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Post by The Captain on Sept 9, 2017 19:24:23 GMT -5
Captain America #102 "The Sleeper Strikes" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Syd Shores (inks) Cover Date: June 1968 SynopsisSteve reads the daily paper from his hospital room, having been rescued from the ocean by the Coast Guard following the events of the previous issue. Nick Fury enters and gives Cap grief about not stopping the Fourth Sleeper, and Cap argues with him, saying that Fury can't give him orders, after which Steve shows him the Sleeper key that he took from the Red Skull. At that moment, the Red Skull himself approaches Exile Island in a submarine, having been found by its crew following his escape from Cap. He explains that this island has been a training base for his personal army since the end of WWII, and he intends to wait out the Sleeper's rampage there before making Exile Island the capitol of the new world. Steve suits up and leaves the hospital in pursuit of the Sleeper, but he is immediately beset by some of the Red Skull's agents. He dispatches them quickly except for one, who would have gotten the drop on him if not for Agent 13, who shoots the attacker before convincing Nick Fury to let her go with Cap on his mission. As they speak, the Sleeper continues to wreak havoc, blowing up a factory in a tremendous fashion, which Cap and Agent 13 go to investigate. They are attacked in their helicopter by more of the Red Skull's minions, who shoot down the heroes' craft from their hover-seats. Reaching the ground, Cap lures off a couple of pursuers and takes them down, then regroups with Agent 13 to survey the blast site. While they do this, they realize the sonic key that Cap took from the Red Skull responds to brain waves, vibrating when they are near one another; however, this also draws the Sleeper to them. Cap engages it in a fight, but he is ineffective at doing it any harm until Agent 13 identifies that her emotions (in this case, her fear for Cap's safety) affect the Sleeper, and at the moment it nearly crushes him, her feelings are so strong that is causes the Sleeper to become intangible and disappear. As they embrace and bask in their victory, they are watched from Exile Island by the Red Skull, who has discovered Cap's weakness in his love for Agent 13, a weakness the Red Skull intends to use to defeat Cap... My ThoughtsSteve and Nick arguing about Cap's role and responsibility was fairly realistic, although Cap brought it on himself by constantly being at Fury's beck and call throughout the ToS issues. While he claims here to be a "loner", his actions betray that, both in his ties to the Avengers and his willingness to help SHIELD whenever they need him, which seems like always. The Red Skull is inconsistent here. In the previous issue, he nearly wets himself at the Fourth Sleeper's presence, claiming the key wouldn't stop it and that the Sleeper would destroy the planet, but here is is content to chill on his private island while the Sleeper does its uncontrollable destruction thing across the world. It certainly was nice of Nick to foist Agent 13 on Cap's mission so he "won't haveta listen to her moonin' over ya all day long", and how very sexist of Cap to tell him that he "can't bring a girl on such a mission." Hey, Cap, if it weren't for that "girl", you would have been dead in Wakanda at the hands of a fake Baron Zemo, and if not there, the Red Skull's agent would have blown your brains out in the street if she hadn't come along and shot him while your back was turned in this issue. Oh, Fourth Sleeper, how do I despise you? Let me count the ways. (1) Your ability to become intangible makes no sense and has no basis in science whatsoever. (2) What kind of internal power source do you possess that allows you to have the destructive capability of a volcano? (3) You can blow up factories without any problem, but you literally disappear from existence because of Agent 13's feelings for her boyfriend being channeled through some New Age hippie crystal? Lastly, how was Red Skull getting a video feed of Cap and Agent 13 from the middle of nowhere where they fought the Sleeper? Sure, he needs to know of Cap and Agent 13's feelings for each other, but couldn't he have gotten a report from the guys who attacked Steve in the street before he left for his mission, rather than him getting to watch something that there is no plausible way he should have had access to? My Grade: C-Too much silly science outweighs the positive in the relationship development between Steve, Nick, and Agent 13. This is just not a good story, building up the Fourth Sleeper as some unstoppable force, only to disappoint at the climax with an ending that makes zero sense whatsoever.
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 10, 2017 9:54:54 GMT -5
It certainly was nice of Nick to foist Agent 13 on Cap's mission so he "won't haveta listen to her moonin' over ya all day long", and how very sexist of Cap to tell him that he "can't bring a girl on such a mission." Hey, Cap, if it weren't for that "girl", you would have been dead in Wakanda at the hands of a fake Baron Zemo, and if not there, the Red Skull's agent would have blown your brains out in the street if she hadn't come along and shot him while your back was turned in this issue.
But it makes sense to write his sensibilities as a person from the 30's/40's.
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Post by The Captain on Sept 10, 2017 11:42:02 GMT -5
It certainly was nice of Nick to foist Agent 13 on Cap's mission so he "won't haveta listen to her moonin' over ya all day long", and how very sexist of Cap to tell him that he "can't bring a girl on such a mission." Hey, Cap, if it weren't for that "girl", you would have been dead in Wakanda at the hands of a fake Baron Zemo, and if not there, the Red Skull's agent would have blown your brains out in the street if she hadn't come along and shot him while your back was turned in this issue.
But it makes sense to write his sensibilities as a person from the 30's/40's. That makes sense to some extent, but at the same time, Cap has witnessed firsthand Agent 13's skills and capability, so while it is certainly chivalrous of him to want to keep her out of harm's way, he knows she's not some frail little flower. |
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 10, 2017 19:40:58 GMT -5
Captain America #102"The Sleeper Strikes" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Syd Shores (inks) Cover Date: June 1968 My ThoughtsSteve and Nick arguing about Cap's role and responsibility was fairly realistic, although Cap brought it on himself by constantly being at Fury's beck and call throughout the ToS issues. While he claims here to be a "loner", his actions betray that, both in his ties to the Avengers and his willingness to help SHIELD whenever they need him, which seems like always. Agreed. Cap's still feeling like an outsider, but cannot bring himself to go the Spider-Man route. His memories and "man out of time" situation would not allow him to function well as a loner. Lee histrionics--use whatever big line or emotion that suits the moment, even if it does not match up the following issue. As Icctrombone mentioned, Cap is from the 30s/40s, and he's also thinking of the magnitude of facing a Sleeper, a creation posing a far greater threat than human agents and their sci-fi weaponry. Neither does the "science" behind the Vision, both Human Torches, Wolverine, the Super Soldier serum, all things Galactus, the Crimson Dynamo, and so on... No one asks that about the Death Star. What is a "superlaser" anyway, and how would any man-made energy source destroy a planet with one, short shot? Well...plot convenience. The same helpful device which allowed a security camera catch Revenge of the Sith's Anakin kneeling before Darth Sidious, when no calculating "mastermind" like Sidious would keep cameras on after all of the big moves he made that day. But hey, Obi-Wan and Yoda could not know Anakin had turned in any other way, so plot convenient cameras it is! Its just the opposite for me, as Cap's stories of this era are more about character drama than action setpieces--the latter only counting for spectacle as a backdrop, uless part of a greater story that adds more depth to the characters. Grade: B |
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Post by The Captain on Sept 30, 2017 12:33:53 GMT -5
Captain America #103 "The Weakest Link!" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Syd Shores (inks) Cover Date: July 1968 SynopsisSteve and Agent 13, who he now knows is named Sharon Carter, are enjoying a romantic night out of dinner and dancing, one that is tragically cut short when they are attacked and gassed in the middle of the restaurant. Their attackers grab Agent 13 and carry her off to their waiting rocket ship, reporting back to the Red Skull that they were successful in capturing her before her tall, blonde escort could react. The Red Skull berates them for their stupidity, as he knows her escort was none other than Steve Rogers, Captain America himself. Walking away from the view screen, the Red Skull enters the Exile Island council room, where he meets with his chiefs of staff, a multi-cultural/ethnic group of men in his service. They discuss their motivations as Nazis, then bring in a couple of captives to fight for their amusement. The fighters protest at first, but eventually give in to their demands once the Red Skull threatens them with some rod-shaped device that terrifies them. As the Red Skull and his men watch the fight, Captain America jets across the ocean in a SHIELD plane, diving out before reaching Exile Island. He is tangled up by the electronically-controlled artificial kelp surrounding the island as a defense, so he uses some hand-held explosive device to break free, although that attracts the attention of the Exile Island guards. They race toward Cap in a boat, but he overtakes them and steals the boat, speeding off to the island before crashing into the shore. Fighting his way through waves of the Exile soldiers, Cap makes his way inside the fortress, only to be confronted by the Red Skull; freezing in shock at seeing his believed-dead foe, Cap is knocked out from behind, allowing the Red Skull to place "nuclear tape" on Cap's neck so that he can affix a device to Cap that allows him to kill Cap no matter where on earth Cap goes. Cap is then thrown into a cell next to Agent 13, where they discuss escape plans, while elsewhere, some of the Exile Island council threatens mutiny before being shut down by the members loyal to the Red Skull. With the villains distracted, Agent 13 uses a corrosive powder hidden in her fingernail to help them escape their cells, then uses a micro-flame throwing hidden in another nail to get through a wall. She and Cap fight their way to the island's airstrip, taking on both rank-and-file goons as well as the Red Skull himself along the way. Even though Cap bests his long-time enemy, allowing them to get into a plane and take off from the island, the Red Skull laughs last, as he still holds the detonator for the device on Cap's neck... My ThoughtsFinally! After all of the time spent pining over and declaring his love for Agent 13, Steve learns the real name of his gal pal. I'm wondering if Stan was holding off on naming her to see if the character would catch on or if he just didn't feel it was important to do so until now. Red Skull knows that Agent 13 and Captain America are an item, he knows how to find her in a city full of people like New York, and he knows the Steve Rogers is Captain America, but he doesn't think to tell his own men that if they find her in the company of a tall, blonde guy, they probably should grab him as well? Sigh... There is a really nice four-page action sequence as Cap approaches and invades Exile Island, fighting the Red Skull's men on a boat before crashing into the shore and engaging more soldiers in fighting before being subdued. Really showed off Kirby's strength in drawing dynamic scenes, as well as being aided by Shores' inks. I'm not really sure what "nuclear tape" is or how it differs from regular tape, but I'm really glad it isn't sold at Home Depot. Nice little touch that some of the Exile Island council would challenge the Red Skull's leadership. With that much ego in the room, and with his repeated failures and defeats at the hand of Captain America, there had to be someone not fully onboard with being a lackey. I tried really hard to figure out how a "capsule of corrosive powder" could be hidden in Agent 13's fingernail, as well as how she kept from accidentally breaking it open and melting her own finger off. Seeing as it would have had to be there since before her dinner with Steve, that's not the type of thing you want to bump into the side of a table and set off. Likewise for the "micro-flame thrower" in her middle finger nail. How would that even work? What is the fuel source? How does she generate enough heat to melt through a wall, yet not burn the tip of her finger right off? This little trick makes the capsule of corrosive powder seem downright realistic in comparison. My Grade: CThis is what I would call a "perfectly acceptable" issue. There are some flaws, particularly with the Silver Age spy tricks as well as some PIS regarding the Red Skull not prepping his men to recognize Steve Rogers, but introducing some other bad guys is a good thing (even if they are tied to the Red Skull's organization), and the Kirby action sequences, as well as the following amazing splash page, make up for those flaws. 
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 1, 2017 22:09:24 GMT -5
Captain America #103 "The Weakest Link!" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Syd Shores (inks) Cover Date: July 1968 My Grade: CThis is what I would call a "perfectly acceptable" issue. There are some flaws, particularly with the Silver Age spy tricks as well as some PIS regarding the Red Skull not prepping his men to recognize Steve Rogers, but introducing some other bad guys is a good thing (even if they are tied to the Red Skull's organization), and the Kirby action sequences, as well as the following amazing splash page, make up for those flaws. More about his developing relationship with Agent 13 than the Red Skull, who is just being the devil of the month(s). The social ice is slowly thawing from Steve Rogers, but his well-known personal demons will come a-roarin' back soon enough. No matter how inconsequential stories like this might be (ultimately), the character development was all-important in making Cap one of the hands down best Marvel characters of the 60s and 70s. Art: Syd Shores is one of the best things that ever happened to Kirby's art, as in the example you provided, he cleaned up / removed the stiff, robotic Kirby hallmarks with his softening inks, which also added more realistic depth to all of Kirby's human forms. |
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Post by The Captain on Jul 23, 2018 14:34:12 GMT -5
Having been motivated by thwhtguardian and his nomination for Favorite Review Thread in this year's Jamie Awards, as well as looking for some way to get myself re-engaged with my collection after going through a period of not really caring about it, I am reviving this thread. It will take much the same format as before, with a few paragraphs of synopsis followed by my "quick hit" thoughts and a grade. Always welcome feedback and conversation about the reviews and issues, as that is what I enjoy most about doing them. Anyway, here we go again! Captain America #104 "Slave of the Skull" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Dan Adkins (inks) Cover Date: August 1968 SynopsisThe issue opens with Captain America fighting against a host of foes, all dressed identically. He dodges every attack, eventually subduing his enemies, who are revealed to be LMDs; he is doing this exercise for a group of doctors, as he has been experiencing frequent headaches, and he is struck by one during the post-fight conversation in the presence of both the doctors and Agent 13, who has come to check on him. The scene quickly shifts to Exile Island, where the Red Skull has used the neuro-rod to activate the nuclear tape on Cap's neck, causing the headache. He has somehow tapped into both S.H.I.E.L.D.'s audio and video network, and he informs Cap both about the nuclear tape and that he has hidden a miniaturized H-bomb somewhere in Washington D.C., and that Cap must return to Exile Island to face him in a final battle. One of the council members questions the Red Skull's revelation of the plan, but he is told that Cap can do nothing and that the Red Skull will succeed where even Adolf Hitler failed. Entering his council room, the Red Skull hears from each of its members, thinking that each will follow him and his hatred until he no longer needs them. The S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors find the nuclear tape but can't do anything to it without risking blowing up the nation's capital. Sharon argues against Steve leaving for Exile Island, but Steve tells he her must for the sake of the world. Soon thereafter, Steve arrives at Exile Island, where he boards a Nazi craft to be taken to the Red Skull; attacking immediately, Cap is stunned by the neuro-rod, then taken before Red Skull's council. While this is happening, back in Washington, Nick Fury and Agent 13 find the bomb, but they need to wait until Tony Stark can come defuse it or risk accidentally setting it off. On Exile Island, each of the council members introduces himself before attacking Cap with their special weapon or skill, Cap bests them all in order, then, as the Red Skull attempts to use the neuro-rod to force Cap to remove the nuclear tape and detonate the bomb, he discovers that the bomb has been defused and Exile Island is under attack by S.H.I.E.L.D., causing him and his council to flee and his soldiers to surrender. Sharon removes the tape from Steve's neck as he gives a speech about defeating tyranny and how democracy will triumph always. My ThoughtsThe opening action sequence from Kirby and Adkins is nice, although Adkins' inks don't have quite the same effect on Kirby's pencils as Shores' did last issue, especially on the LMDs, who appear quite angular in places. Another remote viewing of Cap by the Red Skull, although I can live with the "he tapped into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s closed-circuit system" as an explanation better than having cameras in exactly the right place in the middle of the jungle as in previous issues. I liked the Red Skull's take on why the Nazis lost WWII, as it was because they didn't listen to him. If one is going to be a super-villain, having an ego gigantic enough to question of the all-time Big Bads may be a plus. Speaking of egos, I do understand each of the council members wanting to take a crack at Cap individually, to prove they are the superior member of the council, but not pressing their numbers advantage just seems like poor planning to me. Why was the only way to detonate the bomb tied into the nuclear tape on Cap's neck? Sure, the Red Skull wanted Cap to be responsible for the deaths of thousands and to feel that guilt and pain, but maybe having a back-up plan to set the bomb off might have been in order? Also, what was it about the nuclear tape that kept it stuck to Cap's neck so firmly? What if it had fallen off in the shower or if the collar of his shirt had gotten stuck to it and then pulled it off? The tie-in with having Tony Stark need to come down and defuse the bomb was kind of neat from a world-building perspective, but I have to wonder how many bombs Stark had defused in his life that made Nick Fury so confident he would be able to do it. My Grade: C Just like last issue, this was perfectly acceptable comic book fare. The villain has a ridiculously complicated plan that hinges on lots of things going just right, the hero thwarts him, and the villain and his minions escape to fight another day. Some PIS with the council all wanting to take individual shots at Cap, but nothing so egregious to warrant a lower grade. However, I'm getting kind of tired of the Red Skull at this point, so having other bad guys show up for Cap to fight would be nice. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jul 23, 2018 14:45:59 GMT -5
Cap #104 was published at a time when dialogue on covers was out of fashion. A couple of years later, every one of those council members would have had something to say.
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Post by tarkintino on Jul 24, 2018 3:12:37 GMT -5
Having been motivated by thwhtguardian and his nomination for Favorite Review Thread in this year's Jamie Awards, as well as looking for some way to get myself re-engaged with my collection after going through a period of not really caring about it, I am reviving this thread. It will take much the same format as before, with a few paragraphs of synopsis followed by my "quick hit" thoughts and a grade. Always welcome feedback and conversation about the reviews and issues, as that is what I enjoy most about doing them. Anyway, here we go again! This is a great thread, and covering one of my favorite periods of any Marvel title. Agreed; Shores softened Kirby's robotic tendencies more than any other inker he worked with from this point forward. Adkins was fine, I suppose, but I do wish there had been a consistent inker for Kirby while on this title. This is an important point about the Red Skull as a villain: other antagonists from Marvel and DC have had their motivations change throughout the years, sometimes from one appearance to another, but the Red Skull--somehow--was given a steady, strong personality with the idea that he was a Nazi operative, but only served in that capacity as a convenience, since he believed he was greater than his "master race" benefactors, making him one the darkest, non-superpowered threats of the MU. I guess you can chalk that up to the Skull's ego at work; in his mind, he's the mastermind, so nothing could go wrong...nevermind his failure to kill Captain America in endless schemes & battles before this one... Perhaps that was the point; I do not recall Stark being any more of an expert in that field than say...anyone at SHIELD....but yeah, it was cool to know that these characters did not just vanish into thin air at the end of "page 28" of their own stories and/or titles. Well, every Batman needs his Joker, or Superman his Luthor. |
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Post by The Captain on Aug 7, 2018 15:47:24 GMT -5
Captain America #105 "In the Name of Batroc!" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Dan Adkins (inks) Cover Date: September 1968 On a side note, this is not the cover of my copy of the book; mine is in much nicer condition.  SynopsisCap and Bucky are fighting Germans in WWII again?? No, it's just some old war footage that is being screened for Steve, as a TV producer tries to convince him to narrate the film for a show, which he believes will do great ratings. As he explains his plan, Steve drifts away, wondering why he had been so careless as to let Bucky join him in his fight, leading to the boy's death; his thoughts then shift to Sharon Carter, who he wants to have a life with but can't bear the thought of being the cause of her death as well. Elsewhere, Batroc and The Swordsman have teamed up and are training together as they await the arrival of their third partner, The Living Laser. They have a job lined up, to find a bomb that has been hidden in New York City, a job that will pay them the grand sum of $1,000,000 if they succeed. At the same time, Captain America is being briefed on the very same weapon, known as the Seismo-Bomb, which can create a massive shockwave that could destroy the entire city but only after giving three smaller warning shockwaves before detonating. Cap takes off on his hunt, only to spot the three villains on a nearby rooftop. Jumping into the fray, he first takes on The Swordsman, who has Cap on the ropes by using a variety of the tricks hidden within his sword, but he ultimately fails as Cap gets a second wind and knocks him out with a mighty punch just as the first warning shockwave strikes the building. Living Laser and Batroc have slipped away during that fight, frantically searching the building below for the Seismo-Bomb, only to be interrupted by Captain America, whom Living Laser immediately attacks. The results are the same, as Cap eventually defeats his foe, but the altercation has allowed Batroc to escape while the second shockwave hits. Knowing that time is running out, Cap finds the savate master and they fight, only to be stopped by the third shockwave, which send Batroc running off in fear, leaving Cap to find and stop the bomb alone. He locates it and manages to defuse it before it destroys the city, while Cap collapses to his knees, knowing his fight will never be over. My ThoughtsThere is a great two-page spread just after the opening page showing Cap and Bucky back in action together. I don't know what happened between last issue and this, but Adkins' work on smoothing out the angular nature of Kirby's pencils is much better on these two pages. Steve is no longer just questioning his responsibility in Bucky's death (which had been unique to him), but he's now picked up the Matt Murdock/Don Blake/Tony Stark "I don't dare love the girl because I will only put her at risk" syndrome. It's nice of him to worry, but it is totally unnecessary, as Sharon Carter is a full spy with S.H.I.E.L.D., not a secretary or nurse or personal assistant, so her day job is going to put her in danger already. Hey, it's not the Red Skull! Points to them for bringing in a new face (Living Laser) as well as some old foes, and still more points for the continued portrayal of Batroc as Steve's equal, not some punchline with a funny accent and silly mustache. Seismo-Bomb? Sure, why not, although, while I know it is for plot purposes only, why the warning shockwaves? Just set it off and knock down everything immediately instead of giving it time to be discovered. Since the story itself was a little thin (this could have been done in Tales of Suspense in half the pages), Kirby got the opportunity to draw some great extended fight scenes between Cap and both Swordsman and Batroc; the one with the Living Laser was a little weaker, as there was not much physical confrontation. Again, he draws Batroc as an actual threat to Cap, which just works so well here, as they needed a longer fight to fill up the pages. The issue ends very abruptly, with Cap defusing the bomb and just sinking to his knees in relief or exhaustion or who knows? It was a little jarring to have no wrap up beyond one panel. My Grade: C-While there is some really good stuff going on here with the art, the story is so slight and inconsequential that I have a hard time giving it a higher grade. A different crew of villains was a nice touch and Batroc is always welcome in my eyes, but the missteps with Cap's unneeded worry about Sharon and the lack of any real meat in the plot left me a little flat.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2018 18:13:04 GMT -5
Batroc is one of my favorite Marvel Villains and great villain for Captain America to work with The Captain and I was a bit surprised to see the grade of C- for Captain America #105 here. That's one of my favorite Captain stories because of Batroc. I understand the jarring ending and this is primary is the fault of the editor and that why you graded it so poorly and that's my own opinion. I just feel that Stan Lee should had done a better job of writing it; and mishandled Batroc completely and that's why you gave it a C Minus grade and I can see justification for that Grade.  |
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Post by sabongero on Aug 8, 2018 10:59:23 GMT -5
Thanks for posting #104 last month and #105 several hours ago The Captain . I like the way you correlate characters from an issue with previous stories that has passed in the series. Thanks for continuing the review of this Silver Age series The Captain. |
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Post by The Captain on Aug 22, 2018 20:41:29 GMT -5
Captain America #106 "Cap Goes Wild!" Writer: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks) Cover Date: October 1968 SynopsisOutside a local S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ building, Cap is fighting a group of green-suited men, all of whom have vaguely-Asian features. While a handful of them keep Cap pinned down with blasters, another breaks away, carrying a metal box. Cap dispatches his attackers and pursues the runner, but just as he tackles the man, the metal box is carried away by a magnetic grapple hanging from a hovering helicopter that immediately speeds off. Inside the copter, the crew discuss their prize: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s LMD file! Feeling dejected at having let the lockbox be taken, even though the local cops are praising him for capturing the thieves, Cap is approached by a car. The driver identifies himself as one of Nick Fury's men, then offers Cap a ride home; along the way, the driver tells Cap what was in the box that was taken. Once at Steve's apartment, Steve starts to make a phone call but stops, and the agent guesses it was to have been to Sharon Carter; he says he understands, as he had to give up his girl to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, although this does not comfort Steve at all. Pulling out a film case, the agent shows Steve a movie that depicts Captain America and Bucky in what Steve believes is a documentary, but he is horrified when the film shows Captain America shooting an enemy prisoner in cold blood. The agent tells Steve they don't know who made the film but that they know the distribution company, so Steve asks for the next flight to Hollywood to set things right. In a lab elsewhere, a contingent of Red Chinese scientists are undertaking Operation: Replica, using the stolen LMD file to duplicate Captain America. Once finished they put the simulacrum into a shipping crate bound for the West Coast, which is where the scene shifts, to the set of a movie being made by Cyril and Willie Lucas, two filmmaking brothers. They are discussing this being their first big-budget film, but Willie, the smaller of the two, is worried what will happen if people find out where they got their financing; Cyril tells him to shut up and leave everything to him, as he had to make the deals he did in order to get money for a life-saving operation for Willie. The phone in their office rings, with Captain America on the other end, saying he wants to come by to talk; Cyril invites him to stop by, and after hanging up, tells Willie that they will kill Cap and replace him with the LMD, whose crate is in their office, in order to discredit Cap's reputation and destroy the confidence of the free world on behalf of the Chinese government. Cap sneaks into the studio and comes face-to-face with his own LMD. A fight ensues, with the LMD casually tossing Cap around due to its enhanced speed and strength, but just as the fight appears over, Cap manages to kick it away as Cyril and Willie watch from the shadows. The LMD regains the upper hand, and just as it begins to overpower Steve, Willie rushes in and grabs the LMD, which throws him aside into some machinery. Battling on, Cap takes severe abuse, but he keeps fighting until the LMD starts to glow and then runs away. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who apparently has been watching the scene, tells Cap that is what happens to LMDs when they get stressed and that they just "crack up"; he also tells Cap that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been watching Cyril for a while and was giving him enough rope to hang himself. As Cap and the agent walk off, Cyril finds Willie's lifeless body and laments his choices. Returning to his office, he is confronted by an unseen man with a gun, a man who Cyril says he has been expecting... My ThoughtsI have a serious Love-Hate relationship with this issue. On the positive side, I do like the set-up of the Chinese agents stealing the LMD file, as it has a great Cold War/Red Scare vibe and could go in a lot of interesting directions. As well, even though the end game of ruining Captain America's reputation, through the use of the LMD, to "destroy the confidence of the free world" is kind of ill-defined in exactly how it will work, it has just enough plausibility that it doesn't bother me all that much; it seems very much a comic-book villain thing to do, and I'm OK with that. However, I HATE the inclusion of the Lucas brothers in this story, as I can't understand why the Chinese government would need two failures like them to help their agenda is beyond me. If someone was sophisticated enough to create a film (without the LMD because it hadn't been made yet) that could fool Steve Rogers himself into thinking it might be legitimate, then what do Cyril and Willie bring to the table? Sure, they have their own movie studio (which makes no sense, as they don't seem to have two nickels to rub together, which is why they are taking payoffs from the Commies to fund Willie's operation), but they seem more geared to making sci-fi flicks with girls in skimpy costumes than propaganda films for a foreign government. Also, the idea that the LMD would get "stressed" (although the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent could have meant physically, not mentally) and then would run away instead of fighting until it exploded is ludicrous. LMDs didn't have sentience, only the ability to do what they were programmed to do, so why would it sense danger and run off? It should have stayed there, continued to go after Cap, and then exploded, killing both Willie and Cyril as Cap used his shield to protect himself; had Kirby drawn that as the climax, it would have been a better finish to their tale, instead of the mystery man with the gun presumably shooting Cyril after he leaves his brother's corpse. Additionally, I can't stand the idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been watching Cyril Lucas for a while and probably had the goods on him to bring him down, but they waited until Cap was almost beaten to death by the LMD to reveal this was the case. Even then, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent just leaves, even though Cyril had conspired with a foreign power to try to kill Captain America, instead of arresting him based on the evidence of what he just saw. My Grade: D+ A promising premise is undermined by some shoddy spywork by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the introduction (and seeming exit) of the Lucas brothers, witless losers of the highest degree.
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Post by tarkintino on Aug 23, 2018 0:56:39 GMT -5
Captain America #106"Cap Goes Wild!" This was a bizarre mixture of plotting in that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent gets so personal and just happens to have the bait documentary, while the filmmaking, medical drama brothers just so happened to be tied to the Red Chinese (and you-know-who behind the scenes), all just to get Cap to fly to Hollywood to meet his end at the hand of a replacement....? Lee would have had an easier time selling the idea of the Red Chinese attaching giant robot legs to the Empire State Building and sending it on its destructive way. Your grade is more than fair. If not for my love of Captain America in this period of his history, I would have skipped over buying it, but there's that completest bug in me...at least up to a certain point in Cap's published history.... |
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Post by Cei-U! on Aug 23, 2018 7:08:28 GMT -5
Let's make no mistake here: the faults with both #105 and 106 are Jack Kirby's, not Stan Lee's. At this point, Kirby was responsible for pretty much everything on the series: plotting, pacing, etc. Stan's job was basically to add dialogue to the pages Jack handed in. Oh, he might have said "Let's use Batroc, Swordsman, and Living Laser in the next issue" (the latter two characters Kirby didn't co-create or design and thus probably wouldn't have used without prompting) but that's probably it. That's why the short period between the conclusion of the Exiles storyline and the first Steranko issue are so dire: Kirby was bored and phoning it in. Swapping Kirby ouit for Steranko was Lee doing his job as editor.
Cei-U!
I summon the properly laid blame!
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