that time Black Panther broke the Red Skull’s jaw

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Avengers, Black Panther, Captain America, Falcon, geoff johns, nazis, oliver coipel, Red Skull, red zone, Vision

The six-issue Avengers story Red Zone shows the Earth’s mightiest heroes confronting a creepy red mist that is killing a whole hell of a lot of American citizens. It ran from issues 65 to 70 in the Avengers series that started in 1998 under the critically acclaimed team of Kurt Busiek and George Pérez, and it was collected in a long out-of-print hardcover edition in 2010. I don’t think it’s complete without issue 64 starring Falcon.

But I just like Falcon. He flies around being awesome and has a hawk for a best friend. Animal friends are tight.

Geoff Johns’ script, with pencils by Oliver Coipel, begins at Mount Rushmore: a quintessentially American icon of national pride and a tragically misguided monument to obliterating indigenous peoples and cultures. Some evil force has chosen to maintain that tradition of murder by releasing a villianous virus in the area, and the Avengers are called in to help. Even super-soldiers need to suit up to confront the crimson contagion.

Hats off to any creative team who takes on the task of crafting a compelling story involving the Jack of Hearts character. But somehow, this tale works by delivering dramatic moments that even make a synthezoid cry as the scarlet sickness leaves a trail of innocent bodies in its wake.

The Avengers pierce the heart of the mysterious viral source, but that turns out to be just one of the pieces of the puzzle some arch-fiend has planned for them, and they inadvertently release more bad guys.

And who is behind this mysterious wave of red death? Did the word “red” give you a clue? Yes, it’s everyone’s second least-favorite Nazi scumbag who has disguised himself as the U.S. Secretary of Defense under a clever anagram of his name.

Captain America is not amused by the Skull’s newfound love for the Über-Capitalist American Way any more than Dr. Doom liked it when the Red Skull tried to take over Latveria. You know you are an especially evil scumbag when both Captain America and Dr. Doom agree you need to get your ass kicked.

Although Cap kickstarted his career by punching Hitler in the face, the Red Skull has some truly evil plans that require Avengers-style teamwork to overcome — teamwork, and a whole lot of punching. So much punching, in fact, that Black Panther ends up smashing the Skull’s stupid bony face and shattering his jaw.

Frickin’ Nazis, dude. Always trying to kill people and be mean to everyone and take over governments with their racist agendas. It’s a good thing that could never really happen in America, right? Right? Oh shit.

john cassaday’s captain america tribute

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Avengers, Captain America, captain america funeral, Falcon, fallen son, jeph loeb, John Cassaday, Red Skull, Sub-Mariner

If every dark cloud has a silver lining, then Captain America’s funeral was the silver lining of his death a few years ago. Well, the silver lining would have been the gut-wrenching epic of the surrounding 50 or so issues of Captain America with Ed Brubaker at the helm. So, let us just say this funeral full of Cap memorials by John Cassaday is not the silver lining. It is the vibranium-adamantium alloy lining. If you know why such an alloy is relevant here, you spend entirely too much time reading Marvel Comics. Welcome to our world.

These pages come from the fifth and final issue of Jeph Loeb’s Captain America: Fallen Son; Marvel Comics, 2007.

Behold.

The Original Mutant Massacre!

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Captain America, Captain America Annual, Great Mutant Massacre, Jack Kirby, Magneto, Mutant Massacre

The Mutant Massacre storyline from Chris Claremont’s legendary run on Uncanny X-Men remains fondly remembered by X-fans of the mid-1980s. Marvel collected it recently in a 320-page The Mutant Massacre. But before the X-men, Captain America faced the original mutant massacre in Jack Kirby’s Captain America Annual #4.

Magneto plays the villain here, with the fate of a horrifying but sympathetic mutant driving Kirby’s plot. Conceptually and visually, Annual #4 has much to offer. Just look at these splash pages! On the other hand, Kirby’s Captain America run in the 70s did little with Cap as a character. In this and other Kirby Captain America stories, Cap functions as a pretty generic action hero. The interest lies in Kirby’s penchant for exploring mind-blowing science fiction concepts, and rendering them as no one else can.

Not nearly as far-reaching in scope and consequence as Claremont’s mutant massacre, Kirby’s The Great Mutant Massacre nonetheless planted the seed. Perhaps it even laid the foundation for Claremont’s development of widespread societal hatred of mutants in his stories. Would we have Days of Future Past without Kirby’s oft-forgotten Captain America Annual? Pick up a copy and judge for yourself!

Captain America 211: Arnim Zola and Nazi X!

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Arnim Zola, Captain America, Captain America by Jack Kirby Omnibus, Jack Kirby, Nazi X

Captain America meets Nazi X in this fourth of a five-issue arc by Jack Kirby. This tale continues our first introduction to Kirby’s mad creation Arnim Zola. A genetic engineer gone bad, he has teamed up with the Red Skull here. The Skull has of course brought Zola on board for the resurrection of Hitler, and many of the sub-plots get dropped in Kirby’s wildly chaotic dash to the finish line.

Kirby lets his outrageous and visually-striking Zola steal the show, however, and the arc is worth checking out just for his performance. The story runs from #208-212. We would have missed it if not for the review at Longbox Graveyard, so thank you, Paul! This was a real treat to discover.

Collector’s Guide: from Captain America #211; Marvel, 1977. Reprinted in the Captain America by Jack Kirby Omnibus; Marvel, 2011. Script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Mike Royer.

Captain America 112: Lest We Forget!

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Captain America, Iron Man, Jack Kirby, Lest We Forget, Stan Lee, Sub-Mariner

Jack Kirby redraws the origin of his creation Captain America in this 1969 gem. We don’t know if Kirby really hammered this out in 24 hours or not, but the artwork feels big and bold. Fans will notice quite a difference between Kirby’s approach to Captain America here and his late 1970s return to the title. Cap seems less a caricature of himself than he would in 1977.

This issue exemplifies our favorite Kirby treatment of Cap, so far advanced beyond the 1940s as to be almost unrecognizable as the same artist, even accounting for Joe Simon’s hand in the original mix.

Collector’s Guide: From Captain America #112; Marvel, 1969.

Captain America 100: This Monster Unmasked!

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Black Panther, Captain America, first issue, Jack Kirby, origin, Stan Lee

People complain about Marvel’s constant renumbering of titles these days, and you can count us in on a vote for the ridiculousness of all that. But do you remember that in 1968, Marvel’s first volume of Captain America began at #100? Up until then, Cap had filled the pages of Tales of Suspense. When TOS rolled over from #99 to #100, it became Cap’s own book. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee present Cap’s origin, which they would also do a year later in #112, perhaps to bring even more and more fans on board. To be fair, this one only covers Cap’s defrosting by the Avengers.

Collector’s Guide: from Captain America #100; Marvel, 1968.

Captain America Has a Date at the Art Gallery!

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Captain America, Chris Bachalo, Marvel Knights, Robert Morales

Captain America dons his civvies to go on a date to an art gallery. Guess what’s on display?

Oh, just a hideous, terrifying effigy of Captain America in torturous barbed wire and spikes. The best part of this art gallery scene isn’t the discussion the characters have about the art with its creator. It’s the fantasy artwork dreamed up for Cap, Iron Man, and Dr. Doom! Let us know when the exhibit comes to our town.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Captain America #22; Marvel, 2004.
Story by Robert Morales.
Pencils by Chris Bachalo.

Captain America for President!

Tags

Captain America, John Byrne, Roger Stern

Roger Stern and John Byrne‘s brief collaboration on Captain America ran from #247 to #255. Most Cap fans regard these tales from 1980-1981 as a minor classic, deserving a place in any collection of the best Cap stories. One of the big ideas they tackled was the idea of Captain America’s running for President. The letters page we included here has a column by author Roger Stern detailing the genesis of the idea and his thoughts on the concept. We enjoy all 17 pages of the story in Cap’s 250th issue. But, couldn’t this idea have been taken much further? How cool would it have been to have four years of Marvel continuity where Cap was president?!

Captain America would make the most awesome president ever. He’d certainly get our vote, and we don’t even agree with him on everything. Cap is everything our politicians are not: strong, dependable, honest, trustworthy, virtuous, caring – and have you seen what he can do with that shield? We just don’t buy his speech at the end explaining why he won’t run. He is obviously the man for the job. So man up, Cap, and get on the ballot!

Even if he didn’t make it into office because of some inane Red Skull plot, the possibilities are amazing. Fan Fiction geeks, fire up your word processors and get to work on this story. The rest of you, take advantage of your civil liberties and get to the ballot box on election day!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Captain America #250; Marvel, 1980. Script by Roger Stern.
Art by John Byrne and Joe Rubinstein.

Man-Thing Returns to Marvel Two-in-One!

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Captain America, Cosmic Cube, Essential Marvel Two-in-One, John Byrne, Man-Thing, Man-Thing Omnibus, Marvel Two-in-One

Whatever knows fear, blogs at the touch of Man-Thing! Here he is, Marvel’s mucky monstrosity in some of our favorite swamp stories. Today’s Man-Thing Memoir rocks the second Marvel Two-in-One appearance of Man-Thing. If you missed it, we also have his first appearance in Marvel-Two-In-One.

In fact, this a three-in-one with Captain America. Sadly, not even John Byrne artwork can rescue this disaster. Man-Thing does get the Cosmic Cube for a while and that’s cool!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Marvel Two-In-One #43; 1978.
– Reprinted in color in the Man-Thing Omnibus Hardcover; 2012.
– Reprinted in black and white in Essential Marvel Two-In-One TPB #2.

For a review and recap of the first 100 issues of Marvel Two-in-One, see our friends at the Longbox Graveyard.

Avengers 4: Captain America Joins the Avengers!

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Avengers, Captain America, Captain America joins the Avengers, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee

When Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America in 1941, they probably did not imagine the multi-billion dollar franchise he would become. Cap all but disappeared in the 1950s, nearly fading into the permanent fog of obscurity. The Avengers #4 changed all that for good in 1964. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought Captain America from the days of World War II into the ranks of the Avengers. Let’s check out this piece of comic book history!

Collector’s Guide: From Marvel Masterworks Avengers #1. Reprints Avengers #4. Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #1.

Behold… I Give You the Super Soldier!

Tags

ancestral genes, ants, Captain America, genetics, giant ants, super soldier, super soldier ants

Any fan of Captain America in the last 10 or 15 years knows that Captain America was created as a “Super Soldier.” We’ve seen lots of variations on that theme. Some of them are downright creepy, like Warren Ellis’ take on the Russian Super Soldier program in Ultimate Nightmare.

Well, here’s a little something to give you a nightmare, too: Super Soldier Ants.

It seems some species of ants develop a super soldier subcaste with enormous heads who fight off enemy ants. What’s more interesting is that the development takes place when specific genes are activated. And, these ancestral genes occur in many more species of ants, but lie dormant. Now, some of the geeks in lab coats have figured out how to activate those dormant ancestral genes in other ant species, creating super soldiers in those species, too.

Holy $#%@! It’s an insect super soldier program! Call Nick Fury!

You can read a layman’s version of the article on Physorg.com or go right to the source article from this month’s issue of Science.

Ancestral Developmental Potential Facilitates Parallel Evolution in Ant, Science 6 January 2012: Vol. 335 no. 6064 pp. 79-82.

ABSTRACT : Complex worker caste systems have contributed to the evolutionary success of advanced ant societies; however, little is known about the developmental processes underlying their origin and evolution. We combined hormonal manipulation, gene expression, and phylogenetic analyses with field observations to understand how novel worker subcastes evolve. We uncovered an ancestral developmental potential to produce a “supersoldier” subcaste that has been actualized at least two times independently in the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole. This potential has been retained and can be environmentally induced throughout the genus. Therefore, the retention and induction of this potential have facilitated the parallel evolution of supersoldiers through a process known as genetic accommodation. The recurrent induction of ancestral developmental potential may facilitate the adaptive and parallel evolution of phenotypes.

I’ma Say This Once and Once Only – Never Touch a Black Man’s Remote!

Tags

Captain America, Falcon, Luke Cage, Power Man

Welcome to the Falcon Gallery! It’s an ongoing project, and you can click Falcon Gallery to see everything we have for you! Today’s Falcon Feature comes from Priest and Bennet, the team behind Black Panther and The Crew. Cap and Falcon go to see their buddy Luke Cage — but Luke’s not expecting company!

Collector’s Guide: From Captain America and the Falcon.

A Circuit Which Would Jam Any Hypnotic Waves!

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Captain America, Cosmic Cube, Jack Kirby, Red Skull, Stan Lee, Tales of Suspense

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jack! We honor you today with this full-color reprint of “The Red Skull Lives” from Tales of Suspense #79. What? The Red Skull is back from the dead — and he’s going after the cosmic cube? Maybe Ed Brubaker could write a story like that!

MLK Day In Full Effect!

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Black Captain America, Black Panther, Black Spider-man, Captain America, Christopher J. Priest, Joe Bennett, Mark Buckingham, Paul Jenkins, Spider-man, the crew

For MLK Day, feast your eyes on the on the first page in recorded history where we see a black Spider-man, long before Marvel introduced Miles Morales. Jenkins wrote issues #20-50 on this series, and it’s a good read. The covers by Humberto Ramos are a real treat. Jenkins continued scripting Spidey in The Spectacular Spider-man #1-27 in 2003, with Humberto Ramos taking over most of the interior artwork.

Collector’s Guide: From Peter Parker Spider-man #35, Jan. 1999.
Story by Paul Jenkins, art by Mark Buckingham/Wayne Faucher.

And though the story of a black Captain America has been told more than once, our hands-down favorite is from The Crew in 2003. Story by Priest, Pencils by Bennet.

Priest kicked it into high gear to write an awesome action story beginning in the pages of Black Panther. Teaming up with Bennet (and a run of Black Panther pencilers including Jorge Lucas and Jim Calafiore) was a great idea, because this team crafted the best Black Panther story since McGregor’s Jungle Action run in the 1970s. The story ran through Black Panther issues #50-62 and continues in The Crew #1-7. Sales of this grossly under-rated minor masterpiece brought The Crew to an early close. These Black Panther and The Crew issues mostly sell in NM or VF condition for a buck or two a piece, so grab a stack today.