The Hypnomonster

History: The Hypnomonster was a creature used by inhabitants of a two-dimensional world to pursue teenager John Cummings. Cummings accidentally stumbled into an Earth construction site (which was actually a dimensional portal) and emerged into a two-dimensional world (Cummings himself was transformed into a flattened, two-dimensional form). The palm-sized Hypnomonster was enlarged by its masters opening a vial, exposing the creature to the fumes, which enlarged it to giant size. The monster chased Cummings to “The Valley of Crystal”. Grabbing a crystal to protect himself, Cummings reflected the monster's hypno-beam back upon itself. Cummings ordered the hypnotized Hypnomonster to attack its masters. Going back through the dimensional portal, Cummings was tranformed back to his three-dimensional form; he then sealed the portal entrance with a steamroller.

Height: 1 ft. (originally), 15 ft. (after enlarging fumes)
Demonstrated Powers: The Hypnomonster could project a mesmerizing beam from its eyes which could hypnotize the wills of others. It was not immune to the effects of its own powers, as the beam could be reflected back upon the creature, hypnotizing it. The Hypnomonster was enlarged from its original size to giant size by the fumes of a chemical vial.

Comment: Speculation - In Mystic Comics # 4 (1940), Dr. Bruce Dickson stumbled through a cave entrance in the Himalayan Mountains and found himself in the world of Kalahia, whose inhabitants had the ability to transform themselves into a two-dimensional form (similar to what John Cummings was transformed into). Learning this ability from the inhabitants, Dickson used this power to fight crime (and later joined The Liberty Legion) as The Thin Man. It is possible that “Kalahia” was the same location as “The Dimension of Doom”.

It is unknown if there is any connection between “The Dimension of Doom” and the hero Flatman of the Great Lakes Avengers/Lightning Rods/Great Lakes X-Men (introduced in West Coast Avengers # 46).

It is possible that the two-dimensional invaders known as “The Tenuous” from the story “I Foiled an Enemy Invasion!” in Tales to Astonish # 1 (art by Jack Davis) were from “The Dimension of Doom”.

Comment: The Hypnomonster should not be confused with the Sub-Mariner's Hypno-Fish (seen in Fantastic Four I# 14) or The Hypno-Hustler (introduced in Spectacular Spider-man # 24).

Perhaps the hypno-beamof the Hypnomonster was somehow harnessed by the Hulk's foe: The RingMaster. Could the RingMaster's mesmerising hat somehow be a gateway to this two-dimensional world?

Actually, the Ringmaster's hypno-hat is a miniaturized version of the “null-a-tron” (a mind-control device once used on the Invaders, by the Red Skull, during WWII). However, there is a Spidey-foe, introduced during the Seventies, who has fascinating (but not-yet-realized) potential for an encore appearance. I'm talking about Chip Martin…the SCHIZOPHRENIC MAN. The mutant son of a New York State senator, he can telekinetically materialize anything he hallucinates! Imagine the possibilities if Doc Samson recruited the now-reformed Ringmaster to assist with Chip's hypnotherapy, as he did with the Hulk's? For instance; Nightmare (Dr. Strange's old foe) could use Chip's trance to take control of his body, and wreak all kinds of havoc among the awake!

A so-called “nosey” teeenager who just wanted to ask what was going on with a construction area saved the entire world. Who would have guessed? At least this story shows that not all youth are “bad”, i.e. act in a way that upsets older people and authority figures.
I read this story as a teenager and was very impressed with it.

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