Essential Avengers volume 6

Essential Avengers volume 6 contains issues #120 to #140 and Giant-Size Avengers #1 to #4, plus Captain Marvel #33 and Fantastic Four #150. This includes the full contents of Avengers #136, which reprints Amazing Adventures #12. Almost all the regular and Giant-Size Avengers issues are written by Steve Englehart, apart from one regular and one Giant-Size that are scripted by Roy Thomas who fully writes another Giant-Size. The art sees runs by Bob Brown, Sal Buscema and George Tuska with other issues by John Buscema. The Giant-Sizes are drawn by Rich Buckler, Dave Cockrum and Don Heck. The reprinted Amazing Adventures issue is written by Englehart and drawn by Tom Sutton. The Captain Marvel issue is plotted and pencilled by Jim Starlin and scripted by Englehart whilst the Fantastic Four issue is written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Buckler. And with so many creators there's a separate post for the labels.

This volume has one of the best starting and end points, neatly capturing one of the most significant periods in not just Avengers history but in the wider Marvel universe. Here we see the links between titles getting ever stronger as we get not only crossovers with Captain Marvel and Fantastic Four but also see brief overspills from titles as diverse as Captain America and the Falcon and Doctor Strange. Furthermore there's a much greater use of Marvel history than ever before, with a willingness to tie together disperse plot points and explain everything from the abandoned city in the Blue Area of the Moon through to the presence of Captain America in the post war All-Winners Squad.

On some occasions this can get a little too much though, to the point that characters wind up being tied together perhaps more than is necessary. A case in point comes in Giant-Size Avengers #1, which is the nearest thing to an annual by a different writer in this volume. Here we get a tale that reveals the parents of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to have been Miss America and the Whizzer from the Golden Age comics, with the place of birth none other than the High Evolutionary's Mount Wundagore with one of his evolutions, Bova the cow, serving as the midwife. Was it really necessary to establish this parentage? Neither of the parents had been hitherto seen in the Silver Age outside of reprints (helpfully the footnotes referencing past adventures include the reprints as well as the original issues), let alone had any prior history with the two and there's no particular reason why the most prominent speedsters have to be related to each other, especially as one is a mutant and the other got his powers from a mongoose. Nor does it really add much to the story itself which is mainly focused on the Whizzer's attempts to contain the threat of his other mutated child, Nuklo, along with one of the first attempts to sort out the immediate post war Captain America adventures by establishing yet another replacement after the original was missing in action.

And this isn't the only time one of the heroes is connected to the Golden Age. After many years of brief hints, we now get the revelation that the Vision is the original Human Torch rebuilt and with his memories and personality mostly erased. Does this make the Vision a reincarnation of the Torch or is he in some way a being like Frankenstein's Monster, literally constructed out of the dead body of another? It's one of those concepts that doesn't bear thinking about. Overall it seems from the hints that are referenced here that this had been the plan for several years if not since the beginning, not least because Roy Thomas is just still the editor, and scripting the revelation issue, and he had created the Vision and written most of the hints. And of course he's long been the biggest champion of reusing the Golden Age characters. Now it can be reasonably argued that the original Human Torch has been surplus to requirements ever since the introduction of the Fantastic Four's Human Torch. But this had already been dealt with in a Fantastic Four annual in which the original was briefly revived only to die for good. There is simply no need to tack on an unremembered past to a character who is only similar to the original Torch in that they are both androids. Once again it feels like retconning for the sake of it and it doesn't add much to the character.

Also adding little is the crossover with Captain Marvel - indeed such is the detached nature of the issue in which the Avengers take on Thanos's space army that it isn't even included in Essential Captain Marvel volume 2. The Captain Marvel issue included here is the climax to the whole saga but the Avengers aren't too prominent in it and the issue could quite easily have been left out. By contrast the crossover with  Fantastic Four is a much stronger combination, featuring the wedding of the one-time Fantastic Four member Crystal to the ex-Avenger Quicksilver, complete with an attack by Ultron and other chaos with the Inhumans. It also shows up Quicksilver as a complete hypocrite when he rejects his sister's attempts at reconciliation due to his hostility to her relationship with an android, yet he is about to marry an Inhuman. Truly bigotry is never consistent.

But the biggest draw of this volume is one of the best known Avengers epics of all time, the Celestial Madonna Saga. The build-up is slow but adds revelations as it goes, starting off with the latest encounter with the Zodiac cartel as it suffers an internal division. The real shock comes with the discovery that Libra is Mantis's father and her history is very different from what she previously knew. But it also sets off the Swordsman's own story arc as he charges off in a fit of rage to take vengeance on Mantis's wicked uncle for the death of her mother and the blinding of her father. Instead he winds up captured and revealing the location of the Priests of Parma who raised her, with the result the crimelord uncle slays them. This unleashes the monstrous Star Stalker and adds to the revelations as we learn of the Priests' connections to the alien Kree. There's an extended interlude involving both crossovers plus an encounter with Klaw and Solarr, with the Black Panther departing for his kingdom. Meanwhile the Scarlet Witch gets a power boost as Agatha Harkness starts to teach her magic to control her hex spheres, but in the process they encounter the demon Necrodamus.

Throughout all this there's a strong emphasis on character development as the Avengers explore themselves and their feelings for one another. Mantis is steadily turning away from the Swordsman and towards the Vision, to the Scarlet Witch's outrage. The Vision is slowly learning what his true feelings are. The Swordsman is feeling ever more inadequate, with his attempt to win back Mantis's heart ending in disaster and then he is deemed too insignificant to bother kidnapping. Captain America is also suffering a crisis of faith due to events over in his own series and the Watergate scandal; this leads him to drop aside from the Avengers for the time being. When Hawkeye returns to the team he finds it a very different affair from the one he left.

The main part of the storyline comes with the assault by Kang the Conqueror, seeking the legendary Celestial Madonna who will mate with "the most powerful man on Earth", with the intention of fulfilling that role and using the prophesised child to rule the heavens. The religious subtext is far from subtle but there's also plenty of strong adventure themes with the Avengers aided by the Egyptian pharaoh Rama Tut, now a future version of Kang who has grown weary of conquest and returned to his former identity and realm. Later in the storyline we get the addition of Immortus, now established as an even more future version of Kang and Rama Tut, making for an interesting conflict between a man's own self. The Avengers are put through a series of deadly challenges and not everyone makes it out alive, with the Swordsman dying to save Mantis whilst Iron Man and the Vision only survive thanks to being restored through the strange powers of Immortus.

The tale also takes advantage of the Giant-Size issues in order to fill out the story with three extra long chapters. When collected in a single volume the whole thing works, but readers of the original series may not have been able to find the Giant-Sizes so easily, whilst some of the digital releases of the series have omitted them, leaving great chunks out of the story. Still here they are available in the right place.

Another seeming interlude comes as the Swordsman's funeral is interrupted by the Titanic Three, a group commissioned by the Vietnamese government consisting of the Titanium Man, the Radioactive Man and the Crimson Dynamo as government enforcers. But the situation is complicated by the Slasher, a forgettable costumed jewel thief. Meanwhile Kang has used Immortus's equipment to create another group, the Legion of the Unliving, made up of deceased heroes and villains lifted from just before their apparent deaths. It's an oddball collection including the original Human Torch, Wonder Man and Baron Zemo, all of whom have connections to the Avengers even if they don't yet know it, but also Frankenstein's Monster, the martial artist Midnight (from Master of Kung Fu) and the Ghost aka the Flying Dutchman from the original Silver Surfer series. This motley crew prove a fierce challenge in the maze beneath Immortus's castle and once again it seems some Avengers won't get out alive.

The last parts of the saga feel a bit bitty as seemingly endless issues are devoted to the Vision observing the past history of the original Human Torch from creation through to Ultron's reconstruction of the body and personality whilst Mantis and the other Avengers are shown the history of the Kree's pacifist faction and the telepathic plant lifeform the Cotati. Adding to the drama is the revelation that Moondragon was an alternate candidate for the role of Celestial Madonna, to her annoyance. During all this the Scarlet Witch continues her training in magic but draws the attention of Dormammu. The finale comes as the Vision saves the Scarlet Witch and proposes to her, with a joint wedding alongside Mantis's. Mantis is finally made an Avenger just in time for she and her husband to be transformed to energy to carry out their purpose.

The last handful of issues are inevitably a bit of an anti-climax. Issue #136 is a reprint of the Beast's battle with Iron Man from the former's strip in Amazing Adventures but it does at least serve to introduce the character who, alongside Moondragon, becomes the latest applicants to join the team. A conflict with the Toad, impersonating the Stranger, proves a good baptism of fire followed by an attack by Whirlwind but returning members the Wasp and Yellowjacket each suffer in the course of these battles and some of the rest of the team has to desperately seek a cure. Meanwhile the team's search to fill out its vacancies proves less successful when contacting most old members, leading to Hawkeye going exploring in time to find the Black Knight but the storyline is not completed here.

Overall this is one of the best Essential Avengers volumes. It may at times show its age and it also suffers a little from an over-obsession with tying every aspect of the Golden Age into the modern Marvel universe, but it also shows some strong character work and thoughtful situations. The Celestial Madonna saga may drag a little at times but it nevertheless holds up well as one of the strongest epics yet seen in the series and it's easy to see why the story has been returned to on so many occasions. All in all this volume is a triumph.

Essential Captain Marvel volume 2

Essential Captain Marvel volume 1 contains issues #22-46 of the original Captain Marvel series plus Iron Man #55 and Marvel Feature #12. Issue #36 is a reprint with a framing sequence that is included here. The Iron Man issue is a prologue to a storyline in the main series whilst the Marvel Feature issue ties in with that and is also part of the try-out for Marvel Two-in-One. Bonus material includes a map of Titan from issue #27 plus the covers, pin-ups and extra pages from the reprint series The Life of Captain Marvel. The writing on the main series is primarily by Mike Friedrich, Jim Starlin and Steve Englehart either solo or in various combinations with Al Milgrom co-plotting some issues and a few by Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman and Chris Claremont. The art is mainly by Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom and Wayne Boring with an individual issue by Alfredo Alcala. Friedrich and Starlin also co-produce both the Iron Man and Marvel Feature issues.

Although the numbering begun in 1968 is continued, this volume represents the third attempt to launch an ongoing Captain Marvel title in less than five years. Once again this perseverance is almost certainly down to a desire to maintain the trademark at a time when DC had obtained the licence for the Fawcett Captain Marvel and would soon relaunch him on the world in his own title. US trademark law is big on the "use it or lose it" principle so Marvel Comics couldn't just rely on a registration but had to actively use the mark "Captain Marvel" in order to prevent others using it. This shows in the first few issues as we get a fairly generic superhero series with the only real twist being Rick Jones increasingly resenting sharing his physical space with Mar-Vell and resisting transformation no matter how dire the situation. The villains consist of Megaton the Nuclear Man and Dr Mynde, both men affected by radiation. Megaton has mutated into a solid form but is set to explode whilst Mynde is an ambitious scientist whose body succumbed to radiation poisoned so he transplanted his head onto a robotic body. Neither foe is terribly exciting and both die at the end of their first encounter. There's yet another change to Captain Marvel's set-up as his powers are altered so he is now reliant on solar energy for his powers and is noticeably weaker at night. A supporting cast is grown in the form of musician Lou-Anne Savannah and her uncle scientist Benjamin but all in all this is a series still searching for a purpose beyond trademark protection.

On first encounter Iron Man #55 seems an odd choice for inclusion as it doesn't feature Captain Marvel or any of the characters from his series. Instead we get the introduction of a new villain and his opponent. But that villain is Thanos and the opponent Drax the Destroyer, with the issue serving as a prologue to the best known storyline in this volume. Over no less than nine issues, with bimonthly publication making it last eighteen months, we get an extended tale of Captain Marvel's battle with Thanos, establish the Titan as one of the mega-villains of the Marvel universe. The epic spread beyond the pages of Captain Marvel itself, with Iron Man teaming up with the Thing to battle Thanos's minions the Blood Brothers in Marvel Feature #12, Moondragon being aided by Daredevil and the Black Widow in their own series and the Avengers taking on Thanos's armed forces in their series. Only the Marvel Feature issue is included but it isn't very critical to the ongoing plot and doesn't justify its presence here whilst other tie-in issues are ignored. I suspect the reason is that this inclusion/exclusion pattern appears to have been followed by all the reprints of the storyline going right back to the mid 1980s series The Life of Captain Marvel.

This storyline presents with a truly cosmic epic with a well developed backstory and characters. Over the course of these issues Captain Marvel battles first with Thanos's recruits such as the Super Skrull and the Controller, before eventually taking on the Titan himself. We get a broad scope reminiscent of Greek epics as we learn the history of the civilisation on Titan from its founding by A'Lars, brother of Zeus, under the name of Mentor, through to Thanos's rise, recruitment of an army and conquest of the moon and then sweeping outwards. We learn of how steps have been taken to stop them but they are not enough. And we see the effects as Thanos turns his attention to Earth in pursuit of the Cosmic Cube to further his ends. The Cube offers immense power but its ramifications aren't explored too much beyond a notable 35 panel page in which Drax is subjected to a reality warping experience. Captain Marvel steadily steps up to the point where his heroism allows him to triumph.

We get many new characters who have gone on to perform significant roles through the Marvel Universe and beyond into the films. There's Thanos himself, his brother Eros (later to use the alias "Starfox"), their father Mentor, Isaac the super-computer and Drax the Destroyer. Each is carefully sketched out as a distinctive being who advances the story in their own way. And there are the more cosmic entities. The mighty Kronos is introduced though like Eros he bears limited resemblance to the character from Greek mythology. From afar he has created Drax the Destroyer out of Moondragon's dead father. Even more mysterious is Eon, a blob that appears to be a hybrid of two separate entities and which summons Mar-Vell to transform him from soldier to cosmic protector. And then there's Death, a silent skeletal female figure in a robe who appears at Thanos's side. There are some status quo changes as well, with Benjamin Savannah killed off at the start but more substantial is Mar-Vell's transformation under the guidance of Eon. Now an even more powerful cosmic being with "cosmic awareness" of what is happening in the universe he bursts forward with a new light stream tail of photon energy. Unfortunately the other main visual change is his hair turning from silver to blond, a change that is impossible to notice in a black and white reprint. And it's my main irritation with an otherwise fantastic storyline that we get yet another change in the main character's powers. It seems it may be impossible for any intellectual property protection to resist constant tinkering.

Issue #34 is probably the best known single issue in this volume, featuring Captain Marvel taking on new villain Nitro to stop him stealing an experimental nerve gas with consequences that would be returned to in later years. Nitro is a villain with an interesting power, that of being able to blow himself up and then reconstitute himself. I suspect that in the 1970s it was possible to present a living bomb as a character without the wider connotations of suicide bombers (and it still was over a decade later when one of the last of the original Masters of the Universe toys was Blast-Attak, with very much the same character basis) but nowadays it would be much more daring to create such a being.

Also a sign of the times is the drug use on the music scene. Rick's new singing partner Rachel "Dandy" Dandridge gives him a capsule that she jokingly claims contains "Vitamin C". When Rick takes it in the Negative Zone, it causes him to hallucinate and through the mind link it also affects Captain Marvel. However this affects a process whereby their minds have been converging. Rick has previously discovered the ability to control Mar-Vell's body when the latter is unconscious and the two are finding themselves ever more drawn together with the implication they may be merging. The drug taking seems to have the effect of empowering them to ultimately separate and merge at their own choosing. Again it's highly doubtful such a cause would be used today. Equally brushed over more than would be the case today is a scene where, in a brief guest appearance, the Wasp tampers with the Living Laser's equipment resulting in his weaponry killing him. Some of these ideas were clearly slipping past during one of Marvel editorial's most turbulent periods.

However out of that turbulence comes another epic as Captain Marvel battles elements of the Kree across multiple worlds, culminating in a showdown on the Kree homeworld with the Supreme Intelligence who has been manipulating things all along. During the course of the epic Mar-Vell and Rick briefly go their separate ways but reunite after Rick discovers his music act is out of touch with modern audience expectations. Both men find their powers developing thanks to the Nega bands with each learning from the other about how to use the powers in new and imaginative ways. The two are finally separated but able to reunite when needs be, allowing them to more easily travel through space and enhance their fighting skills. Towards the end their minds are on the brink of merger, resulting in a showdown to re-establish their separate egos. Against this personal conflict comes an array of adventures, ranging from confrontations on Earth with agents of the "Lunatic Legion" such as Nitro and the Living Laser to a showdown on the Moon with the Legion revealed as blue Kree racists led by old foe Zarek in search of purity. There's a trip to the Watcher's homeworld, battles with Annihilus in the Negative Zone and a more personalised conflict with a creature possessing the body of Una, Mar-Vell's former romantic interest. A more whimsical tale takes Mar-Vell and Rick to a plant very like the American Old West where they have a showdown with the Stranger - but all is not what it seems. There's a return appearance by an angry Destroyer, now angry that his purpose in life has been destroyed by Captain Marvel. Then there's a world with a war between cyborgs and giant Kree robots called Null-trons, before the climax with the Supreme Intelligence. The later parts see first Rick and then Mar-Vell aided by a mysterious woman known only as Fawn, a manifestation of Rick's mental powers. This is a story with a big vision and scope, providing one of the earliest intergalactic Marvel epics, but it's also a quite personal tale about the relationship between Mar-Vell and Rick, showing how intertwined the two are and how each benefits the other.

Overall this volume shows some of the telltale signs of the character's origin as a trademark protection, with continuing changes to the powers and status quo, but by the second half of the volume it feels like actual character development rather than an endless search to find something that will work to keep the trademark in use. But beyond that there's finally a clear long-term idea as to what this series is about and it survives a change of writer. Rather than an alien operating amongst humans or a detached observer of humanity we get a strong series on a cosmic scale, with a mixture of menaces that threaten the whole universe and those that focus upon Marvel himself. The Thanos epic is the peak of the volume, even with the needless inclusion of the Marvel Feature issue, and shows a self-confidence that had been lacking for years. After that there are some questionable moments where the series shows its age with accidental killing of villains without consequences, drug taking and suicide bombers all being elements that would be unlikely to appear today. Whilst the second epic may ramble a little overall it still has breadth and imagination, putting the characters through a critical personal journey. The result is a series finally on the up and more than justifying its existence to its readers rather than just intellectual property lawyers. This volume is definitely the series at its highest so far.

Essential Hulk volume 3

The Hulk reviews have been especially popular so all this month I'll be looking at further volumes.

Essential Hulk volume 3 consists of the Incredible Hulk #118-142 plus Captain Marvel #20-21 and Avengers #88. The first couple of issues are written by Stan Lee who gives way to Roy Thomas who writes everything else in the volume, with Harlan Ellison plotting the Avengers crossover. All the Incredible Hulk issues are drawn by Herb Trimpe, with the Captain Marvel issues by Gil Kane and the Avengers issue by Sal Buscema.

Of all the Essential Hulk volumes reviewed so far, this one does the best job of taking what can be a highly restrictive format and finding ways to make it work. We have the basic traditional theme of Bruce Banner wandering the country and world, changing into the Hulk when stressed, and pursued by the military but there's a good diverse mix of story types, augmented by more nuanced characterisation, particularly of Thunderbolt Ross. There are also some interesting attempts to expand the Hulk's universe with some key first appearances. And there's a concerted approach as Bruce Banner makes numerous attempts to cure himself of the Hulk once and for all with mixed results.

In the process we get brief glimpses of many of the combinations of mind and body that would appear over the years. As well as the standard Bruce/savage Hulk combination we also get a period when Bruce's mind and body have been totally suppressed by the Hulk leaving just the beastly form. Then there's a brief point when the reverse happens and Bruce has seemingly conquered the Hulk for good, though it doesn't last for long. Indeed at one point it seems that Bruce willingly reverses a cure out of desperation at seemingly losing Betty Ross to a rival, though the exact moment of restoration isn't shown leaving it open to speculation Bruce gains control of the Hulk's body at times, most notably in Jarella's world. And there's even one story when Bruce and the Hulk are separated, though it soon becomes clear they can't survive independently for long. The only obvious absentee from this line-up is the Hulk's mind in Bruce's body but the reasonably fast pace of these tales means that this is only noticeable when tallying up the various incarnations.

Just as diverse are the locations in the series, with the Hulk turning up in multiple places across the world and even elsewhere in time and space. As well as many part of the United States, from the south western deserts to California to New York and Florida, we also see Atlantis, the kingdom of Namor, Subterranea, the underground realm of Tyrannus and the Mole Man, Morvania, a poverty stricken Mediterranean country run by a dictatorship (it makes a change from some in Latin America), outer space to tackle a comet and later to battle an energy creature, inner space where the Hulk enters the sub-atomic world of Jarella, the Dark Dimension, and the Western Front of the First World War. It makes for a good mixture of adventures that put the Hulk into many different situations and show just how diverse and flexible the character can be in the right hands. This creativity can also be seen elsewhere in these issues.

This rune see the introduction of a number of new foes, although many of them haven't risen to great heights of fame, including Mistress Fara, an Atlantean trying to replace Dorma in Namor's affections, the Glob, a monster created by the spillage of toxic waste in the swamps and one who predates many other swamp beasts and/or toxic origins, Mogol, an agent of Tyrannus whom the Hulk befriends before discovering he's a robot, Raoul Stoddard, a university contemporary and rival of Bruce's who now tries to seek the fame of killing the Hulk, Draxon, the dictator of Morvania, Klaatu, an energy creature in space, Xeron the Star-Slayer, an alien sent to destroy Klaatu, Cybor, the captain of Xeron's vessel, Psyklop, an insectoid scientist, Visis, a rival for Jarella's throne, Doc Samson, a psychiatrist who tries to steal the Hulk's gamma energy and also wins Betty's hand, and a new incarnation of the Valkyrie, based on feminist socialite Samantha Parrington. There are also first encounters with several foes from other series including the Absorbing Man, Hydra and Kang the Conqueror, plus return battles with the likes of the Leader, the Abomination, Tyrannus, the Sandman, the Rhino and others.

Amongst the existing supporting characters developments are somewhat mixed, with Major Glenn Talbot being much the same as ever, loyally supporting his seniors and secretly bemoaning how the prospect of curing Bruce of the Hulk will end any chance Talbot has with Betty Ross, but he never particularly acts on this. Betty gets a bit of material as at one stage she and a seemingly cured Bruce are to wed in her family home, with Bruce believing he has the Hulk under full control. However Betty winds up being effectively jilted when the intervention of the Leader and the Rhino cause the full savage Hulk to return. Later on she is subject to horror when the Sandman is seeking a cure for a crystallisation process and forces a doctor to perform a full blood transfusion with Betty which leaves her turning into glass until she is cured by the Hulk's gamma radiation. But it's the portrayal of General Thunderbolt Ross which stands out the most. There is little of the Hulk-hating caricature he can sometimes descend to and instead he's portrayed as a determined but reasonable man who seeks to deal with the threat of the Hulk with as little collateral damage as possible. He is quite civil and sincere in his dealings with Bruce, recognising the scientist is often the best hope and also has Betty's heart, and the preparations for the aborted wedding go well. Even Jim Wilson is treated reasonably, suggesting the old general is mellowing.

The aforementioned Jim Wilson is one of a couple of interesting new supporting characters introduced here. Jim is a streetwise teenager from Los Angeles living in the burned out remains of an apartment block where his parents died, and he befriends the Hulk as a fellow outsider, rapidly taking on the Rick Jones role as Rick is now busy as the alter-ego of Captain Marvel. Jim is highly resourceful, especially when it comes to sneaking through military cordons or sabotaging the Leader's mental projection equipment to turn a weapon on its user, and there's strong potential whilst his background is sufficiently different that he doesn't come across as just Rick Jones Mk 2 with black skin. Meanwhile issue #140 sees the Hulk enter a sub-atomic world where it seems he is trapped forever but he soon finds romance with the ruler of the green-skinned people Jarella. By fighting off the monsters attacking the city the Hulk is hailed as a hero and Jarella takes him as a consort. A spell to grant him the power to understand her language has the side effect of giving Bruce's mind control over the Hulk. In the space of less than an issue it seems as though Bruce has at long last found peace and tranquillity, settling in a world where he can control his monstrous form and is respected, and Jarella makes for an interesting contrast with Betty, a strong ruler in her own right. However Bruce is soon pulled back to his own sized world, and the again savage Hulk is left with memories of Jarella, little realising the sub-atomic world exists on a particle of dust on his trousers.

The Hulk is also still part of the wider Marvel universe and has many encounters with other heroes throughout his wanderings. As well as the crossover issues with Captain Marvel and the Avengers, the Hulk's own series sees him encounter Namor, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers (here consisting of the Black Panther, the Vision, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and the second Goliath), Iron Man on his own, and the Phantom Eagle. Issue #126 begins the practice of using the series to finish off storylines from other series that had been cancelled; a role later taken on by some of the team-up titles and other books. Here we get the finale of Doctor Strange's struggle with the Undying Ones and the Nameless One, with the introduction of the Nightcrawler for good measure. The story ends with Doctor Strange retiring (temporarily as it turns out), adding to the sense of closure. Though the partnership of the Hulk and Doctor Strange would prove highly important in the long run, not least because the pair would go on to be the core of the Defenders, at the time this storyline feels something of an intruder from another series. As we've seen with some other Essential reviews, the Incredible Hulk would prove a popular choice for resolving storylines from cancelled series. Meanwhile the epilogue to another partnership comes in the crossover with Captain Marvel as Rick's new ally battles the old one. The Avengers crossover is more spurious, merely serving as a means to project the Hulk into Jarella's world but not really justifying itself - any distraction could have caused the Hulk to shrink far more than expected and the Avengers are teleported away with no memory of their recent battle so it doesn't seem likely that the crossover was of much significance to that series either.

The crossover is, however, plotted by Harlan Ellison, one of the earliest cases I'm aware of where comics recruited a big name writer from outside the medium. This is also a very early example of creator promotion both Avengers #88 and Incredible Hulk #140 bill Ellison's involvement on the cover. However the former issue has the credit as "Story by Harlan Ellison (That means he conceived the plot!)" and "Adaptation by Roy Thomas (That means he wrote the dialogue!)". I doubt there was a strong need to educate readers about how the writing credits on comics are broken down so was this perhaps trying to reconcile a more traditional screen credit with the comic format or was this perhaps trying to paper over disputes that might have arisen if a big name writer had failed to write something appropriate for the series brief? I'm not aware of the circumstances of the story's creation but Ellison has had some other high profile disagreements over the years. Whatever the reasoning the result is another injection of ideas into the series. The main regular writer, Roy Thomas, also comes up with a lot of good ones and seems to have got a strong grasp on how to handle both Bruce and the Hulk to maximum effect. Stan Lee's final few regular issues come at the start of the volume but they're fairly mundane, featuring repeat clashes with Namor and Maximus. They're not the best note to go out on, but often long runs limp to the end. Meanwhile Herb Trimpe's art is amazing. This volume covers much of the first half of his lengthy run on the series and of the three volumes so far he's been easily the best artist on the series. He may be the definitive Hulk artist of all time - his main rivals' work is yet to come - and is certainly an obvious contender for such an accolade.

Given the combination of two strong talents for such an extended run, the result is that the Hulk is finally getting an extended classic run. It's often been asserted that the Hulk was never regularly interesting before Peter David came along and did things completely differently from how they'd been handled before (and that didn't start until issue #331) but in the case against that charge this volume is easily Exhibit A. The issues in this run don't have any obvious stinkers but instead display a strong level of dynamic imagination vividly brought to life. This is the classic way to do the Hulk properly.

Essential Captain Marvel volume 1

Essential Captain Marvel volume 1 contains the Captain Marvel strips from Marvel Super-Heroes #12-13 then Captain Marvel #1-21 and a bonus story from the comedy series Not Brand Echh #9. Marvel Super-Heroes was an anthology series, previously entitled Fantasy Masterpieces, which variously combined try-out new material with reprints from the Golden Age; later it would carry reprints of more recent material including a long run reprinting the Incredible Hulk. Stan Lee writes the first Marvel Super-Heroes and is then followed by Roy Thomas who writes up until issue #4 of the titled series and again from #17 and also the Not Brand Echh story. Arnold Drake and Gary Friedrich write most of the intervening issues, with one other by Archie Goodwin. Gene Colan draws as far as issue #4 and also the Not Brand Echh story, then the others are drawn by Don Heck, Dick Ayers, Frank Springer, Tom Sutton, Gil Kane and John Buscema.

Captain Marvel was not only one of the last Marvel Silver Age superhero features to get an Essential volume, but was also the last one to be created in that era. After the initial burst of creativity that produced everyone from the Fantastic Four to Daredevil, there was then a period in which the emphasis was on consolidation rather than expansion, giving pre-existing characters their own strips, and the debuts seemed to be done with. Then in 1967 came this new feature. Was he the product of a late surge of creativity that led to Stan Lee and his artists to come up with just one more character? Or did he serve some ulterior purpose?

Even without consulting wider comic histories it seems clear it was the ulterior purpose and it shows. Captain Marvel appears to be the first in a long line of Marvel characters created for the purpose of securing intellectual property rights. Often such characters get rushed into print before the idea has been thoroughly thought through, resulting in some rather confusing early years as the premise, powers and/or backstory get revised in order to work better, and eventually the character is given up with the codename transferred to a new hero, often one with no connection at all to the original. Unfortunately this pattern is all too clear with Captain Marvel. Over the course of this single volume we get a series that starts off as a tale of an alien military spy yet by the end he's become a cosmic powered hero fused with a human being. The series got its first cancellation during the course of this volume yet it was revived barely six months later as a bimonthly. The last regular issue in the volume ends with a note explaining this has been a try-out and "Now, his fate is in your hands -- you, the reader! We'll be waiting for your verdict!" But these two issues were just a try-out and the series did not continue for another two years. It's hard to disguise that the series had not been terribly successful and yet Marvel kept on trying to keep the name "Captain Marvel" on the newsstands.

The real purpose was clearly down to the "use it or lose it" requirements of trademark law that mean a company can't simply hold onto a name to prevent competitors from using it; they must regularly actively exploit the trademark. Exactly how frequently can vary, as can the precise means by which the mark is used, but one consequence is a particular code name can appear on the shelves repeatedly and for multiple characters simply because of the risk of otherwise losing it. This is why names like "Spider-Woman" have been used so many times and also why some of the various "Captain Marvel"s have no connection to each other whatsoever. The name "Captain Marvel" had been used before; first for a highly successful character published by Fawcett Comics in the 1940s & 1950s until DC brought a copyright suit, and then the name had been briefly used by M. F. Enterprises for a short-lived hero. Clearly the risk of rivals being able to publish comics with "Marvel" in the title was too great and so Marvel were clearly moving to tie up the trademark before yet another company printed a comic called "Captain Marvel". Indeed when the Marvel series was revived again in 1972 from issue #22, it came just a few months before DC revived the Fawcett Captain Marvel (since DC could hardly breach its own copyright). Had Marvel foreseen its rival's move and rushed to reinforce its mark? It just served to reinforce the pattern as a whole succession of Captain Marvels would be wheeled out over the years. (DC revived the Fawcett character but because Marvel had already got to the trademark, DC have been unable to sell their version under the logo of "Captain Marvel" - although this doesn't affect what the character is called inside the strip - leading to the use of alternatives such as "Shazam".) But in the process Marvel forget to create a particular exciting scenario and series, and eventually had to change just about everything other than the lead character's name.

The series starts by tapping into the contemporary fads of spies and space science fiction. We see Mar-Vell, a captain in the Kree armed forces, sent on a mission to Earth, though the precise details of his mission vary between revenge for earlier defeats and spying upon the world to determine the threat level. The original given mission is ridiculous for one man, even one as skilled as Mar-Vell, so it's no surprise that it gets changed early on under a different writer. However the new mission becomes equally silly because a Kree scout ship is hiding in orbit and observing Mar-Vell all the time - so why not just cut out the middle man and do the spying from orbit without the risk of arousing suspicions on Earth? A lot of the problem is that the real reason for sending Mar-Vell onto the planet is the jealousy of his superior, Colonel Yon-Rogg, for Mar-Vell's relationship with medic Una. Yon-Rogg belongs to a line of suitors who believe that simply disposing of a rival without even concealing their involvement or hatred will result in a woman falling into their arms. I don't have the real life statistics to hand to check just how many men have succeeded with this method of courting, but I suspect it's very few if that.

There's an attempt to make this a science-fiction romantic story with the regular complications of Yon-Rogg trying to get Mar-Vell either killed on his mission or executed as a traitor, but it rapidly becomes tiresome, even when an additional angle is added to the triangle in the form of human Carol Danvers (later Ms. Marvel then Binary then Warbird then Ms. Marvel again then yet another Captain Marvel - have I missed any out?). It's trying to give a sense of purpose and tragedy to the story but we don't see a great deal of Una and what we do see just doesn't make her a compelling character but instead a weeping wet blanket. It's hard to grasp just what Mar-Vell and Yon-Rogg see in her to the point that the Colonel is prepared to destroy one of his best officers in pursuit of her. The result is that the core motivation for the hatred between Mar-Vell and Yon-Rogg just doesn't convince and so we're left with an endless succession of adventures as Mar-Vell settles on Earth, assuming the guise of the dead Dr Walter Lawson, and finds himself torn between his orders and his realisation of the value of the planet. As a result he comes to the protection of humans multiple times, under the "Americanized" form of his name, Captain Marvel, and equally regularly has to justify his conduct as Yon-Rogg tries to get him prosecuted.

The idea of the noble enemy who comes to a society with orders to destroy it yet rebels when they discovers what the inhabitants are like had been done before with the Silver Surfer and no doubt with many earlier ones, but often it isn't too obvious just what they see in the society or how it is they always seem to meet the best examples. Here Mar-Vell spends most of his time around a missile base in Florida or at a nearby motel with a suspicious night clerk, interacting with a limited number of base personnel and townsfolk, and getting caught up in protecting humans from various alien incursions. At the base the main characters are the base commander General Bridges and the security chief Carol Danvers. Carol is presented as a clear potential romantic interest from the outset and we soon get the all too familiar scenario whereby she falls for the hero but is hostile to his secret identity. Eventually she and Mar-Vell share a kiss, to the delight of the watching Yon-Rogg and the horror of Una, but nothing really comes of it and Carol disappears when the series overhauls itself.

Mar-Vell battles a number of menaces ranging from a Kree sentry to the Super Skrull. The latter is, I think, the first time a Kree and a Skrull had faced off in a Marvel comic though we learn they've been enemies for centuries. Other existing Marvel foes include Quasimodo the living computer. There are new threats such as the Metazoid, a mutated being created by the Communists, or Solam, a solar energy creature drawn to Earth by accident, the Aakons, another alien race, the Organization, a criminal outfit, the Cybrex, a robot built by the real Walter Lawson, the Man-Slayer, a robot created by Communists and the Puppet Master (in a crossover with the Avengers and th Sub-Mariner, however only the Captain Marvel issue is included here). There are also the inevitable clashes with other heroes such as Namor the Sub-Mariner, Iron Man and, later on, the Hulk, though the Captain America depicted on the volume's cover (reused from issue #17) is in fact an illusion generated by Mar-Vell to draw Rick Jones in.

From issue #11 onwards the series starts to transform itself into something different and steadily ditches a lot of the baggage. Una is casually killed off by a stray shot in battle with the Aakons, and Mar-Vell boards a rocket which gets thrown into deep space where he meets an all-powerful being who gives him enhanced powers, including flight, casting illusions and teleportation. Subsequently we learn that Mar-Vell has long been manipulate by the Kree ministers Ronan the Accuser and Zarek as part of a planned coup against the Supreme Intelligence. Zarek is motivated by concerns about the Kree racial stock but fortunately for a black and white reprint this is about the only moment that touches upon the racial tensions within the Kree Empire whereby blue-skinned Kree have come to see themselves as the original pure stock and are hostile towards pink-skinned Kree such as Mar-Vell, seeing them as the result of mixing with lesser races. As a reward the Supreme Intelligence gives Mar-Vell yet further powers and a new costume, his most familiar one, but the hero is now cut off from the Kree. He is soon trapped in the Negative Zone and the only escape, however temporary, is through bonding with another being and regularly trading places with them. And so Rick Jones is lured into a cave in the desert.

When introduced in issue #17, Rick Jones seems several years younger than he's normally portrayed, looking almost like a child. Was this just an error by Gil Kane or was it a deliberate homage to Billy Batson, the original Fawcett Captain Marvel? There are other elements to his introduction that feel like a retread of how Billy was introduced to Shazam, and indeed in the pre-Crisis Fawcett & DC stories Captain Marvel and Billy were treated as separate personalities. But whatever the motivation, the result is that Captain Marvel now shares his existence with a mortal. After a final tidy-up with a showdown in which Yon-Rogg is killed and Carol saved, the series now embarks fully in its new direction.

However the last few issues are just strange. In one Rick finds himself caught up in a strange sociological experiment run by a scientist who uses a luxury block of flats as a giant laboratory. Then in the revived try-out Mar-Vell clashes with both the Hulk and the Rat Pack, a bunch of hi-tech looters. By the end of the series everything has changed beyond recognition and it's no longer clear at all just what it's all about.

Captain Marvel is a series that's quite well drawn and the individual issues flow quickly without any obvious stinkers. But the overall direction of the series is a total mess and the result is a rather meandering flow. The Not Brand Echh story included here plays on the fact that "Captain Marvin" can't remember what his mission is. Whether by accident or design it winds up parodying the series in more ways than one as it really doesn't know what its purpose is for. This was one of the earliest series whose sole reason for existing was legal rather than creative and its artificialness is all too easy to see.