Captain America 370 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

The cover of this issue is fantastic. It really reinforces the sense of creepiness to the Skull's country house. It would have made for a great Halloween issue, but it came out at the wrong time of year. Inside we get the conclusion to the search for the Red Skull in a full-length story.

Captain America #370

Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Ron Lim
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Colourist: Steve Buccellato
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Who--?: Tom DeFalco

Crossbones continues the search for the Red Skull, trying less conventional methods and turning to a psychic, Tristram Micawber. It's a bold approach but it works, though we could perhaps have done without the information that the Skull and Mother Night are sleeping together. When found the Skull is a shadow of himself, physically weakened and mentally broken, and he demands "take me home to die". Skull House is a far cry from the Skull's modern office, representing the Skull’s old ways very much, especially with a hall that serves as a museum of the Skull's struggles with costumes, Sleeper models and more, all reinforcing his days of following Nazism. But what he wants to see the most is Captain America.

Cap and Diamondback are debriefing at the Avengers temporary headquarters, with the complication of Cap's day duties getting in the way. There's still uncertainty and suspicion as Diamondback wonders if Cap has sneaked off when in fact he's been taking a very long time with the architect (Eric Masterson) for building a new mansion. Meanwhile she, who's being drawn a little older now, winds up playing poker with the Avengers support crew, a subtle sign of how she's entering Cap's life. Then when information about the Skull comes in, Diamondback insists on coming along. It's probably not the date anyone would choose but she proves her worth in dealing with the house's automated defence systems. There we get what could have been the final meeting between old foes.

For quite some time Captain America has refused to accept the claims of this man that he is the original Red Skull returned in a new body, but all that comes to a climax as the two meet up close. In an encounter where more is shown than said, the true hatred flashes, revitalising the Skull's spirit and convincing Cap that this truly is his enemy of old. It's a strong moment of closure that reaffirms the conflict between the two.

Overall this storyline has been an excellent example of how a series can use a crossover to develop a strong storyline amongst its regular characters, rather than just going through a few issues and then completely forgetting about them. However it's a pity that the fates of several lesser characters are left uncertain. The Controller has been locked in a loop when one of his own control discs was applied. The Voice had severe wounds to his throat. Micawber collapses when the bunker is found, having just foreseen death, and there's no medical examination. The Controller was not seen again for three years, the Voice for twenty and Micawber not at all so it's a pity these loose ends are left to what is otherwise a strong tight arc.

Captain America #370 has been reprinted in:

• Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt (2018)

Captain America 369 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue continues the search for the Red Skull, as Crossbones leads an assault on the Hellfire Club in the belief that this is where Magneto is holding him. Meanwhile Captain America is searching for Diamondback, the ex-member of the Serpent Society trying to reform.

Captain America #369

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Ron Lim (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Steve Buccellato (all)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is very early in the development of Cap and Diamondback's relationship and there are obvious obstacles on both sides. Here it's Diamondback's friend the Asp who expresses the most concern, though the art is also a slight problem in depicting Diamondback incredibly young, almost a girl, in panels where she has her mask off. There's also Cap's social conservatism, making his disapproval clear when he discovers the Asp is working in a strip club. And there's the problem of Diamondback's hidden past with Crossbones which is hinted at here.

The assault on the Hellfire Club is straightforward with Crossbones leading a diverse team of the Voice, Mother Night and Machinesmith using the body of the Sleeper. Each has particular skills that are utilised in the mission as they break into the basement and search through the club's cameras, though it ultimately proves a futile search. Then they find Cap, Diamondback and Selene, the Club's Black Queen, all converging in the sewer leading to a fight. The fight itself is complicated by the close quarters and Selene's desire to avoid drawing too much attention to the Hellfire Club, but it does result in Cap and Diamondback finding themselves in an interesting situation.

The second strip focuses upon the Skull as he completes his situation trapped in the darkness. He starts hallucinating and is visited by the spirits of his past. First comes his angry father, who attacks him for his mother's death in childbirth and suggests his son follows him into suicide. Then comes another "father", Adolf Hitler, who also took his life in an underground bunker. The Skull's daughter also turns up to express her hate, whilst Arnim Zola urges the Skull to kill himself and be reborn in a perfect body. However Captain America counsels against suicide. In just five pages we get a fascinating glimpse at the Skull's life and the forces that have driven him, as well as a struggle in which his most hated foe once again wins.

This issue continues a good solid plot that continues to build on the events of "Acts of Vengeance" and show the impact on the various characters, rather than simply moving onwards. However the Cap/Diamondback relationship can seem surprising when introduced this way and also needs a little more care with the artwork to avoid unintended suggestions.

Captain America #369 has been reprinted in:

• Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt (2018)

Captain America 368 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue sees both Captain America and the Red Skull's organisation following up the events of "Acts of Vengeance", with both trying to find Magneto.

Captain America #368

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Ron Lim (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Steve Buccellato (main)
Colourist: Nel Yomtov (back-up)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

For someone so notorious a continuity watcher as Mark Gruenwald, it's surprising that this issue doesn't seem to know where it fits into place around the end of the crossover. Thus whereas Captain America and the Avengers support crew are clearly set after the climax, over in Washington DC it's implied that this is the first time a Red Skull robot is activated to take the absent Skull's place and thus would be set before the climax. Finally a panel at the end of the first story showing Magneto's current location is the same scene as happened during the Mandarin's attack in Avengers #313. This sort of thing is frustratingly all too common around crossovers and makes for much headscratching over the correct order of things.

There are some good contrasts between the way Cap interacts with Avengers support crew and the way Crossbones does with other operatives in the Red Skull's base. But there's also a strong sense that the Skull's organisation is not merely people held together by pay or fear but does contain people who actually enjoy working for the Skull and the challenges it brings. And the prospect of the organisation collapsing because of the Skull's disappearance brings real fear.

The core focus for both the hero and villains is on finding Magneto, with the real one only making a single panel appearance here. Both Captain America and Crossbones have tried the research and contacts method, but Machinesmith has his own idea - send out a robotic duplicate in public to lure the real one out. Unfortunately it gets a little silly when Machinesmith, controlling the robot through his ability to transfer his consciousness between devices, decides he has to act "very un-Magneto like" and starts chewing the scenery. And all the attempt brings is Captain America instead.

The back-up story is a quick history of Machinesmith, told by the robot himself to the Sleeper he's working on. It recounts one of the more awkward parts of the character's history - his having been the second Mister Fear, a point where the two characters' history were merged some time back. Otherwise this is a tale of how a boy became fascinated by robots and developed as an engineer and then when he was killed in battle his robots preserved his brain patterns in mechanical form. The main surprise is how explicit the story is about Machinesmith's sexuality. He's presented as a highly camp character and here he talks to the Sleeper like a surgeon operating on his own romantic partner. His dialogue about putting his consciousness into other robots and enjoying the intimacy is extremely blatant. At the end he even removes his synthetic face to reveal his robotic one and kisses the Sleeper. At first the over campness feels unnecessarily stereotypical but it's easy to forget that until 1989 the Comics Code Authority had effectively barred the depiction of LGBT characters (the precise wording is complicated, hence some had got passed it) and to some extent exaggerated clichés were the most effective ways to get the message across. The code may have just changed but editorial policy might not yet have.

Otherwise this issue is quite a good example of Mark Gruenwald's epic run on the series which really deserves a complete collection; fortunately this issue is from a period covered by the Epic reprints. It shows how to use a crossover as a useful way to create interesting developments in a series and prepares the ground for a search for the Skull.

Captain America #368 has been reprinted in:

• Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt (2018)

Captain America 367 - Acts of Vengeance

And now we come to the big moment as Magneto attacks the Red Skull...

Captain America #367

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Kieron Dwyer (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Steve Buccellato (main)
Colourist: Nel Yomtov (back-up)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This issue once again contains two stories. To get the back-up out of the way first, it features the conclusion of the Cobra's encounter with Mr Hyde, with the former rediscovering himself, changing his costume slightly and modifying his name to become "King Cobra". It's been an interesting tale of self-discovery, though it could probably have benefitted from being told over two issues rather than three. Still it's a good little piece that has made use of the continuity from the mass breakout at the Vault, showing how Mark Gruenwald was often the master of tying things up.

So too does the lead story which tackles head on one of the biggest criticisms of "Acts of Vengeance". Of all the villains in the core alliance, Magneto is by far the most complicated character and had undergone a lot of development in the preceding decade as he moved away from his traditional villainous role into a much-more ambiguous anti-hero, complete with revelations about his past. Not all creators agreed with these moves and, as discussed a bit with Amazing Spider-Man #327, this particular era saw a lot of struggle over characterisation and direction with some issues doing their best to rationalise the changes around them. In this environment, using Magneto in an alliance of leading villains that could have been assembled at any point since 1967 was not going to sit too easily when it resulted in a Holocaust survivor working with a Nazi war criminal.

All that said, it should be noted that neither Magneto nor the Red Skull has actually done a great deal in the crossover so far. Most of the work of commissioning and dispatching villains has been carried out by Doctor Doom, with the Wizard doing some of the raw heavy lifting and the Kingpin providing organisational support. By contrast Magneto may have fought Spider-Man as part of an investigation, but otherwise has done little beyond observing and hectoring the other villains sent against Spider-Man. The Red Skull has done even less, just using the breakout from the Vault to increase the capabilities of his organisation. (Depending on chronology the Mandarin may or may not have done anything yet but if the latter then change is coming soon.) It's clear from his thoughts here that the Red Skull frankly has no interest in the overall plan and it's only the presence in his office of a portal to the committee room that keeps him attending. Was this perhaps a reflection of writer and editor boredom with the crossover as well?

But regardless of motivations we get the best handling of the villains in the whole saga as Magneto swoops in to confront the Skull directly. There's no evasion as he first demands confirmation that this actually is the Nazi-era Skull then condemns him for the actions of the regime he served in. There's never any real doubt about the physical outcome of the confrontation - the Skull may have technical resources and henchmen but they're all ultimately reliant on metal and useless against the Master of Magnetism. Thus all the Skull can do is try to slow Magneto down as he seeks to escape. Instead the Skull's most powerful weapon turns out to be words:

We are very much alike, you and I, Magneto, both of us wish to see our Master Race inherit the Earth. You call my Fuehrer barbaric? Am I mistaken or did you yourself not kill hundreds of men by sinking a submarine a few years back? To help realise your minority group’s destiny, would you balk at the imprisonment of inferiors? The extermination of the unfit? Come, come, Magneto. Do not expect me to be impressed by your sanctimonious posturings of moral superiority! Let's let the past rest. We both have better things to do in the present!

At a time when in the real world there was a renewed drive to bring Nazi-era war criminals to justice, it's interesting to see some of the arguments paralleled here. There were many who opposed prosecutions, arguing that a previous generation had declared the task completed and individuals should be allowed to move on in the present. Others fiercely disagreed and were determined to bring the surviving leaders to justice. But even some demanding prosecution were attacked on their own records. Magneto's position as a fighter for mutant rights has often led to the freedom fighter or terrorist point behind argued out and it's a powerful rejoinder. When he does eventually catch and imprison the Skull he feels the need to declare "I should kill you and be done with it. But that would reduce me to the level of a common killer... make me no better than you. And I am better than you, Nazi." Instead of killing he locks the Skull in a shelter, removing the ladder and leaving just water with no way of escape. It's a brutal torture.

This story does a lot to fix the problems raised by Magneto's inclusion in the "Acts of Vengeance" and it does it brilliantly. It also seems to be aware of potential knock-on effects and so introduces Red Skull robots - a small army of androids that look identical to the villain and can replace him, similar to Doctor Doom's Doombots who are mentioned here. Whether this is deliberate preparation for later issues or simply seeding the idea to cover any future continuity problems with Red Skull appearances is unclear, but it's a nice touch.

Missing from the cover and this post so far is the star of the series. Captain America does arrive at the Skull's offices in the hope of discovering more about the conspiracy, but all he gets is a battle with the Controller and other henchmen then a wander through the wreckage as he tries to work out what's happened and who attacked the Skull. It's preparing the ground for later tales, but this is a rare issue of a series that belongs to someone other than the lead hero.

Overall this is by far the single best issue of the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover. Sometimes attempts at continuity fixes merely produce dry explanations for awkward points. This is anything but that, instead taking a messy scenario and turning it around to restore Magneto's ambiguous position without undermining his participation in the saga. It's a strong, bold chapter with some brilliant imagery and dark moments.

Captain America #367 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Captain America Epic Collection: The Bloodstone Hunt (2018)

Essential Marvel Saga volume 2

Continuing the 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 2 contains issues #13 to #25, continuing to retell 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 apart from one issue by Peter David, and drawn by Keith Pollard, Ron Frenz, James Fry, Al Milgrom, Tom Morgan, Steve Buccellato, Bruce Solotoff, Phil Lord, Steve Geiger, José Marzan Jr, Hector Collazo and Keith Williams.

This volume continues the practice of summarising key storylines from Marvel's Silver Age, aided by reproducing many panels and using text captions and the occasional piece of new art to accelerate the retellings. Once again the origins are enhanced by later additions to the mythology such as Daredevil's debut including his history with Elektra and Stick as well as the original story. There's also some good tying together of stories to show their impact, such as the Crime-Master launching his attempt to take over the New York underworld at a time when the Fantastic Four are powerless and in hiding, Thor has departed for Asgard for the Trial of the Gods and Captain America is still making his way home through the South American jungle following his final showdown with Baron Zemo. Such a placing goes well beyond a mere wish to have a reading order and helps to show the Marvel Universe as a more integrated whole than it was realised at the time.

The choice of which characters to devote space to retelling their first adventures is a surprise, such as the many pages given over to the debut of Diablo compared to single panels each for the likes of the Grey Gargoyle, Kraven and the Owl's first outings. The cliffhangers to each issue aim to end on a dramatic point midway through a key story but occasionally the story in question is underwhelming or the foe has rather declined in stature since the 1960s. Issue #20 ends with the Frightful Four invading the Baxter Building and the final panel is the Wizard holding the Human Torch hostage. It's a reminder that the Wizard has rather plummeted off the A-List of foes since the Silver Age, his participation in the Prime Movers of the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover not withstanding, making the ending rather underwhelming.

Issue #22 sees a change of approach to the series (and a new editor - Adam S. Balustein succeeding Danny Fingeroth) and is devoted to Peter Parker and Mary Jane's relationship, as the Spider-Man wedding was close. So we see the whole course of it from Aunt May's first matchmaking through other girlfriends and the failed first proposal up to the wedding day, all in one issue. It's a different pace from before and also notable for being about the first place to suggest Mary Jane knew Peter was Spider-Man right from the outset. But there's also an odd moment at the end as a page from the Spider-Man vs. Wolverine one shot is reproduced to try to support the two being made for each other, yet it shows Peter crossing the lines of friendship before realising his mistake - almost as though it was intended to support the two not being together. Whilst it's nice to see an entire issue devoted to the background to one of the biggest events in Spider-Man's life, it would have been much better off as a stand-alone special rather than slotted into the regular series.

The remaining few issues see the saga focus in on specific events for the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer, rather than the broad approach of showing all the key events across the whole universe. Did the new approach kill the series or was it an unsuccessful attempt to save it? Either way it's a rather unsatisfactory change of course and all the momentum of the first twenty-one issues is lost as we get a narrow focus on the wedding of Reed and Sue, the discovery of the Inhumans and then the coming of Galactus and the Silver Surfer with their origins retold from later issues, showing in particular how the Surfer's past influenced the feelings Alicia reawakened within him. It's unfortunate as the wedding annual was the first significant time almost the entire Marvel universe was caught up in the same story and where it fits into the various series's continuities is something that isn't particularly well explained. We get the origins of Galactus and the Silver Surfer but surprisingly not the Inhumans.

The defeat of Galactus is presented as "a turning point in the history of the cosmos... [the] day humanity's representatives first proved themselves more than equal to the task of mastering the great challenges set them by the cosmos", and thus the point on which to end the series with a three page coda describing some significant events to come, ranging from Spider-Man's famous triumph in the remains of Doctor Octopus's headquarters to the battle between Dormammu and Eternity through to the Dark Phoenix Saga. There's a bit of a "and they triumphed and lived happily ever after" to some of the summaries such as Thor facing off against a witch doctor with the last of the Norn Stones or Namor rescuing Dorma and recovering his throne. Finally the Watcher reveals himself as the narrator of the whole series

Overall this volume shows the misfortune of the change of direction, abandoning the integrated tapestry of the Marvel universe in favour of retelling individual stories with additional backstories added in. That said, the latter approach could be a way to bring new readers up to speed on key characters, without having to subject them to expensive trade paperbacks (in the days before the Essentials but even with them it can take a lot of time and money to build up a complete run and the Epic series's habit of jumping about isn't conducive to chronology) or lengthy and controversial retellings. In the early 1990s this approach was followed with a couple of mini-series including Spider-Man Saga and Wolverine Saga, and there have been some more recent one shots in a similar format.

But that would be individual histories and not really worthy of the title "The Official History of the Marvel Universe" which should have been restricted to a total history across the line rather than segmented sections. The original broad concept of the series is a good one though in an era when so many of the original comics are easily available in reprint form it can now feel a little overlong in its retellings. But even with the issues available the big picture is lacking and this series set out to provide it. It's a pity that got abandoned when it did but the first two thirds of this volume maintain the original aims and good standards.