Captain America #148

Cover date: April 1972

Writer: Gary Friedrich

Artist: Sal Buscema

Inker: ?

“Eat some dirt! It may be the last thing we ever taste!”

So says Cap on the final page, and one can only wish... it’d be preferable to the bad taste left in my mouth by this stinker of a comic.

Yep, it’s the Red Skull (again!) with his dreams of Nazism and the rise of the Fourth Reich. He even has another Sleeper (the fifth), because Cap only defeated the last four. Oh hum.

So Cap is given an ultimatum; to surrender to the Sleeper (as tall as a skyscraper!) on the outskirts of Las Vegas, or the Red Skull will crush the free world with his unbeatable Sleeper. Leaving the Falcon to contact SHIELD and FEMME FORCE, and The Kingpin to rouse his men (organised crime in armoured vehicles), Cap sets of by jet-pack.

You can guess the rest. SHIELD, FEMME FORCE and The Kingpin’s men attack the Sleeper to no avail, while Cap sneaks aboard. Battlin’ his way through the Red Skull’s hordes, he confronts ol’ Skully who pulls a gun on him. Luckily, Redwing (Falc’s trained Falcon) swoops in and saves the day, and Cap accidentally knocks the Red Skull to his death. Cap and the Falcon smash up the controls and the Sleeper explodes.

So much for the unstoppable Sleeper, and the rise of Nazism!

Everything about this comic stunk. The plot, the pacing and the dialogue (oh, the dialogue is the worst!). It’s only saving grace are some nice panels here and there by Sal Buscema, who I am going to hazard a guess was inked, or finished, by Romita. I wonder why no inker was given a credit? Too embarrassed, maybe?

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Captain America #147

Cover date: March 1972

Writer: Gary Friedrich

Artist: Sal Buscema

Inker: John Verpoorten

Cap and Femme Force have raided a Hydra Base near Las Vegas to rescue a captured Sharon Carter. While Femme Force mops up sundry Hydra goons, Cap confronts The Supreme Hydra who seemingly fries Sharon. Cap, driven to a murderous rage, unmasks The Supreme to reveal that he is...The Schemer!

No, me neither. Apparently he last appeared in Spidey #83-85, and with that reveal comes another. The man masquerading as Howard Hughes (sorry, Harold Howard), father of The Supreme Hydra/The Schemer, and in control of Hydra, is none other than The Kingpin!

I think we need some explanation, so cue some flashbacks.

After the events in Spidey #83-85, The Kingpin had some kind of breakdown thanks to his son’s, erm, scheming, so to make amends his son joined Hydra (don’t worry, he has a plan). After rising to the position of The Supreme Hydra he kidnaps his old Dad and subjects him to some experimental shock treatment. Luckily (!) The Kingpin survives the remedy and his son makes his Mom promise that she’ll never reveal who was responsible for curing him, and, oh yeah, to also make sure that his Dad takes over Hydra.

Phew! Got all that?

Meanwhile, Sam Wilson is on his way to Las Vegas at the behest of Nick Fury.

Anyway, The Supreme escapes from Cap and makes his getaway in a rocket, so Cap follows with a jet-pack strapped to his back all the way to Las Vegas, where The Supreme lands his rocket craft on top of a hotel owned by Harold Howard. Cap follows him up to Howard’s penthouse, and is met by The Kingpin who engages him in battle. As always, the hero is surprised by how fast and agile the larger opponent is, and is almost beaten until the sudden arrival of The Falcon. With the tide of battle turned, we’re due another twist and a cliff-hanger ending. Someone else is actually in charge...

“Silence swine...and all will be made clear! The Kingpin is not the head of Hydra...nor was his son...nor was any Supreme Hydra who ever supposedly was in charge!”

Gulp! I wonder who that could be.

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The Invincible Iron Man #45

Cover date: March 1972

Writer: Gary Friedrich

Artist: George Tuska

Inker: Vince Colletta

The story opens half way through a fight between Iron Man and The Night Phantom, an indestructible android controlled by the ‘mysterious’ Mr. Kline. The same Mr. Kline who, erm, met his demise in last month’s Daredevil. I’ll get to that in a bit....

Also present is some gal named Marianne, who is apparently in love with our hero (and as it turns out, he with her) and has E.S.P.

After Tony Stark/Iron Man recovers from his usual heart seizure, he takes down The Night Phantom easily enough, just in time to cut away to some board room antics at Stark Industries with the other board members plotting to oust Stark. This meeting is being watched by Mr. Kline, which prompts a footnote;

“*Actually, nothing figures in Mr. Kline’s master schemes any longer since he perished in the climax of Daredevil #84. ..Stan.”

Holy interrupted sub-plot Batman! I guess, as reader Rick Kopesky puts it in the letter column, “This Mr. Kline mystery is overdone, and does not have me, for one, the least bit curious as to his secret identity.” And Marvel apparently listened, which explains that bizarre issue of Daredevil. Pity editorial forgot to inform Gary Friedrich, though.

After a brief scene of Young Iron Men in Love, and some guy named Kevin who’s got the hots for Marianne (and is jealous of his best friend and employer, Tony) we head back to Stark Industries, whereupon another boardroom meeting is crashed by The Guardsman. It turns out The Guardsman is Kevin (O’Brian), wearing a suit or armour designed by Stark.

Phew! We’re still not into Chapter Two.

Anyway, a bunch of student protesters turn up at Stark Industries to stick it to the man, and the boardroom members sic The Guardsman onto them...not a good idea, as he inadvertently injures three of them with a Repulsor Ray blast, inciting a riot as Iron Man appears. The Guardsman slinks away, and Iron Man flees the scene to avoid injuring anyone else and to keep the peace. He confronts Kevin in The Guardsman armour and disables him, before returning to the protest outside, just in time for the police to show up.

Continued next issue...

There was a lot going on here, which would probably have flowed easier without the Mr. Kline shenanigans. The soap-opera with Marianne also seemed out of place, but was well drawn by George Tuska, with some not unsympathetic Colletta inks. I’m certainly interested enough in where Tony’s proposal to the psychic Marianne goes.

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Captain America #146

Cover date: February 1972

Writer: Gary Friedrich

Artist: Sal Buscema

Inker: John Verpoorten

Cap and his >ahem< Femme Force break up a Hydra hijacking of a Shield airliner, while Sharon Carter lies mortally wounded; later, Hydra kidnap Sharon from the hospital she was taken in a bid to lure Cap into another trap.

I like Captain America. Honestly, I do. The Star-spangled Avenger from another era, slightly out of date with modern times and grappling with an America gone sour – but this isn’t that Cap just yet. This one just fights Hydra agents endlessly with late 60’s super-spy elements tacked on. I can’t even say Femme Force without imagining a feminine hygiene product....as one of the gals says “KEEP ‘EM UP! Just because we’re female doesn’t mean we won’t shoot!”

Quite.

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