Plus, he provides a link between the Marvel Western heroes and the 1940s mystery men, as well as a metaphorical link to the pulp heroes who preceded comic book heroes.  Also, given that his adventures were scarcely reprinted or even mentioned, he is more of a blank slate.

Another interesting character that Brubaker latched onto is coming up, with John Steele.  I'll get into his background more, when he steps out on stage; but, Brubaker made something interesting out of a rather unremarkable back-up feature.

There were a few things like that, going on at Marvel, in the period.  Matt Fraction, on Immortal Iron Fist, reintroduced John Aman, aka Amazing Man.  The character was a Centaur Comics feature, created by Bill Everett and is in the public domain.  However, the character was revived at Malibu Comics, as part of The Protectors, which Marvel ended up inheriting, when they bought the company, but they never did anything with that property.  Amazing Man was one of the earliest Tibetan trained superheroes and both Iron Fist and Peter Cannon, the Thunderbolt were derived from him.

I will also be covering the Patriot mini-series, which retconned some stuff with him and expanded upon the What If story that made him the third Captain America.  I will probably also look at the Young Allies Special, which did a bit of rehabilitation of it, especially the racial caricature of Whitewash Jones

Marvels Project #2



Okay, why is someone who has a right-handed shoulder holster holding his pistol in his left hand? That's a pretty awkward draw!

Creative Team: Ed Brubaker-writer, Steve Epting-art, VC's Chris Eliopoulis-letters, Dave Stewart Colors, Tom Brevoort-editor

Dave Stewart splitting his time between coloring comics at Marvel and playing guitar in Eurythmics.

Which VC is claiming Chris Eliopoulis? Is in Vancouver? Virginia City? Valiant Comics? Vortex Comics? Victoria Cross? Value Circus?

Synopsis: It is now early 1940, so Ed Brubaker needs to address the anachronisms I pointed out last time. Whil;e newspapers report of Human Torch sightings, the Angel prepares to go out into the night.

Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, Germany, Dr Erskine is in his lab and he sees a cryogenic stasis tube, with a blond man in it. Erskine asks after him, recognizing him as a specimen found during the Great War, who was noted to have bulletproof skin and heightened strength. Erskine gives his name as John Steele.....



Erskine is off to Luxembourg, to meet with Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, and brief him on their findings. He goes off to his car and his motorcade speeds on their way.

Meanwhile, somewhere over Europe, Lt Sam Sawyer briefs Nick Fury and Red Hargrove about their mission, to extract Dr Erskine and bring him to the UK and, then, the United States....



Erskine is the one feeding them intel about the Nazi project and they have arranged a rendezvous, to secret him out of Luxembourg, as it is the farther out of Germany he has come. Nick and Red hit the silk, with a cry of "WAHHOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo......"

They land and take up positions and spot the motorcade. Fury takes out the rear car, with the guards, while Red shoots the tires on the professor's car, to keep it from driving off. The entire assault takes two minuets and they locate Erskine and call for pick up. It is noted that there was later some belief that Dr Erskine's defection hastened the invasion of BENELUX and France.

Meanwhile, in New York, the Angel spots some hoods, firing back at police and he swoops and causes them to crash, catching them for the police. His thoughts are about the nickname the convicts gave him, at his father's prison: The Angel, after he halted an execution and delivered evidence that proved the man's innocence. It becomes his nomme de guerre.



He writes of other mystery men apeparing, with equally corny names, like Fiery Mask, The Phantom Bullet and Mister E.

Meanwhile, out on a farm, Human Torch hides in a barn and practices controlling his flame. He is in a barn hayloft and isn't seen, when some mobsters come in, to dispose of a rat. One of the hoods points a pistol at the rat's head, but it becomes too hot to hold. the hoods try to flee, but the Torch follows and hurls a fireball at the car, engulfing it in flame. It soon crashes into a tree. The rat thanks the Torch and tells him he works for the police and is one of the "good guys," like the Torch.

The Angel moves past a theater where Monako the Mystic puts on his show, remarking that Monako is rumored to investigate supernatural mysteries. The Angel overhears two beat cops, in an alley, who have found a body....



The police aren't too sympathetic to someone who dies, while in some theatrical costume. The Angel takes it personally, like a brother has died.

Elsewhere, a Nazi agent, Major Kerfoot, receives orders related to suspicion that the Americans are bringing Dr Erskine to New York. He is ordered to keep a close watch and he acknowledges his orders and gives the party salute, which is witnessed by his cleaning woman, who thinks he is Professor Hamilton. She tries to run, in fear, but he catches her and murders her.

The Angel, as Dr Thomas Halloway, visits the funerl of The Phantom Bullet. He was Allen Lewis, a reporter for the Daily Bulletin. He had read some of his columns, especially the hunt for the Human Torch. He pays his respects and watches as the body is lowered into a grave, making a silent vow to bring his killer to justice.

Meanwhile, a figure goes into a police precinct and asks how he can join the police. It is the Human Torch, his costume hidden under other clothes.

Thoughts: Nick Fury and Red Hargrove carry out their mission quickly and efficiently, despite having no military training. We don't know how much time has passed, since Happy Sam recruited them; but, they would have had to have gotten a crash course in tactics and weapons. Commando training lasted about 6 intensive weeks. They are drawn as if they were equipped with American uniforms, rather than British, which seems unlikely, starting with availabilty, in the UK, with the US not in the war yet. Epting even gives them the standard issue canvas gaiters, worn over boots, at the time. They carry M1 Thompson submachine guns, which were not introduced until 1942. At this point, there was only the older M1928A1 version of the Thompson, which had a wooden foregrip and cooling fins on the barrel, which is not what Epting draws. My guess is he wanted them to look like WW2 GIs and used late photos for reference. They are also wearing the M1 helmet, which wasn't issued until 1941, with most troops wearing the M1917 helmet, a version of the British "Tommy" helmet. Most likely, they would have been kitted out with British equipment, including either the older Thompson, British load bearing gear and British parachutes and helmets. However, I am sure they were trying to identify Fury in US Army uniform, as he would appear, with the Howling Commandos.

The Angel is our gateway to other mystery men and we get the heroes Fiery Mask and Phantom Bullet name dropped. Fiery Mask debuted in Daring Mystery Comics #1, in late 1939 (cover date January 1940, created by Joe Simon. Also appearing in that issue is another character see in this issue, but he will wait for a moment. The Phantom Bullet appeared in the second issue of Daring Mystery, also from Joe Simon. As with Marvel Comics, most of the material in Daring Mystery was provided by Loyd Jacquet's Funnies Inc, whose staff included Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Paul Gustavson and Joe Simon. Fiery Mask had 3 appearances in Daring Mystery, before being benched and is revived here, though he will also appear in The Twelve. Phantom Bullet had one appearance, in Daring Mystery #2, before this issue.

The other character who appeared in daring mystery #1 was John Steele, a soldier who fought on the battlefield, alluded to being the present, but drawn as if it was WW1. Steele was bullet-proof and extremely strong, making him an early super-soldier, although he followed on the heels of Hugo Danner, from Phillip Wylie's Gladiator, one of the inspirations for Superman. Danner joined the French Foreign Legion and is a terror on the battlefield, impervious to bullets, though not artillery. However his strength gives him unfair advantages and leaves others uneasy in his presence. This is also John Steele's first modern appearance.

We learn that Steele was a WW1 soldier (which makes more sense) who was somehow captured by the Germans and put in stasis, making him the first time displaced super-soldier. He won't be the last.

Dr Erskine has fed the Allies intel about the German Project Nietzsche and uses the trip to confer with Himmler as a means to get out of the tighter security in Germany and to find himself in neutral Luxembourg, where he can be brought out. So, this is how he comes to America, to work on Operation Rebirth.

Brubaker shifts the Howler origin story from 1940 to earlier in the year, from the Nazi invasion of Holland to Luxembourg and from a British agent to Dr Erskine, as the target of the mission. Now, the origin of the Howlers is tied to the birth of Captain America.

The Angel is now active, fighting criminals while keeping tabs on others who take up the call. The appearance of the Human Torch has inspired others and more will come. We see him carrying the twin Peacemakers, bequeathed to him by Matt Hawk. We also learn the origin of his name, which came later in his stories, as he was just The Angel, avenging mystery man, in his early stories.

We also see Major Kerffot/Professor Hamilton, who is ordered to keep tabs on Dr Erskine in America. We can assume that this is the Nazi agent who infiltrated Operation Rebirth and shot Dr Erskine, before being killed by Steve Rogers. Here, his cleaning lady discovers his secret and he kills her, showing his ruthless nature.

Dr Erskine's colleague remains in Germany, which allows for parallel research, with Dr Erskine in America, and "Hans" in Germany. This will be the link to other attempts at super-soldiers, in Germany.

Meanwhile, The Human Torch has gained better control of his flame and been given the idea of joining the police force, to fight criminals, where he becomes patrolman Jim Hammond, before joining The Invaders.

Mister E is the other hero named and he debuted in Daring Mystery #2, created by Joe Cal Cagno and Al Carreno. Carreno had worked for Funnies Inc and then on staff, for Timely, while Cagno was a writer for Timely.

During the extraction of Dr Erskine, Red calls for their pick up, radioing someone, codenamed the Sky Devils. This is likely a reference to the Daring mystery #2 feature, Captain K-4 and his Sky Devils. It was an espionage/aviation adventure strip. We will hear more of the Sky Devils, next time.

Steve Epting makes it all look great, capturing the powerful moments, like the dead body of the Phantom Bullet and Nick and Red parachuting into Europe., plus The Angel fighting criminals with ruthless efficiency. Brubaker gives us logical reasons for so many early Timely features not reappearing, besides being cheap knockoffs. Phantom Bullet is killed, soon after his debut. Jon Steele disappeared from the battlefield, in WW1.

We can also liken Operation Rebirth and Project Nietzsche to the Manhattan Project and the German Uranverein (Uranium Club) and Uranprojekt (uranium Project). The Nazi project was hindered by the political purges as the Nazis took hold of power in Germany, driving out many Jewish physicists, while dismissing others from universities. this thinned the ranks available for research, as did the needs for those men on other weapons and technology projects. Add to that a lack of natural resources necessary and sabotage during the war, such as the efforts to destroy German heavy water production in Norway. The Manhattan Project could draw upon the German Jewish exiles, plus home grown physicists and the industrial might of the country. Within our context, we see similar effort paid to creating other weapons, including superhumans, though chrmistry and robotics, as we will see, next issue (aside from the established Human Torch, secretly funded by the government, with money laundered through Vincent Astor.

As we see, this series is tightening up the links of the Timely characters to those who would return in the Marvel Universe, creating more direct lineages, which also helped maintain trademarks, as so many other Golden Age characters had fallen into the public domain; or, at least, their original stories. As with the MCU, it all revolves around the Super Soldier Formula, though also side projects and activities of related characters, like Namor, since there is no rights issue here.

I thought that one was a long shot, based on the name.  Unless he is descended from one of Alexander's soldiers, who got lost and ended up in Hue.

I can't believe you passed up the opportunity to say that a woman named Portnoy has a 'complaint' that she tales a to a gumshoe called the Ferret.

Marvels Project #4



For my money, that is the best cover of the series!

Creative Team: Ed Brubaker-story, Steve Epting-art, VC's Chris Eliopoulis-letters, Dave Stewart-colors, Tom Brevoort-editor, Joe Quesada-Overseeing Lend Lease

Synopsis: "Professor Hamilton" meets another man, in a dark alley. He chastizes the man, when he starts to speak in German. Turns out, this other man, Kruger, is actually the one who was smuggled in at the docks, not "Hamilton." Hamilton gives him papers, which give him limited access to a top secret project, as special agent "Frederick Clemson," of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Wait, what?

The United States does not have and has never had a "ministry of Foreign Affairs." We do not have a parliamentary government, with ministers of state. Since 1792 it has been the US Dept of State, headed by the Secretary of State. Brubaker is an American....he should know this. He was born in Maryland....close to the nation's capital! he's my age, which means he grew up with Schoolhouse Rock, so there is no excuse!



The spot with the see-saw just became horribly ironic!



"Hamilton" is inside the Super Soldier Project, close to Dr Erskine and Heinz Kruger is the Abwehr's top field agent, sent to kill Dr Erskine.

However, they did not go unobserved....



The Ferret is there and he goes to follow Hamilton, following his suspicions about him, in the disappearance of Mrs Portnoy's mother. However, Hamilton has security. The bodyguard sticks a knife into the Ferret's chest, killing him. He takes a card off of him, for Ferret Investigations. he drags the body into the alley and tells Hamilton to get to the safe house. he will visit the Ferret's office, to find out how much he knew.

Kruger studies the files that Hamilton gave him. Time is running out, as Erskine has found his test subject....



He reads about Steve Rogers, age 19, sickly and undersized. His father died while he was a boy, his mother struggled to raise him. He suffered poor health and nutrition and was a target of bullies. His only outlet was art and he excelled at it. At age 16, his mother died of pneumonia, leaving him alone, to find his way into the world. He worked menial jobs to support himself, the movies were a rare treat. it is there he sees newsreel footage of the Nazis and their march across Europe. It angers him and he tries to enlist, but is rejected as 4F. However, General Phillips notices him and pulls his papers. He goes to see Rogers, at his job....



The general tells him it could be fatal, but Steve accepts and is put through a battery of tests and procedures, to prepare him for the experiment.

Elsewhere, the Angels patrols the streets and comes across the body of the Ferret...



He recognizes him and he finds his car, nearby, with Nosie inside. He takes the animal with him. Further investigation finds the Ferret's office destroyed by fire and no further clues. The Angel contemplates things and comes to the conclusion that the murder of the Ferret is linked to the Phantom Bullet, based on how they both were killed and how their bodies were found.

Across the Atlantic, in Occupied France, John Steele carries out an attack on a German patrol....



He kills them all, while bullets have no effect on him and he proves strong enough to hurl a German kubelwagen. He accepts food and a change of clothing from appreciative vilagers. Later, he slips away, as he heas gunfire. He comes across Nick Fury, Red Hargrove and the Sky Devils. Introductions are made.

In New York, Kruger meets with the security officer, who demands to know why he hasn't killed Erskine. He responds that Erskine is seldom alone, either with colleagues around or military security, night and day. Major Kerfoot, aka Professor Hamilton, has succeeded in copying Erskine's formula, but believes Erskine has deliberately left portions out, for security. The security officer believes that they can fill in the gaps easily. He tells Kruger to get on with his job and to make sure the Americans know it was under Hitler's orders. He tells him that Kerfoot says there will be a test, tomorrow and to be there and ensure it is the last, even if it means Kruger's death.

Kruger goes home and writes a letter to his wife, which she will never read.

The next day, Special Agent "Clemson" shows his credentials to an MP and is allowed in an moves along with the rest to sit in the gallery, in the operating theater.



Thoughts: So, we meet Heinz Kruger, the man who will shoot and kill Dr Erskine, preventing the creation of other super soldiers. Major Kerfoot, aka Professor Hamilton, is a different agent, who steels the written portion of the formula, which will be the basis of German attempts to duplicate it, leading to Master Man, Warrior Woman and the Destroyer.

The Ferret's investigation into the disappearance of Mrs Portnoy's mother leads him to her clients, as a cleaning woman, including Professor Hamilton. Something about Hamilton raises his suspicion's and he tails him to his meeting with Kruger. He witnesses the meeting, but does not hear them speak. However, he is spotted by Kerfoot/Hamilton's security and he is knifed, just as The Phantom Bullet had been. We learn from the security man that Phantom Bullet was killed because he was snooping around the docks, compromising their conduit to bring in agents, especially Kruger. Hamilton is the one who gets Kruger placed within Operation Rebirth, in a limited fashion. Now, we come to the fatal moment...the procedure that will give Steve Rogers the Super Soldier Formula, to be enhanced by vita-rays, turning him from a 4F weakling into Captain America, faster than you can say "Charles Atlas."

We get a glimpse of Steve's life, his underprivileged and malnourished childhood, the loss of his parents, his experiences with bullies and his one outlet. We also see that he is a survivor and a determined young man...who hates bullies.



This chapter is pretty much the missing prologue to the Origin of Captain America. It explains how Heinz Kruger was able to get inside Operation Rebirth and assassinate Dr Erskine, before meeting his death at the hands of the modified Steve Rogers. Brubaker & Epting use what came before and provide the answers to nagging questions and show us what happened, between panels and pages.

Meanwhile, the Angel continues looking into the death of The Phantom Bullet, which leads him to the death of The Ferret. Both instances help explain their short careers and provide a mystery for The Angel to solve and a killer to hunt.

Finally, John Steele carries out attacks on the Nazis, using his abilities to wipe out whole platoons. Here, again, we can make the comparison to Hugo Danner, of Gladiator, as bullets do not harm him and he can hurl vehicles like they were shot puts. He in turn meets another clandestine fighter, Nick Fury, creating a link that Brubaker would revisit in Secret Avengers, which ties Steele into the secret world in the back alleys and behind closed doors, in the Marvel Universe.

Lots of stuff to devour. The name of this series was designed to invoke both Marvel history, but also Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross's approach to Marvel history, in Marvels. There, they used the term "marvels," to identify those extraordinary heroes who came forth and forever changed the world. Busiek hit upon the idea of telling the story from a bystander's point of view, via Phil Sheldon, a photographer at the Daily Bugle. It gave us the wonder, majesty and terror, as it would have appeared to the average bystander, whether it was the sight of giant man striding across the city or the seeming end of the world, via Galactus, only to see Galactus driven away by the Fantastic Four.

Here, in The Marvels Project, we revisit that past, adding new details and additional characters, with the Angel, the forgotten original Marvel hero, as our POV character. This allows him to be reinserted into Marvel lore. Steve Epting matches that grandeur and power that Alex oss brought, via line art, instead of painting. He gets to retell the debut of the Human Torch, Namor's attacks on the surface world and the birth f Captain America. However, he also gets to draw other heroes, like The Phantom Bullet, Fiery Mask and the Ferret, who didn't appear in that first issue of Marvels. There, we did see some of the other Timely heroes join Captain America and the Invaders in an assault on a castle, mirroring the cover of All-Select Comics.



Brubaker and Epting are helping to illustrate the men and women who were left out of that image, though I have to say, I am amazed that The Thunderer and the Black Marvel made the cut. Sucks to be The Fin!

Please note that Captain America is wearing a parachute and cannot just freefall to the ground. I hate that Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch added that! Captain America is supposed to be at the peak of human physical ability...not superhuman!

It appears that Brubaker is using the Sky Devils to be sort of Marvel's version of the Blackhawks, though we never really see the group, other than some armed men, in US uniforms, with Fury. We are still in a period before December 7, 1941; so, officially, the United States is still neutral. Having secret offices on Nazi soil, in American uniform, would violate that neutrality and be seen as an act of war. Germany had actually hope to keep America out of the war and worked towards that, prior to 1941. Its alliance with Japan was mainly to press the Soviets, on two sides and Hitler was not happy when the Japanese moved against Pearl Harbor. He had actually hoped that the British, after Dunkirk, would sue for peace and then unite with Germany against the Soviets, which was a strong possibility, had it not been for Roosevelt working to find ways around the US neutrality laws, to aid the British. Roosevelt saw the Germans as a bigger threat and hoped to defeat the Nazis and then influence the rest of Europe against the Soviets. However, once we were at war, Roosevelt was more than willing to make an alliance to defeat the Axis and then Japan, with the Soviets making the land attack in Asia, to catch the Japanese on two sides.

The opening describes this as Fall 1940, so we are still a long way away from the US entering WW2 and the formation of the Invaders.

Weren't the Sky-Wolves, who appeared in Marvel Fanfare #16-17 (and nowhere else as far as I know) supposed to be Marvel's version of the Blackhawks? The rip-off was pretty blatant, but with much worse uniforms, with one of the members dressed like one of the Thunderbirds.