This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post features the final three chapters of the original Kree-Skrull War from 1971-1972. For parts 1-3 click HERE.
THE AVENGERS Volume One, Number 95 (January 1972)
AVENGERS ROSTER: THOR (Donald Blake, MD), IRON MAN (Tony Stark), CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers), THE SCARLET WITCH (Wanda), GOLIATH (Clint Barton), QUICKSILVER (Pietro), THE VISION (Not Applicable), CAPTAIN MARVEL (Mar-Vell, Kree Captain)
SOMETHING INHUMAN THIS WAY COMES
Synopsis: This story picks up where we left off last time around. The scaled, amphibious Inhuman named Triton emerges from a manhole at Avengers Mansion while Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Goliath, the Vision and Rick Jones are still fighting the Mandroids.
Those Mandroids – S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wearing high-tech combat suits designed to defeat the Avengers if they ever went bad – are trying to arrest our heroes for Senator H Warren Craddock. That Senator has special powers from the U.N. to deal with the ongoing crisis in which two alien races – the Kree and the Skrulls – are fighting over the Earth. The Avengers are wanted for failure to comply with Craddock’s subpoena regarding the heroes’ role in helping their Kree member – Captain Marvel – escape S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Mandroids seem to have the upper hand on the Avengers, so Senator Craddock, observing the battle from his nearby command post, compliments Nick Fury on the performance of his agents in the Mandroid armor. Fury makes it clear that he’s only helping Craddock (a sleazy Robert Mueller-type abusing his authority) under orders. He also warns the Senator not to celebrate prematurely.
Fury turns out to be right as the Avengers suddenly turn the tables and defeat the Mandroids, thanks to a maneuver from Iron Man. Tony Stark – whose double-identity was NOT known back then – had designed the Mandroids and so Iron Man was finally able to exploit a weakness of theirs to knock out the men inside the armored suits with mild electrical shocks.
Rick Jones now helps the wounded Triton, who has been keeping out of the way while the battle raged. The member of the Inhuman Royal Family tells the Avengers what we readers learned last time around: Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans and ruler of Attilan, the Great Refuge, is lost in San Francisco with amnesia. His evil brother Maximus the Mad has taken over the Great Refuge and allied himself with the Kree invaders of Earth. Continue reading
College: CUYAHOGA COLLEGE 
THE KEEP (1983) – During World War Two, Nazi forces occupy a sinister stone Keep, only to realize they have disturbed a malevolent ancient entity which begins preying upon them. The unleashed force manipulates a prisoner of the Nazis into freeing it from its ages-old prison. 
THE TIN WHISTLE (January 10th) – Barbara Bosson starred in this 80-minute adaptation of Richard S. Burdick’s play about 12-year-old Martin Palmer, who channels his newly discovered powers of witchcraft through his tin whistle. Martin targets two teachers who have tried to discipline him. A 10-minute short film, Eugene Atget, which looks at the man’s Belle Epoque photos, padded the runtime to 90 minutes. 
SILENT SONG (January 24th) – Filmed version of Hugh Leonard and Frank O’Connor’s play with only partial dialogue and the rest in mime. In a trappist monastery, the monks honor their vows of silence but indulge in vices like drinking and betting on horse races. The 75-minute effort starred Tony Selby, Milo O’Shea and Jack MacGowran. 
TUSSLE IN THE TOP SIX – The number 1 team in the nation – the GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS – took it on the road against the 6th ranked INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. By Halftime the Wildcats had built up a 42-32 advantage, but the Lancers came out of the locker room primed for a comeback. They outscored their opponents 60-36 for a 92-78 victory. Elijah Malone’s 29 points led Grace College. 
NUMBER THREE TAKES A FALL – In this game the HUNTINGTON UNIVERSITY FORESTERS welcomed the 3rd ranked BETHEL UNIVERSITY (IN) PILOTS (Riverboat Pilots). The Foresters were on top 42-31 at the Half, then squeezed out a bit more separation after the break to win the game 88-74. Lane Sparks led Huntington University with his 23 points. 
THE AVENGERS Volume One, Number 92 (September 1971) 
Word has leaked from a Senator named H. Warren Craddock and from the technicians the Avengers swore to confidentiality following last issue’s action. The entire world now knows about how the alien race called the Kree attempted to destroy the Earth. 
AUTO STOP (January 5th) – Henry (David Hemmings) is told by Federika, the older woman he is pursuing, that he needs to gain more experience in the world before she’ll entertain the thought of a romance with him. Henry takes her seriously and roams around Europe, loving and leaving women his own age, encountering a Neo-Nazi and attending a La Dolce Vita party in Rome. N.E.T. Playhouse paired this 75-minute film with the 8-minute cartoon short Tamer of Wild Horses from Yugoslavia’s Zagred Animation. 
A PASSAGE TO INDIA (January 26th) – Long before the theatrical film came this teleplay that was first broadcast on the BBC’s Play of the Month in November, 1965. The cast of this 90-minute adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel included Sybil Thorndike, Virginia McKenna, Cyril Cusack and Zia Mohyeddin. Drama involving life and race relations in 1920s India under the Raj. 
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