Mongu, Redux!

 

It's November of 1962, and the first Incredible Hulk series is just two issues away from cancellation in March of 1963.* Following the format of the previous issue, writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby have the story pulling double duty--the first half making a concerted effort to engage the reader more with the Hulk, Bruce Banner, and the book's limited cast of characters (Rick Jones, Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross, and his daughter and Banner's love interest, Betty), leaving the second half to introduce the book's threat to the title character.

*Though the beleaguered Hulk would receive an encore, as the date coincides with his first appearance in the pages of Fantastic Four.

By all indications, we're in for another alien menace, the book's second thus far; yet we'll also be witness to yet another change in the makeup of the Hulk, who at this point still remains under the mental control of Rick following an attempt to exile the Hulk in space and his subsequent exposure to unexpected radiation. And as if Bruce Banner and Rick Jones didn't have enough to worry about, there is one person under everyone's radar who is beginning to put the pieces together on the mystery of the Hulk, someone who unfortunately has the ear of the general who commands the New Mexico military base which has turned its resources toward finding and destroying him.

And now, the arrival of a figure who descends from the stars, whose challenge will decide the fate of the entire planet!

Whew, that's a relief--just about any industrial complex on Earth can "weld" a two-ton ax for this alien in no time! We're saved!

I don't suppose Mongu is the type to be amused at being tripped up by having misspoken.

Heroines, Abandoned!

 

Wow! It's been 7½ years since we looked in on these ladies:

Launched in late 1972 to coincide with the women's liberation movement, widow Greer Grant, former animal specialist Shanna O'Hara, and nurses Linda Carter, Georgia Jenkins, and Christine Palmer hit the comic book spinner rack starring in, respectively, The Claws of the Cat, Shanna the She-Devil, and Night Nurse--and to further entice female comics readers, all were staffed at least in part with female creative talent.

Immediately assigned to bimonthly publication, however, all three books had only a brief run of 4-5 issues, their final covers pictured above. But how did they fare in quality and interest? Did these titles show any promise? And did they end on a high note, or simply run out of steam? Let's look back some fifty years to those issues for the answers.

Accept The Word Of One Who Knows

 

As a fan of the original Guardians of the Galaxy since their inception, I was bound to take an interest in Starhawk, the enigmatic individual who was folded into their ranks following the Earth's liberation from its conquerors, the Brotherhood of the Badoon. Created by Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema and first appearing in The Defenders, this new character was appropriately given few details (if we can even use that word) to pique our interest. He described himself, for instance, as "the light, and the giver of light"... he has three young children, settled in an Earth-like environment on a dome-covered asteroid... he appears involved with a woman named Aleta, whom he communicates with via a computer console screen and describes in a way that implies more at work than a depth of feeling ("all that I am, all I can be, flows from her," a connection alluded to in Starhawk's later battle with Korvac)... and, perhaps most mysteriously, he often offers information and/or assurances to others on various matters of interest as "One Who Knows," a description which is often taken at face value though never accompanied by explanations regarding what or how.

Initially, we as readers are exposed to Starhawk when he appears on the Badoon homeworld to give aid to Maj. Vance Astro (one of the Guardians) and the Valkyrie (one of the Defenders) who have been transported there mistakenly. Yet once Starhawk has healed the Valkyrie of her injury suffered in this world's swamps on arrival, she and Astro find no sign of Earth's conquerors; instead, they discover their female progenitors, living separately in peace in an advanced civilization where they remain ignorant of the Brotherhood's activities of conquest throughout the galaxy.

Eventually, the Defenders are reunited, and set about their task of freeing the Earth from Badoon tyranny. But once Strange has mystically set free all of the imprisoned humans worldwide, Starhawk plays a crucial role in the Defenders cutting their mission short and returning to their own time period.

The "story for another time" that the narrative speaks of arrives a few months later in early 1976, where Gerber and artist Al Milgrom launch the Guardians in their own series of stories in Marvel Presents which, among other things, serve to further explore the character of Starhawk. In fact, we'd do well to keep in mind Maj. Astro's words* in that last panel, as they'll come to mean more than he and ourselves are, at present, aware of.

*Hint: Pay close attention to the verb.

...As A City Goes Mad!

 

Two issues into his notable run on The Defenders, writer Steve Gerber was continuing the effort by Len Wein to mainstream this non-team following the disbanding of the original group and chart a course for the individual characters the two had inherited: Dr. Strange, the Valkyrie, the Hulk, and Nighthawk. It had been non-stop action with Wein--but Gerber had almost immediately shown signs of balancing the adventures of the group with character development while also including elements of the bizarre, a Gerber trait.

Essentially, Gerber was having to deal with a grouping similar to the original, with the Valkyrie's strength compensating for the absence of the Sub-Mariner while her gender and Asgardian connection helped her to avoid the redundant aspect of Namor vis-à-vis the Hulk. As for Nighthawk, a charter member of the Squadron Sinister, the Defenders offered a break from his previous status as a villain, remaking his image after choosing to ally himself with the group following their prior conflict with his former group. It was likely felt that with the Hulk's continued presence, buyers would continue to show interest in the title--and so it fell to Gerber to chart a new course for the Defenders which, while now a bona fide part of the Marvel universe, didn't necessarily have them adhering to traditional protocols. (Though it wasn't for lack of trying on Nighthawk's part.)

In this particular story, Gerber begins a recurring plot which will culminate in the first (and only) Defenders Annual twenty issues later. But what of the characters? With Strange and the Hulk already firmly established, that leaves him with Nighthawk (aka Kyle Richmond, head of Richmond Enterprises) and the Valkyrie, who has begun to inquire into the life of Barbara Norris, the woman her essence currently inhabits.

This Elf Is Packing

 

For a little over a year during the mid-1970s, readers of The Defenders were introduced to an ongoing, head-scratching sub-plot involving a character which appeared to have nothing to do with the principal characters of the book, or, for that matter, anything or anyone else. Created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Sal Buscema, the Elf with a gun, as it came to be known, received a brief profile in the PPC eight years ago which dealt with its baffling modus operandi and mission; yet it seems negligent not to have also included each of his unfortunate victims, none of whom would appear to be relevant or of particular importance to any Marvel story except as unknowing, unsuspecting targets.

Four victims in all--the last of which didn't even merit a name, and, for what it's worth, the only one who even indirectly crosses paths with one of the Defenders. I could find no direct quote in which Gerber expresses his thoughts on the whys and wherefores of his homicidal creation, though reportedly he remarked words to the effect of the Elf being "a backhanded metaphor for the chaotic and inexplicable nature of everyday existence," which, if accurate, begs the question of just what he had in mind for bringing this character to fruition in The Defenders. Of course, it all became moot following Gerber's departure, when, in 1977, the character was unceremoniously and summarily dealt out of the book by writers Roger Slifer and David Kraft (while, appropriately, being completely unrelated to the main story).

The reaction from readers, as you might expect, ran the gamut.

In a later series of stories, however (published well after Gerber had left the book), writer J.M. DeMatteis provided the diminutive assassin with a backstory that explained its actions and purpose as an agent of the mysterious group known as the Tribunal, whose goal was to pinpoint the cause of Earth's future destruction. Unfortunately for the Defenders, that would mean a few more casualties in the crosshairs of this Elf with a gun.

Yet it turns out that there were no casualties to speak of at all--only displacement, as a member of the Tribunal elaborates on during the group's confrontation of the core Defenders. Coincidentally or not, the issue in which we learn the answer to the mystery of the Elf is published seven years to the month after Gerber's last scripted appearance of the character.

We see that even the Tribunal can get its facts wrong, since it omits two people from its listing of "victims" while giving the name of another ("Richard Kessler") whom our Elf never paid a visit to.

A curious footnote to this story arrives nearly thirteen years later in 1996, when Gerber returns to Marvel for an assignment on Spider-Man Team-Up--a story that involves Peter Parker, Ben Reilly (as Spider-Man), Maynard Tiboldt (better known as the Ringmaster), the Circus of Crime... and an Elf with a gun, the nephew of the elf who was mowed down while getting a bead on our paper boy Greg.

This being the mid-1990s, Gerber's tale is as chaotic as Marvel itself was during those years, so I'll leave it to you to sift through the full story. You might as well know beforehand, though, that this new elf's story is left unresolved--which you'll probably agree is par for the course.

Destination: Atlantis!

 

Having told the story of the demise of the surface continent of Atlantis as part of a brief feature appearing in the Sub-Mariner book during 1973, writer Steve Gerber and artist Jim Mooney never revisited the series until nearly a year later when both were bringing their talents to Marvel Spotlight and its then-resident character, Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. Yet rather than continuing where they left off, they instead decided to include the city of Atlantis as part of an investigation which Hellstrom was conducting (along with para-psychologist Dr. Katherine Reynolds and divinity student Byron Hyatt) into a gathering of cultists that watched in surprise as the flame from Hellstrom's trident inadvertently triggered the creation of a mammoth, flaming serpent, which Hellstrom recognized as the dreaded Kometes of ancient legend.

But as Hellstrom and his friends research Kometes, they come across shocking information which leads them to believe that its appearance signals that the world has twenty-four hours left before it will be fundamentally altered. And preventing that fate will involve an extraordinary journey to a cataclysm which occurred twenty-thousand years ago.

The Day Atlantis Died!

 

As the original Sub-Mariner series closed in on its final issue, writer Steve Gerber began including within the book a five-part origin tale for Atlantis itself which would not only establish the roots of the rise of Namor's own kingdom but also be a strong contender* for how the legendary surface continent of Atlantis met its end. Taking place in 1973 from June-October, the story also offers fine artwork by Howard Chaykin (who was also this project's plotter) and Joe Sinnott, though Chaykin is replaced by Jim Mooney in the last two installments. Regrettably, Tales Of Atlantis, limited to only six pages per issue, would only be able to offer a digest version of what might have been possible in a dedicated series--covering all the important aspects but with little opportunity for meaningful character development, in addition to the blink-and-you-missed-it existence of Atlantis itself, which we learn more of through Gerber's narrative than from its dwellers.

*A collection of the various mentions in Marvel stories regarding the fate of Atlantis probably rates a post of its own, but the PPC has referenced one such version, which gives a much different account of the city's destruction than Gerber's effort. As for the history of Namor's Atlantis, the story is given more in-depth treatment (heh, get it?) in a separate post in terms of the devastation it suffered during the reign of Thakorr and, later, Namor.

For instance, we're told that the ancient city of Atlantis is located on an "island continent," which one might consider to be a contradiction in terms given the size differential between a continent and an island. In the writings of Plato around 360 B.C.--the only known records of its existence--the Atlantis we know was made up of several concentric islands separated by wide moats and linked by a canal that ran to a central island where sat the capital city. In Gerber's story, Atlantis the city was the ruling seat of an empire, which implies that Atlantis the empire was more like Rome in that its reach extended to broad expanses of other lands. Otherwise, you could liken it to, say, Australia, with the jury still out as far as that country being an island or a continent but usually referred to as the latter since it has its own tectonic plate (though it extends to other islands such as Tasmania).

At any rate, the takeaway is that in this story the original Atlantis was an ancient surface empire, which we come across in its last days as a world power and the city itself besieged by two foreign armies--one of which, the Lemurians (also apparently air-breathers, like the Atlanteans), is intent on destroying the city's protective dome in order to allow its forces and a naval assault by another kingdom to breach the city itself. The waters here are muddied a bit by the Atlanteans being portrayed as blue-skinned, which Marvel later clarified was attributed to a colorist error (Petra Goldberg is the credited colorist in the issue) which wasn't discovered until the proofs of the first Tales Of Atlantis story were seen (which also clears up the discrepancy of Kull being flesh-colored, despite being born in Atlantis). At the behest of Asst. Editor Marv Wolfman, the blue coloring was retained in further installments for consistency's sake.

Atlantis is ruled by Kamuu and the Lemurian-born Zartra, who like any warriors at the time are defiant to the end. Yet a fatal miscalculation meant to destroy the invaders at a stroke seals their own doom.

Havoc Is The Headmen!

OR: "I Think We're All Bozos In This Plot"
(with apologies to the Firesign Theatre)


When you form a villain group named the Headmen, there are probably a number of ways you could read into just why its members have settled on such a name for themselves. In the case of Arthur Nagan, Jerry Morgan, Ruby (Thursday), and Harvey Schlemerman (a.k.a. Chondu the Mystic), who made their first appearance in 1975* in an extended arc of The Defenders, the reason is rather apparent for each, though you'd have to dig beneath the surface to get a sense of what they've joined together to accomplish (with the exception of Chondu, who's clearly in it for the money).

*Not quite, but we'll get to that in due time.

Both Morgan and Ruby are following Nagan's lead in achieving their ends--as does Chondu, when he's brought aboard in part to facilitate a city-wide blackout, the effects of which drive many of its residents into a mad frenzy as a distraction which allows Nagan to plunder for funds. In this early stage of their formation, Nagan's focus is still limited to conducting his ghoulish experiments (which backfired on himself), though he's already thinking down the road in terms of long-term goals.

Eventually, we'll see how Chondu would become more of a "fit" for the Headmen beyond merely having a preference for wearing a stylish turban (in a development which, hoo boy, won't exactly thrill him).

Writer Steve Gerber's handling of the Headmen would take place over a span of eighteen months--inserting them here and there as, behind the scenes, they work toward world "conquest" in a way that would employ political and economic machinations rather than the use of outright force. Naturally, the Defenders will have a few other irons in the fire in the meantime; in fact, Gerber, in his own unique style that seems to thrive on the offbeat and outrageous, will have a number of plates spinning at once during this time, consisting of a jumble of different concepts that would look almost insane on paper--while artist Sal Buscema will benefit from a sundry mix of inkers assigned to the book for the duration, which will result in some of his finest work on the series.

Appropriately, the saga begins ominously when one Defender, Nighthawk, has a run-in with the startling form of Nagan during the blackout--and when the Hulk, as well, falls victim to the city-wide madness, the other Defenders sense a threat that is only now making itself known.

"In The Jaws Of The Serpent!"

In what would be their third foray into inciting racial violence in the United States, the Sons of the Serpent, as we've already seen in the first two parts of a four-part story, have reorganized and begun launching attacks in New York City designed to stoke fear in their foreign-born and non-white victims and hopefully gain the attention of those like-minded white Americans supportive of their cause. Yet they've also drawn the attention of the dynamic Defenders (and their guest, the Avenger known as Yellowjacket), thanks to both the Valkyrie and Nighthawk having become involved with two individuals who have had exposure to the Sons' activities: Elena, a young woman forced to vacate a building in Manhattan's lower east side due to deplorable conditions ignored by her landlord, Harold Holliman... and Holliman himself, a real estate tycoon of little to no conscience who wishes to build a high-rise on the site and has courted fellow tycoon Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk) as a potential investor. Richmond never warmed up to Holliman or his proposal, his instincts toward the man having apparently been justified when Holliman is blamed (albeit cleared) in the firebombing which later destroyed Elena's building and resulted in loss of life, but whose name is later floated as the possible power behind the Sons of the Serpent.

As for the Defenders, they have been identified by the Sons as traitors to their race and captured, to soon face public execution. And now, apparently helpless, they're forced to listen as the Sons proudly explain their role in the purging of their country of those they consider impure--an explanation that includes their justification for mass murder.

It's a scenario that carries apocalyptic overtones, if only domestically--a plan that would require widespread outreach and public support for the Sons' goals to reach fruition, which bespeaks a level of sophistication and resources that would indicate the Sons have already marshaled considerable support and swelled their ranks from all corners of the country. Can the Defenders hope to stop such an organized and committed group, even if they somehow succeed in shutting them down locally? For that matter, can they escape their fate at present?

Well, we did say that they were apparently helpless...

The Fangs Of The Racist

"As the first serpent drove Adam and Eve from Eden, so shall we drive from this land the unfit, the foreign-born, the inferior."

At first glance, the credo of the Sons of the Serpent might seem counter-productive to their goal of purging non-white, non-indigenous persons and ethnic groups from America; after all, even people of like mind might think twice about siding with an organization which appears to take pride in the means by which two white people were driven from paradise forever. But the group we're talking about has little to do with logic, or reason--or, it perhaps goes without saying, humanity.

Looking back at the appearances of the Sons of the Serpent and those who have opposed them, it might be difficult to see even a clearly racist organization such as themselves drawing the involvement of a super-team such as the Avengers, who have gone up against them twice; were it not for the fact that the Sons adopted flamboyant, menacing costumes and had a S.H.I.E.L.D. dossier, they might have been a group better suited to the F.B.I. to investigate and build a case against.  And if the involvement of costumed heroes somehow were warranted, individuals such as Daredevil and/or the Black Panther could be dealt in to make for an intriguing and perhaps even more gripping story than a cry of "Avengers Assemble!" might provide.

That said, it's been surprising how writers Stan Lee and Roy Thomas were able to craft Avengers tales which directly involved the Sons and spanned more than one issue. Both stories were a means to an end, in that each came down to a figurehead that could be unveiled and toppled and thus be quickly and neatly wrapped up--though frankly the Sons' cause wasn't helped by adopting a snake motif and having their organization fronted by their spokesperson, the "Serpent Supreme," thus conveying the impression that it was his agenda that he sought support for rather than pushing a message to reflect that the Sons as a whole were tapping into the pulse of all Americans.  Instead, the Sons crafted a deception within a deception, which could only make their organization appear even more insidious.

Yet would the Avengers have been as effective against an organization that wasn't so blatant in its operations? We've seen how the team became split right down the middle when it came to choosing between tracking down the movements of the criminal cartel, Zodiac, vs. helping a Native American seeking justice against a white, ruthless businessman trying to force his people to vacate their lands. Would the team have even turned their attention to the Sons if that group's activities didn't involve one of their own, as was the case in each of their dealings with that group as well as with Red Wolf? With the exception of giving assistance to the Panther... er, the Leopard following his disappearance in Rudyarda, a white supremacist stronghold, the Fantastic Four's adventures seldom pivoted to stories on race--preferring to make their statement on the subject by analogy (e.g., the Monster of the Lost Lagoon, the Mole Man, Omega, et al.)--the X-Men taking a similar tack with their focus on the persecution of and bigotry against mutants.

You would think, then, that the non-team known as the Defenders would have even less reason to cross paths with the Sons, since the amount of interaction and exposure involved would represent a sharp turn toward the very things they seek to avoid: television cameras... news coverage... large crowds... to say nothing of the paper trail of culpability leading back to one Defender in particular (though we'll get to that in due time). Yet writer Steve Gerber manages to craft a well-structured and at times riveting four-part story* which makes folding the Defenders into the Sons' race war believable--all the more so since it will lead to the involvement of not just one but two of their members on a personal level.

*It seemed negligent not to emphasize that; one can grow very fatigued with that much Sons of the Serpent exposure if the material isn't handled carefully.

The first of those we come to immediately--the Valkyrie, who responds to a terrified cry and is witness to a sight more horrific than any she has beheld in the company of her comrades.

Once More Rises... Atlantis!

As the Sub-Mariner title in late 1973 began what seemed a steadfast march toward cancellation, writer Steve Gerber made a few changes designed to breathe new life into the book and turn around its flagging sales. That decision would translate to a world of grief for Namor, as well as for Atlantis, both of which had seen more than their share of conflict and setbacks already--only this time, what Gerber had in mind would combine their two fates by making Namor the catalyst for what would befall his kingdom. It was an unfortunate time to be an Atlantean, as well as the Sub-Mariner.

Namor's woes began when two powerful enemies, Orka and the She-Beast, joined forces to subdue him by first bringing Atlantis to near-ruin and then going on to eliminate its ruler. And when you have control over a herd of killer whales and have backed your victim against a coral reef, you'd have every reason to feel confident that victory is at hand. But Namor decides on a desperate plan of escape--one that will end up costing him in the long run.

Washed ashore and near death from his exposure to the gas, Namor is retrieved by the Inhuman, Triton, and brought to the Fantastic Four--but upon regaining consciousness, he learns that his collision with the nerve gas cannisters has indeed taken its toll on him.

Meanwhile, Orka and the She-Beast enter Atlantis (or what's left of it) in triumph. But the force of Namor's impact with the surface ship carrying the gas cannisters has caused their contents to spread--and Atlantis, and nearly all within, end up in its path.

At the Baxter Building, Reed Richards has devised a special suit that will allow Namor to remain alive when he's out of contact with water. Yet when he returns to Atlantis, he finds that everything that made his life worth living has been decimated.

However, when Namor is found by his young cousin, Namorita, who arrives with the group of amphibious humans he rescued earlier from a power-mad villain, he discovers that hope yet remains for his subjects.

After relocating to the surface facility where Croft and his fellows were transformed to amphibians, a further step is discussed which is intended to preserve the Atlanteans while the cure for their condition is being researched.

That leads to a conflict with the villain known as Force, who has other ideas for the invention that Namor needs for his people. Eventually, however, Namor prevails, and his kingdom soon lies protected beneath the depths.

By this time, however, Sub-Mariner has shifted to bi-monthly publication, which unfortunately is a fair indication that the writing is on the wall for the mag. That indeed turns out to be the case, as, three issues later, the title folds, leaving the fate of Atlantis and its population in limbo.

Which is our cue to unfold yet another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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When and how did the resurrection of the Atlanteans take place?