Katsyu Shima

Katsyu Shima
Name	Katsyu Shima
Status
Status	Destroyed
Location Details
Reality	Earth-616
Galaxy	Milky Way
Star System	Sol
Planet	Earth
Locale	Pacific Ocean
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Chris Claremont, Lee Elias
First	Power Man Annual #1 (August, 1976)
First	Power Man Annual #1 (August, 1976)

History

Katsyu Shima was an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, near Japan, yet unclaimed by any country. The island, an extinct volcano itself, was on a very thin layer of the Earth's crust - yet it was just one mile from a very thin fault (the Katsyu Fault) that connected the Alaskan and Japanese fault systems, an area that was supposed to be tectonically stable.

Criminal Moses Magnum, at that point sponsored by They Who Wield Power, started a established a secret mining operation on Katshyu Shima, their goal tappin on the energy of the Earth's core The very advanced base was provided with state-of-the-art computerized technology for their work and for extra security, complemented with trained Asian martial artists hired as guards (several of whom were working for rival criminal interest The Council, whose interests clashed with Magnum's). To dig a 1,500-mile-deep, 1-meter-wide vertical pit to there from the island, Magnum built a humungous laser drill, powered by three nuclear fission reactors, that achieved that depth in just three weeks, thou in the process he unleashed a number of shocks in areas where none should be. Geophysicist Samantha Sheridan (coincidentially related to several of Moses Magnum's previous victims), working as an environmental consultant in Alaska, noticed those, published her discoveries on them, then travelled to Japan to continue her research, becoming an expert in the geological aspects of the area of Katsyu Shima. Simultaneously, Sheridan's great-grandmother Lady Amanda, who had a personal vendetta against Magnum, somehow discovered that Magnum was involved in a plan to cause earthquakes, and she feared Magnum would target Samantha; but apparently she was unable to find where was Magnum exactly.

Magnum's computers had failed to predict the pre-shocks affecting Katsyu Shima and the surrounding area, so he decided to find an expert geophysicist to know how much could he drill on the fault before unleashing relevant earthquakes, and found about Sheridan. Magnum's forces abducted Sheridan in Tokyo, along with her superhuman bodyguard Power Man, then took them by plane from Haneda Airport to Katsyu Shima. Almost reaching the island, Power Man revealed that one of Magnum's guards, Sakura, an agent of the Council, was trying to murder Sheridan before they'd reach their base. Hearing this, Magnum dropped both Sakura and Power Man to the ocean, but Power Man survived and swam to an island's coast, later finding a boat to sail to Katsyu Shima.

Destruction of Katsyu Shima.

Once the plane reached Katsyu Shima, Sheridan was imprisoned in a cell and forced to cooperate, and discovered that Magnum's plan would unleash earthquakes through both Japan and the United States west coast, destroying cities. Sheridan told Magnum of the effect of his actions, hoping that he'd stop when he knew he would kill many people, but Magnum was not morally affected and returned Sheridan to her cell. Power Man then impersonated a guard and reached Sheridan's cell to release her just in time - as a few moments later, another Council-aligned guard also entered the cell to kill her, only to be defeated by Power Man. Sheridan convinced Power Man to help her sabotaging Magnum's technology, but when they reached the drill, they had already triggered several alarms and Magnum waited for them with several guards. Deciding that he had already extracted any information he needed, Magnum ordered his guards to kill Sheridan, but Power Man's bullet-proof body covered her, and she was only grazed. Easily defeating the guards, Power Man went after Magnum himself. With his technology, Magnum proved to be powerful enough to match Power Man, stunning him, but while fighting, they affected the drill and activated the fault, something that only barely-awake Sheridan noticed. Magnum tried to throw Power Man to the pit, but his enemy grabbed the floor, then grabbed Magnum's ankle when the latter tried to push him to his death. Recovering, Power Man broke Magnum's blasters, prompting Magnum to retreat to grab a hand-held hand laser - but before he could shoot it, an earthquake shook the base. Power Man and Sheridan left together, but the floor under Magnum gave in, and Magnum, screaming, fell through his own drill shaft due to the massive earthquake he himself had caused. The island exploded in what looked like a volcanic eruption, yet Magnum survived when he was teleported to safety by his prospective new sponsor, Apocalypse.

Points of Interest

• Dungeons
• Laser drill

Residents

• Moses Magnum
  • Moses Magnum's commandos and guards
• Power Man
• Sam Sheridan (prisoner)

See Also

• 1 appearance(s) of Katsyu Shima
• 1 minor appearance(s) of Katsyu Shima
• 1 image(s) of Katsyu Shima