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scans_daily2013-07-01 09:17 pm
skjam) wrote in scans_daily2013-07-01 09:17 pm
Cold Fire!
The run-up to the Independence Day holiday seems like a good time to post some Captain America stories, don't you think? I'm not sure if we've posted the classic "Cap for President" story from Captain America #250 on this community, so instead let's have the next two issues, guest-starring a favorite Cap villain.
Seven pages of twenty-two from #251, five pages of seventeen from #252, one page of five from a backup feature and an ad.
The story opens with Cap looking across the East River and reminiscing about his backstory for several pages. At this point, Steve Rogers is a freelance artist and is doing storyboards for an advertising agency. Cap hurries home, and since he doesn't have spider sense, fails to notice a seemingly innocuous tugboat and barge.
Aboard the tug and barge are a number of men dressed like commando raiders, and after they use a "sapper" ray to turn off all inorganic electrical devices in Ryker's Island, assault the prison. They quickly make their way inside and use a bazooka to knock down a particularly thick cell door. Inside is Mr. Hyde, traquilized to the gills. They struggle getting him out.
Mr. Hyde spots today's Daily Bugle, and is inspired by a headline. (No, not the "Spider-Man: Threat or Menace?" one. Below that.)
The scene shifts to the next morning, as Steve is finishing up his storyboards. His neighbor, Bernie Rosenthal enters. She urges him to clean up while she fixes breakfast. Steve lets slip that he was in the Army, and Bernie asks if he was in Vietnam. Steve hedges with "briefly." (This is true.) Bernie's cousin served in the Mekong Delta for six months.
Bernie notes that everything in Steve's kitchen cupboards is instant, and that his music collection is all late Thirties/early Forties tunes. He continues to hedge. Then she finds a picture of Steve with an attractive blonde. His sister, she hopes.
Bernie would eventually complete law school, costing the world a perfectly good glassblower.
On his way to the ad agency, Steve overhears that a couple of the commandos had French accents. He quickly realizes that Batroc is the most likely suspect, and after his ad meeting, He switches to Captain America to head to District Attorney Tower's office. No need to bring in the other Avengers on a hunch.
Cap makes a corrupt person (he's been getting kickbacks) nervous on the elevator, then surprises the D.A.'s receptionist, who was just complaining about the job being dull.
Off the coast of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, the Queen of Egypt, a Roxxon Oil liquid natural gas supertanker, is headed for a new and controversial docking facility near Perth Amboy. (Ripped from the headlines of 1980.) The captain tells his first mate Pearson to warn off a barge, as he doesn't want to have a bad publicity-causing collision. He notes that a majority of the crew are crowding to the deck rail to look at the barge. Their unusual interest is explained by the fact that a swimsuit-clad Monique is sunbathing there. As the captain trains in his binoculars, she holds up a sign that reads "Surprise! You've been boarded!"
As the stars are not yet right to make the entire population of New York City into a flaming sacrifice to Set, Mr. Benedict calls District Attorney Blake Tower. It turns out the villains want a hostage with their billion dollar ransom. And it just so happens that Mr. Tower can lay his hands on said hostage, seeing as how Captain America is in his office.
Several hours later, the Queen of Egypt sails under the Verrazano Narrows bridge into New York harbor, which has been cleared of all vessels except a ransom barge. In addition to stacked crates, Captain America is tied to a post, his shield at his feet.
Hyde checks out the ransom--gold, platinum, precious metals and large piles of non-sequentially-numbered dollars. Mr. Hyde, gloating in victory, decides it's time to have "fun" with the hostage. "You first, Batroc...after all, he was your idea!"
Captain America moves his foot to trigger a gas trap that takes out Batroc's underlings, and easily snaps the ropes tying him up.
When Cap wakes up, he finds himself chained to the prow of the Queen of Egypt. Mr. Hyde announces his plan to return the supertanker, filled with fifty thousand tons of liquified natural gas, by ramming it ful speed into the docks of New York! Have we mentioned lately that Mr. Hyde is a homicidal maniac?
Hyde laughs at Captain America's predicament. When Cap reminds him that New York City has about a bajillion other superheroes who could stop him, Hyde just laughs harder. Just to rub it in, Mr. Hyde decides to break Cap's shield. "I fought Thor" level strength notwithstanding, it doesn't even bend. Frustrated, the villain tosses the shield away, not noticing that it fell on the ransom barge. Nor does he notice, as he stalks away, that Batroc gives a gentle kick to the port-side anchor chain release.
This gives Captain America a couple of feet slack in the chain. He scrapes the chain back and forth against the prow until one of the links loses its weld. Then summoning his heroic resolve, Cap is able to bend the link open, freeing one of his arms.
Cap summons more heroic resolve, and miraculously, the chain separates. only for physics to be enforced for just a moment. The inertia flips Cap's head into the ship's prow, and he plummets stunned into the harbor water, sinking like a stone.
On the ship's bridge, Hyde is making the necessary course corrections for maximum ramming efficiency. He begrudgingly refers to Batroc as "an associate", demoting him from partner to Batroc's hidden disgust. Mr. Hyde has a flashback to Captain America #152, in which Cap easily defeated him and the Scorpion. As Hyde tells it, he'd carelessly been too long without his superserum, and was at the tail end of his strength. When Cap left Mr. Hyde tied up for the police, Hyde's serum fully wore off, and easily escaped as the puny Dr. Calvin Zabo. Only to be captured later that night breaking into a pharmacy to get the necessary ingredients for his Hyde potion. Lacking the money for a slick criminal lawyer, Dr. Zabo actually had to serve time while the Cobra got in and out of jail several times.
Yes, that's right, Mr. Hyde is willing to kill everyone in New York City for revenge on just one person. That puts him pretty high up on the evil scale. Anyhow, the villains' fight spills out onto the deck, Batroc's skill and agility just barely allowing him to hold his own against Hyde's strength and durability.
Meanwhile, on the ransom barge, underlings Bob and Terry are distracted by Captain America's shield, stroking its smooth finish and admiring its adamantium-vibranium alloy composition. Thus Cap is able to sneak up behind them, smack their heads together, and reclaim his shield. Climbing up to the tanker, he finds Hyde about to give Batroc the Bane maneuver, and does a quick shield toss to intervene.
Knowing each other's fighting styles so well, Batroc and Captain America make a great team. Unfortunately, Batroc is slightly slower than Cap, and Hyde finally manages to get a direct hit on him.
Hyde topples overboard, but although Cap dives in to save him, no trace of the madman is found. By the time Cap surfaces, Batroc is already on his own barge, headed away. Cap belatedly remembers that Batroc is a mercenary supervillain and of course would run away with the loot as soon as the larget threat was taken care of.
Batroc is about to celebrate James Bond style with Monique when the barge is rocked by an explosion. Has the supertanker gone up after all--no, that would be a bigger explosion, so time to check on board....
In the back feature, "The Life and Times of Captain America," there's another short recap of Cap's backstory. A look at the layout of his apartment at 569 Leaman Place in Brooklyn Heights, and--
Bernie would be Cap's love interest for quite a few years. And we have to wonder if Michael Farrel is the Marvelverse counterpart of DC's Fireman Farrell, the star of Showcase #1.
The next page is dedicated to Cap's crimefighting allies: Nick Fury, Dum-Dum Dugan, the Falcon and Leila; as well as Bucky and Sharon Carter of fond memory. The page ends on a joke about John Byrne refusing to draw everyone who's ever been an Avenger in one panel, and Joe Rubenstein thanking him. Beast calls them both "Chicken!"
And now an ad from #252.
And as we casually stroll into the setting sun, your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!
eta: Yes, we have posted Cap #250, here: http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/442041.html#cutid1
Seven pages of twenty-two from #251, five pages of seventeen from #252, one page of five from a backup feature and an ad.
The story opens with Cap looking across the East River and reminiscing about his backstory for several pages. At this point, Steve Rogers is a freelance artist and is doing storyboards for an advertising agency. Cap hurries home, and since he doesn't have spider sense, fails to notice a seemingly innocuous tugboat and barge.
Aboard the tug and barge are a number of men dressed like commando raiders, and after they use a "sapper" ray to turn off all inorganic electrical devices in Ryker's Island, assault the prison. They quickly make their way inside and use a bazooka to knock down a particularly thick cell door. Inside is Mr. Hyde, traquilized to the gills. They struggle getting him out.
Mr. Hyde spots today's Daily Bugle, and is inspired by a headline. (No, not the "Spider-Man: Threat or Menace?" one. Below that.)
The scene shifts to the next morning, as Steve is finishing up his storyboards. His neighbor, Bernie Rosenthal enters. She urges him to clean up while she fixes breakfast. Steve lets slip that he was in the Army, and Bernie asks if he was in Vietnam. Steve hedges with "briefly." (This is true.) Bernie's cousin served in the Mekong Delta for six months.
Bernie notes that everything in Steve's kitchen cupboards is instant, and that his music collection is all late Thirties/early Forties tunes. He continues to hedge. Then she finds a picture of Steve with an attractive blonde. His sister, she hopes.
Bernie would eventually complete law school, costing the world a perfectly good glassblower.
On his way to the ad agency, Steve overhears that a couple of the commandos had French accents. He quickly realizes that Batroc is the most likely suspect, and after his ad meeting, He switches to Captain America to head to District Attorney Tower's office. No need to bring in the other Avengers on a hunch.
Cap makes a corrupt person (he's been getting kickbacks) nervous on the elevator, then surprises the D.A.'s receptionist, who was just complaining about the job being dull.
Off the coast of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, the Queen of Egypt, a Roxxon Oil liquid natural gas supertanker, is headed for a new and controversial docking facility near Perth Amboy. (Ripped from the headlines of 1980.) The captain tells his first mate Pearson to warn off a barge, as he doesn't want to have a bad publicity-causing collision. He notes that a majority of the crew are crowding to the deck rail to look at the barge. Their unusual interest is explained by the fact that a swimsuit-clad Monique is sunbathing there. As the captain trains in his binoculars, she holds up a sign that reads "Surprise! You've been boarded!"
As the stars are not yet right to make the entire population of New York City into a flaming sacrifice to Set, Mr. Benedict calls District Attorney Blake Tower. It turns out the villains want a hostage with their billion dollar ransom. And it just so happens that Mr. Tower can lay his hands on said hostage, seeing as how Captain America is in his office.
Several hours later, the Queen of Egypt sails under the Verrazano Narrows bridge into New York harbor, which has been cleared of all vessels except a ransom barge. In addition to stacked crates, Captain America is tied to a post, his shield at his feet.
Hyde checks out the ransom--gold, platinum, precious metals and large piles of non-sequentially-numbered dollars. Mr. Hyde, gloating in victory, decides it's time to have "fun" with the hostage. "You first, Batroc...after all, he was your idea!"
Captain America moves his foot to trigger a gas trap that takes out Batroc's underlings, and easily snaps the ropes tying him up.
When Cap wakes up, he finds himself chained to the prow of the Queen of Egypt. Mr. Hyde announces his plan to return the supertanker, filled with fifty thousand tons of liquified natural gas, by ramming it ful speed into the docks of New York! Have we mentioned lately that Mr. Hyde is a homicidal maniac?
Hyde laughs at Captain America's predicament. When Cap reminds him that New York City has about a bajillion other superheroes who could stop him, Hyde just laughs harder. Just to rub it in, Mr. Hyde decides to break Cap's shield. "I fought Thor" level strength notwithstanding, it doesn't even bend. Frustrated, the villain tosses the shield away, not noticing that it fell on the ransom barge. Nor does he notice, as he stalks away, that Batroc gives a gentle kick to the port-side anchor chain release.
This gives Captain America a couple of feet slack in the chain. He scrapes the chain back and forth against the prow until one of the links loses its weld. Then summoning his heroic resolve, Cap is able to bend the link open, freeing one of his arms.
Cap summons more heroic resolve, and miraculously, the chain separates. only for physics to be enforced for just a moment. The inertia flips Cap's head into the ship's prow, and he plummets stunned into the harbor water, sinking like a stone.
On the ship's bridge, Hyde is making the necessary course corrections for maximum ramming efficiency. He begrudgingly refers to Batroc as "an associate", demoting him from partner to Batroc's hidden disgust. Mr. Hyde has a flashback to Captain America #152, in which Cap easily defeated him and the Scorpion. As Hyde tells it, he'd carelessly been too long without his superserum, and was at the tail end of his strength. When Cap left Mr. Hyde tied up for the police, Hyde's serum fully wore off, and easily escaped as the puny Dr. Calvin Zabo. Only to be captured later that night breaking into a pharmacy to get the necessary ingredients for his Hyde potion. Lacking the money for a slick criminal lawyer, Dr. Zabo actually had to serve time while the Cobra got in and out of jail several times.
Yes, that's right, Mr. Hyde is willing to kill everyone in New York City for revenge on just one person. That puts him pretty high up on the evil scale. Anyhow, the villains' fight spills out onto the deck, Batroc's skill and agility just barely allowing him to hold his own against Hyde's strength and durability.
Meanwhile, on the ransom barge, underlings Bob and Terry are distracted by Captain America's shield, stroking its smooth finish and admiring its adamantium-vibranium alloy composition. Thus Cap is able to sneak up behind them, smack their heads together, and reclaim his shield. Climbing up to the tanker, he finds Hyde about to give Batroc the Bane maneuver, and does a quick shield toss to intervene.
Knowing each other's fighting styles so well, Batroc and Captain America make a great team. Unfortunately, Batroc is slightly slower than Cap, and Hyde finally manages to get a direct hit on him.
Hyde topples overboard, but although Cap dives in to save him, no trace of the madman is found. By the time Cap surfaces, Batroc is already on his own barge, headed away. Cap belatedly remembers that Batroc is a mercenary supervillain and of course would run away with the loot as soon as the larget threat was taken care of.
Batroc is about to celebrate James Bond style with Monique when the barge is rocked by an explosion. Has the supertanker gone up after all--no, that would be a bigger explosion, so time to check on board....
In the back feature, "The Life and Times of Captain America," there's another short recap of Cap's backstory. A look at the layout of his apartment at 569 Leaman Place in Brooklyn Heights, and--
Bernie would be Cap's love interest for quite a few years. And we have to wonder if Michael Farrel is the Marvelverse counterpart of DC's Fireman Farrell, the star of Showcase #1.
The next page is dedicated to Cap's crimefighting allies: Nick Fury, Dum-Dum Dugan, the Falcon and Leila; as well as Bucky and Sharon Carter of fond memory. The page ends on a joke about John Byrne refusing to draw everyone who's ever been an Avenger in one panel, and Joe Rubenstein thanking him. Beast calls them both "Chicken!"
And now an ad from #252.
And as we casually stroll into the setting sun, your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!
eta: Yes, we have posted Cap #250, here: http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/442041.html#cutid1
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