The recap slides bring us more searing psychological insights as this week Unga Khan is "crazed with ambition to conquer the upper world or destroy it", Sharad is a "bitter enemy of Unga Khan", Professor Norton is "turned against his friends by the transforming machine", Diana comes to Atlantis "looking for a story", Billy is "venturesome" and "devoted to Crash" and Crash is "sentenced to a horrible death". The latter is certainly true as he was murdered at the end of last week’s instalment when the Juggernaut crushed him to death. If it wasn’t in bad taste I’d suggest he change his name to Crush Corrigan. But he’s dead so it wouldn’t be cricket.

The reprise reminds us that Crash is tied to the bonnet of the Juggernaut and is going to be rammed to death. The mighty battle tank races towards the stout city gates (which had, you will recall from an earlier chapter, stood up to the full might of Khan’s war machine) and we remember the horror from chapter eight as Crash was slain in a wooden carnage.

"Quick, open the gates" shouts Billy. The gates are opened and Crash survives unscathed.

Several hundred white hats surround the Juggernaut but their efforts are foolish as the tank is impregnable and will just reverse out and smash Crash into the city wall instead.

The only way the Juggernaut can be compromised is if the black hats open the door but no one would…

…never mind. At least they have an atom gun (a full one hopefully) with which to scare the white hats. The black hat holds the entire white hat army at gun point while he sends his chum to fetch the priming powder. He will, apparently, shoot everyone if the powder is not brought to him pretty bloody sharpish.

What the black hat failed to realise is that in Billy Norton the Sacred City has one of the finest creepers in all of Atlantis. Here we see him creeping across the roof with a plan in his little head.

He creeps all the way around the city, drops down over the city walls, comes in through the main gates, creeps up behind the black hat, into the Juggernaut and opens the observation hatch next to Crash Corrigan.

He cuts Crash’s bonds and our hero is able to launch himself at the black hat.

Crash overpowers the black hat and the white hats quickly twig what’s going on. They grab their sworn enemy and poke him with sticks.

Crash leaves the black hat in the capable hands of several hundred white hats while he goes off to stop the other black hat getting the priming powder. He’s so keen he doesn’t even have time to use the stairs.

The black hat threatens Sharad with his sword while Sharad (who is not wearing his traditional big hat) cuddles the canisters of explosives as if his life depended on it. Crash bursts into the chamber and manly grappling ensues.

Things are going very well for the white hats – they have the captain of Unga Khan’s guards, they have the Juggernaut and they have the priming powder. The only card left in Unga Khan’s hand is Professor Norton but Crash vows to rescue the prof before you can say "raise the tower to the upper world".

Khan, the lackey, a guard and the Professor are having a meeting. Khan and Norton restate the current position for those who missed last week’s chapter. They are awaiting the return of the Juggernaut and don’t have to wait long as the familiar drone signals the return of Khan’s pride and joy. He sends Norton and the guard to meet the tank and recover the powder.

But wait! The black hat captain in inside the Juggernaut and hands over the priming powder. Has my DVD player skipped a few tracks? Was a reel of film lost in the past seven decades?

No – hang on – when Captain Hacker climbs from the Juggernaut there is a familiar, nekkid figure hiding hind him. It’s Crash~!

With Billy pointing the atom gun at the captain and Crash giving the orders, the black hat orders all his comrades (including one who he appears to call "Gas Bum") leave the stables. His men obey but this one is clearly a little suspicious.

Crash goes off to rescue Professor Norton while Billy stays behind to guard the captain. He covers himself in straw and orders the black hat to act normally.

Professor Norton is priming the rockets when he realises that the canisters are full of worthless sand. The guard pours some into his hand and gives it a good sniff.

The black hat takes this information to Unga Khan but is grabbed by Crash and swung around by the neck until he is knocked out.

Crash hides is body in a convenient alcove. You’ll have to take my word that there is a body in the alcove as it would be impossible to tell otherwise.

Crash gets into Norton’s laboratory and for the eighteenth time we have the "don’t you recognise me?" scene. For the love of priming powder, no he doesn’t recognise you. His brain has been washed. You know this, his son knows this, even Diana the woman knows this. So why do you insist on acting all surprised every time he doesn’t recognise you and then almost immediately betrays you and leaves you to die a horrible death?

Turn around Crash, turn around. While Lt Corrigan pleads with the amnesiac academic a Volkite sneaks up behind him.

Luckily, Volkites are truly rubbish and Crash is able to use a handy hook and pulley mechanism to lift it off the ground and leave it dangling in the air.

Crash knocks Professor Norton unconscious – apologising to the old man for doing so – and carries him away while the Volkite waves its legs around in a faintly pathetic manner.

The black hat left for dead in the alcove has recovered and reports to Unga Khan via the medium of tele-vision. For some reason we see a side-on shot of the black hat even though it was established earlier that the camera is built into the screen.

Crash and Billy are reunited in the stable but Billy gives him bad news – the Juggernaut has been driven away by remote control. Their escape route has been taken away and all they have is an unconscious old man and an atom gun.

They leave the black hat captain as they escape upwards in the lift. He immediately shouts for his guards and tells them exactly where the strangers have gone. I’m not one to advocate violence but they could’ve coshed him and tied him up.

Crash and Billy ride up in the lift. Their first stop proves to be the Volkites’ room. They go up another level and find Unga Khan’s office. They are able to shut the door before being captured and over hear Khan telling his guards to stop Crash reaching the roof because there is an air ship up there which he could use to escape. Crash quickly formulates an escape plan which involves getting to the roof and using the air ship.

There is but one black hat guarding the air ship. Crash soon grapples him out of the equation and the three emerge from the lift. Professor Norton has acquired a hat. A white hat – significant perhaps?

They board the air ship and fly majestically from Khan’s tower of death.

Khan orders the projector be fired. Khan is determined to kill Crash Corrigan and stop him interfering in Khan’s evil plans. He’s forgotten that Norton is aboard and that he’s the only one that can make Khan’s evil plans work.

An exciting chase ensues and for once it doesn’t involve several hundred men on several hundred horses.

The torpedo collides with the air ship and destroys it utterly.

Unga Khan actually laughs. That can only mean Crash is dead this time.

Rather oddly we cut to a shot of the air ship crashing to earth so it wasn’t blown up. Merely shot down. But no one could’ve survived that. No one at all.

Next week doesn’t sound hopeful either.