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Dissension In The Ranks

When resentments and disagreements boil over,

even allies can turn against each other in fierce battle that can bring the house down.

(And often does!)

FEATURING:

Storm and Cyclops

Shortly after the trial of Magneto which took place in Paris, Scott Summers (a/k/a Cyclops of the X-Men) made a decision to return to the team in the role of leader, in light of the disappearance of Charles Xavier and the mysterious appointment of Magneto as headmaster of Xavier's School. On the surface, his concern and subsequent decision made perfect sense--albeit to the chagrin of Scott's wife, Madelyne, who had just given birth to their son and was now being asked to relocate from Alaska. Madelyne has seen evidence of Scott distancing himself from her and their life together--and with him now shifting back into his former place in the X-Men, she now sees it as a symptom of a deeper problem.

Ororo (a/k/a Storm, Scott's fellow team member) is also privy to Madelyne's worries about Scott--and, overhearing a conversation which leads her to believe that Scott is adamant about returning to the team while not addressing the greater issue, she decides to directly confront Scott on his decision, but indirectly--in the one way which will leave him no options for avoidance:

On its face, a skirmish between Storm and Cyclops seems borderline absurd. Cyclops' power allows him to attack from a distance, and his accuracy as well as his grasp of tactics have been repeatedly proven in the field. In addition, his opponent is powerless in regard to her mutant ability, bringing only cunning and raw nerve to the table here. So by all rights, this little challenge should be over with the first "ZAPT!"

We'll see.

Again, consider the opening scene here. Despite the surroundings, Scott has a clear shot at Ororo, and she seems content to give it to him. Should we just go ahead and congratulate Cyclops now?

Whoops--they'd better hold off icing the name onto that victory party cake.

This fight is fairly drawn out in the story--but if you take a good look at it, it's clear that Ororo owes her successful attempts at evasion in large part to Scott continually missing his target. In addition, how could Cyclops be foiled by his opponent ducking for cover? He'd simply use the extra mass as a weapon, or otherwise blast right through it. Perhaps Ororo knows how preoccupied he is, and that she can use that against him:

Finally, Ororo makes her move, though her winning gambit shouldn't really end this fight so conclusively:

Ororo's logic as to Cyclops' helplessness seems flawed. There's no one else in this simulation at risk of being cut down by his eye beams; that being the case, Scott could fire in any and all directions (particularly in the direction of Storm's voice) in order to bring her down. On the other hand, perhaps his visor is his only method of controlling the power of his beams, and he can't risk injuring Ororo by opening fire.

In any event, this duel is now over, and Storm has successfully steered Cyclops in the direction she wished him to go. Cyclops, however, appears none the wiser, though the end result leaves this once-decisive man at loose ends:

But while Madelyne and her son may have reclaimed Scott at least for the short term, it puts only a Band-Aid on the problem until things with Scott take another turn, this time with the establishment of X-Factor. As for Ororo, she does quite a good job as team leader, even without her mutant abilities.

Ack! It looks like we're entangled in another Spider-Man cover peppering us with plot points:

"If you read only one comic-mag story this month, it must be--THE DARK WINGS OF DEATH!" I hope no one in December of 1973 took that seriously, because the Marvel checklist for that month advertised other comics stories that would have been better investments for a kid's hard-earned 20¢:

The wrap-up of the Avengers-Defenders clash
The FF issue where Reed turns his own son into a mental vegetable
Iron Man battling Dr. Spectrum
Captain America meeting the son of Baron Zemo
The Defenders finally resolving their situation with the Black Knight as well as the disbanding of the current lineup

A murder mystery involving the Vulture sounds intriguing on its face--but this first part of a two-part story mainly has a lot of wheels spinning at once but going nowhere, and most of the questions on this cover don't come close to being answered.

Except for Harry--but that doesn't take rocket science to figure out. Harry is going off the deep end, thanks to his father's death at the hands of Spider-Man. If I've ruined this issue for you with that revelation, feel free to pelt me with tomatoes--but, thanks to all the build-up with him, it wasn't exactly a secret, sinister or otherwise.

At least page one doesn't waste any time in putting this story into motion:

Interestingly, it's the one page of the story which at least tells us something; in fact, for one page, there's a lot to digest. We know a woman has been killed--but Spider-Man makes the leap to presuming she's been murdered, based only on Mary Jane's shocked expression at her window, as well as an allusion to his spider-sense (which I refuse to believe is wired to detect the expresson of a witness to a crime scene and conclude that murder was involved). Given all the activity and noise on this street corner, couldn't any one of these shocked people have witnessed what happened?

Let's get to the bottom of all this!

First, let's assume that the police and associated detectives will be "canvassing," i.e., hitting the area and questioning possible witnesses. Normally, that would include residents of buildings directly overlooking the crime scene, yet Peter seems concerned that the police and MJ will never cross paths without his intervention:

I'm still not sure why making coffee in a crisis situation seems to be the first thing people think of when trying to help others. If your friend's husband or wife leaves them--you put on some coffee. If your friend has a domestic dispute--you put on some coffee. If your friend discloses that they've committed a felony--you put on some coffee. I'd think the last thing you'd want to do with someone who's "frightened half out of their skull" is to pump caffeine into them and make them more unnerved, not to mention keeping them from getting any sleep.

But as we're about to see, Peter isn't exactly the model friend. In fact, if you ever meet Peter Parker on the street, do yourself a favor and steer clear of this guy. Because if the time ever comes when you need some tough love, Peter will take that concept to a whole new level entirely:

Yes, storming out in disgust. You've just see the Peter Parker definition of friendship in action.

After switching back to his Spider-Man identity, though, it's Peter who's attacked, and by the person he then concludes is the murderer:

Spidey barely survives the encounter with his life--though don't take that to mean that this fight scene is dramatic and thrilling. While artist Ross Andru had a lengthy run on Amazing Spider-Man, I've never made a secret of my opinion that he seems a poor fit for this book, while never managing to capture Spider-Man's style of fighting.

On the other hand, where Harry Osborn is concerned, Andru does "crazed" pretty well:

No, I don't know why they're still sharing an apartment, either. Harry pays almost all of the rent on the place--why doesn't he just throw the guy out, since it's obvious he doesn't want him there?

Peter later meets up with MJ on campus, only now she's light-heartedly insisting she was simply playing a joke on him when claiming she witnessed a murder. But before he can pursue the matter further (which he must this time, since, being outside, there's no door nearby to slam after leaving in a huff), Flash Thompson arrives to give them both a lift. Unfortunately, en route, they find there's someone much more proficient at that:

Peter eventually manages to slip away ("slip away" meaning that he abandons an unconscious Flash after his car crashes in the confusion--see what I mean about having Peter as a friend?), and Spider-Man catches up to the Vulture. But Spidey learns that MJ wasn't the Vulture's prime target on campus, though the villain makes use of her anyway:

You'll need to suspend your disbelief with this scene--MJ apparently didn't hear Spider-Man call her "Gwendy," even though she likely heard everything else he said to her. I suppose we're left to assume that he was just muttering the words under his mask. Where's my no-prize?

Soon, however, a scream from elsewhere on campus diverts Spider-Man's attention. It seems the Vulture has definitely moved from pulling heists to terrorizing women:

And in the ensuing scuffle, Spider-Man discovers that this "Vulture" he's been battling is now close to the real deal:

The fight moves outside, where the police have moved in with a restraining net which entraps both the Vulture and Spidey. Only one of them isn't content to remain trapped--and he departs with his prize, or so he thinks:

Now, what would you do if you were the Vulture, and you were ready to confront your prey hundreds of feet up in the sky, and found that you'd instead been stuck with your deadliest opponent?

WAIT a minute--weren't we trying to solve a murder mystery? It looks like the Vulture is doing his best to add to the body count--and we're still no closer to any leads. And if Spidey plunges to his death--well, we'll definitely know who killed him, but we really want to get the answers to our questions: Why is the Vulture out for blood? What's the identity of not only his victim, but also that campus lab worker he's after? And MOST importantly--now that he's the genuine article, is the Vulture going to feel compelled to build a nest for himself in the nearest skyscraper??

Amazing Spider-Man #127

Script: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Ross Andru
Inks: Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski

Part Two to our Spider-Man murder mystery in progress has a cover which would certainly fit like a glove in our "No! Not YOU!" sampling:

But Part One of this story left us all pretty desperate for answers--as well as a desperate Spider-Man hundreds of feet in mid-air, plunging to his death!

So let's just "plunge in" and wrap things up!

First off, I wouldn't worry too much about the fate of Spider-Man, as much of a cash cow he's been for Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment, and associated merchandising--though his chances for survival indeed look dismal. I would have thought he'd use his web shooters, to snag the Vulture--but it turns out I was only half right:

Which unexpectedly brings us to yet another exciting segment of

I've been skydiving before, though I never clocked the speed my body reached when free-falling. The physics involved say that a falling object accelerates at a rate of 9.8 m/s, a rate which increases depending on the time involved in the plunge (and, I would think, the mass of the object):

If dropped from a position of rest, the object will be traveling 9.8 m/s (approximately 10 m/s) at the end of the first second, 19.6 m/s (approximately 20 m/s) at the end of the second second, 29.4 m/s (approximately 30 m/s) at the end of the third second, etc. Thus, the velocity of a free-falling object that has been dropped from a position of rest is dependent upon the time that it has fallen.

Short version: if you're falling from hundreds of feet up, you're going to be falling pretty darn fast. And, as in Spidey's case, we also have to take into account that there's a lot of wind resistance. So, what are the chances that his web-shooters are going to be effective in this kind of gambit? Once he fires them (downward, sideways, whatever), isn't the webbing just going to be swept upward by the rushing wind almost immediately? But let's assume, by some miracle, it shoots straight down, without meeting any wind resistance--it also obviously has to reach ground level at a much faster velocity than he's falling, and fast enough to form a large and solid enough net.

Translation: This shouldn't--couldn't--work.

But Peter Parker is a physics major, and we have to believe he knows more about science than the rest of us poor shmucks, so...

Let me just add: Peter Parker, whose grades are lousy and who routinely misses classes with a shrug and a "oh, well" attitude, is not someone whose from-the-hip applied science you want to stake your life on, so please don't try this at home.

Now that he's out of danger, Peter needs to start gathering information in order to put the pieces of this puzzle together--and his first stop is the ESU biology lab where the Vulture was confronting an assistant named Christine Murrow. Instead of finding Christine, Peter finds one of the science instructors, Dr. Shallot, cleaning up the mess from the Vulture's intrusion:

A pretty harmless and seemingly insignificant scene, yes, but an important one in regard to the big picture. But Peter still needs info about Christine, and so he's off to the campus registrar to get a look at her file. I can guarantee you that, at my college, no student was able to just stroll up and be granted access to the file room; but, apparently, Peter's no slouch in the flirting department, and soon his sleuthing leads him to some rather interesting information on Christine:

Curiouser and curiouser. And that's nothing, compared to the bombshell he finds in the archives of the Daily Bugle's morgue room:

Later, thanks to a snitch named "Mouthpiece" Moylan, the trail that Peter is following leads him to the waterfront, where the Vulture has been seen. And in a cargo hold where a sailor lies unconscious, Peter finds another piece to the puzzle--as well as the Vulture himself, who does not like snooping busybodies:

The Vulture ends up tossing Peter into the drink, from a height which would mean death for any normal person. But since Peter now has falling from heights down to a (you'll excuse the word) science, he survives and runs into one last clue, this time in Mary Jane's building:

Knowing the Vulture isn't the type to leave any loose ends, Peter then tries to get MJ into police custody, this time with no argument. But the Vulture has returned to the scene of the crime, so to speak, in yet another attempt to deal with MJ--and, once again, Spider-Man is there to thwart him:

Spidey successfully fends off the Vulture, and, after making sure MJ is taken to safety, he heads to the ESU bio lab to hopefully finally confront Christine--as well as Dr. Shallot, who shows up in a guise Spider-Man has already guessed:

However, before leaving the waterfront, Peter pocketed some of the chemical solution from the ship hold which the Vulture broke into--and, taking the Vulture by surprise, he forces it down Shallot's throat. The transformation which follows comes as little surprise, at this point, and Spider-Man begins to explain the entire affair:

It looks like Shallot planned to continue his life as "the Vulture," once he'd disposed of anyone who knew of his dual identity as well as the witness to the murder he'd committed by mistake; and the chemicals he was importing would allow him to transform back to his civilian identity whenever he needed to, presumably to avoid a dragnet for the Vulture. It was certainly an odd and roundabout way to bring back the Vulture--and probably padded two entire issues unnecessarily with the trappings of a murder mystery as well as MJ's involvement. On the bright side, it's encouraging to know that practically anyone can ring up the state pen and requisition the costume and equipment of a super-criminal. Think of all the fun the Yancy Street Gang could have with the Shocker's gizmos...

Amazing Spider-Man #128

Script: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Ross Andru
Inks: Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt
Letterer: John Costanza

Back in Fantastic Four #123, Reed Richards conceived of a plan to finally rid our world of the threat of Galactus--by taking the world-devourer's ship hostage, and threatening to destroy it unless Galactus vowed to depart and leave Earth involate, forever. But Galactus came back with a deadly counter-offer:

Reed had no choice but to accept Galactus's terms. But he had one trick left up his sleeve, a part of his plan which he tried to make clear to the Surfer before the sky-rider took off after his master:

Chaos erupted, with no one understanding why Reed was apparently endangering the Earth by restraining the Surfer and consequently causing the return of Galactus, who might then reconsider his decision to leave and follow through on destroying all life on Earth. But, by mystic means, Reed addressed the people of the world and explained that the world need never fear Galactus again:

Things now look pretty good for Earth... for the FF... for the Surfer (well, maybe not for the Surfer, since he's still trapped on our planet)... but they sure don't look good for the inhabitants of the Negative Zone, since Reed has now dumped on them a destructive force that will methodically seek out their worlds to feed on, killing billions upon billions. A place which Reed seems to think very highly of, when his planet isn't on the line:

So the point where Reed doesn't "turn his back" on the Negative Zone seems to have one large exception--and it goes by the name of Galactus.

Which brings us to a somewhat negative

Marvel Trivia Question

Why did Galactus abandon the Negative Zone?

Imagine everyone's surprise when, two years after Galactus is sent to the Negative Zone, the alien being called Firelord arrives on Earth and announces the impending arrival of his master:

An announcement which has Thor voicing the same sentiment the rest of us are: "Huh??"

Even the man on the street (in this case, a reporter) remembers the previous encounter, and the fact that Galactus has no reason to even be in our universe again, let alone threatening the Earth:

Galactus, however, makes it clear to us that he means business--and it doesn't look like his stay in the Negative Zone has whetted his appetite for good 'ol positive universe worlds:

It turns out that Galactus, after his return, made another attempt to defeat Ego, the Living Planet--but he found that Ego in his absence had been driven mad, and so Galactus came to Earth seeking Thor to establish an alliance in order to bring about Ego's end. But that still begs the question: Why did Galactus leave the Negative Zone? I suppose he had no real reason to stay, unless upon arrival he found himself surrounded by worlds rich in life force energy and concluded that the Zone was definitely the place for him. If that wasn't the case (and it's indeed unlikely), he'd be in the same situation he was back on Earth: at a loss to find worlds in a timely fashion without a herald like the Surfer to act as a scout. So why wouldn't he immediately return, tell Reed "Nice try, but no dice," and take the Surfer? The way that writer Stan Lee ended that story was all very rushed and doesn't stand up well to scrutiny--and it should, given that this was a four-part story with plenty of elbow room for a more laid-out ending.

At any rate, we never get a clear answer from anyone as to why Galactus returned. The Thor story only broaches the subject in order to keep a sense of continuity, but doesn't otherwise deal with it. The only real answer we get--that is, if you want to call it an answer--comes from Reed some time later, when the FF is about to enter the Zone in an extended exploration:

It was an "explanation" clearly meant to leave the issue at that, and move on. I don't know why Galactus would be concerned with the "mysteries" of the Zone, any more than he was with the mysteries of our universe, since he has tunnel vision in terms of his hunger and is on a single-minded quest for new planets. Still, I'm guessing we're all pretty happy to have Galactus threatening us all again. We're certainly not going to hear the people of the Negative Zone complaining about it anytime soon.

A comic's 50th issue wasn't often heralded in Marvel's titles--but with a book which could use every edge in sales, it didn't hurt to caption its cover with such a distinction. That was particularly applicable to Sub-Mariner, which would have only a little over twenty issues left in its run before being cancelled. But with its 50th issue, you could see an honest effort being made to change its course, and revitalize the character of Namor to have a greater appeal for whatever fan base he had remaining.

No easy task. Once Namor abdicated his throne and left Atlantis for good, Sub-Mariner floundered in direction, which stabilized when Namor's creator, Bill Everett, came aboard and set him more or less on track again--and this 50th issue was its bold beginning, from its very first page. In the previous issue, Namor had just concluded his encounter with Dr. Doom and Modok, and his growing relationship with a surface girl named Cindy had solidified into something which looked headed in a forward direction. Yet Everett, in one panel on page one, severs that relationship with a few words consisting of their worlds being incompatible and that Namor belongs in the world of the sea. Any other guy would likely react in a "whu...huh?" way at such an inexplicable and sudden development; but Everett returns Namor to his noble bearing, giving him a sort of Elizabethan thought and speech pattern that smooths the transition and makes it almost seem like he belongs in a solo state. "Nay! There is a ring of conviction in her voice! Comprehension fails my perplexed mind!" I don't know many of us who sort out our thoughts like that.

Yet Everett maintains at least one thing from Namor's past issues: his state of amnesia, which also helps to motivate him to go in another direction (in this case, the sea) and seek answers to his confusion. And the first step he has to take is to discover whether he "belongs" in the sea in a literal sense, though it would be a rather drastic (not to mention suicidal) step for any of us:

Before Namor can explore his state further, he comes across an unconscious girl floating in the depths, whom he assumes is close to death. It would turn out to be an auspicious meeting between the two, though you wouldn't think so from its abrupt ending:

The girl, in case you haven't recognized her, would turn out to be Namor's cousin--Namorita, whom we'll see more of later in this story. For now, Namor is all too glad to see her depart--as he does himself, but in a direction both distant and nostalgic:

Yes, Namor has returned at last to the Antarctic, and his long-lost roots. But what meaning will they have for one who has no memory of them?

As Namor descends, the ruins of his ancestral home are compelling, as well as a frustrating mystery--a mystery he has little time to ponder, since he's almost immediately attacked by a giant crustacean. It's here that Everett's handling of Namor takes a turn for the reader, from curious excitement to uncomfortable winces--as Everett's undersea antagonists for the Sub-Mariner tend to be a little on the Hollywood monster side, and difficult to take seriously (as contradictory as that sounds, given that we're reading a comic book, after all).

"Salamar"--a talking, devious crab with crab lackeys to do his bidding. The monster obviously has knowledge of Namor's ancestry and an interest in seeing Atlantis return to its former, ancient glory--but the mystery of that knowledge is overshadowed by the injection of such ludicrous creatures into the life of the Sub-Mariner, a character who Marvel has taken pains to distance from his "Jumpin' catfish!" past and make a force to be reckoned with in its present-day world. Fortunately, Everett has several more surprises for Namor to keep our interest in this story--starting with a long-lost cousin from that past:

Salamar also formally identifies the young girl who walloped Namor before he embarked on his journey to the Antarctic--a girl Salamar also has plans for, as well as threats if necessary:

Finally, Salamar reveals one last figure from Namor's past, a figure who's been made an example of in the "oil-springs" which are now a part of the Atlantean landscape:

Despite Salamar's technological advantage, Namor escalates his assault on the crab and his aides--and eventually discovers Salamar to be a mere construct, remotely controlled. And when Namor destroys its circuitry, the feedback reveals Namor's foe in this deception, one whose tactic in using Namorita to ensure Namor's cooperation mirrors that of Salamar:

Yes, it seems Byrrah is not alone in this endeavor--he has a deadly ally, one whose appearance instantly restores Namor's memory and makes him instantly coil in a posture of revenge:

This haughty villainess makes a great entrance, though in her eagerness it seems she's mispronounced both her own name as well as that of her former kingdom. Just to set the record straight, this is Llyra, formerly of Lemuria. Though very shortly that's all going to be moot:

A curious "alliance" between Llyra and Byrrah, eh? Apparently Llyra didn't disclose to her ally that she had her own agenda concerning Namor and had no interest in Byrrah's plans for him. But as Namor's made quite clear, he only has one plan where Llyra is concerned, and her sense of vengeance pales beside his own:

Gee, it doesn't look like Llyra's going to "slip away" this time, does it? (At least in terms of escape. Heh heh. Sorry.)

At least Namor and Nita look like they finally have some time to catch up and compare notes. But you're probably thinking we've forgotten someone, and you're right:

There's more to discover about Byrrah, the monster crabs, Namora, those oil-springs, as well as Byrrah's other alliance (with a race of aliens we've seen before), when this story concludes. Everett's approach with the Sub-Mariner may be a bit dated in some respects, but with this fiftieth issue he's laid a decent foundation in place for a new direction for Namor, and there are some worthwhile stories to explore. Though, as we unfortunately know, the optimism wasn't to last.

Sub-Mariner #50

Script, Pencils, and Inks: Bill Everett
Letterer: Jon Costa (a/k/a John Costanza)

OR: "The Blink-And-You-Missed-It Sports Trend"

While I freely admit that I wasn't one of the kids who wore a pair of "Juicemobiles":

... I don't remember seeing any other kids wearing them, either.
Conclusion: I had my finger on the pulse of teenage coolness and didn't realize it.

Hard to believe there was once a time when this guy was on top of the world.

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

Arrrrrr, matey--of course it's Commander Kraken who's waving that sword in our faces, about to put the smack-down on Iron Man. For a villain who had such grand plans and ambitions, Kraken ending up having a somewhat brief criminal career and didn't receive much of a spotlight. After his encounter with the Sub-Mariner, where he attempted to conscript Namor into becoming one of his gang of pirates, Kraken became a sort of techno-pirate and broadened his goals. To that end, he outfitted himself to be more of a threat to his foes--first, ditching his hand-hook in favor of a micro-circuited sword that has enough power to make the Swordsman envious:

Also, one of his legs below the knee has been made considerably more mobile:

Naturally he also gave himself an impressive array of equipment, including a machine which would turn hijacked crews into slaves:

And every good pirate needs a brigantine--but this one doubles as a highly advanced submarine:

But, where does Iron Man figure into Kraken's plans? He seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to nab him:

Yet it's not Iron Man specifically who Kraken wants, but instead the Avenger's alter-ego, whose identity he's correctly guessed. A man the world knows better as:

Eventually, Stark manages to suit up again as Iron Man, though it appears that Kraken might hand him his helmeted head once more:

But Iron Man manages to destroy Kraken's sword, after which Kraken pulls his sidearm and fires at him in a rage. However, when he instead hits and destroys his main computer, Kraken and his entire complex pay the price:

Despite appearances here, Kraken survives, though he toils in obscurity until he's gunned down with a roomful of super-villains by Scourge. And you just know what he exclaimed as he slumped to the floor:

Of course. "Arrrrrr."

Bonus:

It's Commander Kraken vs. Sub-Mariner in a War of the "Next Issue" Banners!

Astonishingly, neither of these men wears the dive watch.

Like many stories that Jack Kirby scripted for Marvel during his return to the company in the late 1970s, the story in Captain America #198 is something of a mixed blessing. Kirby often had his heart in the right place when writing the dialog for the stories he would create, and that truly comes across as this story plays out--even though the thought of Kirby putting Cap into the middle of a Love Story-themed issue and assuming the Oliver Barrett role must seem like an atrocious one. For what it's worth, Kirby only adapts certain elements of the film (including, of course, its eye-catching title), and crafts an interlude of sorts in his ongoing Madbomb arc--though an interlude very nicely woven into the urgency of the main story's hunt for the Madbomb's inventor.

You may be surprised at how well it all works. Even re-reading this issue a number of years after its initial publication, I kept remarking to myself on certain aspects to Kirby's style of storytelling: how well certain scenes were placed... how integral Kirby is making the Falcon both to his partnership with Cap and to the book itself... the interesting notion of a joint U.S. Army/SHIELD operation... the excellent use of shadow... how well it works to make Cap's "love interest" the daughter of the conspiracy guy they're trying to nab. And as for Cap's interaction with the woman he meets, I admit to steeling myself for what I thought was going to be a very awkwardly handled and excruciating set of scenes with the two of them, given Kirby's flowery prologue to the story on page one; but instead, I found myself sympathizing with Carol Harding, a terminally ill woman whose story might have come across quite maudlin without the Madbomb threat to take center stage and give it perspective.

Once the story ends, you can find yourself taking different meaning from Kirby's opening narrative and the signals you feel it's sending--particularly the way it seems to imply that the story you'll be reading is going to come to a grinding halt as this entire issue focuses on a romantic rendezvous for Cap:

Even Kirby seems to have had an afterthought, and inserted the blurb about the Falcon so that readers would know this story wouldn't be all hearts and flowers. In fact, I'd say the "love story" (and you'll find even that is misleading) only takes up about one-third of the issue. That's not to say that Cap and Carol don't have their moments--it's just that they won't require the string section you might be expecting.

The story begins where the prior issue left off--with Cap, Falc, and an Army task force mopping up the conspirator installation where the final Madbomb had been built. Unfortunately, the device itself escapes their grasp:

Following the hectic events of the past few issues, it's a lull that allows everyone to regroup and plan their next step. Fortunately, with time of the essence now that the conspirators are being actively hunted and could likely move up their timetable, a lead presents itself in the form of Mason Harding:

We then get some background on Harding, who is indeed involved in the conspiracy but who diligently tends to his bedridden daughter, Carol:

It's difficult to be certain from this scene, but we're given the impression from Harding's interaction with his "security" that he's seen his involvement in this situation spiral out of control, to the point of his daughter being possibly endangered during its final stages. He doesn't seem to us at first glance to be a man acting out of malice, but rather a man in over his head. That allows us to sympathize with both him as well as Carol--a woman who, regardless of whatever treatment her father is providing for her, has a dim outlook on her life.

Unknown to anyone at this estate, SHIELD agents have arrived with Cap and the Falcon, in order to make preparations for capturing Harding. But, as Cap enters the house to reconnoiter, he realizes that the discovery of Carol may hinder their plans to take the estate by force:

The notion that Carol might not recognize Captain America, of all people, is difficult to take at face value, unless she's been the most incredibly insulated bedridden adult patient in history. But Kirby's narrative does a fair job of glossing over something that must surely have struck some readers as odd; and it's fairly important that at this point in the story, Carol relate to Cap not as "Captain America," but as a stranger who elicits her trust and interest. It's asking a lot, with this man's unmistakable uniform and shield practically saluting in every panel--but, as the saying goes, we become lost in the moment:

It's a brief talk between the two, but it's probably enough of a development to make Cap realize that reconnaissance of the rest of the house has become moot, given Carol's presence and how any plans to raid the estate must be altered accordingly.

We can also see (and gratifyingly so, out of a sense of realism) that this is no "relationship" that has sprung up between the two in the span of only a few minutes, but simply Cap consoling this lonely woman and not alarming her as to the true nature of her "security men." And he extends that compassion for her by making her a part of the plan that's already formed in his mind to see to her safety, with Carol herself providing the key:

But when Cap departs, we see that the meeting has had a deeper effect on Carol. A fact Kirby has made sure to emphasize by maintaining his wistful narrative during their scenes together:

Later, at the beach, Cap meets up with the Falcon and lets him know his train of thought on a revised raid. These two panels really amount to no more than bringing the Falcon up to speed--but I wanted to point out the nice use of shadowing that Kirby applies to the Falcon's outline on the beach from overhead. I think it's such a cool way to transition to the meeting:

As Cap spells out the situation, it's obvious that Carol has had an effect on him--but, as he states later, it's more in the spirit of "repaying kindness with kindness." In addition, though, he seems to feel empathy toward her, an innocent caught up in a life-or-death conflict that shouldn't be an added burden to her in her current state:

And Carol indeed shows up--only this time, she meets the man behind the mask, who it seems has successfully removed her from harm's way. Though, again, we sense that they're not on the same page as far as their expectations are concerned:

We know from this issue's cover that, despite their getaway, Carol and Cap are in danger from gunfire. It's also been implied that the Falcon isn't going to be successful with any kind of rescue:

Yet it's only a bit of sensationalism we're seeing, and in a way it's reassuring that it's only a cover's sales pitch in play. Because so far, Kirby has handled this story deftly as it steadily unfolds toward its resolution--and when the Falcon indeed "does his action bit," it's nice to see this character shine, in a splendid scene which Cap doesn't even know is going down:

Again, Kirby is generous with his treatment of the Falcon--so when the raid on the estate begins, Falc is right in the thick of things with SHIELD's agents ("G-men," it seems, judging by Kirby's perception of their "uniforms"--with '50s hats, even).

Meanwhile, at a lazy campfire on the beach, Carol hears the noises coming from the estate, and wants to cut the day short in order to see if there's anything going on there. But Steve rightly assumes that the raid is now in progress, and manages to distract her:

Some ruffians with a ball have interrupted the quiet day for these two--and here, Kirby's predilection for past times becomes evident in one of his stories. Right down to the speech, the clothing, and, heaven help us, the handlebar moustache:

What are the odds that these gentlemen are going to be swayed by Steve's well-reasoned words? (You needn't take the time to calculate them.) What follows could be Kirby's humorous take on the old "beach bully kicking sand in the face" ads for Charles Atlas--only here, the victim is already more than a match for all of the bullies:

Yes, finally--i.e., now that it's the right time in the story for it--Carol "makes the connection" between the parting words of one of the men and the true identity of her companion. And in coming clean, Steve seems to also feel the need to be as frank in describing his intentions as much as he means to be reassuring:

It also becomes clear to the reader at this point the actual nature of this "love story"--one-sided, perhaps, and surely platonic, but nonetheless a very caring bond formed between the two. And it seems to give Carol the resolve to trust Steve with handling one other aspect of her condition:

It's a scene which serves as the ending for the issue. I suppose for the purpose of the story, Kirby might have felt that it made sense to end on that note, and so abruptly. Clearly, Carol's revelation takes Steve by surprise, as he was unaware of the full extent of her illness. Throughout the story, Kirby has deliberately withheld disclosing any certainty of Carol's chances, one way or the other--a decision made easier by the fact that we're never told exactly what illness Carol is suffering from, nor the nature of the operation she's had to supposedly combat it. But Kirby at least gives us a measure of closure the following issue, where Carol receives confirmation of her father's illicit activities:

We also receive closure on the "love story" that really wasn't, something Carol has finally come to terms with but must still put behind her:

No, I don't know what Carol's "hater" reference in regard to Cap has to do with anything, either. Kirby made frequent attempts in his stories to name-drop contemporary terms in order to give the appearance of being up-to-speed on current cultural trends and references; but here, it throws a virtual bucket of cold water on the kind of ending he hoped to achieve to Carol's association with Cap. Perhaps she was simply trying to make the point that Cap wasn't the kind of person who held a grudge and who believed in second chances. As for Mason Harding, he holds quite a grudge toward the "Elite" who used him, and steps up and does the right thing: providing Cap and SHIELD with the information they need to locate the devastating Madbomb.

Captain America #198

Script and Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Frank Giacoia
Letterer: Gaspar Saladino

OR: "Prince Over A Barrel"

In the 50th issue of Sub-Mariner, we saw that Namor's creator, artist Bill Everett, had stepped aboard to help the sea prince make a course correction and get his book back on track--which began with Namor's return to his south polar home, where he met for the first time his young cousin, Namorita, and faced the twin menaces of Llyra and Prince Byrrah. Upon seeing the former usurper of the throne of Lemuria, Namor overcame his loss of memory which he'd been afflicted with, and at long last fatally dealt with Llyra, who had been responsible for the murder of his beloved Lady Dorma.

But apparently Namor didn't get the memo that this was a two-part story--and he and "Nita" have forgotten all about the second half of that deadly alliance, who by no means has forgotten about them:

Again Byrrah insists that Namor help to rebuild their ruined royal city--but what's his angle? Why has he gone to such trouble to lure Namor back to his ancestral home? Why did he form an alliance with Llyra? And how did he come to find Nita and use her as a hostage?

We'll learn all of that and more--but first, a ~~battle royal~~ battle of royals!

Now that Namor has his memory back, he seems to have much more on the ball in the fighting department--so he swiftly disarms his once-rival for the throne. But it looks like Byrrah has been spending a little time at the gym, to Namor's surprise--and the battle is on!

Byrrah has always been something along the lines of Namor's Loki as an antagonist--looking for ways to cause difficulty for Namor in their youth, and becoming his fierce rival and nemesis in adulthood. It's clear that Byrrah has lost little to none of his bitterness toward his cousin--but it's doubtful Namor ever anticipated a maneuver like this:

But we're not so limited as to Byrrah's whereabouts, and we're witness to a meeting which shows that Byrrah has struck another alliance--this time, with hostile aliens who have visited Earth before:

Brother Royale seems amused at Byrrah's assertiveness; frankly, I'm delighted by it. Despite his ambition and resourcefulness, Byrrah hasn't been successful at advancing behond his station or making much headway in his plans--but here he not only attempts to stand on equal ground with the Badoon, but also implies that he's basically in the driver's seat as far as being the only one who can get them what they've come to Earth for. And that, as we've just learned, is the oil reserves that Byrrah has discovered near his ruined homeland. As to the reason why, Brother Royale only provides us with partial disclosure for now:

Rest assured, that scheme will be revealed as we go along. For now, we need to learn a few other things--and the best person to give both ourselves and Namor the answers is Namorita, who begins her story with the ill-fated meeting between her mother, Namora, and the evil Llyra:

Llyra's power play led to the alliance with Byrrah, and further plotting:

Which brings us up to the point where Nita encountered Namor in the previous issue--the "task" that Llyra spoke of, to find Namor and return with him. Yet Nita was too exhausted to realize she'd indeed crossed paths with him, and so returned in failure and became a hostage to ensure Namor's cooperation. Llyra paid for that plan with her life--while Byrrah's part in this drama is still unfolding.

During Nita's recounting of her story, the pair come across a location well familiar to Namor. Yet it also serves as a reminder to Namor that his abdication was not without good reason:

Byrrah then returns amidst an eruption of the oil-spring, to repeat his demands of Namor. But this time he tempers his words and presents them as more of an offer, as well as now letting Namor know that he doesn't act alone. Namor's response is what you might expect:

As you can imagine, Brother Royale is not pleased at Byrrah's lack of progress. And in giving Byrrah a final veiled threat, he alludes to the importance of the oil beyond a strategic sense:

So it's time we found out about this oil, and why it's affecting everyone's decisions and actions. We know from Namor that it's become irradiated--but how? A sunken wreck gives us the answer, and also reveals how those killer crabs that attacked Namor became mutated:

It becomes clear to Namor that the oil in the underground caverns must be sealed, and the springs capped. Luckily, there's always another sunken wreck around when you need one:

Unfortunately, Byrrah sees what Namor is planning, and he has no intention of letting his hybrid cousin destroy his meal ticket with the Badoon. But, on the verge of Byrrah ordering his mutant crabs to the attack, Namor catches him and deprives him of his Badoon weaponry. At this point, Brother Royale has had it with Byrrah and his delays--and in his rage, reveals just why he's taken such steps to secure the oil, just before launching an attack of his own:

However, again, Byrrah is full of surprises. And Badoon meets crab, in a very one-sided battle:

All of which gives Namor the chance to once and for all dispose of the reason for all the fighting:

Byrrah, evading Namor's vengeful retribution thanks to Nita, departs to lick his wounds and fight another day. And our other villain of the story gives a classic villain "you haven't seen the last of...!" declaration on their way out of the solar system:

With the next issue, we'll see that Namor hasn't quite finished turning up old figures from his past. But this one will turn out to be a pleasant reminder of days gone by--even though the reunion will bring about another clash of fire vs. water! Who's steamed up at Namor this time?

Sub-Mariner #51

Script: Mike Friedrich
Pencils and Inks: Bill Everett
Letterer: John Costa (a/k/a John Costanza)

I find that "origin issues" offer me something different than other types of comics stories I might pull out for review, and perhaps the same holds true for yourself as a reader. Generally we're already familiar with the subject matter being presented, so the only question remaining is: how will the issue's writer treat this material this time? What new perspective will they bring to the table, while still holding true to facts that are virtually set in stone? If it turns out to be an "origin issue," the writer's task seems doubly difficult: instead of just a few panels on a page or two, their take on the character's origin will have to be interesting and fresh for about twenty or so pages of reading. Roy Thomas's re-telling of the origin of the Fantastic Four is a nice example, even adding a little context to the original story without deviating from the basic facts. Thomas also gave the Black Panther's origin another look in an issue of Avengers (and considerably expanded on it).

We've of course seen numerous origins of villains within the pages of the issues they're first featured in, as well as "flashback" origins in subsequent stories where they next show up. But it's a rare day when a villain's origin will take up the bulk of an issue's pages, given that it's the title character(s) the reader has shelled out money to see. The solution in such cases is to weave those main characters into the origin story being laid out, which still allows the villain to be the focus. It's not every new villain out of the gate who's given that kind of clout.

One of the most striking examples of such a villain was a character who would end up only being a "one-shot" villain, rather than someone who would take a place in Marvel's lineup of memorable major villains and who would stand the test of time. That would be the Over-Mind, who made one heck of an impression on the Watcher, Dr. Doom, and an embattled Fantastic Four, but apparently not enough of one on Marvel to be effectively brought back in his original role. Not exactly what we expected from a villain whose mandate was to "crush the universe."

Yet the Over-Mind's origin issue (and it is exactly that) is something to see, taking place after a two-issue build-up for a villain whose coming merited a warning by the Watcher. (As well as an agitated Agatha Harkness, who, without even knowing the nature of the threat, urged the FF to flee for their lives). One of the last stories to be plotted by Stan Lee, one of the (regrettably) few FF stories to be scripted by Archie Goodwin, and illustrated by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, "The Secret Of The Eternals" sets the stage for a character who would make an impressive mark in FF history, but who now lies forgotten in the Marvel dustbin. It would take greater minds than ours (and even the Over-Mind's) to make sense of that. But try not to hold the Over-Mind's ultimate fate in comics against the story that reveals his reason for being, because it's one of the more inspired and entertaining origin tales for an antagonist that you'll find, past or present.

Things are set in motion with the Watcher's initial warning still worrying the FF, and they decide to make contact with him in order to obtain more definitive answers on the enemy they face. Naturally, even Reed Richards can't just pick up a transmitter and signal the Watcher, so he contacts Agatha Harkness so that she can do so by mystic means:

I'll have to admit to being impressed by Agatha's ever-growing repertoire of abilities that she seems able to supply the FF on request, and buzzing the Watcher's outer space complex ranks right up there. But judging by the Watcher's demeanor, I can't help feeling that he's singularly unimpressed; in fact, if he were less formal, he'd probably be saying something like "Girl, please--I was performing such trifling feats before I even altered the axis of my first planet."

But this is the Over-Mind's show, after all--and Buscema gives us an amazing splash page to begin this issue's startling tale:

Buscema's representation is just awesome, merging both the universal venue of the Watcher with the technology of Reed Richards, to create a symbolic but impressive display of this conference taking place in the virtual backdrop of the universe. The image for me comprises the essence of adventure I always associated with Fantastic Four.

As we see, the story begins with words the FF are already familiar with--the ancient prophecy of the Over-Mind. As the Watcher has already cautioned, the answers that he's about to provide regarding their foe won't make any difference for the FF--but, in the spirit of offering them a chance, he proceeds.

You may notice a certain similarity between Buscema's rendition of the Over-Mind's race (the "Eternals"--no relation to Jack Kirby's creation) and his depiction of the world of Arkon. Both cultures thrive on constant war as a way of life; both are savage, yet they make use of science and technology. But they differ in the scope of their ambition--the people on Arkon's world are content to war with each other and gather the spoils, while the Eternals are bent on conquest of other worlds and the enslavement of their populations, as well as far worse.

But basically, Buscema's renditions of these warlike races are the same, with all of their respective factions on the same page where conflict is concerned.

Again, though, the Eternals are on a level of their own in terms of aggression. And when there is a lull in victims, they turn to each other to keep their instincts sharp and their battle edge intact:

At this point, we can safely assume that Grom will be our future Over-Mind. It only remains to be seen how and why he'll be turned into a living, vengeful weapon for his race. And for that, we'll need the Watcher to introduce another element to our story:

(The guy stands on a planet. Perhaps, again, only symbolically, but it's possible he's really standing on a planet. Just for comparison's sake: when you and I want a better vantage point, we generally have to find a chair to stand on.)

Gigantus, to be clear, more than lives up to its name, if it's not only occupying several galaxies--several galaxies, mind you--but "dwarfing" them. While that incredible description is perhaps a misuse of dramatic license, the planet's size will prove to be an important factor in this story--but also important is that its race is the moral opposite of the Eternals:

If you're thinking that the Eternals would consider Gigantus ripe for conquest, you're right on target (so to speak). In the story, one person on their council (a "Gigantan," I suppose) remarks, "Perhaps there is hope. We have remained undiscovered for so long..." -- and given this planet's reputed size, I have to wonder how that sort of expectation is even remotely realistic. Needless to say, the Eternals had little to no trouble spotting it, and they arrived with guns blazing:

But this time, even the Eternals were daunted, to the point of retreating. Unfortunately, the Eternals have another word for retreat: "revenge."

On Gigantus, there's probably a saying: "Anything you can do, we can do bigger." And so, on the verge of their world's destruction, they proceeded to avenge themselves on the Eternals, and repay them in kind.

Yet, even as their race faced extinction*, the Eternals were making plans to make certain that the universe would pay in full for their humiliation, and that their reputation as conquerors would remain one to be feared. And that would involve a fateful procedure:

*I'm not totally on board with the Eternals facing extinction from this attack. No colonies or outposts on other worlds? No fleets elsewhere? Though it's possible they funneled all their resources into the attempted conquest of Gigantus.

And so the Over-Mind incubates, and the Watcher's tale effectively ends. Yet his final words are chilling ones:

We've already seen what happens next, as Reed Richards is co-opted by the Over-Mind and abandons the FF to join his new master. And with their leader now under the command of their enemy, the conclusion of the issue finds the remaining members of the FF assessing their chances in a nutshell:

Quite an origin issue, resulting in even more build-up for the Over-Mind. As the Watcher makes clear to the FF after he's concluded his briefing, the Over-Mind has already met the team in a skirmish where he tested their powers as well as their ability to challenge him, and concluded that they posed no threat. Yet this issue still leaves us anticipating their confrontation of him in all-out battle, even with their fighting strength (and leadership) compromised. There's no doubt that our appetite has been whetted to read further.

Interestingly, we've learned a great deal about the Eternals, yet only a small portion of information on the Over-Mind himself. If it weren't for the dire misgivings of Agatha and the Watcher, we'd have no reason to believe that this is a threat against which the FF wouldn't inevitably prevail. But as we'd soon learn, only the intervention of another alien prevents the FF from being crushed before the Over-Mind moves on to the universe.

Fantastic Four #115

Script: Archie Goodwin
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: Artie Simek

I don't know how many of you are planning a June wedding--but to get you in the spirit of your pending nuptials, why don't we let take a look at some of the weddings that took place with our Marvel heroes? There's of course the wedding of Reed and Sue, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross, and Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne--but there are plenty of others who decided to tie the knot through the years--and believe it or not, most of their ceremonies came off without a hitch!

(But, just to be on the safe side, you might want to cross Dr. Doom off your guest list.)

First, it took roughly thirty years (our time, of course) for Jean Grey and Scott Summers to finally find their way down the aisle. Assuming Jean doesn't trip over Professor Xavier on her way to the altar:

Seriously, the man doesn't rate a seat with the other guests??

But it looks like someone at least shoved him over in time:

As for the ceremony itself, I laughed, I cried, I was puzzled--has anyone ever seen the minister wrap a sash around the wrists of the bride and groom?

Then there's of course Spider-Man's wedding:

Wait a minute! Of course I didn't really mean Spider-Man's wedding. Very funny. No, it was actually Peter Parker who made it to the church on time (seriously, he was running late) to get hitched to his very lovely bride, Mary Jane Watson:

I don't think Spider-Man's shadow looks very happy. Wouldn't it have been cool if it had depicted Mephisto, instead?

There were also some weddings that no one saw coming:

Whoa, fellas! How long has this been going on? Talk about a whirlwind romance! No, no, just kidding. These two are just being wistful about all the romances with their respective lady loves that never quite worked out:

The wedding these men are really off to is the one between Crystal and Quicksilver. A ceremony which at least made it look like they were in it for the long haul:

I guess now we know that a blessing from Black Bolt isn't necessarily a good luck token. Still, Black Bolt and Medusa had much better luck with their own nuptials:

If you've ever seen Four Weddings And A Funeral, and Rowan Atkinson's hilarious portrayal of "Father Gerald" and his disastrous fumbling of the names of Lydia and Bernard, you're probably very impressed at how the officiator at Black Bolt's wedding flawlessly spit out the full names of the royal bride and groom and their families. My eyes glazed over just from reading them.

Quicksilver's sister, Wanda, had a much "greener" theme to her wedding with the Vision--especially taking into account that it was a double wedding with Mantis and one of the plant-based Cotati. In addition, their officiator, Immortus, apparently prefers much less ostentation than the Inhumans:

A quickie wedding if ever I've seen one.

Finally, a much more grand wedding occurred when the Sub-Mariner finally wed the lady Dorma--and appropriately so, since it appears that a wedding for a prince doubles as a rite of succession. You'll see that Namor's officiator, Proteus, has something in common with his counterpart at Black Bolt's ceremony, in terms of balancing the secular with the recognition of history and state. But it will be something even simpler--clerical, in fact--which will prove to be Namor's salvation when an old enemy uses his wedding to entrap him:

So those of you getting hitched this month, you certainly stand in good company. Just take care that your significant other isn't really someone other than your significant other!

Most of us are used to seeing crossover comics from time to time, where stories continue to other titles published in the same month or even spanning several months. (I'm perhaps being too diplomatic--at times, particularly in crossover "events," it can fell like we're inundated with them!) But there are times when even their covers get into the spirit--and, in addition to plastering the same "event" banner on the covers that are crossing over, their artists will coordinate and produce covers that actually resemble each other. Combined with a little optical illusion, they can give an interesting look to the sales rack for that month, assuming the proprietor of the comics shop remembered to stack them next to each other.

For example, there was that time when the Beyonder turned an entire building in New York to gold, and two Spider-Man titles continued the story between them:

It wasn't a bad little story, focusing on the corruption taking place vis-à-vis the government and the Kingpin, but also the corruption of Spider-Man himself, who out of frustration decided to pocket his piece of the pie. John Byrne, who drew the covers to the issues, decided to take a panoramic approach:

It didn't quite work out when attempting to join the covers together, as some parts would match with their counterparts but not others. E.g., if you lined up the large Spider-Man figures, the smaller ones would shift out of place, with the building itself reacting the same way. But it was still a very cool look--and, placed far enough apart on the sales rack, you'd still get the desired effect, as you can see. (Though if they were on a spinner rack, all bets were off!

Byrne and fellow penciller Kerry Gammill teamed up on covers for the Fantastic Four/Avengers crossover dealing with the Skrulls losing their shape-changing ability:

Byrne, who pencilled both issues, is inked by a different finisher in each--and the scene where the two teams confront each other plays out the same, with each initially believing the other to be Skrulls:

Again, fairly good issues which deal with the Skrull civil war which broke out after Galactus had consumed their throne world. You could only read one, perhaps, to understand what's going on--but each takes a different approach, and the stories don't really "resemble" each other until the two teams meet near the story's climax (note again the differences in styles between inkers Joe Sinnott and Kyle Baker, the latter doing a fair job of finishing over Byrne's breakdowns).

Finally, these covers of both Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man offer no such coordinated effort on their covers, but both stories factor in Spider-Man battling it out with Firelord:

The segment in the Avengers story is rendered by John Buscema and Tom Palmer, and wraps up the fight nicely. In the Spidey book, Ron Frenz and Bob McLeod devote more space to the fight, but essentially close on the same note:

I don't know if Buscema and Frenz gave any thought to coordinating their covers--but the effect could probably have been achieved (as well as providing a cover more true to the actual story) by putting Spider-Man front-and-center, profiled with Firelord while trading punches, rather than giving him a somewhat cameo appearance by having him swinging in behind the Avengers. I don't think the Avengers have any call hogging the limelight here, do you?

It's almost inconceivable to think that a planet's population could react to the coming of Galactus with anything other than panic, despair, and pure terror:

Nor was it difficult to encounter the countless refugees who survived his cold, methodical destruction of their respective worlds:

Which heralds the dreaded arrival of another

Marvel Trivia Question

Was there ever an occasion where a planet rolled out the welcome mat for Galactus?

We'd find the answer as Galactus prepared to destroy "Counter-Earth," a duplicate of our own world created by the High Evolutionary which orbited the far side of our sun. The Fantastic Four were there at the time, exploring an incredible proposal made by Galactus:

As you might imagine, the chances of the FF being successful were slim to none; in fact, if they could have stamped this "Mission: Impossible," they probably would have. Nevertheless, the team explored three such possible worlds which the Evolutionary located in that region of space. One world inexplicably turned out to be a dead one, despite the Evolutionary's equipment identifying it otherwise; another had its environment artificially created by Skrulls. While the third offered the only answer to the FF that any sane population would offer:

That leaves the supposedly "dead" world, which seemed like a *ahem* dead end, didn't it? But, just as Galactus is about to turn his attention to Counter-Earth, he receives a rather unexpected message from that world:

And so the Evolutionary and the FF watch, as the unthinkable happens: not so much Galactus preparing to consume a world's life energy, but that the planet's inhabitatants have actually signed off on it.

But when the deed is done, and Galactus prepares to consume the energy his equipment has extracted from the planet, he's going to wish he had a bottle of Pepto-Bismol at hand, as he finds the planet's energy to be indigestible. And fatally so:

So, what gives? Why this reaction to the planet--and why the offer from its people to consume it in the first place? Well, remember that crack about "Mission: Impossible"? It turns out this planet was the homeworld of someone the FF were already well familiar with:

If you're worried about Galactus--and why wouldn't you be?--the Evolutionary managed to save him for the time being, so that he was able to reform himself back to the planet-eater we all know and flee from.

The cover of Fantastic Four #197 proclaims, "At long last! The return of Reed Richards' super-powers!" At long last, indeed. With over thirty-five issues of "Mr. Fantastic" being a shadow of his former stretching self, the wait has been a long one for readers, who first saw Reed's right arm lose its resilience, followed by that condition--you'll excuse the word--extending to his entire body. And now, with the FF disbanded, Reed encounters a mysterious benefactor who makes him an offer he finds difficult to refuse:

Yes, Reed is also agreeing to the offer because his other three (ex-)teammates are being held hostage to ensure his compliance. But, what's this? The Red Ghost has also returned? We haven't seen him since his encounter with Iron Man. And he's feeling riotous, so that can't be good.

But one thing at a time. First, let's get Reed back to full power!

With the FF's 200th issue just around the corner, it's safe to assume that there's more to our mystery suit-guy than meets the eye--and that Reed's suspicion that the regaining of his powers is part of a greater plan has merit. Even after he launches his specially equipped spacecraft, he can't help mulling it over:

I'll say one thing for the FF's finances--they certainly fluctuate from one end of the spectrum to the other, depending on the requirements of the plot being explored at the time. You can't tell me that a guy who can stock the Baxter Building with state-of-the-art aircraft and other expensive equipment can't pull together the funds for an orbital experiment of this type. Be that as it may, Reed's plan is to use equipment in the craft to recreate the conditions that existed in space when the Fantastic Four was first created:

Did the eagle-eyed among you spot the mysterious red mist now present in the spacecraft with Reed? It looks like he's got company--and just in time for the fateful repeat of history:

Reed passes out from the stress of the re-exposure to the cosmic rays. But there's another on board who's definitely feeling a little more invigorated:

There are other machinations taking place in this issue--specifically, the power behind Reed's liaison, and the one who now has the remaining members of the FF as his ~~helpless prisoners~~ guests:

As we can see, Doom has also captured Alicia Masters, in order to have her sculpt a statue of him which will be as crucial to his ongoing plan as the entire complement of the Fantastic Four. That plan, as you may have guessed, requires a fully powered Reed Richards, which Doom has magnanimously arranged. Of course, complications have developed which even Doom hasn't foreseen:

Wow! It looks like Reed is back full steam and ready to go. On the other hand, the last I knew, the Red Ghost didn't have super-strength, so that studded fist should have decked him decisively; but then, our story would be over, and what we really want is to see more of Reed in action. And so, where you or I would now be unconscious, the Ghost is able to spring to the attack and keep this story going:

We may be seeing Reed make some tactical blunders, but let's keep in mind that he's been effectively out of action for awhile and thus a little rusty. (And certainly a little over-eager.) Let's hope his fighting style comes back to him like riding a bike, because the Ghost is about to demonstrate that he now has a new offensive ability:

Since this issue is obviously meant to showcase Reed back in action, we're not going to be seeing the part of Reed that he would normally bring into play when faced with such an enemy: his scientist's mind, which would have been working to find a way to out-maneuver and neutralize the Ghost. And with his craft now hurtling toward a fiery end, he may have waited too long.

Still, after three years (our time) of not seeing Mr. Fantastic in action, we're not going to mind him relying exclusively on his stretching ability to prevail against the Red Ghost. And he's not through yet:

I can tell you that a "THRAKKO!" would probably be enough to send me to dreamland, but apparently I don't go to the same gym that Ivan Kragoff has a membership to. As we'll see, he not only recovers in time, but remains alert enough to turn the tables on Reed completely:

With the spacecraft now crippled and beyond repair, the Ghost leaves Reed to his fiery fate and departs intangibly through the hull. But, thanks to a hairline crack, Mr. Fantastic isn't out of action yet:

At this point, Doom gives up Reed and the craft for lost, and moves forward with contingency options so that his plan may continue. But not everyone has counted Reed out, least of all Reed himself--and he plans to make Doom regret it.

When we continue with Reed's mission, we'll find out more about Doom's plan, as well as his enigmatic "assistant" and just why the FF are so important to Doom's dealings with both. Though from the looks of it, Reed isn't likely to wait around for a briefing.

Fantastic Four #197

Script: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: Keith Pollard
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: John Costanza

In these issues leading up to the landmark Fantastic Four #200, we started the ball rolling by first seeing Mr. Fantastic spring into action against the Red Ghost after finally regaining his stretching powers. And Reed Richards isn't finished dazzling us with the *ahem* flexibility of his fantastic abilities--because he's learned the identity of the villain who not only bankrolled the procedure which returned him to full fighting trim, but who also abducted his teammates in the FF, for reasons unknown. That's right, Reed's going after his deadliest enemy:

Yes, who else but Dr. Doom--whose metal mouthpiece that's able to gape on command continues to astonish.

Before we begin "Invasion!", though, we should at least reveal the catalyst for Doom's current master plan--the relinquishing of the throne of Latveria, which he's held until now with an iron fist. Yet Doom plans to only follow the letter of the law, rather than its spirit--passing power to a worthy successor whom he can easily influence and control. When Doom finally introduces him, it comes as shocking news to the Fantastic Four, as we finally learn the identity of Doom's "lieutenant":

This seems to be shaping up to be a day for masks falling away, doesn't it? But you haven't seen anything yet--and believe me, that's going to go double for Sue, Ben, and Johnny.

First, an enthusiastic tip of the hat to artist Keith Pollard, who's only been aboard Fantastic Four for a few issues at this point but who demonstrates a feel for and knowledge of the team right out of the starting gate. Credit should also be extended to writer Marv Wolfman, who seems quite enthusiastic about giving the book 100%, but whose style doesn't fit the FF quite as smoothly. By that I mean that there are occasionally bumps in Wolfman's road (though in all fairness, not potholes). For instance, take this scene, where Reed arrives in Latveria and again declares his intention to prevail against Doom:

It's a curious way of putting it, isn't it? Last issue, Reed declared that he would end Doom's threat "forever." Now he's adamant that only one of them will survive this meeting (which we can only take to mean that he's going to see that Doom won't.) But, exactly what are Reed's options when it comes to stopping Doom? What they've always been--exactly three: (1) Stop Doom's plan, but leave in a stalemate; (2) Take Doom into custody after stopping him; or (3) Kill him. Doom is still the sovereign ruler of a foreign country, and we haven't yet seen the likes of Brian Bendis in this book--so options 2 and 3 are off the table, leaving Reed with only option number 1. What's Wolfman playing at, implying otherwise? Unfortunately, he's not through prodding us about it--and you're going to be surprised at just how often we're going to see Reed's conviction on this point pop up.

For now, let's take a cool look at Pollard having some fun with Reed's approach to Doom's castle:

This would be an ideal time for Doom to capture Reed, since he still needs him for whatever fate he's planning for the rest of the FF. Instead, Wolfman introduces us to a new character who finds Reed first--Zorba, the leader of the Latverian underground:

Now that Reed knows a few more details about what Doom is planning, he and Zorba begin to plan a raid on Doom's castle. In the meantime, Doom is busy with his preparations for the coronation ceremony, as well as his preparations for the remaining members of the Fantastic Four:

As we saw last time, Alicia Masters has also been conscripted by Doom, her task being to sculpt the statue of Doom we've been hearing so much about--a statue he means to present to the United Nations assembly when the rule of Latveria passes from himself to his son. It's here that Wolfman gives us a powerful scene, or what should have been: the first time Doom reveals his disfigured face to the FF (three of them, anyway). But it's something of a missed opportunity by Wolfman, one which completely bypasses the drama of the revelation for the team and instead plays it almost casually:

No explanation as to why Doom would reveal something so personal and private in front of his greatest enemies like this, particularly when he's often struggled to bring himself to look at his face. No discussion (or even exclamations) among the FF concerning this new and shocking information on Doom. It's a moment that comes and goes before we know it.

Then, at last, we see what Doom had planned for the full complement of the FF--a transference of their powers to his son, presumably to humiliate his old rival:

Yet, even now, that rival is adding his special talents to the underground, as they make their approach to Doom's castle:

** BING BING BING **

Reed's Veiled Threat count now stands at: 3

Anyway, Pollard is really taking us down memory lane with Reed's tactics. Have we seen the following moves before? If so, where? If you can identify the issue(s), you get a free comic book! (Not really!)

All isn't fun and games, though. Zorba's men are cut off and gassed into unconsciousness, leaving Zorba and Reed to fend for themselves. But they catch a break when Hauptmann, one of the scientists in Doom's service, stumbles into the wrong place at the wrong time. It's also apparently a stumble by Pollard, who it seems didn't realize that Hauptmann was killed by Doom in an earlier FF/Doom encounter. Wolfman here either saves the day with some quick thinking, or simply wanted to bring the character of Hauptmann back for whatever reason:

It turns out that "Hauptmann" is full of surprises where his master is concerned. But it's Reed who finds himself on the receiving end of this one:

And so the issue ends with Reed falling into the clutches of Doom, after all. And if we're to believe the final caption, the villain's plan comes off without a hitch:

IS it really "all over" in just a moment? Or has Wolfman's scripting hit another bump?

We'll find out the answer and much more as this story continues.
(And the dreaded Veiled Threat count rises.)

Fantastic Four #198

Script: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: Keith Pollard
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: Rick Parker

It might be interesting to come across a book which compiled the thoughts of Marvel writers and artists on just how they came up with brand-new villains for our heroes to contend with. Because I can't easily imagine what was involved in pulling together a villain like Sauron--a man-like pteranodon that was such an odd mixture of powers, you'd think his creative team drew them randomly from a hat. "A pteranodon?" you ask. "Why a pteranodon of all things? I can't even spell'pteranodon.'" Now you're beginning to see a little of the confusion involved with Sauron. It's obvious from Sauron's origin in X-Men #60 that writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams took pains to create a believable backstory for this new X-Men villain--but I think that part of that pain was transferred to the reading experience.

Let's take a look at some of the odd pieces which make up our taloned evil-doer. We might as well start with his origin, which is strange enough--a young boy named Karl Lykos rushes into a cave to save a girl, Tanya, from the attack of a group of mutant, mythical pteranodons:

This kid manages to beat them all to a pulp, so you know that whatever you've heard about how dangerous and fierce a pteranodon must have been is just a lot of bunk if they can be whipped by a boy armed with a makeshift club. But Lykos has sustained lacerations on his skin, and so later he begins to manifest the power to drain the life energy from someone just by touching them. Now why do you scoff at that? Naturally that ability would be connected with an attack by a pteranodon. You may be picking up on some of my own skepticism here.

Time passes, and Lykos factors this ability of his into his life--not so much as a need, but more like an addiction. Professionally, he specializes in hypnotic therapy, which of course provides him with a steady number of docile subjects who feel unusually weak when their sessions end.

So. A hypnotist with a childhood history with mutant pteranodons, who now targets patients for their life energy and who, by the way, is bitter at Tanya's father for snubbing him as possible husband material for his daughter. You can almost hear the pressure cooker rattling, can't you. But why stop there? Let's make this man an old colleague of Charles Xavier. And then let's have Scott Summers' insanely powerful brother, Alex, fall into his hands for treatment:

Lykos must be looking forward to quite the meal here. What better time to make this convoluted origin even more so, and make mutant life energy the catalyst for a startling transformation. A transformation into--oh, please, do I have to tell you?

Yes, you guessed it--a pteranodon, of course. And not just any pteranodon--an evil pteranodon. With a fondness for Tolkien.

I don't know about you--but in every installment of the Lord Of The Rings films, almost every mention of Sauron brought to mind a pteranodon with pants. Undoubtedly Marvel's Sauron turned out to be equally memorable for... for... well, loads of you, I'm sure.

Now, I'm looking out at all of you, and you seem a little dazed at trying to assemble all of these elements into a credible super-villain. I'm sorry, but I have one more item about Sauron to throw your way. I've already mentioned that Lykos was a skilled hypnotist, remember? Well, then, doesn't it make sense that, in his Sauron form, he becomes a super-hypnotist?

This ability of Sauron's gives him some control of a person's thoughts--but the main *ahem* focus of Sauron's hypnotic power is his ability to make his subject see even those closest to him as malevolent, nightmarish foes. Which, if you're being attacked by the X-Men, is a pretty good power to have:

Finally, I should also mention that Sauron's continued existence is dependent on finding fresh mutant victims to drain--which is why Sauron is more concerned with his self-preservation, than, say, flying off to Washington to demand the seat of power. So the X-Men can eventually wear him down to the point where he reverts back to Lykos, as long as they keep out of his grip.

Now--without glancing at anything just mentioned here, stop shaking your poor head long enough to describe everything you can recall about a villain named Sauron.

And you can start by spelling "pteranodon."

As uncelebrated a character as he is, you wouldn't think Egghead would have gotten the mileage he has as a villain; but he's been around awhile and gone up against some heavy hitters in Marvel's stable, most notably the Avengers. He's an odd egg, that Egghead. It's anyone's guess how the guy has gotten his hands on the resources to cook up the schemes that he has. For some reason, while I find the character repugnant, I also find him oddly fascinating. I find it equally fascinating that, periodically, it will occur to a Marvel editor or writer that we haven't seen Egghead for awhile, and thus feel he's long overdue to make an appearance again. How does Egghead occur to anyone, I wonder. At some point I feel certain that we'll see him scheming against Asgard, and confounding Thor in the process.

Yet that seems unlikely, since, the last time we saw Egghead, he'd finally met his end, thanks to a timely shot from Hawkeye. But one of Egghead's past schemes is relevant to that story, because Hawkeye had mentioned that he'd had a score to settle with Egghead--and that vendetta was born in an Avengers tale published almost 14 years earlier, and the destruction of a small city in the midwest:

But while this might appear to be a simple story where Egghead has his finger on the trigger of a WMD and must be stopped, the story will also serve to spotlight Hawkeye on a personal level, in his days on the team shortly after he gave up his bow and arrows to become Goliath. And when the story has reached its end--well, if I were Egghead, I'd want to find the nearest hole and scurry into it.

After the midwest disaster, the Avengers catch wind of Egghead's ultimatum on the news. You'd think "Avengers priority" status would rate a government briefing, rather than having to tune in the network news to find out the planet is imperiled, but what do I know. (Perhaps all that was done beforehand.)

Yet, before the Avengers get down to business, their ranks are about to experience a major change when a mainstay character unexpectedly (and inexplicably) switches his identity and abilities:

But the problem with Egghead's hidden space station remains. (The bigger mystery is probably how Egghead has managed to finance, build, and launch a space station in the first place--but again, the man's resourcefulness is a nut we'll probably never crack.) As if on cue, the Avengers receive a rather low-life visitor in the form of Barney Barton, who's come to speak to Hawkeye and claiming to have information on Egghead's space station. But he's going to have to set his sights a bit higher to converse with the former archer:

With nothing else to go on at this point in the story, we can only assume that Barton is looking up Hawkeye because of the bowman's former altercations with the law. The story side-steps that connection here with good reason, as we'll later discover--but perhaps too easily, given that Hawkeye's public profile as a criminal was mainly in association with the Black Widow, and it's not clear why someone of Barton's credentials would look him up.

Regardless, the Avengers find that, in addition to whatever information he has on Egghead's operation, Barton has an odd proposal to throw into the mix:

Barton tells the Avengers of a meeting where Egghead was approaching figures of the underworld in order to obtain financing for the operation, in exchange for being taken aboard the space station when the time came for him to make his play. But Barton scoffed at Egghead being able to pull off such an outlandish plan, and decided to leave. Or try to:

Barton's "next move" led him to the Avengers--ostensibly to help stop Egghead, though the Avengers are dubious. Particularly Goliath, whose low opinion of Barton has been obvious from the beginning of this meeting:

Fortunately, Barton's information on the location of Egghead's station proves legitimate. And soon enough, the team is preparing to board in its own covert and unorthodox fashion:

(Some day we'll have to find out exactly what "sub-space" is in the Marvel universe. Whatever the Vision's impression here, I think we can all agree that this space station is in orbit in just good 'ol regular outer space.)

Still, just because the Avengers board without immediate incident, it doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to be deprived of a battle:

Nor is Barton spouting mere bravado. Instead of heeding the Panther's advice, he's right there in the thick of battle along with the Avengers:

But, what of the mastermind of this operation? It turns out that Egghead has planned ahead for interference from the Avengers, with a device that proves that it pays to have friends in low places. Yet the gambit would pave the way for Barton to have his wish fulfilled, though with fatal results:

And so, in a turn of events no one could have predicted, Barney Barton, low-life racketeer, dies a hero. But, where does Hawkeye's vendetta come into play with Egghead's actions--and how does it all involve Barton? We find out as Barton's dying words hint at a greater connection between himself and the man now known as Goliath:

It's our first introduction to Clint Barton, whose real identity has been kept from the Avengers until now. Clint would become estranged from Barney when, as a protégé of the Swordsman, Clint rejected the life of a criminal which his brother would later choose to embrace. We'll learn the circumstances behind it all, as well as the detailed origin of Hawkeye, the Marksman, when this story concludes.

The Avengers #64

Script: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Gene Colan
Inks: George Klein
Letterer: Sam Rosen

In this third installment of our look at the issues leading up to the two-hundredth issue of Fantastic Four, things are looking pretty bad for the FF. On the other hand, things look great for Doctor Doom, as he initiates the transfer of their powers to the individual he's referring to as his son. And we should give him his moment, since, let's face it, there are few villain moments to match that of Dr. Doom relishing the culmination of an evil plan:

Though we should really clarify that there are several parts to Doom's master plan this time around, and his triumph over the FF represents only the second stage--the first being the restoration of Reed Richards' stretching powers. Still, I doubt any of us are brave enough to stop Doom from relishing when he feels like it--and a victory over the FF is nothing to sneeze at. But Doom's hold on victory may prove to be tenuous, with this issue's cover indicating that even his son will move against him.

And with Father's Day just around the corner, too.

Will this father and son end their line in mutual destruction?

You may recall at the end of the last issue that writer Marv Wolfman had us thinking that this procedure involving the FF and Doom's son was a done deal within a few seconds of flipping the switch. Yet as we continue to turn the pages to this story, it becomes clear that Wolfman is a card-carrying Dramatic License member in good standing, since it looks like we have plenty of time for other diversions while the procedure continues. For instance, Doom is able to take time out to do a little composing:

We also have time to catch up with Zorba, brother to the late King Rudolfo and organizer of the Latverian underground, who had accompanied Reed on his raid of Doom's castle and who's now gathered a large group of angry villagers outside to demand that Doom relinquish his throne in accordance with Latverian law. Doom grudgingly decides to deal with this annoyance, and at first attempts to maintain the pretense of being the benevolent monarch--but as Zorba provokes him, that pretense swiftly dissipates, to be replaced by pure rage:

Yet Doom can't afford to divert his attention now, with his plans coming to fruition. And so he puts on his best diplomatic face once again and stalls for time while he continues to see that all is in place. And man, can this guy lay it on thick:

We see again that Alicia Masters is continuing her work on Doom's statue--a crucial part of Doom's overall plan, though it seems to be merely a product of his vanity. But consider: he abducted Alicia and compelled her cooperation, rather than commissioning her time through professional channels, which might well be normal behavior when it comes to Doom but would otherwise indicate an ulterior motive. But while Doom maintains that he plans to use the statue in an official capacity to coincide with the coronation of the new Latverian ruler, we (like Alicia) sense that Doom hasn't been completely forthcoming about the project:

By the way, did I mention that the transfer procedure between the FF and Doom's son is still going on? Fortunately, it's just about over--though not in the way Doom expects, thanks to Reed's tendency to think ahead when he's about to infiltrate an evil lair:

It's too bad there isn't sufficient space in the issue to allow the FF their own moments of character interaction which are often so rewarding to read. They're certainly due for a few. The team has been effectively disbanded for eight months (our time), and they're finally reunited--and with Mister Fantastic back to fighting form. Also, Ben, Sue, and Johnny had recently seen Reed apparently perish in the flaming re-entry of his spacecraft, and are no doubt grateful to see him alive and well. And so, now free of Doom's deadly trap for them, they've every reason to pause for a few moments to reconnect. Instead, we'll have to settle for a rousing call to rally from Ben, and a long-awaited group action shot:

And since it has been awhile since this team cut loose, let's just sit back and enjoy watching them take a few panels to fight their way to confront Doom:

By the way--with the FF acting like a virtual unstoppable juggernaut and bursting with excess adrenalin, this would be a good time to take a reading on where the count stands on Reed's periodic declarations to end Doom's threat today/this time for sure/forever//no ifs ands or buts/I MEAN IT, I'M NOT KIDDING:

** BING BING BING BING **

Reed's Veiled Threat count now stands at: 4

The Fantastic Four are definitely not in the frame of mind to be stopped (Reed sure isn't)--but, stopped they are, and with a tactic I frankly never expected of Doom:

Victor Von Doom, of all people--hiding behind a female hostage? Doom!? It seems a desperate act completely out of character for him. In addition, what's Sue busy doing--gasping? Why isn't she slapping a quick force field around Alicia? The entire scene happens too abruptly. This is all it takes to shut the FF down? Why should Doom ever fight them again, when he can simply grab anyone within reach to use for cover and force them to stand down?

While the FF are cooling their heels in a dungeon somewhere, Doom is ready to proceed with the coronation of his son. Though judging by the mood of the crowds, those two are likely the only ones ready for it:

Zorba is indeed successful in freeing the FF. Yet when they return to the scene, Zorba makes a shocking announcement, which is followed by an equally shocking transformation that wasn't part of Doom's plan for his successor:

Even captured and held unconscious in a globe, Reed manages to throw a wrench into Doom's plans. What do you get a guy like that for Father's Day?

The entire ceremony has played out before cameras broadcasting it to the United Nations delegates and officials, who now realize that Doom's relinquishment of power was merely a sham, an elaborate deception. I half expected Wolfman to factor in Doom's ability to transfer his mind to another body, so that he would actually take control of the clone at the proper time and thus regain his rule--only this time with his facial features as they were before being so horribly scarred.

There are other aspects to Doom's plan we've yet to see--but Doom must first get some measure of control over this development. However, when the clone violently turns against Doom, it becomes practically impossible to salvage the situation. For the clone is Doom as he was before his accident drove him mad--and these two dual but opposite natures find themselves battling for supremacy.

It doesn't take a psychiatrist to see how deeply the clone's words have struck home during this struggle. But, whatever their impact on Doom, it's clear that they've driven him over the edge. It's one thing to hear Reed Richards or any other foe malign you with stinging words that bore to the very center of who you are--but to hear such words from, in essence, yourself? From the person you've specifically created to be you? It must be like seeing your last chance disintegrate in front of you. Doom has basically heard the truth from the one source that cannot be denied. But it can be extinguished:

And so another part of Doom's master plan falls apart, and not just any part--one that strikes to the core of him. And it's happened within sight of his own subjects, presumably the U.N. delegates, as well as his deadliest enemies. His current state of mind should be obvious--but just in case it isn't, suffice to say that, as Doom struggles to continue what's left of his plan, everyone might want to just keep out of this man's way.

But with Reed's Veiled Threat count on the rise, it doesn't look like the Fantastic Four are going to just walk away this time. And that sets us up for one heck of a confrontation in the next issue:

(I wish that caption had read "Mister Fantastic" instead of "Reed Richards.")

Fantastic Four #199

Script: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: Keith Pollard
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: John Costanza

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

It isn't often you hear a villain start off their career with a declaration like this:

But you'd better take him at least halfway seriously, because the Jester--yes, the Jester, what else were you expecting?--made himself a serious four-issue threat to Daredevil. The case has been made before concerning Daredevil's rather laughable stable of foes in his first one-hundred issues; with the Jester's appearance, it doesn't seem there's any room left for doubt, does there? The Jester makes his debut with the bold caption, "Nobody Laughs at the Jester!" Au contraire, mon amis--it's difficult not to roll your eyes at this clown--er, jester.

And we're not the only ones. Even before our villain made his debut, he was getting laughs as failed actor Jonathan Powers. And not in the good way:

Give Powers credit, he was no quitter. He worked hard afterward to overcome the rejection and to make it as an actor. Unfortunately, it was his subsequent stage appearances which set him on the road to his criminal future:

Get enough pies in the face while being the constant butt of jokes, and you start taking it personally. Eventually, Powers gave up his struggling career on the stage--and a villain was born.

I hate to put it this way, but Powers actually found his calling as a villain. His criminal career pulling heists was running rings around law enforcement, and his methods using toys as tools was not only something of a calling card but also ingenious. Soon, he came to the attention of Richard Raleigh (you remember him, don't you?), who could make use of the Jester in eliminating a rival:

Yes, that Franklin Nelson--"Foggy" to his friends, and to his partner, Matt Murdock. And so it was only a matter of time before the Jester met Daredevil--and proceeded to clean his clock:

In time, Raleigh would meet an untimely death, and the Jester found himself squaring off against Daredevil for no reason. Though one might argue that humiliating a super-hero was reason enough:

The Jester would go on to successfully frame Daredevil for murder--but that plot was eventually revealed, and Powers was carted off to jail, where he's rumored to be putting on special one-man performances for his fellow inmates. Heh heh, I jest, of course. But let's hope we haven't seen the last of the Jester, because let's face it: not everyone can take down Daredevil with a yo-yo.

After about twenty-five issues had passed since the Swordsman's first appearance in the pages of The Avengers--when he became a member of the team under false pretenses, only to see his membership implode due to his alliance with the Mandarin--this once-Avenger finally makes his dramatic reappearance (if you're not counting his shoehorned appearance in the first Avengers annual). But is he still gunning for the Avengers for no good reason?

Indeed, it seems there's little changed in the Swordsman. The man is still slithering his way, if haughtily, through the criminal underworld, though now he's apparently gone into business as an informal sword-for-hire. It's in such a business meeting that we catch up with him--and his prospective employer turns out to be someone we've seen just recently:

Yes, Egghead, who obviously escaped from the space station where Hawkeye's brother, Barney Barton, lost his life. As it happens, that earlier incident and this story have the Swordsman in common, if indirectly. In his original appearance, we'd already seen how the Swordsman's origin coincided with that of Hawkeye--a story which Egghead now recounts, learning this time that Barton was present, as well:

And so Egghead rears his egg-head again to menace the Avengers within just a day or two since his last defeat, this time by proxy. But while the Swordsman may be willing to take his employer's money without needing to know more, there are still a few questions left to untangle. It's obvious that Egghead is still pursuing his obsession with Henry Pym--but why would the Swordsman still carry a grudge against Hawkeye, a grudge that really had no foundation? And why didn't Barton hold the Swordsman accountable for the attempted murder of his brother? Whatever the answers turn out to be, you have to admit the prospect of the Swordsman taking on the Avengers with nothing but a sword, confidence, and a truckload of daring could well be something to see.

Thanks to Goliath (formerly Hawkeye), we can answer one of our questions right now. For while Egghead has been demonstrating his knowledge of the Swordman's tutoring of the future Hawkeye, Goliath has been bringing his teammates up to speed on some additional details of that tale--specifically, the fact that it was the Swordsman's altercation with him that ended up driving a wedge between himself and his brother:

In light of the loss of his brother, and the fact that he wasn't physically present at the moment he was killed, it's understandable for Goliath to assume that Egghead was directly responsible. Yet it's odd for this story not to clarify that Barton was killed as a result of an accident, when he jarred Egghead's paralysis machine which then exploded. (Egghead even tried to warn him off.) That being the case, Barton's death falls under no definition of first- or second-degree murder, or even manslaughter. The story would still work if Goliath was simply focused on bringing Egghead to justice; instead, as we'll see later, it would remain comfortable with Egghead's status as Barton's murderer.

As for the Swordsman, he's going to be making some misassumptions himself, though he's certainly deduced correctly his chances of infiltrating Avengers Mansion right under the noses of its residents:

And so, before you can say "Surprise!":

The story then takes a curious direction, as Goliath bars his own teammates from attacking the Swordsman in order to presumably honor the Swordsman's wish to battle him one-on-one. But, since Goliath has no intention of resuming his role as Hawkeye, the point of who is the more skillful with their weapon is moot--so why this standoff with the other Avengers?

Even more inexplicable is the ease which the Swordsman dispatches the Panther, Yellowjacket, and the Vision in one fell swoop, using the rays from his sword--necessary to isolate Goliath for his more personal conflict with the Swordsman, but a little unrealistic for the Avengers to go charging into enemy fire. With the Wasp seemingly forgotten off-panel somewhere (but at least not on the cover), that leaves only Goliath, who gets much the same treatment:

The Swordsman then departs with the unconscious Goliath, not realizing (or caring) if he has the same "Giant-Man" that Egghead had sent him after. In doing so, he also clears up for us just why he was so intent on crossing weapons with Hawkeye in battle--to prove that, of the two of them, he was still the "master," and Hawkeye merely the upstart. A point of contention, unsurprisingly, only of concern to the Swordsman.

Back at the warehouse where Egghead is holed up, the Swordsman arrives with his prize, and, as far as he's concerned, the terms of their contract have been fulfilled. It will prove to be a more lively point of contention where Goliath is concerned, though giving him a much-needed breather to get back in the game:

Jeez, Egghead has some moves in him. You'd think three Avengers could have done half as well. Thank goodness he would eventually outgrow his incessant Shakespeare-patter, though he'd always have a fondness for pulling a gun:

It's here that Goliath, in his own way, will end up satisfying the Swordman's wish, after all. Once he flicks away the annoying Egghead, he moves to save the Swordsman with some quick thinking and resourcefulness:

We can reasonably assume that Clint Barton's score with Egghead has been settled, though we would later see him more definitively settle accounts with the villain. This two-part story effectively had the Avengers recede into the background for all intents and purposes, while giving Goliath more focus as well as some fairly interesting supplemental material to his character. With his recent shift to a new costumed identity, the timing couldn't have been better to highlight his changed role on the team, while still allowing readers to say something of a farewell to Hawkeye.

The Avengers #65

Script: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Gene Colan
Inks: Sam Grainger
Letterer: Sam Rosen

Duel In The Danger Room!

Claws Of The Vulture!

One Vulture Outfit, To Go, Please

Home Sweet Universe

Mystery! Danger! Suspense! And Yes, Killer Crabs!

Out Of Juice

Villainy Sails The Seas!

Love Amidst The Madness!

Oil, that is. Black Gold. Texas Tea.

A Billion To One

Hearts And Flowers!

Fill My Eyes With That Double Vision

When Burps Galactus!

The Riotous Return of Mr. Fantastic!

Invasion!

The Eyes of Sauron

Death Of A Hero!

The Son of Doom!

Laugh With Me, Not At Me

The Return Of--The Swordsman!