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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 13, 2019 4:13:16 GMT -5
 Squadron Supreme; a name to conjure with! Earth's biggest losers.....er mightiest heroes, brought together in a sort of society, or a league even! Join me on a journey that starts with something a bit sinister and ends with......well, a rather final ending! We start out in 1969, as Roy Thomas pokes a bit of fun at the Distinguished Competition, by introducing a new threat for the Avengers. Kang the Conqueror is poking around in the past, looking for a game, to past the time, when the Grandmaster shows up and we begin our journey into a parallel world, where the Just-Us League becomes the Just-Them League.    Avengers #69-71
Creative Teams: Roy Thomas-writer, Sal Buscema-penciller, Sam Grainger-inker, Artie Simek & Sam Rosen-letterers, Stan Lee-editor Synopsis: The Avengers are at the hospital, to look in on Tony Stark, who got messed up fighting a robot. He is being guarded by SHIELD agents and they don't have much in the way of a colelctive sense of humor. The gang wonders what happened to Iron man, since he is Tony Stark's bodyguard. Well, they will have to wonder. Wasp finds a doll...  ...which glows. She tosses it into a pail of water and it grows, leading the SHIELD agents to attack, which makes it keep growing and the Avengers ID him as the Growing Man, a henchbot of Kang. They set to a-feudin' and a-fussin' with it and he smashes his way out of the hospital, just as Goliath, aka Clint Barton, tries to grow to face him, but hits his limit. Yje Avengers go after GM and the kidnapped and comatose Stark and end up in 4000 AD, in Kang's palace...  Turns out the Avengers are to be human chess pieces for Kang, in a battle against this dude...  ...the Grandmaster, who can help restore Kang's love, Ravonna, or he can destroy the Earth, Kang and the Avengers. So, the Avenge You can blame Roy Thomas for the dopey costumes, especially Hyperion's lack of pants. The gang includes Hyperion, Dr Spectrum, Nighthawk and the Whizzer.rs agree, provided Stark is sent back for treatment. One techno-babble later and Stark is back in the hospital and the Avengers enter the game board (a three-tiered platform, ala Star Trek's chess thing) and meet their opponents, the Grandmaster's Squadron Sinister...  You can blame Roy Thomas for the dopey costumes, including Hyperion's lack of pants. the gang includes Dr Spectrum, Hyperion, Nighthawk and Whizzer. Not exactly names to strike fear into anyone, especially the Whizzer. Sounds like a guy with a yellow streak! Ahem.... In issue 70, the Avengers face off against the Squadron, who are replaced by images of famous monuments and the team gets the idea that they have to head to each place to face one of the Squadron members. Sounds like the cunning plan of a Fox, or even a Gardener. They split up and Cap first runs into Nighthawk, stealing the Statue of Liberty. He is going to blow it up and Cap stops him, with much punching, kicking and smashing. Along the way we learn that Nighthawk is Kyle richmand, bored tycoon who was given heightened powers, at night, by the Grandmaster. Still didn't help!  Next Iron Man faces Dr Spectrum, at the Taj Mahal, despite Tony Stark being sent back to the past. IM figures out that Dr S is vulnerable to ultraviolet light and zaps him with some...  Thor battles hyperion, at the Sphinx...  and Goliath fights Whizzer, at Westminster, by Big Ben  and Black Knight shows up. Grandmaster sends them elsewhere, leaving Black Knight to try to catch up to them. Issue 71 sees Black knight consult the spirit of the first Knight, his ancestor and get the exposition dump. Kang prowls around the future and sends Vision, Black panther and Yellowjacket to Occupied Paris, where they meet up with Grandmaster's pawns, the war-time Invaders (before the name existed). Cap, Namor and the Human Torch whoop on the Avengers, thinking they are Nazis.  Faster than you can say, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," the groups are fighting. Black Knight turns up in the future, finds Wasp andthe sleeping former chessmen Avengers, in Kang's control. he frees them and they head for Kang. meanwhile, the Avengers beat the Invaders and Kang wins the power of life or death, but he has to choose just one; save Ravonna or kill Avengers. Well, they show up with Black Knight and Kang chooses death. Turns out Grandmaster cheated and made Kang's death power only affect the Avengers; but, not Black knight, who isn't a member. he whoops Kang and the Avengers are saved and elect BK as a new member. Thoughts: Exciting, if a bit cliched 3 issues, as the Avengers find themselves pawns of Kang, in a battle with the Grandmaster. The Squadron's appearance is more of an after-thought and they go down rather easy. Like the local babyfaces were going to lose to the heels from another promotion. i've seen enough wrestling; I know how this works out. really, the Squadron is rather forgettable, as they aren't much of a menace and each is defeated singularly, in some far flung locale, aping the structure of Gardner Fox's JLA takes. Black Knight saves the day and becomes a new member. Roy could have done so much more here, though the Squadron is a supporting group, while Grandmaster and Kang are the main event players. He puts more heart into the battle with the Invaders, a battle he will revisit, in the Invaders Annual, down the road (from the Invaders' point of view). Sal Buscema makes the whole thing lively, even if he is stuck with roy Thomas' dopey designs for the Squadron. Hyperion's trunks don't look right and that is rectified in future, with red tights. Dr Spectrum will go unchanged, as his suit is the best of the lot (though hardly original). Whizzer's remains and the name remains far longer than you would think. His costume is decent, though he would eventually wise up and change his name to Speed Demon. Nighthawk is middling; but, the beak on his mask sinks the design. he tools around a bit, before joining the Defenders, as we will see. DC would respond, in the JLA, with the Champions of Angor, in JLA #87, from Mike Friedrich and Dick Dillin. Quite frankly, until Giffen, Dematteis and Maguire get their hands on them, they aren't mch of a parody/pastiche. Nighthawk would be the first member of the team to reappear and that will be our next spotlight. |
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Post by rberman on Feb 13, 2019 9:58:48 GMT -5
"Whizzer" was originally a brand of motorbike engines with history as far back as 1938. What kid wouldn't want one of those? Here's a Whizzer on a Schwinn bike:  Whiz Comics began in 1940, oddly with issue #2. Speedster "Whizzer" first appeared in U.S.A. Comics #1 in 1941. Although the characters were all JLA analogues, The Whizzer seems to be the only one who was a renewed Golden Age character. Roy Thomas was known for this of course. Oh those comic book fanboys! Depending on who was writing and when, The Whizzer was sometimes the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.  |
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 13, 2019 10:12:19 GMT -5
Man, Sal Buscema's early artwork was so polished. I'm sure Sam Grainger helped out a lot but the figures seemed so full and the poses were original. I always liked the professional job that he has done in his career, it's just a shame that he , like all artists, degenerate to stock poses and layouts after years of work.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 13, 2019 11:15:57 GMT -5
"Whizzer" was originally a brand of motorbike engines with history as far back as 1938. What kid wouldn't want one of those? Here's a Whizzer on a Schwinn bike: Whiz Comics began in 1940, oddly with issue #2. Speedster "Whizzer" first appeared in U.S.A. Comics #1 in 1941. Although the characters were all JLA analogues, The Whizzer seems to be the only one who was a renewed Golden Age character. Roy Thomas was known for this of course. Oh those comic book fanboys! Depending on who was writing and when, The Whizzer was sometimes the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Roy brought the Whizzer back, in Marvel premiere, with the Liberty Legion. However, if you read Jules feiffer's The Great Comic Book Heroes, you see that even kids in the 40s thought Whizzer was a bad name, made worse by a yellow costume. |
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Feb 13, 2019 11:55:39 GMT -5
This story was supposed to be one half of an unofficial crossover with Justice League of America #75. However, the Avengers analogues in JLA #75 were so vague that most fans never noticed. For instance, this fake Batman is supposed to be Captain America - hence throwing the trash can lid like Cap's shield ("nothing can SHIELD you!"):  And then this fake Hawkman is a stand in for Iron Man - notice he says he's "strong as IRON," "I REPUSLE you" and "modern as a TRANSISTOR!"  The Squadron's next appearance is another attempt to get this unofficial secret crossover done, and it is much more successful, as the dimension-hopping Avengers analogues in Justice League of America #89 are far more obvious. |
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Post by rberman on Feb 13, 2019 12:03:01 GMT -5
This story was supposed to be one half of an unofficial crossover with Justice League of America #75. However, the Avengers analogues in JLA #75 were so vague that most fans never noticed. For instance, this fake Batman is supposed to be Captain America - hence throwing the trash can lid like Cap's shield ("nothing can SHIELD you!"): And then this fake Hawkman is a stand in for Iron Man - notice he says he's "strong as IRON," "I REPUSLE you" and "modern as a TRANSISTOR!" Apparently that was as overt a reference as the stiff-shirt corporate overlords at DC would allow at the time. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Feb 13, 2019 13:23:43 GMT -5
"Whizzer" was originally a brand of motorbike engines with history as far back as 1938. What kid wouldn't want one of those? Never knew that, and never seen one before. Thanks! Interesting that this Golden Age story has pretty full credits - story by Neel Nats and art by Michael Sekowsky and George Klein. The writer's name, "Neel Nats", spelled backwards is "Stan Leen". I wonder who that could be. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 13, 2019 13:48:33 GMT -5
By the by, Alex Ross gave Power Princess a pretty impressive bust, there. Even Power Girl would be a bit self-conscious around her!
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Post by rberman on Feb 13, 2019 14:21:27 GMT -5
By the by, Alex Ross gave Power Princess a pretty impressive bust, there. Even Power Girl would be a bit self-conscious around her! Which reminds me... are you going to cover JMS' run on these characters? |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 13, 2019 15:26:29 GMT -5
By the by, Alex Ross gave Power Princess a pretty impressive bust, there. Even Power Girl would be a bit self-conscious around her! Which reminds me... are you going to cover JMS' run on these characters? Yep, though I will probably peter out when JMS did. I'll have to check my scans of the later material. I'm not entirely sure if I have all of the Quasar stuff, though I want to at least discuss it, as it was a coda to the graphic novel sequel, to the Gruenwald maxi-series. If I have the Chaykin stuff, I might go there. If not, it will probably be more of an overview. I have a love/hate relationship with Supreme Power. JMS was repeating some of his Rising Stars stuff and it seems like he lost the thread before he abandoned things for better-paying Hollywood work. The Twelve was another that got seriously derailed, to where I didn't want to go near a JMS series, unless it was a complete work. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2019 1:16:35 GMT -5
Daredevil #62 Ironic that the blind man designed a better costume! Creative Team: Roy Thomas-writer, Gene Colan-pencils, Syd Shores-inks, Artie Simek-letters, Stan Lee-edits Synopsis: Daredevil is near Broadway, in an alley, by a theater, following up an anonymous tip. He hears conversation outside, with nothing untoward, until two goons show up to rob the box office. DD goes into action and chases the goons, until he runs smack into....  Chicken Man....er, Nighthawk. DD has a rough landing on a roof and Nighthawk takes down the goons, with a rather precarious mulekick. He gets the credit for the collar, as DD leaves, then lets the crooks go. Say wha? Later, we see Nighthawk in his jazzy little sports car, with a bubble top. He turns into his mansion and unmasks, revealing tycoon Kyle Richmond, who regales us with his origin...   It also turns out that DD's dizziness was due to a covert injection, by Nighthawk, who is out to show up Daredevil, in a bid for fame and power. Matt Murdock is at work, reading the headline about Nighthawk, while Karen whines about him giving up being Daredevil and settling down with her. Sheesh, woman; can't you let a superhero do his job? Foggy interrupts, then we shift to DD swinging across the city, suspicious about his dizzy spell. A little investigating reveals that Nighthawk never turned in the crooks and DD tracks them down, only to run into...  Nighthawk takes down the crooks and DD departs. For the next several night, Nighthawk takes out crooks, until he corners another on a fire escape. The guy says, "What's the beef?" and talks about Nighthawk letting the other crooks go. Nighthawk admits this and the crook removes a Mission Impossible face mask...  He also broadcasts the revelation to a crowd below. Faster than you can say, "Curses, foiled again!" a fight ensues...  DD chases him into a subway and Nighthawk nearly gets a train up his tailfeathers; but, gets away, vowing to return. Thoughts: This has been done before and since (including James Robinson's "Blades" storyline, from Legends of the Dark Knight); but, Roy does it well. Here, we get the full Batman pastiche, in reverse, as millionaire Kyle Richmond trains to be a fighter, but only has designs for action and power. Grandmaster fulfilled that, until Cap beat him. Now, he is gone and the world is his. Except, Nighthawk is too much of a loser and Daredevil tricks him with something out of the Scooby Doo playbook. That's what happens when you take nocturnal strength-enhancing steroids, instead of studying with masters in their fields. Roy takes his title, "Quoth the Nighthawk, "Nevermore!" from Edgar Allen Poe, though Roy has literary delusions of grandeur. It's a bit of fun though, and damned if Gene Colan doesn't make it dance across the page. Colan will always be my favorite DD artist, as he lent a swashbuckling style to it matched by no other, on top of drawing some of the most beautiful and ugly people in comics. Nighthawk's Nighthawkmobile really needed to make a comeback, in the Defenders...  So, Nighthawk's solo outing was a bust, leaving the Squadron Sinister at 0 and 2. Up to bat next is Dr Spectrum, who takes on Iron Man. Can the Power Prism defeat the repulsor rays and Uni-Beam? Will Doc Spectrum refract up Tony Stark? Stay tuned.
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Post by berkley on Feb 14, 2019 1:40:59 GMT -5
I thought Dr. Spectrum and Nighthawk were good names, and the main problem with the latter's costume is the bird-beak in the middle of his face, though perhaps they might have thought about reversing the colour scheme (light on dark in stead of dark on light).
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2019 12:34:52 GMT -5
Uh...Lynda Carter was a bit....healthier...than the body her head is grafted onto.
Lyndsey Wagner's "Stepford Wife" expression kind of fits the plot of the maxi-series.
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Post by elcadejo on Feb 14, 2019 12:52:25 GMT -5
I loved the first book, liked the second book, and thought the third was okay. Given the changes in direction they were going in it seems like I made the right decision to bail when I did.
Did it bother anyone else that the two female characters spent most of their time naked?
As much as I loved the first four seasons of Babylon 5, I soured on him until Sens8.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2019 20:00:34 GMT -5
Iron Man #63-67     Creative Teams: Mike Friedrich-writer, George Tuska-penciller, Mike Esposito-inker, Artie Simek and Tom Orzechowski-letters, George Roussos-colors, Roy Thomas-editor Synopsis: Issue #63 finds Tony Stark, in Detroit, with Pepper Potts, to the consternation of her husband, Happy Hogan. Lots of love triangle misunderstanding soap opera nonsense at play. A Dr Obatu has an appointment with Stark, in NY, who isn't there, while an ex-boxer, Ed "Iron Man" March is also there, and sees old sparring partner, Happy Hogan. Obatu is attacked by some blue masked guys and he and March fight them off, then head off together to celebrate their victory.  In Detroit, Tony is at a work site, when Dr Spectrum attacks and they battle.  Spectrum's Power Prism seems to be calling the shots, in an interesting wrinkle. Issue 64 sees a blue bruiser, called Rokk, attack Stark, when he finally meets with Obatu (who wants to hire Iron Man) and much fighting happens, until Rokk disapepars and is replaced by Dr Spectrum, at the end. There is also more soap opera.   65 has Spectrum and Iron man fighting and, at one point, we see a black hand created by the Power Prism, to swat aside a woman. The Prism eventually reveals that it is the remains of an executed Skrull, sent to Earth, where it was recovered by Obatu, who became Dr Spectrum, under the influence of the Grandmaster. Meanwhile, Ed March rescues the woman who got swatted.  Thor turns up at the end, leading to his appearance in #66. He thinks Iron Man has gone loopy and they battle and he messes him up. Turns out it is Ed March, in a replica suit. The real Iron Man defeats Obatu/Spectrum and crushes the Power Prism. At the end, the crystal seems to reform...    Issue 67 sees Dr Don Blake operate on the blood clot that is killing Eddie March. However, Tony Stark's Enervator turns him into a monster, who has to be defeated by Iron Man. Obatu is deported from the US.  Thoughts: Um......yeah.......where to start? This was hardly the best era of Iron Man. Mike Friedrich dragged this story on waaaaayyyy too long and it's a total mess. The soap opera is terrible and the fights between Iron Man and Dr Spectrum, though filled with action, don't really amount to much. The idea of the Prism controlling Obatu is intriguing; but, isn't really explored in great detail, beyond the revelation that the Prism is the remains of a Skrull and it has been manipulating the ambitious Obatu. It's reformation, at the end, apart from Obatu, suggests it will gain a new host. A lot more could have been done with this. The troubling element, aside from the bad soap opera elements, is Obatu. He is a satire of African nationalism, who will only hire black men, aiding in his struggle against White Imperialists. This gets no debate. It is pure stereotype and downright racist. Had Friedrich nuanced this more, with a counterpoint, we might have had something. Instead, we get a negative stereotype for a cliched villain. Friedrich contrasts this with the noble black man, Ed March, who protects the rich, white Stark and his surrounding people, sacrificing his health, in the process. Again, totally lacking in nuance, to the point of making Denny O'Neil's worst GL/GA stories seem like the greatest of literature. Friedrich was really out of his depth in this story and in a similar fate with his JLA stories, especially when trying to be socially relevant. Everything is a suburban white liberal stereotyped POV, rather than anything that showed research, empathy, or even a basic understanding of human psychology. It's no wonder that Friedrich moved on from writing to packaging and acting as an agent and sales rep. he had some decent stories; but, these weren't among them. From here, we head to Defenders, as Nighthawk is added to the team. I covered that in my Defenders thread, so I will just sum them up, later.
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