Love Will Keep Us Together - Or Will It? Incredible Hulk 148

Incredible Hulk #148 (February 1972)
"But Tomorrow -- the Sun Shall Die!"
Archie Goodwin-Herb Trimpe/John Severin

Doug: A couple of weeks ago I sang the praises of John Severin's inks over Herb Trimpe on the Incredible Hulk book. I was initially going to review Hulk #140, which features the 1st appearance of Jarella. But after noticing that her second appearance contained the above mentioned art team, the decision was pretty easy. So here we are. I'll be reading and scanning from the trade paperback, The Incredible Hulk: Heart of the Atom. I've read several of the stories from the start of the book, and while certainly no Hulk aficionado, I have enjoyed myself so far.

Doug: We open in the New Mexico desert at Project: Greenskin. Assembled are General "Thunderbolt" Ross, Betty Ross, Major Glenn Talbot, and Dr. Peter Corbeau. This was a nice bit of Marvel history for me, as I'd only known Corbeau from the first Sentinels story in the All-New, All-Different X-Men. Everyone's there to discuss how Corbeau's plan for the Hulk, using his StarCore technology, is going to work. Corbeau is convinced that he can permanently free Dr. Bruce Banner from the Hulk. Of course, he has to have the Hulk to make this work. That's where the Hulk-Busters come in. Right then (because, you know, this is a comic book and we only have 20 pages to work with), Ross is alerted to a local Hulk sighting. Immediately four fighters are dispatched to bring in the Jade Giant. Quick comment -- Trimpe's love of aviation really shows in these few panels! We cut to the back 40, where the Hulk lumbers along, oblivious to all around him. We the readers, however, can see over his shoulder the approaching jets. Archie Goodwin does a nice turn when he writes, "Of machines that can out-distance their own sound, that can all but sit on your massive neck before they're heard...?" And then BRA-KOW! Seriously -- bra-kow and the Hulk goes tumbling, his ears ringing. The second pair of planes are on him immediately, strafing him with sedative-tipped missiles. Down, and out.

Doug: We cut to another world, where we see the fair queen Jarella leading a small detachment of men through a wilderness. Above, men loyal to the traitor Visis wait on winged steeds. As soon as Jarella's column emerges from cover, they are set upon. The battle rages, and most of Jarella's men are slain. The queen fights well, and still stands at the conclusion of the fracas. She thinks to herself that she needs a warrior, the man she loved from before. Bruce Banner. For those of you not aware, the Hulk had been shrunk to atomic size by the villain Psyklop, emerging on a microscopic world where he became a champion for the queen. That queen, Jarella, pledged to marry him, which really ticked off Visis, her suitor who would be dictator. As the Hulk could not speak the language of the strange world, Jarella's sorcerers concocted some magicks that not only allowed him to learn the language but also gave him the brain of Bruce Banner while still the Hulk. Got it?

Doug: Jarella makes her way to the retreat of her chief sorcerer and tells him that she would like to regain the services of Banner. Torla, the magician, says that it would take incredible sorcery, and might be so dangerous as to shake not only their world but the very cosmos! Cut to earth, where the Hulk is now bound in the presence of Dr. Corbeau. Corbeau relates that he has more than a humanistic stake in this operation -- he and Banner were college friends, so it's personal. Corbeau says that StarCore's sun-facing orbit is going to allow him to harness the energy of the sun, project it to Earth, and bathe the Hulk in enough solar energy that it will completely eradicate the gamma energy stored in his cells. Guess what? It works! The Hulk shrinks/changes to Banner, and nearby technicians report that there is no presence of gamma radiation anywhere in the area. Banner has indeed been cured! But immediately StarCore's sensors alert the scientists and military brass to a new danger -- a huge solar flare, large enough to have destroyed the Earth. Ross asks Corbeau for an explanation -- Corbeau can only hypothesize on the coincidence of what has just happened with the Hulk.

Doug: Cut again back to Jarella's world, where she is in the process of being sent in search of Banner. Her sorcerers warn that the consequences could be dire. Bravely, she goes through with it. But we see that someone spies on this process. It is Visis, who knows enough magicks of his own to be able to send his top assassin into the stream behind Jarella -- with orders to slay the queen and her champion. Back on Earth, all concerned are monitoring the sun's activity. Banner, hero that he is, tells Corbeau if he really thinks the process to remove the Hulk's presence is to blame, then reverse the process. Corbeau will hear none of it, and offers that Banner should go to Corbeau's retreat on the coast, get some separation and relax. Banner takes him up on it, and after a military flight soon finds himself listening to the surf. Just then a green aura begins to glow on the sands. Suddenly Jarella appears, human-sized, and greets Banner. Bruce is elated to see her and hops the deck's fence to embrace the girl he'd loved those months before. But Fialan the assassin has also made the passage and lurks just yards away. But his malevolent plan is interrupted by the noise of a helicopter. It lands, and Glenn Talbot emerges to ask Banner to return to the desert with him.

Doug: Back at Project: Greenskin, Banner is updated on the sun's status. It seems that the sun has been affected not only by the process they'd used on Banner, but also by "the appearance of some object that ripped the very fabric of our time and space... something that broke from another dimension." Yup - Jarella. And the sun's cure for it's current condition is to burn itself out! Banner speaks up and says that any thoughts of sending her back will surely send her to her death at Visis' hands. Corbeau says to relax, that he's working on an alternative. However, if the solar system burns out, Jarella's world will along with our earth. Very soon a SHIELD craft lands, piloted by none other than Dum Dum Dugan, who has brought Col. Nick Fury himself to the desert. And Fury's brought with him a present -- a Life Model Decoy of Jarella, perfect in every sense. The team gets to work immediately on making the dimensional transfer of the LMD in Jarella's place, which is a mystery to me. Was it just that any transfer was made, or is it Jarella's presence here that is the problem. Seems to me (and what the heck do I know about it?) that if they sent the LMD but she stayed here the problem would not necessarily be ended. Ah, Marvel science. Gotta love it! Anyway, Banner reports that his part of the operation is successful, so they should be good to go. Jarella suddenly appears, to speak in private with her potential betrothed. But again standing just off-stage is Fialan (how's that security at Project: Greenskin, hmmm?). He gets off a shot, and then hovers menacingly above our couple.

Doug: Bruce breaks from Jarella and runs away. Fialan scoffs, as the coward has now left Jarella to him and his mission. As he levels his blaster at her, the building begins to shake. A rumbling emanates from the closed door behind which Banner had locked himself. And suddenly, bursting forth is the incredible Hulk! Fialan levitates higher, out of reach of the behemoth. Hulk turns to see Jarella, and they come together. Just then Fialan blasts a large bank of machinery, causing a huge explosion. Jarella is killed in the chaos, and a distraught Hulk emerges from the smoke right in front of Fialan, whose ability to escape has been destroyed as well. Hulk grabs him, and in one of the very few times I can ever recall metes out his own brand of justice. The following panel is interesting, as Hulk cups his face in his huge hand and says, "Hulk did it... but... It does not bring Jarella back!" But it's Jarella who approaches to console the Hulk -- Corbeau and Ross had planned to employ the LMD once they knew Jarella's assassin was on site. But now Hulk is faced with a new dilemma -- the military still need to save our sun. Hulk stands against them, but he's shot from behind with the heavy tranquilizers. Now down, Corbeau tells Jarella it is time. She consents, and soon is back in her subatomic world. The sun almost immediately begins to quiet its activity and all is right with the world. That is, except for the broken heart of the Hulk.

Doug: I've found these tales of Jarella captivating. It's interesting to read them as stand-alones. Although they tie together, the many adventures that came between these stories make me wonder which is better -- to read this as a running narrative, or as treats dispersed to the reader along the way? Jarella's first appearance was in Hulk #140, the follow-up is in today's issue (#148), and then we saw her again in #156. Then we don't find her until #202, around four years later! So I'd love for any of our readers who came to these stories off the rack to discuss their impact on you. Did you feel that this was a plotline that should have been explored on a more frequent basis? Or did you think perhaps that, knowing Jarella's ultimate fate as we do, the story should have been compressed and told over the course of maybe just a year's worth of issues? While Goodwin's script forced me to suspend my disbelief a time or two, I thought the art was fabulous. Herb Trimpe is a penciler who has a unique style and I'm not always his biggest fan. But under the influence of John Severin, the art here is a winner. This was overall a nice 20-minute diversion.

Discuss: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Karen: PLEASE keep it SPOILER-FREE for a few days until folks have  had a chance to see the movie! Thanks!

What to Get Your Favorite BABer This Holiday Season...

Doug:  With the holidays nearly upon us, we thought we'd take a minute to give a few thoughts to what we'd like to find in our stockings or under the tree come the end of December.  And in this mythical drawing of names and exchanging of gifts that we'll pretend today, be sure to comment on your "needs" this year!

Doug:  On my radar for several months, but no trigger pulled by me yet, is the Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD trade paperback by Steranko & Co.  I'll confess -- I don't own any original copies and have only one reproduction of Steranko's SHIELD work.  When I first saw this advertised on Amazon.com several months ago, I wanted it immediately.  This will make it on to some list that goes out -- bank on it.

Doug: As I've mentioned briefly in passing a time or two over the past few months, I am interested in selling my comic books.  With that in mind, there are several mini-series that I'd like to replace with compendiums.  The Alex Ross/Jim Krueger/Doug Braithwaite series Justice is now collected in one trade paperback; it formerly had been released in three smaller volumes.  Of course, if I had a gift giver with a bottomless well, I'd ask for the Absolute Edition -- not happening, so I'll settle.

Doug:  Lastly, I think I'll put it out there that an Amazon gift card would be nice.  For my birthday my wife got me a Kindle Fire HD (the 8.9" screen).  I've never purchased any movies for it, but would like to have The Avengers, maybe Logan's Run, on it.  And now, let me re-introduce you to your co-host, newly blogging after her well-deserved vacation!

Karen: I'll just mention that I would love to get the two volumes of Inhumans Masterworks. Although I have most of the Amazing Adventures issues, I have only a couple of issues of the short-lived 70s series. I'd also be thrilled to find Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz under the Christmas tree. Ortiz has created posters for each episode of the original Trek series and many of these are striking works of graphic design. One last plug: I really adore the artwork of painter Eric Joyner, who specializes in scenes of robots and donuts -yes, together. I already know I will have a calendar of his fantastic work for next year, because I ordered it as a gift for myself!

Doug:  OK, I had never seen that art before -- but I love it!  Robots and donuts -- who said everything was better with gorillas?!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Karen: Nobody really seems in the mood to talk about horror movies, so how about we switch gears and rap about Cap?

Derivative Ladies: Spider-Woman

Marvel Spotlight #32 (February 1977)

"Dark Destiny!"

Writer:  Archie Goodwin

Pencils:  Sal Buscema

Inks:  Jim Mooney 

Karen: Brian Michael Bendis likes Spider-Woman, so he put her in the Avengers a few years ago and she's become a popular character. But for years she lived in the under-belly of the Marvel universe, never able to really find  her place, not even when she had her own series. Her origin was revised more than once, as was her look. Today we'll go back to her very first appearance and see how it all started.

Doug:  You raise an interesting point of conversation in its own right, and I certainly don't mind if it becomes tangential to discussion of this issue's plot and art today:  does saturation of the market automatically equal a boost in popularity for a character?  Bendis after all only seemed to be continuing a trend begun by the various caretakers of Wolverine, the Punisher, and Ghost Rider.  Interesting...  For me, I was so turned off by his writing and the turtlesque speed of his plots that I would have had a hard time declaring if it was the scripts that made me angrier or the roster.  Wow -- truly a tough call.  Maybe I need to run my own personal "Face-off!" on that quandary.

Doug:  About a year and a half ago I reviewed Spider-Woman #1, which included her revised origin.  You can see that review by clicking here and check it out side-by-side with this one.

Karen: This tale opens on a dark night somewhere in the Mediterranean. Spider-Woman silently glides down from a hidden HYDRA ship above to SHIELD regional HQ and breaks in. She's there to both rescue a HYDRA agent (who is also her lover) and to assassinate SHIELD chief Nick Fury. Via her thoughts and a brief flashback, we come to learn that she has almost no sense of her past -her memories don't extend very far. Her earliest memories were of being chased by the townspeople of a small European village. Arachne -her name, according to Archie Goodwin - couldn't even remember what she had done to incur their wrath. But she did have the peculiar ability to fire energy blasts at her attackers. Count Otto Vermis, a high ranking member of HYDRA, discovered her and took her under his wing. Using a mind probe, he uncovered the truth about her identity, but kept it a secret from everyone, including Arachne.  He saw her as a perfect weapon and had her trained to serve HYDRA. We see Arachne as a frightened and gullible young girl, willing to please the Count in order to have a place to belong. She also falls in love with the handsome Jared, another HYDRA agent. 

Doug:  The creators give us a nice tour of Spider-Woman's powers in the first few pages, very similarly to comments we made at the top of our Ms. Marvel #1 review last week.  The whole scene at the beginning of this tale, with the reader dropped smack into the middle of a fracas sometimes put me off rather than the intended effect of making me salivate for more.  I know it's a standard plot device, particularly in first issues, but I'd almost rather watch the story unfold organically.  I know that then folks complain about "wasting" an issue of action on an origin, but hey -- to each their own I suppose.  I want to make a remark on the art as we're getting rolling.  It's pretty obvious that we're looking at Sal Buscema, but Jim Mooney's inks seem really heavy to me (which in the '70's was generally what we got out of the Madman).  Sal gets buried at times.  I do, however, always like the way Mooney draws a girl's eyes.  It's his distinctive trademark.

Doug:  So what's up with Arachne's suit?  We're told it was designed to "channel and control those powers", but I don't know that it's even mentioned later in the story.  It doesn't appear from the flashback that she's anything like Cyclops or Havok, where she just explodes with energy.  And is her power of flight (or gliding) addressed?

Karen: Back in real time, Fury is starting to "interrogate" the captured HYDRA agent with his fists when Spider-Woman knocks the door off its hinges. She wipes out the other SHIELD agents with one of her "venom" blasts. A side note here: oddly enough, she has to remove her glove before she fires her blast! I thought this was really strange, and I don't think I've seen a character do it before or since. She confronts Fury and tells him she's going to kill him for hurting the man she loves. Fury manages to dodge her, and we get a nice demonstration of Spider-Woman's agility. But although he evades her, he is grabbed by Jared, Spider-Woman's lover, who hysterically shouts for her to kill Fury. But right as she's about to throw a tremendous haymaker, Fury twists out of the way and thrusts Jared into harm's way. Arachne, aghast at having injured her lover, is frozen for a moment. This gives Fury time to reach a control panel, where he hits an alarm. In anger, Spider-Woman grabs Fury by the throat and slams him against the panel, about to exact revenge, when she suddenly stops, shocked by a video that has inadvertently started when the SHIELD director was shoved against a switch. The screen shows her lover, Jared, engaged in acts of terrorism, and Spider-Woman realizes that she has been completely manipulated.

Doug:  Arachne pretty quickly comes to the conclusion that Fury's tapes are legit and it's HYDRA that's perpetrated the snow job here.  I guess that we can then conclude that her use of the term "manipulated" is more accurate than say "brainwashed".  Your comment about her glove and using her stings/venom/blasts goes back to my question above about the suit being a damper of sorts.  However, there are two panels later in the story when she uses her blasts with the gloves on (once using each hand).

Karen: Spider-Woman tearfully asks Jared for the truth. Apparently she punched him so hard he's dying -ouch. As he violently shakes he tells her not to touch him -that he knows what she really is! He was ordered to be her lover, so that she'd go into a rage when he let himself be captured, and she'd kill Fury. Jared collapses and Spider-Woman flips out, ready to go tear Vermis apart. Fury tries to get her to wait for him but she speeds off. These hints about Spider-Woman's 'true origin' are a bit tantalizing. 

Doug:  Yeah, I couldn't decide about how ol' Jared was going to meet his maker.  Arachne sure has a posture like she's thrown a punch, but the accompanying sound effect leads me to believe that it might have been a blast that she intended to use on Fury at point-blank range.  In the end, it's unclear.  But that would be a spine-shattering punch, I guess.  And charm?  I suppose telling a young lady friend, "D-Don't touch me...!  Least let me die without enduring that again!"  Nice guy.

Karen: We cut to an old monastery in the Carnic Alps, where Count Vermis is sitting on a stone throne and exulting about what he assumes to be the success of Spider-Woman's mission. Suddenly, his lackey warns him that their assault craft has appeared and is diving directly at them! We see Spider-Woman flying away from the ship as it crashes spectacularly into the HYDRA base. As the little green men panic, she comes flying in and chases after Vermis. She's determined to wrest the secret of her identity from him. He flees down a flight of stairs to the monastery's vaults, but Spider-Woman has anticipated him and comes tearing through the ventilation system. She's just about to smack him when they hear gunfire from above. It's SHIELD. Vermis cuts a deal with the girl: he'll tell her what she wants to know if she gets him to the jet waiting in the tunnel beyond. She does, and he carries through on his part of the bargain: he reveals to her that she was evolved by the High Evolutionary, another one of his New Men, scientifically advanced from an animal species into humanoid form. "He had a good reason for naming you "Arachne!" The stunned Spider-Woman recoils, realizing what her original species must have been. Vermis continues his story, relaying how the other New Men rejected her, and Arachne had left Wundagore. She found human company, and even love, but a prank gone wrong triggered her venom blasts, killing her lover  This was the traumatic event that wiped out her memory and set her on the run -right before Vermis found her. Arachne breaks down, crying and screaming, and Vermis uses this chance to toss a gas grenade and get in the jet and take off. She manages to shrug off the gas and fly after him. Using her great strength, she twists the tail fin, causing the jet to crash and killing Vermis. SHIELD mops up the wreckage, noting no sign of Spider-Woman. Fury mentally wishes her good luck, thinking she's going to need it. Meanwhile, our distraught heroine wanders the forest, wondering how she can go on knowing what she is.

Doug:  Who in the whole Marvel Universe is creepier than the High Evolutionary?  That dude isn't too far off from some of the whackjobs that worked for the Third Reich in regard to experimentation on sentient beings.  In regard to Arachne's spider origins, which are slightly modified in her origin seen in Spider-Woman #1, she's repulsive to other humans in both tellings.  Are the authors playing off of most people's disdain for spiders, or is there something we should perhaps know?  I'm getting the willies just thinking about it...

Doug:  There was a Thunderbird/Count  Nefaria vibe to that last battle scene, wasn't there?

Karen: This was not a bad little tale. The whole "evolved spider" angle would be dropped fairly quickly, and replaced with an origin similar to Spider-Man's, involving irradiated spider blood. This origin would also be replaced. But for the sake of this story, it's kind of an interesting way to go -she's not really human. I know Chris Claremont had considered a similar origin for Wolverine at one time. Perhaps it's best he didn't go that direction. But here, it leads to a lot of pathos.

Doug:  Yes, this story was OK.  I don't know that if reading it at the time I'd have felt compelled to actively seek out her next appearance, but it seemed to serve its purpose of adding another heroine to the MU as well as securing a copyright that may or may not have fallen away from Marvel.

Karen: I'd like to also mention the costume. The full head covering isn't very sexy, and obviously somebody realized this, because soon after, Spider-Woman got a very thick mane of black hair. The rest of the costume stayed much the same. I'm not fond of the red and yellow together -red and black would make more sense to me -but it's not awful. For a character that was essentially a copyright holder, there was certainly some effort put into this story.

Doug:  Thinking of her full mask, there really aren't many female characters who wear a garb that covers the entire head, are there?  I recall my feelings about Jean Grey's costume when the first issue of X-Factor hit the stands -- it's just not an attractive look for females, yet men look a little odd whenever the mask does not cover their entire head.  Maybe it's just what we're used to.

BAB Two-In-One: A Little Silver SHIELD in Bronze and A Wolf in Astronaut's Clothing

Doug: Reprint time, friends. Today's offering comes out of the pages of Nick Fury and his Agents of SHIELD #5, which was on the shelves in October 1973. The story originally appeared in Strange Tales #155-156 (April-May 1967) and was scripted by Roy Thomas. Jim Steranko handled the art chores and plotted the story. Steranko received the writing credit for the second of this two-parter, which would have been included in ST #156.

This is one swingin' Sixties spy-extravaganza! Take the best from Bond, U.N.C.L.E., and maybe even the Jetsons or Star Trek, tie it together with Steranko's contemporary pencils and experimental panels and you have a winner. Here's the deal: SHIELD has just developed the Autofac, a device somewhat like the X-Men's Cerebro in that it will ferret out the identity of the Supreme Hydra and allow SHIELD to smash their enemies once and for all.

The main plotline is Fury's new suit. It's a dandy -- bullet proof outer jacket, shirt with buttons that are really oxygen capsules, a pen that magnifies sound 100x, cuff links that emit an electronic charge, and cigars that release different chemicals. To top it all off, Fury's given a ring that will ultimately blow him up three seconds after triggering. Of course, it won't be long before ol' Nick gets to put his new threads to use.

The secondary plotline involves Laura Brown, daughter of the Supreme Hydra. She's been taken aboard the Helicarrier for protection from her father. Problem is, her father's infiltrated SHIELD and is currently in Fury's inner circle, disguised as Agent Bronson. Bronson's given the assignment of transporting Ms. Brown to SHIELD's west coast headquarters. As we later see, Laura suspects that Bronson might be the Supreme Hydra, and talks her way past a guard to check out what Autofac has to say; she's chloroformed by Bronson, who obviously feels no remorse in taking his daughter down.

Meanwhile, as Fury is becoming acquainted with his new outfit, a metal construct called the Dreadknought attacks the Helicarrier with the intent of slaying Nick Fury. A nifty battle rages (Steranko's choreography and camera angles are pretty straightforward, but you can see his genius coming), and Fury luckily has everything at his disposal that he needs to put the big blue robot down.

As we move into the second part, I had to crack up. Not only is Fury on the "vue-communicator" with LBJ, but he's immediately after introduced to a Professor Anton Trojak, who is a dead-ringer for Col. Harlan Sanders! This one's a tour de force of frenetic Steranko energy. While his art isn't to the point of pushing the standard panel layouts, his writing is passable. This part of the tale is a breath-taker -- it really moves.

Long story short: Trojak is, of course, a Hydra agent sent to kill Fury. I'll tell you, there're more Hydra guys on the Helicarrier than SHIELD agents! Bronson hypnotizes Gabe, Dum Dum, and Sitwell, who later attack Nick while dressed in Hydra outfits. Nick of course manages to subdue everyone, foil every plot, and find Laura Brown (who Bronson clothed in a SHIELD outfit when he put her down earlier). But, because life's gotten crazy on the Helicarrier, LBJ vue-communicates (saying "phoned" would have been easier) Fury again and puts him under house arrest until an investigation into just what the devil has been going on is completed. And oh yeah -- Bronson's put back in charge of transporting Laura Brown. The plot, as they say, thickens!

Karen: I'm picking right up from my previous two-in-one by reviewing Creatures on the Loose# 37 (Sept. 1975) featuring Man-Wolf. This was the final issue of this title. Low sales had taken their toll and the book was cut from production. At the time of its printing, it was clear (from a text piece in the issue by writer David Kraft) that it was uncertain whether the story of the Man-Wolf would ever be continued. Fortunately, it would be, in Marvel Premiere #45-46 - some three years after this issue! Both David Kraft and George Perez would return to finish off the story.

Karen: But back to the issue at hand. "Moonbound", produced by Kraft, Perez, and Fred Kida on the inking chores, picks up from the end of our previous issue, with the mysterious Garth about to cut the moonstone from Man-Wolf's neck. However, he is confronted by armed personnel from the space station and winds up fleeing. The space station people take Wolfy with them - until he snaps out of his stupor and goes bananas. Being even closer to the moon has apparently enhanced his strength and he starts scattering the men like flies. It's only when the station shifts in orbit, so that the earth is between it and the moon, that Man-Wolf falters and is captured.

Karen: Meanwhile on Earth: J. Jonah Jameson is trying to locate his son's missing fiance, Kristine, when he gets caught up with a mysterious stranger who claims to know where she is. Perhaps this all would have made more sense if I'd read more than the previous issue. In any case, the stranger appears to be not only holding Kristine captive but connected to a previous attack on Man-Wolf by Kraven the Hunter. Jameson is saved in the nick of time by Simon Stroud, who is some sort of government agent. This was all a little confusing to me.

Karen: The enfeebled Man-Wolf is placed into an x-ray room that for some reason has foot-thick steel doors. In there, he reverts to John Jameson. He tries to convince one of his captors that he is the real Jameson, but it doesn't really matter, as Garth knocks the guy unconscious. Garth frees Jameson and takes him with him as, "The Godstone is one with him!" I thought these guys were calling it the Weirdstone last issue. Oh well....

Karen: As the personnel of the space station pursue Jameson and Garth and his companions, Jameson agrees to pilot a spaceship for his captors, although he protests that he will change. Moments later, it is no longer Jameson at the controls but a snarling Man-Wolf! Back on the station, the personnel have discovered via an x-ray taken of Jameson while he was still in wolf-form that the moonstone has extended tendrils throughout his body! The two are in a symbiotic state -"but for what sinister purpose?" !!

Karen: Another fun issue, although it was a bit confusing on some level. Again, if I had read the previous issues it might have made more sense -or not! The biggest drawback to this issue was the inking - it made Perez' art have a very dull, unexciting look. You can still tell it's Perez by the layouts -he has such a distinctive way of telling a story. But the overall look is flat. It's hard to describe, so maybe some of the pictures I've posted will help to explain what I am talking about.
Karen: As mentioned before, a text article by Kraft on the letters page explains about the books' cancellation, and even goes into some detail about the plans the team had for concluding this storyline. It was obvious that the team had not been prepared for the end of the book and had been unable to wrap things up in this issue. I thought it was quite good of Kraft to explain where the story was going -it certainly seemed that he was uncertain whether the conclusion would ever see the light of day. Now to read Marvel Premiere and see how the plan compares to the execution!

Finding Silver in Bronze: Marvel Double Feature 2

Marvel Double Feature #2 (February 1973)

"Them" (originally presented in Tales of Suspense 78)

Stan Lee-Jack Kirby/Frank Giacoia

"Into the Jaws of Death" (originally presented in Tales of Suspense 85)

Stan Lee-Gene Colan/Frankie Giacoia

Doug: Today we're going to kick off the first new series of our second year -- "Finding Silver in Bronze". You know, as we've been saying over the past few weeks, many of the Giant-Size issues, Annuals, the Treasury Editions -- all of these often contained Silver Age reprint material. Marvel also dedicated several new-release magazines to preserving their Silver Age history. This series will look at those so-called "reprint titles", like Marvel's Greatest Comics, Marvel Tales, Marvel Super-Heroes, and this title -- Marvel Double Feature.

Doug: First of all, I had to do a little research, and got a surprise. Usually in these books there was a small box just above the indicia that told where the material originally appeared. No such luck here. What I was surprised about was that these two stories came from two different issues of Tales of Suspense, and each was slightly altered to fit into the "modern" page count.

Karen: Since I don't have this particular issue of Marvel Double Feature, I'll be using my Captain America DVD rom to read these tales.

Doug: The plot of the Captain America story is pretty basic, although there is quite a bit of Marvel history packed into the ten pages. Cap's alone in Avengers mansion (during the "Kooky Quartet" era of the Avengers) doing a training session when Col. Nick Fury happens by. Interrupting Cap, and nearly putting his own life in danger, Fury tells Cap that SHIELD is up against a new, unseen foe known only as "Them". Pretty typical Stan Lee cornball writing, huh? And what's more, this organization has perfected a means of duplicating the human brain, and installing it in androids.

Karen: This story really felt like it was 75% Kirby, 25% Lee! The emphasis on non-stop action, the bizarre tiny brain, humanoids, etc, all gave me the impression that Stan did little more than script this issue, which was not that unusual. But this particular story has Kirby written all over it.

Doug: The duo are soon attacked by one such android, who emits acid and melts himself right through the wall of the mansion. A melee breaks out as Fury and Cap try unsuccessfully to stop their new adversary. While battling, they determine that the pods on the android's torso are full of chemicals, which it mixes to give off a new hazard. Cap's shield, Fury's fists, a pistol, and a hand grenade all prove futile in stopping the construct.

Doug: Flash away, then, to a high-tech lab where some dudes in yellow beehive hats are discussing their plans to dominate SHIELD. Yep, it's those lovable techies from AIM -- Advanced Idea Mechanics! But, at this time they weren't yet named. They were only known as... Them! Man, this is Silver Age Stan at his finest. And Kirby's art is familiarly flamboyant -- accurate anatomy be damned!

Karen: I really loved the big "vats" here where 'THEM" are growing humanoids. In the one marked Stage 2, you can just see these tiny heads poking out above the liquid. Then in the bigger vat marked Stage 4, we see full-sized humanoids being grown. Although it's completely insane, it feels like there is a sense of order to this madness!
Doug: Fury finally beats the baddie with "SHIELD knock-out drops" -- yep, this was also the era of the campy Batman television show, and there was no shortage of stuff like that in this story (like the Avengers' "automatic Frigi-defense circuit"). Fury notices the thing has a mouth, so he pops some pills right down the shoot. Wrecks the deal completely.

Doug: As I mentioned, this tale took place during the Kooky Quartet era when the Avengers were comprised of Cap, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. During that period, Cap often pined for a job with SHIELD. In that light, there's a little pay-off here.

Karen: Funny to think, now that Cap is often considered the most indispensable Avenger, that there was a time when he really didn't want to be an Avenger!

Doug: The super-nasty in the Iron Man story is none other than the Mandarin! And he ain't playing nice. Apparently in the last issue, faithful Happy Hogan had the suit on and was captured. Now the Mandarin is slicing and dicing him up with his ten rings.

Karen: Considering he got no resistance from Happy, shouldn't the Mandarin have started to clue into the fact that this wasn't the real Iron Man? I would have thought he was more observant than that!

Doug: Cut back to the States, where Tony Stark has just checked himself out of the hospital. He rushes to his factory on Long Island Sound and begins to modify a suit of armor, hoping to make his strongest creation to date. Gene Colan is in top form in these panels, with multiple camera angles and a full page showing Stark's frenetic efforts. Good stuff!
Karen: The scene where Stark enters his Long Island plant was funny - no ID card, he just says,"Don't you recognize me?" What a lack of security. Yet when he enters his private lab, the locking mechanism on the door is activated by his fingerprint! He thinks about how he needs to patent it -well heck, I'd put that doohickey at the front gate too!

Karen: It was fun seeing how Stark's employees comment about how he's got everything -rich, famous, handsome, and genius too! They sure played that idea up in the recent movies.

Doug: You can tell that Stan was still on the Red Scare kick a bit. Before embarking to Asia to confront the Mandarin, Stark tape records all of his secrets to give to Senator Byrd. As Stark comments, "I feel better for having done that! For, if anything should happen to me -- my secrets must never be lost to those who fight for freedom!"

Karen: OK, this is weird. I haven't read the issues before this one, so I don't really know who Senator Byrd is, but the REAL Senator Robert Byrd just passed away. Just struck me as odd. And Byrd would have been a senator at the time this issue was published -1967!

Karen: The scene where IM super-charges himself or whatever he's doing is pretty dynamic. But I was surprised -Shellhead says the rays he's bathing in will strengthen his blood cells! So besides making new armor he's affecting his physiology? Man, these Marvel scientists and engineers are all experts at everything!

Doug: As Iron Man approaches the Mandarin's lair, we see the ringed one interrogating Happy. Just as Happy's about to get his, who should bust in, but the real Iron Man! As they say, to be continued. Only problem is, I don't have the next issue!

Karen: I'm pretty sure Happy comes out of this just fine, Doug!