The Heat Controller

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Episode 50 of The Trigan Empire

The Heat Controller
aka Het kasteel in de bergen (Dutch title)
The Castle in the Mountains (Dutch title, translated)

Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Philip Corke

The Heat Controller was originally published in 8 instalments in issues 682 (8 February 1975) to 689 (29 March 1975) of Look and Learn magazine.

It is reprinted in Volume 4 of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire (Rebellion).

Plot summary

In Trigan City, it becomes freezing cold within seconds—the sea freezes, and bridges collapse due to the forming ice. Moments later, the temperature returns to normal. Peric suspects that someone is able to influence the planet’s magnetic field and thus control the temperature. Janno is sent out in an atmosphere craft to detect the source of the phenomenon. Later, it becomes extremely hot in Trigan City—highways collapse, and the city catches fire.

As Janno flies over the largest mountain range, his plane begins to shake and disintegrate. He ejects and lands near a castle on top of a mountain. When he enters it, he is captured by a man in a mobile chair, who introduces himself as Slatta. Slatta shows him that he controls the temperature using a device called the heat controller. Janno escapes by falling from the wall of the castle. The men from the castle pursue him but lose track of him and believe he fell into a ravine.

In Cato, a message is received that the city of Naggar will be destroyed as a demonstration by Slatta. In the mountains, Janno is captured by a people called the Vorz. He is to be sacrificed to the Ice God. They tie him to a pole and cut a hole in the ice. From the water, a bloodthirsty ugga, a sea creature, emerges. At that moment, the warriors of the Zaggs appear. They used to live in the fortress of Slatta, the man in the mobile chair, but had been driven out. After destroying the city of Naggar, Slatta threatens to destroy Cato’s capital as well, unless his demands are met. The government of Cato surrenders to Slatta. Trigo also receives a message from Slatta demanding his surrender.

Janno, together with the Zaggs, heads to the fortress. They generate an avalanche that destroys the heat controller. They storm the fortress, and due to a short circuit in his mobile chair, Slatta falls to his death over the fortress wall. Upon Janno’s return, a celebration is held, as they had thought he was dead. Elekton is saved.