Quick review: Captain America #135-136 (1971)
By Stan Lee, Gene Colan and Bill Everett
Captain America is currently regarded as the backbone and soul of the Marvel Universe. A stalwart symbol of a nobler time, he stands as a reminder of the greatness and courage that a single person possesses. As we approach the opening of the shield slinger's second big attempt at big movie stardom, I decided to dig into my stash of goofy comics and dug out this gem.
Back in the day when Cap shared his spotlight with the Falcon (before he got his wings), the patriotic Avenger's monthly series was amongst the most bizarre and unpredictable comics out there. Each month readers were given some outrageous threat that Cap and Falc must defeat only for it to be topped the following month. These days it may be natural to see MODOK, but at the time, he was another in a long line of weird baddies, a giant head stuck in a flying chair drawn by the Dean himself, Gene Colan. So where does a roller coaster of madness get you?
This is where... an opening splash featuring our hero and a massive ape tangled together in combat as they plummet to their deaths.
Featuring the mind-staggeringly wonderful artwork of Gene Colan, the inks of Bill Everett (creator of the Sub Mariner) lend a certain gravity to the otherwise lofty and fluid lines of the Dean. This is one of my favorite 'looks' for the Cap monthly book, along with the brief but powerful Steranko material. Colan is a magnificent artist whose linework brings with it an ethereal beauty that seems otherworldly at times. It definitely helps to lift an otherwise absurd or thrown together comic (Captain Marvel, for instance), but in this case it's just magical. There are moments of poignant emotion from the supporting cast over Steve's death and of crazed imagery in the world below. Who else could pull that off?
... Beautiful.
I know that comic book character deaths are regarded as yawn worthy as they are usually just cheap spectacles to draw in readers and are inevitably undone by a rebirth, but just look at this. THIS is how you kill off a character. What makes it even better is the silent magnitude that the supporting cast members give the event, glumly shuffling their feet, trying to accept that the is indeed dead.
Imagine for a moment if THIS was how Steve Rogers had died... killed in combat with a giant gorilla.
That would just kill conversation at the comic shop as fans lowered their heads in grief.
The remainder of the awkward two-issue arc deals with the Falcon's solo mission to save his pal thanks to a hastily designed jetpack courtesy of Tony Stark. Of course Nick Fury gruffly covers for the Falcon, both characters putting on their best tough guy routines to hide their inner tears. In fact, there's a lot of strange moments in these issues where Steve and Sam (the Falcon) are short with each other, breaking up their usual banter as they become incapable of dealing with their welling emotions.
But back to the monkey (gorilla).
Falcon from Cap # 117
Falcon descends to find that both Cap and the Gorilla are captives of the Mole Man (what a cameo!). Mole Man begins his appearance by stating that he has no intention of destroying the surface world, but after he discovers that Project Earth Dig (resulting in the non OSHA-approved giant hole in the ground) is intended as a solution to the nuclear waste problem he changes his patter and decides that he does want to destroy the surface world after all. It must be tough to be the Mole Man.
In a quickly summarized backstory, both the giant gorilla (named Monster Ape) thinks back to his rejection from a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative named Julia leading to his mad scheme to increase his power... resulting in his transformation into a massive monstrous ape. Thus fueled with unrequited love, frustration and angst he went on a rampage leading to his current predicament. While at first he is determined to trick the Mole Man into attacking the surface world, when he realizes that the weapon pointed upward will also kill his beloved spurned lady Julia he loses all sense and hurls his body into its path, thus sacrificing himself for a woman that never knew he loved her, let alone turned himself into a freak to gain her attention.
Returned to the lip of the massive hole in the ground, Steve and Sam are greeted by an adoring public, but not before Cap's secret love Sharon Carter faints from the excitement. Not realizing the impact his return has had on Sharon. Cap mistakenly thinks that she doesn't care about him and didn't even bother to show up, leading to another awkward and spiky exchange with Falcon by the side of Cap's Harley.
I'm not sure where the weirdness of these comics begins and ends, but it all seems to be tied to women... or gorillas... or both.
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