Avengers 300 - Inferno

Kang manipulates the Avengers into reforming.

Avengers #300

First story: Inferno²
Writing: Walter Simonson
Layouting: John Buscema
Finishing: Tom Palmer
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Coloring: Becton & Siry
Editing: Mark Gruenwald
Editing in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Kang of Earth 123488.23497 is caught on a time bubble and sees the demonic invasion which he realises will alter the timelines and cause him to cease to exist. Thus he sees the importance of bringing the Avengers together again to deal with the demons and then in the future enter the time bubble as is their destiny. He timejumps into New York in the present day and starts fading out of existence. Meanwhile Mr Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, Captain America and the Forgotten One manage to free Franklin from the hold of Nanny by threatening her other helper, Orphan Maker. Nanny escapes and the Forgotten One adopts the name "Gilgamesh" that he was known by during one of his many long adventures wandering the Earth. Franklin is still trapped in the armour Nanny put him in when one of N'astirh's demons identifies him as a source of power and his master realises the boy could be useful. N'astirh captures the boy and takes him to his lair. The four heroes pursue but cannot easily trace him so as Kang finally fades away he activates the Growing Man to bring the heroes together to reform the Avengers. The heroes discover Thor returning to New York and then a disguised Growing Man gets them to pursue him to N'astirh's lair at the World Trade Center. There they fight off the demons and rescue Franklin when the portal closes up. They then see off the Growing Man, with Reed managing to reverse his power so he shrinks every time he is hit. With the demons gone the five heroes take Franklin home to the Richards' house where they agree to reform the Avengers.

And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, they became The Avengers!

So runs the traditional introduction to the series. For a 25th anniversary 300th issue spectacular in the midst of Marvel's biggest crossover event to that time what could be more appropriate than the re-formation of the team to battle the menace? The arrangement is so obvious and all the pieces are in place but there's a flaw. Inferno is ultimately an X-Men event. It originated in that family of titles and will ultimately be resolved there. Other series tackle events on the periphery and the impact of the changes on their own world of characters but they aren't able to take on and defeat the main demons. At most they can deal with a back-up plan if that. So there's a clear limit here and awkward ways to resolve it.

Adding to the complications is the amount of time the events of Inferno take. When read all together the impression given is that this issue takes place over an inordinate amount of time from before N'astirh absorbed the techno organic transmode virus through to the end of the demonic invasion. That suggests the new Avengers took forever in rescuing Franklin and by the time they did so the wider threat had been averted. This was a way of explaining why they didn't make it to the main action but it also makes their rescue efforts looking exceedingly slow.

As a result it's a very small scale affair that brings them together - the kidnapping of a single child. Even more astoundingly the protection of Franklin is not the reason why Reed and Sue agree to join the team even though spending more time with their son was the reason they left the Fantastic Four. Thus rather than coming together to deal with some great emergency the Avengers are re-formed from such a small affair.

To add to the disappointment there had already been a great world-threatening emergency that a team of Avengers had formed to defeat. Avengers Annual #17 had featured a team of reservists and associates pulled together to save the world. Might that not have worked better as the story of the Avengers' re-formation? It also has a more interesting line-up. Although it's clear that the Hulk and the Beast would not have been available for the long term because of other series, the other five Avengers provide a wide mix of powers, skills and history with the team that would have made for a good ongoing line-up. Here the new team presents its own problems.

Captain America is fine. He's the quintessential Avenger and with Steve about to formally reclaim the role having him at the forefront of the team would only enhance the character. But the rest all pose problems, not least because of duplication. There are two traditional leaders. There are two mythological strong men. Duplication and conflict is built in without obvious resolution. To be blunt it feels ridiculous that half the traditional line-up of the Fantastic Four would become regular members of another superhero team. It undermines their reasons for leaving their own team and Mr Fantastic especially is just not an easily transferable hero or someone who can easily take orders from another. It's also awkward to have two strong men from mythology on the team at the same time. In general Hercules's regular membership of the team has been in periods when Thor is absent so there isn't the precedent that one might expect. It also brings up the complication that whereas Thor is presented as the character from mythology straight, the Eternals are presented as different beings who inspired the stories told about them (a point that it's not too clear the script understands when the Forgotten One recalls his friendship with Enkidu or knowing the flying horse Pegasus) which is part of the wider problem of the Eternals never really being meant to be part of the mainstream Marvel continuity. Overall this is a team that cannot really work for the long-term.

Or indeed the short-term. The letters page announces Simonson's departure from the title which he since said was in part because of editorial orders to return Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman to Fantastic Four. So we get an awkward team put together by a writer who won't be around the direct it. Looking back it's now clear that Avengers was now into a rut that lasted for nearly sixty issues between the departure of Roger Stern and the full-time arrival of Bob Harras with a lot of writer turnover and fill-ins combined with a massively unstable membership as new writers and/or editors kept inheriting a line-up they weren't happy with and making more changes. Simonson's whole run has been one massive deconstruction and reassembling of the team so it's a pity it all came to very little.

As a result this is a disappointing main story. It's trying to do something spectacular but constrained by the circumstances of the wider crossover and ultimately presents a small scale adventure that brings together an unworkable version of the team. The Avengers really needed their own crossover to star in but that would come another time.

(P.S. The appearance by Kang here is its own source of confusion so here's an attempt to sort it all out. Back in Avengers #267-269 Kang had encountered a small council of his counterparts from across alternate timelines and also his future incarnation Immortus. At the end of the story he appeared to be the sole surviving Kang. Issue #291 onwards featured what appeared to be the same Kang who was stated as being from the timeline designated "Earth 123488.23497" which it transpired was the regular Marvel Universe - this was before all that "Earth 616" stuff had taken off. This Kang, who took the unique name "Fred", joined the Council of Cross-Time Kangs made up of far more counterparts and others who had bested them and taken on their identity and discovered a plot by a female Kang called Nebula who was portrayed very differently from the existing Avengers villain Nebula. "Fred" Kang and two other Kangs set off to prevent Nebula's plans which tore the Avengers to pieces but in the process the three Kangs fell onto a time bubble.

The implication in the Fall of the Avengers is that "Fred" Kang is the regular Kang and there's nothing here to contradict this. However over in Fantastic Four #323 the Kang there explicitly declares that the one in Avengers is not him and it seems the real Kang has stood apart from the Council. And to add to the complications an earlier Fantastic Four story had established Kang as coming from a parallel universe that had been visited by a dimension hopping Nathaniel Richards (Reed's father) who became Kang's ancestor which makes it hard for there to be a Kang from the regular Marvel timeline. The result is a confusing mess with two different Kangs who both have a claim to be the "real" one. I lose track of just how many times Handbooks, history sagas and flashback issues have tried to untangle this one, often with different answers. But it doesn't actually affect Avengers #300 itself.)


Second story: The Coming of the Accursed Avengers!
Storytellers: Ralph Macchio and Walt Simonson
Letters: John E. Workman Jr
Colors: Gregory Wright
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

Loki makes his annual pilgrimage to the Isle of Silence and recounts how he inadvertently created the Avengers as part of a plan to get revenge on Thor by framing the Hulk and arranging for the thunder god to receive a call for help, only for other heroes to receive it as well. Thor came to the island and subdued his brother then took him to Earth where Iron Man, the Wasp and Ant Man had found the Hulk. Loki was defeated and the five formed the Avengers. Ever since this has horrified Loki.

This is a retelling of the team's origin with the unusual perspective of the villain who caused it all to happen. It's fast paced and by focusing on Loki it manages to avoid some of the odder moments such as the Hulk disguising himself as a robotic clown in a circus. But it can't disguise the sheer awkwardness of his original plan to lure Thor to the Isle. Why did he need to go through an elaborate charade to frame the Hulk when he could have simply sent an illusion to pester Thor in his Donald Blake form and lure him in that way?

As is now known Avengers was a rush commission when the first issue of Daredevil was delayed and part of the way to get a replacement book together in a hurry was to use existing characters including the villain who would not need to be designed anew. Unfortunately the plot was also rushed and it showed. But was there anything that could be done after the event? Marvel has gone through phases of different attitudes to its continuity. There have been times when they've done major revamps with retellings of the early years that change a lot (and cause fans to scratch their heads about subsequent stories that are effectively negated with nobody seeming to notice). At other times they've held firm with the original material adhered to and relied on convoluted retcons navigating around some of the early oddness. In 1988 the existing continuity was a clear selling point at a time when DC had recently pressed a big reset switch and a back-up story in a double anniversary issue (especially one edited by Mark Gruenwald) was not the place to tell a new version of the origin that made more sense.

So this stands as a straightforward revisiting the origin for the benefit of (primarily) newer readers with the twist of viewing it through the perspective of one of the characters involved. It's an interesting perspective to take and it helps confirm Loki continues to harbour anger about the team's existence but ultimately it isn't able to sort out the mess. But that was a mess made in 1963 not 1988.

Bonus material includes some Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe style entries. There's a two page entry on Edwin Jarvis that doesn't hide his unfortunate moments though it makes him seem far weaker than he appeared in issue #298.

There's a listing of all the members of the Avengers over time and the issues they appear in but it's a bit confused. The first problem comes with the long-standing argument about whether the Avengers are a single whole divided into East Coast and West Coast teams or if the West Coast is a franchise spin-off of an operation based on the East Coast. Whilst the various members who've only joined in West Coast Avengers are shown on the chart of faces, the accompanying text list ignores all issues of the series. It also can't make up its mind if it's listing appearances as team members or almost any appearance in the title and notably ignores listing any appearances by anyone who was a member of the West Coast team at the time. In addition there are some other mistakes such as mixing up appearances by the original Iron Man and his mid 1980s replacement or skipping a substantial chunk of appearances by the Wasp when she was the team's leader. There are some characters whose precise membership status has always been a bit unclear and much debated amongst fans and this shows on the chart with Hellcat listed as "Applied Avengers #144", Jocasta has no issue number shown at all and others are displayed as "Active" whilst the list skips around. Notably Nebula is not listed at all, doubtless because of the nature of how she joined through mind control and was lost only a few pages later.

Also included is a chart of support staff with a paragraph noting Captain America is expanding the team's administration. Not everyone shown here would necessarily make it into an Avengers issue but all are pre-existing characters with their first appearances noted. There's also a page devoted to Avengers Park, the site of the original mansion with a map of the open space replacing it and the statue of the early Avengers at the centre. The Avengers annual that year was notably short on features so it's good to see the anniversary issue providing some that feel stronger as information pieces rather than humorous side tales that can be very hit or miss.

Overall this issue is trying to present a strong anniversary package with a landmark story but ultimately a crossover centred on another family of titles is not the best place to relaunch the team. It would have been better for Avengers to have left the crossover an issue earlier and done its reassembling in its own story.

Avengers 299 - Inferno

Captain America seeks help from Reed Richards but instead finds Franklin has been kidnapped.

Avengers #299

Writing: Walter Simonson
Layouting: John Buscema
Finishing: Tom Palmer
Lettering: Bill Oakley
Coloring: Max Scheele
Editing: Mark Gruenwald
Editing in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The real Captain America returns to New York as demons come through the portal and finds the New Mutants dealing with them so he sets off to find more help. Elsewhere in Olympia the Eternal known as "the Forgotten One" is told of the demons and sent to New York to deal with the threat. In Connecticut Nanny has detected a powerful mutant and sends the Orphan Maker to kidnap the child and kill the parents; however the child is Franklin Richards and his parents survive because of a force shield around their bed. Captain America arrives and joins them in pursuing the ship to New York. Nanny's ship is brought down in the park where all four heroes converge but Nanny has a second helper in armour - Franklin.

There is still no team of Avengers put back together and only a few steps towards one. There's a strong hint that the Eternal called "the Forgotten One" will be joining (and also taking a name that will make my prose easier) but otherwise this issue feels more like it should be billed as "Captain America Team-Up" as he briefly works with the New Mutants and then two retired members of the Fantastic Four rather than seeking out new members.

The sequence in Times Square serves to bring Cap and the reader up to speed on the basics of the Inferno crossover as well as showing just how pointless it is to pretend to be anything but Captain America with Cannonball easily working out who he is. More surprising is the sudden use of Nanny from the pages of X-Factor even though Walter Simonson was drawing that book.

Nanny continues to have an unclear motivation but also there's some strange lapses in logic. Franklin is sleeping with his parents when he's kidnapped but for some reason the Orphan Maker is able to spread a sleep dust and lift Franklin out of the bed yet when he fires a gun there's a forcefield in the way. There's nothing indicating Sue Richards has heard Franklin's cries or that it's somehow automatically triggered and the result is the Orphan Maker has done a kidnapping but failed to live up to his codename. All the problems with Nanny continue here and make for some rather uninteresting scenes. However it does result in one of my all time favourite lines in comics as the Forgotten One shouts out:

He is not my son, egg with a voice. But if he tries to slay his own parents, he is a monster! And slaying monsters is why I am here!

Nanny is not too pleased.

Overall this issue feels stunted. Nanny just isn't that interesting a villain and with both the Avengers lacking a team and New York facing a demonic invasion this whole plot feels like a needless sideshow.

Avengers 298 - Inferno

When all the Avengers are gone one man still stands - Edwin Jarvis!

Avengers #298

Writing: Walter Simonson
Layouting: John Buscema
Finishing: Tom Palmer
Lettering: Oakley Lopez
Coloring: Eliot R. Brown
Editing: Mark Gruenwald
Editing in Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Avengers have disbanded and their butler Edwin Jarvis has moved back in with his mother, living off his pension. Jarvis soon notices many strange things going on in New York and realises they are connected. He rescues a young woman, Glory Garsen, from falling out of a subway train when the doors suddenly open on the move and realises he must call in help. In a darkened computer room a mysterious man finds himself under attack from his own machines and realises they are linked. Later Jarvis saves Glory from being crushed by two cars but one car then becomes a giant metallic figure to attack when a round shield is thrown.

Inferno came along at a very unusual time in the Avengers' history. Over the course of the previous seven issues the team had been ripped apart first by Marrina turning into a giant sea monster and then by a women calling herself Nebula (let's not get into that continuity minefield here) seducing Dr Druid and using him to use his mental powers to manipulate the team into travelling into a time bubble with a falling out when several members of the Council of Cross-Time Kangs intervened and released the other Avengers from the mental control. By the end the Avengers were either dead, lost in the time vortex, resigned or departed for a struggle in Asgard whilst there were no reserve members available so Thor formally dissolved the team with Jarvis locking up the base. It was quite a brutal exercise in disassembling the team though there have been some even darker ones since.

This leaves the title with no team and just one supporting cast member. And instead of rushing to put together a new team we get a nice little tale of Jarvis doing his bit in the early stages of the strange happenings in New York. Time and again the butler shows himself to be a canny observer with a strong cunning streak in finding ways to deal with the various objects that have come to life, whether threatening a payphone with bolt cutters or realising that the way to drive off to cars is not through brute strength but by smashing a headlight "eye". But he's also realistic enough to realise greater help is needed and so turns to the natural source - Captain America.

(Well strictly speaking he was going by the name "the Captain" at this stage. This was in the period when Steve Rogers had resigned from the role rather than becoming an agent of the American government, arguing that he was actually a symbol of the American people. A replacement was appointed whilst Rogers had adopted a new identity as "the Captain" with a very similar costume albeit in black. In practice a lot of his friends and allies would call him "Captain America" anyway. As his own title was showing, Cap is not a costume but an ideal rooted in one man. And so these reviews will call him "Captain America" throughout.)

This is a strong issue that makes good use of the unusual situation to bring to the forefront a character so often on the margins of the series. It also doesn't rush the recreation of the Avengers, instead merely there's just a hint that Captain America could use some friends to help him deal with the situation. And Jarvis gets the girl despite his shyness and belief that there's no comparison to Cap - but Glory wants a man of courage and gentleness and thinks she's found him.

(It's just a pity that the car that becomes a humanoid looks nothing a Transformer. Perhaps Hasbro had had a word after an earlier issue had featured robotic dinosaurs and a red tank that brought to mind the Dinobots and Warpath.)

Essential Thor volume 7

Essential Thor volume 7 contains issues #248 to #271 (issue #254 was a reprint represented here by the cover and a copy of the apology caption) plus Annuals #5 and #6. Bonus material includes an unused cover for issue #264. The writing is nearly all by Len Wein, including one annual, with one issue co-plotted and scripted by Roger Stern, a couple of back-up tales written by David Anthony Kraft and the other annual written by Steve Englehart. The art is mainly by John Buscema, Tony Dezuniga and Walter Simonson with the back-ups by Pablo Marcos whilst one annual is by John Buscema and the other by Sal Buscema.

The first annual in this volume is quite a curiosity, sitting outside the present day narrative and maybe outside of continuity altogether. It starts with a prologue that narrates the creation story from Norse mythology, showing how the worlds came about and Odin's rise to power. Then it embarks upon an alternate telling of the first encounter between Thor and Hercules, with Loki manipulating the situation to provoke conflict between Asgard and Olympus but Odin and Zeus have their own plans. It's also shown how each set of gods is reliant upon worship and the Asgardian attempt to capture the Ancient Greeks' loyalties completely flounders. The implication, though not explicitly stated, is that each set of gods were created by the worship of their followers, bringing the mythology to life, hence the contradictions created by their simultaneous existence. The story is also one of the first to rewrite modern Marvel history by showing a very different first encounter with Hercules from the original annual, but hand waves this away by pointing to the confusion and uncertainties of mythology that throw up stories that directly contradict one another. This tale was originally written for a black and white magazine series that never happened and then got modified into colour for the annual so it's nice to see it as close to the original intention as is now possible. The art is some of the best in the whole volume, showing John Buscema at his most mythic.

The other annual is, in itself, more mundane fare but would go on to have a big influence outside the title. It sees Thor transported to the future where he winds up in a team-up the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle Korvac, previously seen in the pages of the Defenders but who would go on to be a significant player in the Guardians' own timeline. This annual seems a rather tame beginning but it would subsequently form the basis for one of the most memorable of Avengers storylines. Otherwise it's a typical example of the annuals of the mid Bronze Age and its placing here between issues #266 and #267 is a little surprising as it pre-empts Thor's return to Earth. The two-part back-up "Tales of Asgard" is also tame, telling of how a young Thor learnt there is more to battle than weapons and that he must always use his brains first.

But the main interest comes in the regular issues as this volume contains an eighteen part epic saga (with the reprint falling one third of the way through) that focuses upon Odin's displacement from the throne of Asgard and his eventual return. Apart from some brief comedy at the outset, most notably the scene where Thor sorts out a traffic jam by physically lifting each car out and carrying it to the correct lane, this saga is set completely off Earth. Instead it combines Asgard, the various other realms such as Valhalla or Nornhein and a quest into deep space. The length may seem off-putting but it's never billed as a single piece and instead sees a series of adventures starting with the problems in Asgard due to Odin seemingly going corrupt and mad under the influence of new advisor Igron, then follows a search for the real Odin whilst Balder seeks to uphold the realm against an attack, concluding in a showdown back in Asgard.

It's a storyline with ambition but also at times it seems a little too willing to use almost every single aspect of the Thor stories that isn't connected to Earth, and even one or two that are. So for much of the epic Thor is allied with Sif and the Warriors Three with additional help from variously Balder, Karnilla, the Grand Vizier, Hildegarde and the Recorder. Many of the longstanding villains return, including Mangog, Hela, Ulik, the Grey Gargoyle, Amora the Enchantress, Skurge the Executioner, Loki and the Destroyer armour. There's even a return of the Stone Men from Saturn whom Thor battled in his very first appearance. The quest itself brings another piece of mythic conceit as Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three embark aboard the Starjammer (the name just predates the group from X-Men), a space ship that looks like, and is piloted as though it were, a Viking sailing ship. Towards the end of the quest it's fitted out with weaponry, but it still makes for a striking visual that reinforces that the Asgardian civilisation is built on magic, not science. And there's a strong menace, with even Ragnarok being threatened when Mangog arranges to have the Odinsword in its scabbard placed beneath the stolen throne so that he can kick the sword out and trigger the great destruction in the event of being overwhelmed.

But as well as all the returns there are lots of new ideas, with Mangog's restored power depending upon the worship of the Asgardians due to his disguise as Odin, and his downfall comes when he acts in anger to destroy their trust. Hela allows Thor to walk free of her realm as she reasons death would be preferable to what is to come to him. In space the quintet come across a derelict spaceship where the weaker passengers are being picked off by a monstrous tentacled beast called Sporr - but not for the reason everyone assumes. The Grey Gargoyle turns up as the captain of a ship of anthropomorphic animal space pirates. There's a dying alien race who seek to use the Asgardians' life-forces and magics to revive their fortunes, worshipping Thor and the others even whilst sending them to their deaths.

Less original moments come when the epic mines either the well-worn clichés of fables or the more predictable elements of the series itself. At one stage Thor petitions the spirit Mimir for the real Odin's location and is sent on a quest for a jewel; in the process Thor is forced to sacrifice the jewel to save the Trolls from the beast called Trogg having pledged to save them another way in order to prevent fighting over the jewel. Astonishingly Mimir gives him the information anyway, as the real quest was not for the jewel but to show Thor was worthy. This secret test of character has been done too many times in mythology to not be predictable. And there's the revelation that the mastermind behind the Enchantress and Executioner's attack on Asgard is none other than Loki, who once again secures the throne. Loki has frankly been done to death in the series and it would have been a greater surprise had he not appeared in this saga. Instead it makes the last few issues quite a comedown. There's an attempt to enhance his villainy with a moment when he sends the Enchantress and Executioner to their apparent deaths, but otherwise it's business as usual.

One of the more unfortunate effects of such a lengthy saga is the disappearance of Jane Foster as a character with barely a word. She insists on coming to Asgard with Thor and the others, pointing to Sif's spirit within her giving her strength, but once there she picks up Sif's sword and finds that when she slams it against the wall she is replaced by the goddess herself. Although the relationship between Donald Blake and Thor was messy for years and subject to retcons, there was a time when it seemed that the two were different personalities with separate histories who alternated, but this was never fully explored before it was established Thor had been Blake all along. Now for the first time we get the potential alternation of two distinct characters who cannot be so easily retconned into the same person, with the added complication that they are rivals for Thor's affections. There is a huge amount of potential in this... so it's a pity that Jane is forgotten for the rest of the volume and Sif treated as the sole entity occupying the body. When Thor opts to return to Earth Sif stays behind with no mention of Jane; nor is her absence addressed on Earth as Donald Blake seeks to re-establish himself there. It's as though she's been forgotten by all including the writer; a very arbitrary solution to the long running question of which of the two women is the right one for Donald/Thor, seemingly destroying a character in the process and ignoring all the potential story possibilities that could stem from the different aims and objectives of Jane and Sif.

But in spite of the individual problems, overall this storyline is fairly strong. Because of the twists and turns it's entirely possible to come in midway without missing important details for later, and so back in the 1970s this must have been more of a treat than an infuriation with the length, but it's all the better for having been collected in a single volume rather than being broken across more than one collection as indeed some releases do.

The last few issues see Thor return to Earth on his own, Odin having given the Warriors Three another mission that keeps them away whilst Sif also remains in Asgard. On Earth Thor finds he's been away for over a year (which will give the chronology mappers a headache), the building his surgery was in has been torn down and his regular patients scattered. Thus there's a clean slate for Donald Blake's life on Earth, though within these issues the only step taken is the suggestion of volunteering at a free clinic. Otherwise Thor battles a variety of foes he's not faced before, including the techno criminal Damocles, Stilt-Man, Blastaar and the computer F.A.U.S.T. The Damocles story is well constructed in the way it focuses upon the criminal and his brother Eric in conflict without being explicit in comparisons with Loki and Thor, and the climax where Eric finds himself with no option but to shoot his brother is very moving. Otherwise the adventures form a mini-epic as Stilt-Man is manipulated by Blastaar who in turn is manipulated by F.A.U.S.T. Stilt-Man has a new set of armour with a number of upgrades that make at least a semi-credible foe but Thor's power level means intervention by Blastaar is necessary. The chain of manipulation and betrayal eventually culminates in F.A.U.S.T. building itself a spaceship to attack humanity from orbit. But the conclusion feels rushed and undermining the title character as he turns to the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. for help. It would have made a much better ending to the story and the whole volume if Thor had tackled and defeated the menace on his own.

Although there are some individual letdowns in the volume, overall it's very strong and shows a very good use of many of the series's elements yet doesn't deploy every single one of them. The grand epic is the high point of not just this volume but this period of Thor as a whole and having it all in one place makes for a very strong volume.

What If... Essential Captain Britain volume 1?

This time the look at hypothetical Essential volumes take a somewhat different series and format...

Essential Captain Britain volume 1 would contain the character's original stories from Captain Britain Weekly #1 to #39 and then the stories from Super Spider-Man and Captain Britain Weekly #231 to #253, including the reprint of Marvel Team-Up #65 and #66 in the last six issues with additional splash pages added when the two US issues were each split in three for the weekly format. These issues have had a mixture of reprints over the years in both the UK and US, starting with the 1978 Captain Britain annual but in the UK at least the best modern source are the trade paperbacks from Panini (who now hold the Marvel reprint licence in the UK), specifically volume 1 Birth of a Legend (which had two different covers), volume 2 A Hero Reborn and volume 3 The Lion and the Spider. Alternatively the issues were published in the US in two oversized hardcovers entitled Birth of a Legend and Siege of Camelot. The writing on the Weekly comic is first by Chris Claremont and then Gary Friedrich who carries onto the merged Super Spider-Man with help along the way on plots by Larry Lieber, Jim Lawrence and Bob Budiansky. Jim Lawrence then finishes off the Super Spider-Man issues and Claremont returns on Marvel Team-Up. The art on the UK stories is by Herb Trimpe, John Buscema, Ron Wilson, Jim Lawrence, Bob Budiansky and Pablo Marcos with John Byrne on the Marvel Team-Up stories.

For those less familiar with the British comics industry of old (and in to some extent this is still the same today), it differed from the US in a number of ways including retaining a younger focus for longer and used the weekly anthology format far more. "Free" gifts would sometimes come attached as a way to boost circulation at a launch, smooth over a price rise or help at relaunch moments. (Nowadays most British comics aimed at younger readers seem to come packed with multiple "free" gifts every issue.) Full colour was rarer, with many comics having some pages in black and white or in a three tone format that added a single colour and it was far from unusual for a strip to switch between colour, black and white or three tone in a single issue. Series would often contain multiple strips, some originated for the title, some imported reprints and some reuses of old strips, plus additional features. When a series was nearing cancellation, it would often be "merged" into another series, which in practice meant adding the main strips and the cancelled comic's title though over time both would be diminished. A disappeared series could also experience something of an after-life in the form of holiday specials, usually carrying reprints or left-over inventory material, and annuals, which here are hardback books mainly aimed at the Christmas market (normally carrying the following year's date although there have been exceptions) and again carried a mixture of strips, features and quizzes.

Superheroes are thinner on the ground here and the British generally aren't into massive flag waving American style overt patriotism. So creating a British version of Captain America and making them last seems rather a tall order. However that's not quite the way the character went. It is hardly an original observation to note that whilst Captain Britain's name may be derived from Captain America, the character owes rather more to Spider-Man with a small dose of Thor thrown in for the origin. Thus we get the tale of a university science student with an alliterative name, family members whom he tries to keep out of trouble, a struggling relationship with a girl, a campus bully and an authority figure with a heavy opposition to all costumed heroes in general and this one in particular. Then there are the dead parents, although this isn't established at the outset, and an investigation into their fate leads to conflict with the Red Skull. The costume also downplays the overt patriotic elements with the Union Jack confined to the top of his mask and wrist bracelets, whilst the heraldic lion isn't such an automatic symbol that screams "Britain". Otherwise, the main colour is red. The main Captain America influence can be found in the powers and weapon, with Captain Britain initially only have super strength and agility plus a predominantly defensive weapon, although as time goes on and other writers take over the quarterstaff is first revealed to also generate energy shields and blasts and is subsequently replaced by the Star Sceptre , a more ornate piece that additionally brings the power of flight. And the origin shows an ordinary man gaining powers thanks to mythical magic, though the wizard who co-grants them isn't explicitly named as Merlin for some time to come. So certainly there's a lot of borrowing from other characters even if not mainly from the most obvious one. However few ideas are truly original and it's the mix and blend that matter. Here there's a lot of originality and potential clear from the start.

But despite generating several hundred pages of material, the original Captain Britain strip lasted barely fifteen months. It's clear that Marvel had high hopes for the character and series but also that sales success was elusive and this shows in a succession of reactions. First, there's the resort to a big name guest star in the form of Captain America for quite a protracted run. (Nick Fury also appears but his own adventures were reprinted elsewhere in the comic.) Then there's a change of format with an expansion in the number of pages and strips masking a contraction as the title strip shifted to black and white. And then there was the cancellation of the title with a trumpeted merger really being a cover for dumping the remaining material in another title so as to salvage some of the costs. All of these developments took place within nine months. And whilst the continuation in Super Spider-Man may have allowed for the resolution of the existing storyline, the last few originated stories seem so detached and thrown together that it seems the merged comic was just treading water until the Marvel Team-Up story was available to be simultaneously printed in the UK and US. Otherwise, it would have faced the embarrassment of cancelling the feature only to revive the character within a matter of weeks. As a result the last weeks feel very patchy as though leftover ideas were grabbed and thrown in without too much thought for overall narrative coherence - e.g. why Captain Britain, in costume, has come to an island as part of a group visit goes unexplained - or continuity - for instance Betsy goes from being a commercial pilot to a professional model without explanation, beginning the long-running practice of making sudden changes to her without a coherent explanation. As a whole, the strip suffers from being constantly in a state of panic. But it also suffers from a lack of authenticity, and this may be the reason why 1970s readers didn't take to it in sufficient numbers. (Equally, it may be the case that Marvel had unrealistic expectations for the series, hoping for rather higher sales than for its all-reprint titles. I don't know if the strip had any contemporary printings in other countries but it's doubtful there was much additional income available to support it.)

Chris Claremont may have been born in the UK and Herb Trimpe may have lived in Cornwall for a while (and the spellings may be British and the British characters at least don't sloppily use "England"/"English") but fundamentally this strip feels far too American, writing about a stereotype of Britain gleaned more from films, television and the odd guidebook than from reality. Brian Braddock's Britain of the 1970s is an idealised land of moors, country houses, villages of superstitious people willing to burn anyone suspicious as a witch, super spy agencies, functioning London docks, a monarch who can easily take the fleet off to war with no one objecting and more. The dialogue is often Hollywood~ised, whether it's the excessive use of swearing and Cockney or subtler things such as British characters saying "Prime Minister Callaghan"/"Mr Prime Minister" for a surprising guest star when those US styles aren't used here. (Captain America and Nick Fury also use them but they at least have the excuse of being abroad.) The political elements of the stories are rather generic with Callaghan and Parliament's treatment being pretty interchangeable with any national leader and legislature apart from the iconic showdown when a bomb is planted on the face of Big Ben's clock. The Queen's appearance is surprising for the amount of actual power she's credited with, being able to call out the navy to go and reinstate a dictator with a touch of Ian Smith about him in the fictional nation of Umbezi. And the general style of the series is that of a conventional Marvel US superhero series, without any particular home-grown twists or humour. As a result, the strip doesn't feel particularly British in spite of the name or location. It's little wonder it spent so much of its brief existence trying to find a way to survive.

It also doesn't help that at times the strip wanders all over the place, with ideas introduced and then rapidly changed. This is most notable in the way that Dr. Synne is changed from a magician to a man controlled by an advanced computer and then before the computer can be taken on and deactivated, it falls under the control of the Red Skull but becomes only a minor part of his overall plot. Braddock Manor gets blown up during the story and the computer is ultimately ignored. The sudden change of approach to the villains is reflective of a wider shift as Gary Friedrich takes over the writing from Chris Claremont and shifts the series even more in the direction of a generic superhero series. And just as the UK entered a year of patriotic celebration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, the strip drifts into the American national myth of coming in and saving the British from the Nazis with the arrival of both Captain America and Nick Fury in order to battle the Red Skull.

There aren't many recurring foes in these tales though a number of the villains introduced here have since popped up in other Marvel stories. The origin villain is the rather forgettable Joshua Stragg the Reaver, seemingly a businessman trying to corner the market in nuclear energy through the use of a hi-tech assault force to attack research centres and kidnap scientists. In pursuit of Brian he picks up the sword his quarry has rejected and becomes a powerful knight who is soon dispatched. Subsequent foes include the Vixen's mob of hi-tech bank robbers, the Hurricane with wind powers, the dark dream generating magician turned old man powered by a computer Dr Synne, the aforementioned but unnamed super computer and its projection Mastermind, the scientist Lord Hawk with his robotic bird of prey, the Mind-Monster who inhabits another realm alongside Merlin, Nykonn the other-dimensional dark magician, the motorcycling thug the Highway Man, his employer the Manipulator who is actually the deposed white dictator of a southern African nation seeking restoration through mind controlling the Queen, the alien Lurker from Loch Ness with a ship that has come to resemble the Loch Ness Monster, the Black Baron who is both vampire and werewolf, Doctor Claw the mad scientist on a remote island, and the serial killer the Slaymaster who targets collectors and steals their most valuable objects. The Marvel Team-Up issues introduce the bizarre assassin Arcade with his funhouse of terror, as well as briefly establishing a Maggia interest only to kill them off in a subplot. But by far the longest running and most established villain to appear is the Red Skull with a scheme to either take over or destroy the UK by holding the Prime Minister hostage in order to get Parliament to surrender. As the contemporary Chancellor (and one of the strongest candidates to replace him) would say of this nonsensical approach, "Silly Billy!"

But the most recurrent problem for Captain Britain is Detective Chief Inspector Dai Thomas of the Metropolitan Police. As with most fictional police officers his jurisdiction runs wherever the story needs it, and he brings a recurrent threat to Captain Britain. Though used somewhat to fill the J. Jonah Jameson role, he is actually a very believable antagonist since an official police officer is naturally going to be hostile to superheroes running around as self-appointed vigilantes taking the law into their own hands. And his background is expounded upon to explain that he's even more hostile than other authority figures because on a trip to New York his wife was a bystander killed during a superhero battle. Nor is he selective in his discrimination, being just as hostile to Captain America. As a result, he comes across as a well rounded character with an understandable motivation for his hostility to the hero. The series initially offers a contrast in the role of good cop Detective Inspector Kate Fraser who proves much more sympathetic to Captain Britain, but she's forgotten amidst the change of writers. Both had previously had bit parts in Marvel US titles and serve to help subtly connect these adventures to the mainstream Marvel universe being published over in the US (indeed the main name used for it today was introduced in a later Captain Britain story). The rest of the authority side of the cast comes in the UK's answer to S.H.I.E.L.D. - Strike - Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, yet another in the long line of agencies whose names seem to have been chosen more for creating a memorable acronyms than anything else. Both it and its director, Commander Lance Hunter, recur throughout the run with a strong indication that Captain Britain will eventually be conscripted to work for the agency.

The non-costumed side of Brian's life also brings a somewhat underused supporting case. Thames University seems a rather generic institution, not based on anywhere specific but rather an institution that can support as diverse a range of plots as possible. Amongst Brian's fellow students are Courtney Ross, the inevitable romantic interest, and Jacko Tanner, the campus bully and rival for Courtney's affections. When Courtney is a bystander injured in a battle Captain Britain is rather too open about his concern for her. Later on Arcade deduces enough to kidnap Courtney and use her as bait in her funhouse, suggesting Brian is rather too loose with his identity. His siblings, Betsy and Jamie, also discover it quite quickly. Betsy here demonstrates hints of her psychic powers that she will later use heavily in X-Men but otherwise is something of a blank slate available as a recurring damsel in distress despite being a working women in either aviation or modelling depending upon the writer. Jamie is more consistent as a racing car driver who tries to help his brother more than he should, to the point that Brian eventually resorts to tying his sibling up to keep him from danger. Brian is given guilt to carry that his parents were electrocuted by the supercomputer in the mansion basement whilst he was out with a girl, but it's hard to rationally accept anything as his fault. There's no reason why he would have been with them below stairs, nor could he have spotted the danger in time. And where were Betsy and Jamie at the time and why don't they carry any guilt? It's another part of the attempt to copy the elements of Spider-Man but failing to make them convincing.

Apart from the final six issues, these stories were all originally written for a weekly format of just seven pages at a time (though a couple of issues go to eight pages and pass off the final page in black and white as "A Captain Britain do-it-yourself colour page!"). It's quite a constraining format without that much space to develop characters and subplots but at the same time it's easier to run lengthy stories as the action continues week from week. Wisely the story lengths are variable rather than trying to line up to three issues at a time that could then be collected in the US format; however some storylines run on for more weeks than there's plot for and sometimes it takes two issues before revelations promised in the next issue caption are delivered upon. The art is generally strong as well though the artists take time to remember these were originally published on a larger page than a US title and so have more room to work with. The final six issues constitute the reprint of Captain Britain's first US appearance in Marvel Team-Up. Being reproduced so quickly in the UK allowed for extra splash pages to be produced for individual chapters. These manage to slot in quite nicely (although they were only done in black and white so can look odd when combined with the colour pages from the US) without disrupting the story flow at all.

But despite the writers and artists adapting to the format well, overall it's hard to disguise just how weak the original Captain Britain stories are. The basic problem seems to be a belief that sticking a superhero in the UK and slapping around some names and Union Jacks would deliver strong results when instead it delivers a rather inauthentic piece. US fiction in many different mediums has been popular in the UK but it rarely tries to pretend it's a great local thing. As a result the series struggled then and now as not sufficiently convincing but the wrong conclusions were drawn leading to a state of flux and panic throughout the strip's lifetime until it was just treading water before a key US appearance. These adventures are very disappointing to read even today.

Should they have had an Essential edition? It's hard to say. One thing where an Essential edition would have helped is in standardising everything in black and white. The "Captain Britain do-it-yourself colour pages!" do stand out in the trade paperbacks (although colour versions were done for the 1978 annual that have been reused since) and the Marvel Team-Up issues were never meant to be read as a hybrid of original US colour material and additional UK black and white material so again an Essential could remove the jar. More pertinently the main strip went black and white from issue #24 onwards, midway through the Red Skull storyline so having it all in black and white would help. But although the format itself would offer advantages, the material quality raises real questions. Were these the only Captain Britain stories then they are frankly so poor they could be easily forgotten, leaving the Essentials to focus exclusively on Marvel's US output. But some of the later Captain Britain stories were landmarks that might be worthy of a volume 2 - which by definition would need a volume 1 to come first. The stories have had reprints on both sides of the Atlantic so there is clearly a market for them but they're not something that really needs to be collected in every library style format.

Essential Tomb of Dracula volume 4 - creator labels 1

Here's a volume with a huge number of creators so it takes more than one separate post to fit all the labels in. There's another post as well.

Some Avengers previews

As per the norm when completing a full set of Essential volumes for a particular series and/or character, here's a look at later issues collected elsewhere. Four further Avengers issues come up in other volumes.


Avengers Annual #10 written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Michael Golden, reprinted in Essential Ms. Marvel volume 1 and later editions of Essential X-Men volume 3

Ms. Marvel is found with her mind and memories gone after an attack by the mutant Rogue. The next targets are the Avengers as Rogue and Mystique set about trying to free the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants from prison. Meanwhile a recovering Ms. Marvel has some strong words to say.

This annual is strongly remembered for two reasons. It's surprising to recall that such a prominent X-Men member as Rogue was originally introduced in the pages of Avengers and indeed there are times when this story feels more like a chapter of X-Men that just happens to feature other heroes, with Spider-Woman teaming up with the Avengers. Rogue's ability to absorb powers and memories makes for a foe who can discover the team's secrets, making her an especially hard challenge to overcome as she works her way through the team's most powerful members.

But it's the epilogue that's the more shocking as the Avengers meet Ms. Marvel for the first time since she departed for Limbo with Marcus. And she doesn't hold back in blasting them for their failure to help her. She bluntly tells them how she was used and raped by Marcus and how when she turned to her friends for help they failed to realise this and responded in a cack handed way. It's a very blunt response to the events of issue #200 and as Claremont had been the main writer on her solo title it's easy to see this as a direct counter to how other writers had misused the character.


Avengers #214 written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Bob Hall, reprinted in Essential Ghost Rider volume 3

This issue features a compare and contrast between Yellowjacket and the Ghost Rider, both of whom have suffered a fall in glory due to their actions. Hank Pym finds himself expelled from the Avengers, informed the Wasp is divorcing him and ends up in a slum hotel. Meanwhile Johnny Blaze is working in a petrol station in a small town in the west and his alter ego attacks the passing Angel. The Avengers journey to the town to find the Ghost Rider, leading to a battle until the Angel recovers and calms things down and they let Johnny go free.

This is a somewhat slight issue, combining a guest appearance with ongoing plotlines and a downtime moment for much of the team. As a result the issue starts with a focus on day to day events in New York and the continued fallout from Yellowjacket's disgrace before the reduced team head west and largely serve as a curiosity for the townsfolk during their search. Earlier Jarvis lectures Captain America on the importance of allowing people to ultimately make choices for themselves rather than impose direction upon them, a lesson that guides his response here.


Avengers Annual #11 written by J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Al Milgrom, reprinted in Essential Defenders volume 6

The Defenders' old foe Nebulon is exiled to Earth and seeks help from the Avengers, claiming to have reformed, whilst another of his species, Supernalia, recruits the Defenders claiming that Nebulon is going to destroy the world. The two teams clash in the Himalayas, with a mystery as to which of the two aliens is telling the truth.

This story comes from a period when there was a tendency for annuals to sometimes forget just who the primary character(s) for a series are. It reads as a good Defenders story, wrapping up the saga of one of their long running foes with some strong characterisation, but it's very much an intruder into the Avengers' own title and doesn't really do a great deal with the team beyond throwing them into a fight. The annual also includes the Charter and By-Laws for the Avengers, which will excite all those who have ever had to write or read constitutions. Half the space of the by-laws are taken up with membership, going into such details as how many meetings a year a reserve member is required to attend, and rather less space is given to how the aims and objectives of the team shall be implemented.


Avengers #263 written by Roger Stern and drawn by John Buscema, reprinted in Essential X-Factor volume 1

An aeroplane containing the Enclave and some equipment crashes into the bay, causing a massive explosion and ongoing energy geezers. The Avengers investigate and discover a cocoon at the bottom that resists all attempts to approach it and seek to find out just who or what is inside. Meanwhile the Melter prepares an attack but the Scourge of the Underworld has other ideas.

This was the launch of a mini-crossover with Fantastic Four that aimed to prepare the ground for the new series X-Factor that would reunite the five original X-Men. With one of them having been killed off, this crossover set out to bring them back to life. Pretty much all the controversial material is in the Fantastic Four chapter, leaving this as primarily an extended investigation of the strange goings on in the bay with the potential that the Enclave have once more created a super-being. The Melter scene is almost entirely detached from the main story, being one of a number of such scenes across the Marvel line that saw lame supervillains being killed off. Overall in isolation this is a rather tame issue of the series.

Essential Fantastic Four volume 9

Essential Fantastic Four volume 9 consists of issues #184 to #207 (#189 is a reprint with only the cover included here) plus Annuals #12 & #13. The writing sees the end of Len Wein's run and the start of Marv Wolfman's with other contributions by Roger Slifer and Bill Mantlo and the annuals are by Wolfman and Mantlo. The art sees the end of George Pérez's run and the start of Keith Pollard's with other issues by Sal Buscema and John Buscema and the annuals by Bob Hall and Sal Buscema.

This is a volume with quite epic ambitions but also one which seeks to explore just what the four's purpose is in sticking together and doing all that they do. It's a lofty approach that only grows once Marv Wolfman takes over from Len Wein but it reflects the problem this series has traditionally had in that too many creators can't find much to do and so retreat to the safety of rehashing things from the Lee-Kirby run. But a series has to look forwards not back and this one well and truly succeeds.

It's not always smooth sailing though. The series is hit by some especially bad schedule problems such that issue #188 ends on a dramatic moment and isn't properly continued until issue #191. In the meantime we get first a reprint (not actually included here) and then an "Album Issue" as Ben recalls some key moments in the four's history, including several past break-ups. Given the situation the four is currently in this retrospective feels more appropriate than the average recap fill-in issue but it's still treading water at a critical moment. Moreover, a two issue delay would have been extremely unhelpful when these were originally released but even here they contribute to a slowing of critical momentum. However once this problem is passed the series experiences an extremely smooth changeover of writers with Wolfman almost effortlessly carrying on from Wein and taking the four from a difficult break-up to an eventual reunion that feels natural and not at all forced.

The annuals are a sea of calm amidst the changes all around them though their placing does create a few small problems. Both are put between issues #201 and #202 but the first annual is presumably set earlier on during calmer times for the four - but there isn't an obvious place to put it despite it being written by the series's regular writer. The second annual is by another writer and so can be more forgiven for not quite fitting into the regular events - it does its best to explicitly set itself directly after the four reforms in issue #200 but issue #201 starts out in Latveria before bringing the four home and there isn't an obvious moment to detour into the events of the annual. It's an early example of the problems of a policy that tries to rigidly place all issues in publication order clashing with the aim of ongoing storylines in the regular titles. The annuals themselves are an interesting mix. The first one sees an adventure with the Inhumans where astonishingly the villain of the piece isn't Maximus for once. Instead the Inhuman antagonist is Thraxon, who has been given temporary powers by the Sphinx. What seems like a typical piece of annual inconsequentialness, although reasonably well written, will turn out to be more significant later on in the volume. The second annual is a more typical piece that almost could have come from file but for scenes showing the four getting themselves back into business. Otherwise we get a tame tale of the Mole Man kidnapping blind and ugly people and giving them an alternative life underground where they are accepted, a life that some actually accept. It's a reminder of how not everyone finds it easy in life but the option of just dropping out and setting up an alternate civilisation isn't a terribly enviable alternative.

Over in the regular series much of the first half of the volume is driven by events stemming from Reed's loss of his stretching powers and Franklin's & Agatha Harkness's kidnapping, both at the end of the last volume. It's quite a character arc for Reed as he faces up to situations in which he feels helpless but still has to find a solution, starting with an attack by the Eliminator, an armoured being who shows up at Agatha Harkness's mansion with the task of eliminating all traces of her time in the outside world. The search takes the four to New Salem, a settlement hidden in the mountains ruled by witches led by the fearsome Nicholas Scratch. Scratch has assembled a team of warriors known as Salem's Seven, made up of Brutacus, Gazelle, Hydron, Reptilla, Thornn, Vakume and Vertigo. Upon returning to New York we get another invasion of the Baxter Building, this time by Klaw and the Molecule Man, the latter trying to obtain a body of his own. In the process he possesses Reed's, to terrifying effect. Reed fights for control but afterwards feels that without his powers he has become a weak and inefficient member of the four who is vulnerable to being used by villains so opts to resign. Sue declares she will go with him and with no obvious replacements the four are dissolved.

As the album issue reminds us, this is not the first time one or more of the four have quit. But rather than someone storming off in a moment of anger or a misunderstanding driving people apart, this fracture has been steadily built upon. For all the apparent weaknesses of other team members, Reed's stretching powers have often seemed the least important part of the four with his intelligence being a much more significant role. Having him drop aside immediately upon being depowered would have felt odd and he does initially try to use science to compensate, reactivating his old metallic extensions from a previous time when he lost his powers. But overall he finds himself weakened in mind as well as body and ultimately chooses to not be a burden to the others. And critically the four don't formally reassemble as a group for many issues to come. A reunion is teased in what was clearly intended to be the next issue when Ka-Zar's old foe the Plunderer tries to steal the four's equipment when the Baxter Building is shut down, but despite everyone responding to Reed's flare it's only a temporary respite.

We then get a series of solo~ish tales of individual members of the team who gradually find themselves drawn back together. So Johnny goes car racing in the desert and catches up with Wyatt Wingfoot again, only to face off against the Texas Twister who has been hired to kidnap him by an unnamed person. Ben returns to space piloting, taking up a job with Nasa where the space shuttle programme suffers sabotage and interference by Diablo, who is using Darkoth, an old friend of Ben's who was framed and then mutated by Doctor Doom. Sue goes back to acting, getting a role in a Hollywood picture but finds the studio is still owned by Namor the Sub-Mariner, who has left Atlantis in horror at the way his people have virtually deified him but his kingdom deploys a group of robots called the Retrievers of Atlantis to take him home and the incident makes him reconsider his position. Reed takes up scientific work for the government without realising which one and that he's helping a foe with a plan to take over the world.

These tales allow each member of the four to shine some more without having to share too much space with the others, a particular useful period as the main focus of the storyline falls upon Reed. The others find themselves getting ever strong and more powerful, particularly Sue who is now really using her forcefields to maximum effect. It's all good character building in the run up to the anniversary issue. There are various humorous asides throughout the run, with the Impossible Man prominent at first as he pops up (sometimes literally) in a succession of issues as he tries to understand the world around him, most notably movies. Most of the time these are comical asides but they do reach a more serious point when confronting Klaw as the Impossible Man duplicates the villain's sonic horn and the use of the two weapons causes a sonic feedback boom. Otherwise the Impossible Man is generally an irritation and eventually he takes the hint, only to reappear in Hollywood and pester everyone until Sue reads him the Riot Act.

Reunion eventually comes but surprisingly it's staggered and facilitated by Doctor Doom. Capturing first Reed and then the others, he proceeds to demonstrate his perceived superiority by finding a way to restore Reed's stretching powers, but the inadvertent resurrection of the Red Ghost puts a spanner in the works. However the process allows for a minor modification to the four's origin to explain why only they and the Red Ghost have gained powers from cosmic rays and not the countless others who have now flown into space. Meanwhile Doom is planning a master plan to simultaneously gain Latveria greater diplomatic acceptance, take control of the United Nations and seemingly step away from ruling Latveria, leaving it to his previously unseen son whom he plans to transfer the four's powers to. With the other three captured, Reed embarks on a bold solo mission into Latveria where he joins with rebels following Zorba, the legitimist pretender to the throne, where they attack and discover the truth about Doom's son.

This all builds up to issue #200, one of the first anniversary issues to be double-sized. And appropriately it has a showdown between Reed and Doctor Doom, with the former demonstrating that stretching is no silly throwaway power that can't make a difference. It's a strong battle, augmented by the other three rushing to stop the rest of Doom's plan, and really gets into the heart of the hatred between the two men, showing Reed in all his glory. This issue set a marker for double-sized anniversary specials that contain big moments and by having the formal reunification of the four, a triumph over their arch enemy and the conclusion of a long-running storyline it certainly sets a high standard for everything that was to follow.

The remaining issues in the volume start off as something of an anti-climax, beginning with another attack in the Baxter Building almost as soon as they've reoccupied it, followed by a team-up with Iron Man as they confront the cause of the attack, Quasimodo. Then there's an encounter with a young mutant whose powers create twisted doppelgangers of the four but also showing how they help with the small problems as well as the galactic ones. Then the final few issues see an interesting split in the team as Reed, Sue and Ben go off into space but Johnny stays on Earth. Given the timing it's tempting to wonder if this was a reaction to the late 1970s cartoon that used the first three but replaced Johnny with a robot called Herbie as the rights to Johnny had been sold elsewhere. Herbie doesn't appear in these issues but otherwise it seems the most likely reason for the split. The first three go off into space to help Adora, ruler of Xander, to see off an attack by the Skrulls. It's a different angle to the same storyline from the last issues of Nova and once again an Essential volume ends partway through the storyline, with the three's spacecraft suddenly meeting that containing Nova, the Sphinx and other characters. Meanwhile on Earth Johnny feels he should complete his education but finds he no longer impresses women around him and is too much of a celebrity. Soon he is invited to study at Security College, apparently an institution for the children of the famous and important. However Johnny and a guest-starring Spider-Man soon discover sinister operations are being undertaken by the Monocle, using the students as tools.

This volume is slightly weakened by being open-ended at both ends, especially as it is now the final Essential Fantastic Four volume, but it shows both respect for what has come before and imagination to build upon the foundations for strong new tales. The build-up to issue #200 is carefully handled and allows the series to delve into the four both as individuals and as a group, reaffirming what holds them together. This is a generally good volume but let down by ending midway through a big storyline with seemingly no resolution.

Essential Marvel Saga volume 1

It's time a proper in-depth look at each volume of The Official History of the Marvel Universe. These posts rewrite and expand a previous brief effort.

Essential Marvel Saga volume 1 contains issues #1 to #12 of The Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe, a special series launched in 1985. It retells many old stories by copying & pasting panels and adding some additional text and the occasional pieces of new artwork to tell a coherent history. The order and new material is written by Peter Sanderson and drawn by Ron Frenz, Tom Morgan, Al Milgrom, Walter Simonson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Steve Geiger, Keith Pollard and John Buscema. Additionally each introductory page and rear "Classic Cover Gallery" are included.

Marvel and DC seem to have spent a lot of the 1980s either copying one another's projects or experiencing simultaneous ideas. Both did their first major company wide events in that decade (Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths). Both produced special encyclopaedic series devoted to detailing their characters (The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and Who's Who). Beyond the comics themselves, both licensed their characters for a series of action figures. And both produced their first "official histories", limited series which sought to bring order to the turbulent chaos of the continuity of their early years. DC's effort was the History of the DC Universe. Marvel's was The Marvel Saga. Who had the idea first in each of these cases isn't always clear as sometimes one company would learn of the other's plans and rush a project through to reach the market first. And I'm sure many of these ideas had originally been suggested by fans – "A story bringing all the heroes together" or "A guide to the heroes and villains" or "A history of the universe" are all pretty straightforward ideas and probably featured in fanzines long before the publishers took them up (but then fanzines didn't have to wait for the direct market that would make most of these projects viable).

The Marvel Saga sets out to summarise the key events in the history of the Marvel universe, showing how they fit together and illustrating them with panels from the original stories. After a few pages of introduction the series pretty much begins with the origin of the Fantastic Four and works from there through the early years of the Silver Age up until the revival of Captain America, explaining characters' back stories when they become relevant. This prevents the series from being bogged down in all the legends of Greece and Scandinavia and other material only relevant to a few, and instead allows a broad range of heroes from the outset. Unfortunately the habit of introducing the backstory only when significant characters debut can disrupt the flow of retelling an individual adventure, such as when the history of Odin is given in one go midway through the story of Thor's first battle with Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. It also means that the Golden Age of the 1940s isn't presented in a narrative order. It's always been somewhat ambiguous just how canonical the Timely and Atlas comics are in the Marvel universe and no answer is given.

What is clearer is the placement of events relative to each other. Thus Spider-Man's origin, which includes weeks of fame, is spread out and other adventures such as the origin and early battles of the Hulk and the Fantastic Four's first encounters with both Namor the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom take place between the radioactive spider's bite and the final showdown in the warehouse. A lot of fans have long taken to trying to work out the exact order in which stories take place, and even what order they should read and perhaps their entire collections in, and this is surely the ultimate realisation of such a chronology. But this doesn't just include the earliest issues themselves but also later revelations and retcons such as including much of Professor Xavier's history and the origins of the individual X-Men or including with Iron Man's origin his escape from the Vietnamese jungle and first meeting with James "Rhodey" Rhodes or showing Thor's youth and punishment by Odin at the point when Donald Blake is introduced into the history. This means the series doesn't leave latter-day readers in confusion as they try to reconcile the current state of affairs with the somewhat different status quo in the earliest days. Sometimes later retellings of origins are used as the source of panels and this is particular useful over cliffhangers as it allows alternate art to depict the reprises.

Early on the run it seemingly tries to summarise almost all of the adventures but it soon settled down and relegated many a lesser tale to a small text section entitled "The Continuity Corner" which puts issues in chronological order relative to one another. This most notably cuts down on a lot of adventures with obscure forgotten foes such as the Scarlet Beetle or the Acrobat and seems to hit the Ant-Man and Human Torch stories more than any other series.

Read all at once rather than over some two and a half years this series shows several common themes running rampant in the early Marvels. There seem to have been no end of obscure alien races visiting Earth in the early days of Marvel with most of the heroes encountering at least one. There was also no end of Communist enemies. When this series was first published in 1985-1987 the Cold War was still going on and it was just about credible (by the standards of the Silver Age) for there to have been so many Communist foes in then-recent history. But nowadays the Cold War finished over two decades ago and Marvel is more open about its floating timeline with the modern era of heroes starting anything from a decade to fifteen years ago. It's also surprising just how often the Fantastic Four fell out or how frequently the Thing regained his human form.

The saga is clearly aware of later stories as well which may have impacted the choices for inclusion such as showing the first battles with obscure foes like the Vanisher and Thug Thatcher. It also does its best to reconcile the early Silver Age adventures of Namor the Sub-Mariner and Captain America with what was revealed or restored to continuity later on, such as explaining why neither really recognises their old comrade in arms at first. The introduction of Captain America in issue #12 goes to some length to flesh out all his history prior to his release from the iceberg, with the various additions to the origin, the Invaders retcons and the immediate post war replacements all included in the details when the Avengers finally find him. Given his prominence on the cover of issue #1, reproduce as the volume's cover, it's interesting to speculate just how Wolverine's patchwork past would be handled.

Overall this first volume of The Marvel Saga is surprisingly fun and easy to read. The concept could risk excessive boredom whilst the widespread reprinting of even the more obscure parts of the Silver Age might have made it redundant for an audience who can easily access the original tales. But instead it offers its own distinct take on the events and makes an excellent effort to weave the tales together into a greater whole. The shared universe and overlapping characters was always a big part of Marvel's appeal and it's good to see this taken to the logical extent.

Essential Thor volume 6

Essential Thor volume 6 reprints issues #221 to #247. The writing sees the end of Gerry Conway's run and the start of Len Wein's with the transition covered by Roy Thomas and Bill Mantlo. The art is mainly by John Buscema with individual issues by Rich Buckler and Sal Buscema.

This volume shows the series caught in its ongoing dilemma over just how far it should stray from the Lee-Kirby era. There are some attempts to create new characters and chart new ground but at other times the series retreats to not just the set-up of the 1960s but even that of a particular part of the 1960s. One attempt at moving forward is to provide Thor with a regular sidekick and there are two in this set of issues. The first is Hercules who, after a fight due to an impersonation, rapidly sides with Thor as they set off to tackle Pluto and Ares in order to rescue Krista the Valkyrie. It's almost the archetypal adventure story as two friendly heroes set off together on a great quest, watching out for one another as they go. Hercules is often a difficult character to handle because he's presented as the character of legend with all his incredible tales taken as part of his actual history (whereas Thor strays more from the recorded legend, as noted on panel by a messenger from UCLA) and this can create a man who is too strong and ridiculous to work in stories. But here he comes across well, a loyal dependable friend of Thor's who can be relied on at all times, at least until he accepts an offer to go off to Los Angeles and lecture at UCLA on the truth behind Greek myths, and who never enters into serious rivalry between the Norse and Greek gods. The contradictions between the two sets of legends go unspoken and soon a third is added to the equation.

The biggest developments come with the introduction of deities from the Egyptian pantheon as we see the arrival of Osiris, Isis and their son Horus as a prelude to a battle with Horus's brother, Seth the god of death. In the process, Odin is transformed into Atum-Re, the forebearer of the Egyptian gods with a hint that this is actually a restoration to an earlier incarnation. Marvel has generally been rather coy about having so many different sets of gods running around the universe and yet there are clear contradictions between their myths about the creation and growth of the Earth and much overlap between the different responsibilities of the gods. And there are a number of common themes across pantheons - Horus may have a much friendlier relationship with his father than Thor with Odin or Hercules with Zeus, but once again the biggest rivalry within the pantheon is between the (comparatively) young prince and his brother, as with Thor and Loki. And the greatest villain in the pantheon is the god of death, as with the Greek pantheon and even the Norse has used Hela as one of the more recurring foes within the pantheon after Loki. The result is that the introduction of the Egyptian pantheon offers some diversity of characters but continues to follow structures already established with the Norse and Greek gods rather than offering up much that's truly diverse. Even the hint that Odin may somehow also be the founding entity of another pantheon is rather swept over in favour of implying that Osiris, Isis and Horus have merely transformed him into believing he is Atum-Re. Were he the actual Atum-Re it could have made for some interesting tales exploring the various connections and common foes between the different deities, providing a wealth of original ideas for years to come. But instead it's all brushed over for now.

There are a handful of other new foes and situations introduced in this volume but few make much of an impact. Little can be said about Armak the First Man whose spirit possesses a modern day man during a seance, whilst the first encounter with Kamo Tharnn, now better known as the Possessor, is more notable for the successful taking of his powerful Runestaff that offers hope of a cure for Jane Foster than for this strange man in space himself. Right at the end of the volume there is a trip to the Latin American country of Costa Verde where a revolution is underway with the help of Firelord, under the control of the mysterious Gypsy, mistress to the revolution's leader El Lobo. Meanwhile in Asgard, Odin is turning into a tyrant, now advised by the malevolent Igron, but this story thread is not resolved within this volume. Odin has previously spent some time wandering Earth as an amnesiac elderly man called Orrin, supposedly to improve his understanding but it doesn't last long before the Egyptians show up. More earthly moments come from ongoing run-ins with Detective Sergeant, later Lieutenant, Blumkenn, who supplies Thor and Hercules with information about ongoing problems but gets somewhat frustrated with all the action and damage in the area.

The other major introduction in this volume is Firelord, a new herald of Galactus who earns his freedom at the end of his initial adventure when together with Thor and Hercules they have successfully dealt with Ego the Living Planet. Thor is charged with finding a replacement herald and produces the Destroyer armour, with which he and Hercules have battled once more in these pages. As for the Living Planet, we get an origin for Ego but it's rather convoluted as we learn how his people tried to survive a supernova by entering suspended animation, only for the supernova to come early and fuse the last man standing to the planet, consuming all the other lives on it. The clear intention is to make him similar to and a contrast from Galactus, casting both as tragic figures who were once ordinary men now turned into cosmic nightmares, but it's hard to feel much sympathy for Ego at all.

There's a clear liking for Firelord in spite of the cosmic herald feeling somewhat out of place in a series based on Norse mythology as he keeps reappearing, often being used by other malevolent forces such as the Gypsy with her hereditary mind-jewel that allows her to take control of men's wills or by Loki, who makes yet another attempt to conquer Asgard and then Earth, this time with the direct force of an army, but it's one of the most forgettable of battles. The same can be said of the confrontation with the Dweller in Darkness, though the encounter with the Absorbing Man has a wonderful scene where Thor runs away into a toy department only to trick the Absorbing Man into absorbing the properties of a cardboard copy of Mjolnir. For once there truly is someone who can't punch their way out of a paper bag. There's a battle amongst the Trolls, with Ulik kidnapping Jane to force Thor to help in the battle against Ulik's rival Geirrodur and his minion Zotarr but neither side's motivations are entirely altruistic.

One of the more advanced epics comes towards the end of the volume as Zarrko the Tomorrow Man returns, accompanied by his giant Servitor robot. Now the ruler of a land in the 50th century, he comes seeking Thor and the Warriors Three's help to tackle the Time-Twister, a strange group of aliens moving backwards through time and bringing death and destruction wherever they go. The ultimate showdown comes at the Temple at the End of Time where they all encounter the mysterious He Who Remains at the end of it all. It's a strong piece that takes time travel, which can often be a confused concept when used for anything other than to bring characters and situations together, and weaves a tale in which existence is threatened by seemingly unstoppable foes. It also has a strong comeuppance as Zarrko returns to his realm only to discover that his successful conflict has had side effects upon the timeline.

Towards the last third of the volume Hercules drops aside as an interim writer quickly phases him out. But there's a clear successor waiting in the wings who rapidly becomes Thor's new sidekick, getting involved in all his remaining adventures whether intentionally or not. Jane Foster returns but has been one of a number of people who attempt suicide under the influence of the Dweller in Darkness, though this is only discovered after Thor has defeated him, and the attempt has left her in a seemingly incurable condition. Despite not having seen her for years Thor is deeply upset over this and spends a succession of issues in near mourning. Jane is only saved when Sif and Hercules obtain Kamo Tharnn's Runestaff. But in order to restore Jane's spirit Sif transfers her own life force into her. Thus at a stroke all the years of building up Sif as Thor's romantic interest are swept aside and we're back to the old days of Jane, reinforced by Thor making a much greater use than in recent years of his Donald Blake identity as he resumes his regular medical practice. Jane even resumes part of her old role of being a regular damsel in distress to be captured by various foes as a prelude to drawing Thor into the action. This is very much a step back to the old days, albeit with Jane now aware of Thor's dual identity, and it doesn't always feel like a reversion for the better.

But in one regard there has been some development with Jane presented as a much stronger and tougher character than before. At times there are hints that she is channelling the power of Sif, in particular the little-seen power to bypass time and space, but at others it seems as though she's strengthened up on her own accord. She insists on going off on adventures with Thor and won't take no for an answer, holds her own against foes to the point where she's overpowering revolutionaries and besting the Gypsy in physical conflict, standing up to Geirrodur with a spear and more. A lot of time has passed since she was last a regular in the series and this was now an era when portrayals of female characters were moving beyond the old fawning wallflowers. Odin still orders Thor to reject her, an order that is refused, but this may be as much down to Odin's sudden shift in behaviour as anything else. Otherwise Jane is being presented more and more as a strong match for Thor, even to the point of freeing him from mental control. But simply rehashing the 1960s adventures with more modern sensibilities isn't enough and ultimately Jane's return to replace Sif is a major retrograde step.

Overall this volume is so so. It does try to introduce some new elements but doesn't really succeed in finding strong ones that stick, whether because they feel out of touch with the basis of the series or because of a reluctance to explore them in full or because they're just not up to much. Otherwise we get yet more reuses of the same old foes and the return of Jane literally in place of Sif. Some of the individual stories are good but in general this is a series that doesn't know just how to get out of its traditional comfort zone.