Charlton vs Mighty MLJ... the Next Generation Arrives!

Our two favorite parallel planets return to debut the next generation of superhumans! What are in store for these hidden gems of universes? Who are the nefarious villains who instigate a return of their respective worlds' greatest heroes of their time? And how have the current crop of caped crusaders come to be? This we shall dissect in the weeks and months that follow, faithfully fearless readers!

Charlton vs Mighty MLJ: DCU Style

 

As previously mentioned, in a previous composite reality that has since been wiped clean by another cosmic crisis in the DC Comics universe, the merging of several parallel planets led to the incorporation of the Mighty Crusaders of Earth-MLJ and the Action-Heroes of Earth-Four, twin teams originating in Archie and Charlton Comics. As such, although the concepts were still there at their core, they were radically revised to incorporate modern sensibilities and to water down their impact on their world.

The reason for the former was that, for instance, having a guy known as the Web simply being a criminologist wasn't enough... he had to be a blending of Tony Stark/Peter Parker, and similarly with Captain Atom... he needed to ditch the conventional costumes of his silver age incarnations for a shiny skin and sassy style. And the reason for the latter is that this world already had their premier superhero team, the Justice League, and their original team of mystery men, the Justice Society. These guys couldn't outshine DC's finest of the past and present, so they both were made into essentially G-Men working as federal agents when the need arose, which was seldom it seemed. For the original Shield and Captain Atom, that worked since they were government agents as it was and in their own worlds they had plenty to do, setting the tone for their fellow fabulous folk to follow. Sadly but logically, neither the Crusaders nor the Sentinels of Justice could get much traction in this scenario.

Thankfully, with a new DCU now in existence this sad state has been wiped clean, at least for the Crusaders who return to their native world to pickup where they left off welcoming in a new generation of heroes... who look to them as their "Justice League" or "Society". If only the good Captain and his costumed crew could say the same, since they remain on a world not their own and one that will never treat them as they should be treated. However, glimmers of Earth-Four where the Sentinels of Justice operated can still be found through the Multiverse!

Team-Up Tuesdays: Originals or Derivatives???

Above: Excellent cover by Alex Wright. Below: Sarge's Sentinels

File this away in the "what if" folder for our Crusaders and Sentinels. Comprising the "other" publishers during the successful silver age of comics, both the Archie-heroes and Action-Heroes attempted to find a niche for themselves. Without sustained success.

For the Crusaders, the quickly devolved into a derivative more mimicing Marvel's Avengers, and to some extent DC's golden age All-Stars of the Justice Society. Despite having several characters that were the first in respective manners during comic's golden age and some potential promise in their newer crop of characters, Radio/Archie leaned heavily upon what worked for others instead of what would separate them as special.

For the Action-Heroes during their pre-Sentinels days, they were truly original and their tales were at times unique. Yet the dramatic departure of their plot elements and narrative style became a bit to impalatable for the young readers they were trying to entice. As a result, they folded almost as quickly as they had first appeared.

When both were reinvented in the 1980's, the Crusaders and the new Sentinels of Justice once more fell into form as "Justice League" and "Avengers" wannabes, even moreso than they had been decades earlier. Only when both were acquired by DC Comics were they given the opportunity to fully depart from the "team" template of the "Big 2" publishers, leading to substantial runs for their individual members. Ironic!

Crusadering Caps: New Sentinels of Justice

Among the templates upon which Bill Black rebuilt his Sentinels of Justice, after the departure of their original members from Charlton Comics, was that of Captain Atom. Wait... we considered him previously with Stardust... who emulated the more cosmic aspects that made Nathaniel Adam's alter ego his world's premier protector.

Charlie Starrett was a 19th century ranch hand who assumed the identity of the Latigo Kid. After a conflict on the planet Rur, upon which Stardust resided, Starrett was enlisted in the early 20th century to become their protector named Captain Paragon after consuming a Life Fluid and Stellar Erg Implanter. Although under suspended animation for 30 years after his battle in 1952 with the Black Shroad (shades of Atom's arch-foe the Ghost), Paragon became a founding member of the Sentinels.

As for the seeming duplication of the Cap Atom template,  remember that the good Captain became embroiled in conflicts with an alien race of Sunurian warrior women, much like Stardust's own peoples. Perhaps, had the queeen of their race had time to siphon off some of the hero's abilities upon herself, she would've manifested into her world's own variation of sizzling sister. Alas, she was busy squashing the schemes of her planet's monarch, the Ghost, and never had the chance.

Friday Fiends: VS New Sentinels of Justice

Commando D was the last member of the Sentinels of Justice from the Americomics-verse, and followed similar elements to other smart superheroes. Originally, lab technician Kon-Nar of the parallel world of the Altrann was used as a template for a size-shifting super-soldier to combat the equally malleable menace known as the Vardax. These reptilian desired claiming the world as their latest conquest, and after being overwhelmed by their forces, Kon-Nar and his girlfiend Dorna escaped to Earth.

It was there that Dorna perished, bequeathing her ring to young Denny Bryant, a ring that housed a minaturized chamber which actived Kon-Nar's abilities. Using the dual identity of Connor Page the unassuming civilian and in his costume alias, Commando D! Like Earth-Four's Peter Cannon, the Thunderbolt, Commando also harnessed mythical might from the mental magnificence of a secluded civiliztion. And, like John Raymond aka the Web over on Earth-MLJ, he favored the colors green and yellow while having a red head drapped over his shoulder (a lot less nagging than Rose, Web's wife, we would imagine).

As for the Friday Fiends, the serpentile Vardax? They followed their prey to Earth-AC and drew the attention of the then formed Sentinels to retrieve imprisoned teammate Scarlet Scorpion. Yet their loss is Justice's gain in the form of a giant of man, literally and metaphorically.

Brave Bug Boys: New Sentinels of Justice

As with the Blue Beetle from Charlton, and the Fly from Archie's Mighty Comics, the Scarlet Scorpion was the latest incarnation of a legacy. While the golden and silver age Blue Beetles were a police officer on super-vitamins and then an archeologist with a powerful gem, and Thomas Troy was capable to fly by his fly-ring, the Scropions were more grounded in the mundane machinations of modern methods.

Poor Mike McCluskey was a truck driver for a mob operation, caught in the middle of their sinister ways, leaving him with serious injuries. Cured by an injection of a cell regeneration virus by microbiologist Myla Chang, Mike gains a new leash on life when he was presented with the costume of a hero from thirty years previous. As the new Scarlet Scorpion, Mike swiftly gained the trust of local law enforcement. Like his fictional inspirations at other comic publishers, Mike had superstrength and physical attributes far above those of mortal men, whcih would draw him into membership within the Sentinels of Justice of the Americomics universe... of which we'll consider...

Dark Damsels: New Sentinels of Justice

From the Phantom Lady, a superheroines published in 1940's Quality Comics, sprung a sub-genre of dark damsels that have been replicated again... and again... and again. Always with similar elements that highlight brave brunettes battling bad guys.

While Charlton Comics presented Eve Eden as Nightshade, a survivor of a shadow dimension with the ability to turn herself into a shadow and teleport between dimensions. Later, Archie's Red Circle Comics revived the concept in Darkling, aka Darla Lang, a dimension traveling heroine whose powers derived from her cloak. Blending all these elements were filtered into the Blue Bulleteer, the World War II costumed alter ego of Laura Wright who acquired a similar cloak providing her abilities on par with her Sentinels of Justice compatriots when the debuted in 1983.

Team-Up Tuesdays: New Sentinels of Justice

Indeed the Sentinels of Justice were not one-hit wonders... although they were pretty close to qualifying. Thankfully, writer Bill Black decided to quickly revive the Sentinels of Justice brand when its members, all Charlton characters about to be assimilated into DC's Multiverse. However, in order to preserve the modest momentum they tried to maintain, they needed heroes that would fill the roles of the original team's members Captain Atom, Nightshade, the Question and Blue Beetle. And so, we present today's titantic team-up.

First thing you'll notice when comparing the twin teams... no faceless man in a fadora. Kinda hard act to follow? However, the Americomic-verse had others to fill the bill of the remaining senior Sentinels, from the energy avenger, the colorful creeper, the darknight damsel, the crusadering captains. We can take this comparison farther...

For instance, just Stardust and the Shield (Lancelot Strong) mimic one another, so to do Scarlet Scorpion and the Fly, Nightveil and Nightshade, Captain Paragon and the original Shield, and Commando D and the Web. In each case, we have heroes that fit specific niches that complement one another. Alas these Sentinels were only a platform to introduce the much more enduring, and successful, Femme Force. But that is another story.

And this one continues as we dissect this do-gooder division...

Cosmic Crusaders: New Sentinels of Justice

When Americomics acquired the superhero properties from the then defunct Charlton Comics, the publisher quickly moved to assemble a team to spotlight these heroes as a team, something novel from this group of good guys and gal. So in 1983, the Sentinels of Jusice debutted and appeared exactly once before being shelved until they were integrated into the DC Comics Multiverse in 1985. Meanwhile, the aspiriing publisher guided by editor/writer Bill Black found it a prime opportunity to ride the crest of modest success  of the original Sentinels, modeling a new team after the originals yet with distinct differences.

One such divergent doppleganger in the Americomic-verse was Stardust, which according to  Wikipedia was originally "Dr. Mara, a top scientist and political dissident from the female-dominated planet Rur. Looking for a weapon to use against the invading Kronons, Mara revives the hibernating Earth hero Captain Paragon and attempts to enlist his help in the battle. While trying to convince Captain Paragon to help, Mara accidentally enters the Stellar Erg Implanter, which gives her super powers."

Mixing elements of Captain Atom and Captain Lancelot Strong, aka the silver age Shield over at Red Circle Comics,  Mara empowered superheroines in a manner unheard of either on Earth-Four or Earth-MLJ, making her unique among her peers who mirrored their Charlton and Archie templates. Her teammates would harken back to our featured players here on this blog...

Team-Up Tuesdays: Sentinels of...Justice League?

In Justice League Quarterly #14, an old enemy of Peter Cannon's resurfaced to reclaim what he felt was taken from him by Thunderbolt, the preeminent position in the Vajra. This villian, Andreas Havoc, attempted to psychologically tear down Cannon's mental might but was circumvented from doing so by a quartet of allies he had a strange affinity towards.

With Nightshade, Captain Atom and Blue Beetle assisting T-Bolt on one front, a new Judomaster appeared to aid the heroes on yet another. What was borne from this assemblage of avengers was the aspirations of all fans of Charlton Comics, with *most* of their characters teaming up (notable exceptions being the original Blue Beetle, Son of Vulcan and the Question, while Sarge Steel only made a cameo).

Alas, this potential paragon of protectors never had a chance to thrive as this was a one-shot adventure, much like the Sentinels of Justice had been some sixteen years before this issue.  Why didn't this group gain more traction, given DC Comics' desire to spotlight these recently purchased properties? Perhaps because they felt that individually the charcters had more chance of success being distributed thought this fictional universe's teams and solo titles. Or, more probably, the sales figures didn't reflect strongly on there being a strong enough fan base for such a continuing series.

The harbinger for such an argument is the short-lived 1992 !mpact Comics' Crusaders series. Although a novel concept itself, it languished in its watered down versions of tried-and-true silver age stalwarts from the Mighty Comics era. Still, there was a certain charm in this pairing as there was with the Sentinels of Justice League. Still, there was one more incarnation of Charlton crusaders yet to come...

Team-Up Tuesdays: The "S" Teams of Justice

When you think superheroes you think superteams, which help to define the individual members in the context of their fellow teammates. While there are more prominent teams in the cosmos, for our purposes here today we center on two with significant parallels.

The Squadron of Justice was recruited by Shazam when he and his Marvel Family were left powerless by ancient adversary King Kull. Formed out of sheer necessity, some of these previously joined forces in another team during the 1940's known as the Crime Crusaders Club. Surviving into the modern day thanks to the bumbling machinations of Doctor Sivana, these still youthful heroes joined forces to stem the tide of Kull's villainous hordes on three Earths including their own Earth-S. And then they faded back into retirement.

The Sentinels of Justice formed also on one occasion, although there was a hint during their first appearance that they previously met up, and battled a crime lords super-armored forces to save criticial solar technology. The next appearance of this team was during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, when their initial membership of four expanded to included three more drawn towards the presence of heroes arriving from two other Earths, the same two from whom the Squadron met earlier!

The Squadron's membership constituted Ibis Spy Smasher, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Mister Scarlet and Pinky, as well as allies Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior (and, of course, the team's former Mercury who brought them all together under Shazam's suggestion). The Sentinels membership originally comprised Captain Atom, Nightshade, Blue Beetle and the Question with later allies Peacemaker, Thunderbolt and a time lost Judomaster joining forces with them.

Alas, the history of each was fleeting at best. But the potential for both was sky high!

The natural counterpoint to the Squadron on Earth-MLJ was the Mighty Crusaders, of course. And remarkably, that team had a much more substantial run as a team than either of the Justice teams, despite their own short-lived nature in comics.

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In 1954, aspiring comic book publisher Charlton purchased the rights to several prominent characters from the expiring Fawcett Comics, such as Ibis, Golden Arrow and Lance O'Casey. In 1980 and 1985, DC Comics purchase Fawcett's Marvel Family then Charlton's Action Heroes, and the two were linked once more, now on parallel Earths, Four and Shazam.Now the MLJ has been added to their stable of characters, we examine the parallels in this series.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Tremendous Trios Triumph!

The Lieutenant Marvels were an early edition to the Captain Marvel mythos, in fact they predated the more famous addition of Captain Marvel Junior by only a few months. Three young men also named Billy Batson, one from the Brooklyn, one from the west and one from the south, met their more famous contemporary Billy Batson the radio host. During a confrontation with Doctor Sivana, the quartet of Billy's learned that they all possessed the powers of the original Marvel, only the three had to call upon such powers in unison. Not to easy to get three distant Billies together given their geographic distances and all.

We previously considered the Sensation Sentinels (of Justice) early this past year. Three young musicians are bequeathed devices by a dying Russian scientist with the intent of protecting humanity. As Helio, Mentalia and Brute. Instead of a Tall, Fat, and Hill version, we have the dashing leader, the beautiful blonde and the muscular guy. All standard stereotypical fair for comics of those times.

While the Sentinels had strength, flight and mind-over-matter abilities dolled out between the three, the Lieutenants had strength, flight, etc granted to each one. Neither team was very enduring, having but a handful of adventures. While the Sentinels were originally known by their folk music handle of the Protesters, the Lieutenants went by the handle of the Squadron of Justice. Turns out, other teams of heroes would borrow those names later.

 Earth-MLJ's Terrific Three consisting of Steel Sterling, Jaguar and Mister Justice were a trio of heroes very similar to the Lieutenants Marvel with mighty powers equally divided between each individual member, with limited appearances.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Unpublished Crisis Issue

Taking a cue from the excellent The Brave and the Bold: The Lost Issues blog, here is a rather amateurish take a missing issue of the 1985's DC Comics series Crisis on Infinite Earths incorporating another Earth that has since been assimilated into DC proper after an attempt at re-imagining Archie's Red Circle characters with the !mpact line of the 90's:

What is interesting about this issue of Mighty Crusaders #12 is two things...the red skies and the battle with the elements near the Statue of Liberty. Shades of Earth-Four perhaps? This would have been an ideal juncture to introduce the Earth-MLJ team to Charlton's Sentinels of Justice given the Crisis motif of two parallel worlds running through DC's Justice League of America title since the early 60's.

Cashing in on that Marvelous Blockbuster Film

Who says a $255 million dollar box office superhero can't take time out to rub elbows with some Action-Heroes? It says here he's up for the challenge! Presenting an issue of Sentinels of Justice in our dreams!

Just wait till Thunderbolt works his "I can do it. I must do it. I will do it!" mojo on you, Shellhead. You won't know WHAT hit you!

(The above picture was commissioned by Bob Layton at his wonderful site, check it out!)

And they're not alone dog-piling millionaire playboys masquerading as high-tech heroes. The Mighty Crusaders are up to the task as well!

So is the Dark Knight feared less than an Armored Avenger? Only three-to-one? Their Distinguished Competitor must be winching at the dissing he received that "To Many Heroes" didn't welcome him to MLJ!

Addendum: Seems like Peter "T-Bolt" Cannon is fairing just as badly against his ferro foe as is the Web against his ferro fiend, Ironfist!

(Sorry, we had to slip in a Friday Fiend reference)

Friday Fiends: High-Tech Napoleons

Our two stooges for this week are really C class super villains. Oh sure, they come in fancy flying craft of gold, with blasters that seem to neutralize our powerhouse protagonists, the Shield and Captain Atom (alongside his fellow Sentinels of Justice in their sole "named" appearance), and at the start of the contest they *seem* menacing enough. But alas, it t'wasn't to be. Presenting: the Gloater and the Manipulator. Two real pint-sized one-hit wonders that we *have* to mention for equal time sake!

After a dizzying array of futuristic gadgets inside Gloater's armor, we seek the evil that lurks in this man's heart. Which is overpowered by the wimpy factor after a good star-spangled spanking! He would return for a fleeting appearance in a mass group shot of ultra-criminals, but nevermore focused on (thank goodness). And in the end, he's sent packing to his era with his visions of matching the wickedness of history's most infamous fiends crushed in as many pieces as his armor. Spanked into submission:

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A millionaire businessman named Jonathan Barrington Collingsworth Junior decided one day that the world was not enough (hmmmm, an interesting name for a movie, perhaps?) So he adopted the alias of the Manipulator to live up to the infamous dictators of old. So he channeled his inner Doc Doom and found himself a fantastic four to plague his existence!

Somehow, amazingly, he pulls off what no one else was able to accomplish through the decades of the Action-Heroes' publishing existence. Make them all play nice and in the same sandbox...as in motivate them to join together against a common foe. Okay, Cap Atom and Nightshade had a thing going, and Blue Beetle and Question got together once formally and prior to that informally (Quest was in his civvies on that occasion). Still this was quite an accomplishment, only not the kind the Manipulator would be proud of. Thankfully, while his army of Fiery-Icer, Ironarm,and the Madmen kinda fell flat against our Sentinels, Jr. had enlisted a henchman who seriously upgraded since his last appearance:

And that was that, as both masterminds slunk back into the depths of comic book limbo. And aren't we thankful that we don't have to relive *that* painful experience again? Blue Beetle sure is! Ouch.

Team-Up Tuesdays: WATCH those Crusading Sentinels of Justice... MAN!

Today we see the genesis of Charlton vs Mighty MLJ... some interesting quotes that tied the two publishers' creations together in a historical context... and caused yours truly to examine them as parallel universes ultimately attached to the DC Comics multiverse. First an interesting pic from Shadoblivion's web page which nicely echoes the acclaimed Watchmen cover and the characters involved:

First the original Sensational Seven from the 80's seminal Watchmen run, featuring (from top left to bottom center) Doctor Manhattan, the Comedian, Silk Spectre, Ozymandias, Captain Metropolis, Nite Owl and Rorschach.

And from Charlton, (from top left to bottom center): Captain Atom, Peacemaker, Nightshade, Thunderbolt, Judomaster, Blue Beetle, and the Question. While listed as the Sentinels of Justice,  three of them: (except during Crisis) Peacemaker, Thunderbolt and Judomaster weren't offical members.

What is interesting is the following quotes from Comic Book Artist #9:

• CBA: I always had a suspicion there was an element of the MLJ characters—The Hangman, The Shield, etc. —within Watchmen, and upon recently reading your intro to the Graffitti Watchmen special edition, I read that my inkling was indeed true. You were exposed to the MLJ characters, such as The Mighty Crusaders, and so on.
• Alan: Right. That was the initial idea of Watchmen—and this is nothing like what Watchmen turned out to be—was it was very simple: Wouldn't it be nice if I had an entire line, a universe, a continuity, a world full of super-heroes—preferably from some line that has been discontinued and no longer publishing—whom I could then just treat in a different way. You have to remember this was very soon after I'd done some similar stuff, if you like, with Marvelman, where I'd used a pre-existing character, and applied a grimmer, perhaps more realistic kind of world view to that character and the milieu he existed in. So I'd just started thinking about using the MLJ characters—the Archie super-heroes—just because they weren't being published at that time, and for all I knew, they might've been up for grabs. The initial concept would've had the 1960s-'70s rather lame version of the Shield being found dead in the harbor, and then you'd probably have various other characters, including Jack Kirby's Private Strong, being drafted back in, and a murder mystery unfolding. I suppose I was just thinking, "That'd be a good way to start a comic book: have a famous super-hero found dead." As the mystery unraveled, we would be lead deeper and deeper into the real heart of this super-hero's world, and show a reality that was very different to the general public image of the super-hero. So, that was the idea.
• When Dick Giordano had acquired the Charlton line, Dave Gibbons and I were talking about doing something together. We had worked together on a couple of stories for 2000 A. D., which we had a great deal of fun with, and we wanted to work on something for DC. (We were amongst that first wave of British expatriates, after Brian Bolland, Kevin O'Neil, and I was the first writer, and we wanted to work together. ) One of the first ideas was that perhaps we should do a Challengers of the Unknown mini-series, and somewhere I've got a rough penciled cover for a Martian Manhunter mini-series, but I think it was the usual thing: Other people were developing projects regarding those characters, so DC didn't want us to use them. So, at this point, I came up with this idea regarding the MLJ/Archie characters, and it was the sort of idea that could be applied to any pre-existing group of super-heroes. If it had been the Tower characters—the T. H. U. N. D. E. R. Agents—I could've done the same thing. The story was about super-heroes, and it didn't matter which super-heroes it was about, as long as the characters had some kind of emotional resonance, that people would recognize them, so it would have the shock and surprise value when you saw what the reality of these characters was. 

When you compare the golden age crop of MLJ heroes (see below for our heroes in all their grandeur):

Then compare them to the Watchmen's fictional precursors, the Minute Men from the same 1940's era:

Immediately, the character that most imitates his inspiration is Hooded Justice, whose noose around his neck calls to mind Hangman. How about Dollar Bill and Blackjack (how many dollars have guys named Bill and Jack lost while playing this card game)? Mothman and the Fly are no-brainers, or if you want a oldie moldie comparison perhaps Firefly? Nite-Owl and Black Hood have the gimmick clad knights of the night modus operandi going for them, while Comedian and Black Hood have similar sense of costumed flair. Regardless, that these two sets of characters were the dawn of a literary classic.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Crusaders Cornered

It's crunch-time for our courageous crusaders as they're cornered by corrupt criminals. You can catch up on part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 in case you've missed our silver  age tales. From Mighty Crusaders #6 and Charlton Bullseye v1 #1 and 2. Our combatants the Crusaders known as Shield, Comet, Black Hood, Fly-Man and Fly-Girl versus the malevolent Maestro...and future Sentinels of Justice Captain Atom and Nightshade against the Ghost and his Sunurian love-slaves. Let us commence.

Cancelite was an element used to neutralize Mighty-heroes powers, as previously experienced in the Crusaders' battle with the Hangman. Maestro is obviously testing the heroic quintet for some purpose...but what? The Sunurians also want to see whether Earth's super humans are as 'super' when they are normal. How will our combatants fare? Find out next week as we finally conclude both of these defining stories of valor.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Silver-Age Showdowns

We continue our coverage of the final tale of the Mighty Crusaders and (pre-)Sentinels of Justice prior to their brief 1980's incarnations. Click on the following links to catch up on part one and part two. In part three, things go from bad to worse as we Shield, Comet, Black Hood, Captain Atom and Nightshade with their hands full handling out-of-this world menaces in Mighty Crusader #6 and Charlton Bullseye #1-2. Check it out:

The Comet, doing his best Tony Stark impersonation, leaps into action using his near limitless gadgets he always comes equipped with, to remove the ruthless rogue rapidly! Alas, the Secret Service here at the White House is indeed correct... the Terror Globes never return and so remains the mystery of their maddening methods of malevolent mighty! And we begin to see a pattern of disgruntled federal employees unappreciative of the  Crusaders services.

They sure cranked out some strange cronies in the Mightyverse, didn't they? Nothing scares Officer Burland, who had spent several years with nothing else to do but improve his crime fighting techniques. Still, he breaks from pattern and resorts to fisticuffs rather than his handy dandy weapondry he has used in the past. Once this sinister scarlet schemer is caught by the Man of Mystery, how will said Man fair in the eyes of local law enforcement? Will the Hood get credit , or get a swift kick in the ol' gluteus maximus?

The Ghost shows his true megalomaniacal demeanor as he finally has both us hated foes in the palm of his hands. Although the Sunurian's honr code causes them to heal Nightshade from her injuries, the Ghost realized he has a pawn for his arch-enemy. Yet after years of exile from Earth, with amble time to meditate on when he failed previously and how to guard himself against his arch-enemy, he underestimates Atom!

The old adage "divide then conquer" is approp as that is exactly how the Ghost, his Sunurian amazon troops, and Mighty Comic's many moronic maniacs cause each hero more trouble then they expected. While the Crusaders' are definitely not currying public sentiment to their cause, Cap and Shade are very much outnumbered as they're thrust into a bizarre world that disables them. How will are champions triumph? Tune in next week and we'll find out.

Friday Fiends: Fire Fiend & Fiery Friend

We break a pattern this week, as this post should be retitled "Friday Fiend & Friend" as only one of our candidates is a villain who only appeared twice yet is unique enough to consider among the hordes of other hot and cold criminals. The other is a golden age hero who's initial run was short and rarely appeared since, yet started out as a novel idea. Let's start the latter.

Fireball first appeared as Ted Tyler, fearless firefighter, who as often happened in comics both in the golden and then silver ages was exposed to "those" funky experimental chemicals that always seemed to be lying around. Thankfully his buddies are there to bring their unconscious comrade from the flammable structure...or would he have survived considering what was about to occur within his mutating body? Only his unknown creator knew for sure.

Ted then makes miraculously quick recovery (considering the page count of those 1940's comics) and immediately resolves to use his heat absorption and projection powers to fight fire bugs...and decided to track down the cause of his transformation before others are  then transformed as well into superhuman human torches. After all, who needs the competition in the long-underwear set? He still needed to nail the right color scheme, however.

Tracking down "the Bug" (as in firebug), Fireball shows how invincible his powers make him...bullets melt on impact...heat is his to command...his stamina is tremendous and his legs allow him to leap vast distances! And the Bug gets while the getting is good...we're unsure exactly where he landed but we are sure it wasn't pretty. As for Fireball, he continued his career as a one-man firefighting force, preventing fires from getting out of hand and burning bad guys who were their cause.This lasted about a year or so.

After 11 issues in the back pages of Pep, Fireball's fleeting fame burnt out. He next appeared in the 1960's as a potential member of the Mighty Crusaders, in fact he was the first applicant in issue #4. After an outing alongside fellow flaming fellows Firefly and Inferno then working alongside "too many heroes", he returns to retirement until Archie's Weird Mysteries #3 when he's finally accepted as a Crusader himself. Along with two dozen others!

August 1967's Captain Atom #87, a new adversary of our Atomic Ace appeared with an interesting set of abilities, the ability to project scourching heat from his right hand, and biting cold from his left hand...via his projectors attached to his specialized armor. Atom in his alias of Captain Adam, while swimming in the sea, came upon this baddie and his henchmen. And while the hired help aren't exactly pulling their wait, F-I is ready for this new challenge.

After cornering Atom into a trap which his henchmen sent thanks to their freezing cannon, Fiery-Icer mistakenly believes this is the end of the good Captain...sealed in a icey tomb underneath several tons of ocean. Ah if only he knew what was in store...a battle royale with our hero. Apparently Icer's objective is to disable a new missle tracking station which might have interfered with his "purposes" although what those were is unknown. Was he a foreign agent or simply a criminal opportunist?

It seems like Icer comes equipped for any opposition, including a nuclear powered sentinel, and uses a one-two combo of heat and cold to stun Atom. Note that Icer doesn't simply rely on his gadget, using his brawn as well as brains to pin down the Atomic Avenger!  The chips seems down until Cap finds the reserves necessary to deck his truly tempermental temperature foe. Knocking out Icer, Atom frees the ever annoying Abby Ladd from his clutches.  Sigh, oh well.

After years in the lockup, Fiery-Icer learns to folly of tying his career to a bunch of green clad goons and instead ties his future to a bunch of...green-red-and-yellow clad goons i.e. Blue Beetle's foes the Madmen as well as the Manipulator and another foe of Captain Atom, Iron Arm. Despite sheer numbers on their side, Icer's sinister Squad is no match for the fully assembled Sentinels of Justice. Still he manages to squirm away from Nightshade, to be seen nevermore.