Braggadoom

"I Created Braggadoom! The Mountain That Walked Like A Man!"

Luke "Power Man" Cage is hired by scientist Arnold Krank who has created a glob of living matter which keeps on growing and consuming things.

Power Man passes on the deal: this is too big a job for him. He tells Krank to try the Fantastic Four or the Avengers. Krank replies that he -did- go to the FF. The Thing is battling the monster right now.

As soon as he hears this Power Man races off to Central Park where the fight is occurring to help his friend The Thing.

The monster throws the Thing and when he lands he makes a noise that sounds like Braggadoom! When Ben strikes back he says "Here's Braggadoom right back at you." This is how this unusual monster got its name.

The monster keeps growing until Braggadoom is the size of a skyscraper and has grabbed both heroes.

As he grows, Braggadoom evolves and he gets more intelligent and his language improves. Krank tries to assert himself over the monster he created. He tells Braggadoom to let the heroes go and that Braggadoom should listen to Krank, as he created him. Braggadoom tells Krank he only created protoplasmic jelly: Braggadoom has now advanced far beyond such a state.

Power Man and the Thing are literally thrown away by Braggadoom and after the Thing rescues Power Man he tells him to go home- Thing doesn't need his help! This angers Powers Man and the two heroes have a brief slugfest.

After the brief battle and with the help of the FF's pogo plane The Thing and Power Man fly back to battle Braggadoom, who has now grown to over 300 feet in height.

The heroes dive in the river and topple Braggadoom over.

Arnold Krank tells Power Man a secret: if the Thing keeps hitting the monster it could cause a chain reaction and Braggadoom could explode and destroy half of New York. When Power Man tells this to the Thing, Ben doesn't believe him. Since Power Man is paid for his super heroics Ben says he just wants to grandstand and get some publicity out of this. However, Arnold Krank has reached them and assures Ben that Luke is telling the truth.

Braggadoom starts to glow...

Suddenly-- the monster starts to shrink.

Soon he is just the size of a toy. Krank takes Braggadoom and thanks the two for their help. Luke says they had a happy ending. That is till Ben reminds him that Arnold told them that the monster originally consumed two men and those two never got out. They may have saved the people on the bridge and in the city but they still lost two men today.

Later we see Braggadoom in a huge playpen. Arnold Krank is recording the events of the day. In his journal, he says that since he is his father to the monster he is going to raise and educate Braggadoom so he can mature like a normal human being.

Even though he is a murderous, chaotic protoplasmic life-form.

Such was the halcyon end of the Silver Age.

NOTES:

Braggadoom seems to have some sort of resemblance to the Abomination. Did Krank use gamma rays in his experiment by an chance?

Braggadoom also has an endless growth power similar to how Reed Richards defeated Gomtruu, how the Living Monolith menaced Manhattan and how the terragen-affected Maelstrom was destroyed, also in Two-in-One.