The Return Of... Everyman!

 

You remember this guy, don't you?
(You can be sure those covering the scene aren't likely to forget him.)

A creation of writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck, we first met Everyman in his PPC profile that saw him going up against Captain America in 1982--on a mission to avenge those like his deceased father whom he felt had suffered for the false promises of the American dream. Consequently, Everyman's enemy became the man who best epitomized that dream.

We can see that Everyman bears little similarity to writer Tony Isabella's "everyman," Stuart Clarke, aka Rampage, a character who limited his own wrath to government policies which led to the 1973-75 recession. What the two men do share is a hatred for their circumstances that caused their respective losses--but while Rampage feels he's justified in stealing from F.D.I.C. banks to revive his bankrupt company, Everyman lashes out at the man who in his mind deserves every bit of his rage.

When Everyman reneges on his promise to free his hostage, Cap settles his hash, and Everyman is subsequently sent to a mental institution to treat his unhinged mind. A year and a half later, DeMatteis revisits the character in a two-issue story in Marvel Team-Up, where our former Everyman, Larry Ekler, looks up a "relative" whom you may recognize, a man who quickly realizes that Larry may have fabricated the reason for his newfound freedom.

Birth(s) Of A Living Legend

 

There have been no less than four full-fledged origin tales of the star-spangled Avenger known as Captain America, which in a way is astonishing considering that Cap's origin is among several that could probably be easily repeated by any number of comics aficionados or laymen, even if one doesn't go into detail. Nor did that change (and you'll discover why shortly) when Marvel decided in 2010 to revise the origins of a number of select characters whose pasts were deemed to need a fresh approach or were otherwise too dated to bring forward through the years. And yet, researching this topic yielded a certain level of fascination for me--and I imagine similar feelings must have occurred to writer Roger Stern and artist John Byrne when they put together the definitive (emphasis by Mr. Stern) origin to celebrate the character's fortieth anniversary issue, a story which weaves in elements of those four tales as well as new tidbits of history for Cap as well as Steve Rogers prior to the latter's astounding transformation.

Add to that the curious coincidence that three of those four tales were published in the same month of their respective years, and taking place roughly fifteen years apart each, and you have to figure that their creators might have each been tipping their hats to history.

So in the spirit of both discovery and nostalgia, let's take a look at the ways in which writers in more contemporary times did their part to add to the material which Joe Simon and Kirby first crafted in 1941, introducing their readers to a character who would continue to endure over eighty years later.

In The Night Comes... Nighthawk!

 

The story of Nighthawk--erstwhile member of the Squadron Sinister and, later, would join the dynamic Defenders--really begins at the point when he's conscripted to take part in a deadly game of life and death engaged between the alien Grandmaster and Kang the Conqueror which would decide the fate of the Earth. It was the Grandmaster who formed the Squadron to serve as his own "players" who would individually face Kang's chosen team of Avengers in battle--and while the latter team fought for the survival of their world, Nighthawk and his partners had more self-serving ends in mind.

As we'll learn, the Grandmaster had a direct hand in bringing Kyle Richmond's identity as Nighthawk to life--and while it may seem odd that the Grandmaster would bother with providing Nighthawk's mode of transportation, it appears to be the key to Nighthawk proving victorious against his opponent, despite what we may have assumed in regard to victory being achieved by the defeat of the player.

We'd have to look at the fine print of this game's terms to be certain, but here it seems that Nighthawk would win his match against Cap if his plan to destroy the Statue of Liberty had succeeded, rather than defeating Cap personally; otherwise, the Grandmaster would have declared Nighthawk the winner when Cap was caught by the villain's rope and slammed into unconsciousness against the statue's stone base. Regardless, since Cap came out on top by defeating both plan and opponent, the point is rendered moot.

In the end, the Grandmaster would ultimately be the losing party in the game and depart, leaving the members of the Squadron Sinister free to chart their own course. Hyperion's fate at the hands of Thor would be more problematic in that regard; and while we were left to assume that the Whizzer and Dr. Spectrum would have been turned over to the authorities, that doesn't seem to have been the case for Nighthawk*, who turns up roughly four months later to use his criminal talents to con his way into Daredevil's territory.

No Rest For The Weary at Greymoor Castle

 

In 1941, Greymoor Castle, located in (at that point in time) the most desolate part of northern Britain, became the site of "one of Captain America and Bucky's greatest battles," as Cap himself would put it forty years later. And though this particular castle doesn't technically meet the definition of having a storied past, it may fit Cap's description given that the 1965 story of that conflict by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers offered a plot that a reader of Cap's wartime adventures would find appealing: a German officer who receives his orders directly from the Red Skull... a plot to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill... a scientific breakthrough from the castle's lord, himself a German collaborator... Captain America's young partner, Bucky, captured and used to lure Cap into a trap (if I had a nickel...) ... and the likely charge of treason awaiting Steve Rogers, suspected of deserting his unit when it's caught in a Nazi pincer movement on the battlefield.

Yet it's also a story which bears a second look, as Cap decides over fifteen years later (our time), courtesy of writer Bill Mantlo and artist Gene Colan, as a figure from the castle's past roams its ruined halls wary of the ghosts which haunt him--and wary as well of the costumed intruder who arrives to find more than memories awaiting him in this ancient edifice.

The Erstwhile Marvel Man

 

During the early 1990s, there were a number of stories in The Avengers which featured the man we eventually came to know as Quasar, who as Wendell Vaughn actually dates back to the late '70s but who had gone through a refit or two by the time he joined the Assemblers. I was admittedly on auto-pilot when reading the book during that period--its 300th issue having not quite capped a sudden spiral downward in quality and direction following the departure of writer Roger Stern, while its story, despite its forced appearance of affirmation, conveyed an impression of the book and its team as being rudderless. And so I could be forgiven for accepting Quasar in the Avengers lineup at face value, as new Avengers stories from that point on were rifled through fairly quickly, rather than being read with interest and anticipation on my part. (Remember the times when we were eager to sit down with a new comics story?)

That being the case, it's not surprising that I've found myself going over in my mind Quasar's beginnings as the informal successor (if that's even the right word) to Marvel Boy, and wondering: When exactly did this man join the Avengers? Yet as we'll see, "joined" may be a misnomer in the sense of how we've come to regard new members being inducted into and being presented as part of the Avengers lineup.

The Terror And The "Team"

 

Previously, we've witnessed the machinations of Mister Kline, the figure in shadows who sought to manipulate the lives of Tony Stark, Matt Murdock, and even Franklin "Foggy" Nelson during the years 1971-72, and who made use of a number of operatives to deal with interference from Daredevil, the Black Widow, and Iron Man. Kline, having finally been revealed as an android named the Assassin, met his end at the hands of future beings who appeared following a final battle with Daredevil, which at last brought the saga of Mister Kline to a close.

As for his operatives, their fate was a mixture of defeat, death, and betrayal by Kline himself. Two such men, the super-criminals known as the Scorpion and Mister Hyde, each appeared to die under mysterious circumstances; yet if that was so, then how is it that, five months later (our time), we discover those very men in an abandoned cavern, alive and seemingly escaping captivity?

We readers learn that both men had been captured by Kline in order for android duplicates of them to carry out his instructions--but Captain America, who as Steve Rogers was recently attacked by the pair, is confronted with the question of how both men have turned up alive and at large, and for reasons unknown were demanding information from him regarding S.H.I.E.L.D. As for our two ruffians, having no clue that it was Kline who was responsible for their abduction, they've come to the conclusion that only one organization could have been responsible for incarcerating them.

And that leads them to track down one hero in particular--but thanks to a new partnership, they'll find it's no longer two against one!  Or will they?

A Smattering Of Smashers

 

There's no doubt that comics have had no shortage of recycled character names over the years, the circumstances varying depending on whether it was thought there would be potential sales reader interest in introducing another character who had taken on the name of a previous hero or villain. The short list of examples would include Captain Marvel... Thor... Spider-Man... Dr. Strange... Captain America... and on the villain side, so far we've taken a look at some Slashers and a few Crushers.

And since villains are known for choosing names for themselves that imply the threat they pose, what's another name that tends to be at the top of the list for bruisers who want their reputation to precede them?

THAT'S RIGHT, they're

Something Daredevil thought he was pretty good at, until he ran into a brawler who laid claim to the actual name.

The Annuals of '83!

 

What do these seven Marvel Annuals appear to have in common?

For one thing, they were all published in 1983; but more to the point, it looks like they're all depending on their lead character(s) to sell the book on the stand, in a solitary pose with nothing and no one else pictured that might help in that regard--a curious decision on (presumably) Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter's part that banks on the titles' readers and nonreaders alike to make a purchase without having an idea of what the story is about or what antagonists are involved. We do see, however, that three of the annuals make exceptions in that regard, if minimally:

• The background of the Captain America annual, for instance, cube-shaped to accompany the caption that tells us of the Cosmic Cube's involvement (as well as its UPC symbol appropriated to indicate who else is in the issue);
  
• Wording on the Iron Man annual indicating that the Eternals are featured, while we can make out in the collection of facial outlines that their foes, the Deviants, are also involved;
  
• Thor's caption is vague but gives off a Tales Of Asgard vibe; and
  
• The Marvel Team-Up issue gets around the problem by virtue of the fact that it is a team-up book and can feature any and all characters who are joining forces with Spider-Man.

It's the only year that I recall seeing this sort of thing done across the board in this way, as opposed to isolated instances (e.g., the '81 Cap and the '94 Iron Man annuals). Interestingly, there were some notable absences of annuals that year, including The Avengers and X-Men, along with Daredevil (no surprise there, having lapsed from 1977-88) as well as Marvel Two-In-One, which gets a pass since the series came to an end in June of that year.*

*I've been corrected on the Avengers and X-Men annuals--see the info from alert reader David P. in the comments section!

And so in terms of what's left, how did these particular annuals do with you at the store? Were you tempted to browse the issue based on its star power, or even pay your buck and take it home on faith? Or did you decide it was better to just wait a few decades and let the PPC size them up for you? No problem, friend, we've got your back.

Fifty Years of Marvel Comics

 

What were some of you doing five decades ago? It's funny when you reach certain points where you find yourself recalling the world as it was then, and the realization hits that you lived during that period of time and lived through many of the events and changes which took place. For those of you in high school right now, you'll experience your own reflections of today's world in the year two-thousand seventy-two (!) -- and if you're like the rest of us, you're understandably not looking that far down the road, nor can you have a true conception of how your world, its people, its advances, and your own way of life will change.

Regrettably, it's safe to assume that by 2072 the price of a comic book will probably be around the cost of a monthly house payment, so be sure to factor that into your budget.

Fifty years ago, my own calendar would have put me at the year 1972, fourteen years old and looking forward to starting high school the next year. Here's a little of what my world looked like at the time:

• NASA was one flight away from closing out its Apollo moon mission, where America established itself as a pioneer of a sort but eventually realized it was spending a lot of money just to collect moon rocks;
  

• The SX-70 Polaroid camera was introduced, giving us film prints which developed themselves "right before your eyes"--an alternative to dropping your film off at "photo marts," but still too slow for those who reasoned that shaking the print feverishly would speed up the process (a reminder to think twice before following a wacky trend);
  
• Born in April of that year: actresses Jennifer Garner, Jenni Garth and Carmen Electra;
  
• The United States was nine months away from withdrawing its forces from Vietnam;
  
• The world's first law to officially recognize change of gender passed in Sweden;
  
• Winners of the 44th Academy Awards included The French Connection, Jane Fonda, Cloris Leachman, and Gene Hackman;
  
• The price of gas was at $0.55/gallon; the cost of a new home was around $30,000; a new car, $3,800; average rent, $165/mo.
  
• The home videogame industry took its first baby step with inventor Ralph Baer's patent for "A Television Gaming Apparatus and Method" (i.e., the home video game console).

But if you were a Marvel Comics reader in April, 1972, your focus away from school was probably on the comics stand at your local drugstore, shopping mart or whatever distributor carried comic books in your town, thanks to the Bullpen Bulletins page which often included the Marvel Checklist. If your comics collecting was in full swing, here's a "snapshot" of what Marvel Comics readers were plunking down their 20¢ for.

(WARNING: Please don't try shaking this image in the air for faster loading.)

Captain America No More!

 

In July of 1974, the culmination of a Captain America storyline by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema finally hit the stands, at which time it arguably became one of the most memorable and engaging tales to be published in the title. Its plot, which all in all took a year to play out (with Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, and Mike Friedrich assisting with scripting), spoke to both corruption and conspiracy, and essentially put this question to the reader: How would Captain America fare against a media campaign designed to turn public opinion against him? Given Cap's high standing with the public at the time, such a venture might have been considered a nonstarter--but as Jordan Dixon, alias the Viper, put it, "Never underestimate the power of advertising. For the majority of the public, 'all they know is what they read in the papers'--or see on television!" (An assessment which has since added the Internet to the list, surely.)

Dixon gets the ball rolling by phoning his crooked partner in the ad business, Quentin Harderman, and telling him to begin a campaign to discredit Cap and tarnish his name--and so to Cap's astonishment, the first public service announcement by the so-called Committee to Regain America's Principles (I'm sure you can piece together the resulting acronym) is aired.

To add fuel to the fire, Harderman (along with his accomplice, Moonstone) would also go on to frame Cap for murder, in full view of witnesses--at which point Cap refuses to be taken into custody and flees the scene.

As difficult as it is to imagine such behavior from Captain America (jeez, Cap, Iron Man managed to deal with similar circumstances without alienating the law--yet you, of all people, cut and run?), Cap has become caught up in a web where he begins to justify being both a fugitive and, later, even a thief. But by the time of this story's well-anticipated conclusion, his road has led him to the White House, where enemy forces have arrived to demand control over the entire country--and the lies doled out by Harderman's "Committee" are far from over!

When Firemen Fear The Man Without Fear

 

With crowds of civilians often playing a major role in comics stories, you'd think that comics covers would be just as generous in featuring spectators witnessing a battle, or a face-off, or even engaging in an occasional "Look! Up in the sky!" sighting. But as we found in the PPC's initial exploration of this subject, covers all too often have elbowed crowds out of the picture, given a cover's emphasis on sales and the presumption that the casual comics browser isn't going to be particularly interested in anyone on an issue cover but the story's main characters. In Part 2 of this impromptu series, we search out more of those covers where crowds were injected into the scene presented--and why not start out with two heroes who were often forced to confront a threat during what appeared to be a busy workday for the average New Yorker?

The Ties That Bind!

 

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

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.

The Most Uncivil Civil War

 

Because of its ambitious crossover status, those of use who took an interest in Marvel's 2006-07 Civil War event were obliged to tweak its promotional slogan--"Whose side are you on?"--into something more practical: "Which books will you read?" Many of us probably just winged it, depending on our preferences, but for the most part we probably simply picked up the main seven-issue limited series in order to chart the progress and keep apprised of the clashes between the two major sides of the conflict, while deriving more substantive reading from the event's many, many tie-in books which offered greater perspective from those characters who were either directly or indirectly affected by the event, and certainly more in-depth examinations of their choices and feelings on the situation than what writer Mark Millar could provide for them in the core title. Yet it's Millar's work that we indeed turn our focus on here, since it is the book that all the others orbit around--and what takes place there allows him to pass the baton to his fellow writers, who take the handoff and shepherd their characters through whatever stage the conflict is currently at.

Several key developments, for instance, occur in Millar's story which other titles have already broached in one way or another. The repercussions of the incident in Stamford, CT; heroes attempting to take the temperature of both the government and the public; the swift passage of the Super-Human Registration Act; and of course the taking of sides which signify which heroes are resisting the SHRA and which are enforcing it. Given that the tie-ins are providing character-specific coverage of these developments and others that are relevant, Millar has the luxury of providing just enough detail to pique our interest and allow the story to gain momentum and keep it moving, all of which he handles well enough.

The Truth Will Out

 

"I think I know the real reasons behind the Civil War." -- Ben Urich

The final issue of the 2006-07 series Civil War: Front Line brings reporters Ben Urich of the Daily Bugle and Sally Floyd of the Alternative full circle in their coverage of the Civil War conflict--and in particular, the ramifications of the Super-Human Registration Act, which required federal registration of the country's super-beings and redirected or otherwise held sway over their activities. By this time, the series' other storyline involving Robbie Baldwin, a.k.a. Speedball, has been concluded, as he makes a deal with the government but also decides to adopt a painful new suit of spikes for himself which causes him injury and extreme pain with every movement he makes offensively. Designed with the deaths he indirectly caused in Stamford, Connecticut in mind, the new suit comes with a new name he has chosen for himself: "Penance."

Eventually, Penance, in his self-loathing and rage, goes looking for Nitro, the true murderer at Stamford's Ground Zero, for reasons which should be obvious--and part of his search points him in the direction of Latveria, where Dr. Doom has granted him asylum. The Thunderbolts' attempt to capture Penance fails at the not-so-abandoned site of Penance's incursion to gain the information he needs (where he runs into Doom's old lackeys, the Terrible Trio); but the story of Penance is unrelated to the evidence which Ben and Sally have recently uncovered for their story, which has led to Ben's resignation from his job at the Daily Bugle because he believes the paper would never choose to publish it. But in this final issue, we will learn what Ben and Sally have learned--a story told within the framework of two interviews the pair conduct which bring closure to the Civil War conflict in a way that the moment of surrender of Captain America could not.

This Power Denied!

 

At the close of 1969, Captain America's life was changed dramatically, about as dramatically as anyone could change it given the opportunity and the means. In this case, that person turned out to be the Red Skull, who recovered the Cosmic Cube after losing it during a pitched battle with his foe and used its power to switch their bodies--and to "cap" his revenge, the Skull moves in on Steve Rogers' love interest, Sharon Carter, as the real Cap realizes that his situation has become practically hopeless.

His plan in motion, the Skull amuses himself by milking his newfound status as Captain America while using the Cube to monitor the movements of the real Cap, who makes his way to Avengers Mansion in an attempt to convince his teammates of his bona fides and secure their help; but, distrusted and doubted from the beginning, the attempt fails, and the pseudo Skull is rendered unconscious as the Avengers leave to respond to a S.H.I.E.L.D. alert.

It's then that the Skull decides to add another level of peril to Cap's struggle, by transporting him to the island of the Exiles--former allies of the Skull who now wish vengeance on him, and will attack him on sight. But after Cap's initial clash with the group upon arrival, he later discards the Skull's mask so that he'll hopefully be unrecognizable to them, while further disguising his features as a precaution. In addition, this would turn out to be the moment when Cap meets Sam Wilson*, a former hireling of the Exiles, whom Cap begins to train in hand-to-hand fighting in order to become a symbol to the natives that Sam has begun to organize and band together to rebel against the Exiles.

*Both Sam and the reader have yet to learn of his identity as "Snap Wilson"--that his past as he remembers it is a sham, and that he's been manipulated by the Skull into being a sleeper agent for use at some future point against Cap.

Clearly the Skull, who holds the power to obliterate Cap with a thought, wishes to savor his revenge, with the goal of crushing Cap's indomitable spirit; but his patience becomes exhausted when both Cap and the Falcon are successful in motivating the natives to rise up against the Exiles, a development which infuriates the Skull and forces him to finally take a personal hand against his enemy. To that end, he abruptly changes the venue for himself and his foes--and the endgame of this drama finally begins.

(Of course the issue's cover might render the moment anticlimactic! Maybe the Skull just tripped?) 

Should Auld Connections Be Forgot

 

Though it may have been the only thing to be done in order for Marvel Comics to continue in the 21st century to make their 20th century characters the foundation of their publishing business, it's regrettable to some degree that the company was forced to free itself from the constraints of continuity and simply insert their characters in stories that exercised only a modicum of familiarity with past behavior and history. In a way, it could be said that they were jettisoning one set of constraints only to be bound by others--for while many character origins had been revised to avoid being hamstrung by untenable connections to previous points in history, there are a number of scenes which can no longer be drawn on to help define the makeup of those classic characters who are still having adventures five decades after their introduction.

All things considered, I'd imagine such concerns are trivial matters to the Marvel of today, given the juggernaut success of their films and streaming content that help to sustain and are in part sustained by their print material--and certainly, there's enough present-day domestic and global conflict to keep Marvel's writers busy with character-building moments. Yet there are certain scenes and connections which are no longer feasible--particularly for characters like Captain America, who, regardless of what time period he was reawakened in, is locked into World War II as the time in which he originally fought and became a legend. And with it now being over 75 years later, there are few to no instances left for him to be provided with story material that allows him to interact with those friends and comrades who were also alive during that brutal time in history--meetings that resonate with the heroism of those who, unlike Cap, had to resign themselves to death.

For example, one such battle awaited Lord Montgomery Falsworth, who fought in the war as Union Jack and who must do what little he can to stop the killing spree of his brother, the man known as Baron Blood. In spite of Cap's urging to leave this fight to those better suited to it, Falsworth is adamant that he be allowed to do his part.

But a younger man instead insists on stepping into the Union Jack uniform, making it possible for Cap to do what he must to bring an end to Baron Blood's killing. Nevertheless, Falsworth breathed his last that day--a touching ending to the story, and a farewell to a part of Steve Rogers' life that helped to mold the Captain America we know today.

Similar scenes have played out at one time or another, depending on the passage of time and the circumstances in which a character felt his own time had come. Instances such as when Cap was notified that Jeff Mace, the Patriot, was on his deathbed from cancer--or when Bucky Barnes, as the new Captain America, wanted to pay a last visit to one of the Young Allies, Pat O'Toole ("Knuckles"), at a veterans hospital.

But unless a writer of today happens upon a character who was ten or fifteen years old at the end of the war, Cap isn't likely to have further encounters with wartime survivors like Anna Kappelbaum.

And there are others of Marvel's flagship characters who have immutable roots in the past, people who don't (or didn't) have the luxury of having ingested a serum which slowed their aging process--most notably, the Fantastic Four, whose origin story has been revised to that of a government-cancelled starship project which Reed Richards and his friends decided to launch anyway, this time stripping the moment of any motivation having to do with a foreign power. But the four individuals remained young and vital through the decades since (while bringing up two growing children), even having experienced character-building moments that would otherwise anchor them in 20th century history--conversations which we must assume have almost certainly been wiped from their present-day thoughts.

(To those of you who have kept up with their current stories, I can't help but be curious: Just how far back do the memories of the FF go now?)

Nick Fury's origin was also tweaked to accommodate his adventures in the 21st century, being treated with an "infinity formula" which slowed his aging process. Nevertheless, age was very much on his mind in 1972 when he suspected an agent he was romantically involved with of being interested in the younger Captain America, leading to a volatile scene with Fury's "rival."

Yet we're forced to take into account the fact that Fury was given his age-slowing formula just before the end of World War II, which paints this scene in a different light than that of an "old warhorse" being consumed with jealously and rage over a celebrated and younger man who fought in the same war but hadn't paid his dues in the years of conflict which followed. For one thing, it means that Fury's anger at Cap is likely based at least in part on the fact that his formula is less effective than whatever age-slowing elements exist in Cap's super-soldier serum. Though jumping ahead to the present, we also have to contend with whatever year Marvel has now established for Cap being found and revived by the Avengers (I'm guessing it's around the year 2000?), which means Fury's clash with Cap couldn't have taken place as written since it firmly places Cap's revival in 1964.

All of this comprises a train of thought that might not amount to much--particularly if Marvel has somehow sifted through all of this and created an approach they're satisfied is working for their readers. For the last ten years or so, they've proven that they can prune or even cut down a few trees, with no apparent harm to the forest--i.e., their characters seem to need no substantive ties to the past (other than the sparse details of their origins) in order for meaningful and even compelling stories to be produced, an assertion which contemporary readers and movie-goers appear to agree with. And while characterization stemming from connections to the past remains important, there are arguably ways to achieve it other than by looking back to the past, or to past characters, to provide its framework. I don't happen to be fully on board with either of those statements, given how past events in comics have so often been the impetus for the drama to come, something that writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, et al. were so adept at making use of; yet I would concede that in the here and now, Marvel's comics are still doing their job of entertaining their readers while having shifted to a different formula of storytelling than what was to be found in their earlier body of work. Whether there's any merit to that statement, of course, remains in the province of the reader.