This Way for Action! Action! Action!

 

For those of us who enjoyed the work of Jack Kirby during Marvel's Silver Age, it was certainly perplexing to see him return to Marvel in 1976 only to disavow most of the heroes in the Marvel "universe" and instead strike a deal to create, write, and pencil his own projects--though something we can hardly blame the man for, considering the circumstances of his earlier departure. Yet he would make an exception for two of Marvel's mainstream characters, Captain America and the Black Panther, each of which he apparently had his own ideas on how their worlds and their personalities would be structured.

For Captain America in particular, who under Stan Lee and other writers had become ingrained in stories in both Tales Of Suspense and The Avengers since the '60s, the transition to Kirby's handling of the character took some getting used to, assuming there were any readers who managed to do so. That would hold true for other characters, as well, in certain respects.  Kirby had decided to retain Sam Wilson, the Falcon, though inexplicably choosing to sever any ties the Falcon had to his own falcon, Redwing--and Leila Taylor was kept on as well, yet a shadow of her former radical leanings and forthrightness whose time with Sam had apparently tempered her. The only other mainstay Marvel figures to be featured in the book (aside from villains such as Magneto, the Red Skull, et al.) were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., though with no mention of Nick Fury, the helicarrier, or any other recognizable facets of the organization aside from special weaponry.

As an example of the dichotomy here, let's take a pair of issues from both The Avengers and Captain America which were published in December of 1976 to January of 1977. Captain America continues to thrive in the Avengers, who at this point in time are not only dealing with the return of Wonder Man from the dead, but also fighting with Attuma and Tyrak--allies involved in a two-pronged attack to conscript the Avengers into battling the Sub-Mariner, which forces the team to mount an assault on Hydrobase but instead brings them into conflict with Dr. Doom. Both issues feature cover art by Jack Kirby (who, curiously enough, provided a number of covers for Marvel characters across the board) and indicate a familiarity with the plots and the characters involved.

But over in the Captain America title, where Cap's status as an Avenger has never to my knowledge been alluded to, Cap and the Falcon are isolated in their own world of the bizarre and the monstrous, and any heavy lifting is handled by either SHIELD or the military--with Steve Rogers still acting much like a man from the 1940s, having apparently experienced no personal growth in character which would have resulted from the many adventures he's been through since being revived by the Avengers. The story's threat? Why, a cadaver infused with an energy form which has travelled back from the distant future, of course.

Captain America meets "Agron" following a visit with Dr. Hartman, who works in SHIELD's psychiatric division and is currently treating the Falcon and Leila, who have fallen under the sway of the mentally unstable Night People.

Cap, no stranger to the incredible, nevertheless responds to Hartman's words in the only way he's allowed to by the one who scripts him: "You can't be serious, Doc! It's just too fantastic!" Get a grip, Cap--you've encountered (and, for that matter, undergone) time travel yourself, or doesn't your writer recall a fellow named Kang?

One other thing that Kirby has retained is Steve Rogers' personal relationship with Sharon Carter, a former SHIELD agent who would like nothing better than for Steve to retire from being Captain America. To Kirby's credit, the scene acknowledges that Cap feels he plays a special role in terms of standing up for the average person, the "little guys" as he puts it--though it also digs in and takes the stance that those people will be virtually abandoned if Cap steps down. "Who watches the fort? Who helps the good guys?" How did the average person ever get along without you while you were in hibernation, Cap?

As for Hartman, whose patient we know is going to become a threat, he has reason to believe he's going to need backup. Yet if you had the resources of the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division at your disposal, and you needed to pick up the phone for help in handling a character that presented an imminent danger, who would you call? SHIELD, or a costumed hero who has the temerity to say no to your request and has the good sense to recommend you call in your own people who are more suited to handle it?

As Hartman feared, Agron makes his move, and officers posted in the facility have no success containing him with conventional weaponry. But Hartman still wants a super-hero to deal with the threat--and so he resorts to... no, not the Avengers (remember what book you're reading), even though one call from SHIELD is enough to get them to assemble on the double... instead, he drafts the Falcon, still loyal to his brothers in the Night People but willing to act to defend them from Agron. He doesn't get far in that respect--and the "headway" he makes isn't the kind he might have had in mind.

Finally, a SHIELD officer in contact with Hartman has scrambled a SHIELD swat team to confront the threat--but the further analysis his office has conducted has more to offer on the origin of Agron.

Finally, a SHIELD transmission of the highest priority rouses Cap from his brooding on his situation with Carol (certainly Kirby meant to write "Sharon" in the panel--the chaos created by Agron must have frazzled even the King), and he races to the site where Agron is rampaging through the streets. The reader must be curious by now as to what agility and hand-to-hand combat can accomplish against Agron, and the scenes which Kirby provides bear that out; but throughout this series, Kirby has done a fair job of presenting Cap and the Falcon as a team, and it's teamwork (and a little SHIELD research) that saves the day.

As we've seen, Kirby usually sticks with the uncomplicated and all-too-familiar action! action! action! formula as a tried-and-true method from years gone by* that gives comics readers what he believes they really want. One isn't given a moment to wonder why Agron would need a body in the first place if his energy form is capable of attack and mobility without one--or just how this tube can contain and/or neutralize the level of power that Agron has displayed against his victims. Then again, we've seen Stan Lee resort to similar methods in Fantastic Four #72 and no doubt many other tales, and Golden Age comics are replete with such storytelling.

*You may prefer the Tom Scott version if you're into his brand of jazz/rap.