MARVEL PREMIERE ISSUES 31-40

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog resumes examining Marvel Premiere, this time from issue #31 to 40.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #31 (Aug 1976)

Title: A Birthday Nightmare

Villains: A violent mob and Major Del Tremens’ troops

Synopsis: This was the origin story for Woodgod, created by Bill Mantlo. Just outside Liberty, NM is a ranch used by government scientists David Pace and his wife Ellen Pace. It serves as their residence AND laboratory for their Top-Secret projects.   

One such project is a deadly nerve gas called Purple Mist. Another is the cross-fertilization of human and animal genetic material which has resulted in the unnatural “birth” of Marvel’s newest character – called Woodgod by David Pace.

Under observation by the Paces, Woodgod grows to maturity in just three days and his enormous intellectual potential has him speaking in simplistic English but we’re told Woodgod will be at genius level in a few more days.

Superstitious people in Liberty, NM get covert glimpses of the creature and decide to raid the Pace ranch to destroy Woodgod and any other such “monsters” being created there. David and Ellen are shot to death in the attack but our main character is super-strong and invulnerable, so he survives being shot multiple times.

Woodgod’s still-childlike mind is confused by the violence. The attackers destroy all the lab equipment at the ranch and unintentionally unleash the Purple Mist nerve gas into the air. All the attackers die, then all the human and animal life within 15 miles of the ranch drops dead as well.

The only survivor is Woodgod, whose healing powers make him immune to the gas. At nearby Vertigo Military Base (later retconned into Tranquility Base) Major Del Tremens and his troops become aware of the chaos at the Department of Defense installation on David and Ellen Pace’s ranch.

Through misunderstandings they believe Woodgod went berserk and unleashed the nerve gas, causing all the deaths. In protective gear to keep them safe from the lingering nerve gas, Major Tremens and his men attack Woodgod in corpse-strewn Liberty, but the being’s incredible strength, etc let it kill all the soldiers except for Tremens himself.

NOTE: In my opinion it’s a shame that Woodgod didn’t get at least a tryout series of 4 or more issues. Mantlo’s writing made Woodgod’s introspective attitude resemble Man-Thing’s and the Vertigo Base Black Projects resemble Marvel’s Deathlok series.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #32 (Oct 1976)

Title: Monark Starstalker

Villains: Triplanet Metals, Inc.

Synopsis: Out in deep space in the apparent far future, we meet a humanoid named Monark, a Starstalker (combination vigilante/ bounty hunter). Monark is armed with energy-shooting guns, a futuristic sword and an android bird of prey called Ulysses.

This first story of the character finds him in the city of New Canaan on the icy cold planet Stormking. That entire world is owned by Triplanet Metals, Inc. for mining and technology in an evil Weyland-Yutani way.

Monark has come to collect the bounty on Kurt Hammer but he also gets caught up in the corrupt activities of Triplanet Metals, Inc. and other deaths before killing Hammer. Marvel later retconned the character so that his adventures took place in the present day.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #33 (Dec 1976)   

Title: The Mark of Kane

Villains: Le Loup and his men

Synopsis: This was Marvel’s first full-color adaptation of Solomon Kane, the sword and pistol-wielding Puritan adventurer of the 1500s. Kane was created by Robert E. Howard, as were Conan the Barbarian and Kull the Conqueror. In later stories Solomon Kane also wields the Staff of King Solomon.

This issue and the next adapt Robert E. Howard’s short story Red Shadows, published in Weird Tales in 1928. Solomon Kane uses his sword and pistols to try saving an innocent town from the ravages of animal headed pillagers and rapists.

Kane eventually kills La Costa, a Spanish swordsman who used black magic to create the animal headed men. With La Costa’s death the animal men are also destroyed. Solomon follows La Costa’s leader, a Frenchman called Le Loup, the Wolf, to another village he slaughters.

Kane vows to a dying young lady, the last inhabitant of the village, that he will avenge her. He spends weeks whittling down Le Loup’s remaining plunderers and finally faces the Frenchman himself in a swordfight. They are evenly matched and Le Loup escapes into the night.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #34 (Feb 1977)

Title: Fangs of the Gorilla God

Villains: Le Loup and Chief Songa

Synopsis: This issue concludes the adaptation of Red Shadows. Solomon Kane has trailed Le Loup to sea, where the Frenchman led a pirate crew in a reign of terror. Presently, our hero has arrived in Africa, where Le Loup put in and penetrated far into the jungle.

Kane has his first meeting with N’Longa, an African witch doctor who aids him in various adventures over the years. The two join forces against Le Loup and his men plus the Frenchman’s new ally Chief Songa, a tribal leader who wields dark magic of his own. 

In the end, Solomon kills Le Loup in battle, N’Longa defeats Songa and the Gorilla God kills Songa’s greatest warrior Gulka. Marvel had a long-running Solomon Kane series after this story.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #35 (Apr 1977)

Title: The 3-D Man

Villains: Diabolik the Skrull plus Soviet spies

Synopsis: First appearance of Marvel’s superhero the 3-D Man, whose adventures were set in the late 1950s. Chuck Chandler is a college football star at La Brea University and his girlfriend is Peggy Clark. His brother Hal is crippled with polio since the vaccine was developed too late to save his legs.

After college, Chuck becomes a Test Pilot, and during the test flight of America’s new XF-13 jet Chuck and the aircraft are abducted by a Skrull spaceship attempting to interfere with America’s space program.

 A freak accident of Earth and Skrull technology transforms Chuck into 3-D Man, who is three times as strong and fast as normal men and can jump three stories high. His brother Hal – now cured by the same accident – can summon him from his exile in another dimension, and for three hours 3-D Man can take on villainy before returning there.

In this debut story, our hero keeps the XF-13 out of Soviet clutches and prevents Diabolik from sabotaging the vessel.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #36 (Jun 1977)

Title: The Devil’s Music

Villain: Doc Rock

Synopsis: In keeping with the intentional 50s Schtick from last issue, 3-D Man starts out this issue saving a college professor from a mugging by a Juvenile Delinquent Gang led by Buzz, who turns out to be another Skrull agent like Diabolik.

After our hero beats the bad guys, Buzz escapes, the professor’s papers are saved, the cops thank 3-D Man and Buzz escapes. Our 50s nostalgia theme continues as the same Skrull agent manipulates Doc Rock, a new rock star whose music contains secret hypnotizing processes of Skrull creation.

3-D Man clashes repeatedly with Doc Rock and his zealous fans plus the enthralled listeners to his hypnotic rock songs. Ultimately, Doc Rock is exposed as a no-good menace when he makes his thralls riot, and another Skrull plot is foiled.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #37 (Aug 1977)

Title: Codename: The Cold Warrior

Villain: The Cold Warrior

Synopsis: Zirsku, the Skrull Agent who posed as Buzz last issue engineers an escape from jail for Doc Rock, whom he supplies with new Skrull weaponry concealed in his guitar.

This sets up a rematch between the villain and 3-D Man, who once again emerges triumphant. Meanwhile, Zirsku has been posing as Vice President Richard Nixon to manipulate an Earth scientist named Professor Sinkovitz.

Zirsku helps Sinkovitz perfect his armor which lets him use freezing rays and ice as weaponry. Calling Sinkovitz the Cold Warrior, Zirsku has him try killing 3-D Man. Naturally, our hero wins out in the end.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #38 (Oct 1977)

Title: The Lord of Tyndall’s Quest

Villains: Grithstane the Sorcerer, Swamp Serpents and Wax Lackeys

Synopsis: This was the second attempt by Marvel Comics to launch their Weirdworld imitation of J.R.R. Tolkien as a series. Frodo Tyndall the Elf discovers the Heart of Evil only to realize it’s an egg. The beautiful she-elf Velanna of Klarn has been inside, enduring an enchanted sleep.

She awakens and Tyndall finds in her a kindred spirit. They set off on a quest to find their way back to her homeland but fall into the clutches of the evil sorcerer Grithstane.

The villain promises to spare Velanna’s life only if Tyndall secures some dragon’s blood for him. In the end the good guys win and Grithstane is defeated. 

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #39 (Dec 1977)

Title: Ride a Wild Rocket

Villains: The Corporation and the Rocketeers

Synopsis: Daredevil’s old foe turned ally the Torpedo (Brock Jones) has at last tracked down the Rocketeers, the villainous henchmen of the Corporation. NOTE: The Corporation was Marvel’s lesser version of Hydra and A.I.M.

Torpedo wins the battle, but the Rocketeers manage to escape. They still want to retake the Torpedo’s armor, which was supposed to be the upgrade to their own outfits.

The villains lead him into a trap and during their latest fight the damage puts the nuclear pile near which they are fighting in danger of an explosion. That’s the cliffhanger for this time.

MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #40 (Feb 1978)

Title: Battle with the Big Man

Villains: The Big Man, the Rocketeers and the Corporation

Synopsis: The Rocketeers fly off but the Torpedo stays to risk his life making sure no nuclear explosion occurs. After succeeding at that, he returns home.

The Corporation uses the Big Man (a discount Kingpin) and the Rocketeers to go after the Torpedo, kill him and steal his armored costume.

A battle royal at the mansion of a corrupt Senator who is part of the Corporation ends in an explosion. The human rocketeers are killed, but future installments of Torpedo’s saga take place in the pages of Marvel’s licensed series Rom, with aliens called Dire Wraiths wearing the Rocketeer outfits.