SONS OF THE TIGER PART 16

As presented in POWER MAN AND IRON FIST Nos. 81 & 82.

"THE ROAD TO HALWAN" | "SECRET OF THE BLACK TIGER"
Writer: Mary Jo Duffy | Penciler: Denys Cowan
Inkers: Ricardo Villamonte (issue 81) & Carl Potts (issue 82)
Letterers: Jim Novak (issue 81) & Janice Chiang (issue 82) | Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Denny O'Neil | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: (Issue 81) Power Man and Iron Fist are approached by Abe Brown, who tells them that the nation of Halwan wants to extridite him for crimes he cannot remember. Power Man, Iron Fist, and their business partner, Jeryn Hogarth, head to Halwan, after surviving an attack by a pair of would-be assassins at the airport. Aboard their plane, the heroes are observed by Brillalae. Immediately upon landing in Halwan, Jeryn is arrested. The Heroes for Hire fight their way to safety and then infiltrate the Halwani capital castle to free Jeryn. There, they bump into undercover Russian spies Ninotchka and Boris, and eventually find themselves cornered by the king's guards.

(Issue 82) Iron Fist escapes while Power Man allows himself to be captured. Power Man is brought before Princess Azir, who also has Abe captive. Meanwhile, Iron Fist explores the castle and meets a pair of young people form neighboring Murkatesh, who are trying to get to the king. Power Man and Abe escape from Azir and race outside, where they find the Black Tiger leading a group of men to attack a recently arrived Russian diplomat. Meanwhile, Iron Fist fights Ninotchka inside the castle. Abe's memories of his time as the Black Tiger return, while Power Man and Boris find themselves reluctant allies against the Tiger's men. Iron Fist defeats Ninotchka while Power Man and Boris beat the insurgents. All parties converge on the king's throne room except Abe, who unmasks the new Black Tiger as Brillalae. Inside the palace, Power Man and Iron Fist are stunned to find that Jeryn, the king, the Russians, and an envoy from Murkatesh have negotiated a resolution to the impending war between Halwan and Murkatesh. The Heroes for Hire and their friends then head home.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 15 - MEANWHILE...

And now we wrap up the saga of the White Tiger with a couple of "reruns" from the earlier days of this blog. Way back in 2014, I looked at one of my all-time favorite Marvel runs -- Roger Stern's tenure on SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN from the early eighties. As part of his work on the former title, Stern decided to revisit Hector Ayala and, at least at the time, give his story a conclusion. Stern did a story about a hero-killing vigilante called Gideon Mace, and I suppose he needed to show that Mace was serious business, so he decided to have him cripple Spidey's pal from SPECTACULAR's earlier days.

When I read this at the time (and previously, in my younger days), I didn't think much of it since the Tiger was a curiosity and not a character with whom I was terribly familiar. But now, with the benefit of having seen his earliest appearances in DEADLY HANDS and some of his struggles in SPECTACULAR, Stern's callous treatment of the Tiger and his family, characters into whom Bill Mantlo clearly had invested a great deal of his energies and interest (and into whom George Pérez had injected biographical tidbits from his own life and family), reads differently, and is perhaps a blemish on his otherwise wonderful run.

But I'll let you decide! Following are my looks at the White Tiger backup serial Stern used to set up his Gideon Mace tale, and then Spider-Man's battle against Mace himself, originally posted here way back in the summer of '14:

PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN: THE WHITE TIGER SERIAL
PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #52

But if, after reading these stories, you think Roger Stern was rough on the Tiger, just remember that a couple decades later, in the pages of DAREDEVIL, Brian Bendis had him framed for a crime he didn't commit, after which he was gunned down and killed by cops while trying to clear his name.

So that's it for the White Tiger, but we're not quite finished with this saga yet. There's still one last big dangling plot left over from the final days of DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, so I broke out the Comicraft fonts and prepared a little "primer" to get you ready for it:

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 14

As presented in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN Nos. 19 & 20.

"AGAIN, THE ENFORCERS!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letters: Jim Novak | Colors: Mary Titus | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

"WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT?"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Irving Watanabe | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: (Issue 19) In the hideout of their new boss, Lightmaster, the original Enforcers, Fancy Dan and Montana, practice beating on a Spider-Man dummy. Lightmaster appears and introduces the men to the new third member of their trio, a lumbering brute named Ox, to replace the original Ox who died in battle with Daredevil. Lightmaster sends the enforcers to the Coffee Bean near Empire State University, where they take the customers and staff hostage, demanding Spider-Man come to face them. Peter Parker, in the area, changes to the web-slinger and confronts the Enforcers, while the hostages escape. But one hostage, Hector Ayala, remains inside to watch the fight. After Spider-Man easily defeats the Enforcers and departs, Hector emerges from the Coffee Bean, leading Lightmaster to believe that Hector is actually Spider-Man.

(Issue 20) The police interrogate the Enforcers (while Spider-Man secretly listens in), but are unable to learn who their boss is. The web-slinger heads home for rest, while Lightmaster prepares to move against Hector. The next morning at Empire State University, Lightmaster appears and abducts Hector in front of Peter and others. Peter manages to tag Hector with a spider-tracer and tracks him to Lightmaster's hideout on Long Island. There, Lightmaster has activated TV cameras to broadcast his unmasking of Spider-Man. Spidey delivers to Hector the tiger amulets, which he dropped during the abduction, and Hector changes to White Tiger as Lightmaster's cameras roll. Spider-Man and White Tiger then defeat Lightmaster together.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 13

As presented in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN Nos. 9 & 10.

Though DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU ended with the February 1977 installment, Bill Mantlo was by no means finished with his co-creaton, Hector Ayala, a.k.a. the White Tiger. Also the writer of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, Mantlo brought Hector in as a supporting character on that series in very short order. Hector and/or the White Tiger appeared in several issues of Mantlo's run, but I don't intend to look at all of them here. I will, however, examine issues 9 and 10, the Tiger's first encounter with Spider-Man, and next week we'll look at issues 19 and 20, as they feature a major event in Hector's life.

"...LIKE A TIGER IN THE NIGHT!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letters: John Costanza | Colors: Phil Rache | Editor: Archie Goodwin

"TIGER IN A WEB!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito, & Frank Giacoia
Letterer: Irving Watanabe | Colorist: Sam Kato | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: (Issue 9) Peter Parker arrives at Empire State University to find students up in arms over the school president's cancellation of night classes due to budget issues. But when ethnic studies professor Ramon Vasquez reveals that the school recently turned down a multi-million dollar bid for its prized Erskine Manuscripts, and that the money could've been used to keep the night classes running, the students become more riled up. One student present is recent enrollee Hector Ayala.

That night, the White Tiger arrives at ESU to steal the Erskine papers, and finds Peter Parker in the science library for a project. The Tiger and Peter have a scuffle and the Tiger gets away with the papers. Peter chases him into the hallway to find the Tiger fighting a group of armed, costumed men. The Tiger beats these men into retreat, and then departs. ESU's President Dwyer then arrives and announces the school is under a state of emergency. Spider-Man does some research on White Tiger, chatting briefly with Blackbyrd in the process, and then returns to ESU. Meanwhile, White Tiger has done the same, entering Professor Vasquez's office to find the professor looking at the Erskine Manuscripts. A moment later Spider-Man arrives as well.

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.