Powergirl Parallels

Of all the Rutland Halloween Parade tie-in comics during the Seventies, the most prophetic was Thor #207 (Jan. 1974). The story's splash page depicted a parade float carrying two men dressed as Superman and Batman (illustrating an awareness of DC characters within the world of Marvel Comics). As with some other Rutland stories, Thor #207 featured guest appearances of Marvel staff, including colorist Glenys Wein (née Glynis Oliver). One panel spotlighted Glenys wearing a Superman-inspired Halloween costume with the insignia G. Her husband at the time of the story, Len Wein, mentioned that she was dressed as Powergirl.

This scene becomes historically intriguing when considering that the DC character Power Girl would make her debut two years later in All-Star Comics #58 (Feb. 1976). Introduced as Superman's cousin on Earth 2, Power Girl wore a unique costume absent of any insignia. Gerry Conway, who scripted Thor #207, also wrote All-Star Comics #58, making it all the more noteworthy to see a Powergirl costume that visually resembled Superman before the creation of a Power Girl character with familial ties to the hero.

Glynis Wein (pictured below in Powergirl costume) was the colorist on Thor #207. The panel also shows Len Wein and Gerry Conway. John Buscema illustrated this issue.

Double Disguise

Avengers #119 (Jan. 1974) continued a comic book tradition of acknowledging the real-life Rutland Halloween Parade, where residents of the Vermont town celebrate in superhero attire. For several years in a row, Marvel Comics depicted parade organizer Tom Fagan dressed as Nighthawk, an ironic decision since Nighthawk was still a villain at the time.

Within the comic book, the devious Collector capitalized on this situation during Rutland's Fourteenth Annual Halloween Parade by wearing a Nighthawk costume to disguise himself as Tom Fagan. Anticipating that the Avengers would attend the festivities, as they had in the past, the Collector laid a trap to capture the heroes.

On a serendipitous note, the actual Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond) would soon reform from his criminal ways in Defenders #13 (May 1974) and redesign his costume as a hero.

Avengers. Vol. 1. No. 119. January 1974. "Night of the Collector." Steve Englehart (author), Bob Brown (artist), Don Heck (inker), Artie Simek (letterer), Glynis Wein (colorist), Roy Thomas (editor).

Assembly Required

The alternate reality in What if? Age of Ultron #2 flashed forward to a speculative future where a salty Wolverine assembled a one-time team consisting of Spider-Man, Hulk, and a new Ghost Rider (a call back to the Secret Defenders from Fantastic Four #374).

Long retired from his crime-fighting days as Spider-Man, the Peter Parker in this future was living in Rutland, Vermont. He moved there, at least in part, because of the city's tradition of throwing memorable Halloween parades.

Hulk, meanwhile, was now decidedly non-violent and residing on Mount Song, China. Through the practice of Zen meditation, the green goliath had found peace of mind in his own right—without integrating the personality of Dr. Bruce Banner.

What If? Age of Ultron. No.2. June 2014. Joe Keatinge (writer), Ramon Villalobos (artist), Ruth Redmond (colorist), VC's Joe Sabino (letterer), Jon Moisan (editor), Axel Alonso (editor in chief).

Days of the Year 2013

Featuring one of the most influential stories of its day, Uncanny X-Men #141 flashed forward to the year 2013 to show the possible fate of mutantkind.

On Halloween 1980, the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants intended to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly, who was leading a national inquiry to assess the threat that super-powered mutants posed to humanity. But if the Brotherhood were to succeed, anti-mutant hysteria would in fact intensify all the more … building toward a future in which government-issued Sentinel robots would eradicate almost all superhuman beings and then assume control of the United States.

In the year 2013 of that possible future, only a handful of mutants remained. To curtail this fate, a mutant named Rachel telepathically sent the mind of Kate Pryde more than three decades back in time.

Mentally in the body of her younger self, "Kitty" Pryde warned the other X-Men of the Brotherhood's plans. The mutant heroes thwarted the assassination attempt in Uncanny X-Men #142. Angel was the only original student of Professor Xavier who was a member of the "new" X-Men at this point.

Angel: Professor, we saved Senator Kelly. Kitty's mind has been returned to her body. Does that mean we changed the future?

Professor Xavier: I do not know, Warren. Cliche though it sounds, only time will tell.

History repeated itself when Senator Kelly appeared in New Defenders #142, speaking about the need for a Mutant Registration Act. This time, Iceman and Beast protected Senator Kelly by holding off an attack by Adrian Castorp, a mutant who accused the senator of instigating racial persecution against mutants.

The image here of Senator Kelly comes from X-Men #142 (February 1981).

Holy Halloween Hijinks

As the real-life organizer of the Rutland Halloween Parade, Tom Fagan made recurring appearances in comic books that referenced the annual event. The trend began with Avengers #83, which marked the 11th year of the parade and pictured him wearing a Nighthawk costume.

On the parade's 12th year, Tom Fagan appeared not only in Marvel Feature #2 (wearing street clothes before the Halloween festivities) but also in Batman #237—making his DC Comics debut dressed as the Caped Crusader. The parallelism was fitting, given how the creation of Nighthawk in the Squadron Sinister was an homage to Batman of the Justice League.

The next Halloween was a particular treat. With Glynis Wein the colorist on Amazing Adventures #16, and husband Len Wein the writer of Justice League of America #103, the couple appeared with Gerry Conway and Steve Englehart in a subplot that drove through the Halloween issues at both Marvel and DC as the foursome headed to Tom Fagan's Halloween party. Appropriately enough, he went as Nighthawk in Amazing Adventures #16 yet wore a Batman costume for the Justice League.

JLA #103 gave an additional nod to Marvel Comics in a humorously haunting way, when villain Felix Faust transformed ordinary people in Halloween costumes into super-powered foes. These included a Web-Slinger, the shield-carrying Commando America, and the Norse Thundergod (who was particularly apt seeing how Thor's series at Marvel also referenced the Rutland subplot).

The above image of Tom Fagan comes from Justice League of America. Vol. 1. No. 103. December 1972. "A Stranger Walks Among Us!" Len Wein (writer), Dick Dillin & Giordano (artists), Julius Schwartz (editor).

Where Walks the Juggernaut?

Following a tradition in the 1970s of tying comic books stories to the Rutland Halloween Parade, Amazing Adventures #16 brought Beast to Vermont just in time for the annual event. The tale began on a comedic note, with cameo appearances by members of Marvel's creative staff. But the story turned tragic after the arrival of Juggernaut.

A mystical side effect of the Ruby of Cyttorak, which gave him superhuman powers, trapped Juggernaut in Crimson Cosmos since X-Men #33. Inside another dimension, Juggernaut encountered Dr. Strange, who too was imprisoned at the time but managed to escape (Dr. Strange #182).

As Juggernaut remained trapped, he acquired a prescient knowledge of events on Earth. He knew that exactly one year after an abduction of Dr. Strange (Marvel Feature #2), Beast would be in Rutland on October 31. That degree of symmetry would allow Juggernaut to magically escape.

Unlike the other opponents Beast faced during his run on Amazing Adventures, Juggernaut already knew that the hero had grown fur since his days with the original X-Men. Through experience, Beast knew he could disempower Juggernaut by removing his helmet. But when he finally succeeded, Beast was astounded to witness Juggernaut age rapidly—yet another side effect of the villain's magical origins. To escape death, Juggernaut returned to the Crimson Cosmos.

There was unintentional subtext to the storyline. By stating explicitly that one year had passed between the Rutland Halloween adventures, the tales situated the characters in real time—a storytelling trope best ignored under scrutiny since comic book characters routinely age much more slowly than real people.

When Juggernaut next returned to Earth, magic forces of the other dimension restored him to his normal age (Incredible Hulk #172).

Amazing Adventures. Vol. 2. No. 16. January 1973. "… And the Juggernaut Will Get You … If You Don't Watch Out!" This message brought to you as a public service by the titanic team of Steve Englehart (writer), Bob Brown (artist), Frank McLaughlin (inker), and Charlotte Jettter (letterer); in cooperation with Marie Severin (caricaturist), Glynis Wein (colorist), and Roy Thomas (editor).

Liberation Lost

Avengers #83 makes great reading for Defenders fans. The Halloween tale set the stage for the heroic careers of Valkyrie and Nighthawk (although neither of the to-be Defenders technically appeared in the issue).

The story began with a meeting of several prominent super-heroines: Medusa, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Wasp. They were organized by a costumed woman calling herself Valkyrie.

But this was not the Valkyrie who later joined the non-team (Defenders #4). Rather, it was the villainous Enchantress using that guise to fashion herself as a new heroine, with a false origin story about gaining super-strength in a scientific accident.

And yet, this fake Valkyrie accurately described how male heroes took for granted or unfairly overshadowed each of the heroines, convincing them to form an all-women's group called the Lady Liberators.

As a backdrop for the story, Black Panther, Quicksilver, Vision, and Goliath (Clint Barton, on a break from being Hawkeye) were appearing at the 11th annual Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Sporting a Nighthawk costume (before the character reformed in Defenders #13-14), parade organizer Tom Fagan explained that it was okay to dress like a villain on Halloween.

When a group of real super-criminals showed up, the Liberators and Avengers worked together to defeat the Masters of Evil. Then the Liberators took out their pent-up frustration against the male Avengers, revealing some of their chauvinistic beliefs.

Black Panther: Stay Back! I don't know what's going on here--but I don't fight women--even super-powered ones!

Black Widow: Then you had better learn to Avenger--if you wish to survive!

After learning that the so-called Valkyrie was the Enchantress in disguise, the heroes overcame the Asgardian spell-caster's plans to turn them against each other. But it's a shame that it took a supervillain to raise feminist consciousness in the comic book—and that the impact was relatively short-lived. The issue ended with the heroes giving only lip-service to women's liberation.

Goliath: You birds finally learned your lesson about that women's lib bull!

Scarlet Witch: That's what you think--Male Chauvinist Pig! One of these days the Liberators will stage a comeback--right, Jan?

Wasp: You know, Wanda … they just might, at that.

For continuity buffs, this story took place one year before Marvel Feature #2, which showed Rutland's 12th annual Halloween Parade and a one-panel flashback to Avengers #83.

Avengers. Vol. 1. No. 83. December 1970. "The Revolution's Fine!" Stan Lee (editor), Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (artist), Tom Palmer (inker), Herb Cooper (letterer).

Clea's Finest Moment

Clea made several guest appearances in the Defenders well before joining the team. Relegated to the role of romantic interest and mystic trainee, however, she stayed overshadowed by Dr. Strange. As a result, it is easy to forget that this mysterious woman from another dimension was instrumental in the team's second mission. This somber tale was one of Clea's strongest issues.

Marvel Feature #2 began with an evil sect plotting to bring the dread Dormammu to Earth on Halloween, when the barriers between dimensions were weakest. Detecting the threat, Dr. Strange traveled in astral form to hold off Dormammu in the Dark Dimension. But moving his consciousness to the astral plane left the magician physically unconscious and vulnerable. Dormammu's followers broke into the Sanctum Sanctorum, left Wong badly beaten, and abducted Dr. Strange's body, intending to bring Dormammu into the sorcerer's physical form.

Responding to Wong's call for help, Clea used Dr. Strange's mystical amulet (the Eye of Agamotto) to locate Sub-Mariner and Hulk. Still an inexperienced spell-caster at this point, Clea used hypnosis to prompt Hulk to revert to Bruce Banner, then outlined a rescue plan. Clea also brought a change of clothes so the tattered Dr. Banner and swim-trunk-clad Sub-Mariner could remain incognito until entering the sect's remote headquarters at Bald Mountain.

Banner took tranquilizers to stay calm and not become Hulk prematurely. This cooperation showed Banner's trust in the Defenders to act as superego to Hulk's impulsive id. When time came to transform, Hulk willingly followed Sub-Mariner's lead even without knowing why they were fighting the cloaked opponents.

Near the end of the battle, Clea's magic revealed that Dr. Strange had been drawing energy from Wong to remain in astral form longer than usual and keep Dormammu at bay. As the gateway to the Dark Dimension sealed, trapping Dormammu, Bald Mountain volcanically erupted. Dr. Strange, now conscious within his physical body, flew Clea and Wong to safety, while Hulk and Sub-Mariner smashed out from under the rubble.

Marvel Feature. Vol. 1. No. 2. March 1972. "Nightmare on Bald Mountain." Stan Lee (editor), Roy Thomas (writer), Ross Andru (artist), Sal Buscema (inker), Sam Rosen (letterer). The image of Clea appeared in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Dr. Strange first met Clea during his initial battle against Dormammu (Strange Tales #126-127). Dr. Strange received his cloak of levitation and the Eye of Agamotto at the end of that adventure.