Worlds Unknown was an unusual Marvel Comics series which ran eight issues from 1973-1974. Most of the issues featured adaptations of science fiction stories but the last two issues were an adaptation of the fantasy film The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Issue #4 is an adaptation of Fredric Brown's 1944 short story "Arena".
I've read a bit of Fredric Brown but I've never read the original version of "Arena". I know of it thanks to its adaptation into a 1967 episode of Star Trek - it is one of the best-known episodes of the original series, thanks in part to the memorable lizard-man costume designed for the Gorn warrior who Captain Kirk fought.
This adaptation of "Arena" is by scripter Gerry Conway (best-known for his writing on Amazing Spider-Man) with art by John Buscema (the definitive Avengers and Conan the Barbarian artist) and Dick Giordano (the definitive inker of all those who ever inked). We open on a human named Carson who awakens on an alien world surrounded by blue sand. He's almost nude and has no tools or weapons.
Carson recalls how his fleet had recently encountered the "Outsiders", the first extraterrestrial life humanity had ever met; unfortunately, the Outsiders were malevolent and soon their fleets were battling Earth's vessels. Carson was about to engage an enemy craft in battle near Pluto when he saw a burst of light, then awoke in the blue desert. He notes a six-legged lizard in the sand.
A disembodied voice speaks to Carson and informs him that the war between the humans and Outsiders will inevitably lead to one exterminating the other. To prevent this destruction, this cosmic presence has brought Carson and an Outsider into the titular arena; the desert contains obstacles to keep the fight from finishing too quickly. The voice tells Carson "all you need to win is present on this world."
The Outsider (a big red alien with tentacles) comes charging up to Carson but strikes a force field which prevents it from reaching him. The field appears to extended below ground and can't be climbed over. Carson wonders if the force which abducted him intends for him to reason with the Outsider, so he tries to communicate through the force field to the Outsider. The response arrives through telepathy: "Kill Hate Death Kill Kill Kill".
The Outsider grabs one of the lizards and rips off its legs then throws it at Carson's feet. Carson is so disgusted by the Outsider's cruelty that it takes him a moment to realize the significance: non-living matter can pass through the force field. The two begin throwing rocks at each other until finally the Outsider retreats to plot strategy.
Carson begins to wonder if his isolation will drive him insane as he talks to one of the lizards. The lizard answers, "Hello," much to Carson's amazement. But he doesn't get to explore that revelation as the Outsider has built a catapult in order to hurl much larger rocks at Carson. Carson makes a fire and launches a fiery object at the catapult, burning it down.
Returning to the lizards, Carson sees the one which the Outsider mutilated is still alive and another lizard appears to be distressed by its condition. Carson puts the injured lizard out of its misery but now has to rethink his theory on how the force field functions. Theorizing that living creatures can pass through the field when they're unconscious, Carson hits himself in the head with a rock. This seems like a stupid plan, but I'm not the hero.
Anyway, it works: the Outsider closes in and Carson revives in time to grab a stone knife and stab the Outsider to death. Having won the cosmic being's contest, Carson is sent back to his spaceship, once again fully clothed. He still has a scar on his leg from where the Outsider hit him with a rock, but otherwise there's no evidence of his encounter. The human fleet commander informs Carson that the Outsider fleet has been completely wiped out; somehow, a chain reaction set off the destruction of the entire enemy fleet. Carson realizes the cosmic beings have made good on their promise.
(This issue also features "Lost... One World", a science fiction story by Bob Powell reprinted from 1957's Journey into Unknown Worlds #53.)
Thoughts: I'll have to read the original text, because I find this story a little unsatisfying. I rather like the Star Trek version of "Arena" where Kirk refuses to kill his enemy and instead proves his superiority by sparing the Gorn. In this tale, Carson tries to seek a peaceful solution but there is none to be found; perhaps that's because it was written against the backdrop of World War II, a struggle in which there was no hope of a peaceful outcome.
I guess what the story lacks, then, is a twist; in the Star Trek episode, Kirk winning by refusing to kill the Gorn is a satisfying twist ending. In this version, Carson does exactly what the cosmic beings tell him to. The "clever" solution is the part where Carson knocks himself out to give the Outsider an opportunity to close in. That's a really dumb solution, as it depended on Carson being able to predict how the Outsider would react and gambling on his waking up before the Outsider could kill him.
What makes the story philosophically troubling is the presence of the unidentified cosmic being who sets the contest in motion. It's essentially representing God and it takes the side of humanity against the Outsiders on the grounds that Carson kills one in a fair fight. It comes down to "might makes right" ideology which I find morally repugnant. The godlike deity performs genocide against the Outsiders as Carson's reward? I can see how this line of thinking would be wish fulfillment against the backdrop of World War II, but at the same time it feels disturbingly similar to the mindset of the people the USA were at war with at the time.
Anyway, with a mostly-naked man fighting tooth and nail against a monster this was clearly the kind of story John Buscema was meant to draw; it's Conan in space.
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