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.

THE INVADERS

CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY! THE SUB-MARINER! THE ORIGINAL HUMAN TORCH & TORO! During the darkest hours of World War Two, these five heroes have banded together as THE INVADERS--to battle the Axis Powers to the death, in the name of freedom!

Having just wrapped up one Marvel run from the seventies, I think I'd like to stay in that decade a bit longer, to examine a series that's been on my radar for some time: THE INVADERS, by Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins, and more.

The Invaders is one of those groups where, at least for me, the legend is greater than any actual knowledge. I know the basics: a team of World War II era characters, banded together for a team book in the seventies to tell retroactive stories set during "the Big One". I've seen many Invaders flashbacks and reunions over the decades, but I've never read so much as a single issue of the original series.*

But I've always had an interest in it. Though I tend to be a little trepidatious about jumping into any series written by Roy Thomas, who I love as an idea guy/plotter but whose overblown purple prose I often can't handle as a scripter, I still want to give this series a try. The fact that it's drawn by Frank Robbins doesn't hurt, either -- as I mentioned when I looked at Batman in the Seventies a couple years ago, I really like Robbins' quirky, cartoony style.

So, armed with INVADERS CLASSIC: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION Volume 1 and Volume 2 (which I unboxed here years ago, in July and December of 2014 (!), I'm about to go through the saga of the Invaders on issue at a time, beginning right here next Monday.

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*Okay, that's not entirely true. I owned one single, solitary issue of INVADERS as a child -- but I never read it! I think I got it before I could read, and just didn't pay it any mind in my collection over the subsequent years. Honestly, I have no idea how, at that age, I wound up with a comic that had been published a few years before I was born. It couldn't have been a hand-me-down, because there was no one to hand it down to me! Anyway, at some point, I lost it. I do remember which issue it was though, so I'll call it out when we get to it.

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:

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 14

As presented in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN Nos. 19 & 20.

"AGAIN, THE ENFORCERS!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letters: Jim Novak | Colors: Mary Titus | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

"WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT?"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Irving Watanabe | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Jim Shooter

The Plot: (Issue 19) In the hideout of their new boss, Lightmaster, the original Enforcers, Fancy Dan and Montana, practice beating on a Spider-Man dummy. Lightmaster appears and introduces the men to the new third member of their trio, a lumbering brute named Ox, to replace the original Ox who died in battle with Daredevil. Lightmaster sends the enforcers to the Coffee Bean near Empire State University, where they take the customers and staff hostage, demanding Spider-Man come to face them. Peter Parker, in the area, changes to the web-slinger and confronts the Enforcers, while the hostages escape. But one hostage, Hector Ayala, remains inside to watch the fight. After Spider-Man easily defeats the Enforcers and departs, Hector emerges from the Coffee Bean, leading Lightmaster to believe that Hector is actually Spider-Man.

(Issue 20) The police interrogate the Enforcers (while Spider-Man secretly listens in), but are unable to learn who their boss is. The web-slinger heads home for rest, while Lightmaster prepares to move against Hector. The next morning at Empire State University, Lightmaster appears and abducts Hector in front of Peter and others. Peter manages to tag Hector with a spider-tracer and tracks him to Lightmaster's hideout on Long Island. There, Lightmaster has activated TV cameras to broadcast his unmasking of Spider-Man. Spidey delivers to Hector the tiger amulets, which he dropped during the abduction, and Hector changes to White Tiger as Lightmaster's cameras roll. Spider-Man and White Tiger then defeat Lightmaster together.