From old European lore it's time to turn to some tech. As in, Tony Stark. Yup, it's Thing as "somebody who can walk away from a crash". In the Marvel Universe, "tough pilot" spells out as Benjamin J. Grimm, the Thing. And so here's old Benjy, ready for takeoff.
I'm so used to Tony Stark being a genius of applied mechanics that I'm not prepared for what happens next: The plane doesn't fly at all. It falls off its launch tower into a subterranean cavern.
Thankfully, Tony was right in choosing the uber-tough Thing as a pilot.
With the maiden flight less than a roaring success and with both plane and pilot initially thought to be missing, Tony naturally changes into his alter ego.
The Mark II during it's heyday. Looking really good.
Underneath the Earth, both the Thing and Iron Man encounter a Marvel power object that forces both of them to kneel.
It is called the Power Stone and here, it is being wielded by one called Prester John.
Prester John. Another name from the history books. Back in the day when Europe had only just gotten out of the Dark Ages, the world loomed large and mysterious, travel was both risky and slow, so there were plenty of stories about far off places that no one had ever gone to and no one ever would. One such story was of Prester John. Believed by the Christian world of that time to be a lone Christian king somewhere in the steppes of Asia - territories of the Mongols. Prester John, farthest and fabled outpost of an expanding religion. That's the history books. The Marvel universe places this Prester John in the Middle East and a remnant of the fabled Kingdom of Avalon. He's as crazy as they come, and, with the Power Stone under his control, very dangerous.
Having mastered both the Thing and Iron Man he leaves them alone in the cavern paralyzed in their kneeling position. Fortunately the paralysis can be broken by a well-aimed repulsor ray and a hard knock from stony hands. And with that it's time to deal with Prester John.
Iron Man is repelled!
And so is the Thing.
The principle is simple: As long as you don't succeed, keep trying. And. . .
Repulsor rays distract long enough for a superhuman grab at the power stone. And for a superhuman arm to throw the power object into the sky. Just imagine how far the Thing can throw something.
The object does not go very far though. In the manner of all strange arcana it blinks off to who knows where.
