INVADERS #5 & MARVEL PREMIERE #29

"RED SKULL IN THE SUNSET!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas
Pencilers: Rich Buckler & Dick Ayers | Embellisher: Jim Mooney
Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: The Invaders rampage through a munitions plant in the Midwest, destroying it and departing. That night, the Red Skull cuts into all American radio and TV broadcasts to inform the populace that the Invaders now serve him and their attack was staged at his command.

At the White House, the Invaders' FBI Liaison, Mr. Stuart, explains to President Roosevelt that it all started when the group was tapped by the government to appear in a New York parade, sponsored by magnate Bettman P. Lyles, to raise money for war bonds. There, the Red Skull abducted Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and Toro via a strange vortex, and Bucky was left catatonic.

Following Stuart's story, Bucky appears in the Oval Office, jogged from his stupor by reports of his teammates' attack on the plant. Bucky has a plan, but since he is unwilling to disclose it to the president, Roosevelt turns him down. Bucky leaves the White House, despondent.

Continuity Notes: While Stuart appeals to the adult Invaders to join the parade, Bucky and Toro look over a stack of comic books about their own exploits, pointing out everything the creators have gotten wrong. This seems to be Roy Thomas reiterating his stance, described in a column back in GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #1, that the original Golden Age stories about these characters are considered apocryphal until stated otherwise in the pages of INVADERS.

During the same scene, the heroes and Stuart discuss other recently appeared heroes such as the Patriot, the Fin, Miss America, and the Whizzer. Further, this issue ends with a note telling us the story will continue in MARVEL PREMIERE #29, featuring the debut of the Liberty Legion -- a group including most of those same heroes. Quite a coincidence, eh?

As Stuart and President Roosevelt speak, reference is made to several times the Red Skull was believed dead during the Golden Age.

Now, speaking of MARVEL PREMIERE #29, let's go ahead and check it out right here, shall we?

"LO, THE LIBERTY LEGION!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artist: Don Heck | Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: Bucky storms into a New York radio station, where the costumed hero called the Patriot is making an appearance. Bucky appeals to the Patriot and the station manager to let him on the air so he can call for other heroes to come join him in saving Captain America and the Invaders. Bucky repeats the message every fifteen minutes throughout the night, and one at at time, he is heard by several heroes: Red Raven and the Thin Man, teamed up against Nazi spies; the Whizzer and Miss America, working together to stop Nazi saboteurs, and the Blue Diamond, defending himself against Nazi assassins. The heroes all arrive at the radio station together, where they're joined by one final guest: Jack Frost, who saves them all from an undercover Nazi suicide bomber. Bucky christens the group the Liberty Legion, and they set out on their mission.

Continuity Notes: This marks the debut of the Liberty Legion, a second World War II-era super-group conceived by Roy Thomas, again consisting of several Golden Age heroes. But where the Invaders are all characters who had numerous appearances througout the Golden Age and beyond, the Liberty Legionnaires are heroes with far sparser histories.

Footnotes reference the first appearances of all the Legionnaires (except the Patriot, for whatever reason):

• Red Raven debuted in 1940's RED RAVEN COMICS #1 and then promptly vanished for eighteen years until an appearance in X-MEN #44.
• The Thin Man's sole prior appearance was in MYSTIC COMICS #4, also from 1940.
• The Whizzer's origin was told in USA COMICS #1, from 1941
• Miss America appeared in 1943's MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #49.
• The Blue Diamond was seen in DARING MYSTERY COMICS #7 and 8, again from 1941.
• And Jack Frost was also in USA COMICS #1 (as well as issues 2 - 4), once more in 1941

The Whizzer and Miss America, who share a little flirtation as they meet here for the first time, were eventually revealed to be the birth parents of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, but of course this has been ret-conned more than once over the years. However at this point, I believe that tidbit was still considered fact, which leads to a bit of a "wink and a nod" moment as a Nazi refers to Miss America at one point as "...that scarlet witch, whoever she was!"

My Thoughts: INVADERS must have been doing good business if, after a mere five issues (plus one Giant-Size installment), Marvel allowed Roy Thomas to create a second World War II super-team as a spinoff! Thomas obviously loves the Golden Age of comics, the era in which he grew up, and you can almost feel the fun he's having at revisiting all these minor characters who never rose to as much prominence as Cap, Namor, and the Human Torch.

That said, I'm not sure what I think of this little epic so far. It starts off well enough, with the Invaders unexpectedly laying waste to an American factory -- but then it goes a little weird. The whole bit with the Red Skull appearang as a projection in the sky and kidnapping the group is fine, though the fact that Stuart, allegedly describing the events to the president, narrates it with Roy Thomas's flowery prose coming out of his mouth, is disconcerting (though not uncommon in comics).

Then you have the bit where Bucky feels he can't reveal to the president and a high-ranking FBI official that all he wants to do is go on the air and try to get all the other American super heroes to join him in rescuing his friends. It's contrived beyond all suspension of disbelief. I mean, maybe he thinks they're just going to say no, but -- they say it anyway when he refuses to cough up the details, so he goes and does it anyway!

The MARVEL PREMIERE issue is a nice setup for the Liberty Legion, with each member's introduction framed as an FBI file on that character, which then segues into the character in action on the homefront. It's the sort of thing I think Thomas does very well; incorporating Marvel's historical continuity into his story. As always, I feel he's using a few too many words in every panel, but I don't find this stuff nearly as much a slog as has long been my experience with his 1960s output.

Next week, it's back to INVADERS and then one more issue of MARVEL PREMIERE, as the two teams finally come face-to-face and the Red Skull's plan is revealed!