Metal Men #19 (of 56)
The Man-Horse of Hades
May 1st, 1966
Platinum's amorous advances are, once again, rebuffed by her creator, Doctor Will Magnus. The Metal Men, still alloyed together from a previous adventure, experience the ill effects of rising gas pockets within their make-up. Though still connected to the other Metal Men, Tin and Nameless wander off for some privacy. When they kiss, it sends a jolt of electricity through all of the other Metal Men. Magnus chases after Platinum. The Metal Men follow. Out in the park, the team encounters a teenage girl, crying her eyes out. The girl, Gussie, has not been invited to her prom, a situation that jeopardizes her entire future. Platinum weaves a platinum prom dress for Gussie to wear.
Gold contributes golden boots. Magnus uses a reducing ray, back in his laboratory, to shrink the alloyed Metal Men down. The Metal Men are then presented as a necklace for Gussie. With Magnus and Platinum chaperoning her, Gussie attends her prom. The festivities, however, are interrupted by armed thieves. One of the crooks forces himself on Platinum, who violently shoves him to the floor. The "necklace" is snatched from Gussie's throat. at which point, the Metal Men take down the would-be robbers. The next day, Magnus locks himself away inside his laboratory. Soon, though, he invites five stunning models to join him in the laboratory.
Overcome by jealousy and heartbreak, Platinum races out of the complex, intent on tearing her responsometer from her own chest. The alloyed Metal Men chase after her. Mercury convinces Platinum to reconsider her actions. Suddenly, an enormous centaur drops down out of the sky. The alloyed Metal Men quickly mold themselves into a shield around Platinum. Despite the barrier, the centaur snatches Platinum up off the ground. Magnus appears, demanding to know why the centaur has targeted Platinum. Eons ago, the centaur spied a beautiful nymph sunning herself in a forest glade. Imperiled by a snake, the nymph was rescued by the centaur. The two fell instantly in love.
The snake, however, turned out to be the Roman God, Jove, who also had amorous intentions towards the nymph. With the nymph in his arms, the centaur fled through the forest. Jove transformed the nymph to stone. Jove enlarged the centaur to gigantic proportions, then banished him to Alpha Centauri, a distant world of centaurs. Jove declared that the centaur could only return to Earth if the nymph were no longer stone. Aphrodite pointed out that Platinum was the spitting image of the nymph. Holding to his word, Jove allowed the centaur to return to Earth to claim his love. The centaur kisses Platinum, only to be repulsed by her metal form.
Believing that Jove has tricked him, the centaur becomes enraged. The Metal Men restrain the centaur, giving Magnus the time to create a female centaur in the nymph's image. The centaur carries his love back with him to Alpha Centauri. Platinum confronts Magnus regarding the models in his laboratory. Magnus cast robots in the image of each model, keyed to a specific Metal Men. When the robot models kiss their respective Metal Man, the team is finally able to separate from one another. No longer alloyed to one another, the Metal Men consider a new union with their model counterparts.