Titanic Troubles, Part 2: Captain Marvel 32

Captain Marvel #32 (May 1974)
"Thanos the Insane God!"
Mike Friedrich/Jim Starlin-Starlin/Dan Green

Doug:  I feel sort of funny being the lead voice/framer of today's post.  It's long been known around here that the cosmic guys of Jim Starlin are more in Karen's wheelhouse than my own.  But with her blessing, I'm going to do the plot summary with the great hope that she'll add her usual sparkling commentary and make me sound like I actually know what I'm talking about!  Power cosmic, indeed!

Karen: I'm sure my partner is more than up to the challenge! Besides, it'll be fun to read your take on this whole cosmic saga. I've been a fan of it for so long that I'm probably not the most impartial reviewer.

Doug:  Hopefully after her prompting last week, you read Karen's much-earlier review of Captain Marvel #31; if you didn't, that link will take you to it.  Thanos, in possession of the cosmic cube, has elevated himself to the status of a god.  He stands opposed only by Mar-Vell, Iron Man, Moondragon, Starfox, Mentor, and Drax the Destroyer.  Drax, pledged to destroy the mad Titan, lashes out -- only to incur Thanos's wrath.  The observatory on which our heroes stand begins to shake and then to come apart.  In the melee, Moondragon is struck by some flying debris and goes down.  Mar-Vell knows she needs medical attention, which Mentor offers.  Mentor implores Mar-Vell to get to the Titan computer ISAAC -- the only chance these heroes (and the universe) have in defeating this mad god.  So in a quest to reach the Hall of Science, Mar-Vell, Iron Man, and Starfox take off.  But as they shortcut through the Eternity Tree they are attacked, as was Dorothy in Oz.  Mar-Vell and Iron Man are able to stay free, and Eros encourages them to leave him and go onward.  They do.

Karen: Right off the bat I have to comment on the art: Dan Green does a very capable job here inking Starlin. His line work is neither too thin nor too thick -as Goldilocks would say, it's just right. I'm looking at the Captain Marvel Marvel Masterworks so I can't really comment on the coloring, although in this volume, it looks very good. The way Starlin depicts the ascended Thanos, as a sort of transparent floating head in the stars, is at once simple and yet striking. Eros (I still have a hard time thinking of him as Starfox) is taken out of the picture rather quickly. But his capture does lend a heightened sense of threat to the whole affair.

Doug:  Back at the observatory, Drax rises from the destruction and again decries the vengeance he knows he will bring against Thanos.  Meanwhile, Mar-Vell and IM begin to stroll through the Hall of Science.  I thought this was strange, given the urgency of the circumstances, but it does buy Jim Starlin some time to recap for the reader what has gone before.  Thanos had kidnapped the above-named heroes and made them witness his star fleet heading toward Earth.  After that, he showed his power by imprisoning Kronos.  When the heroes had escaped, rather than kill them he again imprisoned them and made them watch his transformation to godhood.  Mar-Vell insists that it's Thanos's vanity that is his downfall; that and the fact that his newfound power is still too new for him to even grasp his capabilities.  The heroes guess that this instability in Thanos's decision-making may be their salvation.  But as they continue to move toward ISAAC, Mar-Vell senses that Thanos is indeed focusing his attention on them and is preparing to strike!

Karen: I looked upon the situation in the Hall of Science as a chance for Mar-Vell and Iron Man to slow down and try to figure out a plan -- as Thanos himself says moments later, these two are fighters and thinkers.And of course a big part of all this is that Marv has snatched up the seemingly inert Cosmic Cube; apparently when Thanos used the Cube to transform himself into God, he used all of its power. But Mar-Vell still feels it may be the key to defeating him. Starlin manages to give us a fairly concise rundown of what's happened here; that won't be the case with the next issue of CM!

Doug:  You're not kidding!  I've been a good lad and have read ahead to the end of this material we're reviewing.  When Steve Englehart takes over as scribe in Captain Marvel #33, it's all-words, all-the-time!  Man...

Doug:  The attack by Thanos comes in a strange form, and seems almost typical of megalomaniacal baddies -- rather than just off their nemeses, they insist on toying with them.  In this instance, Thanos chooses to create demons who rise up from the floor to attack Mar-Vell and Iron Man.  A battle begins to rage, and Iron Man is soon overcome.  Mar-Vell fights valiantly to free his ally, but the odds are turning against them.  Knowing the demons are soulless, the heroes fight with no holds barred, but still they succumb.  Mar-Vell is cornered, when a new being materializes -- a man wearing an iron mask.  In space, Thanos makes it official that he is indeed offering the universe to his mistress Death.  She makes no response, and the courting is interrupted -- the Destroyer has found the mad Titan!  In a nifty double-page splash, Drax attacks Thanos, reminding him that the only reason Drax exists is to destroy Thanos.

Karen: Just like in our review of Marvel Feature #12 last week, we see that Iron Man at this point in time was far from invincible! It seems so odd, looking back now, what with Shellhead being such a superstar, but he really was sort of a mid-level hero. I really love the way Starlin depicts Mar-Vell in action; he looks like a real fighter, going through actual combat moves. The two page spread with the Destroyer is just breath-taking. Drax was one of Starlin's best designs and I thrilled to see him whenever he appeared. He was so relentless!

Doug:  Thanos decides that he can bring more torture to Drax if he shows the Destroyer his true history -- we then get an origin story not only for Drax the Destroyer, but another nugget thrown into Moondragon's (which was shown in Daredevil #105, of all places).  I have to take issue with Starlin's memory, however -- he writes that real estate agent Art Douglas had taken his wife and daughter (Heather Douglas -- the later-to-be-named Madame MacEvil/Moondragon) to Las Vegas to see his singing idol, Elvis Presley -- in 1953.  Say what?  Elvis made his first recording at Sun Records in 1953, and didn't chart until Heartbreak Hotel in 1956.  Ah, whatever...  Anyway, Thanos's starship came into view of the Douglas vehicle, and being seen by humans couldn't have been good.  Thanos arranged for the car in which the family was traveling to crash.  The parents were killed; young Heather escaped, to be later transported to Titan and raised by Mentor.  When Art Douglas's soul began to ascend to the heavens, it was intercepted by Mentor and Kronos -- they realized they would need a champion to defeat Thanos.  Thus was born Drax the Destroyer.  But does Thanos succeed in further torturing Drax by revealing this to him?  On the contrary -- now the Destroyer hates him all the more!

Karen: Yes, the Elvis reference makes no sense, unless we're on Earth-72 or something. That's the sort of thing that makes you feel like there was a bit of sloppiness creeping in. Then again, I suppose it would take more effort than pushing a few buttons to find the answer! Still, it detracts just a bit from the story. Not enough to ruin anything but enough to make you stop and take you out of it for a moment.Still, the origin of Drax was pretty clever -- it sort of combines a 50s sci fi film motif with a bit of the Spectre and some mythological overtones. I like how Drax knowing the truth backfires on Thanos -- he's just made the Destroyer even more driven!

Doug:  At Avengers Mansion, Earth's Mightiest Heroes receive word from the Black Panther that the Russian-American spacelab, StarCore, has picked up evidence of a huge space fleet headed toward Earth -- the same fleet Mar-Vell had knowledge of.  The Avengers immediately leap to action -- as we shall see next Monday in our review of Avengers #125!  Back in the Hall of Science, Mar-Vell meets the new being in their presence.  No introductions are exchanged, although the new figure knows who Mar-Vell is.  Mar-Vell continues to fight Thanos's demons while they talk, and Starlin again uses the dialogue to inform the reader of past events -- Mar-Vell, since Captain Marvel #28, no longer considers himself a warrior of the Kree.  He has instead become a champion for the universe of which he has attained full awareness.  Eventually the man in the iron mask reveals himself to be a holographic representation of ISAAC, the Titan computer.  Mar-Vell takes advantage of the situation, asking him how to defeat these demons.  ISAAC tells him that he cannot -- that as long as he exists, so will these demons.  Cue Rick Jones.

Karen: You can look at most of Starlin's run on the book, from #25-33 at least, and see it as one long protracted war against Thanos, but it was also about the change in Mar-Vell. He went from being a warrior to being a protector -- as we are told sometimes repeatedly -- and this had a lot of significance obviously for Starlin, who was a Viet Nam vet. Mar-Vell still used his Kree training and powers, but as he explains in his monologue in this issue, "Force must only be used as the last possible solution -- and then only enough to resolve the situation! To use more would make me no better than those against whom I must defend!" These are admirable words to be sure, but hard ones to follow in a medium that is built around physical conflict! But that ideal was not uncommon for the times, and was reflected in a lot of places, including the Kung Fu TV show, which I know from interviews Starlin was a fan of.

Doug:  See, I knew your color commentary would be awesome!

Doug:  Mar-Vell slaps the nega-bands together, bringing Rick back from the Negative Zone.  The demons freeze, and Rick asks ISAAC (calling him "Zack") to send him back to Earth so that he can think and plan.  ISAAC agrees, and before sending him "home", Rick picks up the de-powered cosmic cube.  Once home, Rick doesn't have much time for thinking, or anything else -- Thanos has followed him!  Mar-Vell had deduced that Thanos's ego might be his only weakness.  So in his most obnoxious manner, Rick begins to goad Thanos, insulting him incessantly, challenging his godhood, manhood, and every other sort of 'hood!  But what he didn't bargain for was that the mad Titan would manifest himself again in corporeal form... uh oh!

Karen: Well, Rick can certainly be annoying even when he's not trying to get under your skin! I can hardly blame Thanos for wanting to crush him. But good grief, Thanos manifests himself about 12 feet tall! He's huge and rippling with energy! I thought Starlin got very creative here - we see Thanos' face in a sequence of spheres, striking Rick, a giant Thanos face with a mouth filled with flames, and other almost Ditko-like representations.

Doug:  I had a good time with this!  Not being very well-versed on the Starlin-verse, I thought it was still pretty accessible.  There were enough recaps along the way, and the Internet certainly helps us to fill in gaps, doesn't it?  Jim Starlin's art was great -- very detailed, due in no small part to Dan Green's inks, as Karen said at the top.  I know that those space scenes take a whole lot of time to do, and Green came through.  Although there was no colorist listed, a kudo to him or her as well.  According to the Grand Comics Database, it was Starlin himself.  Wow.  I'm definitely looking forward to the succeeding two chapters in this story -- and especially to next week's art team of John Buscema and Dave Cockrum!

Melt With You: Defenders 14

Defenders #14 (July 1974)
"And Who Shall Inherit the Earth?"
Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Sal Buscema/Dan Green

Doug: Welcome back to the conclusion of our Defenders/Squadron Sinister 2-parter. You can refresh your memory of Defenders #13 by clicking here. When we left our heroes, the non-team had been encased in a transparent globe. The alien Nebulon had come to the rescue of his allies, the Squadron Sinister, who had been dispatched by the Defenders. We pick it up here.

Doug: Nebulon wants to off the good guys, but strangely Hyperion talks him out of it. Doc Spectrum and the Whizzer think he's crazy, but Hyperion insists that the Defenders must live long enough to know why they are going to be killed. We then get a look into the muscled one's backstory. He was from a subatomic world which was destroyed. Sent adrift across the cosmos, he was captured and enlarged by the Grandmaster to be a pawn against the Avengers. Fighting the mighty Thor, Hyperion was defeated when Thor used Mjolnir to imprison the Grandmaster's champion. However, the process reverted the growth process and Hyperion was shrunk back down. Again adrift in space, he floated along until encountering the ship of Nebulon. Nebulon sent a "grapple-beam" to haul in the globe imprisoning Hyperion. Once inside Nebulon destroyed the globe, and Hyperion reverted once again to his full human size. They then had a conversation.

Karen: Boy, Hyperion is a real cold-blooded killer, isn't he? Not only does he want all of Earth to die, he wants to make the Defenders suffer by seeing it all happen! I also like the backstory and the fact that once again, Thor's hammer can do just about anything. Shrink a guy and encase him in a snow globe? No problem!

Doug: Yeah, Hyperion's a real doozy; that is, until you get to the Whizzer. Nebulon described himself as an intergalactic prospector, searching for materials that would ensure his world's continued existence. Having thus far failed in comparison to his co-workers, he was interested when Hyperion offered to sell him a world that would suit his needs -- Earth. The Defenders protest loudly, as does Nighthawk; Hyperion scoffs and explains that he does not care. Nebulon, he argues, is powerful enough to transport the Squadron to other-dimensional worlds untold. And here is where I somewhat cryptically questioned Nebulon's goals in last week's post. Now that we know he needs certain mineral resources to export to his own planet, it seems strange that flooding the Earth would be the solution to that issue. It just seemed like a lot of work, and I additionally wondered why Nighthawk was needed to create the big laser-deal. If Nebulon can create these impenetrable globes, transport people across dimensions, and travel inter-stellarly, then what the heck did the Squadron "need" Nighthawk for? Because it sets up his redemption and transformation, I suppose...

Karen: Realistically, once Hyperion showed Nebulon the location of Earth, I wouldn't think the alien would need any of the Squadron. He could have cast Hyperion back in his globe and just destroyed the icecaps himself. But yes, then we wouldn't wind up with Nighthawk's change of heart.

Doug: As Nighthawk pops off to Hyperion, Nebulon takes matters into his own hands and transfers Nighthawk to the Defenders' spherical prison. The Whizzer, who comes across as a total wingnut, moves forward and demands the heroes' blood. He's rebuffed again by Hyperion and when he says that one more word, he gets "Buscema-blasted". Nebulon then sends the prison sphere into the atmosphere at Hyperion's request for suffering. Once aloft and rising, the Defenders struggle to break out. Spells, punches, Dragonfang strikes -- none of it works. It's Nighthawk who suggests that all power be concentrated in one spot, and lo and behold -- it works! But, once free our heroes notice that it's a long way down! Dr. Strange envelopes everyone in an aura of his making that preserves their oxygen supply (is there nothing the good Doc cannot do?), and the team gets back on terra firma.

Karen: "Buscema-blasted" - nice! The Whizzer is definitely a loon, and Hyperion's back-hand is properly dismissive. The whole "let's hit it together" idea was one you used to see a lot of in comics, but perhaps not so much any more. I noticed that Sal's outer space backgrounds look like his big brother's, with all the little crescent moons floating around. It doesn't make much sense but I always bought it!

Doug: Once down, the primary goal is the destruction of the laser cannon. The Defenders attack, but Nebulon creates an icy giant (looking an awful lot like Ymir). He creates two pages of havoc for the Defenders, who attack singly (will these hero-types never learn?). Valkyrie discovers that hacking off a limb does no good, as it just grows back. Finally, the Hulk picks up the giant and hurls it right into the path of the cannon. End of giant. Nebulon realizes that he's taken the Defenders far too lightly, so decides he must face them alone. Hyperion protests, but is rebuked. Nebulon metes out some punishment to each Defender, but once the Doc gets hold of him... Nebulon's knocked off-balance, then down, and says he's starting to lose his concentration. Wait, what? Ah, all is not what it seems...

Karen: It's ironic, after their escape from the bubble, which required team work, that these heroes all go back to fighting solo. I guess some people never learn! Then again, Dr. Strange isn't exactly leading them. I mean, Cap would've been telling them where to strike and when and that giant would have been done in minutes. But in any case Hulk does eventually get the job done. And what was Nighthawk thinking? Hulk and Sub-Mariner both crash into the thing and get swatted away, so he, powerless, tries the same tactic? Doc does redeem himself a bit when the team goes after Nebulon himself, but being the Defenders , they don't really listen to him!

Doug: Last week I commented that Nebulon was a "good-looking super-villain" -- by that I meant he had that David Lee Roth thing going with the hair, the Doc Savage skin, and the Cockrum-era Star Boy costume. What says "1974" like that? Well, all is not what it apparently seemed. Suddenly Nebulon morphs into the nastiest worm/octupus-looking thing -- he's just flat-out U-G-L-Y!! Calling himself the "Celestial Man", he's drooling like Jabba the Hut. However, he does clear up my mystery-of-motive (see above): In this form, we learn that Nebulon is from an aquatic people, hence the need to flood the Earth before he could make use of it. Ah -- good work then, Len Wein! Nighthawk surveys the situation and quickly determines that there is no way the Defenders can defeat the combined might of this new Nebulon and the Squadron. Feeling that Nebulon is the greater threat, Nighthawk ascends the laser cannon and unleashes it on Nebulon. The power is too great for him to absorb and he succumbs -- in a big way. The Squadron turns tail to collectively run, but as they do Nebulon implodes, apparently killing them with him. Nighthawk is hurt in the blast, and lies near death.

Karen: Nebulon in his true form reminded me of every H.P. Lovecraft story I've ever read. That was fairly trippy stuff coming from Sal. I was happy to discover that the plot to flood the Earth did actually make sense and was not Len Wein having a brain fart. Despite seeming ineffectual earlier in the story, Nighthawk shows his value here by swiftly deciding to use the laser cannon against Nebulon. Although he is gravely injured, the blast did destroy his costume, so that has to be counted as a small victory.

Doug: But why would anyone lie near death when Dr. Strange is around? In one of the "we've got to use all of our life-energies" scenes, Strange draws the Defenders near him, and requests that each person will part of their life force to him. He, in turn, channels this energy into Nighthawk. Nighthawk quite suddenly awakens, and after shaking off the cobwebs offers to join the Defenders (as you said, we are the beneficiaries that Strange chose not to revive the costume!). Strange explains that it's not like that, but is interrupted by the always-diplomatic Namor. Subby says "let him join" because he's out, and when he returns, yada yada yada. So as Namor flies off in a huff, Hulk, Val, and Strange welcome Nighthawk into the fold. Question -- does he become the first permanent member of the non-team?

Karen: The life force stuff, another comics cliche. But I didn't mind it, not really. But wasn't it silly at this point for Dr. Strange to keep protesting that the Defenders were not a team? Come on! Namor's rant is just so typical of him and another reason why he al ways straddles that hero/villain line. He just doesn't play well with others. But Nighthawk, despite his lack of power, will become a vital addition to the team. As for your question, I'd say Valkyrie probably gets my vote as the first permanent member of the Defenders. She was around from issue 4 and put up with all of their crap and hung in there for years!

Doug: This was a quality story from start to finish. Good plot, interesting and challenging villains, a new hero joins the team, and superb Bronze Age art. I really liked reading this, for me the first time ever. These early issues of the Defenders are a lot of fun, with an out- of-the-ordinary cast and offbeat baddies, to be certain. Fun, fun!

Karen: Agreed, these two issues were the best reviews we've gotten to do in a while. My only wish is that Klaus Janson had inked this issue too; it didn't have the flair of the previous issue. But still, a great Bronze Age read.

Rest In Peace, Joe Kubert.  Thanks for the memories.

Do You Believe in Magic, In a Young Girl's Heart? Avengers 187

Avengers #187 (September 1979)
"The Call of the Mountain Thing!"
Steven Grant & Mark Gruenwald (plot)/David Michelinie (writer)
John Byrne/Dan Green (pictures)

Doug: When we left Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Wanda had been taken over by an evil demon named Chthon and the Avengers had gone around the will of Agent Gyrich and headed off to the Balkans in a quinjet. And in the Marvel Universe, you know what a bunch of super-heroes in an airborne vehicle means...

Karen: I think the X-Men hold the record though. But before we go any further, I have to say that I've heard a lot of comments in the past about what a memorable cover this is, and I can't help but think that fuels the idea that this is a great story, which I think is debatable.

Doug:  It is a pretty nifty cover, though.  I think the color scheme of the background, emulating a little reddish-orange Kirby Krackle, makes it special.  I always wonder if artists turn the paper around to draw figures that are upside down.

Doug: As the Avengers approach Wundagore Mountain, after having received Pietro's call for help last issue, the quinjet begins to malfunction due to the magic forces at work. Wonder Man was asked to accompany the team in place of the Vision -- he had been ordered by Gyrich to remain behind. As the Beast loses the ability to effectively pilot the craft, Wonder Man slides into the lead seat. Cap orders all who can fly to prepare to evacuate. Beast protests, but Wonder Man straps his own belt onto McCoy, and jettisons him as well. The quinjet indeed crashes, but out of harm's way. Hank has no control over the flight belt, so faces a roller-coaster ride right into the side of the mountain. Once on the ground, however, Henry McCoy spies something odd that catches his attention -- more on that later. The rest of the team lands safely, only to come face-to-face with Modred. The Falcon attempts to stake his claim to "usefulness", but to no avail.

Karen: Falcon's been called up to the majors and he's trying to prove he should stick there. He gives a pretty impressive punch to Modred, but unfortunately it's shrugged off. I thought Wonder Man's bravery in taking the quinjet down seemed a bit uncharacteristic, as he had been portrayed as fearful of dying in the past, but perhaps he really did not think a crash would hurt him.

Doug: Wonder Man emerges from the wreckage and sees a bright light off in the not-so-distance. Recognizing it as a hex sphere he begins to head toward it when he's greeted not by Wanda Frank, but by the demon that has possessed her -- Chthon. Captured within an energy cocoon, he finds himself spirited away. Back to the battle against Modred, the mage makes short work of our heroes -- except for the winsome Wasp! Jan gets a clean shot in, and drops him. However, she's soon disposed of by the arrival of Chthon. Now all of the team is moved to the spot we saw in ish #185 where Modred had shown Wanda the altar. The Avengers, and Django Maximoff, are held inverted in stasis, in a circle, while Chthon begins to narrate his origin to Modred.

Karen: This story was my introduction to Modred (I'm sure this was true for many readers) and I was shaking my head at the time, wondering where this guy came from. I mean, he could take on the entire Avengers! I also liked Beast's discovery of the armored skeleton of one of the High Evolutionary's New Men on the snowy mountainside.

Doug:  I didn't know anything about Modred, either.  Where I bought comics a lot of the out-of-the-ordinary series like Creatures on the Loose, Monsters Unleashed, etc. were not sold -- I was tabula rasa here, so I appreciated all of these introductions and origins.

Doug: Chthon and his sister were the last of the gods who formed the Earth. She became known in legend as Mother Earth while he fled to Hell (inferred) after scribing the Darkhold -- the book that would be his gateway back to Earth. He then relates the history of the Darkhold, through the ancient world and on into the Middle Ages, when it fell into the hands of Morgan LeFey. She and other magicians had sought to bring Chthon back to Earth to do their bidding, but finding that they could not control him succeeded in imprisoning him within the mountain that would become known as Wundagore. Modred had actually attempted to use the Darkhold for good, but had become consumed by it. And on and on, through even more history, the tome encountered men who fell under its spell. Finally, shortly before the present a Russian named Gregor Russoff became cursed. In an attempt to raise money for his schemes, he sold Wundagore Mountain to two scientists. And here the High Evolutionary created his New Men -- warriors who eventually rose against one of Chthon's attempts at return.

Karen: This was both annoying and fascinating! It seemed to go on and on, yet I sat there nodding my head as I read it, thinking, "Oh yeah, the Darkhold is the book responsible for Werewolf by Night!" and so on. Typical convoluted Marvel lore.

Doug:  I got the same sense reading this as I did when I read the introduction to Thor Annual #5, and much later the History of the DC Universe.

Doug: To conclude (somewhat) the origin of the Scarlet Witch, Chthon tells that on the night he was defeated by the Knights of Wundagore, the twins were born. And as Wanda's birthright was her mutant powers, it was Chthon who also imbued her with latent magical powers. These would begin to manifest themselves under the tutelage of Agatha Harkness. As the demon tells Modred how he came to be Chthon's pawn, a Knight of Wundagore suddenly appears, distracting Chthon. Piercing the Darkhold with a lance, the hold on the Avengers is broken and they are free. Quicksilver strikes the face of his sister, attempting to punish the demon. But as Chthon shakes that off, the attention focuses on Django Maximoff, who still cradles the marionette of Wanda. He remarks that he had previously channeled her spirit into the doll. He finds that it is still there. Pietro deduces that the combination of the uranium-exposed wood on Wundagore, coupled with the magical essence of Chthon on the mountain, has indeed imbued the puppets with mystical powers. Seizing the doll, Pietro points it at the body of his sister in an attempt to exorcise the demon.

Karen: Henry McCoy to the rescue! Beast had donned the armor of the knight and used his flying steed to save the day. Loved that! Another thing I liked was how Byrne made the possessed Wanda appear more and more cadaverous facially as the story went on. She truly looked evil. At this point, with many years of perspective, I can say that I wish this connection between Wanda and 'elder forces' had never been made. It opened the door for many more opportunities for messing with the character, having her go nuts and go evil several times. Her learning magic was one thing; her being tainted by evil, so to speak, was another.

Doug:  Question:  Is this the same sort of flying device that Hawkeye would employ in later stories?  It seems that the Black Knight also rode a similar vehicle.

Doug: And here's where this story heads south for me. I'm just really not a fan of magic. I suppose from a writer's standpoint, it's pretty nifty because there are no rules and it's a built-in deus ex machina. And for my money this is what happens here. Quicksilver finds that there's not enough "will" in the doll to drive out the spirit. But Ms. Marvel steps forward and places her hand on Pietro's arm. Cap chimes in with a "we can do this thing" of his own. And then, in a narrative box I don't quite understand, David Michelinie writes: "And thus ensues a literal battle of wills, as six struggling heroes pool their concentration into a phalanx of sorcerous thought, hoping to restore a soul -- and in the process, save a world!" Whatever it is they do, it works -- Chthon's spirit is ejected from Wanda's body, her soul moves from the doll into her person as Chthon's essence is stored in the doll. Pietro races with the marionette to the top of Wundagore and hurls it into a chasm. Wanda, no worse for the wear, summons a mighty hex and blasts off the top third of the mount, it's debris falling onto the puppet, thus returning Chthon to his prison inside the mountain.

Karen: Yes, I didn't care for the whole doll thing either. The team joins wills -good vs. evil -and drives the demon out. Doesn't that sound more like Chris Claremont's stuff? In fact, the whole scene is very similar to the one in X-Men #108, where the team gives their energy to Phoenix so she can mend the universe. Also, why throw the doll in the chasm? Why not just destroy the thing?

Doug: As the story wraps, Bova offers to care for the eyes-are-open-but-no-one-is-home Modred, who looks an awful lot like Loki did right after the Avengers/Defenders War. The Avengers, their work done, walk off into the sunset. I suppose they didn't fly commercial out of Sofia, but how they got home is a mystery.

Karen: You're dead right about the Loki-Modred thing. I guess that's what happens when you form alliances with devils.

Doug: So, how was this as far as an origin story goes? Did we learn anything? To recap -- we know that Bob and Madeline Frank were not Wanda's and Pietro's real parents. We know that their real mother was a woman named Magda. We know that the Maximoffs were not their real parents, either, but had a role in raising the children. In spite of knowing who their mother was, we know only that she was scared of their father because he had begun to manifest real power -- scary real power. She'd fled, to hide the children from him (do you think George Lucas read this story?). And for all the loose ends to be tied up, we'd all have to wait four years, until the conclusion of the first Vision and the Scarlet Witch mini-series. How 'bout them apples?

Fire on the Mountain, Lightning in the Air: Avengers 186

Avengers #186 (August 1979)
"Nights of Wundagore!"
Steven Grant & Mark Gruenwald (plot)/David Michelinie (writer)
John Byrne/Dan Green (pictures)

Karen: I gotta say: I'm a sucker for floating heads on a cover, especially all lined up like that. Don't ask me why. We're back with the middle section of our three-part review of this late 70s story featuring the Avengers' brother and sister act, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Last time you'll recall, Wanda had been kidnapped and Pietro had run up the mysterious Wundagore Mountain to find her, only to come crashing into an invisible barrier. Here, he awakes to find himself in the care of a humanoid cow, Bova, who is serving him milk soup. No, really.
Doug: Milk soup... is that like mushroom soup, without the mushrooms? Hey, before we get too far into this, I want to throw out a "thank you" to my partner for her patience with me over the past couple of days. For those of you who don't know how this works, we always reserve Mondays for our tandem reviews -- the rest of the dates are first-come, first-served as individuals, with the occasional collaboration thrown in. So Mondays are a big deal for us. Well, my son's graduation party was Sunday, and all of the preparations, cleaning, etc. as well as the day itself got the best of my blogging. So I appreciate everyone's patience during one of my "real life" interludes.

Doug: I, too, love the floating heads covers. While certainly other mags had their fair share, this motif always cried out "Avengers" to me.

Karen: Not a problem pal! Bova explains to Pietro who she is, and her story ties in with the birth of his sister and he. Bova was "evolved" from a normal cow by the High Evolutionary. She was to serve as the nursemaid to the children of the New Men the Evolutionary was creating. One night, a pregnant woman, Magda, came to Wundagore seeking sanctuary. She explained that her husband had gained great powers and had begun to talk about ruling the world. Fearful, she fled him. Bova and Magda grew close, and the cow-woman delivered Magda's twins, a boy and a girl. You guessed it, they were Wanda and Pietro. As Wanda was born, there were bright lights in the sky, and the tiny babe also seemed to glow at the same moment. But the children were healthy and Magda was pleased. However she took left them behind, leaving a note that said she feared her husband would find the children if she stayed with them.

Doug: For a somewhat cross-referencing of some of the events on Wundagore, you can check out our review of Spider-Woman #1. As to Magda and the twins, it was difficult to read the line about the husband becoming fearsome due to his acquisition of "great powers" with any sense of wonderment. I'm sure when I was a kid that went right by me. Now I think it's an ingenious little gem hidden in a throwaway line. And don't the artists (colorists included) do a remarkable job of making Magda look just like Wanda? Hmmm -- and who were we to assume Pietro looked like? Any thoughts on Bova's statement about Wanda's glowing like the sky lights? Is there a reference, a foreshadowing, that I'm not getting?

Karen: It's coming, but not til next issue. Not long after the twins were born, Robert and Madeline Frank -aka the Whizzer and Miss America - came to the village below the mountain and the High Evolutionary summoned tham. Madeline was pregnant and died giving birth to a hideous still-born child. The Evolutionary presented the twins to Robert Frank, representing them as his own children, but Frank was filled with grief over his wife's death and ran from the mountain. This really reflects poorly on the Whizzer, don't you think? Finally, the Evolutionary, certainly fed up by now, decided to play God and appeared before a Gypsy couple, telling them to take the children and raise them. The couple had lost their own son and daughter so they were more than willing. Bova wraps up her flashback by saying she stayed behind on Earth when the Evolutionary took to the stars.

Doug: Do we know what happened to Miss America after WWII? As this is a retcon, was there ever an explanation in the 1950's comics as to her fate? I agree -- Bob Frank doesn't come off as looking too good. Also, I'm going to have to check out the Nuklo stories, as the whole "still born" thing has me curious. What was the High Evolutionary's role in his growth? I'm sure I'm just forgetting something. And... what "personal reasons" would a cow have in wishing to stay on Earth? No grazing in space?

Karen: So the origin of the twins is a convoluted one. While tying together past references to their childhood, Michelinie has also sown the seeds of the idea that Magneto was their father, without actually stating such. But he was not the originator of that idea. Both Byrne and Steven Grant had come to the idea separately. Anyone who is interested in the backstory should take a look at this post from Comic Book Legends Revealed from May 2010. It'll explain it all.
Doug: The Magneto non-reveal is really all here, isn't it? In an era when comics would soon become way too confusing, this is a nice, slow evolution. I'm still not sure it makes sense overall, but it does create that legacy feeling among Marvel's characters -- so even as the relationship to Golden Age heroes the Whizzer and Miss America falls away, a new older/younger generation tale dawns. Here's my next question -- has the Jewish heritage of Wanda and/or Pietro ever been mentioned or played a role in a storyline? Oh, and one other question -- would the offspring of a mutant still be considered a mutant? It would seem to me that any mutation would be passed on simply as re-ordered DNA. There would have been no mutation in Wanda or Pietro.

Karen: The other sibling in our story, Wanda, is being held on top of Wundagore by that mystical loon, Moodred. It seems his magical powers are greater than hers. However, Wanda still has her mutant hex power, and it frees her. She and Modred begin throwing spells around, but she quickly realizes that he's stronger than her. She feigns defeat, only to give the wizard a good sock to the jaw, sending him plunging to his doom. Wanda frets that she's never killed before, but she couldn't let Modred unleash the occult force in the mountain; it could kill millions. Unfortunately for her, Modred comes back and blasts her from behind.

Doug: There are some really nice panels during this battle, and the coloring is a big-time enhancer. I like the original bondage scene, with Wanda suspended by magic while Modred floats above the Darkhold. As they really get to blasting each other, there's a really cool panel somewhat akin to depictions of Havok. Lastly, I thought there was some real force behind the blow Wanda landed on Modred's kisser!

Karen: Well, hey, she was trained by Captain America! As Quicksilver prepares to go back up the mountain, despite Bova's pleas not to, Wanda's face appears in the stormy skies above. She tells Quicksilver to flee and sends a blast of energy at he and Bova. Bova convinces him that he can't face whatever's waiting on the mountain alone. He finally concedes and runs towards the village. On the way, he finds Django Maximoff, his foster father, wandering in the forest. Suddenly the trees themselves attack them. Pietro grabs Django and races for the village, as the sky erupts in a hail of rocks, and the earth splits open before him. Pietro outruns it all and makes his way to the post office (the only place with a phone) and places a call to Avengers mansion.
Doug: I am just full of question today! In the panel where Pietro is snared by the mystical tree branches and vibrates his body in order to create enough friction to set the limbs ablaze -- have we ever seen Quicksilver use this Flash-like power before?

Karen: I seem to recall him using his speed in a variety of ways back in the Kooky Quartet days, but not so much later on. The Vision is on monitor duty and gets Pietro's call. As friendly as ever, Pietro calls him 'robot' and tells the android that Wanda has been possessed. The rest of the Avengers are having dinner as the Vision phases through the wall and tells them what's happened. Cap begins to issue orders to get to the quinjet when who should appear but the government watchdog, Henry Gyrich. Gyrich says there's no way the team is going to Bulgaria, as it's not a matter of national security and they don't need another international incident. Cap is fed up and disappears for a moment. As the Beast berates Gyrich, Jarvis appears with a telephone, a call for Gyrich. The crew-cut bureaucrat begins to yell at the person on the line until he discovers it's the President! Cap certainly has some clout. The President says the Avengers need to head out for a 'goodwill tour' of Bulgaria immediately. Gyrich is humiliated, but has another trick up his sleeve. He says the Vision will have to stay behind to continue monitor duty. Enraged, the android Avenger grabs Gyrich and hauls him off his feet, but a cooler headed Cap intervenes, telling him they don't want to lose all their privileges, and that they will bring Wanda back safe. The Vision accedes, although he is clearly furious.
Doug: Ah, yes -- back to the regular Pietro we all know and loathe! You may recall that last week I said he was actually somewhat likable; yeah, not any more. How silly is it (and we've discussed this before) that Ms. Marvel and the Falcon are eating with their masks on? There has been some nice characterization for the Vision in this series of issues. His condition always made great fodder for the writers, though.
Karen: He looks as furious here as he did back in Avengers 95, when he nearly killed a Skrull commander in his rage over Wanda's abduction. Gyrich is lucky Cap held him back -we all know what happened to that Skrull! Back in the shadow of Mount Wundagore, Quicksilver and Django hope that the Avengers will arrive in time. But their hopes are shattered when the door to the office flies open and an explosive force blasts them unconscious. On the last page, a possessed Wanda stands over their bodies, proclaiming that there is no more Wanda, only Chthon.

Doug: Pretty scary stuff! It's a great splash page, too -- as we've said, John Byrne was really at his peak around this time.

Karen: This wouldn't be the first or the only time Wanda would be possessed, but I think it did set things up for her to be possessed again and again. Why does Marvel seem to require that their powerful female characters become possessed so frequently? Her powers were redefined here, giving her a much closer tie to magic, which may not have been such a good thing eventually ("Avengers Disassembled", anyone?). Still, the art here is fabulous, with Dan Green doing a pretty good job of inking Byrne, who was in top form.
Doug: The possession angle, or the storylines where characters have to fight evil doppelgangers, does grow tired. I don't mind super-baddies whose powers somewhat mirror the hero's (Flash vs. Professor Zoom, for example, or Hulk vs. the Abomination), but the turning bad of good guys will certainly be abused in the coming decade that was the 1980's.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough: Avengers 185

Avengers #185 (July 1979)

"The Yesterday Quest!"
Steven Grant & Mark Gruenwald (plot)/David Michelinie (writer)
John Byrne/Dan Green (pictures)

Doug: Before we begin, I just have to say that this comic book is a slice of "fallen angels" history. In the middle of the magazine, within five pages of each other, are ads featuring Pete Rose and O.J. Simpson. Talk about being your own worst enemy... OK, on to today's fare. How do you feel about origin stories that are told much later? We've discussed among us that Wolverine became quite a bit less interesting as more layers were stripped away from his backstory. I think in the case of Wanda and Pietro, there was a sense of coolness in the fact that these were (as Karen says) "legacy heroes" -- the offspring of Marvel's 1st generation of super-heroes. With the notion that their parents were Miss America and the Whizzer, Marvel had in these two young mutants something that DC Comics has made a hallmark of their universe. But what happens when all is not what it seems, or what we believed?

Karen: By the late 70s, DC had plenty of legacy characters -the Super-Squad, the Huntress, and so on. At this point, only Wanda and Pietro could trace their lineage back to the heroes of yesteryear. At least that's what we'd thought. But honestly, that Whizzer/Ms. America idea had only popped up five years prior to this issue, in Giant Size Avengers #1. So even that origin was relatively new. Before that, we really didn't know much about the siblings, other than their Gypsy roots and association with Magneto and the Brotherhood.

Doug: Although we're going to review this three-issue arc, it would have been helpful to have seen the last few issues. This one opens right after the big battle against the Absorbing Man, with a wharf and warehouse destroyed. A local cop asks who is going to pay when the owner finds out, and since there's no Absorbing Man to hand over, Iron Man coyly wonders if a check from Tony Stark will suffice to keep the Avengers off the hook. Remember, this is in the period immediately after the arrival of one Henry Peter Gyrich and the incessant meddling of the United States government. The battle against the Absorbing Man was also one of the first with the new 7-hero line-up -- the line-up which had left Hawkeye on the outside while the Falcon got a spot based on Affirmative Action. As Iron Man talks to the police, Hawk stalks off, to emerge minutes later in his civvies, with a duffle bag over his shoulder. He tells the team that he's done (again) and exits. The rest of the heroes return to Avengers Mansion.

Karen: Hawkeye really did get a raw deal, but instead of handling it stoically, like a stereotypical hero, Hawk fumes about it. And that's exactly what I'd expect from him!
Doug: Once at the Mansion, there are a series of short vignettes that really show the characterization we grew to know and love during the Bronze Age. Stark puts a move on Ms. Marvel, who returns the sentiment (did anyone think it was a bit naughty back in the day when Carol told Tony he could "bump her" any time?). Jocasta hears the banter, but leaves, feeling out of place. She heads to the parlor, where the Vision sits brooding. Jocasta tries to strike up a conversation, but the Vision remarks that he's distracted by Wanda's absence -- her trip with her brother Pietro to their Balkan homeland is on his mind. But when Jocasta uses the word "worried", Vision calls himself a "machine", and questions whether he is capable of emotion. This is off-putting to Jocasta, who leaves him.

Karen: Ms. Marvel was a really different female Avenger; Wasp had always been a flighty, girly-girl and Wanda had been reserved. Ms. Marvel was more assertive and confident than either of them. Her flirtations with Stark seemed fitting. I was more taken aback by the Vision's behavior. By this time, it seemed like he had accepted his emotional side and gotten past the whole Wonder Man issue. His treatment of Jocasta seems out of character.

Doug: The story moves to Transia, a small nation nestled in the Balkans of Bulgaria. Wanda and Pietro have come here with Django Maximoff, the old man we'd seen in several of the previous issues often cradling a marionette of Wanda or Pietro. Pietro cannot sleep, and his mind wanders to his childhood -- at least to what he can recall of it. He sees himself and Wanda, playing in the presence of a mother and father, the father carving puppets from wood. They are Gypsies, transients as those people could be. Pietro recalls always being told to take care of his sister -- an order that was impressed upon him repeatedly. The camp was eventually burned, and the twins fled as villagers beat their father. But Pietro wonders, too, why Wanda's memories always settle on Wundagore Mountain, and of Bob and Madeline Frank entering a citadel to have their children -- twins. Madeline died in childbirth. Of course, as the twins became young adults, they fell in with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants -- but could never find further clues as to their heritage.

Karen: I liked this sequence. It was a fairly long recap of the sibling's history, but it was done well. My only surprise was the lack of notations regarding which books these scenes had occurred in. I thought that was still common at Marvel in 1979.

Doug: I never tired of the editorial footnotes -- even if they referenced only an issue or two past. That was an element that made every issue back in the Bronze Age a jumping on point. As Pietro retired, Wanda was in the next room sleeping. A narrative box alludes to her "will-induced slumber" -- is that an example of her probability-altering powers? I don't know if anything like that was addressed before or after. Suddenly her room is illuminated by the presence of another: Modred the Mystic. Modred paints himself as an ally, displaying a clairvoyance toward Wanda's presence in the mountains. He convinces her that he can help, and she allows him to spirit her away to Wundagore Mountain. But once there, they are attacked by defensive mechanisms, devices installed by the High Evolutionary. Modred allows Wanda to defeat the blasters, perhaps in an attempt to size her up. The come upon an altar, with a book laid open hovering above it. Modred remarks that the tome belongs to him who he serves, but the altar is for Wanda. Then he takes her out with some nasty beams of his own!

Karen: I just recently got Marvel Chillers #1, which features the first appearance of Modred. But when I first read this issue, I had no idea who he was! It didn't really matter, I suppose. His role is clear enough. I think we see a more confident Wanda here -a product of the years that Steve Englehart wrote her. Prior to his handling of her, Wanda would never have gone off without consulting Pietro!

Doug: I agree -- and I agree that I like the relatively safe ambiguity of their relationship here, unlike the heinous perpetration in Ultimates 3 with the "no implication required" incestuousness. So Pietro awakes the next morning, and discovers that Wanda is not in her room. Asking around the inn, he cannot find anyone who knows her whereabouts. A quick patrol of the village reveals nothing. Suddenly a young girl tells him that she was awakened in the night by a blinding light atop Wundagore -- and off speeds Quicksilver. Racing up the mount, he's repelled by a forcefield. The recoil sends him down, hard. He blacks out from the strain and comes to in a cottage. His wounds are tended to by a stranger, who suddenly reveals herself to be a... talking cow!

Karen: I always felt Byrne did a great job depicting super-speed. Pietro's search for Wanda, and his consequent frantic run straight up the mountain were really exciting. His depiction of Bova, the cow, was also well done. This character could have been cartoony or ridiculous, but he managed to make her look very realistic.

Doug: John Byrne's art is really solid in this story. This was certainly during the period when Byrne's figures had some mass to them; and Byrne has always been a master of facial expressions. Dan Green does a good job on the inks, but as we all know Terry Austin is the gold standard for Byrne inkers. I read this from the comic book, and it seems a bit muddy here and there -- I'll write that off to the printing process and paper quality of 33 years ago. I also want to give a shout-out to Pietro Maximoff -- he's actually likeable in this story! Scribe David Michelinie makes him seem a bit more introspective and less spontaneously combustible. That rounding-out allowed me to empathize with the speedster rather than simply loathe his presence, which had been standard operating procedure over the previous several years' appearances.

Karen: I agree, Pietro's characterization here seems much more in line with how he was during the Kooky Quartet years. You know, it might be interesting to trace his path over the years and figure out exactly when he really turned into a jerk. It seems like it began with Roy Thomas but later writers ran with it, probably a bit too far.

Doug: So you're saying he got "Hank Pym-ed"?