Captain America and the Falcon #135
Title: More Monster Than Man!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Giant Gorilla (Dr. Erik Gorbo)
Regulars: Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Sharon Carter
Captain America introduces the Falcon to Nick Fury. To test his powers he's instructed to knock Dum Dum Dugan off his feet within 60 seconds, which he barely manages.
A SHIELD scientist called Dr. Erik Gorbo has invented a serum that transforms his body into that of a giant gorilla. He also gains the power to control animals. After going on a crime spree, Captain and the Falcon track him down. Captain America and the ape collapse into a large hole in the ground.
Amazing Spider-Man #94
Title: On Wings of Death
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita
Villain: Beetle
Regulars: Aunt May, Anna Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant
After Gwen Stacy leaves to live in England, Peter Parker walks around the city brooding. He remembers how he first became Spider-Man. He bumps into Betty Brant, which reminds him that she was his first love.
It's easy to name the villains in this picture. As for adding another five villains, it's not so easy. I came up with three names immediately, but I had to sit for a few minutes until I remembered another two. Try it yourself. If you're a big Spider-Man fan, you should be able to remember five other villains, but how fast are you? I didn't time myself, but it must have been close to five minutes.
The Beetle takes Aunt May as a hostage while committing a robbery. Spider-Man defeats the Beetle and rescues her, but he's shocked to see that she fears Spider-Man just as much as the Beetle.
Spider-Man battled the Beetle once before in Amazing Spider-Man #21, but we've seen him more recently in other comics, for instance in Daredevil #34.
Fantastic Four #108
Title: The Monstrous Mystery of the Nega-Man!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm
Villain: Janus/Nega-Man, Annihilus
This story is a curiosity. It should have appeared in Fantastic Four #102, but Stan Lee rejected it because he wasn't happy with Jack Kirby's artwork. That should have been the end of it. The inadequate artwork should have been thrown in the trash and forgotten forever. Instead of that, Stan Lee decided to have the story partly redrawn by John Buscema and John Romita, with slight rewriting by himself. Maybe this was to cash in on Jack Kirby's new popularity at DC?
Even in its adapted form, the story is a mess. We find out that the Fantastic Four have previously battled Janus, when he called himself the Nega-Man. A flashback to an untold story is a poor plot device.
Reed Richards wants to fetch Janus back from the Negative Zone, but before he can do this, he sees Annihilus approaching the door to the Baxter Building.
Thor #186
Title: In the Grip of Infinity!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Buscema
Villain: Infinity, Hela
Regulars: Odin, Sif, Balder, Heimdall, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg
Odin briefly interrupts his battle with Infinity to protect Donald Blake from the Guardian's attack until his hammer returns. This gives him the chance to become Thor again.
Thor battles and defeats the Guardian, but every time the Guardian collapses, Infinity revives him to fight again.
In Asgard, the entranced Warriors Three attempt to pull the Odinsword from its scabbard and have to be restrained by other Asgardian warriors.
Thor blocks the Guardian from Infinity's power, and goes to assist his father. He wants to attack the Silent One, but Odin forbids it.
The Silent One leaves, beckoning Thor to follow him. He guides Thor into Hela's realm. We last saw Hela in Thor #154, and it was never clear whether she's evil or not. It would be more accurate to say that as the Goddess of Death she's above good and evil. She tells Thor that he has to die, but Thor refuses. Hela casts a spell, making Thor rapidly age. The Silent One takes pity on him and touches him, reversing the spell and killing himself in the process.
Thor flies to assist his father once more, but when he arrives he finds that Odin is possessed and wants to kill him.
The splash page say that this is possibly the greatest saga in the Marvel age. I don't know whether that's true, but it's definitely the best story this month, and one of Stan Lee's best sagas. It's amazing how much happens within 19 pages. You have to read it twice to take it all in. Or more often. I'll probably read it again soon.
The Avengers #86
Title: Brain-Child to the Dark Tower came!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
Avengers: Goliath, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Black Panther, Iron Man
Squadron Supreme: Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, Hyperion, Whizzer, Lady Lark (flashback), Hawkeye (flashback), Tom Thumb (flashback), American Eagle (flashback)
Villain: Brain-Child (Arnold Sutton)
This is the conclusion of the two-part meeting between the Avengers and the Justice League of America. Oops! I meant the Squadron Supreme.
Nighthawk brings the four Avengers to the location where Doctor Spectrum is about to launch a rocket that will orbit the Sun. He's the last one to get out of the plane. Maybe his cape got stuck in the door? Whatever the reason, it gives the Avengers a few minutes for a fight with Doctor Spectrum, Hyperion and Whizzer, before Nighthawk finally arrives and tells them to break it up.
Vision questions how a rocket orbiting the Sun could cause such damage. Doctor Spectrum says that the rocket was designed by Arnold Sutton, a 10-year-scientist nicknamed Brain-Child. The Avengers and the Squadron Supreme fly to his island headquarters, and he admits that the rocket is made out of a special metal which will trigger a super-nova effect in the Sun.
The eight heroes fight against Brain-Child, but only Goliath is able to defeat him, using a makeshift arrow.
Doctor Spectrum transforms Brain-Child into a normal boy, and the Avengers are transported back to their own world by Thor's hammer... not a moment too soon.
The Incredible Hulk #137
Title: The Stars, Mine Enemy!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Xeron, Klaatu, Abomination
I've been enjoying Herb Trimpe's artwork for months, but his drawing in this issue is outstanding, even for him.
Xeron breaks up the fight between the Hulk and the Abomination. He knocks the Hulk unconscious with something that looks like a cattle prod. The Hulk is persuaded to become an oarsman on the starship, since there is nowhere for him to escape to.
After a few days, maybe weeks, the Abomination sneaks up on the Hulk and throws him overboard. He's brought back on board, and he's taken to meet the ship's captain, Cybor. He explains that he's been determined to capture Klaatu ever since Klaatu injured him and forced him to become a cyborg being.
Soon after this, Klaatu leaves the Earth and flies into space. Cybor ensnares him with a harpoon, but he's pulled onto his back, and the two of them plunge into the Sun where they die. Seemingly. The Abomination and the Hulk fall off the ship, locked in battle with one another. They both fall to the Earth.
This story is so Moby-Dick-ish that Roy Thomas could be charged with plagiarism.
Sub-Mariner #35
Title: Titans Three!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
Villain: soldiers
Regulars: Dorma
Guests: Hulk, Silver Surfer, Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Goliath, Captain America, Black Panther, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch)
Sub-Mariner, Hulk and Silver Surfer fly to the Caribbean island where the weather manipulating device is about to begin operation. The United Nations soldiers are unable to stop them, so the Avengers are summoned. Only three of the Avengers are available: Thor, Iron Man and Goliath.
Namor wants to discuss with the Avengers, but the Hulk doesn't like to talk. He attacks them first.
While the fight is continuing, the Atlantean scientist Iktheon proves to the onlooking soldiers that the weather control device is dangerous. The battle is halted, and the device will not be used.
Stan Lee offers a word to the wise, that nobody should waste time trying to correlate this tale with the current Avengers issue. I don't consider myself wise, so I looked into it anyway. Captain America hasn't been a regular member of the Avengers for almost a year, but he's been appearing so often that it's not a problem to see him at a meeting. This story takes place soon after this month's Avengers issue. It's that easy to explain. The only problem is the correlation with the Hulk's solo comic, which I discussed last month.
Daredevil #74
Title: In the Country of the Blind!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Smasher (gang leader)
Regulars: Foggy Nelson
Foggy Nelson visits Matt Murdock and complains that he's gone blind. As they leave together, it's discovered that a large number of people in New York have lost their eyesight. A doctor tells Foggy that it's psychological, the result of stress, but it's obvious to Matt that something serious is happening for it to affect so many people at once.
Within 24 hours, all the inhabitants of New York City are blind. A gang led by a man called Smasher is robbing jewellery stores and similar establishments. They have used a chemical to cause temporary blindness. Daredevil defeats the gang. Within two days everybody can see again.
This is the first issue of Daredevil plotted and written by Gerry Conway. It's a fast-moving action story, but it has no emotional depth. Very little thought has been put into the story. What about all the other heroes in the city? They should have been involved as well. The story is a flop.
Iron Man #35
Note: I included the review of this issue in my February 1971 post because of discrepancies in the release months of a crossover story.
Amazing Adventures #5
Title: His Brother's Keeper!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Neal Adams
Inhumans: Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton
Villain: Maximus
Black Bolt flies from the Great Refuge to a place called only "The City". It's obviously an American city, but it's not obvious which city it is. Maybe it's not named because it's not relevant to the story. My assumption is that it's not New York City, because that's a city that would have been named. Maybe I'm wrong.
He leaves behind his brother Maximus in a sealed casket. Gorgon and Karnak fear that Black Bolt has broken his oath never to kill another Inhuman, so they sneak to the casket at night to break it open and take a look. After all, Maximus is one of the few Inhumans who has no powers, so it can do no harm. Unknown to them, Maximus' latent Inhuman power has finally revealed itself, so Black Bolt has sealed him in a casket to prevent him using it. Couldn't Black Bolt have told them? Maximus now has the power to block the memories of anyone anywhere on Earth. As soon as the casket is unsealed, he removes Black Bolt's memory.
Black Bolt has just rescued a young boy from a gang. He collapses when Maximus attacks him from afar. When he stands up he has no idea who he is, and he's in danger of speaking.
Title: And to all a good night
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Astrologer
Regulars: Ivan
The Black Widow's chauffeur Ivan rescues a teenager who's about to leap from a bridge.
Back at her apartment, the teenager tells his story. He was a penniless young man who moved to New York City from Utah. He joined a gang of teenagers who were led by someone called the Astrologer. They felt like idealists. They stole from the rich to give to the poor... themselves.
One day the Astrologer said they would steal the city's blood supply and sell it back to the hospitals. The teenager felt this was immoral and didn't want to take part in the theft, but he wasn't willing to tell the police about his friends, so he decided to take his own life as an alternative.
The Astrologer's gang comes to the Black Widow's apartment to collect the boy. She is successful in fighting them off, but the teenager jumps off the roof, so that she doesn't have to protect him any more.
Ka-Zar #3
Title: In the Den of the Dazzler!
Writer: Jerry Siegel
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: The Dazzler
Regulars: Agent Duncan, Candy Southern
The main stories in this issue are once more reprints, but there's a backup story featuring the Angel, continued from the last issue.
The Dazzler remotely kills his men who were captured by the Angel last issue to stop them talking.
The Dazzler teleports Warren Worthington III to his lair, not knowing that he's the Angel. He puts on his costume and escapes from his prison and faces the Dazzler and his men. He ceases to fight when he sees that Candy Southern is being held prisoner. The Dazzler prepares to unmask him.
Here's a very special message from Stan Lee on this month's Bullpen Bulletin page. It highlights his views on racism and intolerance. Read it first, then read my comments on it, then read it again.
Many of you might read this text and say, "So what? We already knew that Stan Lee is tolerant". However, try to remember the context of his words. He's not talking about sharing his creations with just anyone, he's talking about sharing them with Japan. The year was 1971, less than 30 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan was the last country to have attacked America, and it was still fresh in American enemies. Stan Lee open-heartedly embraces the Japanese, the race that the Americans had the most reason to hate. He rises up above bigotry and hatred.
"Long may we dwell here together!"
Other comics published this month:
My Love #10 (Stan Lee, John Buscema)
Rawhide Kid #85 (Larry Lieber, Larry Lieber)
Creatures on the Loose #10 (Roy Thomas, Bernie Wrightson)
Note that the comic previously called Tomb Of Shadows has been renamed Creatures On The Loose. It's still a mix of new and reprinted anthology stories.
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