In the third installment of "Wizards of Mickey," we get a number of significant revelations -- a few too many for complete narrative comfort, if truth be told. The evil "Lord of Deception" who's holding Mickey's master Nereus captive and manipulating "Black Phantom Team" (Peg-Leg Pete and The Beagle Brothers) in the sorcerers' tournament turns out to be our old friend, The Phantom Blot, without his cover-all cloak. The "two-faced" villain, unfortunately, appears to suffer from a genuine "split of personality" when it comes to deciding upon a grand plan of action. The "L.O.D."'s desire to reunite the scattered Diamagics and remake the shattered "Crown of the Sorcerer Supreme," which gives the wearer "mastery of ALL magic," seems like a logical goal for an evil sorcerer. So why does the mustachioed malice-monger suddenly become obsessed in this chapter with finding the subterranean "Kingdom of the Dragons" and using their magical secrets to take over the world? This reminds me of Gummi Bears' Duke Igthorn dropping his standard plan to conquer Dunwyn in favor of "bigger pickings" when he decides to seize the weaponry of the magical Gummi city of Gummadoon. The "L.O.D." would be well advised to follow Gadget's advice in "Gadget Goes Hawaiian" and pick a plan, ONE plan, and stick with it. As the jugglers say, if you have too many balls in the air, you'll wind up with your pants down. Or something like that."Wizards of Mickey" are also "working for scales" in this issue as they seek a way to cure Donald's pet dragon Fafnir's case of "the smoky cough," which may put out Fafnir's internal fire for good if it isn't fixed. The desperate good guys demand a challenge match with the haughty dragons of "Team Magma Fire" on the off chance that the latter might unbend a bit and agree to help cure Fafnir's ailment. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the scaled ones wind up having to cooperate after a Beagle Brother snatches Fafnir in the hope that Fafnir will lead "Black Phantom Team" to the dragons' lair (not (c) Don Bluth). The obvious problem here is that the Fafnir is more like a dog than a full-grown dragon (as I mentioned in my review of #297) and thus is unlikely to assist anyone in any meaningful way, unless he regards his tenure as Donald's pet as an extremely long "walkies" and then can even remember where he lives. At least "Wizards of Mickey" wind up forging what will probably prove to be a very helpful friendship with the dragons. With Nereus still a prisoner of the "Lord of Deception," that alliance may have arrived just in time.
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