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90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Worthy of the Webs (part 3 of 4)

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Here we are, Unspokenites! Its part three of my look back at not only the Scarlet Spider’s first night out as a hero, but his first battle as well! And what a first battle too! I mean, who goes and picks a fight with Venom when they’re just a rookie? (I’d be searching for someone wussy like Egghead or something.) Anyway, I present to you the story from “Web of Spider-Man” #119…..

The Scarlet Spider clings to the wall of a building, holding pressure to the webbing that’s holding his insides in place. Venom almost gutted him just moments ago. He needs to get home. Find a way to treat his wounds. Somehow, he manages to return to his apartment. Using his hooded sweatshirt, he ties pressure over the deep gashes on his side just as his webbing finally dissolves. He dresses in his civilian clothes and attempts a call on the telephone for help. But the blood loss is too great. He passes out in the building’s hallway. A neighbor discovers him and, despite her distrust, decides to get him to the hospital ASAP. (Man, I know this is a serious moment in the story, but who else would become a peeping tom if they were granted spider powers? Well? A show of hands? Liars!)

Elsewhere, Venom swings toward the apartment of one Peter Parker in search of answers about this fake Spider-Man that they’ve just battled. The symbiotic duo crash through a window and examine the dwelling. Empty. Annoyed, they look elsewhere. (The subtlety of a triggered Gilbert Gottfried-sounding burglar alarm. Rest in peace, dude.) Their search next take them to the home of Parker’s Aunt May. Nothing. What’s been going on in their absence? Where is Spider-Man? At that moment, as Ben Reilly receives the last of his stitches at the hospital, a nurse casually leaves the room and searches out a phone. Finding one, she makes a hurried call to reporter, Ken Ellis, of the Daily Bugle. He had called earlier, offering cash to anyone who had news of a young man with a specific, serious injury that should arrive this night. Hanging up quickly, he rushes out the double doors and into a passing cab.

Ellis’ sudden departure does not go unnoticed. A being atop a building across the street uncloaks herself, becoming visible. (It’s a Disney-owned Predator! Run! Run before it forces you into it’s inevitably crappy movie!) It’s the female symbiote, Scream. She will follow this reporter. He will lead her to this new Spider. And through him, Venom. Then she will have hope again. Hope of controlling her alien “other”. She cloaks herself once again and follows the cab from the rooftops. Meanwhile, a room of gangsters speak to a shadowed man as he reads the newspaper. They demand he do what they hired him to do, murder the head of another crime family for them. This is his specialty after all. The mysterious man is called Kaine and he doesn’t like taking orders. Kaine ignores them and continues reading in silence. Now angered, guns are drawn and held on him. But Kaine merely knocks the large chandelier down onto many of the criminals with the throw of an unseen weapon, disarms two more men with ease, and finishes by burning the face of the most outspoken one with his mere touch. He dies in anguish! Kaine leaves the paper behind with the headline announcing the Scarlet Spider. Kaine whispers to no-one that he’s found something else more interesting to do.

Back at the hospital, as Ben lowers his shirt over his bandaged midsection, he overhears a commotion from behind his curtain. Peering out, he spies Ken Ellis pushing his way through the nurses. Frantic to conceal his identity, Ben leaps onto the ceiling and pulls the casing off of the overhead vent. He crawls through hastily, making his way to the roof in hardly any time. When Ellis bursts in, he’s met with an empty room. (I know I’ve felt like crawling to freedom exactly like Ben did to escape the utter boredom of the emergency room where I live! You need how much blood? How long does this test’s results take? Madness!) But when the Scarlet Spider reaches the rooftop, he finds he isn’t alone! Scream’s waiting for him! Good thing he thought to pull his mask on! She demands his aid in finding Venom. But Ben has had enough of this situation. He swings off quickly, leaving her to rage alone! Or did he?

Scream tears the rooftop to pieces in her anger, sending pieces of debris flying downwards to the people in the busy streets below! But the Scarlet Spider hasn’t left the scene quite yet. Half expecting this, he hid and waited. He catches and crushes as much of the falling pieces as he can before she swings away. Ben begins to think, what if he hadn’t been here to rescue these people below tonight? What if he’d ignored them and left them to save themselves? It reminded him of Peter’s Uncle Ben and how his murder could have been prevented should Peter have stopped a certain thief earlier that fateful night. Perhaps he’d forgotten Spider-Man’s lesson: “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Is anyone else sick of this constantly repeated credo? Ugh! It’s like the Spider-Man origin story in general. I consider leaping from a high window whenever it’s retold. Maybe it’s just me…..Nah.)

Later, the woman who saved Ben Reilly’s life knocks on his apartment door. She’s been wondering if he’s okay since his sudden disappearance at the hospital. (Yeah. And she saw his muscles while he was unconscious too. I bet that played no part. Women. What a bunch of perverts.) Ben answers but doesn’t remove the chain from his door. He apologies and tells her that he’s busy. She looks taken aback at his rudeness but nods and leaves. He closes the door all of the way and continues suiting up. He’s going to war against Venom! He may still leave this city, but it’ll be with a clean conscience because he’s stopped that creature! Elsewhere, Scream has absolutely lost it! She throws even more heavy objects from the great height of another skyscraper, putting countless more innocent people in harms way! She’s stopped rather quickly, though, as two feet hit her at great speed and with superhuman force! She turns. Venom has arrived and they’ve had enough! Venom knocks Scream down with a powerful punch to the face! They then pin her down and begin to literally tear the bonded symbiote from the human host’s very flesh!

Just then, small orbs are fired upon Venom from behind! Venom turns, confused. The Scarlet Spider stands where the tiny balls were shot from. The pellets suddenly explode with webbing and it covers Venom’s face so quickly and completely, that even they must struggle to tear it off! The hero states that he calls his new invention impact webbing, and he’s brought plenty to end this fight! The two square off. The final battle is here at last!

To be concluded…..

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

“Okay, Axis, Here We Come!” (part 3 of 4)

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Boy, these characters from Marvel’s Golden Age sure are awesome, eh Unspokenites? I for one was always fascinated by them. It’s sad that so little of them still exist today really. (Except for the Whizzer in his yellow costume. Him, you can keep! Ha! Just kidding.) Anyway, I bet you’re wondering what happens next in our titanic tale! Well, wonder no further! The Unspoken Decade proudly presents “Invaders” #3…..

The Human Torch had had enough! He bursts into flames and melts his way out of his see-through prison! The Whizzer asks to be freed too, but the Torch is too enraged to be stopped now! The flaming android melts the surrounding Nazi soldiers’ guns as he flies towards the members of Battle-Axis! Dr. Death orders Volton to hurl a beam of electricity his way. He does, but the Torch is too fast! But as he evades, he’s suddenly struck powerless by a high-powered hose from the lab’s ceiling! Now without his flame, he plummets right into Strongman’s path! The muscle-bound villain uses the Human Torch’s momentum and his own superior strength to knock the hero out with a single punch! He’s then drug into a fresh prison chamber. Dr Death then walks towards the Torch. Peering in at him, the Nazis asks if he’d like to know his identity! The Torch seems unconcerned until the villain pulls off his face mask! (And reveals himself to be…..Shaq! Man, he really is in everything these days!) He is James Bradley, assistant to the man who created the Human Torch! He explains that he had begged his partner not to go public with the Torch, but his pleas were ignored. Disgusted, he stormed out of the lab before the press arrived. Years later, he was thrilled to become Dr. Death for the Third Reich when they approached him if it meant getting his hands on his old co-creation!

The Human Torch now knows why this Dr. Death betrayed his country. But what of these others? He demands answers. The Spider Queen is the first to answer. Her name was Sharon Kane and her husband had been a scientist that had invented a super-strong web fluid for Washington. All was well until the day he was gunned down by Russian spies! Soon after, America allied themselves with Russia against Nazi Germany when they entered the war! That’s why she fights against her homeland. The next to speak is Strongman. He was named Percy Van Norton. He’d been a millionaire, but even his money couldn’t take away the sting of being relentlessly teased as a youth. So he took an experimental formula that enhanced his strength and durability. He knew the Nazis valued strength, so when Dr. Death approached him, he was more than willing. The Human Meteor had been called Duke O’ Dowd and had received his powers by crashing his plane in the Himalayans and discovering the secret city of Bayakura. The denizens there taught him how to convert his atoms into pure energy. He had started out a superhero, but when he learned that America was working with the British he so despised, he joined the opposite side. Volton spoke up next. He remembered nothing of his human life or why he’d joined the cause. He just remembered being struck by a bolt of lightning. (Well, that was a simple and right to the point origin story. Genius! Gotta love a deeply motivated character.)

While the villains are in such a talkative mood, the Torch questions them further. Where are they and what is their master plan? Dr. Death replies with pride that they are beneath the Mojave Desert where they have constructed a giant oscillotron. The machine’s job is to create an earthquake so destructive, that the West Coast would break off, killing numerous Americans and forcing the U.S. out of the war! Without their powerful ally, England would be forced to surrender next! This would leave Russia to battle all of the Azis Powers alone! The Whizzer cries out in rage, but he is simply ignored and the Human Torch is doused once again with water within his cell. Meanwhile, as Captain America flies the Atlantean aircraft high above the desert, Miss America demands to know of the villains’ secret location from the Silver Scorpion. The new, armored heroine seems unsure. Miss America next asks how this woman even knows of the armor she now wears. The Silver Scorpion replies that she had accompanied her fiancée to work often as he served as a guard to a scientist that was creating the armor. The scientist had needed a model to fit the armor around and chose her. (I bet he did! Pervert! I applaud your ingenuity, good sir.) The heroes know the rest of her sad tale.

As this conversation is going on, Namor takes this time to ask of the Blazing Skull’s origins. He answers that he was once a journalist named Mark Todd and that he had been on assignment during a war in China. He was forced underground during an attack and encountered a race of beings that had flaming skulls for heads! There, they taught him how to become immune to flames and gifted him a mask to look as they did to the surface world. This was to fight injustice incognito. He later learned how to make his own flesh appear transparent. To put the Blazing Skull at ease, Cap tells him that this was no more strange than his or the other Invaders’ origins. (Like…..heehee…..the Whizzer…..getting super speed from a…..hahaha…..blood transfusion from a…..mongoose! Haw! Haw! Haw!) These talks however have not stopped Miss America from grilling the Silver Scorpion. She questions her once again about the villains’ hideout. Things become so heated up between the two females, that the Scorpion suddenly shouts out that she lied! She knew nothing of their evil plans and overheard only a vague statement about a “dead lake”. Before Miss America can say anymore, Captain America motions for her silence. They are flying over the Mojave Desert right now. Doesn’t this place have craters called “dead lakes”? And if so, couldn’t Namor’s Atlantean ship detect them?

The Sub-Mariner confirmed that this was in fact so. Scanning the desert, the ship’s sensors quickly picked up a crater that had been covered up, comoflauged in some way! Cap decided they should keep their distance until a plan could be formed. But too late! Anti-aircraft guns came out of concealed spots in the desert sands and began firing upon the Atlantean ship! They made a crash landing! But, unable to wait any longer for her beloved, Miss America burst from the craft and flew down with the guns as they sank back into the earth! She found herself inside of an enormous high-tech base, full to bursting with Nazi soldiers! She was discovered immediately! But the heroine knew how to deal with their like! She fought her way through, knocking the Ratzis around like bowling pins! But, so concerned was she with the soldiers, that she missed a sneak attack by the Human Meteor and Volton! (Geez. Maybe if she’d waited for the others before attacking? The Whizzer must be some man in the sack! Giggle.) She’s then ensnared by the Spider Queen’s webbing and pulled forcefully to the ground!

But never fear! The Invaders burst into the Battle-Axis headquarters, ready to rescue their friend and cripple this whole evil operation beyond repair! Dr. Death plunges a syringe into Miss America’s arm and she slips into unconsciousness. He then orders a nearby man in a lab coat to activate a device he calls the Dimension Smasher! As Captain America and the Blazing Skull battle the behemoth known as the Golem, Silver Scorpion fights against the Spider Queen! Still unsure of her armor’s capabilities, she manages to fire an energy blast that gives her foe pause! Next, Namor slowly advances upon Volton through his barrage of electrical blasts! It seems as if our heroes are winning! Battle-Axis is quickly losing ground! That is until the Dimension Smasher hums to life! And then, emerging from the smoke, hovers in a strange alien being! Some know him as the Vision! But he calls himself Aarkus, Destroyer of Evil! (“Destroyer of Evil”? Sounds like a plus actually for the Invaders. Who’s more evil than Nazis after all? Not counting New England Patriots’ ex-quarterback, Tom Brady, of course. That joke was for you, mom!)

The Vision surveys his surroundings and studies those that surround him in awe! Captain America looks to the strange being and pleads that, if he is against all things evil as he says, that he join them in their fight. But instead, the Vision floats past Cap and towards Namor. He raises one hand and places a single finger upon the Atlantean hybrid’s brow. Namor suddenly freezes into a block of ice! Volton exclaims in shock that the Vision is on their side! Dr. Death merely states that why wouldn’t he be? They control his way home! Next, Vision attacks the Silver Scorpion, knocking her out! The Golem finishes the job by defeating Captain America and the Blazing Skull with his mighty fists! The Invaders all now lie defeated! Who will save America now?

To be concluded!

(And don’t forget to donate all unnecessary metals to the war effort! Keep ’em flying, boys!)

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

“Okay, Axis, here we come!” (Part 2 of 4)

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Welcome back to the dangerous days of the second World War…..but in the 90’s. That’s right. This is a story that would most likely take place before Marvel Comics was even called Marvel Comics…..only it is called that. You know, I’m just confusing myself here and run the risk of taking you Unspokenites down with me. Let’s just return to the story. (Sheesh!) I bring you “Invaders” #2…..

A nearly unconscious and severely beaten Miss America crashes through the window in the meeting room of the Liberty Legion! Shocked, Captain America leaps to action and stops her impact on the hard wood floor with his muscled frame. The other Invaders and the Thin Man kneel down to check on their comrade. The Thin Man recalls aloud that he thought she had been on a date this night with the Whizzer. Her love’s codename spoken aloud awakens Miss America and she demands to know his whereabouts! Cap manages to calm her, asking what had happened. She replies that five superpowered Nazis took the Whizzer captive and nearly killed her! In fact, they only let her be because they thought that they had! The Human Torch suggests that she rest while they look into the matter. Not to be denied her vengeance, Miss America finds a stone sculpture of Captain America’s head nearby and crushes it with a single blow! She won’t be left behind! (A simple, “Nah. I’m good, guys,” would be way too simple at this juncture it seems. Women. Am I right?)

The Thin Man suggests that he stay behind and find other heroes to help out. And though this hurts Namor’s pride to ask for aid, Captain America tells the Atlantean King that he feels they’re going to need all of the help they can get this time. Within moments, the Invaders are speeding away within Namor’s high-tech plane as the Thin Man wishes them his best. Meanwhile, over the Hollywoodland sign, a strange and ominous fog descends. Two police officers, out on their nightly patrol, spot this occurrence and slow to a stop in their squad car. They’re horrified as they witness a large, black balloon emerge from within the fog! A rope drops but no-one slides down. Instead, the officers hear a feminine voice from behind! It’s the Spider Queen! As she keeps the two entranced, Volton lands and electrifies both lawmen until their flesh blackens! (Yep. Crispy as KFC I’d reckon too. Damn. That sounds good now!) The other Nazis emerge now with a new ally, the dreaded Sky Shark! They carry a drugged Whizzer with them as yet another man descends the rope ladder. Dr. Death refers to this man as their “ace-in-the-hole”!

Elsewhere, Namor and the Human Torch land at their destination. They seek to give an ally, a Dr. Jacob Goldstein, sanctuary until this attack blew over with the Battle-Axis. Goldstein had once sent a set of armor he’d designed against the Invaders against his will and joined them when they’d given their word to liberate his brother from Nazi clutches. As it turned out, the heroes hardly had to intervene at all as the doctor had transformed himself into a hulking Golem, straight from Jewish folklore, and nearly saved his sibling alone! The two superheroes knock but the door creaks open! Peering inside with the Torch’s firey light, the duo spy Dr. Death and Goldstein together! The evil Nazi leader then orders Goldstein to attack! Begrudgingly, he obeys as he transforms into the clay behemoth, the Golem, once more! The two Invaders fight valiantly, but the creature’s sheer strength is too much in the end! Both lie injured and unconscious in the now flaming residence! Dr. Death orders the Golem to take the Human Torch and to leave the King of Atlantis to die in the fire! The Golem follows orders and Namor is left to perish! (And he didn’t want help! Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Am I actually siding with Nazis on even a marginal level?! Bad narrator! Bad!)

The Sub-Mariner tries his best to crawl through the burning wreckage, but now deeply dehydrated, he finds his enhanced strength completely gone. He almost collapses for good until a gloved hand catches him. Looking for the face of his savior, Namor sees a flaming skull staring back at him instead! (No. It’s not Ghost Rider. This is a Golden Age comic story, written in the 1990’s, and now brought to you in the year 2025. Damn! Got confused again.) Seeing the confusion upon the Atlantean’s face, the hero introduces himself as the Blazing Skull. He then picks up Namor over one shoulder and races from the burning home. Once outside, he states that the Thin Man sent him. He then asks if Namor needs further help. Instead, the aquatic hero looks to a tall water tower and smashes his fists into its wooden legs. It comes crashing down, drenching Namor in life-saving water! The Sub-Mariner roars that he’s now ready to go rescue the Human Torch and woe to any Nazi that’s holding him prisoner!

On their own mission, Miss America flies up to a high window at UCLA’s college campus with Captain America held in her powerful arms. Spying inside, they see three corpses and three of the members of Battle-Axis standing over them! The one known as Strongman holds an enormous high-tech device over his head. They call it an oscillotron and claim that it’s needed for their leader’s sinister scheme. Hearing enough, Cap and Miss America leap through the overhead window and straight into battle! But once again, the heroes are bested by the villainous Battle-Axis! But as they move in for the kill, they’re stopped by a woman clad in silver armor and a large handgun aimed at them! She calls herself the Silver Scorpion and warns not to cross her or they’ll feel the sting of her ray gun! The villains notice the blonde, female “corpse” is missing from their feet! Unimpressed, Spider Queen throws a web at the gun and pulls it from the Silver Scorpion’s hand! She aims it at the armored heroine but soon sees that she’s been fooled. This was no more than a strangly -shaped glue gun! (I’m constantly tricked into thinking long, cardboard tubing is in fact a cool lightsaber. I’m also extremely immature for my age.)

There’s a slight skirmish before Battle-Axis decides that they’re wasting too much time. They have memorized enough of the device’s inner workings to help their leader, so they destroy their ill-gotten prize and make a hasty escape, destroying the room’s foundations on the way out! Unable to give chase, Captain America and Miss America turn to their new ally. But the Silver Scorpion is already checking the others bodies. No hope. They’re gone. She tells how one was the designer of the oscillotron and her armor. The other was the man she loved. She was called this night to be on high alert from the Thin Man. Too little, too late it seems now. The two superheroes thank her and give their condolences before they turn to leave. But the Silver Scorpion won’t be left behind so easily. She wants revenge and while she was thought to be dead, overheard Battle-Axis’ next destination! Begrudgingly, she is allowed to join the heroes. (Blackmail is an excellent basis for a great, lasting partnership.)

To be continued……

And remember to plant a victory garden! (Hmmm? Oh, just Google it!)