AVENGERS #345

Plus CAPTAIN AMERICA #398, AVENGERS WEST COAST #80, QUASAR #32, WONDER MAN #7, IRON MAN #278, and THOR #445.

Note: While I am summarizing the entire "Operation: Galactic Storm" crossover in the "The Plot" section, the "Contiuity Notes" reflect only AVENGERS #345 unless otherwise indicated

"STORM GATHERINGS"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Colorist/Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Bill Oakley | Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot:
CAPTAIN AMERICA #398: "IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE" by Mark Gruenwald, Rik Levins, and Danny Bulandi -- Rick Jones dreams that the Kree homeworld is annihilated, and sees Captain America, with the head of the Kree Supreme Intelligence, walking through the ruins. Rick calls the Avengers, and Cap flies to Arizona to meet him. But as the two talk in a diner, they are attacked by Warstar of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. Warstar tries to abduct Rick, but Cap stops the alien as Rick escapes. However, Rick is subsequently mind-controlled by Imperial Guardsma Oracle, and is captured anyway. Elsewhere, the Supreme Intelligence activates a physical body to house its consciousness. Christening this being Supremor, the Intelligence declares it will be the first member of the Kree Starforce.

AVENGERS WEST COAST #80: "TURN OF THE SENTRY" by Roy & Dann Thomas, David Ross, and Tim Dzon -- Aboard a Shi'ar ship, Oracle telepathically interrogates Rick Jones for information on Captain Mar-Vell and the Kree. Meanwhile, the West Coast Avengers (Iron Man, Hawkeye, U.S. Agent, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Living Lightning, Spider-Woman, and reservist Mockingbird) are about to begin a meeting when Captain America calls from a payphone. The Avengers pick Cap up at the Arizon diner, while Oracle and her Imperial Guard teammates, Electron and Tempest, enter the "lost Kree outpost" with Rick. Their arrival activates a Kree Sentry, which attacks. The Avengers arrive a moment later, as does Warstar. Rick is rescued and the Sentry is beaten, but the outpost is destroyed as the Imperial Guardsmen escape with a psyche-magnetron stolen from the base. Captain America calls Quasar to pursue the Guard into space, but their ship vanishes into a stargate before he can follow.

QUASAR #32: "THE TOMB OF MAR-VELL" by Mark Gruenwald, Greg Capullo, and Harry Candelario -- In search of the Shi'ar ship, Quasar visits the Starcore space station and learns that the sun is erupting with an unusual number of solar flares. Aboard Starcore, he receives a call from Peggy Carter on Earth, informing him that former Avenger Starfox of Titan has detected someone breaking into Captain Mar-Vell's tomb. Quasar flies to Titan and enters the tomb with Starfox, where they find Kree operatives Doctor Minerva and Captain Atlas. As the Avengers question the duo, the full Shi'ar Imperial Guard arrives and attacks. Meanwhile, on Earth, Captain America assigns Wonder Man to act as Rick's bodyguard for the time being. Back on Titan, Quasar and company quickly realize something is amiss, eventually determining that only three of the Guardsmen are real: Manta, Impluse, and Magique, who create illusions of the rest of her teammates. The Guard trio is defeated, but Minerva and Atlas escape back into the tomb. Elsewhere, a Kree scientsit transforms himself into a super-being called Korath the Pursuer. On Titan Quasar follows Atlas and Minerve into the tomb, to find Atlas donning Captain Marvel's nega-bands. Atlas slams the bands together, and Rick Jones appears in place of Atlas, and immediately begins to succumb to Titan's lack of oxygen.

AVENGERS #344

The mighty assemblers must face...
"ECHOES OF THE PAST"
Writer: Bob Harras | Pencils: Steve Epting | Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Tom Palmer | Letters: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Note: This issue (or at least the version reprinted in the AVENGERS: THE GATHERING OMNIBUS) does not include credits. The above are pulled from Comics.org.

The Plot: On a rooftop near Four Freedoms Plaza, the Avengers are confronted by the Swordsman and his companion, Magdalene. After ranting at the Avengers for letting him die, Swordsman attacks. He sends Thor flying, while Magdalene goes toe-to-toe with Hercules. Soon, Crystal comes to Hercules's aid while Black Knight engages the Swordsman. Black Knight eventually stuns Swordsman with his laser sword, so Magdalene abandons the fight and calls to someone named Proctor to teleport the Swordsman and herself away.

While the battered Avengers regroup, Magdalene and Swordsman appear in a remote control room, where the mysterious Proctor heals Swordsman and speaks of revenge on Captain America and the Avengers. At Avengers Mansion, the group decides that the man they battled was the real Swordsman, somehow back from the dead, and wonders what to do next.

Continuity Notes: There's lots going on between the main conflict's pages in this one! First, Luna's nursemaid, Marilla, gets into a spat with Jarvis in the Avengers' kitchen when Marilla tries to doctor Jarvis's recipe to make his food more palatable to Crystal. In the same scene, Sersi returns to the mansion unexpectedly. Jarvis tells her where the Avengers are and mentions that Captain America has been concerned for her, but Sersi declares that her life is her own. Then, as she leaves to go join the team, she is stopped when she catches sight of her own reflection and begins babbling to herself.

AVENGERS #343

"FIRST NIGHT"
A story of acquaintances, old and new, brought to you by...
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steven Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Tom Palmer | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: On the roof of Avengers Mansion, Vision, Jarvis, and the new Thor welcome Crystal, her daughter Luna, and Luna's nursemaid, Marilla, to their new home. While Jarvis escorts Marilla and Luna to Luna's room, the rest of the group encounters Hercules and the Black Knight battling a group of robots in a hallway. Thor and Crystal team up to defeat the robots, after which Captain America and Black Widow appear. The veteran Avengers inform Crystal and Thor that this was a surprise test of their abilities.

The next morning, while Captain America and Black Widow are away in California for a meeting with the West Coast Avengers, a priority alarm comes in from the Human Torch, in which he says the Fantastic Four are under attack. Vision scrambles Crystal, Thor, Hercules, and the Black Knight (with his winged steed, Valinor) to investigate. But when the heroes reach Four Freedoms Plaza, they find nothing amiss, and the Fantastic Four apparently not home. Then the Avengers are attacked by an energy bolt that sends them falling from the sky. The heroes land on a rooftop and find themselves confronted by the long-thought-dead Swordsman and an armored mystery woman.

Continuity Notes: As noted above, this Thor is not the original God of Thunder, but is rather the mortal, Eric Masterson, acting as Thor while the real McCoy is banished per events in his own series. Masterson is none too pleased by the Avengers' test, mentioning that it's the second time the group has pulled something like this, as Hercules apparently attacked him to test his mettle in THOR #437. It should be noted that this is "my" Thor -- i.e., when I was a kid, really beginning to explore the Marvel Universe, this was the Thor I knew from things like INFINITY GAUNTLET and WAR, random assorted issues of this AVENGERS run, and so forth.

AVENGERS #340, #341, & #342

"CLAY SOLDIERS"
Plot: David Michelinie | Script: Scott Lobdell
Pencils: Paul Abrams | Inks: Robert Jones & Chuck Barnette
Letterer: Brad K. Joyce | Colorists: Renee Witterstaetter & Marie Javins
Edits: Ralf Macchio | More Edits: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: Captain America, Wasp, Hercules, She-Hulk, and Iron Man attend the opening of New York's new super hero medical research and treatment facility -- but the festivities are interrupted when a woman races toward Captain America for help, but gets hit by a car in the process. In Cap's arms, the woman warns him that "he's crazy" and that Cap must help "the children." Then she passes out. Later, at Avengers Mansion, Wasp and Jarvis dig up information on the injured woman, learning that she is married to a weapons manufacturer named Itzhak Berditchev, and that the couple has ten year-old quintuplet sons. Realizing these must be the children in question and suspecting that Berditchev recently stole some plutonium from Austria, Cap and Wasp send Jarvis, undercover as a gunrunner named Armond Carlyle III, to infiltrate Berditchev's estate while they follow.

At the estate, Jarvis gains entrance as Cap and Wasp sneak around the grounds. Wasp feigns unconsciousness when sprayed with gas, and Cap races into Berditchev's hedge maze. Jarvis is taken prisoner by two of Berditchev's sons, but manages to escape them. Elsewhere, Cap speaks with Berditchev via a video screen and learns that he saved Berditchev, then a child, from a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, and that Berditchev has since patterend his life -- and the lives of his sons -- around a twisted understanding of Cap's ideals. Soon, Cap overcomes Berditchev's assassin, Bulwark, while Jarvis and Wasp appeal to the children and turn them against their father. When everyone eventually crosses paths in Berditchev's control room, the munitions dealer has a nervous breakdown. He and Bulwark are arrested, and the Avengers prepare to turn his sons over to their recovering mother.

Continuity Notes: In the opening pages, Iron Man mulls over his "recent health problems" as seen in issues of his own title, while Hercules confides in She-Hulk that he feels like the "token god," covering while Thor is unavailable due to events in his ongoing series. There's also a reference to the Avengers' encounter with Thane Ector and the Collector last issue. Later in the story, Jarvis recalls his injuries at the hands of the Masters of Evil in AVENGERS #275.

In the issue, Wasp wears the costume she's shown using on the cover, but it's colored yellow-and-blue instead of blue-and-white.

AVENGERS #338 & #339

"INFECTIOUS COMPULSIONS" | "FINAL REDEMPTION"
A tale of loss and endings by
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterers: Bill Oakley w/Rick Parker (issue 338)
Colorists (issue 338): Witterstaetter, Mossoff & Tinsley
Colorists (issue 339): Tinsley, Mossoff, Scott & Skolnik
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 338) Within the Bretrhen's habitat, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar, and the Collector bury Naka. But no sooner have they completed this task and begun to anaylze the area, than another being bursts from the ground: Olar, oldest of the Brethren. On Earth, in Thane Ector's citadel, the fool visits Sybyl Dorn as she prepares to challenge and kill Thane Ector for betrying his people. At Avengers Mansion, Vision, Crystal, and Lockjaw return from a trip to the moon with Hank Pym, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar, the Collector, and Olar in tow. Beast reveals that the Brethren are little more than evolved germs, and the Avengere prepare to study Olar, with his permission, for more data.

The fool, however, has been spying on the Avengers and collects a recording of the group making their plans. Just as Sybyl Dorn has roused the Brethren against Than Ector, the fool appears and shows all present that the Avengers have captured Olar and are consorting with the Collector. Now believing the Avengers to be no better than the Collector himself, Ector turns on Sersi and orders his people to attack Avengers Mansion. After they leave, Sersi confesses to the fool that she knows the Brethren's secret. Meanwhile, Pym and Beast are studying Olar when someone knocks them out and kills the oldest Brethren. The Brethren then arrive and attack. Thane Ector gets past the heroes and begins beating the Collector, until the Collector reveals a new, stronger form and says that it was he who released the Brethren and sent them to Earth.

AVENGERS #336 & #337

"FOR HERE WE MAKE OUR STAND!" | "MUD AND GLORY?"
A tale of battle and fury by...
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Letters: Bill Oakley & Rick Parker | Colors: Christie Scheele & Renee Witterstaetter
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 336) Thane Ector erects a citadel atop the World Trade Center, and then sends his troops into Manhattan to estabish a perimeter. At Avengers Mansion, Captain America, recovering from the wounds he sustained in battle with Ector, speaks with President Bush regarding the situation. He then sends the Avengers out to face the Brethren. On the moon, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar and the Collector escape from the creature that had attacked them. They land their miniaturized craft and are surrounded by a tribe of the Collector's captive beings.

On Earth, the Avengers battle the Brethren in Manhattan, while Thane Ector observes from his citadel. Ector visits the captive Sersi and attempts to woo her, but his fool is displeased with this behavior and mind-blasts Ector. Aboard the Collector's ship, the Avengers make peace with the tribe. The beings explain that the Brethren escaped from their habitat on the ship and traveled from exhibit to exhibit, conquering each mini-biosphere, before they ultimately left. Back on Earth, Captain America and Black Widow arrive to battle the Brethren, and are joined shortly by Crystal and Lockjaw.

(Issue 337) In the sewer beneath Manhattan, Thane Ector and his fool chat about their race and eat some sludge. Aboard the Collector's ship, the miniturized Avengers contingent and the Collector, now joined by a tribesman named Nakka, continue on their quest through the Collector's various habitats. Meanwhile, the Watcher appears to observe Hank Pym in the Collector's ship. On Earth, the Avengers have regrouped in their mansion, where Crystal expresses interest in joining the team. Captain America agrees to allow her in on a probationary basis until after the Brethren have been dealt with.

Nick Fury calls Captain America to inform him that everyone killed by the Brethren has been stripped of all germs and bacteria. Meanwhile, Sybil Dorn attacks Sersi inside the citadel, transforming into a huge goop-monster during the skirmish. Thane Ector appears and sends Sybil away, then reveals to Sersi that the Brethren were mutated by the Celestials from germs. On the moon, the Watcher nudges Pym to direct his fellow Avengers toward the Brethren's habitat. As soon as the heroes reach it, Nakka dies and rapidly decomposes.

AVENGERS #334 & #335

"FIRST ENCOUNTER"
Story: Bob Harras | Pencils: Andy Kubert | Inks: Tom Palmer
Letters: John Costanza | Colors: Christie Scheele
Editor: Howard Mackie | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: On the moon, Quicksilver and the Inhumans Karnak and Timberius, along with one of the Inhumans' Alpha Primitive servants, investigate a recently crashed spacecraft near the Watcher's citadel. Quicksilver decides the Avengers may be interested in the ship and attempts to signal them, but a force field seals him and his friends into a bubble with the ship just as he activates the call. Seconds later, the group is confronted by creatures called the Brethren, led by the sinister Thane Ector.

On Earth, the Avengers receive a brief snippet of Quicksilver's signal. Moments later, the Inhuman princess (and estranged wife of Quicksilver) Crystal appears with her teleporting dog, Lockjaw, to enlist the Avengers' aid. The team flies a Quinjet to the moon, where they are greeted by Black Bolt and Medusa outside the force field. The Inhumans attempt to break through, but fail. Quasar and Sersi then make an attempt of their own.

Meanwhile, inside the field, Thane Ector has beaten Quicksilver in an attempt to interrogate him. When Ector turns his attention to Timberius, the Inhuman tells him that Earth is nearby. Ector perpares to execute Quicksilver, but the Alpha Primitive jumps in and is killed instead. Just then, the field disappears and the Avengers and Inhumans arrive. After a brief skirmish, the Brethren teleport away. The Watcher appears leads the Avengers in exploring the crashed ship. Inside, the heroes find a collection of beings from various civilzations, and then they locate the ship's master: the Collector, in agony following a fight with Thane Ector.

AVENGERS BY BOB HARRAS, STEVE EPTING, & TOM PALMER

We spent the majority of this year (and going way back to mid-2021, in fact) in Marvel's 1970s, so I was thinking it's time to skip ahead a couple decades to an era I've surprisingly visited very rarely around here, considering it's when I did the majority of my formative comic book reading: the dreaded 1990s! And specifically, we're going to look at a run which is weirdly near and dear to me, though I've read precious little of it: The multi-year AVENGERS saga by writer Bob Harras, penciler Steve Epting, and mainstay inker Tom Palmer.

See, when I was a lad in middle school (around 13-15 years old), these were the Avengers: Black Knight wielding a lightsaber, Sersi dressed in red and black, Crystal in white and black, clean-shaven Hercules, and more -- and all wearing matching leather bomber jackets! I didn't read the AVENGERS series, but I saw this group in things like Jim Starlin's INFINITY trilogy, the X-Men's "Bloodties" crossover, and more. And my best friend back then did read the book, so I would peruse issues at his house -- and I liked what I saw! Not enough to start reading the title myself, but that was most likely simply due to the fact that my limited comic budget was tied up mostly with Spider-Man and the X-Men.

Still, I never forgot this run. (I even told Bob Harras how much I had enjoyed what I'd seen of it when I met him at the San Diego Comic-Con in 1999!) And back at the beginning of the year, I used a Christmas gift card to buy the AVENGERS: THE GATHERING Omnibus, which I had regretted passing on when it was first released in 2020. On top of that, I've also picked up digital editions of the Epic Collections covering this run in various Comixology/Amazon sales in recent years. So I'm pretty well armed at this point to delve into the Avengers of the nineties.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 3

"VICTORY" | "ZONE"
"THE BATTLE STARS" | "OPERATION COMBINATION"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

Now we get to TRANSFORMERS: VICTORY, which represents the largest schism between the American and Japanese Transformers continuities. You'll recall that HEADMASTERS, the first of the Japan-exclusive series, was a direct continuation of the three seasons of the original TRANSFORMERS cartoon. It featured characters from the third season alongside new charaacters, and aside from the Trainbots, there were really no characters unique to Japan in that series.

Then came SUPER-GOD MASTERFORCE, which, while ostensibly still a sequel to the prior series, seemed to move so far past and away from what the Transformers had previosly been, that it felt like a brand-new thing (notwithstanding occasional references to Optimus Prime and manga-exclusve appearances by a few characters from prior series). The MASTERFORCE roster was comprised of many characters who were released in the United States (albeit with different names), along with a number of Japan-exclusive characrers, like Godbomber and Overlord.

Now it's on to VICTORY, a series whose cast seems to be composed entirely of characters/toys who were never released in the United States! In 1989, when VICTORY was broadcast in Japan, the American Transformers line was still producing Pretenders and was introducing Micromasters. But it appears the Japanese line was more focused on new combiner teams (Brainmasters, Breastforce, and Dinoforce), along with a few larger-scale figures: the new Autobot leader, Starsaber, and the new Decepticon emperor, Deszaras. (Note: I'm more familiar with these names parsed/translated as "Star Saber" and "Deathsaurus", but I will abide by Viz's versions for the remainder of this post.)

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 2, PART 2

"SUPER-GOD MASTERFORCE"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

Now we plunge into an era of Japanese Transformers mythology with which I'm mostly unfailiar, aside from reading articles about it on the Transformers Wiki. Though I own the SUPER-GOD MASTERFORCE series (and its follow-up, VICTORY, whose manga tie-ins we will examine next week), I have never watched it. So, with that said, here we go!

The MASTERFORCE manga appears to begin in the future at some point, during an era where the Transformers have become legends on Earth, believed by humanity to have been gods who walked the word years ago. But when the Decepticon Pretenders appear, a clandestine group of Autobot Pretenders stationed on Earth reveal themselves. Following from some of the nomenclature oddness from HEADMASTERS, in this go-round, Viz has elected to present all the characters with their Japanese names -- so the Decepticon Pretenders, known in the U.S.A. as Bombburst, Skullgrin, and Iguanus, are referred to consistently in the manga as Blood, Dowlos, and Gilmer. Likewise for the Autobot Pretenders, the "Junior Headmasters" on both sides, and all the other Transformers presented here.

Personally, I don't really like this choice. I mean, I kind of get why they did it: MASTERFORCE is its own thing. It is not the American continuity. One need look no further to confirm that, than the fact that the character we Americans know as Powermaster Optimus Prime is a completely different character in Japan; an Autobot named Ginrai who was built to resemble Optimus. And while the early manga chapters were set in the American Generation One universe, telling "side stories" of that continuity, everything from HEADMASTERS on is more of a parallel universe. So it makes sense, even if I would rather be reading the American names I remember from my childhood.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 2, PART 1

"THE HEADMASTERS"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

The second volume of TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA delves into the Japanese-exclusive series, beginning with HEADMASTERS. The story opens up with Optimus Prime dead again, and Rodimus Prime back in charge of the Autobots, leading them from their new base on the planet Athenia. The HEADMASTERS cartoon remains the only one of the Japan-exclusive series that I've seen (though I bought all three, HEADMASTERS, MASTERFORCE, and VICTORY, when Shout! Factory realeased them on DVD in the United States a decade or so back). My recollection is that it was somehow simultaneously more juvenile and more mature than the original American cartoons. It had no qualms about killing characters off and serializing its story, two things the first series never did outside of the tie-in movie. But at the same time there was a lot of humor clearly aimed at small children, and some of the story premises felt extremely simplistic.

The manga, meanwhile, continues to be its own thing, advertising characters via huge chapter-length battles rather than telling stories of any great depth. This time around, we get the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters, the Trainbots (a Japan-exclusve combiner team), Sixshot the Decepticon ninja, and so forth. Strangely, the translated manga has kept the Japanese names for some of these characters, which it had not done previously. I.e., in past stories, Optimus Prime was called by his original American name, rather than his Japanese appelation, Convoy. There was never any point in the early chapters where a Japanese name jumped out at me. But here for example, the Decepticons known in the U.S. as Mindwipe and Skullcruncher are referred to consistently by their Japanese names, Wipe and Skull. It's a little weird.

Here, the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters introduce themselves via an extra-long first chapter on Planet Beast, a world which also featured in the HEADMASTERS cartoon. Beast is an oddity, featuring the Takara-owned "Battle Beasts" characters in a crossover with the Transformers. In the manga, the good and evil Battle Beasts are referred to as being Autobot and Decepticon beasts, which I don't think I recall being the case in the anime. But anyway -- the Decepticon beasts team up with Predaking and a huge fight ensues, with the Autobots coming out victorious. Oh, and the Headmasters meet a human kid named Kane, who was raised among the Autobot beasts and fights alongside them.

In subsequent chapters, the Headmasters battle it out in Alaska, the Trainbots' combined form of Raiden heads into the sea to beat up a bunch of Sharkticons (shown here to serve the Decepticons rather than the Quintessons as in the cartoon) and a giant robot squid which seems to be based on a smiliar beast from planet Quintessa in TRANSFOMERS: THE MOVIE, the Headmasters battle the Decepticon Headmaster Horrorcons and then save Christmas, and finally the Autobot and Decepticon Targetmasters (including Artfire and Ricochet, Japanese-excluse characters who were repaints of Inferno and Jazz, respectively) all appear.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL 1, PART 2

"THE STORY OF THE SUPER ROBOT LIFE-FORMS: THE TRANSFORMERS"
"THE GREAT TRANSFORMERS WAR"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

And just like that, we move twenty-five years into the future, to the far-flung world of 2010. After the second season of the TRANSFORMERS animated series ended, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE released in American cinemas, followed immediately by the cartoon's third season. The movie was set in 2005, and season 3 in 2006. In Japan, however, things went a little differently. For convoluted reasons, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE didn't reach Japanese shores for a number of years, but they did import and localize the third season. However in Japan, the season was presented as, essentially, a new series titled TRANSFORMERS: 2010 -- and that's the continuity these next stories cover.

I'm not sure why the Japanese writers decided to bump the timeline up five years. I don't think it has anything to do with missing TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. Maybe they just thought 2010 sounded cooler than 2006. Though it's notable that, at least according to these manga chapters, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE (which did happen in the Japanese continuity even if they hadn't yet seen it), was still set in 2005. There's an explicit line by Rodimus Prime in one of these stories where he discusses Megaton vanishing during the "Unicron Wars" of five years ago.

It's actually an interesting moment in the manga, as the Autobots speculate on what actually happened to Megatron. Some think he died. Some think Galvaton is Megatron in disguise. I don't believe the cartoon -- or at least the original American version -- goes into this at all. It's pretty much accepted by all characters that Galvatron is Megaton, the end. To the point that when Optimus Prime eventually returns in the season 3 finale, he talks about Galvatron and Megatron as if they're the exact same person, even despite Galvatron's clear personality differences.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA VOL. 1, PART 1

"FIGHT! SUPER ROBOT LIFE-FORM TRANSFORMERS"
Story by Masumi Kaneda | Art by Ban Magami

The Transformers manga was serialized in Japan's TV Magazine around the time the original series debuted. Ostensibly, at least from the start, it exists in the same continuity as the TV show, though it was clearly produced with a Japan-centric mindset, unlike the cartoon, which -- while inspired by Japanese toys -- was conceived, written and produced in the United States, with only the animation outsourced to overseas companies, including Japan's own Toei studio.

It's a little jarring at first, I'll admit. From the manga's start, the Autobots hang out almost exclusively in Japan. It's established that the Decepticons have a strong interest in conquering Japan for its energy resources, so the Autobots regularly patrol the country. It makes sense though, when you stop to think about it. After all, this manga was produced for kids as a tie-in to a cartoon series they were watching on TV. The cartoon was set basically entirely in the United States, so the manga creators likely wanted to give their young readers something a little more familiar.

I will say, though, that the series is "Japanese-centric" in more ways than simply the setting. There are a number of anime/manga tropes on display here that never showed up in the cartoon. In the first chapter, the Autobots befriend a young boy named Kenji. Somehow, this lad is a tactical genius, making suggestions to the Autobots on how to defeat their enemies, to the point that Optimus Prime names Kenji an "honorary Autobot" and provides him with a special helmet he can use to contact the Autobots the next time the Decepticons make trouble in Japan.

TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA

Years ago, I had sort of an annual tradition where every Fall, I would do a series of Transformers posts. It started in the blog's first two years, with the full run of TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE in September/October/November of 2013 and 2014. In the Autumns of 2015 and 2016, it was Dreamwave's TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE and WAR WITHIN comics. Then in 2017, it was all the G.I. JOE/TRANSFORMERS crossovers by Devil's Due Publishing.

After that, the tradition sort of faded away as I ran out of "limited run" Transformers series that piqued my interest. But that's changed! Here we are, five years after my last Fall Transformers project, and I've got something new. This will probably be the shortest of all the Transformers review series I've run here, but it's something I've had some interest in for a long time: TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA.

Now that's not what this stuff was originally called when it was published in Japan in the eighties; rather this is the umbrella title given to all the various Transformers manga that was published back then, as collected in three lovely hardcover volumes by the good people at Viz. I've known about this material for a long time, but never had a way to read it until recently. This stuff spans all of the "Generation One" era, starting with a tie-in to the original animated series (known in Japan as SUPER ROBOT LIFEFORM: TRANSFORMERS) all the way up through various Japanese-exclusive continuities. I honestly have little idea of what to expect here. Beyond TRANSFORMERS: HEADMASTERS, I know little about the Japanese stuff that came after the 1984-87 cartoon.

So hopefully you'll join me, starting next Monday, for the next little while as I take a look at this stuff. Overall, this will take the next five weeks -- two posts apiece for the first two books, and one single post for the final volume. And then after this brief diversion, it's back to the Marvel Universe for one of my favorite runs that I've never read!

---

Available on Amazon:
TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA vol. 1: Hardcover | Digital
TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA vol. 2: Hardcover | Digital
TRANSFORMERS: THE MANGA vol. 3: Hardcover | Digital

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #36

"A STRETCH IN TIME..."
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Ernie Chan
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: In the prehistoric river, Skull, Ann, Jeff, Doctor Corey, and the Thing escape from the angry brotosaurs, but find themselves pulled toward a waterfall. Skull saves Ann and Jeff, while the Thing saves Corey. The group continues on their quest to raid the crashed military transport for parts. once they have the equipment they need, they head back to the Thing's experimental craft and repair it. The group takes off, but they are pursued by the Jaguar Priest, riding a pterodactyl, with several more pterodons following. The Thing guides his craft through the time warp, back to present day Cape Canaveral, but the Jaguar Priest and his pterodons follow.

Mister Fantastic greets the group on the Cape's airfield and joins them in their fight against the Jaguar Priest's dinosaurs. The Priest's pterodactyl grabs Ann, but the Thing commandeers another dino and follows. While Mister Fantastic and Skull fight the pterodons on the ground, the Thing rescues Ann. The Jaguar Priest is taken away by the police, and Mister Fantastic suggests sending the pterodons to the Savage Land. Skull prepares to turn himself in to the police as well, to stand trial for the death of his brother.

Continuity Notes: There are three footnotes in this story; one to the last issue when Skull notices the Jaguar Priest, and one to SKULL THE SLAYER #1 when Corey mentions that Skull is still wanted for his brother's death. The third is a lengthy affair in which Marv Wolfman tries to explain how Mister Fantastic appears in this story with his powers intact (albeit weakening), when he had apparently lost them in contemporaneous FANTASTIC FOUR installments.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #35

"ENTER: SKULL THE SLAYER AND EXIT: THE THING!"
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Guest Artist: Ernie Chan
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: The Thing is summoned by the Air Force to Cape Canaveral, Florida in order to pilot an experimental plane into the Bermuda Triangle in search of a missing jet carrying a cobalt bomb. As he flies the craft, the Thing is attacked by a pterodactyl and pulled into a temporal warp. He crashes on an island in time to come to the aid of Skull, Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey, who are about to be executed by the Jaguar Priest.

The Thing, Skull, and company fight off the Jaguar Priest's minons and then escape into the jungle. They fight off a pterodactyl and then head to the Thing's crashed ship, but find it cannot be repaired. At Jeff's suggestion, the group heads out to find the Army plane that brought Skull and company to the island, in hopes of using some its parts to fix the jet. But on the way, they're attacked by a tyrannosaurus rex. The group escapes by jumping into a river -- but when they emerge from the water, they find themselves surrounded by a herd of brontosauruses.

Continuity Notes: The "missing plane carrying a cobalt bomb" thing was apparently a multi-title plotline! The Thing recalls that the Air Force thought it had been found in Chicago in POWER MAN #45, but that was a false alarm. Later when he crashes on the prehistoric island, the Thing compares it with an "other Earth" he visited in FANTASTIC FOUR #161. One panel later, a quick recap of Skull's situation references SKULL THE SLAYER #8. Leter in the issue, a footnote appears to SKULL #1 when Corey and Jeff discuss Skull's status as a wanted man.

Speaking of SKULL #8, it seems Captain Cochran was unceremoniously killed off since that issue ended. The revelation comes with a footnote from Marv Wolfman which seems to essentially say, "I didn't create that character and I have literally zero interest in writing him." It's kind of funny, though also a bit callous toward Bill Mantlo's storyline.

SKULL THE SLAYER #8

"RIDERS ON THE SKY!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Sonny Trinidad
Letters: Denise Wohl | Colors: George Roussos | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: In the golden city, the Incas celebrate Skull and friends surviving their test in the dinosaur pits. Captain Cochran, known to his people as Viracocha, the Feathered Serpent, explains to Skull and the group that he was stationed at a Miami navy base in 1945 when his plane was sucked into the Bermuda Triangle warp and he crashed on the prehistoric island.

Meanwhile, the traitorous Jaguar Priest escapes confinement in the city's dungeons with the aid of his secret followers. He arrives in Cochran's throne room in time to watch as Skull, Ann, Jeff, Doctor Corey, and Cochran are attacked by pterodactyl-riding knights from various time periods. Despite Skull's power belt, the heroes are overcome. Skull is knocked out and the Jaguar Priest orders his prisoners sent to the dungeons.

Continuity Notes: This is the final issue of SKULL THE SLAYER, with the "next issue" blurb (see below) advising fans to write to Marvel if they want to see the series revived.

Cochran was a topographer by trade, and has spent his time among the Incas mapping the world, noting that in this era, the continents have not begun to drift apart yet. (And not to beat a dead horse, but I still really don't think this is what Marv Wolfman had planned for the series. I'm pretty sure he intended the island to exist firmly in the present day, with the Tower of Time creating the illusion of a time warp for those who were sucked into it.)

SKULL THE SLAYER #7

"BURY MY HEART IN THE CITY OF GOLD"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Sonny Trinidad
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Skull, Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey are esorted by the Incas to their city of gold, where the High Priest, leader of the group's captors, presents them to their king. Meanwhile, in the United States, Senator "Stonewall" Turner meets with Freddy Lancer about Lancer's plan to head into the Bermuda Triangle and find Skull.

Skull and friends are dropped into two separate pits, where they find themselves up against hungry dinosaurs. In one pit, Ann, Corey, and Jeff fight two pterodactyls, while Skull battles a stegosaurus in the other. Ann stabs one pterosaur with a spear while Jeff shoots at it. When Skull's energy belt begins to glow, the High Priest turns on his king and throws the monarch into the pit with Skull. Nonetheless, Skull's strength belt allows him to kill the stegosaur. Meanwhile, Ann finds some grenades on a soldier's corpse and hurls one at the remaining pterodactyl, killing it.

In the aftermath of the fight, Doctor Corey captures the treacherous High Priest, while the king unmasks himself as one Captain Victor Cochran of the United States Navy, who has been trapped among the Incas for thirty years.

SKULL THE SLAYER #6

"SWAMP!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Steve Gan
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: Outside the Tower of Time, as Ann and Jeff watch, Skull removes an arrow from Doctor Corey's arm and does his best to treat the wound -- then the group moves along, Skull carrying the unconscious Corey. Inside the Tower, the Black Knight confronts and kills Slitherogue, but when the alien dies, the Tower collapses. Meanwhile, a survivor of the plane crash, Corporal Freddy Lancer, is found by a passing Navy ship. Aboard, Lancer meets with Jeff's father, Senator "Stoneface" Turner, and vows to find Skull.

Back on the island, Skull and company find the tail end of the crashed plane and gather supplies from within. Soon after, as they float down a river on a makeshift raft, they're attacked by a group of Inca warriors. But when a prehistoric ichthyosaur appears and begins devouring fallen Incas, Skull leaps atop the creature and stabs it repeatedly, his strength belt putting so much force behind his assault that the ichthyosaur explodes.

In the aftermath, as Ann embraces Skull, the Incas begin to chant -- words Corey translates as them calling Skull the "Son of the Sun" and beckoning him to follow them through the swap. Their leader points at a huge golden structure in the distance which Skull believes to be the legendary lost city of El Dorado.

SKULL THE SLAYER #5

"MAGIC, MYTH AND MADNESS!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Sal Buscema & Sonny Trinidad
Lettering: Karen Mantlo | Colors: Michele Wolfman | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: Demons, sent by Slitherogue and Morgan Le Fay, burst into Merlin's chamber to attack Skull, the Black Knight, and Merlin. The heroes fight off the creatures, but when Merlin casts a spell, he goes cataonic. Skull realizes that Merlin is a robot and smashes him to prove it to the Black Knight. Meanwhile, Slitherogue resurrects Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey, giving them to Morgan Le Fay as her army against Skull.

Elsewhere, the Black Knight brings Skull to the castle of King Arthur, where the Knight activates the robotic monarch to warn him of Morgan's attack. Moments later, Morgan leads a horde of demons, plus Skull's former friends, in an attack on the castle. Arthur's robot knights are activated and the battle is joined. Amid the chaos, Ann, Jeff, and Corey confront Skull, but Corey is hit by a stray arrow. This snaps everyone out of their blood-crazed stupor. As the battle winds down around them, the Black Knight finishes off Morgan. He approaches Skull and reveals himself as a robot too, then Skull and his friends head for the Tower of Time's doorway out of the Arthurian era.

Continuity Notes: There's one footnote in this story, referencing issue 1 when the death of Skull's brother is brought up. However there is also a non-footnoted flasback to last issue as Jeff, Ann, and Doctor Corey all recall their respective death scenes.

SKULL THE SLAYER #4

"TIME OUT OF MIND!"
Together again for the fourth time!
Author: Steve Englehart | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Irving Watanabe | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: In ancient Egypt, Skull and Doctor Corey battle the Pharaoh's soldiers, determining during the fight that the men are robots -- but the heroes are overwhelmed and captured. They are brought before the Phaoaoh himself, an extraterrestrial named Slitherogue, who explains that the "Tower of Time" is a creation of his people in preparation for conquering all of Earth's historical eras. Then, to demonstrate his power, Slitehrogue kills Jeff.

Skull, Corey, and Ann spend the night in a cell, and the next morning are sent to work building the pyramids, under the watch of Slitherogue's robots. When Skull sees an opening for escape, he, Ann, and Corey race off into the desert. But Ann falls and breaks her leg. Skull declares that she must be left behind, but Corey stays to defend her. Corey and Ann are both killed, while Skull tumbles into the time portal, falling to a new level. He emerges in the quarters of Merlin the wizard and the Black Knight. After a brief skirmish with Black Knight, Skull agrees to work with Merlin to overthrow Slitherogue.

Meanwhile, Morgan Le Fay summons Slitherogue and asks his help in slaying her enemies, Merlin and King Arthur. Sensing that Skull is in this time as well, Slitherogue agrees to aid her.

SKULL THE SLAYER #3

"TUMULT IN THE TOWER OF TIME!"
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Pencils: Steve Gan
Inkers: Pablo Marcos & Steve Gan
Letters: Irv Watanabe | Colors: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: Skull wrestles with a prehistoric beast until it bucks him off, after which he, Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey continue their exploration of the prehistoric world. After being nearly trampled by a herd of stampeding dinosaurs, Skull leads the group to see what spooked the animals. They come across a field of skeletal remains tied to posts. From there, they move on to a huge tower, which offers glimpses of various time periods -- a different one on each level.

As they gaze into the tower, the group is attacked by a T-Rex. Skull and Jeff fight the creature, while Corey slips away. Skull figure out that the Tyrannosaur is a robot, and destroys it. Then the group hears Corey scream. They follow him and find that he has stumbled into ancient Egypt, where he's been captured by a Pharaoh's soldiers.

Continuity Notes: Not many in this issue, though it should be noted that Skull's corpse-robbing ways have evidently rubbed off on Ann and Jeff. At Ann's suggestion, all three of them pilfer clothing from the skeletons near the tower. Doctor Corey, however, remains in his normal clothes.

As for the skeletons themselves -- they're from a number of different time periods, and there are extraterrestrials among them (and it is from the alien-but-humanoid bodies that our heroes procure their new cothes). Later, when the group finds the tower, Jeff notes that it is covered in alien writing identical to that which was in the cave where the primitive humans worshipped an alien corpse.

SKULL THE SLAYER #2

"GODS AND SUPER GODS"
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Steve Gan
Letterer: San Jose | Colorist: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: Jim Scully is dragged by his caveman captor to a primitive camp, where he's thrown into a cave with the other plane survivors: Ann, Doctor Corey, and a young man named Jeff. Revealing his nickname of Skull, Scully leads the survivors in an escape from the cavemen. But when a herd of rampaging dinosaurs storms through the camp, Skull commandeers one and leads the beasts away. This earns him the respect of the cavemen, who lead the survivors into another cave. There, then find the skeletal remains of an alien in a futuristic chamber.

As Doctor Corey, Ann, and Jeff study alien writing on the wall, Skull decides to pilfer the alien corpse of its skull-buckled belt. He takes and dons the garment, but the alien skeleton crumbles to dust, causing the cavemen to attack. Skull holds them at bay and then joins the other survivors in fleeing to the jungle. They attempt to cross a river to escape the cavemen, but are attacked in the water by a Brontosaurus. Skull begins to glow and somehow subdues the dinosaur. The survivors all make it ashore, where Jeff points out that the glow is coming from Skull's stolen belt.

Continuity Notes: For some reason, the cover logo from issue 1 has already been replaced. The new logo will carry through the remainder of the series, though the issue 1 logo does appear on the title page of this issue (but then never shows up again). I don't know why it was changed, but I liked the first logo a lot better. Its primitive look gave more insight into what the series was about.

Page 1 provides a brief textual recap of all the events in the prior issue, with a few illustrations.

SKULL THE SLAYER #1

"THE COMING OF SKULL THE SLAYER!"
Stan Lee, publisher, presents the beginning of an epic by:
Creator/Writer/Colorist: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Steve Gan
Letterer: Pablo Marcos | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Vietnam veteran Jim Scully is aboard a military plane for extridition from Bermuda to the United States, where he is wanted for the murder of his brother. But en route to the U.S., the plane flies into a time/space warp in the Bermuda Triangle, then splits apart and crashes in an prehistoric world. Scully emerges from the front end of the plane, its sole survivor. Meanwhile a trio of additional passengers survives the rear segment's crash.

As Scully hunts for food, he is attacked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Elsewhere, the other survivors are spotted by a group of primitive humans. Scully battles and eventually kills the T-Rex when he stabs it in the eye and sends it plummeting over a cliff. But as he recovers, he is struck in the head by a flung rock, and is surrounded by more primitive beings.

Continuity Notes: Our cast, at least as of issue 1, seems to consist of Jim Scully, and the three other survivors: a man called Doctor Corey, a woman named Ann, and a mostly-silent young man whose name is yet to be revealed.

Rather than recap Scully's backstory, I'll just mention that he was a special forces fighter dispatched to Vietnam and immediately captured, and then I'll let Marv Wolfman's ridiculous narration take it from there:

SKULL THE SLAYER

Back in my look at INVADERS #4, I called out a needless and convoluted plug for Marvel's SKULL THE SLAYER series. Then, in the comments to that post, I considered reading SKULL next after I finished with INVADERS. It is, after all, only an eight-issue series (plus a 2-part finale in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE), and I unboxed the trade paperback collection way back in 2015, but I've never touched it since. So, why not? I've long had a curiosity about this series. Three writers over the span of eight issues feels like a trainwreck in the making (and yet is somehow not at all surprising coming out of 1970s Marvel), but there's something about the series' premise -- a puply, "Doc Savage" type having adventures in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle -- that speaks to me.

At nine or ten weeks (I'm not sure yet if I'll do the TWO-IN-ONE issues separately or as one single post), this will take us up into mid-late September, and serve to wrap up a solid year-plus of seventies Marvel (INVADERS began last September, and SONS OF THE TIGER before that started in May). After that, we'll move into something non-Marvel for the autumn months, and then I've got something very, very big planned for the remainder of the year, into 2023 -- and probably even beyond.

Be here next week as Skull's adventures begin!

Available from Amazon.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #253 & #254

So, since we just wrapped up the entirety of the original INVADERS series last week, and since today happens to be Independence Day, the most patriotic holiday here in America, I figured I'd take advantage of the happy coincidence to dust off a couple of Captain America-themed posts from the early days of the blog which serve as a bit of a coda to the adventures of the Invaders.

In 1980/81, Roger Stern and John Byrne had an acclaimed and all-too-brief turn as the creative team on CAPTAIN AMERICA. And their final real story (not counting the retelling of Cap's origin they did an issue later) revisited the Invaders. I have to admit, it never really dawned on me how soon these issues came along after INVADERS ended! That series' final issue was cover-dated September of 1979, and this two-parter is from January and February of 1981. A mere fifteen months separated the conclusion of INVADERS and Stern's and Byrne's epilogue to the series!

(I suspect in part that's simply due to the fact that INVADERS feels like a Silver Age throwback to me. The artwork, the scripting style, even some of the plotting -- it's all incongruous with the Bronze Age that was in full swing alongside it. So even though I know when INVADERS was published, it feels like it was published about a decade earlier.)

So, without further ado, here are two posts that originally went up eight years ago, showing us whatever happened to the greatest heroes of World War II:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #253
CAPTAIN AMERICA #254

Okay, I actually do have one final bit of ado: I didn't reference it in the continuity notes for CAP 253, but you'll see it in a screenshot there: Jacqueline Falsworth (-Chrichton) mentions that her brother, Brian -- a.k.a. the Union Jack we just spent several weeks reading about -- died off-panel in a car accident after the war. Kind of an inauspicious end! Mind you, it makes sense that Stern and Byrne wanted the second U.J. off the table to tell their story of the mantle being passed. And yeah, it does add a bit of unfortunate realism to the proceedings -- not every hero goes out in a blaze of glory. But it still feels like a waste to see the character done away with via an offhanded remark like that.

See you in a week, when I reveal what's next on the schedule! (Though if you were reading the earliest INVADERS reviews last year, I already spoiled way back then.)

WHAT IF #4

"WHAT IF THE INVADERS HAD STAYED TOGETHER AFTER WORLD WAR TWO?"
Co-Conjurers of Cosmic Cacophany: Roy Thomas & Frank Robbins
Embellisher: Frank Springer | Colorist: George Bell
Letterers: Joe Rosen & John Costanza

The Plot: In April of 1945, the Invaders have gone their separate ways. Captain America and Bucky are presumed killed in action as they thwart Baron Zemo's attempted theft of a new Allied radio drone. Meanwhile, the Human Torch and Toro have taken the fight to Berlin, where the Torch kills Hitler in his bunker. Elsewhere, Namor battles the Japanese in the Pacific while Spitfire and Union Jack defend Winston Churchill from Nazi assassins. The group is summoned back together by their liaison officers, who reveal the deaths of Cap and Bucky. Namor and the Torches then fly to the United States for a meeting with recently inaugurated President Harry Truman, who explains that he had the press quash all coverage of Cap's death. Truman introduces Namor and the Torches to a new Captain America and Bucky -- the former Crusader called the Spirit of '76, and New York Yankees batboy Fred Davis -- and asks that they be allowed to join the Invaders.

Truman also adds the Whizzer and Miss America to the group, revealing that the Liberty Legion recently disbanded. Thus the new Invaders battle together and separately against the final remaining Axis power, Japan -- until the war finally ends. At that point, again at Truman's suggestion, the team re-christens themselves the All-Winners Squad and continues to fight crime in the United States. But eventually, the All-Winners decide to take a break. The Human Torch and Toro fly to Boston to visit the Torch's creator, Professor Horton -- but find that he has been imprisoned by his new android creation, Adam-II. Adam traps the Torch and Toro in a deathtrap with Horton, then departs on a mission. But former Liberty Legionnaire the Patriot comes to the aid of the Torches and Horton. As soon as he has freed them, Horton reveals that Adam-II is on his way to replace a congressional candidate with another android.

INVADERS #41

"BEWARE THE SUPER-AXIS!"
Editor: Roy Thomas | Writer: Don Glut
Artists/Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Chic Stone
Letterer: Diana Albers | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: As the Invaders recuperate following their battle with Baron Blood at Idlewild Airfield, the Human Torch spots a rapidly-vanishing trail of mist in the air and takes off to follow it. The trail leads him to Chinatown, where he spots a shop called the House of Lotus. Recalling Golden Girl's mention of a Japanese spy named Lady Lotus, the Torch enters the building. Inside, Lady Lotus brings Master Man and Warrior Woman under her sway, then goes to the front of the shop to greet the Torch. She uses her mental powers on him as well.

Later, Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, Miss America, and the Whizzer are hanging out in a hotel room when a news bulletin announces costumed beings wreaking havoc at the Chicago rail yards. The heroes fly there in Namor's ship, and leap into battle against Master Man, Warrior Woman, U-Man, and Baron Blood -- collectively calling themselves the Super-Axis. The Invaders get the villains on the ropes, but the Human Torch arrives, attacking his friends. The Torch nearly kills Whizzer and Miss America before Namor douses his flame and Cap talks sense into him. The Invaders then move along to Chicago's Riverview amusement park, where the Super-Axis members continue to terrorize the populace.

As most of the Invaders rejoin the battle, the Human Torch flies Namor's ship back to New York and breaks into Lady Lotus's shop. Her henchmen hold him off as Lotus escapes into the night. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Invaders defeat the Super-Axis and turn them over to the police. Following the fight, Cap, Namor, and the Torch leave the United States, returning to England to reunite with Spitfire, Union Jack, and Lord Falsworth.

INVADERS #40

"V...--IS FOR VAMPIRE!"
Concept/Editor: Roy Thomas
Writer: Don Glut | Artists/Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Chic Stone
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: In the caverns beneath the Falsworth estate, Baron Blood battles Union Jack and Spitfire. He defeats them, but Lady Lotus's telepathic summons stops him from finishing them off, and forces him to leave with her men. Union Jack and Spitfire come around and try to stop the escape, but they're too late.

Later, in the United States, the Invaders are en route from California back to New York when they receive a call from Union Jack, informing them that Baron Blood is loose. Meanwhile, Lady Lotus meets with Baron Blood and U-Man, reinforcing her control over Blood and giving him a mission to carry out. Later still, the Invaders peform a morale exhibition for soldiers stationed at Fort Dix. But when the base's commander informs them that a German aircraft was spotted entering New York airspace, the group heads for Idlewild airport to get Namor's flagship and search for it.

But at Idlewild, Baron Blood braks into the air traffic control tower, killing its operator and clearing a path for the German plane to land. The Invaders arrive and attack Blood, but he escapes after a brief skirmish, when the Invaders are forced to save two airmen whose planes collide due to the lack of a traffic controller. Later, Baron Blood returns to Lady Lotus's curio shop, where she introduces him to the Germans whose arrival in America he facilitated: Master Man and Warrior Woman.

INVADERS #39

"BACK FROM THE GRAVE!"
Concept/Editor: Roy Thomas | Writer: Don Glut | Artists: Alan Kupperberg & Chic Stone
Lettering: Tom Orzechowski | Coloring: Carl Gafford | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Captain America and the Human Torch arrive at the Santa Monica Pier to find U-Man standing over the defeated Kid Commandos. U-Man knocks out Cap and absconds into the sea with Golden Girl. Unable to pursue underwater, the Torch rouses Cap and the kids, then he and Toro take to the skies to search for U-Man. Meanwhile, the villain emerges from the water elsewhere, and brings Golden Girl to Lady Lotus inside a warehouse.

Lady Lotus awakens Golden Girl and entreats her to join forces and destroy America for its practice of interring Japanese citizens. Outside, the Torches find a suspcious plane and go to get Cap and the Kid Commandos. Meanwhile, in England, Brian and Jacqueline Falsworth, on a hunch from Brian, don their costumes of Union Jack and Spitfire to go patrol the Falsworth Estate. In America, Golden Girl refuses to join Lady Lotus, and resists Lotus's mental control. When U-Man and Lotus's men attack her, Golden Girl evades U-Man and knocks out all of Lotus's soldiers. Cap, the Torches, and the Kid Commandos arrive a moment later, and U-Man and Lady Lotus escape in an experimental plane, too fast for the Torches to follow.

At the Falsworth estate, Union Jack and Spitfire find Japanese soldiers in the cave where Baron Blood died, working to remove the boulder pinning a stalactite in the vampire's chest. The heroes intervene, but in the ensuing struggle, one of Union Jack's electrical zaps goes wild and inadvertently frees Baron Blood, who attacks the heroes.

INVADERS #38

"U-MAN COMES TO TOWN!"
Concept & Editor: Roy Thomas | Guest Writer: Don Glut
Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Don Heck | Inker: Chic Stone
Letterer: Jim Novak | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and the Whizzer stop a shakedown by a group of Nazi sympathizers at a munitions plant in New York. Afterward, Whizzer leaves for a meeting with the Liberty Legion. He stops a mugging on his way, and then reports to his teammates that he is taking a leave of absence from the Legion in order to support the Invaders while they're in the United States. Miss America immediately volulnteers to join as well, and the two depart Legion headquarters.

In Chinatown, U-Man finally meets his mysterious master, Lady Lotus. After demonstrating her power to mentally control him, she dispatches him to California to capture Golden Girl. Elsewhere, Captain America chats with Bucky via the radio in Namor's flagship. The Invaders have been asked to investigate a sabotage ring in San Diego, and Cap believes Namor, Whizzer, and Miss America can handle it alone -- so he and the Torch want to visit their former partners, Bucky and Toro.

Later, in California, Cap and the Torch bail out of Namor's ship as it travels on toward San Diego. Meanwhile, the Kid Commandos thwart a Japanese sabotage plot at the Santa Monica Pier -- but in the aftermath, they're attacked and subdued by U-Man, who triumphantly hoists Golden Girl over his head.

INVADERS #37

"THE LIBERTY LEGION BUSTS LOOSE!"
Editor: Roy Thomas | Writer: Don Glut
Artists/Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Rick Hoberg | Inker: Chic Stone
Colorist: Carl Gafford | Letterer: Irving Watanabe | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Beneath the Atlantic, Sub-Mariner watches as Iron Cross escapes with Professor Schnieder. Meanwhile, aboard Iron Cross's submarine, the Liberty Legion members defeat his Nazi allies. On the surface, Iron Cross knocks Namor's flagship out of the air, sending it into a splash landing. Meanwhile, Thin Man covers the hole in the damaged U-boat while Namor lifts it to the surface. There, Jack Frost creates a floating ice platform to hold the submarine.

Namor takes to the skies in pursuit of Iron Cross, joined in his chase by the Liberty Legion's flyers, Miss America and Red Raven, as well as the Human Torch.Iron Cross knocks Red Raven and Miss AMerica out of the sky, but the former is saved by his own wings while the latter is caught by the Whizzer. Meanwhile, Iron Cross knocks out Namor as well, leaving the Human Torch alone to face him. When Namor emerges from the sea and hits Iron Cross, the villain drops Professor Schneider. Namor flies down to catch him, while the Torch overheats Iron Cross's metal armor, burning the man inside and fusing the suit's systems. Iron Cross plummets into the sea.

The Invaders and Liberty Legion regroup, cramming aboard Sub-Mariner's ship with their Nazi prisoners, and take off for the United States. Meanwile, the Atlantean U-Man arrives in time to watch the heroes depart -- then he is summoned away by the mental voice of the mysterious Lady Lotus.

INVADERS #36

"CRUSHED BY THE IRON CROSS!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Chic Stone
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The Liberty Legion confronts Iron Cross, who holds Miss America captive. Iron Cross easily defeats the team and then has his henchmen load them into a truck, along with his prisoner, Professor Schneider. Meanwhile, Whizzer, Captain America, the Human Torch, and Namor spot a train in trouble and stop to aid it. By the time they arrive at the site of the Liberty Legion's battle with Iron Cross, all participants are gone. But Namor is able to use Miss America's still-active distress signal to trace her location.

Meanwhile, Iron Cross and all his prisoners are aboard a German submarine, where Schneider deduces Iron Cross's true identity as his childhood friend, Helmut Gruler. Gruler threatens to kill the Liberty Legion if Schneider doesn't aid him in upgrading his armor, which Schneider himself had originally created. But at that moment, Namor's flagship arrives, and the Sub-Mariner disembarks to attack the U-boat. He battles Iron Cross underwater, and the submarine suffers collatoral damage. But in addition to the sub springing a leak, the impact also awakens and frees the Liberty Legionnaires. The group subdues Iron Cross's henchmen, while Cross himself boards the ship and grabs Schneider.

Iron Cross flees to the surface with Schneider, leaving Namor behind to deal with the sinking submarine and trapped Legionnaires.

INVADERS #35

"HAVOC ON THE HOME FRONT!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Don Heck
Embellisher: Rick Hoberg | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Letterer: Joe Rosen
Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: In Times Square, the Invaders discuss their return to the United States in search of a powerful flying Nazi saboteur. The group is briefly accosted by some admirers, but when the Whizzer arrives in search of their help, they listen to his story: recently, the Liberty Legion was asked by the FBI to investigate the sympathies of New York's German-American population. Miss America headed out on her own to a nearby German bar, where she witnessed the kidnapping of a scientist by two Nazi agents.

Miss America followed the Nazis and came into conflict with their master, an armored agent -- and the saboteur the Invaders were looking for -- called Iron Cross. Miss America held her own against Iron Cross for some time, but he eventually defeated her. However, summoned by her distress signal, the rest of the Liberty Legion arrived. Iron Cross took them all out as well, aside from the Whizzer -- who ran away in search of help.

His story finished, the Whizzer implores the Invaders to help, and they agree.

INVADERS #34

"HE WHO DESTROYS!"
Concept/Editor: Roy Thomas | Guest Writer: Don Glut
Artists/Illustrators: Alan Kupperberg & Frank Springer
Letters: Joe Rosen | Colors: Nel Yomtov | Consulting Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The Invaders are startled to read in the newspapers that the mighty Destroyer has defected to the Nazis. Then, even as they discuss the situation, a radio news report states that the Destroyer is attacking the London Bridge with a Nazi fighter plane. The Invaders set out to stop him. At the bridge, the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch disembark Namor's flagship to assist with rescue operations, while Captain America pilots the craft in pursuit of the Destroyer's plane.

The plane lands at a castle on the moors, where Union Jack and Spitfire bail out as Cap maintains a holding pattern. The sibling Invaders, having deduced that the "Destroyer" is an imposter, enter the castle, with Union Jack insisting that he must unmask the villain masquerading as his friend. So, while Spitfire searches the castle for the real Destroyer, Roger Aubrey, Union Jack battles his impersonator. Spitfire finds Roger, who explains that he was captured behind Nazi lines by Master Man, who now wears his costume. Meanwhile, Master Man defeats and reveals himself to Union Jack. Master Man's three henchmen, who had been knocked out by Spitfire, come around and flee the castle rather than face the Invaders. When Master Man sees their plane taking off, he leaps onto its wing with Union Jack captive -- but U.J. struggles free and leaps from the plane. Spitfire creates an updraft to slow his fall, and Roger catches him.

Later, back at Falsworth Manor, Captain America invites the Destroyer to join the Invaders again, but once more he refuses, though he allows that he would be willing to work with them if they ever need him, as an "honorary" Invader. Then, moments after the Destroyer leaves, Lord Falsworth presents Captain America with a message from President Roosevelt, summoning Cap, Namor, and the Human Torch back to America immediately.