When Ming the Merciless leaves Mongo to invade Earth, his old enemy Flash Gordon and the latter's son, Rick, join forces with six others - the youngest a pre-teenaged boy named Kshin - to form the Defenders of the Earth.

Aided by Flash's Krell allies, the Defenders begin building their base. But Ming has learned of their existence and resolved to put an end to them.

Some boys try to pick a fight with Kshin so, rather than break the Defenders' Code of Honour, he reads up on summoning spells - against Mandrake's orders - and calls forth a demon named Shogoff (sp?). But Shogoff isn't content with just beating up a few pre-teenaged bullies and starts causing havoc in Central City; at one point, Mandrake collapses on stage when he senses the demon's presence. Kshin, meanwhile, is faced with a dilemma - should he let Shogoff continue his rampage or confess to his part in the trouble and risk expulsion from the Defenders?

When Africa suffers a sudden and unexplained climate change, the Phantom and Jedda head there to investigate. In the process, the Phantom learns that his estranged brother, Kurt - whom he has never mentioned to Jedda - has (courtesy of Ming) acquired the power to control the weather.

When the Defenders receive an invitation to pit Dynak-X against a chess-playing computer, they little suspect that it is part of Ming's plot to implant an electronic maggot into Dynak's circuits in order to turn her against them and ultimately give Ming access to the world's weapon's systems. When Mandrake learns of the maggot's existence, he shrinks Rick, LJ, Jedda and Kisa (Jedda's panther friend) to microscopic size (using Rick's new Microniser ray rather than magic) so they can get inside Dynak and track the creature down.

Ming needs Rick Gordon's ring to complete a weather control machine, and having caught Flash in a battle, uses him as bait to lure the impulsive Rick to Ice Station Earth. It is up to the remainging defenders to escape the fearsome Mongor, and rescue Rick and Flash.

Mandrake's old enemy, Damian Dark, and the latter's Psychic Warrior cohorts escape from jail and join forces with Ming's troops to search for the legendary Well of Essence.

Ming's forces travel to the planet Grubor, where they use his freeze-ray weapon to capture six Cave Slugs- invincible alien creatures the size of semi-trucks who can and do eat anything, including rock, metal and laser beams. They are harmless unless provoked, whereupon they counterattack with tremendous force. The Merciless One deploys his first Cave Slug in a mine tunnel beneath Monitor, and as the alien munches its way towards the Defenders headquarters, Kshin and Zuffy stumble upon it and must be rescued by the Defenders. At the time the Cave Slug breaks through the top of the Volcano and heads to Central City, Ming places the five other Cave Slugs in major cities all over the world. The Defenders make the costly mistake of attacking the Cave Slug, sending it on a rampage until Jedda uses her animal telepathic contact abilities to make peace with the alien monster. Infuriated, Ming decides that if our heroes won't provoke the creatures, he will; however, his attack on the earth is crushed when the Cave Slugs counterattack Ming's forces. The misunderstanding settled, the Defenders happily transport the Cave Slugs back to Grubor.

Ming's attack on an oil platform, to capture a main computer containing the earth's entire energy network, is foiled by the Defenders, but all is not lost as he spots oceanographer Maurice Quiston using a brainwave transmission helmet to communicate with sea creatures. Ming appeals to Quiston's love of the sea world and convinces him to join forces in battling the ocean-destructive forces of modern society. With Qusiton operating out of Ice Station Earth, all the ocean's inhabitants obey his orders, joining together to attack oil tankers, undersea food farms and sewage systems all over the globe. Meanwhile the Phantom, and old friend of Quistons, finds the oceanographer's floating sea-platform vacant, while Falsh, Lothar, Jedda and Mandrake try to save the food farm from destruction. Quiston discovers that Ming has double-crossed him when the Evil One destroys his sea platform. He joins forces with the Phantom to stop the ocean life's attacks and then blows up his brainwave transmission helmet and computer in the control room of Ming's Ice Station Earth.

Ming captures the Phantom and Jedda as they return from the race against N'Dama (really the Phantom's brother Kurt Walker) for the Jewel of Zandoon. Once again his old self, Kurt Walker stows away on Ming's ship, and back at Ice Station Earth he watches as Ming places the Phantom in the Deep Freeze Chamber. Small Fry, a monkey the Phantom and Jedda picked up in Africa, sabotages the wiring of the Freeze Chamber, buying the Phantom more time and allowing Jedda and Kurt to escape into the corridors of Ming's hideout. Jedda saves Kurt's life more than once before he finds the Golden Chamber and turns himself back into N'Dama; however, he refuses to help Jedda save the Phantom until she promises to reject the Phantom's birthright and becomes his protege. Using his skull ring the Phantom escapes the Freeze Chamber and is horrified to find Jedda in the uniform of the Weather Demon. N'Dama steals the valuable mineral Thalacitrate, which will allow him to remain N'Dama forever, from Ming. The Phantom and Jedda, poised for take-off from Ice Station Earth, benevolently save N'Dama's life, prompting the Spirit of the Winds to restore her birthright before he disappears in a mysterious flash of light.

At the dedication ceremony for a new courthouse built in honor of our heroes, 13 year-old Earl Sump, bespectacled and dressed in a homemade superhero suit, captures two pick-pockets in the crowd. His reward- a day spent at Monitor with his idols, the Defenders of the Earth. Immediately Earl's overzealous nature endangers our heroes --he almost causes the Defender ship to crash, and when the Defenders fly out to a distant planet to investigate some strange behavior, Earl stows away, his antics on board causing Flash's ship to run aground and nearly be destroyed. Back on Monitor Earl locks Jedda in a storage compartment and hijacks a ship which he pilots to Ice Station Earth. Unintentionally he rewires Octon, turning the evil computer into his amicable sidekick, and brings him back to Monitor. Earl then plans a day of celebration in his honor, inviting all of Central City to take part. This all invokes the wrath of Ming, who invades the party. Earl unintentionally turns Octon back into his old self, and it looks as if Ming will destroy the residents of Central City, however the Defenders arrive in the nick of time to drive Ming away and save the populace.

While transporting Starchild, a child-like alien who has landed on earth, through the woods around Monitor, the young Defenders encounter two alien scouts who attempt to destroy their new acquaintance. With the help of the elder Defenders the scouts are run from the planet, but not before identifying the alien as an evil monster and promising to return. Back at Monitor, Dynak X informs our heroes that an armada of 200 alien ships are on their way to Earth, prompting Flash, Mandrake, Lothar and the Phantom to fly into space to investigate. Meanwhile, Starchild blasts his way out of Monitor and rampages through Central City, with the young heroes on his trail. Amongst the stars, the senior Defenders talk to Roarke, a reptile-like alien, who tells them that Starchild is a genetically engineered being created by the great scientist Shoar Koron, and he has limitless powers- which he has previously used to wipe out entire civilizations. The aliens intend to destroy Earth, thereby ridding the galaxy of the child. The young Defenders learn that Starchild is not really evil, but like any child he requires love and attention. Mandrake impersonates Koron to explain to Starchild that he must use his powers for good, not bad, and the little alien makes peace with all the space ships, before streaking away into the star system.

When industrial tycoon/hypochondriac Kent Madden's plan to buy a magic health elixer from Partha, son of Chief Ajuna of the of r ican Fallu tribe, goes awry, he makes a deal to obtain use of Ming's forces to steal the potion. The Phantom and Jedda learn of the plot and immediately fly to Africa in the skullcopter. On the way the Phantom is shot out of the sky by Madden and is believed killed. The Fallu implore Jedda to take up where her father left off- as Phantom, protector of their tribe- and after some heavy soul searching she does just that. As Madden and Ming invade in full force, Jedda valiantly leads the Fallu in counter-attack. Unbeknownst to her, the Phantom raises himself from the jungle- he is alive- and must call forth the strength of ten tigers just to muster the power to fly the skullcopter. With the father-daughter team together again Ming and Madden flee for their lives. The Fallu people are saved, however the sanctity of their location is violated, forcing them to abandon their obscurity and join civilization.

Ming's forces kidnap LJ's girlfriend, Kate, turning her into a Frost Person, and have her trick LJ, Rick and Jedda into handing the Defenders' Space Station - now armed with a lethal laser-cannon - over to Ming. When the Swordship is shot down, the adult Defenders initiate the Space Station's self-destruct program but, having survived the crash, they learn that Rick, LJ and Jedda are on the Space Station. There follows a race against time to abort the self-destruct program before it is too late.

Rick Gordon's new friend at Central City High ! Carlotta Vallejo- requires his help when Ming backs revolutionary forces to dethrone her father from the Presidency of the tropical island of Esmerelda. While Ming gathers all the blue orchid flowers on the island for use turning the world's population into Frost People, Rick and Carlotta fly to Esmerelda and search for her father, but are captured by El Jefe, the mercenary leader of the upsurge. Back at Monitor Dynak X informs the Defenders that the temperature of the island is being unnaturally lowered, posing potential weather problems and prompting the heroes- sans Mandrake and Lothar- to board the Terry and set out to investigate. Rick and Carlotta escape from El Jefe, discover that Ming has diverted irrigation waters to build a huge glacier, and locate the President. To their horror, they find he has been turned into a Man of Frost before they are once again captured. The Defenders arrive and walk right into a trap, however Mandrake and Lothar, who arrived later disguised as a Man of Frost and an Ice Robot, spring them from Ming's dungeon. They invade El Jefe's jungle mercenary camp and rescue Rick, Carlotta and her father- who by now is returning to normal because the Frost Serum only works for two days. Furious, Ming blows up his glacier, causing a raging avalanche, which Rick subsides by employing a solar mirror to direct the sun's rays to melt the ice and divert it underground destroying the Ice Caves and all of Ming's blue orchid Frost Serum.

While Rick and L.J. test out Rick's new invention- a wave interference device that scrambles any signal transmitted through the air- Rick is kidnapped by Ming, who then places an implant on L.J.'s head which will monitor his thought patterns. In exchange for Rick's safety, Ming orders L.J. to sabotage Flash's spaceship the night before our heroes plan to battle Ming's minions. During the fight our heroes are forced to retreat to Monitor. Ming then forces L.J. to divert the Defenders to South America while Ming invades New York City. L.J. recovers Rick's wave-interference device and rescues him. By the time the other heroes discover that L.J. is the saboteur, L.J. is able to explain himself and inform the Defenders of Ming's actual target. They arrive just in time to defeat the Merciless One.

As part of Jedda's coming of age, the Phantom takes her to the Skull Cave to choose a gift from among the family treasures. She is drawn to the mysterious Necklace of Oros, but an evil interdimensional being named Graviton needs the Necklace for his own purposes and will stop at nothing to get it.

In battle simulation with Jedda, L.J. refuses to take part- he thinks it is only "kid stuff". Flash transports Morlag, a lizard-like leader of the rebellion on Mongo to Monitor, where Rick and the Phantom will deliver from Peru the Sun Medallions necessary for his people's fight to continue. Ming attacks the medallion base in Peru, destroying all the precious Firestones which focus their energy, then uses Octon to plant a virus program inside Dynak X so he can invade Monitor and capture Morlag. Meanwhile Flash and Kshin fly to an underwater volcano off the coast of Peru- the only other place to mine Firestones. When Ming attacks Monitor, L.J. thinks it is only another battle simulation, so he doesn't help when Jedda and Morlag are captured and taken away by Ming's forces. When he discovers the truth, L.J. feels horrible- prompting him to invade Ice Station Earth and conduct his own rescue. Flash and Kshin return with the Firestones, and L.J. learns a valuable lesson about adulthood.

The Defenders fly to Alaska to inspect a dinosaur alert. While following dinosaur tracks, Rick and L.J. discover that a long-dormant volcano, with an artificial dome placed over it, is mysteriously heating up. The senior Defenders and Jedda spot Ming and Garax, while the Defenders are attacked by two Allosauruses! After a narrow escape in a mountain cave, the group discovers Ming's evil scheme- he's used an earth drill to thaw out tens of thousands of beasts buried in the frozen tundra, and is sending them out to destroy the cities of the Earth! The young Defenders figure out how to work Ming's drill, and use it to blow up the drilling station. The volcano explodes, ripping off the dome, and the arctic climate returns --obliterating the Valley of the Dinosaurs.

Dr. Whitestead's plant food formula goes haywire--spilling on him and turning him into a plant! Ming seizes the scientist, the fomula, and his daughter. Lothar and Mandrake use their skills to save Whitestead, and the defenders must stop Ming from using the forumla to transform the whole planet into plants.

Eaons ago, a giant robot crash landed on Earth. Ming learns of The Annihilator, which now sleeps beneath Central City, and distracts all but one of The Defenders long enough to activate the robot.

The vengeful space princess Astra creates an army of clay soldiers. The daughter of Princess Aura, Astra is convinced by Ming that Flash Gordon was behind her mother's death. She uses blue clay from the Bandar village to create her army.

The incredible Hall of Wisdom pays its-2000-year, 24-hour visit to the Galaxy. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Ming to get his hands on the dreaded Quasar Weapon, with which he can conquer the Earth.

Ming lures Kshin to Ice Station Earth by kidnapping Zuffy, then probes the dark side of Kshin's imagination to create fearsome warriors capable of destroying the Defenders. While the heroes work diligently to dismantle the Doomsday Warhead, a device left in the universe from an earlier holocaust, they are invaded by RADIAN, BI-NINJA, RIPPER, ZALZAR, JAMMER HEAD, and NEUTRON MAN, all products of Kshin's mind. Two of the evil warriors recapture the Doomsday Warhead and transport it to Ming's asteroid base, while the rest stay on to finish off the Defenders. Meanwhile, the young Defenders fly to Ice Station Earth to rescue Kshin. With the help of Dynak Y the super heroes trick the mind warriors into thinking they're dead. With Kshin free and the Doomsday Warhead moments from being launched against Earth, Kshin uses the good side of his imagination to make all the Defenders even stronger, enabling them to defeat the mind warriors and reset the guidance controls in the Doomsday Warhead, thereby blowing up Ming's asteriod base and saving Earth.

The Defenders add a new twist to the Battle Simulation Room--a Thought-Transference Cap. It transmits the wearer's imagination directly into the simulation; Kshin loves to use it to scare the other Defenders the best he can. But Ming the Merciless has found a way to tap into the Room. Using his ghastly power source, he can use his own evil thoughts and intensify them into reality! What starts out as a thrilling simulation under Kshin is taken over by Ming and turned into a terrible fight to the death in the all-too-real Haunted World. While the older Defenders fight monsters, harpies and skeleton warriors, the desperate young Defenders destroy the simulator and end the horror.