History: (Sea Devils #22) - The regal Maquis Vallam-Brosa discovered the submarine of Captain X, and the sub’s molecules irradiated him, transforming him into Man-Fish, a being capable of shape shifting into any aquatic life. Man-Fish blamed Captain X for his loss of humanity, and sought the coral jade of the sea monster Horro, which he believed would undo his curse. X knew that to awaken Horro would be to rain down terror on humanity, and he repeatedly clashed with Man-Fish to dissuade him. The Sea Devils investigated the war between Captain X and Man-Fish that threatened the seven seas, and X fired a steel net at the Sea Devil’s deep-sea submersible the Crab, warning them not to interfere, but they were rescued by Man-Fish. Man-Fish made it clear he was too important to be concerned with their lives, but he required their help in defeating . Sea Devil Biff idolized his confidence, and Sea Devil Judy fell for his rugged good looks and saw him as a perfect Hollywood co-star. Dane Dorrance went off solo in pursuit of Captain X, and learned that he was his long lost father John. X told Dane his reasons for battling man-Fish, and Man-Fish convinced the rest of the Sea Devils to help him steal the coral jade from Horro. Man-Fish woke Horro, who quickly defeated him and attacked the Indian coast until Captain X and Dane retaliated and forced him to flee. X and Man-Fish went their separate ways, but the Sea Devils were split in their loyalties. Dane wanted to find a cure that would let his dad leave his sub, and the rest of the team were still awestruck by Man-Fish.

(Sea Devils #24) - Man-Fish pursued Captain X again, and breached his sub’s hull, forcing him to hide in a torpedo. Man-Fish swam off, but Dane Dorrance found the sub and assumed Man-Fish had killed his father. He swore vengeance, and recruited the Sea Devils to help him hunt down Man-Fish in X’s sub. They pursued Man-Fish into a coral cave, and despite Judy Walton’s pleas that Man-Fish deserved a trial, Dane collapsed the cave with a giant drill. Man-Fish escaped, but the collapse woke a giant-crab-like sea monster that Dane assumed was Man-Fish. Dan was mad for vengeance, and risked the Sea Devils lives repeatedly to kill the monster until he found Captain X’s hiding spot. The monster had enough of being hounded, and was ready to tear the sub apart when Man-Fish reappeared and saved them by turning into a giant swordfish and battling the monster. The fight tumbled Man-Fish and the monster off into a deep-sea canyon to their apparent demise.

(Sea Devils #26) - Man-Fish felt lonely, and wanted someone to share his tragically existence. He saw Judy Walton going for a dive, and asked her to leave her beau Dane Dorrance and come with him. She harbored feelings for Man-Fish, but her loyalty belonged to the Sea Devils, so she refused. Man-Fish hypnotized her to force her to obey him. Dane saw the encounter and pursued them, but was captured by the Gamester, a villain seeking the location of the legendary magnetic warp that could supposedly restore youth. He knew Captain X knew where it was, and had been monitoring Dane’s communications with X, so he deduced that they were related. He invited Man-Fish and the hypnotized Judy to help him and gain vengeance on X, and Man-Fish accepted. Gamester broadcasted to X, threatening Dane’s life, but Captain X refused to give up his secret,. hoping Dane would find a way to win the day. Gamester let Man-Fish take Dane away, and he tied Dane to a target in a naval firing range. Captain X followed close behind, and with the help of the Sea Devils he saved Dane. Man-Fish was furious that the naval torpedoes didn’t blow Dane up, so he took him elsewhere to dispense punishment. Captain X broke down and agreed to lead Gamester to the magnetic warp, and Gamester followed Dane and freed him. Man-Fish felt betrayed, so when Gamester approached the warp he attacked his submersible. The warp created an explosion that seemingly destroyed Gamester, and the blast restored Judy to her senses.

(Sea Devils #28) - Man-Fish landed a movie role using his power to transform into sealife as a special effect, but only accepted after the director promised Judy a role as well. Judy was overjoyed, and Man-Fish hoped he’d win her away from Dane by helping her movie career. Judy was abducted by the prehistoric Manosaur, and Man-Fish aided the Devils in a rescue attempt. Dane risked his life to save Judy, and was carried off by the Manosaur. Man-Fish promised Judy he’d save him, but secretly planned to let Dane die so he’d have no competition for her affections. The Manosaur proved too much for Man-Fish, but the timely arrival of Captain X allowed Dane to go free, and the Sea Devils used underwater grenades to kill the Manosaur.

(Sea Devils #30) - Man-Fish was laying in wait for Captain X as a sea spider with a giant web, when he ran into the Sea Devils. They told him about Caesar, a giant gorilla that was waging war on humanity, and that gave him the idea to team up with the monster. He promised Caesar to come up with a plan for ruling humanity if he helped him destroy Captain X, and Caesar agreed. Caesar captured the Sea Devils, and Man Fish had to end his alliance to save them because he couldn’t bear to see Judy hurt. Caesar took him to the aliens that created him, and the aliens put man Fish in their thrall and ordered him to destroy the Sea Devils. The Sea Devils were prepared, and after they drove the aliens off Earth the spell over Man Fish was broken. He felt he’d been made to look like a loser in Judy’s eyes and would never have a chance with her. He simply decided the only thing left for him was his mission of vengeance.

Comments: Created by Bob Haney? & Howard Purcell.

Man-Fish has similarities to Marvel Comic's Sub-Mariner, and the Man-Fish, Dane Dorrance, Judy Walton love triangle parallels the Sub-Mariner, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman one. Anyone aw2are of any interviews with the Sea Devils creative team mentioning their inspirations for these storylines?

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