Miss America Magazine

Before Patsy Walker got her own comic book series, she appeared regularly in Miss America Magazine. Her stories were so popular that the magazine regularly highlighted them on the cover.

Several Patsy Walker comic stories appeared in this issue of Miss America Magazine. Vol. 7. No. 37. January 1951.

Scaredy Cat

A sight gag on the cover of Patsy and Hedy #7 (Sept. 1952) pictured the two friends double dating at the movies. Patsy's boyfriend, Buzz, was so frightened by The Bride of the Vampire that he clung to Hedy's date. In contrast, Patsy Walker #93 (Feb. 1961) showed Patsy clutching Buzz in fear at the sight of a mouse. The symbolism of the two scenes takes on additional subtext when we consider that Patsy later becomes the happy-go-lucky Hellcat and marries the Son of Satan (after divorcing Buzz, who then becomes the villain Mad-Dog).

  

Heart Shaped Wreckage

I was a fan of the show Smash, which aired on NBC more than a decade ago. For some time now I've thought about posting how a song from the show titled Heart Shaped Wreckage reminds me of the relationship between Daimon Hellstrom and Patsy Walker during their time as Defenders. I'll skip a lengthy explanation, as the lyrics from the first two verses of the duet speak for themselves.

I'm not scared to tell the truth
I've been to hell and back and I went with you
Remind me what we were before
When we said, "You are mine and I am yours"

I don't know much but I know myself
And I don't want to love anybody else
So let's break the spell and lift the curse
Remember where we fell for each other, head first

Jealousy

This panel from Patsy Walker #32 (Jan. 1951) shows a teenage Buzz Baxter jealous that Patsy might be dating someone else. The devil on his shoulder is oddly prophetic, as one day Buzz will crash Patsy's wedding to Daimon Hellstrom, a.k.a. the Son of Satan (Defenders #125). By that time, Patsy and Buzz will have married, divorced, and become Hellcat and Mad-Dog.

Venus vs. Son of Satan

When Atlas Comics gave Venus her own series, the genre of that title gradually transitioned from romance to horror. Case in point, Venus #10 (June 1950). In that issue, the love goddess received an unwanted marriage proposal from the Son of Satan. This was not Daimon Hellstrom, who would premiere as the Son of Satan two decades later. Rather, it was another character who happened to be the devil's son. Venus discreetly referred to her unwanted suitor as Mr. Satin and successfully fought off his advances.

Disappearing Act

Although the covers of Patsy Walker comic books sometimes referenced the stories within, the covers often worked as stand-alone gags. Such was the case with Patsy and Her Pals #22 (May 1956). That cover showed Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe fighting for the attention of Buzz Baxter at a magic show starring Presto the Magician. While it would have made for a creative setting, the magic show did not appear inside the issue. Incidentally, Presto closely resembled longtime comic character Mandrake the Magician, who would become one of the anachronistic Defenders of the Earth.

On a Lark

Lady Lark was among the most tragic members of the Squadron Supreme. As revealed in the Squadron Supreme limited series, Linda Lewis had been a successful recording artist until an accident damaged her vocal cords. Following an operation, new vocal cords gave her superhuman sonic powers. As a drawback, however, she could no longer sing (Squadron Supreme #1, #4). In some respects, Lady Lark's music career had parallels to that of Dazzler, a singer whose mutant powers over light and sound propelled her into the role of reluctant superhero.

Like other early members of the Squadron Supreme, Lady Lark had a counterpart in the Justice League of America—specifically, Black Canary, with her ear-piercing "canary cry." On top of that, Lady Lark's on-again, off-again relationship with teammate Golden Archer was an homage to Black Canary's romantic pairing with Green Arrow in DC Comics.

This image of Lady Lark comes from Avengers #147 (May 1976). Since her powers often appeared as music notes, singing may have been how Lady Lark activated her superhuman abilities.

Love Triangulation

A complicated love triangle developed in the "Patsy Walker" story from Miss America #44 (March 1952). Patsy was upset that boyfriend Buzz Baxter was more interested in reading a Kid Colt comic book than paying attention to her. At Patsy's prompting, Buzz put aside the comic book only to become equally preoccupied with westerns on TV and film.

Buzz then took Patsy on a date to the rodeo to see Tex Dallas, a cowboy he admired. After the show, Tex coerced Buzz into riding a horse called "Back-Buster"; the ornery animal immediately threw Buzz to the ground! Buzz went home with a sore back while Tex invited Patsy out dancing—leaving Buzz feeling bitter and betrayed by his hero.

Lost Signs

When the Defenders battled the Zodiac, not all twelve signs were there. Leading the cadre was Scorpio, brother of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury. The rest of the Zodiac were Life Model Decoys that Scorpio designed using S.H.I.E.L.D. technology. But activating these androids prematurely caused three of them to malfunction: Capricorn, Pisces and Virgo. I am uncertain of the astrological implications of losing these particular signs, but Scorpio had designated Virgo—the only female in the group—as his love interest. The heartbroken criminal killed himself (Defenders #50).

Two of the androids, Sagittarius and Libra, would return to lead other supervillains pretending to be Defenders for a Day.

This image of Scorpio (Jake Fury) comes from Defenders #50.

Meeting Millie the Model

In one of her most reflective moments as Hellcat, Patsy Walker became reacquainted with Millie the Model (Defenders #65).

Patsy and her pals were still in high school when they met the celebrity model, who was visiting the town of Centerville (Patsy Walker #76). Later, Millie and her photographer boyfriend, Clicker Holbrook, were headed to a fashion event when they got a flat tire in front of Patsy's house. Patsy was leaving for a masquerade party at the time and happened to be dressed as Millie. The disguise was so convincing that Clicker couldn't tell the two women apart (#98).

Donning a blonde wig, Patsy may have resembled Millie but the two characters were very different. Patsy was inherently relatable, often daydreaming about the future long before becoming a superhero. Millie, in contrast, was already glamorous, cosmopolitan and comfortable in her own skin.

The Making of Mad-Dog

Published two decades before Patsy Walker become Hellcat, Patsy and Hedy #46 reads almost like an origin story for Buzz Baxter becoming the supervillain known as Mad-Dog.

Patsy dated Buzz regularly in high school. But when his car kept breaking down, Patsy insisted that Buzz get a new car. Pressured by Patsy and a handful of their friends, Buzz traded in his car at Mad-Dog Cur Used-Cars. The new car, however, proved almost as unreliable as his old jalopy had been.

Later that issue, Patsy turned down Buzz when he asked her to go for a drive—or on any kind of date for that matter. Classmate Hedy Wolfe, who also pined for Buzz, spoke to him about Patsy's behavior.

Hedy: Can't you see how she treats you? She takes you for granted like you were the family dog!

To make Patsy jealous, Hedy suggested that Buzz start dating her instead. Hedy then told Patsy that it was Buzz who had come up with the scheme. Patsy responded by making a date with a stranger who had whistled at her on the street. When Buzz saw the two of them out together, he slugged the unsuspecting fellow. In hindsight, these story elements set the stage for Buzz taking the name Mad-Dog and plotting to disrupt Patsy's wedding to Daimon Helstrom (New Defenders #125).

These panels come from Patsy and Hedy #46 (Oct. 1956).

In the Wings

Angel was basically benched from the team after New Defenders #143, when an attack from Moondragon left him blind until #152, the final issue of the series. If Angel seemed unfettered while wounded, he had already done his share of soul searching just before joining the New Defenders (#125), when the subterranean band of mutants known as Morlocks kidnapped him and clipped his pin feathers (X-Men #169-170).

No longer a prospective mate for Callisto, leader of the Morlocks, Angel was instead boyfriend to Candy Southern, leader of the New Defenders. This may have helped him maintain his perspective.

In this panel from Defenders #146 (Aug. 1985), Cloud verbally guides Angel as he practices flying without his eyesight.

Fun and Games

Fun and Games Magazine #4 (Dec. 1979) had a lot to offer Defenders fans. The opening page featured Nighthawk above a bird-word puzzle. Among the hidden words were other characters with bird names, including Falcon (of the Defenders for a Day) and Lady Lark (from the Squadron Supreme).

Red Guardian appeared a few pages later with a fill-in puzzle of words beginning with red, plus these similarly named characters: Red Ghost, Red Rajah, Red Raven, and Redwing (Falcon's pet bird).

Another activity used a grid to show readers how to draw Hellcat. A two-page wedding game asked readers to match the first names of various couples, including Buzz and Patsy (Hellcat's alter ego), Jack and Barbara (Norriss), and Glenn and Betty (Talbot).

The wedding image of Patsy Walker and Buzz Baxter shown on the cover of Fun and Games Magazine #4 originally appeared as a flashback in Avengers #144, as the couple had already divorced.

The Case for Mantis

After much anticipation, Mantis became the Celestial Madonna because she had learned humility whereas Moondragon had not. What evidence worked in Mantis' favor? On a superficial level, Mantis seldom used the word I, typically referring to herself instead as "this one" (and, as a result, the first time I read a comic book featuring Mantis, I thought she was speaking of another character).

While giving lip service to a form of detachment, Mantis was not without flaw. Unhappy in her relationship with the Swordsman, Mantis made romantic overtures toward Vision by saying that others suitors were unworthy (Avengers #128). Already in love with the Scarlet Witch, Vision rebuffed such advances. When Mantis came to regret her behavior, Vision gladly accepted her apology (#131). Ultimately, Mantis' willingness to acknowledge when she was mistaken gave her an edge over Moondragon.

Mantis joined the Avengers in #114 (Aug. 1973). As the Celestial Madonna, she married an intelligent plant that took on the physical appearance of the Swordsman.

Wedding Bells

As a teenager, Patsy Walker dreamed of one day marrying her high-school sweetheart, Buzz Baxter. Bursting her bubble, however, Patsy Walker #97 (Oct. 1961) offered the young protagonist an unromantic vision of married life. In the dream sequence, Buzz proved to be a klutzy and inattentive husband, burying his head in the newspaper over breakfast, spending his evenings watching baseball on TV, and leaving Patsy feeling unfulfilled.

Ultimately, the couple would eventually marry and divorce—setting the stage for Patsy to become the happy-go-lucky Hellcat and Buzz to become the supervillain Mad-Dog.

The Avenging Angel

Warren Worthington III faced a crisis of conscience during a shocking chain of events that could put Hamlet to shame. At home visiting his parents, Warren accepted an invitation to go out on a date that evening. While out on the town with his date, Warren heard over the radio that two masked men had just murdered his father. In his costumed guise as Angel, Warren tracked down the killers and learned they were working for a criminal known as the Dazzler (Ka-Zar #2-3). After capturing Warren and his date, Dazzler revealed himself to be none other than Warren's uncle Burt (Marvel Tales #30). The family drama aside, Warren felt torn about his role as a crimefighter, as so much of humanity still regarded mutants like himself as freaks.

Even though Warren's romantic interest during this three-party story was named Candy, the following evidence suggests this was not Candy Southern, an old flame from X-Men #31 who would become leader of the New Defenders.

1. Whereas Candy Southern consistently had black hair, the Candy introduced in Ka-Zar #2 had red hair.
2. Looking at a picture of redheaded Candy, Warren exclaimed that their relationship was over, as Warren held her indirectly responsible for his father's death (Ka-Zar #3). In contrast, black-haired Candy Southern returned as Warren's romantic interest in Incredible Hulk #7.
3. Candy's last name went unstated in Ka-Zar #2-3. Then, in Marvel Tales #30, Dazzler referred to the redhead as Candy Summers.

Granted, one could explain away the above inconsistencies by arguing instead that

1. Candy Southern simply dyed her hair red prior to Ka-Zar #2 and later changed it back,
2. Warren no longer felt reminded of his father's death when he saw Candy with dark hair, and
3. Dazzler misspoke, confusing Candy's last name with the last name of Warren's classmate Scott Summers (a.k.a. Cyclops).

In a skewed take on the Oedipal complex, Warren's interest in Candy Southern began to wane as he romantically pursued the mutant hero Dazzler (no relation to Warren's uncle). Warren's feelings went unrequited, however, and he returned to dating Candy Southern. As for Dazzler, she would similarly turn down romantic advances from Hank McCoy during the Beauty and the Beast limited series.

This image comes from Marvel Tales #30 (April 1971).

Strange Tales with Bobby Drake

Strange Tales #120 shed light on the social life of Bobby Drake during his early days as Iceman. Published the same month as X-Men #5 (May 1964), Iceman was disappointed that another classmate had plans with Jean Grey, the only female student then enrolled at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Although Bobby hadn't taken an interest in Jean in X-Men #1, he seemed to have a change of heart.

Iceman: Gosh, Professor X … whenever I get up the never to ask Jean for a date, the Angel or Cyclops, or somebody beats me to it!

Professor X: Well, the day is still young, Bobby! Why don't you go to New York and see the sights?

Hoping to meet someone special, Bobby decided to take a day cruise around New York. While aboard the boat, Bobby struck up a conversation with a female passenger named Doris—only to learn that she was dating Johnny Storm, publicly known as the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. As fate would have it, modern-day pirates also came aboard. Preserving his secret identity, Bobby assumed his veneer as Iceman and fought alongside Human Torch to defeat the pirates.

Given recent storylines depicting Iceman as gay, I think it is possible to read Strange Tales #120 through a queer lens, interpreting Iceman's conversation with Professor X and attempt to meet a woman as ways of hiding his homosexuality. Either way, Bobby's luck with women would improve upon meeting Zelda at Coffee A Go-Go in X-Men #7.

Strange Tales. Vol. 1. No. 120. May 1964. "The Torch Meets the Iceman!" Deftly written by: Stan Lee. Dazzlingly drawn by: Jack Kirby. Dramatically inked by: Dick Aywers. Distinctively lettered by: S. Rosen.

Chaotic Neutral: Hedy Wolfe

The alignment system popularized by Dungeons & Dragons is worth revisiting, as each of the nine alignments can encapsulate a variety of characters. Often represented as a grid (with Lawful versus Chaotic, with Good versus Evil, and with Neutral tendencies in-between), the alignments describe competing values and potential sources of conflict among characters.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Before she became Hellcat, Patsy Walker appeared in teen romance comics, often sharing the spotlight with classmate Hedy Wolfe. In these stories, Hedy could be spontaneous and abrasive, while envious of Patsy's popularity. Balancing between friend and rival, Hedy's up-and-down disposition would seem Chaotic Neutral.

This take on Hedy Wolfe held true with grown-up depictions of the character, including Marvel Fanfare #59, when Patsy Walker returned to her hometown of Centerville to reunite with old acquaintances. Patsy, like many of the Defenders, would lean toward Chaotic Good.

Patsy and Hedy starred together in a series that spanned most of the 1950s and 1960s.

Featuring Ant-Man

Immediately after Marvel Feature #1-3 introduced the dynamic Defenders as a superhero team, Marvel Feature #4-10 re-introduced Hank Pym as the astonishing Ant-Man. Finding himself trapped at a shrunken height, without the gadgetry he previously used as Yellowjacket, this revamped version of Ant-Man wore a new costume and armed himself with a proportionally small sword. The seven-part story arc brought back old foes Egghead and Whirlwind, introduced new villains, and pitted the swashbuckling hero against natural threats reminiscent of the 1957 film The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Henry Pym's wife, Janet (a.k.a. Wasp), lost much of her edge during these new adventures of Ant-Man, appearing largely as a romantic interest and occasional sidekick. As founding members of the Avengers, however, both characters had years of adventuring experience by this point and might very well have shared equal billing on the title.

Pym's lab assistant, Bill Foster, made a cameo appearance in Marvel Feature #9, investigating the disappearance of the super-couple and foreshadowing his eventual transformation into Black Goliath.

Henry Pym resumed his Yellowjacket identity in Giant-Size Defenders #4. Wasp featured prominently during her guest appearances in Defenders #76-77.

All the World's a Stage

Dr. Strange #55 found the sorcerer supreme distraught. Clea had ended their relationship two issues before … a decision some time in the making.

Acting as a mystical guide, Dakimh the Enchanter visited Dr. Strange, who was experiencing visions that his life lacked substance—an understandable fear for a sorcerer who spent so much time traveling across dimensions. To Dr. Strange, his teammates in the Defenders were now a facade and his home was no more real than a theatrical set. Wandering outside, he saw a movie marquee promoting the film Doctor Strange II: Beyond Raggadorr! To the world, Dr. Strange was a fictional character.

An element of reverse psychology was at work here. In presenting Dr. Strange with visions that nothing in his life was real, the story showed the sorcerer how much he still had left.

This image from from Dr. Strange #55 (Oct. 1982) features Dakimh and Dr. Strange, with visions of Gargoyle, Daimon Hellstrom, Hellcat, and the Sanctum Sanctorum.