The "Apeslayer", a free human, wants vengeance against "The General" for what was done to his brother. He finds him in a ruined Grand Central Station and is attacked by the man's "pets", mutants he has created. He manages to kill the scientist but it leaves him without a sense of purpose. In a flashback sequence, the Apeslayer's origin is recounted. His mother ran from the conquering apes to a small island, where she was befriended by Dr. Carver, leader of the human resistance group. But they are invaded, not by apes, but by humans, led by The General. He has his soldiers kill all the adults. He's working for the apes--and brings the young boy to his simian masters. He's trained as a gladiator, for their amusement. However, he manages to escape and lives in the ruins of New York City. He finds old books and reads about his human history. He's eventually recaptured and instigates another revolt with a band of fellow humans. Of course, they want to reclaim the world. The last line is the Apeslayer shouting "They began--but man will end--the war of the apes!"
I was always curious about this PLANET OF THE APES story, which ran in the UK POTA Comic, issues #23-26. Marvel basically took the KILLRAVEN/WAR OF THE WORLDS artwork and re-inked it so there were Apes instead of Martians and wrote a story to match. What you get is a weird Alternate-Universe Apes tale.
Writers: Roy Thomas & Gerry Conway
Artists: Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, Frian Chiaramonte, Frank Mclaughlin