The Gods Awake. When statues of ancient gods mysteriously come to life, the Defenders are summoned to the Himalayas by Mandrake's old magic teacher, Theron. They learn Ming and a mystic are behind the bizarre occurrences, an element in a plan to recover a sacred dorje which will give Ming the power to rule the world. When Ming gains control of the sacred dorje, Mandrake tries to warn him about the danger of his mystic collaborator. But the mystic snatches the dorje and uses it to turn himself back into Shiva - the destroyer god - who was banished from his dimension of Bodhidharma long ago. As Shiva fades into his other dimension, Mandrake follows. Ming flees, leaving the Defenders to deal with the world-threatening situation he brought about. In the other dimension, Mandrake battles against Shiva and uses a nifty piece of information to conquer him. Lothar manages to open up the portal back to our earthly dimension just in time for Mandrake to slip through - with the powerful dorje.