Episode 69 of The Trigan Empire
Battle for Survival
aka Duel met Cato (Dutch title)
Duel with Cato (Dutch title, translated)
Written by author(s) unknown
Illustrated by Oliver Frey
Battle for Survival was originally published in 8 instalments in issues 826 (12 November 1977) to 833 (31 December 1977) of Look and Learn magazine.
To date it has not been reprinted in English.
Plot summary
Trigo watches the parade of the armed forces. At that moment, a squadron of aircraft from Cato flies over Trigan City. They drop many cylinders on parachutes. From the cylinders, robots in the shape of Zargots emerge. Beams of light shoot from the robots, destroying everything in their path.
Trigo sends his invincible troops against the robots, but the tanks and even their exterminator are destroyed. Janno and Roffa attack the robots with their aircraft, but the losses are severe. Janno and Roffa barely manage to escape.
In the mountains, they spot a strange man. They land nearby but are captured. The man is Thorg Lada, a scientist who once worked with Peric. They parted ways because Peric did not believe that science should be used for war. Thorg Lada invented the robots with their light beams and sends them to Trigan City. The destruction is massive. Thorg Lada forces Janno to make contact with Trigo: Peric must come to them. They agree, and Peric is picked up in a flying saucer. Janno and Roffa are placed in a disintegrator. If Thorg Lada activates it, the two will be destroyed.
When Peric arrives at Thorg Lada’s location, he uses the radio to relay the demands to Trigo. Thorg Lada wants to become emperor and for the Catons to rule over Trigan City. Trigo decides on an attack led by Marshal Zetto. But a radio amateur just outside Trigan City discovers the frequency with which the monsters are controlled. He reports this to Trigo, and with the help of Trigo’s communication center, they take control of the robots. Marshal Zetto now attacks Thorg Lada together with the robots. Because Thorg Lada is distracted by the attack, Peric is able to free Janno and Roffa from the disintegrator. Thorg Lada escapes and is never heard from again. The robots are placed like statues in the field, with their arms raised as if they are greeting the world.
Rating
Links
Writers of the Trigan Empire
Plot summary (Dutch)
Downloads
British Comics Compilations [PDF]