Flash Gordon 1988 #1

The Plot: "Into the Maelstrom"

Writer/artist Dan Jurgens(who would later famously kill Superman) reimagined Flash not as a polo player, but as a "washed-up" professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics facing a mid-life crisis.

• The Crash: The story begins with Flash crashing his car near the home of the eccentric Dr. Hans Zarkov. There he meets Dale Arden, a capable reporter (reimagined here to be much more independent and adventurous than previous incarnations).
• The Rocket to Mongo: Zarkov, fearing an alien threat, forces them onto his experimental rocket. They crash-land on Mongo, which in this version is a world where Ming maintains control through genetic manipulation and racial segregation.
• A Different Ming: This version of Ming the Merciless eschews the "Yellow Peril" stereotypes of the past. He is gray-skinned, ancient, and rules with a cold, technological cruelty. The issue ends with Flash being thrown into a gladiatorial pit, a classic trope done with 1980s intensity.