INVADERS #13

"THE GOLEM WALKS AGAIN!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artist: Frank Robbins & Frank Springer
Colorist: George Roussos | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: The Invaders, awaken, prisoners of Colonel Eisen, a.k.a. "The Face" -- the commander of the Nazi forces in Warsaw. Eisen taunts the Invaders and then takes Captain America's shield to study it as a way to get back into Hitler's graces, following the recent theft of some heavy water under his care.

Elswhere, Jacob Goldstein, who has come into possession of the heavy water, performs a ceremony with the water to create a Golem. Goldstein is merged with the earthen creature and storms through the Nazis in Warsaw, headed for Eisen's castle. There, the mindless Golem frees the Invaders and goes in search of Eisen. Captain America follows, recovers his shield, and watches helplessly as the Golem pursues Eisen to a tall tower and throws him off, killing him.

In the aftermath, the Golem changes back into Jacob. He insists on remaining in Poland to aid his people in someday revolting against their Nazi overlords The Invaders honor his wishes and depart.

IRON FIST #11

”A FINE DAY’S DYING!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Dan Adkins
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Archie Goodwin

It’s a Monday in New York, the Big Apple sky as clear as it ever gets these days, the air brisk and cool, hinting at a winter lurking just around the corner.

Monday morning, and right off the bat, things are happening.

The Plot: Danny Rand meets Misty Knight and Colleen Wing at the Manhattan South Medical Complex. There, Misty reveals to Danny that her father has suffered severe brain damage from Angar’s mindstorm, and now lives in a haze of confusion, even believing Colleen is dead.

Danny and Misty leave Colleen to take a walk around the complex’s grounds. The Wrecking Crew appears in search of Doctor Donald Blake, a friend of Thor’s, to use as bait to lure the Thunder God into their clutches. But Misty and Iron Fist challenge the Crew instead. Meanwhile, aboard a tramp steamer en route to the U.S., Alan Cavenaugh suffers through nightmares about his past in the I.R.A. while a trio of men eavesdrop on him.

Back in New York, Thunderball captures Misty and Iron Fist is forced to bargain with the Wrecking Crew. He offers to break into Avengers Mansion for them and disable the alarms so the Crew can sneak in and wait to ambush Thor. Wrecker agrees to this plan and sends Iron Fist away on his sinister errand.

DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON: DEADLY HANDS

"DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON" | "SWORD OF VENGEANCE"
Writer: Chris Claremont | Artist: Marshall Rogers
Letterers: Irving Watanabe w/Karen Mantlo | Editor: John Warner

In early 1977, Chris Claremont was at possibly the most diverse phase of his career. He had not yet become the man known exclusively for writing mutant titles. Instead, he was the regular writer on UNCANNY X-MEN and IRON FIST; he had just added MS. MARVEL to that same résumé, and within a few months, MARVEL TEAM-UP would include Spider-Man's adventures among his monthly credits as well.

Marvel was pretty diverse at the time too, publishing, among other things, a line of black-and-white magazines alongside their color comics. The magazines were not restricted by the guidelines of the Comics Code Authority, allowing creators greater freedom with the content of their stories. One of these periodicals was DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG-FU, which had, over the years, been a showcase for characters like Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, and the Sons of the Tiger. Finally, for the series' last two issues, Claremont teamed up with artist Marshall Rogers for a series about Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, supporting characters from his IRON FIST series now striking out on their own.