the wellfare of his daughter, she joins them to and start school in Central City.

In Central City High, Rick and L.J. observes Jedda, when the frozen zombies suddenly kidnapps them. Jedda, seeing them, let her black panther Kisa follow the van in which they are abducted. It is first later that Jedda learns that they are Rick and L.J. and they start searching for them using Jedda's psichic powers to track Kisa, and hence the boys.

They arrive at an abandoned base and the Phantom calls upon the strength of ten tigers and get them in. It is, however, a trap and Flash, Mandrake, Lothar, and the Phantom, gets captured. Ming plans to use the power sources of the base to electrocute them, but Rick and L.J. escapes and sabotages the electronics, also, Jedda is told by Kisa that something is wrong and brings in a van and together they frees the adults. Rick has reversed the power generation to overload and they only have second before they explode. They all manages to escape. Rick tells the other that the crystal showed him the way to the power generators and Mandrake examines it, concluding that it has assumed the personality elements of Rick's mother. Rick wonders whether it could be the personality base for the new supercomputer that he is building.

They decide to form the "Defenders of the Earth", the four adults and the three teenagers, with Kshin and Zuffy as possible future members.

Appearances

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• Flash Gordon
• Kshin
• Garax
• L.J.
• Ming the Merciless
• Octon
• Ming's son (Krotan?)
• Flash's wife (Dale)
• Rick Gordon
• Strange creature (Zuffy)
• Mongor
• Jedda Walker
• Kisa
• The 27th Phantom