Time Doesn't Wait for Me... Marvel Team-Up 9

Marvel Team-Up #9 (May 1973)

"The Tomorrow War"

Writer: Gerry Conway

Pencils: Ross Andru

Inker: Frank Bolle

Karen: It's Team-Up time! You know we love the team-ups around here, and we love Spidey. So we're going to dive into a three-part MTU story  and then add on a couple of Amazing Spider-Mans to round things out. I hope you're up for some web-slinging goodness!

Doug:  Before we get to the nitty gritty, how about that cover?  According to the Grand Comics Database, it's by Jazzy Johnny Romita (I would have guessed that) with inks by Joe Sinnott (I wasn't sure there).  Talk about two iconic poses!  I have no idea who would have written the cover's text, but it would certainly rank among the wordiest jobs of the Bronze Age!

Karen: It's a sharp cover. Romita can do no wrong in my book.

Doug:  I want to add a NOTE here at the top of today's post.  As you read through, you are going to notice several hyperlinks throughout the text.  We thought it would be fun to create sort of a "jumping on" post for new readers, so where appropriate (or where our memories were actually working!), we set it up so you could track through a little BAB history.  Have fun with it! 

Karen: I may as well also mention here that all of the artwork for these MTU reviews will be coming from the Marvel Masterworks volume 1 version, which is why they are a) so brilliantly colored, and b) at times, slightly distorted around the edges (trying not to break the spine of the book as I scan!). With that out of the way, let's get on to our story.

Karen: Unfortunately our webhead is not feeling too friendly when we start our tale. I have to say this is about the crankiest interpretation of Peter Parker I've ever seen. I know Gerry Conway has said that it took him a while to get a handle on Spidey, and it feels like it here. The tale actually opens with our guest star, Iron Man. We see what appears to be an earthquake shaking up NYC, specifically, Avengers Mansion! A police officer at the scene decides that the Avengers must know what's going on and heads towards the mansion -inexplicably, with his gun drawn! It becomes clear from his dialogue that he's not too fond of these "costumed vigilantes," as he puts it. As he gets closer, he's stunned to see the mansion suddenly disappear and then reappear! He starts ranting about what he's seen, wondering what sort of game the Avengers are playing, when a voice from over head chimes in. The startled officer looks up and then says, "So it's you." I thought that was kind of odd. He still has his gun out too. The target of his scorn is Iron Man. The golden avenger lands near him and reminds him that they're on the same team. The officer starts yelling at him about what's going on, but IM sort of steam rolls past him towards the Mansion, until he slams into an invisible force barrier. It knocks him on his can (so to speak) but that just makes him more determined to break through.

Doug:  Marvel sure milked the "distrusting cop" thing, didn't they?  If Marvel Time was real time, super-heroes would have been around for over 40 years by the time of this adventure; certainly the Marvel Universe as we know it would have been over a decade old.  So that there were still folks who didn't appreciate having had their bacon saved a bazillion times seemed odd; you'd think bailing the Earth out of the Galactus situation would have been enough to win people over.  And you're right about the cop having drawn his gun.  Really?  Because that's going to help solve the mystery of an earthquake?

Karen: Now we finally get to the star of our mag. Peter Parker has apparently just arrived home at the apartment he shares with his pal Harry Osborn (a caption tells us this story takes place before ASM 119 and 120 -that would be Spidey's swingin' adventure with the Hulk). He flips on the TV and sees the whole situation with Iron Man on the tube, but he's in a foul mood. "You could probably use some help, but right now I've had it with the compadre bit. I've got enough troubles of my own without getting involved with every world-shaking threat to come down the pike!" He thinks to himself that the Fantastic Four can help out -he's tired and just wants a bath. But then, who should appear but the ever-charming Harry, who swings open his bedroom door and yells at Pete for playing the TV too loudly. He tells him he's had it with his attitude and  "if you can't have respect for your room-mate's wishes -then get out!" This ticks Peter off so much that he decides to get out -and we all know where he's going!

Doug:  I also appreciated Roy Thomas' inclusion of the box that alerted us to this story taking place before Spidey's trip to Canada in ASM #'s 119-120.  Looking at Harry's and Peter's dispositions, and not looking at cover dates for any other mags, I'd have placed this one after the events of ASM #'s 121-122, with Harry all strung out and/or despondent over his father's death, and Peter likewise after Gwen's murder.  It's funny -- Peter's thought that he saw Iron Man's trouble and made a decision right then to not help him out was a definite example of superdickery.  I'd also comment that herein also lies part of the charm of these early Marvel Team-Ups:  the creators could have done a story where Daredevil was the one who happened by, or perhaps Luke Cage would have seen the same story and responded in hopes of getting a paycheck from the Avengers.  Personally, I liked the first few years of this mag when it might be Spidey, the Torch, or even the Hulk as the lead in that month's team-up.  That Spider-Man eventually became the sole lead was fine, but there was some lost potential along the way as well.

Karen: Agreed- it might have been fun to see more variety in the team ups, although it might not have sold as well without Spidey. We cut back to Shellhead trying to blast his way through the force field surrounding Avengers Mansion. He's not having any luck. Spidey shows up and makes the usual quips, but Iron Man's in a bad mood too, and tells the web-head that he doesn't need his help. Did everyone get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning or what? The two of them start to argue when IM notices a hole forming in the barrier. Spidey, behaving rather impetuously, jumps through the opening, followed by Iron Man. They immediately find themselves in trouble, as they fall through a strange limbo realm of green strands. They land on some sort of large platform, a little worse for wear. Iron Man tries to get an energy reading, while Spider-Man looks above and spots a battle between some flying craft. After one of the crafts is damaged, Shellhead jets off to investigate but is quickly captured in an energy snare by the remaining ship. Iron Man tells Spidey to escape but Spidey says it's pointless, and besides, "I'm not in the habit of running out on people, even armor covered jerks like you." Boy, Spidey is just in a foul mood! Web-head gets ready for a fight as the ship lands in front of him, but a voice from the vehicle claims to be a friend, not a foe. He claims he immobilized Iron Man to stop him from attacking his ship. The door of the ship opens and a bald head pops out. It's not Lex Luthor but Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man. Huh? Yes, an extremely obscure Thor villain.

Doug:  For one of the smartest guys in the Marvel Universe, Tony Stark came off as a lunkhead.  Brute force against the force field?  Repulsor rays that could ricochet into the crowd of police and onlookers?  Hello, dude!  How about a little analysis?  Which ironically is what he does right after our heroes land after going through the portal; which, by the way, I wholeheartedly agree was a dumb move.  On the one hand, yes -- it appeared to be the only way to get inside.  But on the other, with no knowledge of who created the forcefield or what its actual properties were, jumping right on through was just dumb.  And these were two science guys...  No one had a conscience about the possibilities for disaster?

Karen: Spider-Man seems especially impulsive here, but I guess you gotta get the story moving somehow!

Doug:  Limbo is a very odd place, isn't it?  How do you prefer its depiction?  Like the rainbow-timestream we discussed in the Legion reviews a few weeks back, or as here in some strange Ditkoesque scape of some sort?  Personally, the dungeon-like labyrinth that we saw during the Celestial Madonna saga was OK by me.   Anyway, once our featured do-gooders got to superheroing, their moods seemed to improve.  I thought it was funny, in regard to our recent review of Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 and Spider-Man taking a powder when it looked like Thanos held all the cards, that in this tale he is not leaving (he can't, really) but instead fights like a tiger.  Interesting dichotomy -- certainly either episode gives the reader a little leeway in the perception of Peter's character, given the circumstances of the time.

Doug:  As Ross Andru was the artist on the Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man treasury, Zarrko certainly did give off a Lex Luthor vibe, didn't he?  Although I think Bronze Age Lex was a bit more fit than our Tomorrow Man... 

Karen: Zarkko brings Spidey and Iron Man aboard his ship and explains to them why he has brought them to this place. Zarrko is from the 23rd century, a time when weapons have been outlawed, which made his people very vulnerable when they were invaded by forces from even further in the future. Only our buddy Z, because of his previous experiences in our time period, had the ability to fight back. But even so, the invaders established a citadel in his New York of the 23rd century (which is shown as a mix of 20th century buildings, and oddly, flat brown blocks), and what's worse, they've kidnapped the Avengers! Zarrko was trying to bring them to his time to help him and the invaders intercepted them. Now they are trapped in the citadel, which is heavily guarded. It's too much for Zarrko's people -but not too much for Spidey and Iron Man. With nothing more than this flimsy story to go on, our heroes dive out of Z's ship and take on the guards. Iron Man bashes the ground troops while Spidey swings to the top of the fortress and handles the riflemen.They still have to get through a massive door. Shellhead uses a laser in his glove to burn around the edge of the door while Spidey braces it with his webbing. IM questions whether the webbing is up to the task, and Spidey tells him unless he has a tractor, nothing will move it. Iron Man then kicks on the door, which tears through the webbing, and the whole thing comes crashing down. This leads to another mean-spirited remark from our web-slinger: "Okay pal -you're a tough dude. Big deal. Everyone's on an ego trip." 

Doug:  One has to wonder if the God of Thunder had sat down to enter his adventures against Zarrko in the Avengers bad guy databases.  Iron Man and Spidey do seem pretty gullible here.  Although the straits were pretty dire -- most folks don't just encounter inter-dimensional attacks and time travel every day.  Are we to believe Zarrko, that he could fight tech from his future with weaponry from our present?  Is that how his story reads?  I thought the scene with the big door was pretty interesting in that it showed how strong Spider-Man's webbing was, and then how much stronger Iron Man is.  I'm sure it was a blow to Peter's ego, but hey -- two things:  he did invent the webbing, no matter how great it is, as a teenager (what could AIM, or Stark International, or Wakandan technology have done to augment it?), and Iron Man does have the best tech gear in the Marvel Universe this side of Doctor Doom.  I think this depiction of Iron Man and his personality is pretty typical of how I saw him in the Bronze Age, outside of his own magazine -- superdickery, indeed.  But you know why we love this stuff?  It's a Marvel comic, with people who have a bad day, which influences not only their actions but other people as well.  DC was way behind on this as consistent characterization for their heroes.

Karen: Once through the door, our grumbling duo encounters troops on flying rocket sleds, who start firing on them. Spidey decides to try something he says he hasn't done in a long time and begins firing webs around -he's spinning an enormous web! Sure enough, the sleds slam into it and are out of commission. Spidey cracks wise and Iron Man jumps on him, basically telling him his smart-aleck routine isn't fooling him, he knows that he's just as nervous as he is, concerned over the captured Avengers. Gee, these two are about as much fun as a toothache. Just as Iron Man starts to jet off, he's slammed hard in the midriff by a huge metal fist! Then an incredibly goofy-looking robot appears, blathering on about how the Master commands they will not proceed. Shellhead utters the obligatory, "My heart...!" and collapses, with various mechanical doohickeys falling out of his armor. The giant robot sees this and then becomes really upset, perceiving that IM is not a machine but a living being -"This is sacrilege. You are a ...cyborg." Spidey jumps to IM's side to try to help but the bot swipes him away. He clambers up the wall and sprays the robot's eye with webbing, then somehow knocks him out by punching him in the back of the neck. I'm not sure exactly what happened there - did he find the off switch? Spidey helps Iron Man up; he's "re-wired" himself, so apparently he's on the mend. They start heading for what they presume is the inner chamber of the citadel.

Doug:  Where have we seen this degree of animosity between heroes before?  Ben and Johnny?  I'm thinking not, because as much as they get under each other's skin, at the end of the day there is still that bond of "big brother-little brother" between them.  As I read on, this was becoming sort of uncharted territory.  But as I said above, it was OK -- out of the ordinary, but it didn't feel all that bad.

Karen: It's just so weird because they really have no reason to be so ticked off at each other! Typically there's some sort of misunderstanding that leads to the heroes fighting each other, and then working together, but here, it's just like, "Hey jerk, I'm gonna help ya whether ya like it or not!"

Doug:  The scene with the giant robot was indeed odd.  It was almost like some Silver Age mag with a giant monster or robot thrown in for visual effect.  The "personality" of this creature was grating, even in the few panels to which we were exposed to it, and its defeat seemed simplistic.  I wrote it off to Spider-Man finding a weak spot in the joint between shoulder and neck -- but yeah, given Spider-Man's strength compared to the scale of the robot it did seem like a quick fix that worked.  And the heart thing with Tony Stark...  How in the world did he "re-wire" himself?  Wasn't he remarking that the batteries in his chest (?) were shattered, and he needed to "reconnect"?  I assumed he was looking for some sort of power source, but I don't know that he found anything.  Nor do I believe that he'd have been equipped to draw on any 23rd Century power source.  Oh, well. 

Karen: While our heroes fight outside the citadel, old baldy -Zarrko -lands his ship and makes his way inside. He says something about how their presence has lowered the time storm level, which will allow him to control the temporal energies. Then he gives an exultant cry about 'controlling all.' What exactly he means is unclear, but from the way he says it you know it can't be anything good. 

Doug:  Not only could Zarrko have been a super-baddie on the 1966 Batman show, but his gauge looks to have been a prop on that very program!

Karen: Back in the inner chamber of the citadel, Spidey and Iron Man get through the final airlock and see before them the Avengers, all trapped inside what looks like glass rectangles. This reminded me of the Collector's set up on the cover of Avengers #119, or Avengers Annual #7, when Thanos had Earth's Mightiest imprisoned in stasis beams. What's really amusing here is it looks like Jarvis trapped is with them! Iron Man freaks out upon seeing them, and Spidey points out a figure at the far end of the room, saying he must be the one responsible for it all. A shocked Shellhead says, "Don't you realize who that is?" And around turns -Kang! He says a little spiel about how fearsome he is and then zaps both heroes, seemingly into unconsciousness. While Kang gloats over them, Zarrko sneaks up behind him and announces that "thanks to these credulous imbeciles" he will now use Kang's power to attack 1973! Good going, heroes! Spidey, not unconscious but paralyzed, hears this and realizes that they "blew it" -but quickly wonders: what can they do now?

Doug:  I also noticed Jarvis hanging there!  And hey -- what about Cap's mask?  Looks like Reb Brown...  I have to say, I'm reading for this 3-parter from Essential Marvel Team-Up volume 1, and in the B&W reproductions you can really tell where shortcuts were sometimes taken by the artists.  Color covers up quite a bit of "sketchiness".  What did you think of the way Ross Andru drew Kang?  I sort of liked it -- again, not having the coloring it looked good.  Kang seemed a little leaner, maybe a little cat-quick.  In multi-part team-up stories, knowing new heroes will be added to the mix each month, I always have a sense of anticipation for how they'll be worked into the story in a seamless manner.

Karen: This one was a real mixed bag. The art was not bad, although I've never been a big Ross Andru fan -and who is Frank Bolle? I don't think I've ever heard of him before. But I didn't feel Conway had Spidey's voice here, or if he did, he had a very grumpy, unpleasant Spidey/Peter. I looked over at the Amazing Spider-Man issues around the same time period and he didn't seem to write Peter so belligerent. I guess we'll just chalk it up to experimentation or a bad week or something. But the feeling I got reading it was that both Spidey and Iron Man would have easily won our 'jerks' post the other week! The plot is a bit weak -really, both Spidey and Iron Man just take Zarrko's word for what's going on? But let's see where things go next time.

Doug:  I will agree with you on all of your summary points.  Although I have a soft spot in my heart for Ross Andru's Spider-Man (he was "the guy" when I began reading ASM), I've never felt he was all the way to my liking.  He seems more of the style of a Ditko or Kane, while I prefer John Romita's Spider-Man.  Andru can also be questionable when working on other characters -- he did a really short run on the Fantastic Four and I didn't care for it.  But if nothing else, this was familiar.  I did think Andru channeled Gene Colan a time or two in some of the Iron Man panels.  And concerning Frank Bolle -- I also had no real knowledge of the man's career, so here's one more chance for you to go "off-campus" and check out this chronological list of his career, which began in the Golden Age!
 

Who's the Best... Inker on John Buscema?

Doug:  Given my love affair with the artwork of Big John Buscema, and given our love-in over his work on Avengers #56 just yesterday, and also given that in September I intend to showcase his first two issues on the monthly Conan the Barbarian, I thought it would be fun if we discussed the many men (and women?  I don't know, other than his grandaughter, Stephanie) who've put brush over his pencils.  Who did you think was a great match, who wasn't, what were some memorable jobs, and so forth.  I know this one should be lively, weekend aside.  Just in preview of those Conan reviews next month, issue #25 is inked by Sal Buscema and John Severin, and #26 by Ernie Chan.  The two books side-by-side could not look more different...

Doug:  For those of you curious or without that trained eye, the Avengers cover was inked by Tom Palmer, the Thor page by Tony DeZuniga, and the King Conan splash by Ernie Chan.

Doug's Favorites: Avengers 56

Avengers #56 (September 1968)
"Death Be Not Proud"
Roy Thomas-John Buscema/George Klein

Doug:  A couple of weeks ago Karen queried why we hadn't done a "Favorites" post in quite some time.  No good answer, then or now.  So hey -- let's do one!  Today's review is of a comic that was among my first few Avengers -- the copy I originally had was without a back cover and was a little dinged up throughout.  However, its significance was immeasurable -- this was my introduction to the Silver Age art of John Buscema, who would have been seen by me in Avengers #152 and the Fantastic Four (during the Galactus/High Evolutionary arc) at approximately the same time as my acquisition of this book.  I'm not sure where I got it, and have since replaced the beat-up copy (today's cover image is a scan of the cover of my copy).  I feel this is a really strong done-in-one (OK, admittedly it does segue into Avengers Annual #2, but reading that book is not essential in my estimation for enjoying this issue) -- wonderful art, characterization, and certainly sentimental.  What a great launching pad for my true appreciation of Big John Buscema.

Doug:  We open with a great splash of the drastically pared down roster of Goliath and the Wasp, Hawkeye, and the Black Panther on a bridge with Castle Doom looming in the background.  The use of the bridge to frame the story's title is just an excellent visual.  And like all things Buscema, there is endless dynamism among our four heroes, despite the fact they've paused before entering the castle.  They've come to Latveria to answer a distress signal, allegedly from Captain America.  Cap had been absent from the roster for a few issues, so there was some doubt on the part of the team as to what exactly they were getting into.  Goliath decides it would be best to avoid the front door, so hoists T'Challa in a maneuver that we Bronze Age Babies know only as a "fastball special".  Once on the ramparts, T'Challa steals inside and lowers the massive drawbridge.  Once inside, Goliath shrinks back to his normal 10-foot height and the team begins to progress.  However, before they can even take a step, T'Challa warns Goliath to freeze -- and then a mine goes off.  As the Panther was brand new to the team, this story served as a bit of a transitional time for him -- he had to prove his worth to everyone, notably Hawkeye.

Doug:  Now into the inner chambers of the castle, the team is led into the dark by T'Challa.  He hears a rustling behind a drape ahead, and attacks.  To everyone's surprise, the Panther comes flying right back past his teammates!  Goliath moves menacingly toward the now fallen drape, but is stopped from pummeling it by a familiar voice -- that of Captain America!  Cap tells that he issued the call for assistance to come to Castle Doom because he had recently found out about a time machine once used by Doctor Doom in an adventure with the Fantastic Four.  Cap became convinced that he could use it to return to that fateful day in 1945 when he and his partner, Bucky Barnes, faced off against Baron Zemo... the day that Bucky died.  But did he?  Cap recalled the explosion of the drone, and of being tossed far away from it.  But what of Bucky?  If Cap survived in the ice for almost 20 years, why couldn't Bucky?  And yes, this story is canon as far as I'm concerned -- that recent stuff?  Not on this guy's radar.

Doug:  The team relocates to the room that houses the time platform.  Between Hank's inspection and Cap's conversation with Reed Richards just days earlier, they figure out how to operate the device.  The Wasp is instructed to stay behind and operate the time machine, with the warning that she must sequence a series of buttons, at regular intervals --this issue features one of the most sexist portrayals of Jan that we've seen since the days of Tales to Astonish.  Sheesh -- she couldn't even rate a spot among the cover's floating heads!  And then something curious happens -- the team stands on the platform and is sent to the past.  However, a) the platform does not ascend through their bodies as we usually see it, and b) when they emerge in 1945 England they are wraiths.  If this was truly the second appearance of the time platform (the first having been in Fantastic Four #5), there's a piece missing, as the FF had materialized in solid form in Blackbeard's time.  Anyone with insight on this dilemma is encouraged to bring me to a state of enlightenment.

Doug:  Once in the past, the team has landed right at the center of controversy.  They spy Baron Zemo entering a hangar used by the Americans and carrying some sort of lockbox.  Zemo remarks that he feels as if he is being watched, a funny feeling on which he'll remark a few more times throughout the story.  The Avengers phase right through the wall (shades of what's coming in the very next issue, hmm?) and see Zemo fire a gun of some kind into the now-opened box.  Suddenly a giant (and an ugly one at that) emerges, almost zombie-like.  The Avengers marvel at this event, and watch Zemo's next move.  But before the Nazi can do anything, who should burst through a window but Captain America and Bucky?!  Fearless as always, Cap launches himself right into the giant android, while Bucky rolls Zemo.  Zemo commands the monster to kill his adversaries, and our heroes don't fade from the challenge.  But the onslaught gives the Baron time to reappropriate his weapon, and turn it on Cap.  However, Cap's shield gives Zemo his second trip onto his backside.  Bucky decides to tackle the giant alone -- bad call.  Shrugged off and dazed, Cap rushes to his partner's side.  This gives Zemo the opportunity to knock the Star-Spangled not-yet-Avenger out.

Doug:  Zemo now holds all of the cards, and his plan to steal the drone from the Americans appears to reach imminent fruition.  Cap and Bucky's costumes are removed and replaced with GI uniforms.  Zemo's logic is that 1) he hates their garish patriotic look, 2) Captain America was responsible for the incident that grafted Zemo's mask to his face, and 3) with the plan to program the drone to fly right into Berlin and land in front of the Fuehrer, America's greatest heroes will arrive unmasked and as defeated adversaries, strapped to the object of Zemo's thievery.  However, and you know this -- "as fate would have it" -- the Wasp suddenly becomes smitten with drowsiness and a finger falls onto the wrong button.  Unexpectedly, the Avengers materialize right in the hangar, 1945!

Doug:  Cap wastes no time in moving toward Zemo.  He grips his wrist, hard, and jerks the gun down.  But before it can be totally removed from Zemo's grasp, a ray is fired again into the mysterious metal box... and another giant android emerges!  And what's going on outside the hangar, you might ask?  Uncle Sam's boys mobilize, and they want to know what all the commotion's about near the top secret drone.  As they head toward that building, one of the giants comes flying through the wall, followed closely by Goliath.  The boys in Army green are about beside themselves.  Hank tells them to cool it -- he can't explain, and they wouldn't get it anyway.  But while he's dealing with that, the android recovers and attacks.  Back inside, the Panther takes on the giant's twin -- sort of.  And what of Hawkeye?  He launches a blast arrow into the face of the android -- to no avail.  But who needs trick arrows when Captain America is around?  Ever the champion, Cap attacks the giant from behind, bending it backwards.  T'Challa offers his best punch, and cracks the control panel in the android's chest.  Almost simultaneously, Goliath makes the same discovery and knocks the second giant out of action.  Of course, the soldiers want answers, and Goliath tries to hold them off -- but suddenly he begins to phase out!

Doug:  Back inside the hangar, Cap also begins to phase out.  Knowing he won't get another chance to defeat Zemo in this context, and throwing all caution and common sense to the wind, Cap whips his shield at his historical self.  The mighty disc slashes the ropes holding the WWII Cap and Bucky to the drone.   Not to lose out at this point in the game, Zemo lunges for the control panel, starting the flight sequence for the drone.  Cap and Bucky divert their attention from their Nazi assailant and turn instead toward stopping the drone's take-off.  Commandeering a nearby motorcycle, Cap and Bucky race after the plane and get close enough that they are able to launch themselves off a ramp and onto the plane.  As Bucky latches on and begins to climb toward the cone, Cap begins to fall away, yelling at his young partner to also let go -- the thing could have been booby-trapped by Zemo!  Bucky notices a fuse, but it's too late -- the drone explodes.  Cap is thrown away from it, and as we know into the sea.  Bucky?  Our Captain America is sure -- Bucky died in the blast.  In the hangar, the wraith of our Cap makes one last lurch toward Zemo, causing the criminal to shudder.

Doug:  Our story concludes with the 1940's GI's looking at the fallen androids in disbelief, and Zemo firing his gun at the giants from a distance -- vaporizing them.  In the confusion, the Nazi was able to escape in a V2 rocket, and no one would know of the murder he'd just committed.  Back in Castle Latveria, the Wasp welcomes the boys back.  The mood is solemn, however, and Cap is allowed to move away from the group to be with his thoughts.  As Cap goes forward, he'll always mourn the loss of Bucky Barnes.  Yet in time, he'll welcome new partners, like Rick Jones, and the Falcon!

Doug:  If there's one thing you get from Roy Thomas-scribed comics, it's a better vocabulary!  Everyone knows he was an English teacher from Missouri, and his love of literature is well-known.  But how about Hank Pym using the term "Brobdingnagian" to describe Zemo's giant?  It means, for those of you not in the know, marked by tremendous size.  Whew...!  Not a word I've added to everyday usage.  But overall, even back in 1968 Roy's love of the Golden Age and of potential exploration of the era was coming to the fore.  We'd of course see this over and over again, with the creation of the Invaders in Avengers #71 and other WWII-era heroes in the endgame to the Kree/Skrull War.  And you know I'm going to gush on the art.  Every panel in this book oozes action.  The camera angles are varied, the anatomy and facial depictions are top-notch, and it just has the fingerprints of a master all over it.  Some have remarked that John Buscema would reach his zenith when inked by Tom Palmer; I'd argue that George Klein is certainly doing no harm on these pages.  The lines are light where appropriate, and firm when required.  It's a slick production throughout, just beautiful.  So it's a favorite for all of the above reasons, but mostly as a window for this young reader to WWII-era stories, a fun but limited line-up of heroes (boy, ol' Hawk did virtually nothing in this story), and of course the pretty pictures, my introduction to Buscema's Silver Age output.  Twenty minutes perfectly spent, friends.

Now That's a Sentinel...

Doug:  Perhaps to alleviate Karen's fears voiced a few days ago in our SDCC post, Bryan Singer posts this photo of a Sentinel from the X-Men: Days of Future Past film:

One-Hit Wonders -- Albums

Doug:  Today we want to talk about one-hit wonders, but beyond the usual notion of a band that had one Top-40 single.  Today I'd like to hear your thoughts about artists who had a debut album that was solid... and they were hardly (if ever) heard from again.  My nominee is Get the Knack (Capitol Records, 1979) by The Knack.

Doug:  According to a quick Google search on the album, at the time of its release it was considered one of the greatest album debuts in history, selling over a million copies in about two months.  Of course the two major hits spawned by this disc were the infectious My Sharona and the follow-up Good Girls Don't.  And in both of those songs, you pretty much have a summary of the rest of the content -- bawdy, risque', and even arrogant.  If you click this link, you'll be taken to the Wikipedia page that contains comments from critics who reviewed their work at the time.  After reading that particular paragraph, it's little wonder why the band flamed out almost as quickly as they arrived.  Personally, I think every cut on the album is a good one, and the four guys in the band seemed talented.  I love the bass work on My Sharona!  And yes, I know they had a second album, and there's also an album of live recordings from their bar-playing days of 1978.  But c'mon...  if you're thinking of The Knack, you're thinking of this record.

Doug:  So, what about you?  What albums did you have in your collection and, thinking back, you wonder why such-and-such an artist never caught the public's attention a second time?

Who's the Best, DIY Version

Karen: All right, gang -it's your turn! That's right, it's another DIY version of "Who's the Best!" The first person to comment needs to come up with today's topic. "Who's the Best" typically asks the BAB community to make a choice  - in the past, we've asked, Who's the best giant monster,  Superman artist, musical trio, Tarzan actor....you get the idea! It's up to you to ask the question today. So go ahead -we're waiting!

Discuss: Dune

Karen: I know I read at least the first two books, maybe three...but it was a long time ago. I was impressed with Herbert's world creation in book one, but I felt like there really wasn't a sympathetic character to root for, not even Paul. I have a few other vague memories about the books, some of which are now over-laid by the film 1984 film with Sting, which I don't really consider a good thing. Any thoughts on Dune, Frank Herbert, the series carried on by other writers, the David Lynch film, or even the SyFy Channel mini-series?

Giant-Size July: Iron Man Annual 3

Iron Man Annual #3 (1976)
"More or Less... the Return of the Molecule Man!"
Steve Gerber-Sal Buscema/Jack Abel

NOTE:  An upfront apology from me (Doug) on some of the art samples.  I used the Iron Man dvd-rom, and for some reason when I convert the .pdf files to .jpg files, sometimes there are distortions in the proportions of the panels or pages.  Count me as technologically inept in this regard!

Doug:  Isn't it just a bit of comic book karma when comments are made concerning the prowess (or lack thereof) of a particular artist, and then said artist turns up on the creator list the very next week?  You'll notice today's inker is none other than Jack Abel; Karen and I had discussion of him last week in our review of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #233.  I'm sure an evaluation will again be made today concerning his embellishment of Our Pal Sal.  And what of scribe Steve Gerber?  You have to think, just looking at the conglomeration of characters on the cover above that this tale could be right in "Baby" Gerber's wheelhouse.  We shall see.

Karen: I can already tell you, just glancing through this book, that the art is not going to make me get warm fuzzies, and it's all due to Mr. Abel. But I'll soldier on. I should note however that I did pick this title up off the spinner rack as a kid.

Doug:  Perhaps without saying, you could have guessed that this story would begin in the swamps of Florida.  What maybe you wouldn't expect is that Steve Gerber would basically use this Iron Man Annual as a further platform for expanding on his ideas that you could have found on display in the Man-Thing monthly (and the various Giant-Size issues as well).  Sure enough, on my first reading of this material I sort of felt like I'd come late to a party.  I've never been a follower of either Steve Gerber or the Man-Thing -- both hallmarks of Marvel's Bronze Age, and you'd get no dispute from me.  However, in my limited interests and with my limited budget as a 10-year old I just never crossed those paths almost-40 years ago.  Anyway, Tony Stark has come to the Everglades to see the remnants of "Omegaville", a village of geodiscs run in a completely "green" fashion.  Stark is meeting with a Dr. Marshall and his assistant Paul.  Stark decides to back the project that will rebuild the site, which was destroyed by a man named Yagzan (Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 -- here we go!).  Witnessing this meeting is the Man-Thing himself, formerly known as Ted Sallis.  While on site, Tony spies a skeleton in the reeds.  Paul tells him that it was the body of a fellow named Yagzan, who was the leader of a group called the Entropists and who protested the building of Omegaville.  He had gained supernatural powers and had fought the Man-Thing, only to be reduced in the end to a petrified skeleton.

Karen: I too had read only a few Man-Thing books and like you had a limited familiarity with the character and his mythos. So much of what was laid out here was completely new to me. The name "Yagzan" rang a bell during this read through though. I realized that I encountered the revived Yagzan in Marvel Two-in-One #42 and #43 about two years later! Nothing ever really disappears in the Marvel universe. And doesn't Stark look like a real stiff here? Again, nothing like Robert Downey, Jr! The general public would be so surprised.

Doug:  I agree.  You know, when you ran the post about jerks, Tony Stark should have been near the top of many commenters' lists.  However, I don't think he got much attention.  This Bronze Age Stark is indeed a far cry from the Stark of Civil War or even the Marvel films.

Doug:  The Man-Thing saunters off into the swamp, where he is halted by the sight of three children playing.  One is dressed as Spider-Man, a young lady portrays Iron Man, and the third is claiming to be the Molecule Man and even bears a staff remarkably similar to the Molecule Man's weapon.  We soon find that the red stick in question is indeed the depowered staff of the MM.  Or is it?  As the children play-fight, the rod is knocked into the water.  No  one of course wants to wade in to get it, so tomboy Cynthia decides to fetch it.  While in the slimy swamp she stumbles, but righting herself displays the red staff.  At that same instant an alligator enters the water, but is halted by the Man-Thing!  The large lizard is no match for the protector of the swamp.  But Cynthia, running for her life now, races right into a small pool and disappears.  The Man-Thing shuffles over to the water and waits -- but the girl does not emerge.  Her playmates, horrified at what they've witnessed, race home for help.  A search for her body ensued, and despite the casket at the funeral, it was never found.

Karen: It's interesting to note that Man-Thing's intense dislike of fear directs him towards where the girl is facing the alligator, and he momentarily hesitates, uncertain which of the two to attack! Ah yes, a true 70s comic. The whole scene with the kids could have come right out of a cheap flick like "Legend of Boggy Creek."

Doug:  Weeks later, the work on the biodomes is proceeding rapidly.  Stark is in town to supervise, and that means his bodyguard is along, too.  Iron Man suits up when some mysterious mace-like orbs appear in the sky, and upon closer inspection he finds that they are lethal -- the spikes detach, and operate as heat-seeking missiles!  Iron Man's superior quickness is no match for the explosives, and he causes many of them to detonate harmlessly.  However, upon completion of that act, the maces turn to smiley-face balloons!  IM ponders the situation momentarily, and notices a crowd has gathered on the ground.  In typical Stark bravado, he assumes they are there to thank him.  Uh, wrong. A rotten tomato upside the helmet clues Stark in that these guys a) aren't a bunch of country bumpkins, and b) don't necessarily want him around.  The dispute is interrupted quite suddenly, though, by a geyser of asphalt.  Something is most certainly amiss in Florida's Everglades area...

Karen: It's definitely a Gerber story, what with the weapons turning into smiley-face balloons. And how about that local tomato-hurler, and how he feels about Iron Man? "He talks jes' like one o' them press secretaries!" What a hoot!

Doug:  Additionally, one might ask why that tough was carrying a tomato in the first place?

Doug:  The eruption had lifted Iron Man and his assailant -- the fella who threw the tomato -- into the air.  But when the force stopped, they fell, and hard.  The local guy landed on his back and shoulders, fracturing his skull and indeed dying.  Iron Man used his boot jets to save himself, but the people aren't happy with him.  He chooses a wise strategy by exiting the scene.  Later, Stark has coffee with some of the men associated with the geodome project.  They inform him that the area is quite conservative, not prone to change, and is quite suspicious of the progressive building project.  Stark asks if there is anyone with his finger on the pulse of the community, someone who could get him "in" with the townsfolk.  He's directed to the local jail, where a former DJ is incarcerated for having protested local book burnings.  Hey, in that regard, the German writer Heinrich Heine once said, "Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings."  I think of that every time I hear of a book burning, whether it was back in May of 1933 or about 10 years ago when Harry Potter books were burned out West.  Anyway, Stark and Richard Rory visit for several minutes.  Stark describes what's recently happened, and Rory suggests that it sounds like the work of the only super-villiain Citrusville had ever seen:  the Molecule Man!  Moments later, Stark is in his limousine and starts a video call to Avengers Mansion.  The Vision obliges Stark's request and patches him through to the Baxter Building, where he hopes to ask Ben Grimm about his tussle with the MM and Man-Thing.  It's no go, says Reed Richards, but Stark is able to get confirmation that the Molecule Man did indeed die during Ben's adventure in Florida.

Karen: I found it kind of surprising that Iron Man not only didn't save the jerk, but seemingly makes no attempt to do so. I suppose Gerber was trying to move the story in that direction, building animosity between the town folk and Iron Man, but it's interesting that he wasn't drawn as making an effort to rescue the guy. Although I never read much Man-Thing, it's not surprising that Gerber incorporated political and social issues into the stories.  He pretty much did that with all of his work. I did laugh a bit at how Richard Rory was drawn - that long hair was rather girlish looking, with the little flips at the ends!

Doug:  Why did I think the name "Richard Rory" was so familiar?  I could not place either the name or the look, but had a real sense of deja vu while reading that part of the story.  As I said, I was never a Man-Thing reader, but I'm wondering if the name came up in one of the Mighty Marvel Calendars or somewhere.

Doug:  We then cut back to the swamps where Cynthia had perished.  Suddenly the pool into which she submerged begins to bubble, and from its depths emerges the little girl, still wearing her Iron Man costume and still grasping the staff she'd carried.  But this is not Cynthia who rises -- instead, it's the Molecule Man in possession of her body!  Once out of the water, MM tests his powers, but notices that he feels strange.  Crafting a mirror from wood, MM sees that this body needs a little... work.  Using his ability to control anything with molecules, he alters Cynthia's body and grows to adult-size.  However, in spite of his increased mass, he retains certain... feminine attributes.  This is going to be a struggle, and indeed it is -- Cynthia isn't going to let go of her body!  Witnessing all of this is the Man-Thing, whose empathic nature has drawn him back to the pool.  Molecule Man turns a log into a jet-propelled bicycle, and uses it to jet off to Cynthia's home.  The Man-Thing follows, at his sloggingly-slow pace.  The Molecule Man enters "her" home, much to the shock and horror of Cynthia's mother.  Outside, and a few hours later, Tony Stark's limo driver reels with a shock of his own at a shambling mass of muck stepping into his path.  There's no avoiding the Man-Thing, and the limo crashes into the beast.

Karen: The hyper-muscled Cynthia -- really drawn as a man's body with breasts -- was a pretty disturbing sight then, and still is now. I wonder what Sal Buscema thought about it when he was drawing it? 

Doug:  Good point -- I had a head-scratching moment when that scene first played, as I was taken aback at what they were going for.  The limo driver banged his head on the the windshield and passed out, so it's Iron Man who emerges from the back seat to confront the swamp creature.  Shellhead uses a repulsor blast at Man-Thing's feet and a hand point back toward the swamp to try to cajole the creature to leave the area.  Yeah, right.  Despite the Man-Thing's mushy state of being, he still packs a wallop and sends the Golden Avengers sprawling.  Righting himself, IM again tries to subdue the creature with repulsor blasts; they go right through.  So, running out of options, a frontal assault is the next attack option.  Yuck -- Iron Man becomes fully engulfed in muck.  Brushing it all off of himself, Stark thinks that there is really only one option left and removes a small capsule from a compartment in his shoulder -- a cryogen bomb, liquid nitrogen that freezes the Man-Thing where he stands.  That should do it!  But, as fate would have it -- and in a comic book, Fate always wins -- Iron Man just happens to have battled the creature right in front of Cynthia's house.  A house which now transforms into an emerald palace right before IM's eyes!

Karen: Tony is amazingly fast changing into his armor, in the back seat of his limo no less! His attempts to get rid of Man-Thing were pretty funny. Man-Thing's cohesiveness seems to vary quite a bit. When the limo hits him, he seems pretty solid, yet at other times things go right through him. He's sort of like a mucky Vision. And how about that cryo-capsule Shellhead had in his shoulder compartment? That's almost as good as carrying shark-repellent on your utility belt!

Doug:  Was Stark still using the collapsible armor that fit in his briefcase at this time?


Doug:  Inside the palace, the Molecule Man has created a throne for him/herself and taunts Cynthia's mother from this perch.  Apparently domestic relations between Cynthia and her parents were never tip-top, and Cynthia uses her newfound powers to take some revenge.  She turns her mother into a doll, and promises that her dad will get the same treatment when he gets home.  But there's a struggle taking place, between the Molecule Man who wants full control and Cynthia who doesn't want to give in.  There are some very strange scenes here, of the Molecule Man punching him/herself in the face, and writhing on the floor while choking him/herself.  Quite bizarre fare.  Iron Man, sensing this may be the work of the Molecule Man, punches his way into the palace.  But he gets in on the schizophrenic mania that's taking place.  The Molecule Man wants to attack; Cynthia has always held Iron Man as her favorite among super-heroes.  MM finally decides to leave.  This affords Iron Man the opportunities to a) check on Stark's chauffeur, and b) remove the Man-Thing (still frozen) to his home swamps.

Karen: The Molecule Person (as Gerber refers to him/her) is highly conflicted, and I don't know that I ever got to see anyone punch themselves in the face before in a comic. You know, it seems to me that this story would have fit a lot better in the Defenders than with the uptight Iron Man! They had foes like the Headmen; this wouldn't have phased them at all!

Doug:  Perfect!  The Headmen!  Weeks later (we're not immediately told why there's been a lull in super-baddery from the Molecule Man), Stark and the other stakeholders hold a press conference to officially open the refurbished Omegaville.  But as the media and noted environmentalists have assembled, suddenly a huge skeleton comes tottering on the scene.  We're told that it's Yagzan's skeleton (what, no one removed the crazy thing over the past several weeks/months??), and it's grown to around 20 feet.  Stark uses the distraction to change into his fighting togs, but is knocked back by the creature, which has obviously been enhanced.  So is Stark's armor, and a double-repulsor blast to the joints of the skeleton bring it down.  Iron Man remarks that it would be just like the Molecule Man to show up again on the day the biodomes open -- yet no one knows why that comment would be true.  But true it is, as suddenly a short distance away Cynthia emerges from a pool of water -- in a vegetable-like state.  Paul rushes to her, but is kicked away by the newly-emergent Molecule Man!  All those weeks of quiet?  It's taken that long for the Molecule Man to drive Cynthia's will down.  Iron Man steps in, and the MM discards a doll -- the doll that is Cynthia's mom.

Karen: I had the same reaction as you did: why was Yagzan's skeleton still around?? I guess we'll never know the answer to that one. I found the idea of the tiny, talking Mom doll incredibly creepy. 

Doug:  Iron Man attacks, but is met with a blast from MM's control rod.  He's transmuted to a being of iron, and frozen in place.  But as the Molecule Man gloats, the Man-Thing has arrived and grabs MM's hand from behind.  Shocked, the Molecule Man attempts to recoil -- and you know what that means:  whatever knows fear BURNS at the touch of the Man-Thing!  The rod is separated from the Molecule Man, which ends the enchantments -- the Molecule Man's essence reverts to the rod, Cynthia's body falls to the ground, the doll becomes Cynthia's mother, and Iron Man is returned to his normal state.  But as fate (there's that Fate thingie again!) would have it, a passing snake attacks the rod and is possessed by the spirit of the Molecule Man!  As the snake isn't the smartest critter on the planet, the Molecule Man is in complete control, and ruthless.  He attacks Iron Man to kill, and Iron Man is forced to strike and dodge, hit and run, until he can get close enough for a solid shot at the snake-man's face.  The rod is again dislodged from the Molecule Man's grip.

Karen: The snake part really seemed unnecessary -Gerber even writes, "We've still four pages to fill," so I think he was doing some hustling here. The snake man was pretty silly.

Doug:  Iron Man held the control rod long enough for the Molecule Man to exert his influence, but Stark resisted mightily, taunting his assailant and telling him that if he couldn't fully possess a 10-year girl how did he think he could take down a full-grown adult trained in fighting super-baddies?  But the Molecule Man brings IM to his knees, until the Man-Thing grabs the rod from Shellhead's hand.  And what now?  The Man-Thing is bereft of a mind -- at least any sort of mind advanced enough to be controlled.  And with that set of circumstances, the Molecule Man was defeated.  The swamp creature simply turned, control rod in mucky mitt, and sauntered back into the Florida jungle.  Iron Man tried to rise to his feet, but was drained from even that short battle of wills.  The dignitaries and project managers rally to Iron Man's side, as do Cynthia and her mother (wait, didn't the girl physically drown?).  Paul tells Iron Man that he's not sure just what happened, but that it was pretty scary.  Iron Man simply replies, and tells everyone that he's going to need some time to sort out this adventure.

Karen: Iron Man's mental struggle with MM was well-drawn. Having Man-Thing unknowingly save him was also done well. Overall I thought this was a pretty average story. I just didn't really get into it. Part of it was the art, but I also felt a lack of interest in the plot. Maybe if I'd been a regular reader of Man-Thing it might have meant more to me.

Doug:  I thought this story was OK -- not great, just OK.  It could have easily been published as a 2-issue crossover between the Iron Man and Man-Thing monthlies, but that being said it did have some of the characteristics of an Annual -- self-contained story, guest-starring hero, and multiple battles.  As I said at the top, it seemed as if Steve Gerber was using this to tie some loose ends from his Man-Thing scripts -- nothing major seemed to be added to that mythos, and Iron Man would be no worse for the wear for having been included here.  And now to Mr. Jack Abel.  I don't know that he did Sal any favors on this job.  The art is pretty solid Sal-fare.  But it just seemed that there were times when the figures were a bit stiff, and some of the embellishment on faces (in particular) seemed a bit soft and feathery.  Overall, not bad at all, but just not polished as a Joe Sinnott, Terry Austin, or Bob Layton would have turned in (is that even fair to compare anyone to those three?).  Now all this being said -- had I purchased this back in my 10th year, I'd probably have been one happy little dude.  I definitely would have come to this book with a sense of awe and wonder, and that's the way it should be!