Discuss: Marvel's Agent Carter

Karen: We've had some requests for this, so here it is. Feel free to share your thoughts on Agent Carter.

Get your Marvel Experience on

Karen: Yesterday my husband Tom and I went to the Marvel Experience here in Phoenix. If you've not heard about this show, you can check out their website here. I honestly didn't know what exactly to expect when we got tickets for it, although I did know that it would include some sort of projections and interactive experiences. The husband and I figured, "Hey, it's Marvel, and it's right when we'll be taking a break at Christmas, so let's check it out!"

Karen: For nearly a month I watched as I drove past on the freeway in the morning as the domes went up near the baseball diamonds out at Salt River Fields. What could be inside? Would it really be worth going to? More importantly, would it be worth the money we forked over for the VIP tickets?

Karen: Overall, I am going to say that the Marvel Experience is something any Marvel fan will really enjoy. They've succeeded in making the customer feel like they are in the Marvel Universe -whether you are a fan from the movies, animated shows, or even the comics. A selection of thirteen main heroes drive the story (yes, there is a story) and attractions are built around them. I don't want to give too much away -it is more fun when you are surprised and can experience these things fresh. But I will give my top three reasons you should go see the Marvel Experience, and my take on three areas for improvement.

Top Three Reasons to See the Marvel Experience

Reason Number One: Total Marvel Immersion

Wherever you turn, you are surrounded by some piece of Marvel coolness. There are prop recreations of hero and villain weapons and gear, along with history of said gear. Projected on the domes are  different characters, busy doing stuff. You may hear the loud speakers calling out for 'General Thaddeus Ross' or notice a familiar newspaper publisher on a screen, debating what's going on in the domes. When people stepped into the first dome and saw everything, it was all smiles. 

Reason Number Two: Interactive Games and the Simulator Ride

There are a number of interactive opportunities at the Experience. We just scratched the surface with our visit today. Unfortunately we went on a Saturday and it was very crowded, with long lines for almost everything (take note if you are planning to go -try a week day). However, I got to be the Hulk and destroy robot drones in a Wii-like simulator and it was a blast. There's a similar game for Iron Man, a wall-crawling area, a shooting gallery (we did this as well), and a bunch of other activities. At the very end of the Experience is a large motion ride where you team up with all the heroes to take on the bad guys, and it was a lot of fun! So if you enjoy this kind of stuff, this will be right up your alley.

Reason Number Three: The VIP package

If it is reasonable to you, you may want to get the VIP package, because you get some nice perks. For one thing, you get a return ticket, so it's essentially two admissions. VIP parking gets you a spot up near the entrance, so you don't have to walk far. You get access to the VIP lounge, which is OK, but nothing to get excited about. They have some free food, chips, fruit, popcorn -nice but nothing to write home about. There are also phone chargers in case your battery runs low, and places to sit and watch Marvel movies, but it's a pretty small place. But you get some nice swag for the price: a very nice SHIELD badge and wallet -this thing is metal and heavy! A t-shirt that we were told is not being sold anywhere, is only available to VIPs, and it has the city name on the back; the ability to have a 3D figure of yourself and a hero carved out in the gift store (we skipped this -we'll go back and do it -we saw finished ones and they looked very neat); a souvenir drawstring bag; and a kind of generic-y looking poster -not my kind of artwork but some people dig it. Another thing about VIP, it does get you to the head of some lines, so it may help reduce waiting (more about this in the next section).

So VIP when you add it up might be worth it -I believe it was $179 each for ours -I know, it's a lot but standard tickets are $35, so two admissions are $70 right there. It really depends on whether you want the stuff. 

Three Areas for Improvement at the Marvel Experience

Area Number One: Information Please!

I know this is the first city on the tour, and to be honest, it shows. This was the second day of the event, and it was still rough at times. We got there around 12 noon, and when we drove up, a sign read "Event Parking" and pointed us down a road, but we soon discovered it pointed us the wrong way. We had to drive all the way back and we finally found the lot. There was no clearly marked signs for anything in the lot. The VIP parking was up front but we had no way of seeing where, and there were no signs directing us there. We had to ask event staff, who did manage to tell us where to go. Getting our tickets and VIP stuff went well, but once we walked in there was some confusion about whether we could go to the front of every line with our VIP badges or just some lines. The staff never seemed to have the same answer. Although everyone was helpful, they didn't appear to have their act completely together.

Area Number Two: Keep it moving!

The first part of the Experience is the interactive area, which guests can peruse at their leisure. The second and third parts however, are timed to come one right after the other. Unfortunately, the staff doesn't seem very adept yet at getting folks from one part to the next very quickly. One part concludes and then you are left standing around for several minutes waiting to do the next part. You are ushered into another area, see a short film, then again, waiting for several minutes to get on to the next part of the adventure. Now sometimes I believe this was due to the ride or film going down -we know that right after we arrived, the main theater had a 'glitch' and they didn't let anyone in for almost a half-hour. But it seemed like at other times they simply weren't very good at timing things and moving groups from one point to the next. I'm sure this will improve as time goes on. (Also important to know: once you get to the second stage, there's no opportunity for a bathroom break until it is over (30-40 minutes), so be sure to go ahead of time!)

Area Number Three: Form a Line Please!

Like I said earlier, we went on a Saturday, so we knew it would be crowded. But many of the lines were extremely long, and in some cases, they overlapped with the lines for other attractions, or were crossing the exit paths for attractions. It became somewhat chaotic at times. I hope the staff invests a little more in crowd management. A few rope lines put up here and there would do wonders. Also, if at all possible, a few places to sit, maybe in the main courtyard area, would be helpful. It was a long day of mostly standing and the ability to sit down for even a couple of minutes would have been welcome.

All in all, we had a good time and I'm not only glad we went, I look forward to going back when it is less crowded and the staff has had a week or so to get their routines down. One small thing I noticed that gave me a smile: next to the cafe they had a collection of classic comic covers -yes, they actually acknowledged the source material! I saw a lot of kids looking at them. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Discuss: Captain America: The Winter Soldier -Spoiled Edition!

Karen: OK, we've waited an appropriate amount of time -now we can blab about all the great stuff in Captain America:The Winter Soldier! To get the ball rolling, I'll share some email exchanges Doug and I had about the movie. Maybe you can build off that, or share your own thoughts about this great Marvel flick!

SPOILERS!!!!

Doug: Captain America was just wonderful -- what a great superhero movie. As others have remarked, it's in Marvel's top 3 alongside Iron Man and the Avengers. Chris Evans makes me believe that he is Steve Rogers. This screen version of Captain America, although a bit more tolerant of lethal force than I'm used to, is truly how I'd see the character. The increased roles for the Widow and Nick Fury were welcome, and the Falcon was incredibly well-handled. Throw in the Lemurian reference, a Stephen Strange reference, the way they played Arnim Zola and Batroc, Baron Strucker, and three (!) Helicarriers and there was a lot to love.

Karen: I thought you'd love Cap. They really did a fantastic job on the film. I feel like Chris Evans has finally grown into the role -I actually believe him as Cap now. I'm very happy to see that principled character I grew up with up there on the big screen. I really can't fault his performance at all.

Karen: I also was very pleased with the Falcon and how they introduced him. Thankfully he was not an agent of SHIELD! His comics origin would have been too convoluted to use, but I liked what they did, especially the idea that he was counseling returning veterans. And the flying! That was outstanding. His relationship with Cap was perfect too. I loved how they met. And some of his lines -"I do what he does, only slower." -classic.

The whole infiltration of Hydra into SHIELD was a great idea. I've been interested for years in Operation Paperclip and the incorporation of Nazi scientists into our space program and other areas  of government, like post-war intelligence networks, and it's very troubling. It's not that hard to imagine that in a world of super-beings, a group like Hydra could worm its way into a large organization like that. We've been very lukewarm viewers of the Agents of SHIELD show, but I have to say, the way they tied this movie's events into the show was pretty clever. All this does make you wonder how the rest of the films will be affected.

I loved Arnim Zola! Do you see a trend here? Love, love, loved it all!

Doug: I'm a little confused on two things in the first bonus scene, however. Didn't Loki have the scepter with him when he sat on Asgard's throne at the end of the last Thor picture? And, are we to assume that the Maximoff twins will not be mutants but instead genetic constructs of Hydra?

Karen: I thought Loki/Odin was holding Odin's spear at the end of Thor 2, but I'd have to check. As for the twins, I guess this is their workaround for not being able to use the term 'mutant' -they just make them experiments. Did you notice that Pietro's hair was still dark in this scene, but in the pictures from Avengers: Age of Ultron, it is turning white? Maybe as he uses his powers, it will turn white? Also, it seems that perhaps Wanda's powers may be more telekinetic than probability-altering? Perhaps that would be easier for an audience to understand?

Doug: I missed the whole Crossbones thing, but then I have no experience with the character. Was he the main Hydra soldier, that was with Cap in the initial scene and then was the main guy in the control room scene when Agent 13 put a gun to his head?  Also, when Fury was being attacked by the Washington, DC police, did I hear his "Jarvis" say that there were no humans in range? So were they all LMDs?

Karen: Yes, you got it. Brock Rumlow =Crossbones. It will be interesting to see if they put him in his mask. He could be interpreted as  a Bane rip-off by some.

I didn't pick up on the LMD comment. I'll have to listen for that when I see the movie again! (NOTE -On my second viewing, it sounds to me like the AI says "No units in the area," referring to the Metro police).

I thought the scene with Peggy was unnecessary. It didn't actually do anything for the story. They should have either cut it, or built upon it. The only mis-step in the movie, in my opinion. 

Doug: See, I thought the Peggy scene served to cement Cap's "man out of time" element. Looking at how young she was, and how beautiful she was in the first film, it did (for me) hammer home the point that Cap and Bucky would be 95 years old! So for me it worked, because it would later bring the incredulity to Cap when he saw the Winter Soldier unmasked. Of course, at the end of the film we got to see Bucky in a cryogenic chamber in that KGB folder. 

Karen: Don't get me wrong, I like Peggy a lot, and would like to see more of her, but I felt that scene needed more follow up -it felt sort of thrown in there.

Doug: Speaking of, and I need to research this -- didn't the KGB go away when the Soviet Union fell in 1990? If so, it would be difficult for the Widow to be KGB trained, as she'd have been 6 years old.

Karen: I asked the same thing about the Widow to my husband, who just shrugged it off, after the film. We're getting pretty far away from the Soviet era  now. I asked also why the Winter Soldier had the red star on his shoulder if he'd been working for Hydra all these years -or was it  Hydra within the KGB? It is a little confusing but I guess it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the movie.

And how about Cap taking down a whole jet with just his shield? Wasn't that an incredible scene? It gets across the point that he deserves to be a part of the Big Three. That to me felt very much like comic book action.

Doug: So there you have it -- some thoughts from your hosts to get things rolling today. Have at it!
 

What to Get Your Favorite BABer This Holiday Season...

Doug:  With the holidays nearly upon us, we thought we'd take a minute to give a few thoughts to what we'd like to find in our stockings or under the tree come the end of December.  And in this mythical drawing of names and exchanging of gifts that we'll pretend today, be sure to comment on your "needs" this year!

Doug:  On my radar for several months, but no trigger pulled by me yet, is the Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD trade paperback by Steranko & Co.  I'll confess -- I don't own any original copies and have only one reproduction of Steranko's SHIELD work.  When I first saw this advertised on Amazon.com several months ago, I wanted it immediately.  This will make it on to some list that goes out -- bank on it.

Doug: As I've mentioned briefly in passing a time or two over the past few months, I am interested in selling my comic books.  With that in mind, there are several mini-series that I'd like to replace with compendiums.  The Alex Ross/Jim Krueger/Doug Braithwaite series Justice is now collected in one trade paperback; it formerly had been released in three smaller volumes.  Of course, if I had a gift giver with a bottomless well, I'd ask for the Absolute Edition -- not happening, so I'll settle.

Doug:  Lastly, I think I'll put it out there that an Amazon gift card would be nice.  For my birthday my wife got me a Kindle Fire HD (the 8.9" screen).  I've never purchased any movies for it, but would like to have The Avengers, maybe Logan's Run, on it.  And now, let me re-introduce you to your co-host, newly blogging after her well-deserved vacation!

Karen: I'll just mention that I would love to get the two volumes of Inhumans Masterworks. Although I have most of the Amazing Adventures issues, I have only a couple of issues of the short-lived 70s series. I'd also be thrilled to find Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz under the Christmas tree. Ortiz has created posters for each episode of the original Trek series and many of these are striking works of graphic design. One last plug: I really adore the artwork of painter Eric Joyner, who specializes in scenes of robots and donuts -yes, together. I already know I will have a calendar of his fantastic work for next year, because I ordered it as a gift for myself!

Doug:  OK, I had never seen that art before -- but I love it!  Robots and donuts -- who said everything was better with gorillas?!

True or False: Steranko Was the Most Innovative Artist of the Late Silver Age

Discuss: Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Doug:  Any thoughts or sense of anticipation for this show, premiering on ABC this fall?

Derivative Ladies: Spider-Woman

Marvel Spotlight #32 (February 1977)

"Dark Destiny!"

Writer:  Archie Goodwin

Pencils:  Sal Buscema

Inks:  Jim Mooney 

Karen: Brian Michael Bendis likes Spider-Woman, so he put her in the Avengers a few years ago and she's become a popular character. But for years she lived in the under-belly of the Marvel universe, never able to really find  her place, not even when she had her own series. Her origin was revised more than once, as was her look. Today we'll go back to her very first appearance and see how it all started.

Doug:  You raise an interesting point of conversation in its own right, and I certainly don't mind if it becomes tangential to discussion of this issue's plot and art today:  does saturation of the market automatically equal a boost in popularity for a character?  Bendis after all only seemed to be continuing a trend begun by the various caretakers of Wolverine, the Punisher, and Ghost Rider.  Interesting...  For me, I was so turned off by his writing and the turtlesque speed of his plots that I would have had a hard time declaring if it was the scripts that made me angrier or the roster.  Wow -- truly a tough call.  Maybe I need to run my own personal "Face-off!" on that quandary.

Doug:  About a year and a half ago I reviewed Spider-Woman #1, which included her revised origin.  You can see that review by clicking here and check it out side-by-side with this one.

Karen: This tale opens on a dark night somewhere in the Mediterranean. Spider-Woman silently glides down from a hidden HYDRA ship above to SHIELD regional HQ and breaks in. She's there to both rescue a HYDRA agent (who is also her lover) and to assassinate SHIELD chief Nick Fury. Via her thoughts and a brief flashback, we come to learn that she has almost no sense of her past -her memories don't extend very far. Her earliest memories were of being chased by the townspeople of a small European village. Arachne -her name, according to Archie Goodwin - couldn't even remember what she had done to incur their wrath. But she did have the peculiar ability to fire energy blasts at her attackers. Count Otto Vermis, a high ranking member of HYDRA, discovered her and took her under his wing. Using a mind probe, he uncovered the truth about her identity, but kept it a secret from everyone, including Arachne.  He saw her as a perfect weapon and had her trained to serve HYDRA. We see Arachne as a frightened and gullible young girl, willing to please the Count in order to have a place to belong. She also falls in love with the handsome Jared, another HYDRA agent. 

Doug:  The creators give us a nice tour of Spider-Woman's powers in the first few pages, very similarly to comments we made at the top of our Ms. Marvel #1 review last week.  The whole scene at the beginning of this tale, with the reader dropped smack into the middle of a fracas sometimes put me off rather than the intended effect of making me salivate for more.  I know it's a standard plot device, particularly in first issues, but I'd almost rather watch the story unfold organically.  I know that then folks complain about "wasting" an issue of action on an origin, but hey -- to each their own I suppose.  I want to make a remark on the art as we're getting rolling.  It's pretty obvious that we're looking at Sal Buscema, but Jim Mooney's inks seem really heavy to me (which in the '70's was generally what we got out of the Madman).  Sal gets buried at times.  I do, however, always like the way Mooney draws a girl's eyes.  It's his distinctive trademark.

Doug:  So what's up with Arachne's suit?  We're told it was designed to "channel and control those powers", but I don't know that it's even mentioned later in the story.  It doesn't appear from the flashback that she's anything like Cyclops or Havok, where she just explodes with energy.  And is her power of flight (or gliding) addressed?

Karen: Back in real time, Fury is starting to "interrogate" the captured HYDRA agent with his fists when Spider-Woman knocks the door off its hinges. She wipes out the other SHIELD agents with one of her "venom" blasts. A side note here: oddly enough, she has to remove her glove before she fires her blast! I thought this was really strange, and I don't think I've seen a character do it before or since. She confronts Fury and tells him she's going to kill him for hurting the man she loves. Fury manages to dodge her, and we get a nice demonstration of Spider-Woman's agility. But although he evades her, he is grabbed by Jared, Spider-Woman's lover, who hysterically shouts for her to kill Fury. But right as she's about to throw a tremendous haymaker, Fury twists out of the way and thrusts Jared into harm's way. Arachne, aghast at having injured her lover, is frozen for a moment. This gives Fury time to reach a control panel, where he hits an alarm. In anger, Spider-Woman grabs Fury by the throat and slams him against the panel, about to exact revenge, when she suddenly stops, shocked by a video that has inadvertently started when the SHIELD director was shoved against a switch. The screen shows her lover, Jared, engaged in acts of terrorism, and Spider-Woman realizes that she has been completely manipulated.

Doug:  Arachne pretty quickly comes to the conclusion that Fury's tapes are legit and it's HYDRA that's perpetrated the snow job here.  I guess that we can then conclude that her use of the term "manipulated" is more accurate than say "brainwashed".  Your comment about her glove and using her stings/venom/blasts goes back to my question above about the suit being a damper of sorts.  However, there are two panels later in the story when she uses her blasts with the gloves on (once using each hand).

Karen: Spider-Woman tearfully asks Jared for the truth. Apparently she punched him so hard he's dying -ouch. As he violently shakes he tells her not to touch him -that he knows what she really is! He was ordered to be her lover, so that she'd go into a rage when he let himself be captured, and she'd kill Fury. Jared collapses and Spider-Woman flips out, ready to go tear Vermis apart. Fury tries to get her to wait for him but she speeds off. These hints about Spider-Woman's 'true origin' are a bit tantalizing. 

Doug:  Yeah, I couldn't decide about how ol' Jared was going to meet his maker.  Arachne sure has a posture like she's thrown a punch, but the accompanying sound effect leads me to believe that it might have been a blast that she intended to use on Fury at point-blank range.  In the end, it's unclear.  But that would be a spine-shattering punch, I guess.  And charm?  I suppose telling a young lady friend, "D-Don't touch me...!  Least let me die without enduring that again!"  Nice guy.

Karen: We cut to an old monastery in the Carnic Alps, where Count Vermis is sitting on a stone throne and exulting about what he assumes to be the success of Spider-Woman's mission. Suddenly, his lackey warns him that their assault craft has appeared and is diving directly at them! We see Spider-Woman flying away from the ship as it crashes spectacularly into the HYDRA base. As the little green men panic, she comes flying in and chases after Vermis. She's determined to wrest the secret of her identity from him. He flees down a flight of stairs to the monastery's vaults, but Spider-Woman has anticipated him and comes tearing through the ventilation system. She's just about to smack him when they hear gunfire from above. It's SHIELD. Vermis cuts a deal with the girl: he'll tell her what she wants to know if she gets him to the jet waiting in the tunnel beyond. She does, and he carries through on his part of the bargain: he reveals to her that she was evolved by the High Evolutionary, another one of his New Men, scientifically advanced from an animal species into humanoid form. "He had a good reason for naming you "Arachne!" The stunned Spider-Woman recoils, realizing what her original species must have been. Vermis continues his story, relaying how the other New Men rejected her, and Arachne had left Wundagore. She found human company, and even love, but a prank gone wrong triggered her venom blasts, killing her lover  This was the traumatic event that wiped out her memory and set her on the run -right before Vermis found her. Arachne breaks down, crying and screaming, and Vermis uses this chance to toss a gas grenade and get in the jet and take off. She manages to shrug off the gas and fly after him. Using her great strength, she twists the tail fin, causing the jet to crash and killing Vermis. SHIELD mops up the wreckage, noting no sign of Spider-Woman. Fury mentally wishes her good luck, thinking she's going to need it. Meanwhile, our distraught heroine wanders the forest, wondering how she can go on knowing what she is.

Doug:  Who in the whole Marvel Universe is creepier than the High Evolutionary?  That dude isn't too far off from some of the whackjobs that worked for the Third Reich in regard to experimentation on sentient beings.  In regard to Arachne's spider origins, which are slightly modified in her origin seen in Spider-Woman #1, she's repulsive to other humans in both tellings.  Are the authors playing off of most people's disdain for spiders, or is there something we should perhaps know?  I'm getting the willies just thinking about it...

Doug:  There was a Thunderbird/Count  Nefaria vibe to that last battle scene, wasn't there?

Karen: This was not a bad little tale. The whole "evolved spider" angle would be dropped fairly quickly, and replaced with an origin similar to Spider-Man's, involving irradiated spider blood. This origin would also be replaced. But for the sake of this story, it's kind of an interesting way to go -she's not really human. I know Chris Claremont had considered a similar origin for Wolverine at one time. Perhaps it's best he didn't go that direction. But here, it leads to a lot of pathos.

Doug:  Yes, this story was OK.  I don't know that if reading it at the time I'd have felt compelled to actively seek out her next appearance, but it seemed to serve its purpose of adding another heroine to the MU as well as securing a copyright that may or may not have fallen away from Marvel.

Karen: I'd like to also mention the costume. The full head covering isn't very sexy, and obviously somebody realized this, because soon after, Spider-Woman got a very thick mane of black hair. The rest of the costume stayed much the same. I'm not fond of the red and yellow together -red and black would make more sense to me -but it's not awful. For a character that was essentially a copyright holder, there was certainly some effort put into this story.

Doug:  Thinking of her full mask, there really aren't many female characters who wear a garb that covers the entire head, are there?  I recall my feelings about Jean Grey's costume when the first issue of X-Factor hit the stands -- it's just not an attractive look for females, yet men look a little odd whenever the mask does not cover their entire head.  Maybe it's just what we're used to.

BAB Two-In-One: A Little Silver SHIELD in Bronze and A Wolf in Astronaut's Clothing

Doug: Reprint time, friends. Today's offering comes out of the pages of Nick Fury and his Agents of SHIELD #5, which was on the shelves in October 1973. The story originally appeared in Strange Tales #155-156 (April-May 1967) and was scripted by Roy Thomas. Jim Steranko handled the art chores and plotted the story. Steranko received the writing credit for the second of this two-parter, which would have been included in ST #156.

This is one swingin' Sixties spy-extravaganza! Take the best from Bond, U.N.C.L.E., and maybe even the Jetsons or Star Trek, tie it together with Steranko's contemporary pencils and experimental panels and you have a winner. Here's the deal: SHIELD has just developed the Autofac, a device somewhat like the X-Men's Cerebro in that it will ferret out the identity of the Supreme Hydra and allow SHIELD to smash their enemies once and for all.

The main plotline is Fury's new suit. It's a dandy -- bullet proof outer jacket, shirt with buttons that are really oxygen capsules, a pen that magnifies sound 100x, cuff links that emit an electronic charge, and cigars that release different chemicals. To top it all off, Fury's given a ring that will ultimately blow him up three seconds after triggering. Of course, it won't be long before ol' Nick gets to put his new threads to use.

The secondary plotline involves Laura Brown, daughter of the Supreme Hydra. She's been taken aboard the Helicarrier for protection from her father. Problem is, her father's infiltrated SHIELD and is currently in Fury's inner circle, disguised as Agent Bronson. Bronson's given the assignment of transporting Ms. Brown to SHIELD's west coast headquarters. As we later see, Laura suspects that Bronson might be the Supreme Hydra, and talks her way past a guard to check out what Autofac has to say; she's chloroformed by Bronson, who obviously feels no remorse in taking his daughter down.

Meanwhile, as Fury is becoming acquainted with his new outfit, a metal construct called the Dreadknought attacks the Helicarrier with the intent of slaying Nick Fury. A nifty battle rages (Steranko's choreography and camera angles are pretty straightforward, but you can see his genius coming), and Fury luckily has everything at his disposal that he needs to put the big blue robot down.

As we move into the second part, I had to crack up. Not only is Fury on the "vue-communicator" with LBJ, but he's immediately after introduced to a Professor Anton Trojak, who is a dead-ringer for Col. Harlan Sanders! This one's a tour de force of frenetic Steranko energy. While his art isn't to the point of pushing the standard panel layouts, his writing is passable. This part of the tale is a breath-taker -- it really moves.

Long story short: Trojak is, of course, a Hydra agent sent to kill Fury. I'll tell you, there're more Hydra guys on the Helicarrier than SHIELD agents! Bronson hypnotizes Gabe, Dum Dum, and Sitwell, who later attack Nick while dressed in Hydra outfits. Nick of course manages to subdue everyone, foil every plot, and find Laura Brown (who Bronson clothed in a SHIELD outfit when he put her down earlier). But, because life's gotten crazy on the Helicarrier, LBJ vue-communicates (saying "phoned" would have been easier) Fury again and puts him under house arrest until an investigation into just what the devil has been going on is completed. And oh yeah -- Bronson's put back in charge of transporting Laura Brown. The plot, as they say, thickens!

Karen: I'm picking right up from my previous two-in-one by reviewing Creatures on the Loose# 37 (Sept. 1975) featuring Man-Wolf. This was the final issue of this title. Low sales had taken their toll and the book was cut from production. At the time of its printing, it was clear (from a text piece in the issue by writer David Kraft) that it was uncertain whether the story of the Man-Wolf would ever be continued. Fortunately, it would be, in Marvel Premiere #45-46 - some three years after this issue! Both David Kraft and George Perez would return to finish off the story.

Karen: But back to the issue at hand. "Moonbound", produced by Kraft, Perez, and Fred Kida on the inking chores, picks up from the end of our previous issue, with the mysterious Garth about to cut the moonstone from Man-Wolf's neck. However, he is confronted by armed personnel from the space station and winds up fleeing. The space station people take Wolfy with them - until he snaps out of his stupor and goes bananas. Being even closer to the moon has apparently enhanced his strength and he starts scattering the men like flies. It's only when the station shifts in orbit, so that the earth is between it and the moon, that Man-Wolf falters and is captured.

Karen: Meanwhile on Earth: J. Jonah Jameson is trying to locate his son's missing fiance, Kristine, when he gets caught up with a mysterious stranger who claims to know where she is. Perhaps this all would have made more sense if I'd read more than the previous issue. In any case, the stranger appears to be not only holding Kristine captive but connected to a previous attack on Man-Wolf by Kraven the Hunter. Jameson is saved in the nick of time by Simon Stroud, who is some sort of government agent. This was all a little confusing to me.

Karen: The enfeebled Man-Wolf is placed into an x-ray room that for some reason has foot-thick steel doors. In there, he reverts to John Jameson. He tries to convince one of his captors that he is the real Jameson, but it doesn't really matter, as Garth knocks the guy unconscious. Garth frees Jameson and takes him with him as, "The Godstone is one with him!" I thought these guys were calling it the Weirdstone last issue. Oh well....

Karen: As the personnel of the space station pursue Jameson and Garth and his companions, Jameson agrees to pilot a spaceship for his captors, although he protests that he will change. Moments later, it is no longer Jameson at the controls but a snarling Man-Wolf! Back on the station, the personnel have discovered via an x-ray taken of Jameson while he was still in wolf-form that the moonstone has extended tendrils throughout his body! The two are in a symbiotic state -"but for what sinister purpose?" !!

Karen: Another fun issue, although it was a bit confusing on some level. Again, if I had read the previous issues it might have made more sense -or not! The biggest drawback to this issue was the inking - it made Perez' art have a very dull, unexciting look. You can still tell it's Perez by the layouts -he has such a distinctive way of telling a story. But the overall look is flat. It's hard to describe, so maybe some of the pictures I've posted will help to explain what I am talking about.
Karen: As mentioned before, a text article by Kraft on the letters page explains about the books' cancellation, and even goes into some detail about the plans the team had for concluding this storyline. It was obvious that the team had not been prepared for the end of the book and had been unable to wrap things up in this issue. I thought it was quite good of Kraft to explain where the story was going -it certainly seemed that he was uncertain whether the conclusion would ever see the light of day. Now to read Marvel Premiere and see how the plan compares to the execution!