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:

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

"...THE WHITE TIGER" | "A KILLER ELITE" | "THE MENACE OF GIDEON MACE!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Penciler: Denys Cowan
Inkers: Jim Mooney, Dave Humphreys, Josef Rubenstein
Letterers: Joe Rosen, Jim Novak | Colorists: Ed Hannigan, Christie Scheele
Editor: Dennis O'Neil | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Nathaniel Alexander Byrd, a private detective called Blackbyrd, speaks with a stool pigeon named Lou Gunther. He tells Gunther the history of the Hector Ayala, a.k.a. the White Tiger, his tale culminating with the murder of the Tiger's family one night before. Blackbyrd wants to know who did it, as does the White Tiger -- who arrives moments after the story has been told.

Gunther tells the Tiger that it was "out of town muscle" who murdered his parents and sister, and the Tiger vows to track them down. He heads for the abandoned candy shop Gunther says they have been using as a headquarters, where he finds the men -- a highly trianed military unit led by Colonel Gideon Mace -- holed up.

Mace's soldiers battle the Tiger until he is forced to retreat, but he finds his attempted point of egress -- a window -- to be painted onto the wall by Mace as a trap. With his back literally against the wall, the White Tiger is gunned down by Mace, who proclaims him the first victim of a crusade to rid New York City of all its superhuman residents.