INVADERS #7

"THE BLACKOUT MURDERS OF BARON BLOOD!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artist: Frank Robbins | Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Phil Rachelson

The Plot: In London, the Invaders aid British forces to fight off a Nazi blitz. Afterward, the group splits up for some downtime. The Human Torch, in his guise of Jim Hammond, bumps into a beautiful British Home Guard member named Jacqueline, being escorted home by a man named Derek. But when Jacqueline and Derek come under attack by a vampire, the Torch flies to their rescue. The vampire escapes, and Jacqueline brings the Torch home to her family mansion.

There, Jacqueline introduces the Torch to her father, Lord Falsworth. Falsworth confides in the Torch that, during World War I, he was a costumed government operative called Union Jack. When Jacqueline mentions the vampire attack, Falsworth realizes that his old foe, Baron Blood, a super-powered WWI German operative, has returned. The Torch flies out to summon the other Invaders, and Cap, Bucky, and Toro spot his signal. The trio boards Namor's flagship and takes off, but the ship is immediately attacked by Baron Blood. Blood then escapes and changes into a human identity, while the Invaders regroup.

Joined by Namor, the team heads for Falsworth Manor, where Lord Falsworth reveals his secret to them as well. As the group heads to dinner, they are joined by one final guest: Falsworth's nephew, John -- Baron Blood's secret identity.

INVADERS #6 & MARVEL PREMIERE #30

"...AND LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artists: Frank Robbins & Vince Colletta
Colorist: Phil Rachelson | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: At their New York radio station base of operations, Bucky and the Liberty Legion hold a brief press conference, daring the Red Skull to send the Invaders against them. The group then heads out, battling Nazi spies across the home front, until the Skull can take no more. He publicly announces that he will send the Invaders to destroy the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the Lincoln Memorial.

The Liberty Legion splits up to guard the historical landmarks, with Jack Frost and the Blue Diamond defending Lady Liberty from the Sub-Mariner. The duo gets Namor on the ropes and he is ordered to retreat by the Red Skull. Meanwhile, Captain America attacks the Liberty Bell, but is fought off by the Patriot and Miss America. Cap escapes as well, while Red Raven and the Whizzer battle the Human Torch and Toro at the Lincoln Memorial. The heroes defeat and capture Toro, but the Torch escapes, flying to New York, where Bucky and the Thin Man spot him out the radio station window.

Continuity Notes: Days pass during the course of this issue, as the Liberty Legion fights Nazis to draw out the Red Skull.

Krieghund, the Nazi U-boat commander from GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #1, now serves the Red Skull in America. Krieghund notes that he assisted the Skull in capturing the Invaders thanks to equipment he brought to the U.S. from the late Brain Drain's base. Moments later, when the Skull boasts of his creation, the "Nulla-Ray" branwashing machine, Krieghund accuses him of actually stealing the technology to create the device from scientists in occupied Europe. This leads to the Skull executing Krieghund's right-hand lackey to keep him in line.

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.

INVADERS #4

"U-MAN MUST BE STOPPED!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artists: Frank Robbins & Vince Colletta
Colorist: Janice Cohen | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: Captain America, the Human Torch, and Toro break onto a U.S. Army Air Corps base and steal a plane to pursue Namor and Bucky, who are themselves in pursuit of Winston Churchill, aboard an American plane bound for Bermuda. And in Bermuda, a group of reporters awaits Churchill's plane. But the reporters are attacked by U-Man and his warriors, and taken prisoner. The lead reporter, Betty Dean, escapes and warns off the plane, which takes off again just after nearly setting down.

But U-Man has grabbed hold of the plane's pontoon and is attacked by Namor as the craft rises back into the sky. Captain America and the Torches show up moments later to challenge U-Man's men, while Namor fights U-Man himself. But Churchill's plane is suddenly caught in a bizarre energy warp, which knocks out all aboard. Namor saves the plane from crashing, but U-Man escapes. Churchill decides to fly home intead of taking a boat, and bids the Invaders farewell.

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.

INVADERS #2

"THE TWILIGHT OF THE STAR-GODS!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artist: Frank Robbins | Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: While Namor, the Human Torch, and Toro battle the gods Donar, Loga, and Froh in the sky, Captain America and Hilda seek cover in a cave below. But there they're found by a group of Nazis and escorted to the underground lair of the scientist called Brain Drain. Brain Drain, a brain kept alive in a jar, explains to Cap that the "gods" are actually aliens who crashed on Earth months ago, and were responsible for his transformation. But Brain Drain stole a special ring from the aliens and used it to control them, naming them after Teutonic gods and placing them in service of the Third Reich.

Hilda's memories return and she throws the ring into a pool of chemicals, igniting a chain reaction. With no way to leave Earth, Hilda decides she and her crewmates should perish. Donar, Froh, and Loga abandon their battle and return to Hilda, joining her as she leaps into the exploding chemicals with Brain Drain in tow. Cap escapes the cave and reunites with the others. The Invaders board Namor's flagship and take off for Britain.

INVADERS #1

"THE RING OF THE NEBULAS!"
A weltanschauung of Wagnerian wonderment by:
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artist: Frank Robbins | Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Letterer: John Costanza

The Plot: Aboared an Atlantean aircraft, the Invaders arrive in London to find the city under assault by Nazi bombers. While Namor, the Human Torch, and Toro join the Royal Air Force to repel the attack, Captain America and Bucky land. Bucky spots a beautiful blonde girl wandering through a nearby fire, and Cap races out to rescue her.

Namor and the Torches return to the ground to meet the amnesiac girl, Hilda. When the Invaders take her along with their local British liaison, she tells them that she remembers coming from somewhere deep inside Nazi territory. Leaving Bucky behind to represent them in Britain, the Invaders board Namor's flagship and follow Hilda's directions, but come under attack after crossing the Siegfried Line -- the border between Germany and occupied Europe. The group abandons the flagship to find their attackers are a trio of gods identifying themselves as Froh, Donar, and Loga.

Continuity Notes: Roy Thomas seems to have moved the Battle of Britain here. We're explicitly told in narration that the Invaders have stumbled into its closing act, but in real life the entire thing happened in the summer/fall of 1940 -- while this issue's opening narration states that it's currently December of 1941!

GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #1

"THE COMING OF THE INVADERS!"
Writer/Editor: Roy Thomas | Artist: Frank Robbins | Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Letterer: John Costanza
With Special Thanks to John Romita
This issue dedicated to the "Real McCoys"--
Stan Lee * Joe Simon * Jack Kirby

The Plot: After breaking up a Nazi sabotage operation, Captain America and Bucky are approached by FBI agents who bring them to see Doctor Anderson, the man who oversaw Steve Rogers' transformation into Captain America, and who is now dying at Walter Reed Hospital. Anderson explains that he was recently kidnapped by a Nazi agent named Krieghund, who probed his memory for the super-soldier secrets, and used those secrets to create a new Nazi super-agent, Master Man. But the Human Torch and his sidekick, Toro, arrived to rescue Anderson, while Krieghund and Master Man escaped from their secret Virginia base.

Suddenly realizing what Krieghund is up to, Anderson asks the FBI to rush Cap, Bucky, the Human Torch, and Toro to Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. The heroes arrive time to see a British battleship come under attack by a German submarine. Master Man leaps from the sub to the ship, but finds Namor the Sub-Mariner, in disguise, waiting for him. Master Man gains the upper hand on Namor, but Cap, Bucky, and the Torches arrive to lend a hand. Master Man retreats to shore, followed by Cap and Bucky, while Namor, the Torch, and Toro save the British ship and sink the sub. On shore, Master Man's super-soldier formula wears off and Cap and Bucky easily defeat him.

In the aftermath, the heroes learn that Winston Churchill was aboard the ship, coming to Washington for a meeting with President Roosevelt. He implores the group to remain together and upon their agreement, christens them the Invaders.

BATMAN #330 & #331

"TARGET!" | "CLOSED CIRCUIT!"
Writer: Marv Wolfman | Dialogue: Michael Fleisher (issue 331)
Penciler: Irv Novick | Inkers: Vince Colletta (issue 330 & Frank McLaughlin (issue 331)
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Paul Levitz

And now we rejoin our story, already in progress... or so it seems when one dives into this issue. Don't get me wrong -- the story begins cleanly, with a setup introduced on the first page (specifically, a crook Batman sent up the river years ago is scheduled to be executed the next day, so he puts out a bounty -- he will pay ten million dollars in gold to anyone who can off Batman before he dies). But in terms of sub-plots, something's a bit off. Robin arrives early on to assist Batman in avoiding the various assassins who are now gunning for him. So far, so good -- until suddenly, Batman gives his partner the cold shoulder, and Robin realizes it's because this is the first time they've interacted since he announced that he was dropping out of college.

Now, look -- we haven't been reading every Batman-related story that came out around this time. Yes, we've covered BATMAN consistently; every issue dating back nearly two years now. And we've looked at a lot of consecutive DETECTIVE COMICS issues as well... but only the main stories. Both these series ran backup features, off-and-on, usually starring Robin and Batgirl. And I have to assume that Robin dropped out in one of those -- which is fine! But what strikes me odd about this is that Wolfman's script mentions it casually, almost in passing, as if we're supposed to know about it. And to the reader of 1980/81, that may well have been the case -- but you can't assume that all readers have been picking up every issue of every comic.

BATMAN #319, #321, AND #322

Writer: Len Wein | Colorist: Glynis Wein | Letterer: Ben Oda
Editor: Paul Levitz

"NEVER GIVE UP THE GHOST!"
Artists: Irv Novick & Bob Smith

Gentleman Ghost's turn against Batman in issue 310 must have been well received by fandom -- or at least, Len Wein must have enjoyed writing it -- because here we are nine months later with a rematch between the two. This time, Batman thwarts the Ghost and his gang from stealing some diamonds in the issue's opening pages, and then when they try again the next night, they capture the Caped Crusader before departing to steal some jewels from a party at Wayne Manor. But Batman gets free, heads home, and stops the Ghost yet again -- though the villain escapes in the end.

It's a little weird to see Wein returning to the exact same well as the last time he used Gentleman Ghost, sending him yet again to Wayne Manor. But perhaps there's some reason for this. Maybe Wein wanted to establish some connection between the Ghost and Bruce Wayne's ancestral home. But this is Wein's final outing with Gentleman Ghost, so we'll never know. (Another unsolved mystery is the fact that Batman explicitly notes in the opening scene that the Ghost is trying to steal "crude industrial diamonds" rather than some nicer jewelry. It seems unlikely Wein would've mentioned this unless he intended it to go someplace.)

In sub-plot land, Bruce talks about how happy he is to be back at Wayne Manor for this party, and considers that he may be seeing a lot more of the place in the near future. I'm pretty sure I've read that it was actually Gerry Conway, in his run that followed Wein's, who actually moved Batman back to his mansion, but I guess Wein is planting the seeds for that move here. And besides the potential move for our hero, we also find that his secret identity may be in jeopardy, as, at the party, Lucius Fox and Selina Kyle make up and then begin discussing Bruce's frequent disappearances.

AQUAMAN #57, 58, 59, & 60

”A LIFE FOR A LIFE”
Writer: David Michelinie | Artist: Jim Aparo | Colorist: Liz Berube

His son dead, Aquaman has gone out in search of the boy’s killer, Black Manta — in a rather cavalier fashion. I'm not sure David Michelinie’s script quite fits the gravity of this situation. Aquaman’s child has been murdered in cold blood, but he's going about his business here like any other mission, even tossing out a wisecrack or two along the way. It seems to me that, based on what happened, Aquaman should be functioning like a latter-day Batman at this point, speaking little, dishing out brutal beatings to anyone who gets in his way, and so forth. But instead, for the most part, it's just business as usual. I guess it's possible Michelinie is trying to show us a hero in denial, but if that's what he's going for, he doesn't explain it at all.

Quickly before I move along, I should mention something I didn't note last time. The prior story in ADVENTURE COMICS 452 featured Black Manta dramatically removing his helmet to reveal to Aquaman that he is, in fact, a — black guy! And that, folks, from his own mouth, is the reason he decided to call himself Black Manta. Not because he wears a black costume or, I dunno, has a black heart, but because he himself is black.

Yikes! Weren't we a little more enlightened about stuff like this by 1977?

MARVEL PREMIERE #24

You are Iron Fist, and in a moment, you will be fighting for your life.

You are calm now as you face your opponent and assume the cat stance. Your breathing is easy, your muscles loose, untense, your mind and body honed to a near-killing edge. Every sense -- every particle of your being -- is alive, aware… waiting…

You are ready -- almost eager -- for battle. And this is right -- for are you not the Living Weapon? And is it not a weapon’s purpose to be used?

Strange thoughts these… Alien questions. The answers had always come so easily enough in K’un-Lun.

Not so on Earth. And the more you question, the more confused you become…

Enough of this foolishness! Today is not the time for questions. Today is for battle!

”SUMMERKILL!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: Pat Broderick | Inker: Vinnie Colletta
Colorist: Phil Rache | Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Iron Fist spars with Colleen Wing, then leaves to take a walk. Meanwhile, a group of terrorists infiltrates a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and activates a robot called the Monstroid, sending it to kill Princess Azir of Halwan.

Later, Danny Rand stumbles across a softball game in Central Park between the NYPD and the staff of Marvel Comics. Danny joins Marvel’s team as the game proceeds, with Princess Azir incognito among the crowd of observers. The Monstroid arrives to kill Azir, taking out all the police in the process. Danny changes to Iron Fist and challenges the robot, ultimately defeating it.

Elsewhere, the leader of the terrorists is reprimanded by his employer, Master Khan, who makes plans to either enslave or kill Iron Fist.

Continuity Notes: According to a footnote, the Monstroid first appeared in MARVEL TEAM-UP #5.

MARVEL PREMIERE #21

”DAUGHTERS OF THE DEATH GODDESS”
Writer: Tony Isabella | Artist: Arvell Jones | Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Stan Goldberg | Letterer: Joe Rosen | Editor: Len Wein

You are Iron Fist -- and in the wake of your passing you have left Batroc the Leaper’s once-proud brigade battered, broken and defeated in the halls of the Meachum Towers.

Though you are now far from those halls, your deeds have precipitated a somewhat loud argument between the master of savate and those who hired him to destroy you.

The Plot: Batroc argues with Ward and Joy Meachum over payment for his attack on Iron Fist, then departs Meachum Towers in a huff.

Meanwhile, Iron Fist returns to Professor Wing’s office to find the place ransacked and the professor and Colleen missing. While there, Iron Fist is attacked by a woman named Misty Knight. Iron Fist defeats her and follows a vision of the ninja underground to a hidden temple of Kali, the Hindi goddess of death.

In the shrine, the leaders of the Cult of Kara-Kai -- two women named Shaya and Ushas, together known as the Living Goddesses -- have the Wings captive. They order their cultists to kill Iron Fist. In the ensuing chaos, the Wings are freed and Professor Wing transforms into the ninja. The ninja’s sacred book is destroyed, which separates the ninja from Professor Wing. Thus freed, the ninja prepares to kill Iron Fist.

Continuity Notes: Ward Meachum’s inner monologue reveals that he knows Iron Fist didn't kill his brother, but he's playing along with Joy’s mistaken belief that was the case in order to use her for his own purpose.