NOTE

Monday, April 25, 2022

INVADERS #33

"A TIME OF TITANS!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Illustrators/Innovators: Alan Kupperberg & Frank Springer
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: George Roussos
Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The Invaders fight Thor to save Stalin, but when the Thunder God summons a rainstorm, the Human Torch is rendered useless. Namor grabs Stalin and carries him aboard his flagship, and the pair takes off for Moscow. The remaining Invaders hold Thor at bay barely long enough for him to lose track of Stalin, then he departs. The Invaders board Stalin's train and head for Moscow, while Thor uses his hammer to speak with Hitler. The Nazi leader transmits the location of the Kremlin to Mjölnir, and Thor flies off to complete his mission. In Hitler's headquarters, Doctor Olsen suffers a heart attack and dies, leaving his assistant, Hans, to work with Hitler.

Meanwhile, the Invaders have reunited in Moscow. When Thor arrives, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Spitfire, and the Human Torch head out to challenge him. But Thor is too much for them, and makes it into Stalin's office. He blasts the premier with a lightning bolt. Elsewhere, Hitler orders Hans to bring trolls from Asgard to Earth -- but Hans, revealing himself as Victor von Doom, refuses and blows up Doctor Olsen's machine. Von Doom departs, leaving Hitler behind in the wreckage of his lab.

However, before leaving, von Doom transmitted to Thor's hammer the ravings of Hitler, revealing that he had manipulated the Thunder God. At the same time, Captain America deduces that "Stalin" is actually Union Jack in disguise. Realizing he's made a mistake, Thor withdraws the lightning from Brian Falsworth, restoring him to life. Thor then tells the Invaders that they must forget this encounter until such time as he is ready to walk once more among mortals. Thor uses Mjölnir to erase the Invaders' memories of their battle, and then returns to Asgard.

Monday, April 18, 2022

INVADERS #32

"THUNDER IN THE EAST!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Illustrators/Storytellers: Alan Kupperberg & Frank Springer
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Carl Gafford
Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: As the Invaders tour a newly established American base in Britain, Nazi saboteurs sneak in and hijack three experimental Achilles tanks. The Invaders destroy two of the tanks, but at the insistence of base commander General Moore, leave the third intact. The tank has been promised to the Russians, and Moore asks the Invaders to deliver it personally to their premier, Josef Stalin.

Meanwhile, after viewing a performance of Wagner's "Gotterdammerung", Hitler returns to his headquarters, where a scientist named Olsen has opened a portal to the realm of Asgard. Olsen pulls Thor through the portal, and Hitler quickly convinces the Thunder God that the Allied forces have attacked the Germans, and that Germany needs Thor's help. Thor agrees to aid the Nazis.

The Invaders arrive in Russia in time to save a train carrying Stalin from strafing Nazi planes, after which they land. Just as they're about to present the tank to Stalin, however, Thor arrives to assassinate the Russian premier.

Monday, April 11, 2022

INVADERS #31

"HEIL FRANKENSTEIN!"
Guest Writer & Artist: Don Glut & Chic Stone | Inker: Bill Black
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski | Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Roy Thomas

The Plot: During some downtime at Falsworth Manor, Spitfire stumbles across an oversized Nazi officer's hat. Captain America appears and relates to her an early, untold Invaders adventure: the Human Torch and Toro went to the Alps to investigate possible Nazi activity. When they failed to report back, Cap, Bucky, and Namor followed. There, they found a mob of villagers who reported a monster sighting, as well as the Torches' arrival and disappearance inside the nearby Castle Frankenstein.

Cap and Bucky infiltrated the castle while Namor stayed in the village. Within the castle, the heroes found several Nazis, in league with a paraplegic scientist named Basil Frankenstein, his partner and lover, Doctor "Kitty" Kitagowa, and their creation: a lumbering behemoth of a monster. The monster overcame Cap and Bucky, and Frankenstein and Kitty made plans to transfer Frankenstein's brain into Cap's body. Meanwhile, they also drained the Human Torch's android energies to enlarge their monster.

When the castle lit up due to the latter procedure, Namor flew in to investigate. Together, the Invaders battled the monster until it was electrocuted, which shorted out the brain control device Frankenstein and Kitty had implanted. With its free will restored, the monster grabbed its creators and leapt off the castle, killing all three of them. When the villagers then prepared to destroy the castle, the Human Torch forced them to leave it standing as a memorial to the fallen monster, which he considered a kindred spirit.

Monday, April 4, 2022

INVADERS #30

"FIVE AGAINST THE FLYING DEATH!"
Guest Writer: Don Glut | Penciler: Alan Kupperberg | Inker/Embellisher: Frank Springer
Colors: George Roussos | Letters: Jim Novak | Editor: Roy Thomas

The Plot: Aboard Namor's flagship in the British skies, the Invaders battle the Teutonic Knight's "Flying Death" -- or der Fliegentod. When the craft blasts a building, Namor flies out to save it from toppling. Meanwhile, the Human Torch distracts the Flying Death from without, while Captain America, Union Jack and Spitfire board the craft. They easily dispatch its crew, but the Teutonic Knight appears, holding Doctor Barrow hostage. The three Invaders save Barrow and knock out the Knight, while the Torch takes out the Flying Death's final blaster. But the ship suddenly begins shaking. Doctor Barrow realizes the engine is disabled, and the Flying Death is about to crash.

The Torch helps Namor get the damaged building fused back together, but Spitfire arrives a second later, having bailed out of the falling ship. She enlists the pair to stop its fall, and then the Invaders turn the Teutonic Knight over to the British authorities. But their mission is not finished: having been informed by the Knight that Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery are in town for a secret meeting and are the targets of a Nazi kidnapping squad, the Invaders find the meeting spot and rescue the British leaders, capturing the squad as well.

Their mission now complete, the Invaders head home aboard Namor's flagship, content that the Flying Death has proved an unfeasible experiment for the Germans.

Monday, March 28, 2022

INVADERS #29

"ATTACK OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHT!"
Guest Writer: Don Glut | Penciler: Alan Kupperberg | Embellisher: Frank Springer
Colorist: Françoise Mouly | Letterer: John Costanza | Editor: Roy Thomas

The Plot: Aboard Namor's flagship, the Invaders fly off on a secret mission. Union Jack explains that the group is out to find a Nazi villain called Komtur, the Teutonic Knight, which elicits exclamations of recognition from Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner.

One at a time, the three Invaders relate their respective encounters with the Teutonic Knight: Cap and Bucky fought him in late 1941 in the United States, when they were guarding a government warehouse. The Knight raided the facility and escaped with the plans for a saucer ship called the "Flying Arsenal". Not long after, the Torch and Toro were guarding a British scientist, Doctor Barrow, who held the secret of the Flying Arsenal's experimental engine. The Knight kidnapped Barrow and escaped the Torch and his ward. Then, later still, Namor found himself aboard an American ship near Africa with his friend, reporter Betty Dean, and a newly discovered element called Radium-X. The Knight attacked the ship and stole the Radium-X.

Union Jack then reveals that the Teutonic Knight has been terrorizing Britain aboard a flying craft, which the Invaders realize must be the experimental ship, constructed from the purloined plans, running thanks to Doctor Barrows' special engine, and powered with Radium-X. No sooner do they reach this conclusion, than the group comes across the ship involved in a dogfight with British planes.

Monday, March 21, 2022

INVADERS #28

"CALLING THE KID COMMANDOS!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artists/Artisans: Frank Robbins & Frank Springer
Colors: George Roussos | Letters: John Costanza
Consulting Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner burst into Agent Axis's underground lair. Teaming up with Bucky, Davy Mitchell, and Gwenny Lou Sabuki, the group easily defeats Axis's henchmen and sends the villain into retreat. Axis takes Doctor Sabuki hostage and boards his iron mole. The Human Torch gives chase, but loses track of the mole undergorund. However, when the vehicle emerges in a desert reservoir, Namor confronts Axis and rescues Sabuki. Captain America then arrives to fight Axis.

Meanwhile, Bucky, Davy, Gwenny Lou, and the recovering Toro finish off the henchmen. The Invaders return moments later with Axis captive and Doctor Sabuki rescued. Soon after, Bucky, Toro, Davy, and Gwenny Lou board Namor's flagship with Doctor Sabuki and set out for the Sandy Flat internment camp. En route, Davy and Gwenny Lou don costumes and christen themselves the Human Top and Golden Girl, respectively. At the camp, Agent Axis reappears and the kids defeat him, after which camp commander Captain Simms allows Golden Girl to depart with Bucky and company, while Doctor Sabuki remains behind.

Bucky and friends bring Axis back to the other Invaders, where the villain reveals himself as Namor in disguise, having pulled a fake attack in order to give the kids more credibility with Captain Simms. Then, as the adult Invaders return to England, Bucky, Toro, Golden Girl, and the Human Top opt to remain in the United States and fight on the homefront as -- the Kid Commandos.

Monday, March 14, 2022

INVADERS #27

"AGENT AXIS-- MASTER OF MURDER!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Illustrators/Storytellers: Frank Robbins & Frank Springer
Colorist: George Roussos | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: Aboard Agent Axis's "mechanical mole" machine, Bucky lets slip that Toro lies near death in a nearby hospital. Axis changes course to go kidnap Toro as well. At that instant, a young man named Davy Mitchell wanders into Toro's room. When the mole arrives, Davy is taken along with the young Torch.

Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner arrive at the Sandy Flat internment center, where they find Namor's parked flagship and learn of Bucky's kidnapping. Namor realizes that Bucky took a homing device from the ship before he disembarked, and sets about tracking the young man down.

Agent Axis and his captives arrive at his hidden underground lair, where he demands that Doctor Sabuki cure him of his multiple personality disorder. Sabuki agrees, on the condition that he be allowed to help Toro first. Some time later, Sabuki begins work on Toro, and removes the bullet. With Toro stabilized, Sabuki turns his attention to Axis. The villain has attached Davy and Sabuki's daughter, Gwenny Lou, to equipment that will kill them if Sabuki tries anything on Axis during the procedure. But when Toro awakens and blasts Axis's henchmen, a fight breaks out. The equipment is ruined, and in the process, Gwenny Lou and Davy are endowed with super-powers. A moment later, the Invaders burst into the room.