T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents

[Jeff of Earth-J]

When I was young, I had always heard that the prerequisite for comic book fandom was owning a complete set of All Star Comics featuring the JSA, and that for second generation fandom it was Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Because we now live in the Golden Age of Reprints, I am able to own both of those series, in hardcover. [NOTE: the title is an acronym for "The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves," but don't expect me to continue putting the periods behind each initial throughout this discussion.] DC started releasing the series in archival format in 2002 (wow, has it really been 20 years?), but I only ever got as far as midway through volume three (which I know because my bookmark is still in that volume where I left off and volume four is still in its shrinkwrap). Because the first  of my Comic Collecting Precepts is "Don't buy what you don't read," it is my intention to read my way through volume eight during the course of this discussion.

I have a bad habit of, when returning to an abandoned reading project, starting over at the beginning. Or I should say I used to have that problem, because I resolved in 2009 to always pick up where I left off when returning to an unfinished project. I have been pretty good about adhering to that plan over the intervening years, but this time I am going to start at the beginning because it has been so long since I last attempted it. I have read this first volume at least three times, IIRC: once when it was released, once when v2 was and once when v3 was. So I've read v2 twice, but only the first half of v3. In addition, I have read T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents - Best of Wally Wood hardcover at least twice. 

But because I have started a discussion of the series, I shall start with issue #1. I don't know how much I'm going to have to say about these early issues, but here we go.

ISSUE #1:

"FIRST ENCOUNTER": The four-page introductory story (by Larry Ivie and Wally Wood), sets up the premise: Professor Jennings has been killed by the forces of the Warlord, but a United Nations task force manages to salvage prototypes of three devices the professor had been working on: an "electron molecular intensifier belt," an invisibility cloak and a cybernetic helmet designed to amplify the wearer's brain power.

DYNAMO: Len Brown is chosen to wear the "Thunder Belt" (as it has been dubbed). "Len Brown" is also the name of the scripter; the artist is Wally Wood. The first thing Brown (the fictional one) does with the belt is to punch through a brick wall, a Wally Wood trademark. This story also introduces Dynamo's femme fatale, the Iron Maiden, one of the Warlord's lieutenants. He can wear the belt only for a short time without causing damage to his body. At the end of this first story, he is captured.

NOMAN: Doctor Dunn is the aging scientist who invented a series of androids into which a human mind can be transferred. The catch is, although the mind can be transferred from android to android, the switch from human to android is one way. Dunn transfers his mind into one of the four android bodies shown, allowing his human body to die. For some reason, in addition to having an android body, it is decided that Dr. Dunn also receive the invisibility cloak. He adopts the identity of "NoMan" and is perhaps the most inept agent in all of THUNDER. 

I don't know how much these android bodies cost or how many of them there are, but the one thing I remember about NoMan from the few issues I have read is that he loses a body in almost every story. In this story, NoMan is sent after the Sub-Men of Demo, another of the Warlord's lieutenants. He sets out in a car with a spare body in tow, almost as if he expects to lose a body. (The spare body is incorrectly drawn with a one-of-a-kind invisibility cloak of its own.) NoMan is defeated, his body's "mechanism's demolished." He transfers his mind to the spare body waiting in the car (now correctly drawn sans cloak). He returns to the lab to find Demo and his assistant fled and to retrieve the cloak.

The art is by Reed Crandall and Wally Wood. So far, the agents are oh for two. A text story follows, but I never read those.

MENTHOR: Mr. Janus, the man chosen to wear the cybernetic helmet, is a double agent for the Warlord. You'd think the name "Janus" might have clued someone in, but the Guardians didn't pick up on "Sinestro" so maybe not. Like the thunder belt, the helmet cannot be worn for long without damaging the wearer. It gives him telekinesis and the ability to fire "brain blasts." One more thing: the "H" in Menthor is silent, pronounced "mentor" (but that spelling means something else). I can't tell you the number of time I've heard someone pronounce the "TH" as in "menthol" rather than "Neanderthal." The art is by Gil Kane (with George Tuska and Mike Esposito).

THUNDER SQUAD: A non-powered group of operatives (Guy, Dynamite, Kitten, Weed and Egghead) with art by Mike Sekowsky. 

DYNAMO: The conclusion to the Dynamo story earlier in the issue, in which Menthor, NoMan and the THUNDER Squad team-up to save him. NoMan loses another android body, the second in a single issue.

I've never seen an actual copy of issue #1 (outside a bag), but I am disappointed at the reproduction value of this entire first volume; it's kind of murky.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #12: 

If this cover looks familiar to you, it may be because DC "recently" (2010) used it for a DC Comics Presents reprint of issue #1 (plus the death of Menthor) heralding the then-new revival series. (Then again, it may look familiar to you because you remember it from the '60s.)

DYNAMO: In this story, rank and file SPIDER goons get a makeover: new uniforms with red trunks, boots and gloves, blue leggings and sleeves, a white tunic with a "spider" emblem on front, and an open-faced, blue hood. Chic!

SPIDER has found a way to grant Dynamo's strength and stamina to one of their own agents (not without some risk, as we shall see). There's a lot of "comic book pseudo-science" mumbo-jumbo ("the form of all matter is controlled by the electromagnetic force binding the subatomic particles... What the 'transformer' does is to rearrange this field, so that new particles are constantly being attracted and added to the body's mass... making it denser, and therefore heavier... and stronger, as you can see!"), but the practical upshot is that an ordinary mouse which has undergone the treatment can headbutt dents into three-inch steel. Now it's time to find a human subject.

"Rocky" Stone "has spent most of his life in prison for crimes of violence... and he's not too bright!" He also wears Aquaman's colors: an orange sweatshirt and a green pants. SPIDER is planning to receive a shipment of smuggled arms and, as a test for Rocky, they decide to phone in an anonymous call to THUNDER. This seems like an unnecessarily reckless tactic to me, but it has the desired effect: it draws Dynamo to them. Dynamo and Rocky are fighting to a draw until one of the SPIDER agents fires a bazooka he found in the ship's hold at the two of them. Dynamo is kncoked unconscious, but Rocky is still on his feet. When the uniformed agents consider killing Dynamo, Rocky objects. (He doesn't mind beating him up, but he doesn't want to kill a helpless opponent.) 

This gives Dynamo ample time to come to his senses and switch off the light. Richard, you must be reading ahead a bit, because it is in this story Dynamo burns his bonds by folding his arms above a Bunsen burner, which you mentioned yesterday. He must be wearing asbestos gloves! He also makes another startling discovery: the mouse used as a test subject for the transformer has died. He discovers a set of notes and reveals them to Rocky when SPIDER attacks. All the stages of grief pass across Rocky's face at once and he settles on "revenge." By the time he has single-handedly defeated the SPIDER agents and destroyed the transformer, Dynamo has found his power belt just in time to save him from the resultant explosion.

LIGHTNING: In his introduction to the previous archive volume (3), Bill Pearson said, "Michael Uslan and Robert Klein, in the foreword to the first volume of this series, lamented the uneven 'continuity' of the Tower Comics characters. I have to laugh at that. We were satisfied to sustain cohesive logic from splash page to the last page of a story! Woody tried to maintain continuity for Dynamo, but, like all publishers, Harry Shorten wanted more titles, more product than could be adequately managed by one office editor and one studio editor, working separately."

"Speed Demon" is a good example of that dynamic. Speaking of "sustain[ing] cohesive logic from splash page to the last page of a story," the villain's name is Damon, but not once is he referred to a "Speed Demon" within the story other than the title. Regarding "more product than could be adequately managed by one office editor and one studio editor, working separately," this story is very similar to the one which immediately precedes it: SPIDER finds a way to duplicate [hero's] power but proves fatal to the test subject. 

the scientist who grants Damon his power is identified only as "Herr Doktor" (his assistant is "Fritz"). Damon apparently vanishes when his powers are activated, but he's actually moving to fast to be seen by the naked eye. Herr Doktor communicates with him via a tape recorder which plays "jittery, high-pitched sounds." (What do you want to bet that writer Steve Skeates had seen the Star Trek episode "Wink of an Eye" at least once before plotting this story?) The pre-recorded message talls Damon that he "mustn't walk around... yet! You must remain perfectly still... until you are fittted with a protective suit. Otherwise, because of your speed, you might catch on fire... like a capsule re-entering our atmosphere!" Had I been running this experiment, I would have had Damon don the protective suit before subjecting him to the process, but that's just me. 

THUNDER's security may suck, but their intelligence-gathering is top-notch; they are always able to predict in advance at which facility their enemies are going to strike next. Guy has to break a date with Kitten in order to confront Speed Demon Damon. Damon beats him pretty decisively during their first encounter, but Guy get the idea to use the Baron's "deadly dust" against him to slow him down. I'm pretty sure the dust just had to come in contact with something to slow it down the first time around, but this time it has to be inhaled, which Lightning avoids by use of a gas mask. Something with Damon's increased metabolism (we already knew he was dying) caused the dust to kill him rather than merely slow him down, but there's always the possibility that SPIDER will try again. (A lot of THUNDER Agent stories end that way.) 

Later, Guy takes Kitten out dancing and she accuses him of being a "slow poke."

NOMAN: This issue's villain, The Rock, is a scientist who has learned to turn men into stone, a sort of less interesting version of Marvel's the Gargoyle. When NoMan tries to stop him, he breaks his hand punching the Rock in the face. (There seems to be some story missing between pages four and five, but the page numbers jibe.) NoMan reasons that, if the raock can turn men to stone, he also should be able to turn coal into diamonds, which is why he's been stealing coal. (He could have just bought the coal; once he changed it to diamonds he could have easily afforded it.) NoMan confronts the rock in his lair and dips his hands into an aquarium filled with the stone-creating solution and administers a smack-down. It's a pretty lightweight story, but NoMan does manage to get through an entire adventure without losing a single body for once, so there's that.

THUNDER AGENTS: "The road to Spider HQ" begins with Lightning's abrupt resignation. the Chief calls Dynamite, Kitten, Weed and NoMan into his office. (Dynamo and Raven are on "special assignments.") They are discussing Guy's departure and that he's at his apartment. Just then, weed discovers a bugging device, which the chief swiftly destroys. then they can speak openly. Actually, the chief himself discovered the bug two days prior and concocted the plan of Lightning quitting in order to feed SPIDER disinformation which might lead THUNDER to their headquarters. 

I had to laugh at the way the Chief discovered the bug. "Drat this windy office," the Chief thinks in flashback. "Secret documents are always being blown all the... hey!" as two secret documents are shown being blown out the window and he sees the bug hidden behind the curtain.

SPIDER has already sent a squad to Guy's apartment, but also a second "special" squad, just in case. THUJNDER, too, has "original and alternate plans." It's a good thing, too, because SPIDER's goons rip Guy's shirt revealing the speed suit underneath and they know the jig is up. they retreat and are captured by the THUNDER Squad (which was "Plan B"). Meanwhile, SPIDER's "special squad arrives on the scene: not one, not two, but three "Speed Demons"! They make pretty quick work of Guy, but NoMan follows them back to SPIDER HQ and manages to take them by surprise, dousing them with the ray that removes their super speed. then they find evidence that this is not the main SPIDER HQ, and that "SPIDER is even a larger organization than we imagined." (Uh, didn't they already kinda know that?) NoMan manages to get through a second adventure in the same comic without losing a body, a new record!

RAVEN: This is, I think (I hope), the last "Raven" story by Manny Stallman. When next we see the character it will be with story and art by... but, no. Mustn't get ahead of the discussion. 

[Richard Willis]

My Partial Reaction to THUNDER Agents #12:

The NoMan story needs clarification, so I'm commenting on the first part of this issue. Later I'm comment on the rest.

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If this cover looks familiar to you, it may be because DC "recently" (2010) used it for a DC Comics Presents reprint of issue #1 (plus the death of Menthor) heralding the then-new revival series. (Then again, it may look familiar to you because you remember it from the '60s.)

It’s a nice cover but using it as a cover for a reprinted Issue #1 is strange. Lightning is on the cover but doesn’t appear in the series except in his red jacket before getting powers.

DYNAMO:

The credits in this story are Dan Adkins and Wally Wood. To me, several of the panels look like Ditko at least did layouts. Several poses are Ditko-esk.

In this story, rank and file SPIDER goons get a makeover: new uniforms with red trunks, boots and gloves, blue leggings and sleeves, a white tunic with a "spider" emblem on front, and an open-faced, blue hood. Chic!

This seems to violate the non-rule that red and blue are reserved for heroes. I don’t buy that rule myself, just sayin’.

….. the practical upshot is that an ordinary mouse which has undergone the treatment can headbutt dents into three-inch steel. Now it's time to find a human subject.

Never mind Rocky Stone. Somebody has to convince me that the “mighty mouse” isn’t running around loose.

"Rocky" Stone "has spent most of his life in prison for crimes of violence... and he's not too bright!" He also wears Aquaman's colors: an orange sweatshirt and a green pants.

In my DC Archive version, Rocky;s sweatshirt is miscolored as red on page 4 of the story. Not important, but it makes me curious. Was it miscolored in the original comic book and they slavishly duplicated the error? Was it corrected in other printings?

SPIDER is planning to receive a shipment of smuggled arms and, as a test for Rocky, they decide to phone in an anonymous call to THUNDER. This seems like an unnecessarily reckless tactic to me, but it has the desired effect: it draws Dynamo to them.

I agree that it was unnecessarily reckless. The arms shipment was important to SPIDER. They could have suckered Dynamo some other way. It’s not hard to do.

When the uniformed agents consider killing Dynamo, Rocky objects. (He doesn't mind beating him up, but he doesn't want to kill a helpless opponent.) 

The one SPIDER agent calls him a “stupid ape” to his face. Also unnecessarily reckless.

This gives Dynamo ample time to come to his senses and switch off the light. Richard, you must be reading ahead a bit, because it is in this story Dynamo burns his bonds by folding his arms above a Bunsen burner, which you mentioned yesterday.

No, he did it over an open fire (!) in the “Feats of Samson” story in Dynamo #3. It’s at the bottom of page 7 in the story. Asbestos gloves? He must have asbestos pants, too. I’m waiting until you post about an issue before I read it. Hard to say, but I may be reading these later issues for the first time. The controlled flame of a Bunsen burner makes more sense.

He also makes another startling discovery: the mouse used as a test subject for the transformer has died. He discovers a set of notes and reveals them to Rocky when SPIDER attacks.

I guess I don’t have to worry about that mouse after all. (This is the smart version of Dynamo)

All the stages of grief pass across Rocky's face at once and he settles on "revenge." By the time he has single-handedly defeated the SPIDER agents and destroyed the transformer, Dynamo has found his power belt just in time to save him from the resultant explosion.

It’s characterized as a nuclear explosion. Probably not. 

LIGHTNING:

Regarding "more product than could be adequately managed by one office editor and one studio editor, working separately," this story is very similar to the one which immediately precedes it: SPIDER finds a way to duplicate [hero's] power but proves fatal to the test subject. 

Supports my theory that the standard ten-page format allowed them to shovel stories into an issue without regard to anything except filling the pages.

(What do you want to bet that writer Steve Skeates had seen the Star Trek episode "Wink of an Eye" at least once before plotting this story?)

This April 1967 issue was likely put together in January 1967. According to IMDB, the Star Trek episode first aired on November 29, 1968. However, IMDB also alerted me to the fact that The Wild Wild West* episode “The Night of the Burning Diamond” with superspeed and the same accelerated voices aired Apr 8, 1966. It was produced by Gene L. Coon, who went on to write the later Star Trek episode. Great minds think alike sometimes, though the Star Trek story doesn’t address moving so fast burning the person up.

*IMO The Wild Wild West was a better superhero show in 1966 than Batman.

Had I been running this experiment, I would have had Damon don the protective suit before subjecting him to the process, but that's just me. 

A thought balloon of Herr Doktor says that he’s managed to kill six escaped convicts with his process up to that point. Guess he didn’t want to waste time fitting him with the right suit until he survived the process. (Another probable Nazi war criminal)

THUNDER's security may suck, but their intelligence-gathering is top-notch; they are always able to predict in advance at which facility their enemies are going to strike next. Guy has to break a date with Kitten in order to confront Speed Demon Damon.

If a reader didn’t already know that Kitten was an agent, her wearing a dress and carrying sheets of paper would give the impression that she was just office staff. Like the earlier story, there is no mention of recovering the top secret materials stolen.

….. but there's always the possibility that SPIDER will try again. (A lot of THUNDER Agent stories end that way.) 

Given how hard it was to temporarily create one speedster, I don’t think the Chief’s fear of “a whole troop of them” is justified. (He’s back to talking with the pipe in his mouth)

Later, Guy takes Kitten out dancing and she accuses him of being a "slow poke."

An homage to slow poke Barry Allen in his early stories?

NOMAN:

This issue's villain, The Rock, is a scientist who has learned to turn men into stone, a sort of less interesting version of Marvel's the Gargoyle.

One of the guys who was almost a victim says that brown powder from the gun turned the victims to stone. It is colored light blue throughout the story.

When NoMan tries to stop him, he breaks his hand punching the Rock in the face. (There seems to be some story missing between pages four and five, but the page numbers jibe.)

The pages are out of order and were numbered out of order. (More editorial missteps) On page 6 we meet the guy who says “Look out behind you!” on page 3. Pages 5 and 6 should have been pages 3 and 4. Pages 3 and 4 should have been pages 5 and 6. Page 7 immediately follows the action on page 4.

Reading the pages in this order: (1,2,5,6,3,4,7,8,9,10) is actually coherent.

NoMan reasons that, if the raock can turn men to stone, he also should be able to turn coal into diamonds, which is why he's been stealing coal. (He could have just bought the coal; once he changed it to diamonds he could have easily afforded it.)

One of the attendees to NoMan’s presentation says that turning coal into diamonds will wreck the world’s economy (never bothered Superman). This isn’t true. Diamonds are not the basis of the economy unless you are mining or selling diamonds.

[Richard Willis]

ISSUE #12 (Continued):

THUNDER AGENTS:

"The road to Spider HQ" begins with Lightning's abrupt resignation. the Chief calls Dynamite, Kitten, Weed and NoMan into his office. (Dynamo and Raven are on "special assignments.") They are discussing Guy's departure and that he's at his apartment. Just then, weed discovers a bugging device, which the chief swiftly destroys. then they can speak openly. Actually, the chief himself discovered the bug two days prior and concocted the plan of Lightning quitting in order to feed SPIDER disinformation which might lead THUNDER to their headquarters.

This is a clever story and, as I suspected, it’s from real writer Steve Skeates.

I had to laugh at the way the Chief discovered the bug. "Drat this windy office," the Chief thinks in flashback. "Secret documents are always being blown all the... hey!" as two secret documents are shown being blown out the window and he sees the bug hidden behind the curtain.

SPIDER has already sent a squad to Guy's apartment, but also a second "special" squad, just in case. THUJNDER, too, has "original and alternate plans." It's a good thing, too, because SPIDER's goons rip Guy's shirt revealing the speed suit underneath and they know the jig is up. they retreat and are captured by the THUNDER Squad (which was "Plan B").

They purposely let one of the goons get away so that NoMan can follow him back to where, it turns out, the three Speed Demons have taken Guy. Teamwork saves the day. I guess they figured out how to create more Speed Demons after all. Probably forgot to tell them they're dying.

RAVEN:

This is, I think (I hope), the last "Raven" story by Manny Stallman. When next we see the character it will be with story and art by... but, no. Mustn't get ahead of the discussion.

Since Mexico is a member of the United Nations, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Raven is working with them. Captain Cardenas is thanking him for cooperating on a common problem. Sounds like Manny Stallman thinks that THUNDER is a U.S. organization, not a U.N. one. Mayven is referred to as "Frau" instead of "Fraulein." I don't think she's married. Captain Cardenas, a Mexican intelligence operative, doesn't know to say "un momento," not "uno momento."                                  xxx

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"It’s a nice cover but using it as a cover for a reprinted Issue #1 is strange."

Actually, it reprints stories from issues #1, 2 & 7. Still no Lightning story, though.

"No, he did it over an open fire (!) in the “Feats of Samson” story in Dynamo #3."

I didn't recall that and I didn't go back to check.

"This April 1967 issue was likely put together in January 1967."

I didn't verify the dates (obviously), but I would have sworn it was swiped from "Wink." A first season episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was later reworked into Trek's "Space Seed" by Carey Wilbur. The Wild, Wild West and The Man from U.N.C.L.E are two shows I wish I would have seen more of. 

"A thought balloon of Herr Doktor says that he’s managed to kill six escaped convicts with his process up to that point."

Oh, yeah... that reminds me! At one point Herr Doktor also thinks, "It's a good thing that SPIDER has en endless supply of escaped convicts to blackmail into 'volunteering' for this experiment!" Why would that be, ecactly?

"Reading the pages in this order: (1,2,5,6,3,4,7,8,9,10) is actually coherent."

Huh! I suspected that the pages were mis-numbered, but I assumed it was because the script ran a page long and a page with little action/plot development was simply omitted and "numbered over." It didn't even occur to me that the pages were out of order and mis-numbered, so I didn't even try to order them properly. Well done! 

[doc photo]

Just a heads up - The Wild, Wild West is currently an "on demand" offering on Pluto. Season Two of the series, originally airing in 1966-67, went camp due to the success of Batman but they righted the ship by Season Three.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Thanks, Kevin! (Sound like the same trajectory Lost in Space followed.) I was thinking of asking Tracy to see where it's available, but you just saved me her the trouble. We watch Dark Shadows on Pluto. (Yeah, I know... that's a long way to go just to watch a TV show.) 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

DYNAMO #4:

("More powerful than a locomotive...")

1ST STORY: This is a kind of trippy episode in which takes place (partially) within Dynamo's own mindscape. Actually, it's a follow-up to the Moon story in which THUNDER is preparing to send Dynamo through the aliens' matter transmitter back to their point of origin, which ends up being the the Alpha Centauri system, as they suspected. He meets an alien race called the Immi and they trick him into returning. I was anticipating a twist that this, too, was in his mind. A little disappointing, but there's not much to be done in ten pages. (For some reason I have The Monkees' "Take a Giant Step" stuck in my head... and now you do, too. You're welcome.)

2ND STORY: This one is kind of metatextual. When Len Brown (the writer, not the character) first conceived Dynamo, he thought of him as an updated Captain Marvel and named him "Thunderbolt" but Wally Wood changed it to "Dynamo". NoMan is getting sick of saving Dynamo at the last second by invisibly flicking the belt's switch, so Weed suggests that THUNDER "rig up a gadget tuned to Len's voice, [which would] automatically turn on the belt when he said a certain word." The word they settle on is Stan Lee's catchphase, "Excelsior" (more metatext).

It doesn't take SPIDER long to figure out the new status quo, however, and because "all of [their] brances [are] bugged as a matter of policy," they already have a recording of Dynamo's voice saying "Excelsior!"  which leads to a nearly disastrous first outing. His belt radio is still functioning, however, and THUNDER sends NoMan in to bail him out again. "I've got a feeling I'll get killed at least once tonight... I'll hold the cloak in reserve for a while," thinks NoMan in a truly self-fulfilling prophecy. He sends a body in disguise which is machinegunned down almost immediately. Yes, he used an android worth "millions of dollars" as a decoy. Later, after the belt has been changed back, the Chief makes one final metatexual dig at Marvel Comics: "That word's for the birds... seemed like a good idea at the time..."

Total NoMan bodies lost: 47

3RD STORY: In this comic relief tale, Dynamo asks for a day off. Alice turns him down because the plot calls for him to be set up on a blind date with a girl who turns out to be a SPIDER agent who steals his belt. They go to the beach and, in another "meta" element, re-enact "The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac" from the well-known Charles Atlas ad. He dons a fake belt and does some real property damage after he gets the belt back. At the end, Alice has a change of heart and admits, I do care... too much."

4TH STORY: This story begins with another sloppy editorial error as, in the very first panel, Iron Maiden's thug's dialogue balloon is shown coming from her. Iron Maiden has built a robot duplicate of herself (for some reason) and, without even a clear knowledge of how Dynamo's power belt works, rigged it with an "energy absorber" which makes him weaker rather than stronger whenever he activates it. It is also this story which introduces the Chief's daughter, Roxanne (a.k.a. "Bunny"), which is no doubt whom Cap was confusing with Alice. Bunny is "Lana Lang" to Alice's "Lois Lane" (or maybe "Betty" to her "Veronica".)

The Iron Maiden has unknowingly hired SPIDER agents as her henchmen. As one of them explains: "We're just working for you for laughs... every one of us is a full-fledged member of SPIDER, and we were playing along with you until you trapped this big blue Boy Scout!" The humor is very broad (uh... no pun intended). In another "meta" joke, Dynamo re-en-acts a well-known Hertz ad.

WEED: Weed relates a recent THUNDER escapade to his niblings as a fairy tale and doubtless embellishes quite a bit. Much of this tale is tongue-in-cheek and must be taken with a grain of salt. For example, the Iron Maiden's plot is to steal the payroll of a company that makes peanut butter. the art is Steve Ditko inked by Wally Wood, so that's interesting at least. 

These "humor" stories remind me quite a bit of ACG's brief superhero line, Nemesis, Magicman and (I guess) Herbie the Fat Fury, from around the same time as Tower's. About 15 years ago, Dark Horse released four or five archives of this material. I read some of it, but it didn't appeal to me at the time: not serious enough. But, as I recall, it wasn't that much hokier than some of this Tower material (well, maybe the Fat Fury). After I wrap this project I may move on to trying those again.

This is the last issue of Dynamo's solo title. 

[Richard Willis]

DYNAMO #4:

1ST STORY:

He meets an alien race called the Immi and they trick him into returning. I was anticipating a twist that this, too, was in his mind. A little disappointing, but there's not much to be done in ten pages.

I liked the ending and the unusual look of the aliens. I really enjoyed the robot head running away on tiny legs. This and the shape of the aliens’ heads reminded me of the art in Wood’s magazine Witzend that I subscribed to back in the day.

2ND STORY:

This one is kind of metatextual. When Len Brown (the writer, not the character) first conceived Dynamo, he thought of him as an updated Captain Marvel and named him "Thunderbolt" but Wally Wood changed it to "Dynamo".

Probably because the Charlton character “Peter Cannon ..Thunderbolt.”

NoMan is getting sick of saving Dynamo at the last second by invisibly flicking the belt's switch, so Weed suggests that THUNDER "rig up a gadget tuned to Len's voice, [which would] automatically turn on the belt when he said a certain word." The word they settle on is Stan Lee's catchphase, "Excelsior" (more metatext).

The first time Len says it he accidentally destroys the Chief’s desk, followed by Maxwell Smart’s often-said “Sorry about that, Chief.”

It doesn't take SPIDER long to figure out the new status quo, however, and because "all of [their] branches [are] bugged as a matter of policy," they already have a recording of Dynamo's voice saying "Excelsior!"  which leads to a nearly disastrous first outing.

I guess because leaving the bug in place in the earlier story was a good idea, the Chief left the latest bug in his office on purpose, too. Actually, it works fine on the first outing, which had Dynamo’s hands tied before the secret word allows him to save a kidnapped Alice. The second outing should have been fatal for Dynamo. They are shooting at him when their recording of his voice turns the belt off every time he turns it on. They can’t seem to decide if they want him dead or want to tie him up. If they wanted him dead they should have continued firing at him without stopping when the belt was going on and off.

His belt radio is still functioning, however, and THUNDER sends NoMan in to bail him out again. "I've got a feeling I'll get killed at least once tonight... I'll hold the cloak in reserve for a while," thinks NoMan in a truly self-fulfilling prophecy. He sends a body in disguise which is machinegunned down almost immediately. Yes, he used an android worth "millions of dollars" as a decoy. 

The “dead” decoy enabled him to invisibly sneak in to save Len. He’s really busy. He unties Len, finds the belt and then records over SPIDER’s tape of Len’s voice.

3RD STORY:

In this comic relief tale, Dynamo asks for a day off. Alice turns him down because the plot calls for him to be set up on a blind date with a girl who turns out to be a SPIDER agent who steals his belt.

This sounds “naughty,” as in “steals it from the bedpost.” She steals it at the beach from the towel Len wrapped it in.

When Len is first introduced to the blind date and Weed’s girl, Weed is still in his THUNDER uniform, including the floppy red boots (pirate boots?). Dynamo uses the disgusting term “beast” to refer to a human woman.

He dons a fake belt and does some real property damage after he gets the belt back. At the end, Alice has a change of heart and admits, I do care... too much."

Why would a SPIDER agent provide an address where Len could find her? I guess it was intentional so they could capture him (again). I wonder if SPIDER owns the building that he trashed? Hope so, or THUNDER has more wasted money going out the door. Alice relenting fits in that it hasn’t been that long since she accepted his proposal.

4TH STORY:

This story begins with another sloppy editorial error as, in the very first panel, Iron Maiden's thug's dialogue balloon is shown coming from her. Iron Maiden has built a robot duplicate of herself (for some reason) and, without even a clear knowledge of how Dynamo's power belt works, rigged it with an "energy absorber" which makes him weaker rather than stronger whenever he activates it.

The Iron Maiden reveals that she is a for-real scientific genius. Until now, I had the impression that she was using the tech of whatever organization she was working with.

It is also this story which introduces the Chief's daughter, Roxanne (a.k.a. "Bunny"), which is no doubt whom Cap was confusing with Alice. Bunny is "Lana Lang" to Alice's "Lois Lane."

Including their hair color. Dynamo’s second redhead this issue, not counting the Iron Maiden.

WEED:

Weed relates a recent THUNDER escapade to his niblings as a fairy tale and doubtless embellishes quite a bit. Much of this tale is tongue-in-cheek and must be taken with a grain of salt. For example, the Iron Maiden's plot is to steal the payroll of a company that makes peanut butter. the art is Steve Ditko inked by Wally Wood, so that's interesting at least. 

IIRC, this is the first story that had the Iron Maiden go to jail.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #13:

[NOTE cover blurb.]

DYNAMO: THUNDER has been infiltrated by a double agent, "one of the original founders of SPIDER" (yet later one of his underlings calls him "Fool"), who has been in deep cover and a THUNDER executive. He single-handedly takes over the THUNDER R&D center which has developed an "atomic bullet" which is fired by an ordinary assault rifle. Dynamo is transported to the site by an aerial pick-up rig, but the jet is taken out by anti-aircraft missiles as soon as it arrives. Benson, the double agent, begins firing at Dynamo with the atomic bullets. (Judging by the apparent size of the three resultant mushroom clouds, the shots must have hit the ground miles apart.) 

THUNDER's forces arrive, but by this time, Dynamo has sabotaged the base's missile defense system. Benson fires another atomic bullet, at a range of what looks to be about 20 yards (creating another mushroom cloud), but the explosion fails to take Dynamo out. then he fires two more shots at the incoming aircraft and does manage to take those out. (If you're scoring at home, Benson has fired six atomic bullets at this point.) At this point there is one "A" bullet left, it is beyond SPIDER's technology to manufacture more, so Benson is ordered to use the remaining bullet to kill Dynamo.

SPIDER uses a NoMan double to lure Dynamo into a trap by planting a bomb "in the basement of the Civil Defense Commission (by this time several days have passed), but he gets suspicious when the double didn't disarm the bomb himself because NoMan is immortal (using a strange definition of the word "immortal' with which I am unfamiliar). "Well," reasons Dynamo, "there's one sure way to find out. If you're really NoMan, you won't mind if I destroy you." NoMan might not mind (although I suspect he might), but I'm sure someone at THUNDER would object to the loss of a 48th android body. 

The double caves and tells him Benson is waiting with the atomic rifle. (Since this is several days later, I don't know why SPIDER didn't give the weapon to an agent who is a better marksman.) Nine THUNDER Agents (including Kitten) all  burst into the trap dressed as Dynamo. With so many targets to choose from, Benson hesitates, giving the real Dynamo the opportunity to break through the wall and subdue him. the last "A" bullet literally had Dynamo's name (written) on it. 

NOMAN: O.G.R.E., yet another group with an acronym for a name (Organized Greed Revenge & Extermination) sets out to rob a bank to finance its operations with the help of an "Electrobot" which would not have been out of place in a 1950s B-movie. NoMan is wandering in the park across the street, watching human beings interact with each other and feeling sorry for himself (which we haven't seen in a while). When he sees people running from the bank, he stupidly runs across the street while invisible and almost loses a body right off the bat. When he arrives, NoMan and and a usually timid man named Henry Watkins rush the Electrobot at the same time and an electrical discharge causes them to switch bodies.

A couple of issues back, I didn't have a problem with NoMan's mind being accidentally transferred to an unintended android body, but this development strains my willing sense of disbelief to the breaking point. What NoMan should have done was immediately confront Henry Watkins in his own body, but instead, NoMan decides to steal his identity. Meanwhile, OGRE has mounted their flying motorcyles to seek revenge on "NoMan". 

Elsewhere, the real NoMan (in Watkins' body) notices a pretty girl looking at him and thinks, "By humanoid standards, I must be what she considers 'handsome'" (which is an odd thing to think because his mind is "humanoid"). Suddenly, his flirtation is interrupted by Watkins' shrewish (but not bad-looking) wife. She takes him home and is chasing him around the apartment with a frying pan when bill collectors come knocking at the door and she helps him escape through the window onto the fire escape. 

By this time, OGRE has tracked Watkins to an alley. He "accidentally" turns the dial which renders him invisible, so the OGRE goons send for Electrobot II to use its "submicroscopic visio-sensory units... to detect any minute dust disturbances that will betray the position of an invisible body!" But NoMan saw the robot and followed it to the alley. Reasoning that Watkins was there invisibly, NoMan short circuits the robot and reverses the process. He captures the OGRE agents and later checks in on Watkins and his wife, and decides that "Perhaps there are worse fates than being an android!" 

LIGHTNING: On his way back from a mission, Lightning walks by a tree which then changes shape to become a duplicate of Lightning himself. An alarm had been tripped at the "Bayside base" and Lightning was sent to investigate. Presumably he ran there and walked back to conserve speed, but could THUNDER have sprung for a cab or something? The whole thing was a ruse perpetrated by the shape-shifter "Mock-Man" in order to get Lighting to walk that specific route so Mock-Man could copy his form. (Doesn't "Mock-Man" sound like the name of a stand-up comic?) I don't know why a photo wouldn't have worked just as well.

After a bit of melodrama between Guy and Kitten (Guy can't show his true feeling because the suit is slowly killing him), the fake "Lightning" steals some documents from THUNDER's Astoria base and allows himself to be seen in order to frame the real Lightning. When Mock-Man reports to his boss, the Professor, the professor draws a gun on him, despite the fact Mock-Man "did everything exactly as [the Professor] instructed." The Professor is responsible for Mock-Man's powers, plus the fact that his memories are blocked. Mock-Man pulled (what he thought would be) just this one job on the promise that the Professor would restore his memories, but the Professor betrays him. 

The Professor is an independent agent who plans to sell the stolen documents to SPIDER ("or some such organization," more of which are [popping up all the time) for a "pretty penny." The Professor next sends Mock-Man/Lightning to Dynamo's apartment, when he ambushes him and takes his form. Then it's off to THUNDER HQ to frame Dynamo and steal more secrets. By this time, Guy is called on the carpet by the Chief, who is investigating the reports of his treachery. The Chief and Guy accidentally run into the fake "Dynamo" and the Chief assigns him to be Guy's bodyguard until the matter can be cleared up. 

Back at Dynamo's apartment, he spins around on the floor in order to activate his belt. "Yes!" he thinks. "It worked! I'm turned on!" (Is Tower doing this on purpose?) At THUNDER HQ, "Dynamo" ducks out on guarding Guy, which makes Guy himself suspicious. Guy confronts Mock-Man, who runs into NoMan's lab. By the time Guy arrives, Mock-Man has already transformed into on of NoMan's duplicate bodies and strikes Guy from behind. Guy recovers quickly and sets off in pursuit of "Dynamo" (because he didn't see "NoMan" hit him). "NoMan" misdirects Guy outside, where he runs into the real Dynamo, then Mock-Man steals more secret documents. Using his super-speed, Guy removes Dynamo's belt.

Meanwhile, Mock-Man has returned to the Professor's laboratory. (In his "default" form, he looks like DC's Parasite, all purple, but with purple trunks, too, not green.) In an unexpected twist, he finds the Professor dead from an unexpected explosion. Back at THUNDER, Len tries to use his normal strength to subdue Guy, but Guy is too fast. Their fight is interrupted by the Chief, who tells tham that "from all reports, it sounds like we're up against a master of disguise, who impersonated all three of you." There's THUNDER's crack intelligence at work again. Either that or it's page ten.

THUNDER AGENTS: At the time of Menthor's death, his helmet was not recovered. It rolled into a drain and was carried out to sea, where it was found on the beach by a "penniless beachcomber" named Charlie. When Charlie realized the potential of the helmet, he becomes "Ishka Bazoom, the Mental Marvel" in the carnival circuit. But Willie, an aquaintence, hits Charlie over the head so hard he believes he has killed him and takes the helmet to embark on a career of crime.

NoMan is called to Lincoln Square where "people in the area seem to be in a trance." He arrives to find Willie robbing a bank. He notices the "black helmet" but doesn't recognize it as being Menthor's. (NoMan may need his eyes checked because the helmet is actually blue, with a black circle inside a concentric larger red circle.) Willie seems to be able to "see" NoMan, and shoots him dead. Next, Dynamo arrives but falls under Willie's control. when the other agents arrive on the scene, they find both Willie and Dynamo gone. 

A few hours later, Willie, now officially designated the Black Helmet, uses the mentally-controlled Dynamo's power to rob the Empire trust Company's safe. when the other THUNDER Agents arrive, he pits them all against each other. Suddenly he is shaken by the appearance of the supposedly dead Charlie. The black Helmet shoots him in the head, then flees to take over a TV station to broadcast his control to "millions of homes throughout the country." NoMan is the first on the scene, but he is stomped to death by a mentally-controlled mob outside the studio. After a while, Charlie shows up again, but this time the Black Helmet is so flustered he backs through a window and falls to his death. 

Charlie explains that the bullet only creased his scalp, and Dynamo promises him a reward. The helmet itself rolls into an open manhole. "Can this be... The End?"

Total NoMan bodies lost: 49

UNDERSEA AGENT: Note the designation "Guest Star Appearance" on both the cover as well as the splash page. for some reason (actually, I know exactly the reason), I thought the Undersea Agent was a member of THUNDER., but instead he belongs to a different organization known as U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A. (United Nations Department of Experiment and Research Systems Established at Atlantis), another @#$! acronym! (They had to really stretch for that one.) I assume UNDERSEA is something of a sister organization to THUNDER because they are both U.N. sanctioned. In reality, Undersea Agent was released in January of 1966 as a companion to THUNDER Agents.

Here is what my favorite comic book guide has to say about the six-issue series: "The adventures of Davy Jones (!) Undersea agent weren't the highspot of Tower Comics' short lifetime. Most of the plots were idiotic and they weren't helped by the art, which was, with few exceptions, dreadful." I'll let that stand for now, but I do intend to cover the series itself later in this discussion. 

[Richard Willis]

ISSUE #13:

DYNAMO:

THUNDER has been infiltrated by a double agent, "one of the original founders of SPIDER" (yet later one of his underlings calls him "Fool"), who has been in deep cover and a THUNDER executive.

THUNDER once again demonstrates how poor they are at security matters. If Benson was a founder of SPIDER, being imbedded in THUNDER all those years probably allowed him to be out-maneuvered and sidelined in the SPIDER hierarchy. Using up the finite supply of ammunition for this weapon certainly justified his being called a fool.

He single-handedly takes over the THUNDER R&D center which has developed an "atomic bullet" which is fired by an ordinary assault rifle. Dynamo is transported to the site by an aerial pick-up rig, but the jet is taken out by anti-aircraft missiles as soon as it arrives.

Dynamo thinks “those poor guys,” which is the only recognition so far of any regular military deaths.

Benson, the double agent, begins firing at Dynamo with the atomic bullets. (Judging by the apparent size of the three resultant mushroom clouds, the shots must have hit the ground miles apart.) 

The concept of an atomic rifle is totally ridiculous. Everybody there, THUNDER and SPIDER, would have died horribly.

The double caves and tells him Benson is waiting with the atomic rifle. (Since this is several days later, I don't know why SPIDER didn't give the weapon to an agent who is a better marksman.)

I don’t know where you get the impression that this is “several days later.” I can’t find any mention of this.

Nine THUNDER Agents (including Kitten) all  burst into the trap dressed as Dynamo. With so many targets to choose from, Benson hesitates, giving the real Dynamo the opportunity to break through the wall and subdue him.

Kitten should wear that every day.

NOMAN:

A couple of issues back, I didn't have a problem with NoMan's mind being accidentally transferred to an unintended android body, but this development strains my willing sense of disbelief to the breaking point.

It is a stretch. They even said that the unintended android had a lot of similarities to the regular androids.

Elsewhere, the real NoMan (in Watkins' body) notices a pretty girl looking at him and thinks, "By humanoid standards, I must be what she considers 'handsome'" (which is an odd thing to think because his mind is "humanoid").

I assume that artist Ogden Whitney wrote this story. It feels like a tongue-in-cheek ACG or the Eisner Spirit story of doppelgangers (the shrewish wife with the frying pan) overlaid with a NoMan story. Whitney doesn’t have a good understanding of NoMan and his backstory.  He isn’t some guy who, reluctantly, wound up in a series of androids and doesn’t remember what it is to be human. He had seven decades as a human and purposely transferred his consciousness to the android(s) he created with the machine he created. Also, as you pointed out, he had no right to take over Watkins’ body and plan to keep it. It’s way out of character.

But NoMan saw the robot and followed it to the alley. Reasoning that Watkins was there invisibly, NoMan short circuits the robot and reverses the process.

OGRE is supposedly finished (good!). Both robots were defeated because they stupidly had controls/wiring out in the open instead of behind a simple additional sheet of metal.

LIGHTNING:

By the time Guy arrives, Mock-Man has already transformed into on of NoMan's duplicate bodies and strikes Guy from behind. Guy recovers quickly and sets off in pursuit of "Dynamo" (because he didn't see "NoMan" hit him). "NoMan" misdirects Guy outside, where he runs into the real Dynamo, then Mock-Man steals more secret documents.

I’m surprised they have any secret documents left to steal. This is another Steve Skeates well-constructed story.

Meanwhile, Mock-Man has returned to the Professor's laboratory. (In his "default" form, he looks like DC's Parasite, all purple, but with purple trunks, too, not green.) In an unexpected twist, he finds the Professor dead from an unexpected explosion.

Gee. In the follow-up story we may get to see what Mock-Man looked like before he changed. Maybe it's something imaginative.

THUNDER AGENTS:

At the time of Menthor's death, his helmet was not recovered. It rolled into a drain and was carried out to sea …..

I had to go back and check. Menthor was killed in the last story in THUNDER Agents #7. The last person we see holding the helmet is one of the Warlords. They all die and nothing was said about the helmet, implying that THUNDER had retrieved it.

He arrives to find Willie robbing a bank. He notices the "black helmet" but doesn't recognize it as being Menthor's. (NoMan may need his eyes checked because the helmet is actually blue, with a black circle inside a concentric larger red circle.)

I think it’s blue like Superman’s hair and Batman’s cape are blue.

Suddenly he is shaken by the appearance of the supposedly dead Charlie. The black Helmet shoots him in the head, then flees to take over a TV station to broadcast his control to "millions of homes throughout the country." NoMan is the first on the scene, but he is stomped to death by a mentally-controlled mob outside the studio.

Two quibbles. I don’t buy that seeing an image on a TV screen would be like being in the same room with the black helmet. The second thing is that NoMan’s android bodies are supposed to be very strong and very heavy (not unlike Dynamo). I don’t think the mob could kill him easily, if at all.

Charlie explains that the bullet only creased his scalp, and Dynamo promises him a reward. The helmet itself rolls into an open manhole. "Can this be... The End?"

It’s like the helmet is purposely making getaways.

UNDERSEA AGENT:

Note the designation "Guest Star Appearance" on both the cover as well as the splash page. for some reason (actually, I know exactly the reason)

At first I thought this an attempt to get readers interested in that title (which GCD lists without all the periods). I now see that issue #6 of that title was the last and that this story was printed after the cancellation. I was never attracted to UNDERSEA. I just skimmed this story.

If you’re covering it I won’t have much to say. I thought you mentioned covering the IDW original THUNDER Agents stories (issues 1-8). I have those issues arriving in the mail in less than a week.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"If Benson was a founder of SPIDER, being imbedded in THUNDER all those years probably allowed him to be out-maneuvered and sidelined in the SPIDER hierarchy."

I think we're both guilty of embellishing these stories in our head canon so they make sense.

"I don’t know where you get the impression that this is 'several days later.'"

On page seven, after both sides have withdrawn, the uniformed SPIDER agents says, "We'll have to create a crisis that will drawn Dynamo into our trap." The caption of next panel reads, "...and soon the plan is put into operation." Because their plan consisted of planting a bomb in the basement of the Civil Defense Commission, I figure that "soon" meant at least a couple of days.

"Kitten should wear that every day."

Me-OW!

"...overlaid with a NoMan story."

Apropos of nothing, really, I always thought Alan Moore's the "Original Writer's" Dr. Manhattan was based on Captain Atom but, at least visually, he looks like a naked NoMan with a hydrogen symbol on his forehead.

"I just skimmed [the Undersea agent] story."

You didn't miss much.

"...this story was printed after the cancellation."

Probably an inventory story from before Gil Kane took over the feature. By this time the popularity of the Batman TV show was waning and Charlton's and Harvey's and Mighty Comics' superheroes were all on their way out.

"If you’re covering [Undersea Agent] I won’t have much to say."

That okay. I plan to cover the entire series in a single post.

"I thought you mentioned covering the IDW original THUNDER Agents stories (issues 1-8)."

I don't remember if I did or not, but I do plan to cover them. (DC's two 2011 series, too.)

"I have those issues arriving in the mail in less than a week."

Wow, you ordered them just for this discussion!? Actually, I don't own the IDW series myself, either, but I've already ascertained that my LCS has the tpbs (there are two of them) in stock. Incidentally, for anyone who may be interested in the Tower series but doesn't want to shell out for the archives, I noticed DC has those collected in tpb format as well. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #14:

[Raven's only cover appearance.]

DYNAMO: Andor has been down on his luck since his last encounter with Dynamo/THUNDER and has taken up residence with a group of hippies (although Steve Ditko drew them as beatniks) in Greenwich Village. (Shirtless Andor has grown a beard, wears shades, and has an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He wears wristbands, a pair of rolled up dungarees and a pair of thongs.) SPIDER is running a protection racket on Andor's turf, which brings them into conflict. THUNDER receives word that Andor is "terrorizing the Village" and assigns Dynamo to bring him in. SPIDER decides to play Dynamo and Andor against each other. 

Dynamo and Andor meet, they fight, and before they team-up, SPIDER calls in an airstrike. (Why an organization which controls fighter jets with air-to-ground missiles is running a penny-ante protection racket shaking down a group of beatniks hippies I don't know.) the missile strike blinds Andor, but Dynamo directs him to his belt. the two of them capture the SPIDER gang, but Andor's not keen on turning himself in. Dynamo's belt has run out of juice, so there's not much he can do about it.

LIGHTNING: Mock-Man has infiltrated THUNDER HQ, disguised as Lightning, and leaves a stack of papers on the Chief's desk "for him to sign." On the way out, he encounters the real Lightning, who gives chase. Lightning is feeling groggy this morning, however, and trips, allowing Mock-Man to escape. Now that the scientist who gave him his powers and stole his memory is dead, Mock-Man has returned the top secret documents he stole. "Now that I've returned them, he thinks, "my slate is clean." I'm not sure it works that way, but perhaps he's referring to his conscience. He returns to the scientist's lab and discovers what he hopes is a clue to his identity: a note from a woman named Linda which he found in a discarded wallet.

Until last issue, we haven't heard much about the use of his powers being detrimental to Guy's health in a while, but now the doctor tells him that is he uses the suit just one more time that "a chain reaction of cell deterioration mat be set off." He is reassigned to his old job as leader of the THUNDER Squad, just in time for them to trace the radiation trail left by Mock-Man. (The Chief would have assigned a super agent, but they are all on missions in outer space European assignments.) 

Meanwhile, Dr. Faceliff Forkliff is just about to activate a robot with a "destructive impulse" programmed in. No sooner is the robot activated than it runs amok. Meanwhile, the THUNDER Squad have traced Mock-Man to the laboratory then to the airport, where they lose his trail. Just then, they are reassigned to tackle the rampaging robot. The only way to defeat it, it seems, is for Guy to use his super-speed, which he does. He collapses and is put "in suspended animation until [THUNDER] can find a cure!" Meanwhile, Mock-Man is on a plane to find Linda.

NOMAN: The story begins with yet another heist of top secret documents from a "remote THUNDER base." NoMan just happens to show up at that time... delivering more documents! He's not wearing his cape not does he have a duplicate with him (writer's fiat), so when SPIDER "kills" his current body (his fiftieth!), he has nowhere to transfer but back to HQ. the notion that NoMan has a spare body at every THUNDER facility is another victim of writer's fiat. the commander orders his men to "grab that android body! SPIDER Central [a term I don't think we've heard before] has been hoping to get their hands on one for a long time." If they wanted one, I'm not sure what was stopping them from picking up any of the four dozen NoMan has lost up to this point.

The SPIDER's are wearing new red and purple outfits. The red hoods resolve into v-neck tunics, except for the leader's, whose hood has little "spider-legs" on it. Two weeks later at SPIDER Central, a scientist wearing a red and black kimono reports to the "Supreme Arachnid" (a term I know we haven't heard before) that NoMan's "body is operational again... and all the memory circuits have been destroyed and replaced by a unit!" Wait a minute! All along NoMan's been abandoning android bodies right and left and now SPIDER, unable to build their own androids because they're so sophisticated, can simply repair one and subvert it to their own needs? 

Two days later, a four-man team of SPIDER agents have been dispatched to another remote THUNDER base. What they don't know is that their team is expendable and SPIDER has dispatched two additional teams. The first team breaks in the door, purposefully setting off an alarm at THUNDER HQ. In an (I'm sure) inadvertent bit of continuity with the previous story, the other super-agents are still on "European assignments" (NoMan must have returned from his), leaving only NoMan to answer the call. Unknown to the first team of SPIDER agents, a second team waits outside.

NoMan arrives in time to stop the first team from stealing armloads of top-secret documents (which were apparently otherwise unguarded). Meanwhile, a third team is switching NoMan's duplicate body with their own, altered one. the then "kill" the unaltered duplicate and set off a flare to notify the second team to proceed with their part of the plan (which raises the question why did NoMan park so far away from the facility that the third team had to notify the second by flare?). The second team guns down the first team in a spray of machinegun fire intended to take out the invisible NoMan. They succeed and, when NoMan attempts to transfer his his duplicate, he transfers to the altered one instead. He "awakans" with amnesia and suseptaible to suggestion. 

"Wha-? Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Why, you came with us--as a member of SPIDER's attack squad--remember?"

"Oh, yeh... that's right! ...and now what?"

"Now what" entails an attack on THUNDER's New Jersey base, but the chief doesn't even notice NoMan is missing until he doesn't show up for work the next day. Dude! He was responding to an emergency alarm and you don't think to send out a search party until the next day!? The THUNDER Squad arrives and NoMan start throwing missiles at them. the Supreme Arachnid orders NoMan to break off his attack and to destroy the large missile. Weed shoots him, and he falls from the elevator platform to his apparent death. Knowing that is NoMan switches his mind he will lose control, the Supreme Arachnid orders him not to switch bodies. NoMan survives the fall, but is dying. Luckily, the fall also destroyed  SPIDER's "delicate control device" allowing NoMan to switch bodies.

"I'm sorry about the stuff I destroyed!" apologizes NoMan.

"Well, no use crying over spilled milk!" says the Chief, writing it off but resolving, "We'll have to find some way to prevent a similar occurrence from taking place!" (They always do.)

Total NoMan bodies lost: 51

RAVEN: "A Tale Tastefully Told by the Toast of the Town" says Gil Kane, exercising his alliteration. This is what Raven stories should have been like all along, with the hero float/falling through the air in Gil Kane fashion. Kane introduces the Prophet, a doom-and-gloom forecaster of self-fulfilling prophecies. "I see betrayal, deception... destruction of our liberties by those whom we entrusted with our safety," he says as he plans an attack on the U.S. Capitol. With this and the recent stories about the mishandling of Top Secret documents, it's almost as if someone at Tower was prophesying the 2K-20s

The Prophet's henchmen must buy their uniforms were Lex Luthor shops, because they're all wearing purple jumpsuits with green belts that cross over the chest. Kane's dialogue is a reasonable imitation of Stan Lee's patter, and the end of the story hinges on a suitable twist.

"You were a creature of the darkness, feeding on fear and anxiety," thinks Raven, eulogizing the Prophet. "The institutions of free government must be jealously guarded. Panic serves only the enemy. Reason and truth are the dancing flames of liberty's torch."

THUNDER AGENTS: This story of a giant, flying, robotic hand would not be out of place in a 1950s DC science fiction title. BIG continuity error in that Lightning participates in this story.

End of archive volume five.