INVADERS #12

"TO THE WARSAW GHETTO!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Illustrators: Frank Robbins & Frank Springer
Colorist: Phil Rache | Letterer: Joe Rosen

The Plot: The Human Torch flies over London, despondant over Jacqueline's obvious feelings for Captain America. As he passes the Tower of London, where Professor Gold is being held following his rampage as the Blue Bullet, the Torch decides to pay the professor a visit and question him about his comment that what happens next will be on the Invaders' heads. In his cell, Gold says that he worked for the Nazis unwillingly. He is a Polish Jew who fled the Nazi occupation to become an Allied scientist -- but the Nazis found him and forced him to do their bidding, lest they kill his brother, who remained behind in Warsaw.

The Torch returns to Falsworth Manor to recruit the Invaders in rescuing Gold's brother. Jacob. The group, now counting Jacqueline in the guise of Spitfire among them, boards Namor's flagship and flies to Poland. Under cover of night, they inflitrate the ghetto to find Jacob in his book shop. But the Invaders run afoul of Nazi soldiers, who call in a few Panzer tanks as backup. The heroes make short work of two tanks, but when the third tank's commander threatens to kill Jacob and several other civilians, the Invaders are forced to surrender, and are taken away.

Jacob returns to his shop, realizing he must now stop ignoring the Nazis' atrocities and stand up against them to help the Invaders and his own people.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 12

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 31 & 32.

"DARK WATERS OF DEATH!" | "THE TIGER-SONS MUST DIE!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Joe Staton & Sonny Trinidad
Tones: Michele Brand (issue 33)

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #32) White Tiger and his brother, Filippo, arrive at the waterfront, where the Tiger boards the freighter El Tigre. Filippo soon follows him aboard, just as Jack of Hearts arrives. Jack and Filippo are confronted by a group of costumed men, while White Tiger prowls the ship. Elsewhere, Danny Rand and Shang-Chi arrive at Misty Knight's private detective office, where Misty is speaking with Blackbyrd, who wants help in finding White Tiger. Danny and Shang-Chi agree to join in as well.

Back on the freighter, White Tiger fights his way to a sinister executive named Wender. Meanwhile, Blackbyrd, Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi approach the ship via helicopter. The two heroes disembark to join Jack of Hearts' battle on deck, but Blackbyrd is shot down. The chopper crashes, sending El Tigre drifting down the river, but Blackbyrd survives. White Tiger fights off Wender's men, while Shang-Chi and Iron Fist help rout Jack of Hearts' opponents. Filippo is injured and makes his way into the ship, where he finds Wender babbling about White Tiger. Further into the ship, Filippo meets up with his brother to find the drug-runners in their board room, all dead of self-inflicted gunshots.

White Tiger confronts Filippo, realizing that his brother is actually the leader of the drug-runners and that he was never a junkie. Filippo pulls a gun on the Tiger, who is joined by Jack, Shang-Chi, and Iron Fist. Filippo reveals his plans to join Fu Manchu's organization, but is shocked when he views a recording from Manchu stating that Filippo's operation is beneath him. Realizing he has no way out, Filippo arms the bomb attached to his chest. White Tiger and the others escape, but the ship blows up with Filippo, his men, and his drugs aboard.

DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON: DEADLY HANDS

"DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON" | "SWORD OF VENGEANCE"
Writer: Chris Claremont | Artist: Marshall Rogers
Letterers: Irving Watanabe w/Karen Mantlo | Editor: John Warner

In early 1977, Chris Claremont was at possibly the most diverse phase of his career. He had not yet become the man known exclusively for writing mutant titles. Instead, he was the regular writer on UNCANNY X-MEN and IRON FIST; he had just added MS. MARVEL to that same résumé, and within a few months, MARVEL TEAM-UP would include Spider-Man's adventures among his monthly credits as well.

Marvel was pretty diverse at the time too, publishing, among other things, a line of black-and-white magazines alongside their color comics. The magazines were not restricted by the guidelines of the Comics Code Authority, allowing creators greater freedom with the content of their stories. One of these periodicals was DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG-FU, which had, over the years, been a showcase for characters like Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, and the Sons of the Tiger. Finally, for the series' last two issues, Claremont teamed up with artist Marshall Rogers for a series about Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, supporting characters from his IRON FIST series now striking out on their own.