Thanks for the corrections, Kurt!  I was in a bit of a rush to finish this before I had to head out to Bible study last night (not an excuse, but rather an explanation), and I got sloppy.  Original review has been updated for posterity.  

Tales of Suspense #65



"The Red Skull Strikes"
Writer: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Chic Stone (inks)
Cover Date: May 1965
Based on the story "Captain America and The Riddle of the Red Skull", originally printed in Captain America Comics #1, dated March 1941, by Ed Herron (script) and Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (art).

Synopsis
In front of a luxury housing building, Major Croy exits an army vehicle and orders the driver to return to Fort Lehigh. The driver, Steve Rogers, asks if he should stay, but the major dismisses both Private Rogers and Bucky Barnes, in the passenger seat, before entering the building. Once in his dwelling, the major sits and reads, when he is startled by an intruder entering through the window behind him. The intruder, wearing a green jumpsuit with a white swastika on the chest and a red mask, attacks Croy, gassing him in order to cause him to lose his memory.

Later that evening, Rogers and Barnes are back at the crime scene to answer questions, but as soon as they sense an opening, they slip away and change into their costumes, intent on searching the city as their alter egos. Bucky eventually catches up to a gang of bankrobbers who are dropping off their ill-gotten loot to the man who had attacked Major Croy, who one of the robbers identifies as "The Red Skull". As he watches them, another of the robbers takes Bucky by surprise and captures him, dragging him back to the Red Skull. The Skull recognizes Bucky as Captain America's sidekick and realizes that he will be a valuable hostage, but just then there is a knock at the door. Despite the Skull's orders not to open it, one of the robbers does just that, and Cap bursts through the door, attacking the robbers and freeing Bucky; in the commotion, however, the Red Skull slinks away through a secret passageway. Despite losing the Skull, Cap and Bucky retrieve the stolen money, realizing they have put a dent in the Nazi's sabotage network with this event.

The next day, Steve Rogers' squad is serving as an honor guard at the army air base, where they are introduced to Mister (John) Maxon, owner of Maxon Aircraft Corporation, who has brought a new bomber to be tested there. Shortly after takeoff, the bomber's far-left engine blows out, causing the aircraft to lose control and eventually crashes to the horror of the onlooking squad. Maxon only shows concern for the loss of the aircraft, to which Rogers calls him out for not caring about the two pilots who were lost; General Curtis yells at Steve, who later tells Bucky that he just snapped, even though it might mean permanent K.P. duty for him. Steve is determined to find out why Maxon reacted the way he did, so he decides to pay a visit to the general's house as Captain America to get some background on Maxon.

At the general's home, Cap and Bucky find the general injured and lying on the ground, but before they can investigate, they hear a woman's scream. They go to find out what was going on, only to find the general's housekeeper being attacked by the Red Skull. The Skull clumsily attacks the duo, who easily avoid his punches and knock him to the ground, They remove the Red Skull's mask to reveal "Mister Maxon", who explains that he has replaced the real John Maxon and gotten access to many levels of high military officials. Catching the pair by surprise, the Skull makes a break for it out the window as two Nazi gunmen pin Cap and Bucky down to allow the Skull to escape in a car parked outside.

As they head back to check on General Curtis and his housekeeper, Cap finds a notepad the Skull dropped, a notepad that has a list of names on it. The first two names, Major Croy and General Curtis, have been crossed off, but the last two have not, those being Captain America and Bucky...

Continuity Issues: None

My Thoughts
This is a fabulous issue, the best of the Cap stories in TOS thus far. Stan Lee successfully reintroduces the Red Skull to the Silver Age audience with a well-written story that is devoid of some of the glaring plot holes that marred the early Cap installments (especially the ones set in modern day). In regard to the art, the return of Chic Stone on inks is noticeable; he has a lighter touch than Frank Giacoia, who had some very heavy lines in the previous two issues.

My only complaint about the art is the Red Skull's look (see below). He looks like a schlub in a fright mask and a pair of Dr. Denton PJs, not an evil Nazi mastermind and certainly not someone who would pose a physical threat to Captain America.


As with the previous couple of stories, there are some differences between the original 1941 story and this one, those being;
1. Steve already knows of the Red Skull and a threat against Major Croy which he mentions prior to being dismissed after dropping the major off at home.
2. The Red Skull "hypnotizes" both Major Croy and General Manor (known as "General Curtis" in the TOS story), killing them with his "death stare" rather than gassing them to cause memory loss. The "death stare" actually doesn't cause the deaths of those men, but rather is it a hypodermic needle filled with poison that does the job.
3. The woman attacked at General Curtis' home is his wife, not his housekeeper (although the woman's identity is never confirmed in the new story, just that Bucky calls her "the housekeeper" twice).
4. Mister Maxon's first name is given as "George", not "John".
5. George Maxon/The Red Skull dies after his struggle with Cap and Bucky, rolling over on the hypodermic needle and poisoning himself.

My Grade: A+. After the slight step backwards last issue with the Sando and Omar story, Stan, Jack, and Chic deliver a great story here.

Tales of Suspense #64
Tales of Suspense #66

Are among my favorite issues in this series and especially #66 was one of the best written stories that came out of that Comic Book Titles that Marvel did back then. The Captain, you did a great job writing up these two reviews. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Was Adolph Hitler and the Iron Monger villain used a lot in 1960's Captain American comic books and Tales of Suspense comic books with Captain America?

You're right. I stand corrected. The Hate Monger. He's a villain, supposedly a clone of Adolf Hitler, that appeared in some of the late 1970's Captain America comic books. 

Tales of Suspense #68



"The Sentinel and The Spy!"
Writer: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (as Frank Ray) (inks)
Cover Date: August 1965

Synopsis
As this issue begins, the bullet fired from Cap's gun at the end of last issue goes wide, as Cap had overcome the Red Skull's brainwashing and deflected the shot. He is attacked by the Nazi soldiers, furious at him for scuttling their mission, and he orders the general to find cover during the fight. Bucky arrives on the scene to find Cap back to normal, and the two of them proceed to beat on the enemy soldiers until the US troops arrive, at which point Cap explains to the general what had happened leading up to the account.

Across the English Channel, the Red Skull plots his next master scheme, which consists of his agents stealing an Allied weapon known as "Project Vanish". He reveals that an agent he planted in the Allied POW compound will soon take action. Cutting to that camp, the Nazi agent orders another prisoner to try to escape, which results in the escapee getting shot, leaving an open spot on the next morning's supply truck, which is taken by the Skull's agent under the guard of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Partway through their trip, the Nazi agent releases a hidden gas canister, creating a cloud that he uses to cover his escape. He heads into the woods, with Rogers and Barnes in hot pursuit. The heroes come upon a house in the woods that has a number of unconscious Allied soldiers just behind the stone wall surrounding the structure. As they investigate, Steve's gun is struck from a ray from off-panel, and the gun disappears. A few more bursts from the ray gun, now in Nazi hands, cause part of the wall and a tree to vanish.

Now in his Captain America uniform, Steve presses an attack, using his shield to throw off the Nazi's aim. A tank column rumbles by, and the Nazi agent turns his attention to them; as Cap sneaks up on him, a shell explodes nearby, knocking both of the men to the ground. Even from a prone position, the Nazi managers to wipe out half of a tank, but he has turned the ray gun up to full intensity, which causes it to explode when he next pulls the trigger. Bucky races toward the explosion and finds Cap, who asks Bucky to bring his military uniform before the Allied troops show up; when they arrive, they find an unconscious Nazi and injury-feigning Steve Rogers, both of whom are sent to the medical staff for treatment.

Continuity Issues: None

My Thoughts
Another enjoyable issue from Stan and Jack, although it was a definite step down from the previous two. The wrap-up of the brainwashed Cap storyline was fine, even without a real explanation of how Cap overcame the Skull's poison and mind control. However, the Project Vanish storyline was rushed, compressed into a mere seven and one-half pages, and there were some glaring plot holes in it, such as:

1. Did the Allies not search the prisoners for hidden items, such as gas canisters taped in their armpits?
2. For what reason did the Allies take one lone prisoner on the supply truck, with the guards being the noted bumbler Steve Rogers and the camp mascot?

The ray gun that was Project Vanish was dopey Silver Age comic fodder, its disintegration ability resistant to real-world scientific scrutiny but certainly reminiscent of the Tesseract-powered weapons used by the Red Skull's forces in "Captain America: The First Avenger".

My Grade: B. The wrap-up of the brainwashing storyline was a little too neat, and the Project Vanish storyline was shoehorned into the second half of the issue, as though Stan and Jack had just a little too much idea for the former and a bit too little for the latter, so they crammed them together and called it a day.

Tales of Suspense #70



"If This Be Treason"
Writer: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby (Layouts) and George Tuska (Art)
Cover Date: October 1966

Synopsis
The story opens in flashback, showing how Cap overpowered the Nazis and took control of the plane that he is using to fly to Castle Greymoor to rescue Bucky. Meanwhile, at the castle, the Nazi soldiers with Dr. Rawlings learn that Cap has commandeered the plane and is on his way. They order the doctor to dispose of Bucky, but he has plans to use Bucky as part of a trap, which consists of a canister of sleep gas that will release when Cap attempts to free him. Dr. Rawlings' sister Celia enters the lab and tries to talk him out of his plans, but he refuses, once again reminding her of the accident she caused and how he lost his hand as a result. The Nazi major suggests "silencing" Celia, but Dr. Rawlings tells him to back off.

Up in the air, Cap's plane is attacked by British planes (for obvious reasons), but manages to avoid them and land the plane near the castle. He infiltrates the castles and quickly finds Bucky, but he suspects a trap. Celia bursts into the room to warn him, with Major Uberhart following, and he uses her as a shield while he fires his gun at Cap. As Cap blocks the bullets, the suits of armor behind him start to move, as they are occupied by Nazi soldiers. He fights them off, and Uberhart, angry at their losses, dons a gas mask just as Cap lets Bucky loose; the gas canister opens and the two heroes are overcome.

A brief interlude takes the story to France, where Steve Rogers' team is set upon by Nazi troops, and they are forced back to the beach. It is at this time that Sargent Duffy notices Steve is missing, and he assumes that Rogers has deserted them.

Back at Greymoor Castle, Cap, Bucky and Celia awaken to find themselves bound. Major Uberhart determines he will kill all three, to which Dr. Rawlings attacks him to save Celia, but Uberhart easily swats him away, saying he is no longer taking orders from the traitorous doctor. Cap, Bucky, and Celia are loaded into a rocket that is aimed at 10 Downing Street in London, the very address that is home to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill...

Continuity Issues:
At the end of issue #69, Cap is shown loudly announcing his arrival on the Nazi plane by knocking a hole in the side of the plane with his shield to gain entry and then kicking an airman right behind the cockpit, drawing the attention of the pilot and copilot. In this issue, the first panel shows Cap sneaking up on the pilot and copilot; they only notice him at the last moment before he hits both of them in the back of the head with his shield.

Also, the first panel shows both the pilot and copilot wearing green headphones, but the second panel, where Cap is hitting them from behind, there is one pair of headphones shown knocked from one of the men but no sign of the second. Minor, but sloppy when going from one panel to the next.

My Thoughts
I had neglected to mention in my previous review that one problem I had with the issue was the lack of explanation of how Cap got control of the Nazi plane. He is shown in a handful of panels breaking into the plane and kicking one of the Nazi airmen, then is shown in the last three panels flying the plane back to England. Stan makes note of it on the first page, basically admitting that they "told" last issue without "showing", an oversight they intended to correct here.

The story moves along here, although it is a little padded, as based on what happens in the next issue, the interlude in France is unnecessary.

As well, the whole "Nazis hiding in the suits of armor" bit is a little weird, because while they may be able to catch Cap off-guard by their ruse, I doubt any of the soldiers had any experience actually fighting while wearing medieval suits of armor, thus limiting their effectiveness in combat. They were also wielding the weapons, such as maces and glaives, that the suits were holding, which made for a neat visual but made no sense from a story-telling standpoint, as they were taking on America's greatest fighter while starting with the disadvantage of using unfamiliar weapons.

My Grade: B- this time out. It's not bad, but the story has a number of elements that make no sense and it doesn't move along as crisply as previous installments.