T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 (November 1965)
The premiere issue of the premiere title in what would ultimately be branded the "Tower Action Series," T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is an unusual amalgam of blatantly recycled material and true innovative genius. When I first read this inaugural issue a few years back, I was incredibly bored by the utter lack of characterization and compelling plotting found within, but, upon this second reading, I finally see this series for the genius that it was.
After all, it was 1965. Comics were getting more complex, but they were still relatively simple stories marketed to kids. Thus, Wally Wood and Len Brown weren't out to write literature;they were trying to create compelling character concepts that kids would care about -- and they did.
Both the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents themselves and the delivery of their stories in this first issue reveal a lot of passion and strong ideas at work. Combine that with gorgeous Wally Wood art and the most brilliant coloring (both the technique and the print quality) I've ever seen in the Silver Age, and you're in for simple, yet imaginative, high quality fun.
The Concept:Acronymed super secret government agents were big in 1965, weren't they? From The Man from U.N.C.L.E., to Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., to Get Smart, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was a late addition to the bandwagon. And even though those kinds of stories, in which the good secret agency fights tirelessly against the evil one, always prove futile because both agencies waste their full resources on trying to destroy one another, it somehow never gets old for me.
Of course, combining the concept with super powered beings -- that was a new idea, and one that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were no doubt smacking themselves for not having thought of first. With all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced technology, how come they couldn't give Fury or Dum-Dum a piece of equipment that would grant them enhanced powers in the field?
The Format:I don't know the story behind why Tower chose to go with a double-sized 25 cent bi-monthly publication instead of the standard monthly 12 cent edition, but Wood and Brown do their darndest to justify the format, borrowing from the Golden Age Justice Society of America's tradition of having each hero feature in solo adventures first, only teaming up in the final chapter. It works beautifully here, and even though the protagonists each go on very different adventures, facing very different antagonists, the basic backdrop remains consistent across the stories, even having all three refer at different times to the scientist who was murdered during the initial origin story.
Really, the only hitch is that the final story features Dynamo heavily at the expense of colleagues Noman and Menthor. It's entirely unrelated to either of their previous adventures in the story, and Menthor doesn't even get an opportunity to use any of his powers. He pretty much just flies an airplane. It's an odd choice since Dynamo proves the least interesting of the three main protagonists introduced in this first issue, but we'll get to that next.
Roll Call!Dynamo
T.H.U.N.D.E.R.'s "main agent", Dynamo is often considered Tower's Superman, but I think that's a poor comparison, as all they share in common is super strength and semi invulnerability. Leonard Brown (yes, he's named after his writer/creator) is not an alien and cannot fly -- two core traits of the man from Krypton. I see Dynamo as more clearly borrowing from Captain America, being the result of a government experiment that could not be repeated because the scientist responsible was killed before leaving instructions on how to duplicate the process. Additionally, there's an element of Hourman present in the concept since Dynamo can only use his powers for a limited time before exhausting himself, and the powers, themselves, come from an external source (his belt).
In fact, what's so clever about the Dynamo concept is the careful balance of making him supremely powerful but also clearly and believably vulnerable enough to create dramatic tension in each story. No Kryptonite needed to make this powerhouse sweat it out. All you have to do is make him over-use his powers, leaving him exhausted and helpless.
Powers: Muscles as strong as steel (given in limited bursts by his belt), semi-invulnerability (due to his costume containing "metallic fabric" -- why don't the other team members also have this??).
Weaknesses: Becomes exhausted to the point of near death if he uses his powers for prolonged amounts of time. Additionally, while his belt can only work for him, it can certainly be stolen.
Visual look: Very generic, seemingly borrowed in equal parts from Magnus Robot Fighter and the X-Men.
Menthor
Presumably the least well received of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (as he was the only one of the original three NOT to get his own spin-off series), Janus (first name never given) was actually an infiltrator from the enemy agency looking to bring T.H.U.N.D.E.R. down from within. He was selected to utilize the second of the dead Professor Jennings' three major surviving inventions: a helmet that grants him the ability to read and control minds, utilize limited telekinesis, and employ an ill-defined ability to understand complex machines. It's unclear in his origin story whether his change of heart ultimately comes from his evil agency trying to double cross him, the helmet making him act heroic (which we're told it does), or the losses of consciousness/memory that ensue twice as a result of using the helmet in this first story. I guess it's all three. This is one place where the absence of characterization in these stories is sorely felt. I have no idea how to feel about this character since I really don't understand him at all.
Powers: Mind reading, mind control, telekinesis, ability to sense when a person is near, the ability to understand complex machinery, and presumed super strength (he lifts an enormous safe and flings it, but we're never told how) -- all from his helmet.
Weaknesses: As with Dynamo, we get another ultra-powerful hero with a believable weakness. Menthor experiences quick fainting spells (possibly including some memory loss) when overusing his powers.
Visual look: Even more blatantly stolen than with Dynamo.
Noman
By far, the most unique of the three core agents, both visually and in concept, the Android with a human brain was two years ahead of Marvel's Vision, yet the resemblance is unmistakable. Beyond that, there's just so much to the Noman concept, in which an aging scientist who collaborated with the now deceased Professor Jennings transfers his mind into an android body (no indication that it is super strong) and also maintains spare android bodies that he can switch into on a moment's notice. Additionally, he is equipped with the third rescued artifact from the late professor's lab -- a cloak that makes itself invisible by turning "absolute black, reflecting no light" (or something).
Powers: Can transfer mind between android bodies, utilizes poison and knock-out gasses to which he is immune, can turn invisible with cloak.
Weaknesses: Is fatally vulnerable to conventional weapons, including gun shots. Better hope there's another android around to transfer to once the bullets start flying.
Visual look: Inhuman skin color, small body build, flowing cape that partially eclipses face? Come on, Marvel. Wally Wood actually beat you to this one, though one could argue he looks like The Spectre too.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad
Undoubtedly the least impressive addition to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is this highly derivative crack team of special agents that lacks any strain of uniqueness whatsoever.
I'm sorry, but this so reminded me of a favorite parody of mine, care of
Tom The Dancing Bug:
These guys have no back story, no characterization, no personality. They simply exist to be tough and have conventional areas of expertise.
Powers: Expertise in weapons, technical devices, infiltration and escape, and strategizing.
Weaknesses: None
Visual look: Nothing, really.
The Rogues Gallery!Iron Maiden
The most visually impressive high-ranking agent working for the dreaded Warlord, Iron Maiden doesn't have much of a personality (nor does anyone else in this comic), but she also lacks a back story. So there's really nothing distinct about her beyond the visuals. For what it's worth, she is the ONLY villain in this issue to get her man (she captures and declines the opportunity to kill Dynamo).
Powers: None stated.
Weaknesses: None stated.
Visual look: Awesome.
Demo
I imagine this one began as a bad joke. "Warlord should have an agent deeply rooted in the underworld...no, not THAT underworld!" Demo is essentially a meglomaniac residing deep below the surface of the Earth who is at least partially deformed (look at those teeth!), but works for Warlord for some reason. I suppose the evil underground lord was a tired trope by this point (most recently with Marvel's Mole Man), but it's odd to see such a character as only one cog within a larger criminal organization.
Powers: Has control over a race of primitive men residing close to the surface of the Earth. No clear indication as to whether he is outright controlling them or simply coercing them to do his bidding.
Weaknesses: None stated.
Visual look: Beyond the bad teeth, there's nothing visually distinct about Demo. The green tint pictured above was for dramatic effect and is not his actual flesh color.
Warlord
Brown and Wood's answer to the Supreme H.Y.D.R.A. Commander, The Warlord is a shadowy figure who controls things from great distances and shadowy corners. Little is known about him beyond his ability to telepathically control an entire army and, through it, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.
Powers: Telepathy
Weaknesses: None stated.
Visual look: Extremely familiar, but I can't place my finger on it.
The Stories:"First Encounter"
writer: Len Brown
art: Wally Wood
colors: ?
letters: ?
grade: A
An energetic introduction to the series, beginning with an invading force of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents that were too late to save a Professor Jennings. They rescue three inventions from his laboratory, carefully explaining that they cannot be duplicated without the Professor's notes and that they will give them to three top agents since, if they were all given to one agent, and that agent was lost, all of the devices would be lost with him.
Pretty great way to deliver the basic premise of the series while keeping the action cracking from the get-go.
Dynamo: "Menace of the Iron Fog"
writer: Len Brown
art: Wally Wood
colors: ?
letters: ?
grade: B
A three page origin story in which a regular Joe pushing papers for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. gets unexpectedly recruited to wear the first of Professor Jennings' three inventions and become Dynamo, followed by an adventure in which Iron Maiden and her heavily armored lackeys have managed to cover the city in an impossibly dense fog during which they use ultra violet light to see their way and pilfer radioactive materials from scientific supply houses for The Warlord. It's a ridiculous plot that only gets sillier in the execution (why does the President get directly involved in a matter affecting a single city and posing no clear danger beyond bad driving conditions?), but the action is breath-taking, and it's both exciting and unexpected to see Dynamo tire out partway through the battle, becoming a helpless prisoner to Iron Maiden, and leaving us with a final "continued in the last story in this issue".
Noman: (untitled)
writer: Larry Ivie
art: Reed Crandall
colors: ?
letters: ?
grade: A-
Noman's three page origin story, followed by a battle with Demo's protohuman minions. Once again, the plot is conventional and a tad silly, but the action is brilliant (particularly as Noman is completely invisible in some of these action shots, yet Crandall poses the surrounding enemies in such a way that you can almost "see" him) and we get another surprise as, instead of getting captured (which would be predictable at this point) Noman gets shot dead by a conventional gunshot to the chest. of course, he resurrects in the duplicate Android he brought along with him for just such an occasion.
Note: Noman had three android bodies at the start of this origin story, but he loses one at the end of this chapter and loses another in the final chapter of the issue. Are we to assume he just makes more before the next issue?
Noman: "Face to Face" (2 page text story)
writer: Larry Irvie
grade: C-
A pretty conventional story in which T.H.U.N.D.E.R. manages to trace Warlord's activity back to one central location where his criminal empire began, and Noman is sent to infiltrate and destroy. The plot gets pretty ridiculous, as Noman has arrived just in time to prevent Warlord from performing his greatest criminal feat at that particular facility (it's no longer his only fortress), and I particularly enjoyed Warlord providing extraneous exposition to his minions over the intercom, telling them paragraphs worth of information they already knew for the reader's sake, as well as Warlord promising them that, once they evacuate the base after its self-destruction, their checks would be in the mail. How would that even work if you're heading a super secret criminal empire?
Really, the only positive in this story is that it reminds us that, in addition to all of Noman's cool physical powers, he still possesses the intellect of a genius inventor, able to analyze and rewire the base's self destruct mechanism on a moment's notice.
Menthor: "The Enemy Within"
writer: Lou Silverstone
Pencils: Gil Kane; George Tuska (pp. 3-7)
Inks: Mike Esposito
Colors: ?
Letters: Gaspar Saladino
grade: D
The only one of the adventures in this issue to function as a full-length origin story. Whereas Dynamo and Noman went on to confront unrelated threats at an unspecified time after their origins took place, this entire 12 page adventure serves to explain how Janus infiltrated T.H.U.N.D.E.R. as a top recruit, got the special helmet that gave him his abilities, discovered Warlord intended to double-cross him, and then ended up fighting for good. As stated above in the Roll-Call section, though, this story still leaves me totally unclear as to why Janus decided to turn good and, to a larger extent, who he is and what makes him tick. It's no big deal if we don't understand the motivations of Dynamo or Noman -- their affiliations and objectives are simple. But with a concept as complex as Menthor's, we need to understand what's driving him in order to root for him.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad: (untitled)
writer: Larry Ivie
pencils: Mike Sekowsky
inks: Frank Giacoia
Colors: ?
Letters: ?
grade: D-
The idea of Warlord using mindless zombie troops to fight for him is a clever one, especially as we see how much more menacing an army can be without fear or hesitation, but we're given absolutely no backstory nor characterization for this five person team and are just left with the assumption that we're going to care for them because this is their feature. I didn't. At all.
Dynamo: "At the Mercy of Iron Maiden"
writers: Wally Wood and Dan Adkins
pencils: Wally Wood
inks: Dan Adkins
colors: ?
letters: ?
grade: C+
Sorry guys. As much as the title suggest otherwise, there are no hints of s&m to be found in this chapter. Instead, we're given a final story to unite our protagonists, but it really doesn't. As mentioned earlier, Menthor just flies around in an airplane, never even using his powers nor returning to the issue of his mixed loyalties, and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad just brawls against Iron Maiden's lackeys. The only real team-up that occurs is between Noman and Dynamo (clearly the favorites of the bunch) as Noman goes against impossible odds to get Dynamo's belt back to him at the last second, riddled with bullets and slumped over a moment later. However, Noman can apparently send his mind over great distances to his other android bodies, so he gets better on an entirely different continent.
Nothing all that memorable about this final adventure unless you were dying to see Dynamo and Noman team-up (unlikely, as you just got to meet them both in this very issue).
Still...Wally Wood art.
In closing, the execution of this first issue was a very mixed bag, but the concepts are very creative and had serious long-term potential. Had Tower not collapsed, I have no doubt there would have been a Noman film in theaters by now.
