INVADERS #3

"BLITZKRIEG AT BERMUDA"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artists: Frank Robbins & Vince Colletta
Colorist: Don Warfield | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: En route back to the U.S. from Britain aboard Namor's flagship, the Invaders observe as Namor teaches Bucky how to operate the craft. But before long, the heroes spot a British warship under attack by a Nazi submarine. The Invaders save the ship and capture the U-boat's commander, who carries with him a coded secret message. Later, in Washington, D.C., the Invaders' contact, Stuart, has the message decoded. It reveals plans for the Nazis to intercept Winston Churchill on his way home through Bermuda. But Stuart reveals more to the Invaders: the Nazis have a new super-agent named U-Man, a blue-skinned water warrior who will lead the attack on Churchill.

Realizing that U-Man must be a super-powered Atlantean -- and that he has a troupe of Atlantean soldiers following him -- Namor sets out to attack the villain alone. The Invaders try to stop him, but after a skirmish at the Capitol, Namor escapes in his flagship with an unlikely ally -- Bucky, who wants to tag along as Namor's backup pilot. Meanwhile, Stuart learns that Churchill is ahead of schedule, having already left for Bermuda aboard an American plane. Captain America, the Human Torch, and Toro set out to follow Namor and protect the Prime Minister.

Continuity Notes: As mentioned above, Bucky received flying lessons from Namor in the issue's opening scene, leading to his joining Namor's mission later on. Following from Bucky being sidelined in the past two issues as the Invaders' liaison to the British, I can only assume that Roy Thomas is still searching for a proper role for the young sidekick. Unlike Toro, Bucky has no super-powers -- not even an enhanced physique like his partner, Cap. He's just a teenage kid running around with a bunch of super-heroes. So it makes sense that Thomas might want to find some support position for him to fill since he's unlikely to contribute to the sorts of super-battles in which the Invaders are sure to become involved.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 7

As presented in MARVEL TEAM-UP nos. 39 & 40 and DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU no. 18.

"ANY NUMBER CAN SLAY!" | "MURDER'S BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorists: Don Warfield (issue 39) & Janice Cohen (issue 40)
Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: (MTU #39) On a New York City rooftop, Spider-Man evades an assassination attempt, while elsewhere in Manhattan, the Human Torch is captured by the Enforcers and their leader, the Big Man. That night, Spidey runs across the villains attempting to auction off the Torch at an abandoned warehouse, and intervenes to free him. The Torch and the Web-Slinger defeat the bad guys, but are surprised when Sandman and the Crime Master enter the fray.

(MTU #40) The villains decide to team up and capture the Human Torch, forcing Spider-Man to surrender. But next door to the warehouse, the Sons of the Tiger are practicing in their dojo. They leave to investigate the sounds of battle from the warehouse, and free Spider-Man and the Torch. The villains escape, and the Torch departs for a date, leaving Spider-Man to search for the bad guys -- and he finds them, but only after they've captured the Sons of the Tiger. Spidey breaks in to save his new friends, and Crime Master shoots the Big Man during a scuffle. Eventually the heroes win the day and Spidey unmasks both crime lords, revealing Crime Master to be the son of the original, deceased Crime Master, and the now-dead Big "Man" to be the daugther of the original, deceased Big Man.

"FISTS OF DARKNESS, FISTS OF DEATH!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Pat Broderick & Terry Austin

The Plot: At a subway station, the Sons of the Tiger and Blackbyrd team up with Danny "Iron Fist" Rand to save a woman's life and stop a hitman from escaping New York. The group goes to a bar afterward, where Blackbyrd follows a hunch and is attacked by a gangster named Snake Eyes and his men, the Black Hand, in an alleyway outside. The Sons and Iron Fist come to Blackbyrd's rescue, and during the fight, Snake Eyes reveals he is a cyborg. Iron Fist kills him in battle, and the group heads back into the bar.

IRON FIST #1

You are Iron Fist -- And this night you are breaking the law.

It’s called by many names -- surreptitious entry, breaking and entering, trespassing -- but the meanings are all the same. You are where you should not be.

You do not care.

For this night you hunt Colleen Wing’s kidnappers. And their trail has led you here -- to Stark International’s New York complex -- a trail left by dangerous, desperate men…

…A trail marked with blood.

”A DUEL OF IRON!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Al McWilliams
Letterer: Dave Hunt | Colorist: Janice Cohen | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: Iron Fist infiltrates Stark International’s New York complex in search of clues to Colleen’s whereabouts. As he sneaks around he bumps into Colleen’s partner, Misty Knight, also investigating the kidnapping. Misty leads Iron Fist to her Stark contact, security chief Don Cauley, but they find him dead. As Misty looks for clues in Stark’s mainframe computer, Iron Fist goes in search of Cauley’s killer.

An alarm alerts Tony Stark to the intruders in his facility, and he changes to Iron Man to go after Iron Fist. The duel of iron begins as elsewhere, Colleen’s kidnappers prepare to load her aboard a plane bound for parts unknown. Colleen nearly escapes her captors but is stopped by a mystery man with a tattoo similar to Iron Fist’s on his chest. The man turns Colleen back over to her kidnappers then goes on his way, making a phone call to Ward Meachum.

Back at the Stark complex, Irons Fist and Man fight it out until Misty breaks up their fight, having discovered that Don Cauley is alive after all. Cauley is part of a renegade faction within Stark working for Halwan, and he had drawn Misty to the facility to kill her. Iron Man apologizes to Iron Fist for the misunderstanding and the heroes part ways.