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Come, let us descend into the maelstrom and see what awaits us there.
And this time, it's the fault of Psycho Man who not only performs that act of vile iniquity but uses his powers to turn the Invisible Woman against the rest of the team!
So are our favourite mutants, in the X-Men/Power Pack crossover I'm sure someone somewhere must have dreamt of.
Anyway, for reasons I don't recall, the Power Packsters' parents forget who they are and this leads the youngsters into the clutches of the Morlocks beneath the streets of New York.
Surely, only the X-Men can rescue them now!
It's the return we've all prayed for, as the Rocket Racer is back! He just needs to commit one last job to pay his family's debts.
The only problem is there's a bounty hunter out to get him.
Meanwhile, in space, Captain Marvel has an eventful day, as she - and - we meet Nebula for the first time.
Meanwhile, it turns out her apartment was robbed shortly after that, and the Man Without Fear sets out to bring the crooks to justice.
It can only mean a scrap between the pair. One that's then joined by Spider-Kid.
Happily, by the tale's end, the trio are all friends and have decided to form a brand new super-team together.
How many Iron Men does one story need?
Seemingly, three because that's what we get when when the armour Rhodey abandoned in last issue's strange dimension is possessed by something called Omnos who comes to Earth, looking to return it to its rightful owner.
Elsewhere, Dr Demonicus gets his hands on another discarded suit of Iron Man's armour and then gets into a fight with Omnos.
Needless to say, all this unauthorised Shellhead action leads Tony Stark to don another suit of armour, in a bid to sort it all out.
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17 comments:
As usual, only the Thor and DD out of these.
That DD is a classic cover - Marvel used it for their 2000s reprint of Mazzuchelli's stories. Stories which, I might add, are well-overdue for collecting again properly at some point soon.
And a really good story. Denny O'Neill pulled it out of the bag for this one. Possibly the grimmest story since Frank Miller left, and another terrible burden of guilt for Matt Murdock to carry around. Going to dig this out and re-read tonight.
Of this group, I only bought the DAREDEVIL. I just vaguely remember Heather’s suicide, which is weird. You’d think it would have made a bigger impression on me, that’s pretty heavy.
b.t.
Likewise, just DD for. That Mazzuchelli cover is fantastic and a real indicator of what is to come. Im surprised that Heather's suicide was as late as this. Without checking I'd have placed it in MIller's run (I think she exited stage left during the Elektra era).
DW
Heather Glenn, Elektra, Karen Page... Matt Murdoch isn't really good news for the ladies, is he?
DW, the Matt/Heather split was fairly late - and quite sudden - in the Miller run. Iirc it was actually Foggy Nelson who broke them up, with the help of Natasha. It seemed quite unlikely - a couple about to get married split just because of a forged letter? - and a bit of a contrived way to write Heather out of the series.
But anyway, Daredevil #220 was one of the few issues I read in between #191 and Miller's return with 'Born Again' (although a little after the latter) and it seemed like Heather and Matt had spoken to each other since breaking up.
So was there any particular reason she didn't know Matt hadn't actually written to her? Did Foggy - or Natasha - feel any responsibility or guilt as a result of the suicide?
Matthew, you seem to have read a lot of the relevant Daredevils. Any thoughts?
-sean
Last month here I mentioned the use of the N-word in FF#279, which actually had an explanatory editorial note on the letters page: 'this issue and the next deal directly with some very real, very contemporary themes... It is not our intention to offend ANYONE [but] if our creators have a statement to make and a GOOD story to tell' blah blah blah...
So, does FF#280 make a statement? Does it have a good story to tell? The answers would have to be no, and no. Not at all.
Not only does having a whole city population taken over by the Hatemonger so everyone hates each other tell us absolutely nothing about racism or any other form of prejudice, but Sue dressing up in some sort of s&m outfit and basically becoming Dark Invisible Woman was just stupid.
And a real shame, as previously Byrne had actually done a pretty good job over the course of his FF run making Sue an interesting character.
-sean
Sean, that's right, it was a bit of ham-fisted Foggy/Natasha scam. I'd forgotten. Matt Murdoch was likely clinically insane around this time and so perhaps he assumed he'd written the letter. I guess dating anyone that dresses up at night and goes out on adventures, may not be the best way to achieve bliss. Probably why Mr. Ben remained a confirmed bachelor.
DW
Speaking of genuinely dark and creepy, rather than pretend edgy, has anyone seen 28 years later? I did not see that ending coming (no spoilers).
DW
IIRC, there was some unhappy contact between Matt and Heather in one of the immediately post-Miller issues (194 or 195?) when Heather starts dating a guy called Tarkington Brown (who is a bit of a vigilante himself) and - pissed, as usual - accidentally spills the beans about Matt being DD.
She then tells Matt, and he’s a bit exasperated about it, so I don’t think they ever had the chance to sit down and talk stuff through. But no, I don’t think the Foggy / Natasha intervention is referred to at all. I expect Denny forgot about that.
Matt’s run of bad luck with women continues right into the 21st century - he married a very nice blind woman called Milla who ended up sectioned.
Did anyone read the hideous mini-series ‘The End’ which had DD die at the hands of Bullseye?
It has a reveal towards the end wherein Matt had known he was going to run out of luck at some point and went round impregnating all his surviving exes. Quite breathtakingly crass.
I'm always surprised at how few Marvel/DC comics I picked up from around 1982 onwards. My memory is that I still picked up a few titles each month ( DD, Conan, Swamp Thing etc) but the issues on SDC from this time gives a very different account of my purchases at that time. I had none of these I'm afraid
DW My mate saw 28 Years later and said the same thing. I need to get out there and watch it.
Steve, I've not read Conan #172, so can't really comment on any lack or otherwise of Scottishness.
As I understand it though, Howard's take on the Picts was to identify them with the Cruithin, the (supposed) ancestors of the people who are today known as the Ulster-Scots.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruthin#Modern_politics_and_culture
So maybe you should be looking for different characteristics. Like, do the Picts have dodgy parades, and bonfires...? Perhaps theres a reason they are in the July issue of Conan.
Actually, I'll check out the comic myself, and get back to you.
-sean
REH's Picts were an ancient race, thousands of years old and they were the enemies of the Atlanteans but that didn't stop King Kull (an Atlantean by birth) from having a Pict (Brule The Spear-Slayer) as his sidekick.Eventually the Pictish race declined until they existed only in Caledonia (Scotland) with Bran Mak Morn as their last king.
I wish the USA had all that history you UK guys do (or maybe not?). I mean, you’ve used King Arthur, Prince Valiant, Celts, Picts, Kings and Queens, the Plot to blow up Parliament, etc extensively in story lines.
Which bit of North American history really shows up over and over? No one is lining up stories based on Geronimo or Sitting Bull or Tecumseh or Mandingo.
CH
Paul Bunyan & his blue Ox, Babe, got referenced in Marvel. Hulk vs Sasquatch story, perhaps?
Phillip
Paul Bunyan's not a historical figure, I know. But nor is Prince Valiant (although Robert Wagner is knocking on, a bit! )
Phillip
And King Arthur isn't a historical figure either and is more a mythical character based on Welsh and Celtic folklore.
Sean was the mention of the Picts in the July issue of Conan a wee dig at a certain group of folk that hold parades at this time? if so I think the Picts were a far more civilised group of people.
Charlie, Guy Fawkes's plot to blow up Parliament hasn't featured in any story-lines that I'm aware of.
COLIN - wasn’t the Guy Fawkes mask in “V” and seen quite frequently?
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