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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2019 20:30:38 GMT -5
Defenders #13-14, GS #4  I covered these issues in my Defenders thread; so, I will not rehash the whole thing. Basically, nebulon hires the Squadron to build a giant laser cannon to melt the polar ice cap and flood the Earth (why, mankind will do it for free?). Nighthawk thinks this is a bit too much and rats to the Defenders, who fight and defeat the Squadron and Nebulon, resulting in Nighthawk joining the Defenders, where he will remain for the next several years. Dr Spectrum states that Nebulon restored his Power Prism, minus the annoying personality, while Hyperion says he released him from the bubble prison, where he ended up in Avengers #70. The Squadron do a lot of bickering, which is their downfall. Nighthawk's foray's against the Avengers and Daredevil made him give up the idea of being a supervillain and he was blackmailed into showing up at the meeting. He doesn't like the plan; but, nebulon puts a whammy on him, preventing him from being seen by the Avengers, when he tries to warn them. He hears Cap talk about the Defenders and that leads him to Dr Strange's Sanctum. The Squadron next turns up in Giant Size Defenders #4.  Here, Kyle Richmond and Trixie Starr are nearly killed in a car bombing. Yellowjacket aids the Defenders and is the one who nabs the culprit, Egghead (Trixie's uncle). The Defenders mistakenly chase down the Squadron and get captured, with Yellowjacket coming to the rescue, freeing the Defenders, and helping them defeat the Squadron. That is pretty much it for the Squadron Sinister, as a group. Dr Spectrum turns up again later, which I will get to, and Whizzer has some solo battles, as does Hyperion. I'll get to those in due time. Next up is the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme!
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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 15, 2019 3:34:07 GMT -5
Squadron Supreme - With Yesterday's Stars
Parts 2 of 2Gil Gerald as Nighthawk Nicholas Hammond as The Whizzer Bill Bixby as The Skrullian William Katt as Doctor Spectrum Sorry, man, but guys in this second one are all wrong: Bill Bixby should be Nighthawk, William Katt should be the Whizzer, Nicholas Hammond should be Dr. Spectrum (although I'm thinking Dack Rambo would be even better), and as for the Skrullian, I'd suggest Telly Savalas (although I know in real life they'd never get him to wear that ludicrous outfit and green face paint).
Gil Gerard would probably work better as Cap'n Hawk (a.k.a. American Eagle, a.k.a. Blue Eagle, geez, wasn't he also called Condor at one point?). Some other members who aren't 'cast' in those pictures that came to mind: Lee Horsley as the Golden Archer and Cheryl Ladd as Arcanna.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2019 7:18:22 GMT -5
Squadron Supreme - With Yesterday's Stars
Parts 2 of 2Gil Gerald as Nighthawk Nicholas Hammond as The Whizzer Bill Bixby as The Skrullian William Katt as Doctor Spectrum Sorry, man, but guys in this second one are all wrong: Bill Bixby should be Nighthawk, William Katt should be the Whizzer, Nicholas Hammond should be Dr. Spectrum (although I'm thinking Dack Rambo would be even better), and as for the Skrullian, I'd suggest Telly Savalas (although I know in real life they'd never get him to wear that ludicrous outfit and green face paint).
Gil Gerard would probably work better as Cap'n Hawk (a.k.a. American Eagle, a.k.a. Blue Eagle, geez, wasn't he also called Condor at one point?). Some other members who aren't 'cast' in those pictures that came to mind: Lee Horsley as the Golden Archer and Cheryl Ladd as Arcanna.
I posted this just for fun and I think your candidates would been better. Thanks for sharing ... |
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Post by zaku on Feb 15, 2019 11:25:35 GMT -5
I checked for fun the Marvel Wiki page about Hyperion and I'm struck by how many alternate versions of him exist... {Spoiler: The many versions of Hyperion...}  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2019 12:13:15 GMT -5
I checked for fun the Marvel Wiki page about Hyperion and I'm struck by how many alternate versions of him exist... {Spoiler: The many versions of Hyperion...} I saw that page too ... a couple of days ago and I was very surprised by that. |
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Post by mikelmidnight on Feb 15, 2019 13:02:46 GMT -5
For all of Obatu's problems, I was irked at Mark Gruenwald for revealing that the Other Earth Dr Spectrum was a white guy. Heck, if he wanted the team to be entirely American, he could have made him Eddie March!
I always thought Nighthawk acquitted himself well in the Defenders and he did better being less Batmanesque.
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 15, 2019 13:08:02 GMT -5
I checked for fun the Marvel Wiki page about Hyperion and I'm struck by how many alternate versions of him exist... {Spoiler: The many versions of Hyperion...} Why not, he's just a version of Superman who must have 1000's of copies. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 16, 2019 2:42:36 GMT -5
Avengers 85-86  Creative Teams: Roy Thomas-writer, Len Wein-co-plot (uncredited, but acknowledged in interviews), John (85) & Sal (86) Buscema-pencillers, Frank Giacoia (85) & Jim Mooney (86)-inkers, Mike Stephens (85) & Shelly Leferman (86)-letterers, Stan Lee-editor Synopsis: The Avengers are on their way back from Arkon's world (see #84) and Thor opens a portal to get everyone home...  Black Knight ends up in England, at Stonehenge and heads off for his castle, while Thor and Black panther end up in NYC and head over to a Marine Corps Toys for Tots event (Hoorah!), headlined by Captain America. However, they are puzzled by non-appearance of the rest of the team. Well, they have landed elsewhere. They see people dying, with a blazing sun frying the world. However, the Avengers are phantoms and people pass through them. A paper says it is Jan 4, 1971; but, it was December 1, when they left. Wanda uses her hex power and they rematerialize, in solid form, with things looking okay. They confirm the date at a newsstand; but, the vendor acts like he has never seen nor heard of the Avengers. They head home and run into strangers...  Nighthawk warns the intruders to leave and Goliath recognizes Nighthawk as one of the Squadron Sinister, though nighthawk says he has never seen any of the Avengers before. Nighthawk swashbuckles his way through and slips through a hidden door, before Quicksilver can grab him. Goliath is ready to punch the wall, when Vision stops him and passes through it, opening the door, revealing a hidden passageway. The Avengers follow it and meet...  a chicken swallowing a guy's head, some lady who likes feathers, a rooster who is good with a bow and arrows, and a guy who could give Dutch Mantell a run for his money, in the bodyhair department...  Turns out they are Lady Lark, Hawkeye (!!!), Tom Thumb, and American Eagle. Eagle thinks they are Commie sympathizers (is Stan secretly writing this?) and they all square off, Goliath swings Nighthawk around like a ragdoll and Hawkeye draws a bead with his crossbow, when a stomp from Big G sends him flying. Then, a message from Dr Spectrum comes across the Troubalert...er, communication monitor. Doc, Hyperion and Whizzer are guarding Brain Child One, a rocket launching for orbit around the sun. He refers to the Squadron Supreme and Cosmopolis and the Avengers realize they are on a parallel world. They also realize they saw a glimpse of the future, with the destruction of the world. the Squadron thinks they want to destroy the launch and Tom Thumb attacks Goliath...  The little guy takes down Goliath, just like David. American Eagle flies at Vision, then passes through him. Quicksilver buzzes Hawkeye, then gets glopped with glue, by Tom Thumb. Wanda goes to help; but, Lady Lark's sonic scream sends her loopy. Hawkeye, takes down Vision with a gimmicked quarrel and American Eagle, Nighthawk and Tom Thumb dogpile of Goliath, when Vision recovers and throws them off. Quicksilver gets free of the glue and turns himself into a pinball, to take out Hawkeye...  Lady Lark takes out Pietro; but, Wanda recovers and takes her down. They nab Nighthawk and take a flyer to Atomic City, to try to avert the holocaust of the future and convince Nighthawk of what they saw. he's not sure of the other three at AC will believe them, though. The Avengers land at Atomic City and try to stop the launch and run into Hyperion...  Nighthawk talks sense into everyone. The Avengers realize the rocket alone couldn't cause the problem and the Squadron confirms there are no nukes. it was just supposed to orbit the sun and was devised by Brain Child. We then get the history of Brain Child.  Arnold Sutton is born a mutant, with massive intellect and a brain that grows as he gains knowledge. By the time he is 9, he works for te military, devising defense plans. he is looked upon as a freak by most and his genius mind can't heal the emotional scars. he devised the rocket to bring the utter destruction upon the entire world, on his Tenth Birthday! The combined Avengers and Squadron Supreme converge on his island complex and run into his defenses, including humanoid watchdogs, amoeba things, elemental forces and brain waves. Only Goliath is still standing and he uses an unconscious Hyperion as a human arrow, to destroy brain Child's machinery. BC starts acting goofy, calling for his mommy, as he reverts, mentally to a ten year-old. Everything, machinery, defenses and complex, disappears. It was all an illusion, created in Brain Child's mind. Dr Spectrum uses the Power Prism to turn him into a normal-looking ten year-old boy. Cheers and huzzahs all around, then the Avengers phase out and return to their Earth, and everyone goes for coffee and donuts, while Vision contemplates whether they are home or on another parallel world, as Rod Serling signs off. Thoughts: Goofy costumes aside, we get some bang up action, a lot of misdirection and misunderstanding, some Gardner Fox tributing, and some oddball art, courtesy of the Brothers Buscema. This is Roy spoofing a JLA story, following the conventions of the JLA/JSA crossovers, though the Squadron are played as the lesser team, since they are the pastche of the Distinguished Competition. The basic plot is pretty decent and Brain Child makes for an interesting character, who could have been explored more deeply. This firmly establishes, for the first time, the parallel world of the Squadron Supreme. They are the heroes of this world, analogues of the JLA. American Eagle is Hawkman; but, with a 50s Cap vibe. Hawkeye was supposed to be Golden Archer (he was created by Len Wein, who confirmed this); but, for whatever reason, is called Hawkeye. Clint is busy being Goliath, so he doesn't get ruffled about it. Hawkeye/Golden Archer is supposed to be English, and we sort of get an accent in his dialogue. He uses a crossbow, here; but, will use bow and arrow in future appearances. Tom Thumb is a bit of a mixture of the Ray Palmer Atom and the Al pratt Atom. He is a dwarf, and a scientific genius; but does not have size changing powers. Physically, he looks like the papa or uncle of Alpha Flight's Puck, right down to the pelt. He will inspire Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Gizmo, of the Fearsome Five, in The New Teen Titans. There are allusions within the story to Robert Browning's poem, "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," which is a source of inspiration for Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Dark Tower is a code word for the Squadron and it also is the name of Brain Child's fortress, which is actually a dome, not a tower. Apparently Roy forgot to clue in Sal Buscema. The plot here bears a strong resemblance to the later Justice League animated series episode, "Legends," which featured a crossover into a parallel world, with the Justice Guild, an analogue of the JSA (who were not allowed to be used). In that episode, a segment of the JLA are knocked into the parallel world, where everything seems stuck in this post-war fantasy utopia, with the Justice Guild battling loopy gimmick criminals, who don't really cause harm. Eventually, we see cracks in the facade and evidence that the world suffered a cataclysm that has been hidden. It is eventually revealed that the Guild's mascot, Ray Thompson, is a mutant who has crafted this reality, to reflect the way he wants things to be, forcing everyone to conform to it. The Guild sacrifice themselves to stop Ray, even though it means they will be lost, with the illusion. We get much the same here, minus the illusion element, though Brain Child's HQ was mostly illusion, as were the battles with the defenses. In the Justice League episode, Ray Thompson is an homage to Roy Thomas, who is known for his nostalgic stories (All-Star Squadron, invaders, Infinity, Inc) and love of the JSA, as well as Ray Bradbury, who also delved deeply in nostalgia, in his stories. The lack of the JSA was down to Paul Levitz feeling that the story depicted them in a somewhat negative manner and was also contrary to their current, post-Crisis history. A compromise was reached that allowed the archetypes to be used, with new names, though the connections were obvious. This was also part of an unofficial crossover with the JLA, as we get the Justifiers, or Champions of Angor, or whatever you want to call Wandjina, Blue Jay, and Silver Sorceress. The JLA side of the thing was rather weak, in comparison, and those characters didn't amount to much, until the JLI series. We later got villains from their world, who were analogs for several Marvel arch-criminals. The Squadron would lay low for a few years and return in 1975, at the hands of Steve Englehart and George Perez. Come on back for Nelson Rockefeller and the Serpent Crown!
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Post by chaykinstevens on Feb 16, 2019 8:20:04 GMT -5
This was also part of an unofficial crossover with the JLA, as we get the Justifiers, or Champions of Angor, or whatever you want to call Wandjina, Blue Jay, and Silver Sorceress. Quicksilver's counterpart in Justice League of America #87 was Jack B. Quick, whose name was later recycled by Alan Moore in tomorrow Stories. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 18, 2019 1:48:57 GMT -5
Avengers #141 Creative Team: Steve Englehart-writer, George Perez-pencils, Vince Coletta-inks, Tom Orzechowski-letters, Janice Cohen-colors, Marv Wolfman-editor Perez & Avengers, a winning combination! And, he gets to do his favorite Justice League......sort of...... Synopsis: Beast is bounding through town, with some kind of private army chasing him. he's headed to the hospital to look in on Yellowjacket and Wasp, when he is interrupted by the goons in green (though not HYDRA green). Cap shows up to lend a hand and they bust some heads, then go to the hospital. Cap fills Beast in about his dealings with Hugh Jones, CEO of Roxxon, who he saved from the Serpent Squad & Krang, and the Serpent Crown (during Steve's time as Nomad). Jones returned the favor by giving Cap & the Falcon a tip on the location of the Red Skull. Their subsequent battle is interrupted by a private army, who wastes the Skull's goons. Meanwhile, a red-headed woman stops at Avengers Mansion, looking for Beast. Jarvis sends her to the hospital (well, points her in that direction; he doesn't belt her one) and she goes off, after telling him she is a "miss," not a "miz!" She turns up at the hospital, after Cap takes the active Avengers away on business, missing Beast again. Hank recognizes her from reed Richards and Su Storm's wedding. Hmmmmmm. On the way back to the Mansion, talk turns to Roxxon and the Brand Corporation (with the saucer people....oh, wait; that's the Simpsons) and we spot a Quinjet coming in for a landing. Moondragon and Iron man are back, after looking for Hawkeye. They believe he is now trapped in time, probably by Kang the Conqueror. They are then interrupted by the red-head, who turns out to be Patsy Baxter, who Beast knew at the brand Corporation. patsy Baxter is better known as Patsy Walker and she is trying to blackmail Beast into helping her...  Well, that didn't work. Thor and Moondragoon consult Immortus to take them on a time hunt...  They run into Kang and there is much fighting and running, as they travel on. meanwhile, the other Avengers sneak into the Brand Corporation building. They seem to get past the defenses, though we see them being monitored by Mr Jones and Col Buzz Baxter, Patsy's ex. He activates something that is either a remote switch of a walkie-talkie (could be either). next thing you know, guess who shows up?  Well, before you know it, it's JLA....er, SS(A?) vs Avengers and the other-dimensional dudes get the upper hand, due to the element of surprise. Patsy jumps into the fray, trying to stop Lady Lark and gets all goofy for her troubles. The Avengers go down and are rounded up. Turns out, these are the guys that Buzz summoned. While the crossover goes down, Moondragon and Thor end up in 1871, in the American West. Thoughts: Well, Perez starts his association with the Avengers; but, it's not quite the Perez we would come to know and love. He's still a rookie, which is part of it; but, Vince Coletta isn't helping, either. There are flashes of the Perez who will be a superstar; but, there's a long way to go. Englehart does his patented political and social satire, as Roxxon is a substitute for Big Oil (Especially Exxon, at the time), which goes way back, and the Brand Corporation (a play on the Rand Corporation think tank). Brand was where Hank McCoy went to work, after leaving the X-men, in Amazing Adventures. That is where he turned into the furry blue guy. Working there was one Patsy Baxter and husband Buzz, from the old Patsy walker comics. Englehart brings Patsy back and has a bit of fun, turning her into a distaff Rick Jones, for Beast. That is leading somewhere, in a couple of issues. We get a lot of info dump and references to past Cap issues (written by Englehart, as was Amazing Adventures), with Roxxon, the Serpent Crown and other hijinks, Englehart is doing his allegory of corporate greed and political influence, which will get all kinds of meta, soon. For now, it is broad strokes. The Squadron Supreme are mis-represented as the Squadron Sinister, on the cover, a combination of confusion and mis-direction. This is the Squadron Supreme, as seen in our last inter-dimensional foray. Golden Archer is using his originally intended name, and references fighting Cap, as Hawkeye. Englehart pokes fun at Ollie Queen, with one of his teammates noting that "GA always overreacts. It's his trademark." Indeed! The Squadron are booked to win this one and do so in typical JLA fashion, though Golden Archer's "Hayches" get a bit annoying. Englehart even mixes his stereotypes, as he mixes a pseudo-Cockney with a more posh "wot?". GA is later revealed as Australian, though the dialogue definitely seems to aim for English, in some bizarre mixture (ala Dick Van Dyke). If it had been me, I would have had him be a bit more Bertie Wooster (as portrayed by Hugh Laurie), just for a bit of fun. A Wodehouse superhero (even a pastiche) would be awesome! Lot of set up here, with competing plot threads, between Roxxon/Brand and the time-displaced Hawkeye. Not quite epic (at least yet); but, intriguing.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 18, 2019 1:55:24 GMT -5
ps Patsy is there to force Beast to make good on a promise to make her a superhero, if she kept his identity secret. He has dispensed with the pretense, which makes Patsy's threat to expose him fall flat. This is what happens when your series get cancelled and you try to resolve plot threads in another series. Lot of that going on here, with Englehart (who had wrapped up the Celestial Madonna tap dance. No one tell the singer about that or we will suffer through her in a Marvel movie).
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Post by berkley on Feb 18, 2019 2:45:39 GMT -5
My first issue of the Avengers after having been away from comics for the most part for 3 or 4 years. Englehart was and is one of my all-time favourite comics writers and I love Perez's artwork in these early stages of his career, though it's true that Colletta wasn't a good fit (and perhaps not a good fit for anybody at this point).
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 19, 2019 1:51:27 GMT -5
Avengers #142 For the Western-impaired; from left to right: Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, the original Ghost Rider/Night Rider, and the Two-Gun Kid. The Ringo Kid didn't make the cover; but, is inside. Matt Slade didn't make the cut! Creative Team: Steve Englehart-dime novel writer, George Perez-two-gun pencils, Vince Coletta-Winchester inks, Tom Orzechowski-rootin'-tootin' letterin', Janice Cohen-colors and sasparillas, Marv Wolfman-onery old prospector and editor. Synopsis: Thor, Moondragon and Immortus have ended up in 1871, where they face some Western-type heroes, minus the singin' variety.  Immortus makes the introductions and refers to Night Rider as "the original Night Rider;" as opposed to the modern one, I suppose? That appears to have been a slip up on Englehart's part. (More below). Thor impresses them with a rainstorm, after getting a bit peeved, but cools off when they mention Hawkeye. They ask the varmits to take them to him. moondragon hops up behind the Rawhide Kid, who don't take kindly to "bald headed females riding up behind." Well, maybe that whole recent era story wasn't that out of left field after all! They arrive in Tombstone and Two-Gun Kid takes them, a-creepin', to the law off ice of one Matthew J Hawk, aka the Two-Gun Kid. There, they find Hawkeye. He tells of how he left the Avengers and went to Dr Doom's castle, to use his time machine to go back to the 12th Century. However, he ran into Kang, who ambushed him and sent him reeling, until he ended up in 1871, the Old West, where he found some very high tech about. He ditched a posse that thought he was a martian, along with the high tech people and also ditched his mask and tunic, figuring that walking around town shirtless, with a bow and quiver of arrows, with blond hair and purple buccaneer boots wouldn't attract attention!. He found the office of Matt Hawk, who he knew from history books was Two-Gun Kid. After some palaverin' from the owlhoots, we learn that the Martians are Kang and his stooges, who means to conquer the 19th Century, to make the conquest of the 20th a fait accompli. TGK rounded up the other cowboy heroes for some ridin' and shootin'. Hawkeye has a plan. Meanwhile, we check in at Roxxon, where the Avengers are caged up in a cell created by Dr Spectrum's power prism. Buzz Baxter taunts his ex-wife, Patsy Walker and then the jerks leave. Cap has a plan. Back at the ranch, Hawkeye figures Kang will try for the Pecos Train, which carries uranium. Thor and Moondragon ride on board, dressed in western duds (do they call Thor "Swede"?) and the cowboys watch from above. The spot Kang's bunch of sidewinders and Hawkeye sends the signal. the train robbing varmits.....uh, rob the train; but, run into Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt, then everyone else. We get some jumpin' and a-pinchin' and a-shootin, and Two-Gun Kid leaps onto Chavo Juarez and loses his cool a bit, until he simmers down, realizing that the Avengers make him feel inadequate. Phase 2 takes place and Thor and Moondragon take to the skies....  Hawkeye interrogates the robbers and Trapper makes martinis......whoops, wrong Hawkeye. Clint Barton interrogates the mangy coyotes and prepares to assault Castle Kang! Thoughts: YEEEEEHHHHHHHAAAAAAAWWWWW BUCKEROOS! Lots of Western fun, from Englehart, with a minor trip to Roxon and the captive Avengers. The Squadron mostly stands there and gloats. As I said, immortus refers to Night Rider as "the original Night Rider." Well, he's the original Ghost Rider, published by Magazine Enterprises and beautifully drawn by Dick Ayers. ME went under and he turned up at Atlas, before being renamed Night Rider, after a certain biker came on the scene. That was then changed to Phantom Rider, when someone pointed out that Night Rider was a term used for the KKK. There is a modern Night Rider/Phantom Rider, though he isn't a patch of the original Ghost Rider. All of the cowboys appeared in Atlas and Marvel Western comics, some going through a few changes, like Two-Gun Kid, who was a regular gunfighter, before becoming a masked gunfighter, when Marvel was hitting its superhero stride. This is no Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; but, it is fun and would make for a nice Avengers movie, if anyone had any imagination. The Roxxon stuff seems like an afterthought, to remind us that the Squadron is around and the rest of the Avengers are in trouble. We'll have to see if they get more story space, next issue. Perez is looking better; but, he is still being inhibited by Coletta and inexperience. We are seeing more of his trademarks, though.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Feb 19, 2019 12:42:55 GMT -5
This arc is my favorite Avengers arc ever, and also my favorite representation of the Squadron Supreme. Englehart presented them with just the right deft touch of satire; later writers (notably Grunewald) tried to directly translate DC universe characteristics but lacked that sense of irony Englehart brought to the table ... without which the Squadron are rather bland.
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Post by beccabear67 on Feb 19, 2019 14:44:07 GMT -5
I have those first Perez Avengers, what I liked was there were multiple stories running concurrently, opposite of modern decompression; you got a lot of story for your quarter and many reasons to want to get the next ish.
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