Amazing Spider-Man #90
Title: And death shall come!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Gil Kane
Villain: Doctor Octopus
Regulars: Captain Stacy, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn
This is a landmark issue. It features the death of one of the comic's regular characters, which was something that rarely happened in comics at that time. Maybe a villain died, or even a minor supporting character, but not someone who appeared in every issue.
Spider-Man wakes up while he's falling to his doom. He manages to swing into a window and save himself. He's been weakened by the fight, so he changes back to his secret identity as Peter Parker. Captain Stacy sees him staggering through the streets and helps him home, where he's nursed to recovery by the Captain's daughter, Gwen Stacy. Lucky Peter! When he recovers he hunts down Doctor Octopus again. They fight on the rooftop, knocking brickwork loose. It's about to fall on a small boy, so Captain Stacy rushes to push him out of the way.
Spider-Man carries Captain Stacy away, hoping to find a doctor, but he dies in Spider-man's arms. The onlookers don't understand what's happened and blame Spider-Man for Captain Stacy's death.
Sub-Mariner #31
Title: Attuma Triumphant!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
Villain: Attuma
Regulars: Diane Arliss
Guests: Triton, Sting-Ray, Ben Grimm
Triton visits the Fantastic Four to discuss the recent reports of Sub-Mariner running wild, but the only one at home is Ben Grimm, who's more interested in watching re-runs on television. The show is interrupted for a news bulletin about armed raiders from Atlantis attacking a pleasure ship. Triton heads into action, leaving the Thing to enjoy his television.
When Triton arrives at the pleasure ship, Walter Newell aka Sting-Ray is also investigating. Namor also arrives, because he knows that the attackers aren't from Atlantis. The three mistrust one another and begin to fight. A warship belong to Attuma interrupts the fight and takes them as prisoners.
In the underwater realm, the three heroes unite to defeat Attuma.
Like the last issue, this story is out of sync with the current Fantastic Four comics. It probably takes place before Fantastic Four #102.
Fantastic Four #104
Title: Our world enslaved!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm
Villains: Magneto
Regulars: Crystal
Guests: Dorma, Sub-Mariner
This three-part story has been improving each issue, and the third part is a classic.
On the advice of Reed Richards, Sub-Mariner returns to Magneto and pretends to serve him. The armies of Atlantis overrun the city. Reed Richards invents a device to trap Magneto with his own power, so the Fantastic Four can free Susan Richards and Dorma.
Sub-Mariner returns to the sea, but he's too proud to thank the Fantastic Four for their help.
Thor #182
Title: The Prisoner, the Power and Doctor Doom!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Buscema
Villain: Doctor Doom
Regulars: Odin, Balder, Sif
Thor witnesses a woman called Cosette Lafarge protesting in New York against the tyranny in Latveria. I support everyone's right to protest, but what good does a one-woman protest do in such a distant country? Wouldn't she be better meeting with her governor, or whatever other politician she can approach?
Cosette is injured by a rabble who are offended by her protest. Thor rescues her, and he gives her medical treatment as Dr. Blake. She tells him that her father has been kidnapped from France and is being forced to develop missiles for Doctor Doom. I would have thought a man of his intelligence could have developed missiles without any assistance, but let's overlook that for the moment.
Thor wants to free Cosette's father, but he doesn't think it correct to enter a foreign country. He wants to tempt Doctor Doom to come to America. He announces to the press that he's discovered a new method of cosmetic surgery that can heal any face, however deformed.
The plan backfires. Doctor Doom comes to America, but he kidnaps Dr. Blake and takes him back to Latveria. He removes his kask and Dr. Blake is horrified; he says that no surgery could ever heal a face that's so deformed. Dr. Blake is thrown into a dungeon to await his punishment. He turns into Thor and breaks out. A missile is fired at him.
See! I told you Doctor Doom could build his own missiles!
Captain America #131
Title: Bucky Reborn!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: The Hood (Baron Strucker)
Captain America's stories are getting better every issue.
We met the Hood last issue. He unmasks and reveals that he's really Baron Strucker. He's a character who appeared frequently in the wartime comics of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos and Captain Savage, both of which I consider to be non-canon, but the last time we saw him in Marvel canon was Strange Tales #158, in which he seemingly died.
Baron Strucker wants to defeat Captain America. He thinks that this is best achieved by finding a double for his lost wartime sidekick, Bucky Barnes. Doesn't he know that there's already a double, and his name is Rick Jones? Baron Strucker searches gyms throughout America, until he finds a teenager who looks like Bucky. Better still, the boy has amnesia. Could he possibly be the real Bucky who's miraculously survived all these years? Baron Strucker brainwashes him to believe he's Bucky Barnes, and he announces it to the press.
Captain America goes to the house where "Bucky" is living and walks straight into a trap. Bucky saves him. So he might be the real Bucky after all.
The Incredible Hulk #133
Title: Day of Thunder, Night of Death!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Draxon (dictator)
Regulars: General Ross, Jim Wilson
A few months ago Stan Lee mentioned on the bullpen page that readers have been complaining about Herb Trimpe's artwork. Why? Just look at the beautiful splash page. He also drew the cover of this month's issue. That isn't something obvious. The cover is often drawn by a different artist, usually two or three months in advance. The cover artist isn't always credited, but experts in comic art can usually figure out whose style it is.
General Ross approaches the Hulk alone, on foot, and offers to take Jim Wilson to hospital. After Jim is picked up by a helicopter he tries to talk to the Hulk, but a trigger happy pilot fires at him, and the Hulk flees. He climbs into a box labelled for delivery to the fictional kingdom of Morvania. The only geographical clue given in the story is that it's in the Mediterranean, but Marvel fans assume it's north of Albania. Maybe.
Draxon, the ruthless dictator of Morvania, tries to persuade the Hulk to help him in his dreams of conquest. When the Hulk refuses he tries to kill him. Silly idea! The Hulk escapes and wanders through the beautiful countryside in Morvania.
Iron Man #31
Title: Anything for the cause!
Writer: Allyn Brodsky
Artist: Don Heck
Villain: rioters
Regulars: Kevin O'Brian
Pollution seems to be a major issue in the Marvel comics of the 1970's, beginning in the Sub-Mariner comics and continuing in Iron Man. Stark Industries has built a new factory on the island of Lakani. It's probably not an independent nation, but we can't be sure. There are peaceful protests against the expected pollution, led by Hubert Ffoulkes, a retired British major. Others are less peaceful and try to destroy the factory, threatening a real environmental disaster.
Tony Stark meets an Irish employee in the factory, Kevin O'Brian. Recognising his skills as an inventor, he transfers him to the American headquarters of Stark Industries. He's an interesting character who'll become a regular in future issues, but his exaggerated Irish patois is annoying.
The Avengers #82
Title: When dies a legend!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema
Avengers: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Goliath, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch
Villain: Aries
Guests: Daredevil
Cameos: Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm), Spider-Man, Aunt May
The four Avengers on duty in Avengers Mansion, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and Quicksilver, are knocked out by gas fed in through their ventilation system. Is it really that easy to capture a God? And doesn't Iron Man have air filters in his armour? Roy Thomas didn't think this one through.
Also, the Avengers Vision, Goliath and Scarlet Witch, currently in New Jersey after dealing with Cornelius Van Lunt, complain about being unable to break through the protective dome that Zodiac has placed around Manhattan. Couldn't Vision enter easily by making himself intangible?
Look when the invasion of Manhattan takes place: September 21st! That's my birthday!
Aries wants to hold Manhattan to ransom for one billion dollars. Not 100 billion dollars? Sorry, I'm getting confused with Dr. Evil again.
Daredevil and Black Panther team up to track down the trapped Avengers and free them from Zodiac, of whom we only see the leader Aries in this issue. He has a large army of mercenaries, who were hiding on the ranch of Cornelius Van Lunt.
When the Avengers are freed they quickly defeat the invading army, and Aries flees.
This story is hopelessly out of sync with the recent Thor, Iron Man and Captain America comics. Even the Fantastic Four cameo is difficult to fit in. I couldn't possibly figure it out myself, so I turned to Travis Starnes' Complete Marvel Reading Order for advice. Obviously, he's also had trouble. He's placed the story before Thor #175, Iron Man #24 and Fantastic Four #97, all released in April 1970, but after Captain America #132 (December 1970). That's stretching it. I doubt it's what Stan Lee and Roy Thomas intended. I think they just didn't care. It's difficult for two different authors to coordinate the stories the way they all tidily slotted together when Stan Lee wrote everything himself.
Daredevil #70
Title: The Tribune
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: The Tribune (Buck Ralston)
Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Karen Page
Gary Friedrich is just filling in as writer for this issue. Roy Thomas will be back next month. He doesn't write many super-hero stories. He's filled in for a few issues of The Incredible Hulk, as well as writing the five-page X-Men origin stories, but he's mostly written war stories, westerns and romance comics. He brings a new style to Daredevil. It's a political story that takes place on both sides of the USA. In New York there are protests against the vice president, Spiro Agnew, related to the war in Vietnam. In Los Angeles an elderly movie star is speaking out in favour of patriotism, and anyone who disagrees with him is called a Communist.
I'm not familiar with 1970's American slang. What does it mean when someone says he'll shag 3000 miles east?
Spiro Agnew appears in two panels. Over the last two months there have been repeated pictures of Richard Nixon, so it's good to give the vice president a mention as well.
Hold on, Daredevil! You're not an assistant DA, you're the DA's assistant. There's a big difference!
On the west coast, movie star Buck Ralston becomes a masked vigilante called the Tribune, punishing unpatriotic young Americans who refuse to fight in Vietnam. He punishes them by inflicting the Living Death, whatever that is.
On the east coast, rioters want to blow up the building where Spiro Agnew is speaking. Daredevil prevents the explosion, but he's injured. The police arrest the man who's helping Daredevil because he has long hair. You see how Gary Friedrich is showing the faults on both sides of the arguments? The one side is too radical, the other side is too bigoted.
Amazing Adventures #3
Title: Pawns of the Mandarin
Writer: Jack Kirby
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inhumans: Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton
Villain: Mandarin
The Mandarin is searching for an ancient powerful artefact called the Eye of Yin. It's buried close to the Great Refuge of the Inhumans. He goes to the spot to start digging, but they attack and overpower him. However, it was just a ruse, and he let himself be defeated. He wants to make them curious about the buried treasure and do the digging for him.
Black Bolt is intrigued to see what is hidden below the Earth. They dig, and they find a statue in an underground cave.
Title: The Widow and the Militants!
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: gangsters
Regulars: Paul Hamilton
Guests: J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker
The Black Widow is now officially a villain, because J. Jonah Jameson says so!
It's another story from Gary Friedrich about political rebellion. That must be a topic close to his heart.
The Puerto Rican youths are demanding their rights under the United States Constitution!
The Black Widow changes clothes on the back seat of her limo. Her chauffeur Ivan is told not to look. I'm sure he did. No man could possibly resist taking a peek at Natasha in the nude.
The Italian mob doesn't like the political unrest. They want their candidate to be elected without young people interfering. The leader calls himself the Don.
Contrary to what people might expect from me, I love male chauvinists. They can rant on about the superiority of men over women all they want. Why?
Because their chauvinism makes it all the more enjoyable when this happens. A sharp kick to the balls would have been even more effective, but that wouldn't have been allowed by the Comics Code Authority.
The New York mayor speaking on the television isn't named, but he's easily recognisable as John Lindsay, who was the mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973.
Look at this great news. Marvel has abandoned its single issue story policy that it began in September 1969. It wasn't adhered to strictly, but there were cases where stories had obviously been shortened, and the quality suffered. All Marvel needs to do is have a short recap of what happened last issue.
Other comics published this month:
Mad About Millie #16 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
My Love #8 (Stan Lee, Gene Colan)
Rawhide Kid #81 (Larry Lieber, Larry Lieber)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #81 (Al Kurzrok, Dick Ayers)
Tower of Shadows #8 (Wally Wood, Wally Wood)
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