|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 21, 2023 23:00:01 GMT -5
Invaders #32 The Third Reich's Ultimate Warrior?  Well, he certainly sounded like a Nazi, in his later days. Can the Invaders defeat DESTRUCITY? (No, that is not a misspelling....the guy was a loon!) Creative Team: Roy Thomas-writer/editor, Alan Kupperberg & Frank Springer-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Jim Shooter-Knows the lyrics to "Der Fuhrer's Face" Synopsis: The Invaders are in the Middle East and come under attack from 3 Achilles tanks (tank destroyers, actually).....  Namor drops Union Jack on top of one, he takes the second and Torch goes after the third. Torch super heats the tank (destroyer), melts shells launched at him, then the muzzle of the cannon. Namor rips his open, kicks Nazi arsch, then hurls the tank (destroyer) into the Mediterranean, where it smashes into the U-Boat, which brought the Nazi commandos to the secret base.  UJ drops a flare down a ventilation port and has to be rescued from the explosion, by his sister, because he had to hold off so that it didn't overrun Gen Moore. The general tells them they can't destroy the third tank (destroyer), because it has been promised to the Ruskies. Luckily, the saboteur has passed out, from the heat. Gen Moore says they still have to give it to the Commies and tasks the Invaders to deliver it to Uncle Joe. Namor's flagship lifts off, with the tank (destroyer) hanging underneath. Meanwhile, Union Jack starts a pity party about not being as powerful as the rest. This comes out of left field, after his work as The Destroyer, so, looks like Roy is trying to give him some personality. Unfortunately, it is that of a crybaby.  Meanwhile, Adolf is in Berlin, watching a performance of Wagner's Gotterdamerung (Kill the wabbit!) and is yakking on about the Teutonic gods being real and his generals are looking at each other and rolling their eyes. Turns out that ol' Adolf is totally crrrrrackers und a German scientist has developed a dimensional viewer, which can see into Asgard's realm.....  The dimensional gate is opened and Thor is brought to Midgard. Thor ain't happy; but he listens to Hitler, who feeds him a load of fertilizer, as he shows him movies of the Eastern Front, claiming the valiant German armies are fighting the evil hordes of Russia....  Thor is pretty much a moron and buys into this. he vows to protect the Reich from the Russians. Hitler then shows him images of the Invaders and says they are the evil warriors of the Russians. The Invaders arrive over Russia and engage German planes, strafing a Russian train. They stop it, then learn that the train carries Uncle Joe. Then, guess who shows up? It ain't Wendel Wilkie!  Hammer time! Thoughts: Well, this is a step back in the right direction, and the art looks much better, if not up to the dynamic standards of Robbins and Springer. I suspect Springer is doing more of the heavy lifting, though. It is an interesting idea to see Thor pulled though a dimensional gate to Nazi Germany, before he was banished by Odin; and, thus, still quite the butthead. So, he is a sucker for the smooth-shrieking fuhrer. All jokes aside, Hitler was said to be a charismatic speaker, which is part of how he rose to power. In the earlier 1930s, he was getting praised by a lot of Western newspapers and leaders; so, it isn't as comical as it would seem, in hindsight. There actually was an Achilles tank, except it wasn't a tank; it was a tank destroyer. What's the difference? A tank is basically mobile artillery, able to move into close range and fire on the enemy, with devastating force, in conjunction with infantry troops, who then overrun enemy positions. German panzer divisions worked in this method, with lightning attacks by tank groups, while infantry then hit the surviving troops, while they are off balance, with coordinated attacks. There are other types of armored vehicles, though, such as self-propelled guns, which are artillery pieces mounted on a mobile chasis, but only able to fire in one direction, while a tank's cannon is housed in a rotating turret, allowing it to be fired any any direction, so long as the turret can traverse to that direction (not always possible in close terrain, like a city alley). Tank destroyers were armored vehicles with anti-tank guns as their weapon. Their specific job was to kill enemy tanks, hitting them at close range with high powered shells, which penetrate their armor. You can do that with other tanks; but, tank destroyers were often lighter and faster, which gave them advantages in attacking panzer formations. The drawback is that their lighter armor makes them vulnerable to heavy damage from direct hits. The Achilles was developed to be a tank destroyer, using an M4 Sherman chasis, but lighter armor and a 17 pounder gun. These were powerful enough to penetrate the armor of the Tiger and Panther tanks, which could stand up to the 6 pounder anti-tank gun used by British infantry (which could handle the more common Panzer IV and Sturmgeschutz tanks). The vehicle was a joint American/Bristish fighting vehicle. The US developed the M10 tank destroyer, while a British tank destroyer was in planning stages. The British took the M10 and fitted the heavier gun to it, making a better tank destroyer. Some American M10s were provided to the Soviet Union, under the Lend-Lease program. The idea of tank destroyers was that they could handle concentrated panzer attacks and inflict heavy damage to them more effectively than tank for tank or anti-tank guns against tanks. Anti-tank guns were harder to maneuver and stretched across battle lines and could be overwhelmed by coordinated attacks. Tank destroyers were developed in the US to counter such attacks. They worked well in North Africa; but, the M10s were found to have too light a gun for the Panthers and Tigers encountered in Normandy, which the British Firefly tanks (Shermans with the same 17 pounder, but with the same armor as a normal Sherman) could handle. The British Achilles proved adept at dealing with these panzers, while the Americans introduced the M18 Hellcat, which were deployed with Patton's 3rd Army and used quite effectively, during the Battle of the Bulge. One point of contention, here, is in Stalin's train. It looks rather rodinary; but, the Russians used armored trains to move men and equipment and Stalin travelled via a heavily armored train.  The rail cars we see in the comic panels aren't much different than the armored cars used on the trains' but, we don't see the heavy gun cars anywhere. There is a mysterious man with the Norwegian Dr Olsen, who developed the dimensional viewer/gate. The accomplice goes unnamed, but has a bandaged face. I'm pretty sure it isn't the Unknown Soldier, mainly because this is a Marvel Comic. Same for Negative Man. So, unless he is Dr Griffin, the Invisible Man or the Yugoslavian Partisan, in Force 10 From Navarone, I got nothing. Maybe next issue will tell us more about him, aside from the fact he suffered an injury, in earlier experiments.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Dec 27, 2023 23:10:59 GMT -5
Invaders #33 Say Thor's dialogue out loud and you sound like Sylvester the Cat! Creative Team: Roy Thomas-writer/editor, Alan Kupperberg & Frank Springer-art, Joe Rosen-letters, George Roussos-colors, Jim Shooter-consulting editor Synopsis: Last issue, the Nazis had drawn Thor into this dimension and tricked him into attacking a train, carrying Josef Stalin. Sadly, we have reverted back to amateur hour, for the confrontation.....  Uncle Joe is movin' kind of slow, at the junction.... Polniakov Junction! The Invaders try him on and Thor starts a storm, which douses Torch's flame but revitalizes Namor, who lets go with a "Have at thee!"  Thor, however, puts Namor on the canvas and he is out for the count. Thor takes to the air, as Uncle Joe watches, as Thor smashes the guns of the train, which Kupperberg failed to draw, last issue and doesn't exactly do a great job with, this issue. namor comes to and gets Uncle Joe away, before Thor opens a pogrom on his assembly. He takes to the air, in the flagship, with the Man of Steel (the translation of Stalin's nom de Com{unism}). The Falsworth siblings try to hit Thor high and low and get the Brit kicked out of them. Thor leaves and Cap picks of the Invaders. Brian whines like a little girl about being useless and Jaqueline runs around Torch, to air dry him, so he can rekindle his flame. He gets the engine of the train going and they give chase. Thor reports in to Hitler and gets called a dummkopf and warns Der Fuhrer that he might just do more than spit in his face. Adolf walks it back and sends Thor the directions to the Kremlin (turn Left and keep going further Left). Thor leaves and Adolf starts ranting and Dr Olsen has a heart attack. Adolf tells Olsen's bandaged cohort to take over and get things going and we learn the ID of the aid...  Wait...what? He was injured while in college and ......oh, yeah, Reed fought with the OSS, in the war and college would have been before the war (unless he went in on the GI Bill), so this would be after, until later, when it is before, because Reed didn't fight in the war, because he would be too old and he was trying to beat the Commies to Mars, instead of the Moon. The Russkies fire on Thor, but he keeps a-comin'. Cap tells Union Jack to guard Stalin, no matter what! (Unless Beria turns up to administer his "medicine.") They attack Thor, who kicks their Axes and then blasts Stalin, in the face, with Mjolnir. Hitler dances a jig and orders "Hans" to bring some trolls in, from the other dimension and Hans rebels and yells at him to not feed the trolls!  Suck on that, fascist bully-boy! Thor overhears all of this and stops the fight. Uncle Joe is revealed to be Brian Falsworth, in disguise. Thor revitalizes him with mystic lightning. He then buggers off and the Invaders head home. Thoughts: Doom seems out of left field, though I suppose you could make the case that this machine is a sort of prototype of his time platform. Why Von Doom would masquerade as a lowly assistant, with his ego, is hard to fathom, other than the supposed attempt to contact his mother. It's pretty weak. What is even weaker is the art. Frank Springer, on his own, might improve this; but, Kupperberg just doesn't have the chops to make this look anything other than amateur hour. He was better, in Guardians of the Galaxy (technically, in Marvel Comics Presents); but, not here. Meanwhile, at what stage in history was this the flag of the Soviet Union?  Looks to me that either Alan or Roy (or both) is calling DC Comics a bunch of Commies! Say that to Batman's face; I dare you! Overall, nice idea that kind of falls flat, in the execution. Next time, the Destroyer returns (and wants a match with Classy Freddie Blassie!) and union Jack gets new powers, because one super-soldier is enough for any team.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 6, 2024 17:48:33 GMT -5
Invaders #34 (In Jimmy Lennon'a voice) "Ladies and Gentlemen, this match is 1 fall, with a 30 minute time limit. Your referee is "Judo" Gene Lebell. In this corner, weighing in at 235 lbs, from London, England..........Union Jack! And, in this corner, weighing in at 210 lbs, from Parts Unknown, The Sensational...Intelligent....Destroyer!" YAY! BOO! HISS! YUN-YON-JACK! YUN-YON-JACK! YER A BUM, DESTROYER!Or, if you prefer the World of Sport version... (in a Northern accent) "Ladies and ha-Gentleman. This contest is for 5 rounds, two submissions or a knockout. Hon my right, weighing 16 stone 11, from Lundun, the very colorful Union Jack! Hand, on my left, weighing 15 stone, from Wigan, The Mighty Destroyer!" (polite applause) Creative Team: Don Glut-writer, Alan Kupperberg & Frank Springer-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Nel Yomtov-colors, Roy Thomas-editor, Jim Shooter-scheming in the background Synopsis: The Invaders are back in Merry Olde England, where they are looking at the papers (especially Page 3, of the Sun), which is filled with news of The Destroyer committing acts of sabotage. They can't belieev that Roger would turn traitor, though Namor is more than willing to buy it. Jacqueline theorizes that he might be brainwashed, again. The listen to a radio report of a German plane, bombing London, with the Destroyer seen riding on the wing.  That's jolly well not cricket! The Invaders jump into Namor' flagship and head off, in pursuit. Jacqueline and Brian have to get dressed aboard the craft, which means someone is going to be peeping! Namor and Torch hop out to aid the fire brigade in bringing fires under control. Cap pursues Nazi planes and they spot one peeling off and headed towards the moors and an old castle. Union Jack and Spitfire bail out, to do a recce. UJ demonstrates his new powers....  The sneak up to a window and overhear the Destroyer, speaking perfect German to Nazi soldiers. Brian remarks that Roger had no fluency in German and they smell ein ratte!  This Destroyer is a phony and part of a plan to frame the Destroyer for attacks on the British, to destroy their morale. The siblings have heard enough and crash through the window and Spitfire deals with the soldiers, while Union Jack goes after der Zerstorer. UJ blasts him with lightning, but it has no effect, which shouldn't be possible (unless he has a rubber suit, underneath, insulating him from the electrical charge, though he would be burning up!). Spitifre goes for help, while der Zerstorer cleans UJ's clock. While UJ is down, Zerstrorer removes his mask, revealing....  Meanwhile, Spitfire finds Roger locked up in a dungeon cell. He tells her that he was ambushed by Master Man, who took his place, though none of the Nazis recognized his face from the previous experiments that turned him into Dyna-Mite. Master Man mocks UJ and says he will take his costume to do more damage, to greater psychological effect. UJ has heard enough and gives him a bunch of fives, then goes for a chicken wing...  MM counters with a snap-mare and UJ resorts to lightning. MM hits him with an uppercut and the ref issues a public warning. Meanwhile, the Jerries decide to run away and head for their airplane. Somehow, 3 of them are supposed to fit in what vaguely looks like a Focke Wolf (Robbins would have drawn it correctly). MM leaps into the sky, carrying the unconscious UJ over his shoulder. He lands on the wing and says he will turn over UJ to German scientists, to learn the secret of his powers. UJ is able to gather enough wits to release a big jolt, which propels him off the wing, falling to the ground below. Spitfire runs in a circle, to create an updraft, which slows UJ enough for Brian to catch him. They head home. Roger is back in uniform and the Invaders offer him membership again, but he says he is going back to fight behind the lines. Lord Montgomery hands Captain America a message, from the US Government and he is stunned and says he, namor and Torch must return to the US. Thoughts: Ugh, the art ranges from Golden Age amateurish (think of some of the bad back-up features in lesser 1940s comics) to fanzine amateurish, to passable. Kupperberg proves incapable of drawing actual German aircraft and goes for generic aircraft. He has a lot of problems with side and 3/4 views of figures and consistent faces. The plot is okay, if pretty cliched and we have already been down the disguised saboteur route already. The fight is less than spectacular and Master Man is missing his previous characterization and Glut goes for generic Nazi, rather than the arrogant blowhard he was before. For the wrestling-impaired, Jimmy Lennon Sr was the legendary ring announcer for boxing and wrestling matches in Los Angeles, particularly for cards at the Olympic Auditorium. He can also be seen in Rocky, as the ring announcer for the fight against Apollo Creed. "Judo" Gene Lebell was the son of Aileen Eaton, who promoted boxing and wrestling at the Olympic, along with both of her two husbands and other partners. Gene was an AAU judo champion and wrestled for the promotion, as well as handled interviews, in his later days. He was also a noted Hollywood stuntman and bit actor and was the winner of the first recognized Mixed Martial Arts match, against boxer Milo Savage. He was the referre for the Tokyo fight between Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestler and promoter Antonio Inoki. The Sensationl, Intelligent Destroyer was the masked gimmick of former Syracuse wrestler and football player Dick Beyer, who would wrestle as the masked villain, before being turned into a babyface (hero). He was a major star in Los Angeles and held their version of the world title, as well as wrestled inJapan. He wrestled under a different name and mask, as Doctor X, in the Midwestern AWA promotion, where he held their world title. World of Sport was a long running British television sports showcase, broadcast on Saturday afternoon, on ITV (independent television). Wrestling was one of the most popular segments on there and appeared every week, until 1988. Kent Walton was the commentator and regular host of the show, while the ring announcers often came from the North of England, where wrestling had long traditions and was extremely popular, with many wrestling stars hailing from places like Yorkshire and Lancashire and cities like Leeds and Manchester, plus Wigan, which was known for tough submission wrestlers, trained in Billy Riley's gym, known as The Snake Pit. British wrestling used a round system, like boxing, and matches were usually 3 to 5 rounds, with a win determined by two pinfalls, or submissions or knockout. Wrestling, in general, tended to be more realistically presented, with more mat based moves and less showbiz stuff, like in American wrestling, though there was some of that, especially in the late 70s and 80s. Many wrestlers were big stars in the UK and Europe, while a few transitioned to the United States, like The Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith (the British Bulldogs, in the WWF), Lord Stephen Regal (aka William Regal,in the WWE), Dave "Fit" Finlay, Gentleman Chris Adams, and Exotic Adrian Street. World of Sport was cancelled in 1988, though British wrestling had been in decline, thanks to rising popularity of the WWF in the UK and Europe. At its height, World of Sport had high profile fans, like the Queen Mother, Prince Phillip and Margaret Thatcher and was parodied by Monty Python. A chicken wing is a legit wrestling hold where a wrestler hooks his opponents arm, behind his back and them reaches across the face and neck and locks his hands together, to crank up on the opponent's arm and neck, in a very effective submission hold. A snap-mare, is an actual thro, where a wrestler would grab an opponent who is behind them, by the head, and then bend forward, throwing them over their soldier, to the mat before them. In pro wrestling, this is done with cooperation, where the thrown wrestler aids the throw by leaping and executing a front-bump, landing as flat as possible. With a chicken wing, the administering wrestler just locks his hands, but does not crank up the hold; or, executes a cross-face chicken wing, where they hook the arm and then rach across with the other hand and grasp the opponent at the chin, but not the neck. An actual cross-face involves reaching across an opponent, from behind, and pressing the forearm into the side of the face and head, turning it in the other direction and applying pressure to the neck and face. It is used in amateur wrestling from control and to maneuver an opponent into a pinning combination. A "bunch of fives" is a punch (five fingers and knuckles). Had this issue been treated like pro wrestling, it might have been more entertaining! The letters page criticizes the use of German in the Teutonic Knight story, as Fliegentod translates as "fly's death," not "flying death" It should be Der Fliegende Tod. Another writer wants to see young Marvel characters, like Reed Richards, Charles Xavier and Stephen Strange. Mark Gruenwald (presumably) answers that they already have enough criticism about Nick Fury being active at his likely age (which Archie Goodwin and Howard Chaykin addressed, in Marvel Spotlight. Another wants some Japanese villains and maybe an Italian or two. We will see a Japanese villain, soon; but, an Italian? He'd surrender the first time he was face to face with Captain America! Of course, we did have Agent Axis, who was a mix of all three countries. Shouldn't he have been a mix of German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Finnish, and Thai? They were all aligned with Germany or Japan. Anyway, next time, we head to the US and get a return of the liberty Legion....to probably get captured or turned against the country of some such. Pretty weak home defense, all things considered. We also move towards the end of the series, as we have 7 issues to go. I do plan on covering the What If...? issues that relate to the post-War Cap and the All-Winners Squad, as well as Roy's 90s return to the Invaders. I'm not going to cover the later trademark maintenance use of the name, for US Agent et al.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 15, 2024 23:25:38 GMT -5
Invaders #35 Um, the power to put out a forest fire, after drinking a pitcher of lemonade? By the way, where on Earth do you have manhole covers a foot and a half from each other? There's forced perspective, but that was downright mauled! Creative Team: Roy Thomas-writer/editor, Alan Kupperberg, Don Heck & Rick Hoberg-art,Joe Rosen-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Jim Shooter-out back, taking a Bob Frank Synopsis: The Invaders are in Time Square.....  Exhibit 37A in why Frank Robbins made this series work! Some armored goon has been flying in a sabotaging defense plants....again.....it's a wonder we ever won the war! The Invaders have to take a moment to answer questions from people on the home front, when the Whizzer comes wooshing in, knocking hats off and otherwise making a mess. Whizzer starts unloading the problem onto the Invaders. We start with a board meeting of the Liberty Legion, where there is discussion about a motion tor eveal their identities to the government (I would think the government would have insisted upon it, to give them any sanction, like the Invaders), but Patriot bring up a point of order about voting for a chairman. Miss America, being a lowly cootie-infested girl, has to take the minutes, because non of the boys are going to do it. They have manly things to do, like Whizzer contests. Roy then wastes two pages reminding us who these second stringers are and how we got stuck with them, when we wanted to see the Invaders kick butt, all because of the Red Skull. The motion is tabled because the FBI, who, despite not knowing the identities of these masked vigilantes, wants them to violate the Constitutional rights of German-Americans; who since they aren't Asian, haven't been rounded up en masse and stuck in concentration camps in Arkansas. Miss America is pretty keen to lead the Inquisition....  Meanwhile, a u-boat surfaces off the coast and launches a humanoid shape. Miss America, in civies, goes to Yorkville and a bar, called The Rhinemaiden, where some lumbering dude in a monocle bumps into her and doesn't understand her slang terms and moves on. being a member of the Liberty Legion, she isn't suspicious of a guy who doesn't understand "Where's the fire?" even if he isn't totally fluent in English. She is distracted by the barman, who shows her pictures of his son, Wilhelm (Americanized to William), who is in the Navy, in San Diego (where he spends most of his time in Tijuana, licored from bilges to yardarm). Then, someone called the Professor, calls for service. The bartender mentions the Prof left Poland, ahead of the invasion, but he is intercepted by the big bruiser and a friend, who tell him to keep schtum und comen sie mit dem. The start to march him out and even Miss America can see he isn't going willingly. The bartender warns her to stay out of it. She follows, does a striptease to reveal her costume, underneath, except she is wearing a skirt and flesh-colored stockings, so what about the red tights? My guess is that it took her a lot longer to change than it does Batgirl, 'cause she always wore her tights under her skirt, which turned into her cape, except when she wore a different outfit... The goosesteppers take herr Professor to meet Der Iron Cross....  He chastises them for not making the Professor sing like Siegfried, in the Ring of the Nibelung. Then, Miss America turns up and they fight....  Miss America makes a monkey of Iron Cross, but he has too much power and she starts to go for help. She tosses some cannonballs at him, but he fires them back at her and she goes down. HEY; HE HIT A GIRL!!!!!!!!! Stinkin' Nazi rat! Then, the rest of the Liberty Legion turn up.....  ...but they go down in short order and Whizzer sloshes off to go get help, which leads us back to where we started and the Invaders go to free the Liberty Losers...Legion. Thoughts: The Liberty Legion are a bunch of chumps! They have pretty much gotten their second string butts handed to them at every outing and only Miss America can actually put up a fight. is it any wonder these dudes didn't get their own comics, like Miss America? Or were even a patch on the Nedor heroes? Or Quality? Or Fawcett? DC? Lev Gleason? Let's face it, The Invaders were about the only heavy hitters at Timely! The art on this ends up better than the start, thanks to Don Heck, which sounds like an odd thing to say; but, Dandy Don was a pretty damn good artist, with the right material, despite what some would label him. Also, since Iron Cross is pretty much a Nazi Iron Man, he is in his element. Still, that splash page! I mentioned Iron Man and this is pretty much what Roy was up to, in these. He was sending Nazi Avengers at the Invaders, after they had fought a Nazi Justice League. Frankenstein's monster was The Hulk, Teutonic Knight a sort of Captain America, Iron Cross is Iron Man and Thor is....um, Thor. Of course, he kind of also did it earlier, with the Blue Bullet and the Golem, though Frankenstein's Monster was more akin tot eh Hulk, since the villagers are after him. So far, I am on the fence, the set up was pretty weak; but, the fight between Miss America and Iron Cross was pretty good. Roy continues to make the Liberty Legion look like second stringers, instead of trying to elevate them into something more and it pretty much wastes an opportunity to build a Marvel back history that is more than just Cap, Namor and the Human Torch. Thankfully, he did better, at DC, with the All-Star Squadron.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 21, 2024 23:06:01 GMT -5
Invaders #36 Gonna be calling him Rusty, pretty soon. Creative Team: Roy Thomas-writer/editor, Alan Kupeprberg & Chic Stone-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Jim Shooter-pumping out the bilges Synopsis: Iron Knight has captured the entire Liberty Legion, except The Whizzer, who slipped through his fingers and went off to tattle to the Invaders. He and his men cart them back to a secluded warehouse. Meanwhile, the Invaders arrive near the battel scene and deal with a train wreck, from the fight and the injured. There is no sign of the Liberty Legion, but, Miss America's transmitter is still functioning and Namor's advanced technology is able to trace the fain signal. Iron Knight interrogates the Professor, who reveals that he knows the real identity of the Iron Cross....  They were best friends, until the rise of of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, aka the NSDAP, aka the Nazi Party and Hitler. Helmut fell under their spell, while Franz, aka the Professor, was disgusted. Franz left the country, but was forced to leave behind his lab and an advanced battle armor, which Helmut finds. Franz intended it for a German champion, after Hitler was out of power, or to fight the Nazis. helmut takes it for his own purposes, to serve the Reich. He demands Franz's aid in developing even better weapons; or else......  Namor succeeds in tracing the signal of the transmitter, to the ocean and assumes a German u-boat. he dives into the see, with Cap piloting the Flagship, above. Iron Knight is launched from a torpedo tube (must be pretty big!)  Electric charges hurt Namor, but don't stop him. They are fairly evenly matched, but Namor is the better fighter and he knocks IK into the submarine, smashing the prison holding the Liberty Legion, who are set free  Miss America notices the rapid flooding and they attend to it. IK makes off with Franz, after stuffing him in a diving suit. namor is forced to attend to the sub and the Liberty Legion, allowing IK and Franz to escape. Cap doesn't know how to submerge the Flagship, so Namor is on his own and the Liberty Legion is useless, as usual.....  Thoughts: I don't know why Roy bothered reviving the members of the Liberty Legion, if they are going to perpetually be beaten by everyone and need constant rescuing. They are the comic book equivalent of the men who were known as "jobbers," in pro wrestling. Those were the guys you saw on tv, getting their butts kicked by the stars, week after week, never getting a win over even an invalid child. Same holds true for the LL. They are 0 for Life. Now, they can't fix flooding? Jack Frost can't freeze the water and create an ice dam> The Thin Man can't cover the hole> Yeah, Red Raven is useless and Patriot can't punch a hole away. It's kind of pathetic. Chic Stone elevates Kupeprberg's art, though it doesn't dazzle. At least it doesn't look like a fanzine submission by a 14 year-old. I can't believe this is stretching to a third issue! Thankfully, it wraps up there and we can move into the final storyline of the series, which redeems a lot of recent era sins.
|
|
|
|
Post by chaykinstevens on Jan 22, 2024 14:37:04 GMT -5
What is even weaker is the art. Frank Springer, on his own, might improve this; but, Kupperberg just doesn't have the chops to make this look anything other than amateur hour. He was better, in Guardians of the Galaxy (technically, in Marvel Comics Presents); but, not here. I think you're mixing up Alan Kupperberg with Allen Milgrom. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 22, 2024 20:59:45 GMT -5
What is even weaker is the art. Frank Springer, on his own, might improve this; but, Kupperberg just doesn't have the chops to make this look anything other than amateur hour. He was better, in Guardians of the Galaxy (technically, in Marvel Comics Presents); but, not here. I think you're mixing up Alan Kupperberg with Allen Milgrom. Nah...same person. I've never seen them in the same place, at the same time. By lois Lane Logic, Alan Kupperberg must be Al Milgrom! Stands to reason! |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 27, 2024 19:44:46 GMT -5
Invaders #37
 OMARD? Creative Team: Don Glut-writer, Alan Kupperberg & Rick Hoberg & Chic Stone-art, Irv Watanabe-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Roy Thomas-editor, Jim Shooter-out in the cold Synopsis: So, Iron Cross has burst out of a U-boat, with the captive professor, and the Liberty Legion is trapped inside, as it floods. The German sailors know they are gonna die, but they intend to kill the Legion, first, even though they are going to drown, with them, because they are all stereotypical Nazis and not experienced crewman on the elite of the German naval vessels (the U-Boats and the E-boats had, by far, the best captains and crews). Blue Diamond intercepts the shots and he, Miss America and The Patriot deck the sailors.  Then, we get 3 pages of recaps, before we see the Invaders witness IC flying out of the ocean, with the Prof. He punches the flagship, as he passes by and they spiral into the ocean. Meanwhile, the German U-boat crew has been subdued with ice cuffs, thanks to Jack Frost. The Thin Man finally listens to me and flattens himself out, creating a patch over the hull breach.  Of course, he still has to breath, which is a problem. Namor spots him and lifts the U-boat out of the water, so Thin Man is killed because of rapid decompression...or he would be, if Don Glut or Roy Thomas knew anything about the depths that submarines work in. Everyone is saved and Namor, Miss America, red Raven and the Human Torch go after Iron Cross. They fight and Red Raven gets clobbered and tossed into Miss America, who is knocked out of the sky, but lands in Whizzers arms. Namor gets knocked for a loop and Torch tries to melt IC, but gets hit with soft serve ice cream, by the looks of things, though it could just be ice. Namor regroups and renders payback to IC; but, he dumps the Prof in the water and Namor swoops down after him. IK tries to blast Torch with the ice cream again, but he is too smart for that and squirts hard shell chocolate sauce on him...or he would, if this were cooler. Torch, instead, heats of the air around IK and melts his control mechanisms and he drops to the ocean like an anchor....  The gang all exchange thanks and Whizzer gushes all over Miss America, about catching a USO show, but is all wet when she asks if he is asking her on a date and he meekly says he meant the whole Legion. The Prof reveals that Hans, aka Iron Cross, destroyed his plans, to keep his armor unique, so the suit perishes with him. The gang piles into Namor's flagship and heads back for land, missing an old friend popping out of the water....  He is going to go after Namor, when a voice overpowers him and forces him to follow it, towards the coast and the hottest Asian stereotype this side of the Dragon Lady.....  We are also warned that the Kid Commandos are returning, which puts a damper on things. Thoughts: Kind of anti-climactic, though someone finally saw the obvious and had Thin Man create a patch, over the hull. In actual naval damage control, you do exactly that; you cover a hole and then try to seal it up, to stop flooding. Then, you pump out the accumulated water and shift ballast to try to right your ship or minimize flooding. We actually trained in this on simulators, where a space is flooded and we work to close up the hole and patch it, then see how much pressure we can hold. For a smaller breach, you might use a patch kit and place a sheet of rubber over the hole, then brace it in place and create enough pressure to seal the rubber around the hole. For larger, you might stuff a mattress in there and other material, then cut two-by-fours to brace it, until you can affect repairs. naval vessels carry a supply of lumber for such thing, plus patch kits with various sized rubber discs. For burst piping, you use a pipe patch, which is a tubular clamp, with a rubber liner, which you place over the hole, clamp it shut and tighten until it seals. We went through another trainer for that, with multiple leaks and you have to work out how to attack them, in what order, then see how much pressure they will hold. They video taped everything for debriefing and I watched myself try to get a patch on, while a stream of water, from an upper leak, is blasting into my ear. Iron Cross proves to be yet another ho-hum villain, in the end. Nice suit, not much ambition. However, at the end, we get the return of U-Man and the debut of Lady Lotus, a Japanese agent, with cleavage you can ski down and a dress that if it were to plunge any lower would scrape the floor. Femme fatales are old news; but this hits all the stereotypes. Basically, the series is done for and Roy is going to go out on a bang, by bringing back all of the great Nazi villains he created, who are still alive. U-Man is the first; we will see others, soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by zaku on Jan 28, 2024 3:10:05 GMT -5
Invaders #37OMARD? Creative Team: Don Glut-writer, Alan Kupperberg & Rick Hoberg & Chic Stone-art, Irv Watanabe-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Roy Thomas-editor, Jim Shooter-out in the cold Synopsis: So, Iron Cross has burst out of a U-boat, with the captive professor, and the Liberty Legion is trapped inside, as it floods. The German sailors know they are gonna die, but they intend to kill the Legion, first, even though they are going to drown, with them, because they are all stereotypical Nazis and not experienced crewman on the elite of the German naval vessels (the U-Boats and the E-boats had, by far, the best captains and crews). Blue Diamond intercepts the shots and he, Miss America and The Patriot deck the sailors. They are fighting inside a sub right? It must be the most spacious ever made 😆 Look at the jump of the Miss! |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 28, 2024 21:28:31 GMT -5
Invaders #37OMARD? Creative Team: Don Glut-writer, Alan Kupperberg & Rick Hoberg & Chic Stone-art, Irv Watanabe-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Roy Thomas-editor, Jim Shooter-out in the cold Synopsis: So, Iron Cross has burst out of a U-boat, with the captive professor, and the Liberty Legion is trapped inside, as it floods. The German sailors know they are gonna die, but they intend to kill the Legion, first, even though they are going to drown, with them, because they are all stereotypical Nazis and not experienced crewman on the elite of the German naval vessels (the U-Boats and the E-boats had, by far, the best captains and crews). Blue Diamond intercepts the shots and he, Miss America and The Patriot deck the sailors. They are fighting inside a sub right? It must be the most spacious ever made 😆 Look at the jump of the Miss! I gave them a pass, on proportions, all things considered. No one since Robbins has done any research on what the heck they are drawing. Still, yeah, that's pretty bad. I went out overnight on an attack submarine, back in my midshipman training days. Here is a picture of me, at the periscope....  That's on the bridge, which also includes the plotting table, the helm and diving plane stations, torpedo targeting and other monitoring systems, with watchstanders. Notice it is pretty tight, right there. For a sense of scale, I am 5 ft 6 in tall. Sonar was in a compartment right next to the bridge, with two stations inside. The mess deck had less seating than the average seating area (not whole restaurant) of a McDonald's. We were quartered in a berthing compartment, with racks 3 tiers high. I could not turn over in my rack, without smacking my shoulder on the rack above. I am not claustrophobic; but, it was tight quarters. Missile submarines are a little roomier, but more in the missile compartment than anywhere else. The Soviet Typhoon-class submarine (the type depicted in The Hunt For Red October), for comparison, was about 175 meters in length, 23 meter beam, 12 meter draft, displaced 23,000 tons (on the surface) and had a crew compliment of about 160. By Comparison, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the US Navy were 153 meters in length 66 meter beam, 31 meter draft, displaced 8300 tons and had a crew of about 300. So, a Typhoon was longer than a destroyer, but narrower and shorter, with half the crew. The largest numerical class of German U-boat was the Type VII class. They were 67 meters in length, 6.2 meters in beam, 4.74 meters in draft, displaced 769 tons and had a crew of about 45-50. If you have seen Das Boot, their shooting set was probably a little more spacious, to allow for filming. Otherwise, it was pretty accurate, in scale. Not enough room to swing a dead cat, as the old American saying goes (which my cats find to be specist, and threaten to leave "presents" if I use it). Later, they have the thing laying on its side, next to Namor's flagship and the latter wasn't significantly smaller, though it was usually shown to be about the size of a modern fighter-bomber, maybe a patrol aircraft (like the S-3A Viking, which has a crew of 3). Either Namor's ship is huge or the sub is tiny. Either way, you aren't fighting like that. Kupperberg et al have some series problems with scale, a common affliction at Marvel, especially as they often left out detailed backgrounds. If you look at the panel, where you see the ice cuffs, they show curved bulkheads, with ribs and cross piping. That looks more like the interior of a C-47 transport plane (DC3 Dakota, in the civilian world) and not a submarine bulkhead. Again, no research or intent to keep thing realistically proportioned. Comics are exaggerated, at the basic level; but, the scale here isn't even consistent between panels. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 31, 2024 1:41:31 GMT -5
Invaders #38 "Lemme see! " Gimme it!......Mommmmmmmmmm............................" Creative Team: Don Glut-writer, Alan Kupperberg, Don Heck & Chic Stone-art, Jim Novak-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Roy Thomas-editor, Jim Shooter-"Answer Unclear" Synopsis: The Invaders bust up an attempt by German spies/bundists to steal secrets at an optics plant, working on a new bombsite. They smack them around a bit, then leave, but Whizzer streaks off first. he helps stop the origin of Batman by catching the killer before he shoots the Waynes....  ...or a reasonable facsimile. He then streams....uh, speeds off to the Liberty Legion meeting and announces he is leaving this bunch of losers to join the Invaders, then Miss America says "You're not leaving me with these turkeys!" and joins him.....  ...or, at least, that is the subtext, since Jim Novak letters it as The Invaders are down a man, Union Jack, and Whizzer is going to fill in and then Miss America says they are down a woman, Spitfire, and that she will join him. The art team doesn't show the entire remaining Liberty Legion flipping them something other than a V-for-Victory sign. Meanwhile, a dude in a trenchcoat goes into Chinatown, and then into some place called the House of Lotus, which is, apparently, a brothel......  The "dude" is U-Man, who was lured there mentally and then is attacked by the bouncers, in samurai armor, before Madame Lotus...Lady Lotus, Madame Lotus...same difference....welcomes him and thoughts of spawning enter his mind. He is bashful and does whatever Lady Lotus tells him, though she says it is mind control, but I think she is controlling something else. She shows him images in a crystal ball, of the Kid Commandos and tells him she wants Golden Girl. Whizzer and Miss America report to Namor's flagship, do a bit of groveling to be let on the team, then join the rest. Meanwhile, Cap puts in a radio call to his child decoy...sidekick. The Invaders are being sent to San Diego, to look into spy activity and they decide to meet up, in Tijuana, for a donk....uh...a show. Whizzer and Miss America again revel in leaving behind a bunch of losers, to join the winning team....  U-Man and Lady Lotus also travel across country and she has psychic knowledge of an impending sabotage mission, by Japanese agents...because they would be inconspicuous in an area where Japanese-Americans have been locked up without due process and in violation of their Constitutional rights. She predicts they will fail and dispatches U-Man to go there. The Kid Commandos are already on stakeout and if they are waiting to ambush these agents, then they really are incompetent. The kids take them down easily, because they are flag-loving red blooded Americans.....even the non-white characters....and they are about to call the cops to clean up, when U-Man surfaces and opens up a sardine can of whoop ass on the KC and grabs Golden Girl....  Being a lowly girl (possibly with cooties), she faints and U-Man uses her for a barbell....  Thoughts: Uh....yeah....... It is pretty obvious that the series is being cancelled and Roy is bringing it to a close, as he sent the Brits away and now has Whizzer and Miss America tell the Liberty Legion that their mom won't let them play with them anymore, because they aren't good enough for them and go off to play with the Invaders, while Roy makes bad jokes about the All-Winners Squad, which is false advertising, because no one named The Whizzer, wearing a yellow costume, is a winner. The dialogue is horribly contrived and Don Glut may be the writer of record; but, he is clearly being stage managed by the editor, Roy. The art is pretty bad, in the majority of scenes, with some bad perspective, wonky anatomy, and just bland fight scenes. The Whizzer's running isn't even close to Carmine Infantino or even Mort Meskin....  I see little bits of Don Heck, here and there, but I don't know if he is cleaning up Kupperberg, before Stone gets his pass or what, but three artists aren't cutting the mustard, working together. Lady Lotus looks like something drawn in a high school notebook, for...um..."breaks between classes." Lady Lotus continues to be a racist stereotype and she must have cornered the wartime black market for double-sided tape, to keep her dress up. The next issue copy gives away the surprise that Baron Blood returns, so, they obviously want people to pick up the next issue, while hiding the fact that why bother, because it is all coming to an end. Lady Lotus controlling U-Man might actually be a good plot device, if it were more in service with a strong plot; but, the issue feels like it was slapped together, with contrivances to get us to the All-Winners Squad make-up and to get the Invaders on the West Coast. The Japanese saboteurs make no sense, as they come in, in civilian clothes and are ridiculously conspicuous. It's like bringing Kinch on the commando raid, in Berlin, because Hogan's Heroes are so used to dealing with Klink and Schultz that they think every German is stupid. Same thing, different nationality. Could have at least made them naval commandos, coming from a submarine. Lot of plot convenience going on. I don't know what they were attempting, with the Whizzer saving the couple from a mugger, aside from showing that their competition has a more interesting character to be reading, at that moment. We have 3 issues to go, before the chopping block....let's hope for a better plot. I know the last one at least has a pretty good climax. After that, I intend to explore the post-war Invaders, via a What...If? story, then a look at the 90s Invaders mini-series, from Roy. That will be followed by a look at later use of the Invaders continuity, with an examination of Ed Brubaker's Marvels Project, The Patriot mini-series, and the Young Allies mini-series. I might throw in the relevant chapters from the Sub-Mariner and human Torch mini-series, which feature their post-War history and might look at the Namor stories that brought back Spitfire, Master Man and Warrior Woman, plus Jim Hammond, plus....Baron Blood and Union Jack later stories. Maybe. We'll see.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikelmidnight on Jan 31, 2024 12:12:43 GMT -5
Whizzer and Miss America report to Namor's flagship, do a bit of groveling to be let on the team, then join the rest. Meanwhile, Cap puts in a radio call to his child decoy...sidekick. The Invaders are being sent to San Diego, to look into spy activity and they decide to meet up, in Tijuana, for a donk....uh...a show. Whizzer and Miss America again revel in leaving behind a bunch of losers, to join the winning team.... I wrote a fanfic once where Roosevelt's idea was for the superhero teams to learn each others' tactics by rotating members. So the Invaders got Whizzer & Miss America; the Liberty Legion got Super Sabre and Yankee Clipper; and the Crimson Commando's squad got Miss Patriot and (the original) Human Top. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jan 31, 2024 12:40:06 GMT -5
Whizzer and Miss America report to Namor's flagship, do a bit of groveling to be let on the team, then join the rest. Meanwhile, Cap puts in a radio call to his child decoy...sidekick. The Invaders are being sent to San Diego, to look into spy activity and they decide to meet up, in Tijuana, for a donk....uh...a show. Whizzer and Miss America again revel in leaving behind a bunch of losers, to join the winning team.... I wrote a fanfic once where Roosevelt's idea was for the superhero teams to learn each others' tactics by rotating members. So the Invaders got Whizzer & Miss America; the Liberty Legion got Super Sabre and Yankee Clipper; and the Crimson Commando's squad got Miss Patriot and (the original) Human Top. Well, from an internal logic standpoint, the approach Roy used on the All-Star Squadron makes more sense, where all of the mystery men are drafted into a special unit. Of course, DC had heavier hitters than Timely, as once you got past Namor and the Torch, there aren't many with real super powers. Really surprised Roy didn't include The Blazing Skull and/or The Vision (original) for some supernatural stories. |
|
|
|
Post by chaykinstevens on Feb 2, 2024 5:00:11 GMT -5
I see little bits of Don Heck, here and there, but I don't know if he is cleaning up Kupperberg, before Stone gets his pass or what, but three artists aren't cutting the mustard, working together. According to GCD, Don Heck's contribution was pencilling pages five to seven, which, along with Heck's portion of Invaders #35, he had drawn for a proposed Liberty Legion comic, which failed to materialise. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Feb 3, 2024 22:15:14 GMT -5
Invaders #39 Man! Kupperberg has given Golden Girl the proportions of a stripper! CReative Team: Don Glut-writer, Alan Kupperberg & Chic Stone-art, Tom Orzechowski-letters, Carl Gafford-colors, Roy Thomas-editor, Jim Shooter-busy elsewhere Synopsis: U-Man, under mental control of Lady Lotus, has attacked and kicked the crap out of the Kid Commandos. The Invaders turn up, but U-Man slugs his way past and into the ocean, disapeparing below the surface, with Golden Girl. Cap, Namor and Torch rouse the boys, who snivel and whine about her capture. Torch and Toro take to the air, to try to spot a wake, or something. Torch says Toro is sweet on Golden Girl and he denies it, lest he lose his membership in the He-Man Woman-Haters Club....  U-Man climbs onto dry land, Golden Girl unconscious in his arms. He approaches a warehouse, with a Japanese guard, who demands the password. U-Man tells him it is move it or each your own gall bladder, from the inside. The guard responds, "Pass, friend." Golden Girl awakens to find that she is going to be the new special attraction at Lady Lotus' Pleasure Pagoda......  "Have you paid your dues, Jack?"Yes, sir; the check is in the mail!" Lady Lotus shares her past and how she is operating, in the US.....  She says she is out to destroy the US from within, in part for the internment of the Nisei, but mostly because she is EVIL, the racial stereotype is just a bonus! Lady Lotus says she wants Golden Girl to join her in fighting their oppressors, which is why she is free, for the moment; but, don't push your luck, little missy! Torch and Toro find a sea plane beached on the California coast, which hasn't raised suspicions with the Coast Guard, in 1942. Meanwhile, in the UK, Union Jack and Spitfire go spelunking and find some Japanese soldiers in their cave....  They are trying to move the boulder and stalagmite which impaled Baron Blood, who is a corpse, at the moment. Back in the US, Golden Girl rejects Lady Lotus' offer and the "lady" tries to use the whammy on her, but gets hit by blinding light. She sicks U-Man and the soldiers on her and Golden Girl uses judo to sidestep U-Man and whoop some soldier-boy hinder.  The Invaders finally turn up and discover that Golden Girl has liberated herself. U-Man escapes with Lady Lotus. Bucky hugs Golden Girl, then blushes when everyone stares, but Gwenny Lou's (ugh...seriously, with that name?) heart belongs to bad boy Toro, because he is hit! Literally! Back in the UK, the Brits kick some Imperial backsides, until Baron Blood does a Christopher Lee and arises from the dead and Peter Cushing is nowhere to be found....  Holy Orlock! Thoughts: So, that seemed pointless. U-Man captures Golden Girl, she gets a sales pitch, rejects it and breaks free. There seems to be a whole lot of nothing in this one, until we see baron Blood reborn, in the UK, with the aid of Japanese soldiers, who somehow landed in the UK and made their way to a cave, near the Falsworth Estate, near London. Help me out UK people; do you get a lot of caves around the greater London area or is that something you find more up north? or maybe in Wales? Cornwall? I mean, I know your country is lousy with vampires; I've seen the documentaries, from Hammer; but, I thought family crypts were more the usual locale. Lady Lotus and Golden Girl did remind me a lot of that scene from Big Trouble in Little China, which also homaged a scene from Thoroughly Modern Millie, about Asians and white slavery, for some more negative stereotypes. Glut's writing is a bit hokey and stereotyped and he could have gone deeper on Lady Lotus and the internment of the Nisei. Would be more effective if she was American-born, not an immigrant from Japan. In French pulp literature and comics, there was a series, called Madame Atomos, about a Japanese villainess, who swears revenge on the United States, for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She devises all kinds of nasty scientific weapons to use against the US, like bioweapons and similar things. A bit of a similarity, there. So, we get a reverse of the Torch, Spitfire, and captain America triangle with Golden Girl preferring Toro over Bucky. Like Jerry Reed said, "When you're hot, you're hot; when you're not, you're not!" In the later Invaders mini, from 1993, Roy said Lady Lotus was intended to be a mix of Fah Lo Suee (Fu Manchu's daughter) and Suwan, the yellow Claw's niece, as well as The Dragon Lady, from Terry & the Pirates. None of that is exactly flattering to Asian womanhood. 2 more issues!
|
|
