This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog finishes examining Marvel Premiere.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #41 (Apr 1978)
Title: The Dying Sun
Villains: Jason and the Six
Synopsis: In a timeline outside of Marvel’s main continuity, Earth of the year 3000 A.D. is facing the imminent supernova of our Sun. The news has been kept from the public at large by the Six, a half-dozen power-mad people each of which rules one of the occupied continents. Leading the Six is Jason (no last name ever given).
Jason and the Six have secretly financed a massive spaceship called the Seeker 3000 and selected an elite crew of hundreds to pilot the vessel, themselves and cellular material of thousands of the Six’s friends and family members in order to flee the solar system before the sun goes nova.
They will all seek out a new planet to inhabit, with the thousands of cell samples being used to clone a sufficient genetic pool to start a new civilization. We are told that no previous attempt at a warp-speed vessel has ever worked, so Seeker 3000 is humanity’s last hope.
The crew members we meet in this debut story – 1. Captain Jordan Shaw (right), a decent man appalled at the way the Six have chosen to play God with who gets to escape and who gets left behind to die. He cooperates just so he and his wife can survive, so he bitterly knows he is no better than the oligarchs in the end.
2. Lt. Valida Payton, a black female solar engineer, physicist and Shaw’s second in command. 3. Ensign Ben Payton, Valida’s brother, who is a biologist, terraformist and cloning engineer. 4. Dr. John Running Bear, a Native American, physician, psychiatrist and behavioral scientist.
And 5. Phaedra (left), a mutant with telekinetic and telepathic abilities. She and Earth’s hundreds of other mutants live in prison camps at the Six’s command while their abilities are probed. They are all forced to wear facial tattoos to prevent them hiding their mutant status.
NOTE: Yes, a few years before Chris Claremont & John Byrne nabbed these exact designs for facial tattoos on an imprisoned mutant race in Days of Future Past, this story used them first.
Seeker 3000 deserved at least a limited run like Marvel’s other inventive 70s sci-fi series – Killraven, Deathlok, Guardians of the Galaxy and Star-Lord. Sadly, it didn’t get one. In my opinion it was a magnificent missed opportunity because Seeker 3000 combined some of the best aspects of Dune (1962 serial), Star Trek (1966-1969) and the then-new IP Star Wars (1977).
Phaedra, as the most powerful mutant among the Six’s guinea pigs, was the only reason Seeker 3000‘s warp-drive would actually work. Her telekinetic and psionic powers made her like a substitute for Dune‘s Navigators Guild – the people who make faster than light travel possible.
At any rate, Captain Shaw and his team are able to rebel enough to substitute millions of computer-selected clones (including mutants) to populate the potential New Earth instead of the privileged, aristocratic few that Jason and the Six personally chose.
With Star Wars level blaster fights, Shaw and company raid the Six’s Mars installation to free Phaedra and make her part of their renegade mission instead of Jason’s operation. They and the Seeker 3000 then must fight their way past the Six’s fleet of ships in an apocalyptic space battle.
At last our main characters are far enough past Pluto to let Phaedra take the Seeker 3000 into warp space, beginning their quest for a new home world. Shaw, whose wife got killed thanks to Jason, comforts Phaedra with a reminder that the mutants born of the cloned cells will not have facial tattoos on them.
A dark note is added when the ship’s AI suddenly manifests as a holograph which is Jason in personality. He implanted his mind waves in the computer to plague Shaw and the others in case they betrayed him and left him behind.
This made his holographic AI counterpart a figurative Dr. Smith from Lost in Space, along for the ride but always a potential menace to the others.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #42 (Jun 1978)
Title: Nightmare’s Evolution
Villain: Tabur
Synopsis: During Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Tigra is contacted by the ghost of her late friend Dr Joanne Tumolo. She warns our heroine about a menace named Tabur. He was a normal cat evolved by the High Evolutionary (a frequent Marvel villain/ hero) into a humanoid cat.
The Cat-People took him in and let him live with them, but he apparently resented them and plotted against them. When Dr Leon from several issues back at last perfected a device that would transform Tigra back to her human form permanently, Tabur stole it.
Tabur re-engineered the device like he had learned from the High Evolutionary and instead went around New Orleans with the invention, using it to de-volve Mardi Gras celebrants into their savage primate ancestors and transform cats into saber-tooth tigers. He turned zoo animals into their ancient counterparts, too.
Tigra summoned the Cat-People to help her take down Tabur and his army and restore all his victims to normal. Tabur himself wound up de-volved back into a normal cat, like he was before the High Evolutionary experimented on him.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #43 (Aug 1978)
Title: In Manhattan, They Play for Keeps
Villain: The Phantasm
Synopsis: Wealthy blonde socialite Marsha Connors hires mercenary Paladin to protect her from her former boyfriend Dennis Sutton, whose experiments have transformed him into a supervillain calling himself the Phantasm. Our hero uses his super-strength and Stun Gun on her behalf.
One night the villain and several of his hired gunmen break into Marsha’s residence to kill her, but Paladin defeats them all. The Phantasm, however, escapes.
Not long after that, the villain and his new hirelings inflict a blackout on Wall Street and other areas of New York City so they can loot during the chaos. They also attack Marsha’s place again but are opposed once more by Paladin.
The mercenary chases Phantasm and his thugs into the middle of a Chinese New Year celebration, where he defeats all the remaining gunmen. He also outfights the Phantasm and turns him over to the police. Paladin and Marsha give into their feelings for each other and become a couple, violating his usual “no hanky-panky with clients” policy.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #44 (Oct 1978)
Title: The Jack of Hearts
Villains: Hemlock and the Corporation
Synopsis: In this attempt to see if Jack of Hearts (Jonathan Hart) was popular enough to get his own solo series, the Corporation was back. NOTE: The Corporation was a lesser version of Marvel’s Hydra and A.I.M. Their operatives had killed Jack’s father back in his first appearance.
Their latest supervillain ally was called Hemlock, whose powers stemmed from Neutro Mist, just like Jonathan Hart’s stemmed from Zero Fluid.
Jack of Hearts outfights Hemlock and squelches the Corporation’s latest attempt to abduct him for study and experimentation.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #47 (Apr 1979)
Title: To Steal an Ant-Man
Villains: Cross Technological Enterprises
NOTE: THIS IS SCOTT LANG’S FIRST APPEARANCE AS THE NEW ANT-MAN.
Synopsis: We join this story in the middle as Scott Lang in Henry Pym’s old Ant-Man gear is fighting his way through the uniformed security guards at Cross Technological Enterprises. He is trying to free female surgeon Eric Sondheim from their clutches, but she is in the middle of a mysterious operation while the battle rages.
As the tide of battle turns against the new Ant-Man we get a flashback to Scott Lang being released from prison after serving his time for burglary. He spends some time with his daughter Cassie (CASSIE!) and his sister Ruth, who has been taking care of Cassie while he was away.
Thanks to Scott’s electrical engineering experience and a recommendation letter from the prison warden, he gets hired at Stark International. Before too long, Cassie develops a rare heart problem, and the medical expenses put Scott in a bind. On top of that, Dr. Erica Sondheim, the only surgeon who can perform Cassie’s surgery, has been abducted by unknown parties.
To try saving Cassie’s life, Scott goes back to his burglary skills. He breaks into Dr. Henry Pym’s laboratory and steals his Ant-Man gear which is in storage since Hank has been Yellowjacket in recent years and no longer Ant-Man.
Scott had read plenty of scientific articles about Pym Particles and Hank’s other inventions like insect control, so he goes into action as the new Ant-Man with the stolen gear. He trails Dr. Sondheim’s kidnappers to Cross Technological Enterprises and leads a swarm of ants inside. That led to his fight with security guards and we pick up the story from there.
Scott turns the tables and defeats all of the security men. He then explains to Dr. Sondheim that he has come to free her, but her Hippocratic Oath compels her to see her present patient through. For the cliffhanger, we see that the patient is Darren Cross, the company’s CEO. He has experimented with Pym Particles himself and is trapped in a giant-sized state at the moment.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #48 (Jun 1979)
Title: The Price of a Heart
Villain: Darren Cross
Synopsis: The huge, pink-skinned Darren Cross fights it out with Ant-Man and defeats him. Thinking it’s Hank Pym, PhD in the costume, he doesn’t kill him, just imprisons him hoping he can help Dr. Sondheim control Pym Particles to help with the microsurgery he needs.
When Scott comes to, he’s in a Cross Technological Enterprises cell and Cross does a Villain Origin Rant. He’s been running his company for years but developed a rare heart condition months ago. Using some of his own inventions plus stolen Pym Particles he’s been trying to save himself, sacrificing human guinea pigs to keep replacing his failing heart.
The experimental procedures turned him into a pink-skinned giant, but his body is still going through hearts at an alarming rate. He and his men abducted Dr. Sondheim to force her to perform surgery that is his last hope.
Ant-Man confesses he is not Hank Pym, so the angry Cross says that since he can’t help Dr. Sondheim he’ll use him as his next heart donor. Cross leaves and Scott manages to escape his cell. We get a second round of Ant-Man vs Darren Cross, but this one ends with Cross dropping dead from exertion on his flawed heart.
Ant-Man gets Dr. Sondheim to Cassie’s hospital in time to save her and turns back into Scott Lang. Yellowjacket himself shows up after Cassie pulls through and Scott thinks the Avenger is there to arrest him for stealing his old gear. Instead, Hank considers the whole story and gives him his blessing to keep being the new Ant-Man.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #49 (Aug 1979)
Title: Sound of the Silencer
Villain: The Silencer
Synopsis: The Falcon stands in for Captain America in a meeting at the New York City Consul of the fictional country Bodavia. Count Barzon wants extra security for an anti-American Bodavian lecturer named Sigjid Roskoff.
A costumed villain calling himself the Silencer breaks in and uses his pistol that shoots Nerve Rays to get through the Falcon and kidnap Roskoff. By the time Falc catches up, Roskoff has been killed by the Silencer.
Falcon catches heat for failing to keep Roskoff alive, especially from J. Jonah Jameson’s Daily Bugle. After commiserating as Sam Wilson with his love interest Leila Taylor, Falc goes back into action and has a few more clashes with the Silencer.
Ultimately, our hero beats and unmasks the villain as Count Barzon, who was paid to kill Roskoff. He did so and has been trying to frame right-wing American groups for the crime but Falc foiled him.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #50 (Oct 1979)
Title: Alice Cooper from the Inside
Villains: Dr. Fingeroth and Nurse Rozetta
NOTE: Just as KISS had previously guest-starred with Howard the Duck, the Defenders and others, Alice Cooper was featured in this 50th-Issue Anniversary publication. The title, Alice Cooper from the Inside, was also the title of Cooper’s album with Bernie Taupin the previous year.
Synopsis: We join the story in progress. Alice Cooper is being held in an abusive insane asylum and getting mistreated like the other patients by evil Dr. Fingeroth and Head Nurse Rozetta. His latest escape attempt ends as he’s caught climbing out the window of his room.
Alice breaks the Fourth Wall to tell readers how he ended up like this. Feeling overwhelmed by his hectic life as a rock star, he checked himself into what he thought would be rehab. Unfortunately, a criminally insane man named Alex Cooper was also on hand.
Since Alice was in makeup and had his snake Veronica with him, he was assumed by the guards to be the criminally insane “A. Cooper” they had come to pick up. We now see Alice getting abused like the other insane asylum inmates via electric shocks, weird food, etc.
Other inmates include Jackknife Johnny, a stereotype of a crazed Vietnam War vet who thinks he’s still in ‘Nam fighting the Viet Cong, Jerome, who is in love with Nurse Rozetta, Millie and Billie, who are obsessed with killing Millie’s ex-husband and Tiffany Sleek, a crazed skank who thinks she’s a movie star.
After assorted lunacy we are back to the present, where Alice exploits Jackknife Johnny’s belief that they’re in Vietnam to escape yet again. This time he makes it to a nearby town, where he sees that while he has been imprisoned and tortured, Alex Cooper got the celebrity rehab treatment and is now a leading political candidate.
Alice gets recaptured and taken back to the asylum, where he tells the readers he accepts his new home and states that we are all crazy.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #55 (Aug 1980)
Title: A Force of Two
Villains: The Maggia (Marvel’s pastiche of the Mafia)
NOTE: This story involves what was basically Wonder Man 2.0. Originally a villainous ally of Baron Zemo in the 1960s, Wonder Man aka Simon Williams was killed. His brother Eric Williams blamed the Avengers for his death and became the villain Grim Reaper, who tried time and again to kill the team to avenge the dead Simon. During the 1970s, Marvel brought the character back as a hero by having Brother Voodoo’s recurring villain the Black Talon resurrect Wonder Man from the dead on behalf of his client, Eric Williams.
Synopsis: During a recent mission with the Avengers, Wonder Man learned that the Maggia had taken over some operations of the business he ran before his death. Determined to see if the criminal organization also took over his old Brooklyn headquarters, he is fighting his way through Maggia gunmen there as the story opens.
The Maggia eventually uses high-tech weaponry to slow him down. Their mysterious female Director tells Wonder Man that Simon Williams’ company, which had already been wiped out by Stark International, was bought up by Maggia front organizations during the years while he was dead. He owns none of it now.
Our hero looks up one of his former executives who has been financially ruined by the Maggia since he refused to cooperate with them. The pair then break back into the Brooklyn facility together to investigate further.
They discover that the Maggia uses the facility to peddle arms around the world. They also stole a Dreadnought robot (see cover) from their competitors in Hydra to secure the place.
Wonder Man destroys the Dreadnought but the Director escapes.
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #61 (Aug 1981)
Title: Planet Story
Villain: An unnamed living planet.
Synopsis: Star-Lord (Peter Quill) and his sentient vessel Ship arrive at an unnamed planet the surface of which is dotted with ruins. While exploring the world Peter finds no survivors anywhere and soon faces storms, earthquakes and winds that make him suspect the planet itself is alive and is using its weather as a weapon against him.
He seeks shelter underground only to have the planet’s root system attack him to feed on his flesh like it did to all the world’s previous inhabitants.
NOTE: This unnamed planet was a bit similar to Ego, the Living Planet which first appeared in Thor #132 (September 1966). The Marvel movies would present the living planet Ego in a different way.
*** And that was the final issue of Marvel Premiere in the 70s and 80s.
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