Who's the Worst... Amazing Doohickey?

Martinex1: Deus ex Machina anybody?   It was recently mentioned that characters that can change reality at will were annoying.   How about the all-powerful objects?   What gadgets made you gag?   What devices divide you?   What utensils make you tense?  We've got Ultimate Nullifiers, Nega-Bands, Cosmic Cubes, Gauntlets, Lanterns, Rings, Keys, and Crowns.   What turns your comic enjoyment upside down?

Titanic Troubles, Part 4: Captain Marvel 33

Captain Marvel #33 (July 1974)
"The God Himself!"
Steve Englehart/Jim Starlin-Starlin/Klaus Janson

Doug:  Words?  You say the words are more important in a funnybook than the pictures?  Well then, you've come to the right place today, as Silver-Tongued Steve Englehart takes over the wordsmithing chores.  Hokey smokes, Bullwinkle -- but this is a lot of words!

Karen: You ain't kidding. I think I remarked to Doug in one of our emails a few weeks ago that this issue felt like a giant-size book written by Roy Thomas! It's just chock full of words. Even the previous issue was pretty heavy in this area, but Englehart manages to blow it out of the water.

Doug:  Karen and I have said on numerous occasions that we're not going to just scan comic pages for the sake of scanning them; however, in this case we'll make an exception because a) it's so danged long, it'd take me two long paragraphs to summarize anyway, and b) Englehart really does do a nice job of encapsulating about a year's worth of plotlines in just two pages.  And Jim Starlin's pictures aren't bad, either!  So, gaze if you will below on pages 2 and 3 of today's issue.  I think you'll agree that it's really a neat bow on what has gone before, leading us up to the material we've been covering this month on the BAB.

Karen: Basically, if you'd never read an issue of Captain Marvel before, those two pages would tell you all you needed to know to follow the story! Starlin makes some unusual coloring choices on the second page of the recap -the top series of panels are all in reds and oranges, the middle series is pastels, and the bottom is green hues. It all works but it's noticeably different from your standard coloring of the day. In fact, the coloring of the entire book looks pretty gorgeous.

Doug:  Now, after that, what a way to follow it up but with a beautiful 1/2 splash page that serves as the final bridge to "current" events.  Rick Jones, faced by a raging mad Thanos at the conclusion of Captain Marvel #32, bangs the nega-bands together and brings forth the Captain himself to do physical battle with the mad Titan.  Mar-Vell engages his enemy, who as Karen remarked two weeks ago is about 12-feet tall!  The Captain's blow barely moves the giant, who returns a ferocious assault of punches, rays, and more punches.  But just as he's about to finish Mar-Vell, Thanos is distracted by one of the ships from his space fleet crashing to Earth (see last week's review of Avengers #125).  He smugly remarks to himself that the Avengers have taken his bait.  His attention now drawn away, Thanos extinguishes the blaze within which he and Mar-Vell had done combat, and leaves.  Captain Marvel lies prone, until he hears a voice -- the holographic image of ISAAC.  The manifestation of Titan's computer system records that Mar-Vell was easily defeated, which the Captain begins to contest.  As they talk, ISAAC chastises the Kree warrior somewhat, asking him if he does not know that the only way to counteract the power of the cosmic cube is with cosmic awareness -- which Mar-Vell possesses.

Karen: Thanos batters Mar-Vell mercilessly. It's just no contest. Seeing that, you can't help but wonder how Thanos will be beaten. But it becomes clear that his space assault was not what it seemed. I also like seeing Mar-Vell's frustration here. He really doesn't know what he's going to do to beat Thanos, but he knows he has to try.

Doug:  I'll admit to being a bit stumped by the next part of the story.  We've remarked throughout this series of reviews that omnipotent villains do everyone a service by not just blotting out reality.  I suppose even gods need their leisure, and delaying the seeming-inevitable must be a part of that.  We flash back to the end of the aforementioned Avengers #125, where Thanos lurks on the roof of Avengers Mansion, watching Earth's Mightiest Heroes disembark their crafts.  And then he says to himself that of which I'm unsure (motive and manifestation, I guess) -- he says that he has shifted the entire planet Earth into a space/time continuum one heartbeat ahead of normal, and that the Avengers are now out-of-sync with the planet, effectively living between the seconds.  Say what?

Karen: I'll admit, I have no good answer for you regarding why Thanos would go to so much trouble to take the Avengers out of the picture. Surely he could have just put them all in a stasis field (as he had before) or sent them a billion light years from Earth, or simply destroyed them with a thought. Why he would bother to go to such an extravagant plan makes no sense, other than the idea that he wanted to toy with them. Actually, it would make more sense if the Avengers could see what was transpiring but were helpless to do anything about it. But other than Mantis, who we'll get to, I'm not sure they really knew what was happening.

Doug:  On Titan, Mentor has nursed Moondragon back to health, and takes her to see what is in a prison -- 17 survivors of Thanos' assault on Titan.  Mentor's anger towards his mad son boils, and he voices that he wishes Thanos be crushed!  Back on Earth, Captain Marvel picks up the cosmic cube and begins to try to formulate his next move.  Suddenly he is aware of another presence in the room, when Mantis appears to him in the form of a wraith!  She tells that while she possesses complete control of mind and body, she and her teammates will be of no use to Mar-Vell.  This isn't going to be easy...

Karen: Seventeen Titans left from the 114 who had survived Thanos' first attack on Titan years prior. You have to wonder how Mentor could allow Thanos to go free after the first attack on Titan, but then, he was his son. I know we've both expressed some annoyance with Mantis in the past, but she was obviously Englehart's darling and he manages to work her into the story here. Although she does little more than provide a sounding board for a Mar-Vell that's about at the end of his wits. I thought it was interesting that rather than have Mar-Vell and Rick discuss what to do via the link they share, Rick was out of the picture for this final issue and Mantis took on that role. The Captain is really in the depths of despair once he hears that the Avengers will not be able to help him; "One by one, my hopes are being stripped from me - soon I'll stand naked and alone- and soon I must meet Thanos -for the final time!"

Doug:  Death appears, and Thanos continues to court her.  She looks to the sky, however, and Drax the Destroyer returns, pledging once more to exterminate the mad god.  He attacks, and Captain Marvel soon joins the fray.  I felt that there was a compliment paid to both warriors when Thanos gave up his humanoid form and reverted to his "spirit in the sky" mode.  The three combatants fight tooth-and-nail, with Thanos pulling a stunt somewhat akin to the unbelievability of ol' Hercules towing Manhattan island back into place (Marvel Team-Up #28, which we some day must review!) -- he uproots a skyscraper and hurtles it after the fleeing Drax and Mar-Vell!  And nothing falls apart!  Wow!  Drax turns on the projectile, however, and shatters it with one punch -- now that's power.  Mar-Vell tells his ally to cover him -- he has an idea.  Landing back on the roof where he'd seen Mantis, Mar-Vell finds that she and ISAAC are there.  The three of them talk, and come to the conclusion that Thanos, fancying himself a god, can only be a god if he is worshiped.  Since all who know him fear him and wish him dead, his power must then not be natural but only from the cosmic cube.

Karen: Every time we see the Destroyer in this saga it is pure excitement! Drax has one goal, one purpose in life: to destroy Thanos! He goes at this with relentless fury. Starlin seems to really throw everything he has in to these scenes -the art bursts from the pages. And of course, when Thanos throws a building at them, it holds together -he's a god! He wouldn't be much of a deity if he couldn't pull that off. The theory developed by Mar-Vell, Mantis, and ISAAC doesn't really hold up for me -what about Thor or Odin? Where are their worshipers? But perhaps since they once had worshipers, they were already empowered. I like the idea though -it has sort of a Twilight Zone feel to it.

Doug:  But, Thanos (being omniscient, you now), suddenly turns his attention to the rooftop and attacks.  The assault forces Mar-Vell to drop the cube; as he dives for it, Thanos warps reality in an effort to disorient his foe.  He then does what he most likely should have done all along -- murder Captain Marvel.  Mar-Vell begins to age rapidly, but as he does he takes his last lifeforce and hurls his body toward the cube.  With one big karate chop, Captain Marvel crushes the cube.  Instantly, Thanos blinks out of existence, and we see Death... celebrate?

Karen: Thanos' attack on Mar-Vell seems genuinely threatening. The panels that show the Captain aging are very effective; there's a feeling of suspense as he brings his withered hand up to strike the cube. The sequence of panels on the next page, showing Death going from beautiful woman to cackling skull are also smart story-telling.

Doug:  Back on the rooftop, things slowly begin to return to normal.  Steve Englehart, for all the kidding I was giving him at the top, really seals the deal with his script on the last page.  I won't put a stain on it with my own words -- as you can see, it's presented in its entirety below.  It's really a fantastic page.

Karen: There have been times where we (or other folks around here) have questioned some of Englehart's work, such as West Coast Avengers.But this page is an example of why Englehart might very well have been the best writer of the Bronze Age. The man had a way with words, and was one of the best at conveying emotion.

Doug:  To my partner, I say "thanks!" for scheduling this four-pack of cosmic comics.  I had only previously read Avengers #125, and it's somewhat out-of-context without the two bookend CM issues.  And as a middler-not-a-hater on cosmic stories, I had a blast.  This was really well done and top-notch talent-wise.  I enjoyed Jim Starlin's art throughout, and we got a very nice treat in seeing his pencils embellished by Joe Sinnott, Dan Green, and Klaus Janson.  I'll put that threesome up against just about any other threesome, at least as this played out in June.  To say that the entire plot (of course going back several issues before we picked up the trail) was grandiose would be an understatement.  Just a really well-executed, fun, slice of Bronze Age comics reading glory.

Karen: I had a blast revisiting these books and doing the reviews with my partner. I'm very happy that he enjoyed them and glad that they got such positive response from all of you. And I can't wait to jump on to the two 'biggies' -Avengers Annual 7 and Marvel Two-in-One Annual 2!

Titanic Troubles, Part 3: Avengers 125

Avengers #125 (July 1974)
"The Power of Babel!"
Writer:  Steve Englehart
Pencils:  John Buscema
Inks:  Dave Cockrum

Karen: Howdy readers. Before we dive in to our story, let's take a look at that cover. My first impression was that it was the work of John Romita Sr., and the Comic Book Database credits it to Romita, Dan Crespi (!), and Ron Wilson. I thought Crespi was primarily a letterer and production guy, so I'm not sure what his role was in the cover. But I think this is a bit of an odd cover -it looks like Thanos is about to swallow the Avengers' quinjet. Of all the covers in our series, this is probably my least favorite. However, the art inside is a real treat. John Buscema and Dave Cockrum make a dynamite team!

Doug:  It's funny you should say that it's your least favorite, because I've been given some thought to this very cover, marketing-wise lately.  As has been said, I've been using the The Avengers vs. Thanos tpb for my reading/scanning.  Whoever put that together approved the cover of MTIO Annual #2 (coming to this very blog in July, kids) as the front cover, and put the image above on the back cover.  Duh...  I might also have chosen the cover to Captain Marvel #31, although Thanos isn't on it.  But this one, if they were looking for some visual recognition in the general public, features Thanos, Thor, and Captain America.  I just don't get why they didn't use this for the front.  Oh well, water under the bridge...  And I think the GCD lists all creators of a given cover, so I would imagine you are correct in assuming that Crespi did the lettering.

Karen:  Our story begins with the wrap up of the Avengers' recent entanglement with Zodiac and Libra, and the efforts to discover Mantis' true origin. As Libra is escorted away by police, Captain America comes racing up on his motorcycle. Cap had been absent from the action with the Zodiac, as he was busy dealing with the Secret Empire in his own title (as Iron Man mentions). Shellhead congratulates Cap for vindicating himself of the charges against him, but Cap is not in a celebratory mood. Oddly enough, the Vision is the first to notice this! As Mantis heads off to the hospital to see the Swordsman, the rest go back into Avengers'

Mansion, where Cap tells Iron Man and the Black Panther that he needs to talk. Iron Man says sure and then insensitively begins to sing Mantis' praises! A buzzer goes off and the trio sees that there's someone at the door, and she has an official Avengers entry pass - in fact, it belongs to Rick Jones, Cap's former partner, and now the partner of Captain Marvel. Cap reaches the girl just as she collapses and mutters about a trap being set for Rick. Her last words before she loses consciousness are "Thanos...Thanos..." which leaves Cap puzzled.

Doug:  Buscema or Cockrum -- who do you see more?  To me, at times, it's both.  And the results of the amalgamation are really nice.  I enjoyed the two Giant-Size issues that Dave Cockrum would pencil in the "Celestial Madonna" arc.  As this predates his X-Men work, I'd say it was a nice way to cut his teeth on the Marvel side of things.

Doug:  I loved the line-up in this issue -- Iron Man, Thor, Cap, Black Panther, Vision and the Scarlet Witch, and Mantis and the Swordsman.  This was really a fun era for the team.  I really need to get myself into Englehart's early issues and refresh on the first appearances of Mantis and the Swordsman as a couple.  It's been way too long since I read those.  You mentioned Iron Man and the Vision above.  Doesn't Englehart have their characterization down perfectly?  Tony Stark is so self-absorbed, he's unable to give Cap the shoulder he needs; yet the Vision, ever-perceptive and ever-analytical, was the one who noticed that Cap was not himself.  Both vignettes are really short, but it's those nuggets that made Steve Englehart such a great pilot for these characters.   

Karen: The next page is a recap of events in Captain Marvel #25-32, at least the ones that affect the Avengers. The reader learns of Thanos and his attainment of the Cosmic Cube, and that he plans to conquer the galaxy. With a thought, he abducts Captain Marvel, Drax the Destroyer, Moondragon, and Iron Man, and transports them to Titan. But before the Avengers can react to this, they discover that Thanos has a space fleet  headed for Earth. With no time to lose, the team heads for space. Strangely enough, they go in two spacecraft: the ever-versatile quinjet, which transports Thor, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, Mantis, the Swordsman, and Captain America, and then, in the confiscated Zodiac star cruiser, the Panther, oddly all by himself. The ships blast off from New York and soon travel all the way to our sun, where we see Thanos' fleet in a spectacular two-page spread, which to me looked very similar to Cockrum's depictions of space in the X-Men years later, especially the concentric circles that seemed to represent energy blasts.

Doug:  The recap of what has gone before was concise but o-so-dynamic visually!  You noted that the Panther flew solo in the Zodiac craft -- do you recall any other instances of contraband being appropriated by the victors?  Sure, the FF used Doc Doom's time platform, as have the Avengers.  But I'm trying to think of any sort of a craft like this that was taken over, and so soon.  It's a goofy-looking contraption, what with that big star on the nose.  The 2-page splash reminded me of the Chitauri entry in the Avengers flick a couple of summers ago.

Karen: Thor leaves the quinjet and launches his own attack on the enemy ships. I've always enjoyed seeing the thunder god in space action and he doesn't disappoint here, zapping ships with Mjolnir and tearing hulls open with his bare hands. The Panther runs interference -it seems that the Zodiac ship is larger than the quinjet and so it makes a better target. I still don't get why he would be in it alone, but hey! That's the way it is. Cap pilots the quinjet, which we learn has been modified since the Kree-Skrull War. The commander of Thanos' flagship begins to panic and puts in a call to his boss, who has now ascended to godhood. This startles the alien commander.  Thanos barks at him, saying his ships all have enough power to destroy the Earth, and to quit whining and get back to business. Of course, right as Thanos hangs up, who should come ripping through the hull but Thor?

Doug:  The space battle was frantic, and you're right -- Thor was taking no prisoners and it was awesome.  His entrance into the ship is akin to his greeting made to Ultron years later under Busiek/Perez.  I guess I shouldn't ask how he can survive in space with no protection, since it doesn't appear that Asgard has an atmosphere anyway.  I have noticed throughout our now-three issues that Thanos employs just about any alien race out there.  I've spotted a Badoon, and we'll see a Skrull get his from Ms. Wanda a bit later.  Should we infer that all aliens are crooked?  

Karen: The battle rages on in space, and we see some of Thanos' ships crashing to Earth. Wait a minute -- weren't they fighting out near the sun? That's a long ways away from Earth! OK, OK, I'll let it go as artistic license. The Panther discovers an area of space that is completely pitch black -- there are no stars or anything else visible through it. He correctly surmises that there is some sort of force field hiding something there. He can't blast through it either. He calls the quinjet and quickly the team decides they have to investigate. The Vision takes the lead, and snaps at a brooding Swordsman to get his head into the game. The Swordsman then begins accusing the synthozoid of coveting his girlfriend, Mantis. The Vision coolly says he won't even dignify that with a response, but then Mantis has to jump in and ask if the Vision has praised her to the Swordsman, and this makes Wanda look like she's about to have a heart attack. All this soap opera in the middle of a cosmic saga!

Doug:  Obviously we know what's to come with the love quadrangle, but this chipping back and forth at each other was a favorite part of the story for me.  As you say, it's the mundane in the midst of the chaos that so humanizes these fantastic characters.  You really wonder what an artificial man like the Vision, with his computer brain, really thought of all of this emotional wreckage.  The push-and-pull within his psyche was a great, long-running subplot of the Englehart era, which I felt really paid off in issue #136 when we got what I consider to be the Vision's true origin.  The Swordsman was a great character, wasn't he?  I know some of our readers have expressed disdain for sword-wielding heroes in general, and I'll readily admit that he's on a different power level than his Avenging mates... But he was such a loveable loser and it was great to watch him evolve, having been in the book since darned near the very beginning!

Karen: He had a solid story arc.Eventually the four of them exit the ship (I bet Cap was happy to stay behind and pilot the quinjet) to investigate the black force field. They must have borrowed the Legion's trans-suits, because it looks like they are essentially in their costues and wearing fishbowl helmets. The Vision does mention 'plasti-garb' though. In any case, Wanda's hex power manages to weaken the force field enough for the foursome to enter. Once through, they see what it concealed -- a massive starship, dwarfing anything they had seen before! The Vision opens an airlock and they move inside, where they are

immediately attacked by alien troops. The bickering between the team-mates continues, but they manage to make quick work of their foes. The Vision deduces that the craft is actually one gigantic machine. He sees a device with English writing on it ("Universal Language Equalizer"), but Mantis claims the writing is in Vietnamese. Vizh quickly realizes that the machine must be translating all of the different alien languages that the crew men speak so that they can all work together. He also finds another control for the force field (did it remind you at all of the old Batman TV show, where everything had a switch and a big label?). Vision shuts off the field and they leave the ship, and contact Cap and Panther, who blast the alien ship into nothingness.

Doug:  Just to show our readers that Karen and I are generally on the same wavelength, here is a line that I've cut from a paragraph above, immediately after I'd written about Thor in space with no protection:  "I thought there was a nod to the Legion's transuits a bit later when the Vision remarked to his team about their plastigarb covering."  Since I did the same thing a couple of weeks ago, forcing Karen to slightly amend a comment, I'll just paste that here!  You see, whenever she frames the post, I just go paragraph by paragraph, adding in my two cents.  I guess I should read ahead!

Doug:  The Swordsman really cut loose -- I'm sure he was getting rid of some aggression directed at another person in the room, huh?  I really liked the idea of the big ship serving as some sort of translation hub, but you nailed it when you likened the execution of the premise to the Batman show!

Karen: With their translator ship destroyed, none of Thanos' thralls can understand each other. The invaders' ships begin to crash into each other and destroy one another. Back on the quinjet, Thor rejoices in the victory, saying that soon they will take down Thanos himself, but Cap cautions him from being so sure. Mantis also joins in, saying that her natural empathy has allowed her to sense increased danger. The Scarlet Witch chides her for this, but the Vision himself says that given the power of the Cosmic Cube, Thanos' power could be far greater than what they have seen. All good and well, right? Here's the bizarre part: as the Avengers land on the roof of the mansion, who is hiding behind the chimney but Thanos?! Yes, the Titan who has become a God is sneaking around on the rooftop, listening in to the Avengers' discussion! This is the one thing that really felt off in this issue. Thanos overhears the Avengers talking, and thinks that he sacrificed his space fleet as part of his master plan. I think they could have left this bit out entirely. The story concludes in Captain Marvel #33, we are told (and we'll review that next week).

Doug:  One could write off the scene with Thanos lurking in the shadows, if Jim Starlin ignored it in the "next issue".  But since Englehart will replace Mike Friedrich as the wordsmith on Captain Marvel, the entire episode is referenced again.  Agreed, it's just sort of strange.  One again has to wonder why a villain in possession of the Cosmic Cube wouldn't just off all of his enemies with but a thought.  It would be a short story, that's why.  And a parting comment from me on the art team -- many Marvelites love to hate Mantis, but I thought she never looked better than in this very issue.  That Buscema-Cockrum combination really nailed it in regard to her, especially facially.

Karen: While I loved the art on this issue, I thought the story was just middling. As a part of the Avengers series at the time, it offered up some more of the love quadrangle that was such a big deal, and there were a few nice action bits. But overall it was relatively tame compared to issues either before or after it. It had little impact on the overall Thanos-Cosmic Cube saga. But I would have loved to see more Buscema-Cockrum art, or even just Dave Cockrum on the Avengers! 

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!

Discuss: All-Powerful Weapons

Of Super Soldiers and Cosmic Cubes, Part One

Marvel Two In One # 42 (August 1978)
"Entropy, Entropy..."
Writer: Ralph Macchio
Artist: Sal Buscema
Inkers: Alfredo Alcala, Sam Grainger

Karen: This post kicks off a two part review of a story in Marvel Two-In-One that deals with the both the super soldier serum and the Cosmic Cube. Originally I had intended this to be a longer series of posts, as the story actually started in Astonishing Tales, featuring Ka-Zar, back in 1973. But after having read those issues, I decided to spare you the pain and just go with the condensed version. Honestly, those Ka-Zar stories are pretty dreadful. All you really need to know from them is that both AIM and SHIELD were working hard to rediscover the super-soldier formula of Dr. Erskine -the formula that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. A scientist, Victor Conrad, at AIM got ahold of the original formula and used it on himself. He went on to fight Ka-Zar and lost, and presumably died in a great fall into a moat. Got it?

Karen: Present-time: Bashful Benjy tears through a six-inch thick titanium steel door at the new Project Pegasus research center. He's surrounded by men knocks them around like children. Leaping from the other side of the room is none other than Captain America. He orders the men back and lands just in time to block a huge orange fist with his shield. Ben is raging, beyond reason. it turns out he's upset about Wundarr, the alien super-teen with the mind of a child who was once Ben's ward. Project Pegasus has taken him and Ben wants to know why. Cap tries to calm him but it does no good. Finally, the Captain triggers a device that puts Ben into a force field. Unable to do much more than float, Ben finally settles down.

Karen: Cap gives Ben a quick tour of the facility run by "the new Department of Energy" (started by Jimmy Carter, remember?) but all Ben cares about is Wundarr. The two men take an elevator down to a lower level, in the cosmic radiation section where Wundarr is being held. The scientists want to use Wundarr's abilities to see if he can stimulate the Cosmic Cube back into functioning. Just like in the Avengers film, the technos theorize that the cube could be a tremendous energy source. It's interesting to note here that when Ben complains about Wundarr being held captive, Cap says that Wundarr is an illegal alien after all! Where's that Englehart Cap when you need him? But he also assures Ben that the scientists are trying to help improve his intelligence, which has been badly stunted. Wundarr is brought out in a fancy shackle, which he promptly bursts, and goes running off. Ben jumps in to intercede and protect him. The youth sees him and cries out "Unca Benjy!" and runs to the one person he trusts. Ben wraps him in a protective bear hug.

Karen: Ben tells Wundarr that he's going to be OK, he won't let anything happen to him. But he feels badly about taking him back to the lab. Wundarr is strapped into a chair with a big colander over his head and the dormant Cube hangs before him. The helmet gizmo apparently activates Wundarr's power, and the Cube begins to pulsate with power once again. Wundarr begins to get panicky, and Ben, watching from another room, is in agony. Suddenly, one of the scientists throws a switch and Wundarr is bombarded with energy. He screams in pain, and that's enough for Ben. He once again tears a wall down to get to his young friend. Cap immediately suspects sabotage and spots a figure on a catwalk. He jumps up and the scientist there says "Blast! I- of all people -should have known you could reach me up here!" This perplexes Cap enough that he's caught off guard, and the mysterious saboteur backhands him hard, sending him flying. The man jumps down into the cell with Wundarr and grabs the Cube and teleports away.
Karen: Our scene switches to a swamp and a group of red-robed cultists chanting in an unearthly tongue. They seem to be praying around a human skeleton. Suddenly, the man with the Cube appears before them. He tears off a mask (here we go with the masks again! A running theme for comments here at BAB) and reveals himself as Victor Conrad, aka Victorius, the AIM scientist who took the Super Soldier serum. It appears he's become the leader of these 'Entropists'.

Karen: Back at Project Pegasus, things are not looking good for Wundarr. The energy he absorbed from the Cube has rendered him comatose. Ben is crushed and Cap does a sort of poor job consoling him, almost as if he's preparing Ben to lose Wundarr. Since he can't help Wundarr, Ben wants to go after the man who hurt him and took the Cube. Cap points the way to a jet equipped with devices from Stark Industries designed to detect energy signatures. Ben jumps in the cockpit despite the protests of the technicians, and he and Cap are off.

Karen: They trace the Cube to the Florida everglades. Landing the VTOL craft in the swamp, Ben questions whether the equipment is working properly. Who would take an object as powerful as the Cube and go here? Moments later, they get their answer, as they are faced by Victorius and his followers, included a cloaked dark being called the Entropic Man. Victorius declares that he is going to usher in a new order for the universe. Just like everyone else who has ever had the Cube! But as Ben says, "Wotta revoltin' development."

Karen: I enjoyed this story, although it really is mostly set-up for part two. The art is all right, although I think another inker on Sal might have worked better. It sometimes looks rushed. This was our introduction to Project Pegasus, which would have its own saga in MTIO #53-58 . I have to say I think George Perez did a great job in getting the size and scope of the lab across in those issues. But I thought it was interesting how some of the ideas from the Avengers film appear to have originated here. I had not remembered that the Cube had been taken to Project Pegasus after Thanos' defeat. The base at the beginning of the film is shown to be Project Pegasus on a sign briefly seen. I also did not recall the idea that the Cube could be an energy source- I thought that originated in the Captain America and Avengers films alone, but obviously that is not the case. Now if they'd only call the thing the Cosmic Cube, I'd really be happy!