This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog is a Double Feature. The main event is a look at the early adventures of Marvel’s neglected hero El Aguila (the Eagle).
The opening act is a link to the YT video Justice League Abridged which features HILARIOUS joking dialogue over scenes from some of the animated Justice League cartoons. It’s made recently enough to feature several jokes about the disastrous video game with the Suicide Squad killing the Justice League. CLICK HERE.
EL AGUILA
Secret Identity: Alejandro Montoya
Before I examine his first several appearances in the 1970s and 1980s below, here’s a brief overview of his origin and powers. Alejandro Montoya was a mutant. He was born into abject poverty in Spain but after puberty his mutant powers manifested themselves.
Upon contact with metal, Alejandro could conduct massive amounts of bioelectricity through those metal objects. This was similar to the way Black Tom Cassidy conducts his mutant energies through wood, or the way Gambit uses physical contact with objects to unleash their kinetic energy.
Through trial and error, Alejandro found that long, slender metal objects were the best conductors for his bioelectricity and gave him the most accuracy with his energy blasts. He began using a sword through which to shoot his rays but to conceal his mutant nature publicly pretended his swords contained micro-generators that accounted for the rays he projected.
Alejandro adopted the costumed identity of El Aguila and eventually settled in America. Never forgetting his horrible childhood, he focused on helping the downtrodden by fighting organized crime, corrupt corporations and dishonest politicians, as he had in Europe. Continue reading
THE VIOLET FLAME (1899) – Here is another of the science fiction works written by THE Frederick Thomas Jane, of Jane’s Guides fame. Previously, Balladeer’s Blog reviewed Jane’s works 
FRANCOIS VILLON PART SEVEN – We pick up this time in 1460, as Villon’s roaming career as a highwayman and armed burglar among the Coquillards was fast approaching its end, though the poet seems not to have realized it. None of his poetry from 1458 and 1459 has survived, unfortunately.
GAME ONE – The MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY BUFFALOES took on the LIFE UNIVERSITY RUNNING EAGLES. 
For readers who are enjoying Balladeer’s Blog’s recent coverage of Women’s Intercollegiate Flag Football there are no scores to report today because the regular season ended last week. The playoffs begin on May 7th, so on the 8th I will have results to report on. 
CAPITAO SETE (Captain Seven) 
GUESSES AT FUTURITY – This was a series of nine full-page illustrations by THE Frederick Thomas Jane, the man behind the Jane’s manuals. He devoted as much attention to detail here as he would go on to do in illustrations of military hardware in later years. 
I. HOME LIFE IN ANNO DOMINI 2000 (October 1894) – Jane depicted Brits of the “future” living in homes with very high ceilings. The interior decoration is decidedly eclectic while the wardrobe of these Brits is a kind of retro revival of Medieval clothing. 
FRANCOIS VILLON PART SIX – We pick up at the point in 1457 when the fugitive outlaw Villon found a warm and unexpected welcome in the court of Rene, Duke of Anjou. This figure was also known as “Good King Rene” because technically the crown of the Kingdom of Sicily was part of his royal inheritance. 
ZACA – The Voodoo god of agriculture and the harvest, making him the patron deity of farmers and fieldworkers. Zaca is the friendliest and most approachable of the gods and may be addressed as “Cousin Zaca” if spotted in the fields. 
Recently, a Balladeer’s Blog reader asked if I would compile a list of my “Best of” stories of the 1930s and 1940s pulp hero G-8 and his Battle Aces. That idea makes perfect sense considering I reviewed all 110 book-length stories of this World War One flying ace who should be as big culturally as Doc Savage, Zorro, and so many other pulp icons. 
THE BAT STAFFEL (October 1933) – The very first G-8 pulp novel is at the top of my list. Not only does it nicely capture the tone and nature of the series, but it introduces the villainous mad scientist Doktor Krueger. That Teutonic terror would become the archenemy of G-8, Bull Martin and Nippy Weston as the series of novels rolled along. 
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