The Syntex Mystery (comic story)

The Syntex Mystery was a Fireball XL5 comic printed in TV Century 21 in 1966.

This story crossed over with the Doctor Who universe by giving the DWU character of World President Nikita Bandranaik a prominent part in the narrative. At one point, Bandranaik orders the destruction of Space City Island, one of the only recurring settings in the series aside from XL5 itself, although this fate is ultimately averted.

Summary
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Characters

 * Steve Zodiac
 * Commander Zero
 * Nikita Bandranaik
 * Professor Matic
 * Doctor Venus
 * Robert the Robot
 * Captain West
 * Frank Ross
 * Ken Mead
 * Captain Norris

Worldbuilding

 * The Interplanetary Chemical Mining Company have a ten man construction crew on Syntex so the miners can move in later to work the planet's resources.
 * Professor Matic determines that the men on Syntex have seen things so terrible that they are on the brink of insanity.
 * The unidentified aggressors have spacecraft resembling meteors which are resilient to the firepower of battleships and plutomic missiles.
 * Syntex, GK5, Drachau, Pheobius and Earth are all targets of the mysterious creatures.
 * The World President orders that cobalt bombs be dropped on Space City if the threat there is not neutralised.
 * Steve recognises the area immediately upon entering the alien ship as an airlock.
 * Mat theorises that the aliens have been using radio wavelengths for thought transference.

Story notes

 * This story marked the first Fireball XL5 comic to be set in the Doctor Who universe since the conclusion of the first storyline revolving around the planet Astra, first mentioned in The Rescue.

Continuity

 * Space Station Solar 7 reported an unusually severe meteor shower heading for Earth. (PROSE: "We Want Thunderbirds!")
 * The pleas of Commander Zero and Professor Matic to World President Nikita Bandranaik were also reported upon. (PROSE: Destroy Space City)
 * The ongoing battle at Cape Apollo was mentioned in a report dated 14 May 2066. (PROSE: Search and Destroy)