SPIDER-MAN: 1970s CLASSICS 12 – FALCON AND MYSTERIO

Here’s Part Twelve of Spider-Man 1970s Classics. For Part One click HERE.

mtu 30MARVEL TEAM-UP Vol 1 #30 (February 1975)

Title: All That Glitters is Not Gold

Villain: Midas (NOT the same Midas as Iron Man’s foe)

Synopsis: This story picks up an unknown amount of time after the previous installment. Peter Parker is well settled in to his new apartment in Chelsea. When he sees his new neighbor, aspiring black model Gloria Grant (introduced last time around) being attacked by two men as she approaches the building, he takes action as Spider-Man.

After he subdues Gloria’s attackers, she pleads with him to carry them to her apartment rather than turning them over to the cops because one of them is her cousin, Ramon. (First appearance for Ramon, who, like Gloria, will be a supporting character in Spider-Man stories for decades to come.)

falcon and redwingOur hero complies, and is glad that he did when Ramon abruptly comes to and attacks again, letting Spider-Man and Gloria see that he is under some kind of trance. Spidey webs him to the furniture and he slowly comes out of his trance.

He tells Spider-Man and Gloria that he and his friend (who helped him attack Gloria just now) were at a club called the Hot Spot Disco (lol) when they were dragged before a man in golden armor calling himself Midas. He used drugs on them and Ramon doesn’t remember anything after that until coming to just now. Continue reading

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BOWL GAMES ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20th

NEW ENGLAND BOWL GAME ONE

alfred state helmetHELMETMASSDARTMOUTHThe UMASS AT DARTMOUTH CORSAIRS will take on the ALFRED STATE PIONEERS in the first of two games called the New England Bowl. The Corsairs are in their first Bowl Game since 2004, while the Pioneers are playing in their first Bowl Game ever.

Kickoff is set for 1:00PM Eastern Time.

NEW ENGLAND BOWL GAME TWO

Western New England College helmetMerchant Marine AcademyIn the second game of the New England Bowl Series, the UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY MARINERS will face the WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY GOLDEN BEARS. The Mariners last played in the New England Bowl in 2018 while the Golden Bears are making their debut appearance. 

Kickoff is set for 1:00PM Eastern Time. Continue reading

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DEMOCRATS ENCOURAGING RIOTS AGAIN IF A JURY RENDERS A DECISION THEY DON’T LIKE

So what else is new? With Democrat violence already breaking out over the trial of an 18 year old labeled a “white supremacist” by Democrat lies for shooting three white people, here are some political cartoons and memes about the case. tulsi on rittenhouseAnd here’s a look at the three people being called “heroes” by Democrats. (Maybe they’ll build statues of THEM, too.)democrats call them heroesAnd below is an excellent reminder of the way Corporate Fascists do the Democrats’ dirty work for them, even interfering with people’s attempts to secure good legal help.

corporate fascists against rittenhouseA perfect take on Democrat insanity right now:

doni on rittenhouse

A reminder of how the Democrat fascists eventually come screaming for everyone: Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER SIXTY ONE: JANUARY 1913

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE 

Fool Killer with staff and Bowie knifeSome of the Fool Killer’s targets from the January of 1913 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s Fool-Killer

*** Democrat Senator Joe Bailey, who left the Senate after missing 499 of 976 roll call votes during his term. That 51.1% was much higher than the average missed roll call votes by other Senators of the time – 29.5%. 

*** Republican Senator Henry Dupont, whom Pearson and his Fool Killer suspected of using his Senate position to advance the gunpowder trust and therefore his family’s wealth. In 1916, the first year of popularly elected Senators, Dupont was among the appointed Senators who were voted out of office. He lost to Josiah Wolcott.  

*** Express Monopolists who had been opposed to America establishing the United States Parcel Post, which took on responsibility for transporting heavy parcels which previously had to be sent for much higher costs by private concerns. The parcel post was launched on January 1st, 1913. Continue reading

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THE MACHINE TO KILL (1924) – FROM THE AUTHOR OF PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

machine to killGaston Leroux’s The Machine to Kill was written in NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR. Many book sites list it as 1935, but that was just the year it was finally translated into English. 

Personally I would use the title The Clockwork Dead Man or The Clockwork Killer because for modern readers The Machine to Kill sounds like a traditional science fiction tale about technology run amok. 

In reality this neglected Gaston Leroux novel is a horror/sci fi hybrid about an android/ cyborg mix whose mechanized body has been outfitted with the brain, eyes and nervous system of a guillotined murderer. The robotic man – called Gabriel – was created by Dr Jacques Cotentin, who needed an absolutely fresh brain, hence having to settle for a just-executed criminal. Continue reading

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NAIA FOOTBALL PLAYOFF TEAMS SET PLUS VICTORY BOWL MATCHUP ANNOUNCED

Sterling helmetsouthwestern assemblies of god helmetVICTORY BOWL – The season-ending event in the NCCAA will be played this coming Saturday November 20th with kickoff scheduled for 1PM Eastern Time. The game will be played at Lumpkins Stadium in Waxahachie, TX.

This year’s Victory Bowl will pit the SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD UNIVERSITY LIONS, making their third appearance in the game, against the STERLING COLLEGE WARRIORS, making their debut appearance.

NAIA PLAYOFFS: FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS

Montana Western helmetLindsey_Wilson_KYThe (1) LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS will host the (16) UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA-WESTERN BULLDOGS. The Blue Raiders are the defending National Champions as well as the champions of the Mid-South Conference’s Bluegrass Division. The Bulldogs are the champions of the Frontier Conference.

Kickoff will be at 1:30PM Eastern Time.

Ottawa (AZ) SpiritMorningside MustangsThe (2) MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS will host the (15) OTTAWA UNIVERSITY (AZ) SPIRIT. The Mustangs are the champions of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Spirit are the champions of the Sooner Athletic Conference.

Kickoff will be at 1:00PM Eastern Time. Continue reading

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FIVE MONSTER LEGENDS OF AMERICA

masc graveyard smallerBalladeer’s Blog covers a lot of mythology and folklore, so here’s a look at five monster legends of the U.S. (Non-Bigfoot categories).

I don’t believe that there was anything truly supernatural in any of these tales, but life is less fun without legends like these. All of them are ripe for embellishment and screen adaptations. 

van meter visitorTHE VAN METER VISITOR

First Appearance: 1903

Lore: From September 29th to October 3rd of 1903 the Iowa town of Van Meter was supposedly plagued by at least two 8-9 feet tall batlike creatures who could fly, stand upright, climb up and down telephone poles and shoot a noxious odor as a defense mechanism. The three-toed creatures also had a blunt horn on their heads and said horns could supposedly cast light beams via bioluminescence.

Over the course of the visitation multiple shots were fired at the beings as they flew around town, perched on rooftops and telephone wires and roamed around a nearby brick and tile factory as well as an abandoned mine. By October 3rd an armed crowd of Van Meter citizens investigated the factory and the mine. They spotted two of the batlike creatures emerging from the mine and opened fire on them again to no effect.

Eventually the two winged beings retreated into the mine and the crowd quickly blocked off the mine entrance for good, thus ending the rash of sightings.

butterfly peopleTHE BUTTERFLY PEOPLE

First Appearance: 2011

Lore: On May 22nd, 2011 Joplin, Missouri was hit by an F5 tornado which killed 160 people, destroyed 900 homes and injured hundreds. Among those injured were multiple children and early teens who attributed their survival to the intervention and/or protection of winged butterfly people. Continue reading

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DEMOCRAT ATROCITY ROUNDUP: NOVEMBER 15th

biden steals ChristmasBalladeer’s Blog, the Independent Voter site, presents even more demonstrations that the Democrats are no longer the party of FDR and JFK. AND REMEMBER: Any time the Democrat Fascists dislike a verdict from a jury they riot. 

eric adamsCOURAGEOUS DEMOCRAT ERIC ADAMS CHALLENGES HIS FELLOW PARTY MEMBERS TO CONDEMN BLM’s HAWK NEWSOME OVER HIS OMINOUS “RIOTS AND BLOODSHED” REMARK. If we get more Democrats like Eric Adams and Tulsi Gabbard maybe the party will one day be worth voting for again. 

BIDEN REGIME’S INFLATION CONTINUES TO CRUSH THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR. Just like so many of Joe’s other policy failures. More HERE.

AND THE BIDEN REGIME’S 14.5 % INCREASE IN WHAT SENIOR CITIZENS WILL PAY FOR THEIR MEDICARE PREMIUMS WIPES OUT THE MODEST SOCIAL SECURITY INCREASE MANY TIMES OVER. Joe Biden apparently believes in using multiple fronts to wage war on the poor.  

EVEN BARACK OBAMA’S FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS CHIEF AGAIN CALLS OUT THE CORRUPTION OF THE BIDEN REGIME. Especially regarding the “revolving door” that lets government staff cash in with lobbyists and influence peddling. If you’ll recall, Biden’s predecessor shut down that revolving door via signed agreements not to use it, which was one of the reasons America’s notoriously corrupt political parties fought him. 

DEMOCRATS SHOCKED AS NEW YORK VOTERS REJECT THEIR BALLOT INITIATIVES THAT TRIED TO SOLIDIFY THEIR EXPOSED VOTE FRAUD SCAMS.

SEVERAL REMINDERS OF JOE BIDEN’S FLAGRANT RACISM AND EULOGIZING A KKK OFFICIAL.

POLL: FIFTY NINE PERCENT FEEL BIDEN IS NOT DOING ENOUGH TO FIX THE SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS HE CAUSED. But since the working class and the poor are the most affected, multi-millionaire Joe will likely not care. How did Crooked Joe get $150 million dollars on a government salary all those years? I think we all know.

ANOTHER OBAMA ECONOMIST CRITICIZES BIDEN’S MISHANDLING OF THE ECONOMY.

MICHIGAN BEING SUED TO REMOVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DEAD VOTERS FROM THE VOTER ROLLS. Democrats also fight THIS form of thwarting their vote fraud efforts. Pathetic.

glenn greenwaldGLENN GREENWALD SHOWS WHY THE LYING DEMOCRAT REPORTERS WHO WON PULITZER PRIZES FOR THEIR DECEPTIONS REGARDING THE EXPOSED “RUSSIAN COLLUSION” HOAX SHOULD BE STRIPPED OF THEM. Hey, the Emmies stripped Andrew Cuomo of his Emmy after the truth about him came out. Does the Pulitzer Committee have similar integrity? Probably not.

EVEN POLITICO POINTS OUT HOW THE BIDEN REGIME’S PERSECUTION OF O’KEEFE OVER THE MISSING ASHLEY BIDEN DIARY POSES DANGER TO PRESS FREEDOM. That diary is at the center of the ongoing question “did Joe Biden take not appropriate showers with his daughter when she was a child?”

“F*CK JOE BIDEN” CHANT ROCKS YET ANOTHER STADIUM DURING A GAME.

BIDEN REGIME STILL EXEMPTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM GETTING VACCINATED.  

BIDEN’S CAPO JOHN KERRY:  SOLAR PANELS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHINA’S SLAVE LABOR AND GENOCIDAL POLICIES. But then, it’s no secret that Kerry’s boss Joe Biden is owned by the Chinese government. Continue reading

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS FROM NOVEMBER 13th

HEADLINES

West Florida Argonauts helmetFOUR OVER TWO – In NCAA Division Two the 4th ranked defending national champions, the UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS, welcomed the number 2 team in the nation – the VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS. By Halftime the Argonauts held a 24-21 edge over the Blazers. The 3rd Quarter ended with the University of West Florida on top 45-35 before putting it away in the 4th, 61-42.

Southwestern College Moundbuilders NEWDOWN GOES NUMBER FIVE – Over in the NAIA the number 13 SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE MOUNDBUILDERS took it on the road to battle the 5th ranked KANSAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY COYOTES. The Coyotes led 7-0 in the opening Quarter but the Moundbuilders were up 13-7 at the break. Southwestern College had a 28-21 advantage in the 3rd Quarter and ultimately won the game 42-24.

Merchant Marine AcademySERVICE ACADEMY MANIA – This game pitted the UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY MARINERS against their archrivals the COAST GUARD ACADEMY BEARS. The Mariners seized a quick 21-0 lead in the 1st Quarter and never looked back from there. In the end they embarrassed the Bears by a score of 49-14 in their own house. Continue reading

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SPIDER-MAN: 1970s CLASSICS 11 – SHANG-CHI, GRIZZLY AND THE JACKAL

Here’s Part Eleven of Spider-Man 1970s Classics. For Part One click HERE.

gs spider man 2GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #2 (October 1974)

Title: Masterstroke 

Villain: Fu Manchu

NOTE: For anyone unfamiliar with the way Marvel licensed the rights to Fu Manchu and other Sax Rohmer characters and with the differences between the novels and Marvel’s use of Shang-Chi as the son of Fu Manchu I covered the first twelve issues HERE

Synopsis: Still rooming with Flash Thompson after the destruction of his and Harry Osborn’s old apartment, Spider-Man is swinging around New York City one night. He comes across a robbery at the Guggenheim Museum and attacks the robbers.

That gang of criminals are secretly operatives of Fu Manchu and use their martial arts skills and weaponry against Spider-Man. He overcomes them all and when he interrogates one of them about who they work for, the thief does as ordered by Fu Manchu and instead claims he works for Shang-Chi. (Part of Fu Manchu’s plan is to pit his son Shang-Chi against Spider-Man.) Continue reading

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