This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog is my third post about Power Man and my second about Iron Fist. It’s a look at the stories leading to the partnership of the two superheroes in the 1970s.
POWER MAN Vol 1 #48 (December 1977)
Title: Fist of Iron – Heart of Stone
Villains: Bushmaster, Shades and Comanche
Synopsis: Power Man’s old supervillain foes Shades and Comanche return, this time working for a supervillain called Bushmaster, real name John McIver, formerly a Caribbean crime lord. Bushmaster is secretly headquartered in Georgia’s abandoned Seagate Prison, where Power Man first gained his powers when he was a volunteer in unethical government scientific experiments years earlier.
Shades (at right) and Comanche, escaped cons who served time at Seagate Prison with Luke Cage back when he went by his real name Carl Lucas, were sent by Bushmaster to abduct Power Man’s girlfriend Dr. Claire Temple and her colleague Dr. Noah Burstein. They have done so and, per Bushmaster’s orders, they give Luke Cage/ Carl Lucas their boss’s ultimatum.
They make it clear to Power Man that to gain the release of those two doctors he has been close to for years, he must capture and deliver to Bushmaster one of his foes, private investigator Misty Knight. The villain doesn’t just send Shades and Comanche (at left) to abduct her because Misty’s associates, her investigative partner Colleen Wing and the superhero Iron Fist, stand beside her. Continue reading
FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #44 (November 1965) 
Through a comic book coincidence, the Human Torch gets caught in the middle of a fight between the super villainess called Medusa and her fellow Inhuman called Gorgon. 
SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS Vol 1 #1 (May 1963) 
GIANT-SIZE SUPERVILLAIN TEAM-UP Vol 1 #1 (March 1975) 
NOVA Vol 1 #1 (September 1976) 
X-MEN Vol 1 #52 (January 1969) 
Synopsis: The recently arrived evil mutant called Erik the Red says he has come to Magneto’s subterranean lair out west to join his forces. Erik demonstrates his powers against the Demi-Men, Magneto’s latest team of mutants intent on conquering humanity. 
MARVEL PREMIERE Vol 1 #20 (January 1975)
THE AVENGERS Vol 1 #119 (January 1974) 
The crazed, uncomprehending Loki is kept in custody at Avengers Mansion because this is set during a period when Odin had forbidden him to return to Asgard under any circumstances. Time passes, and at one point the Black Panther pursues with Mantis his wish to learn some of her other-worldly martial arts. T’Challa first got the idea when he saw how well 
DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW Vol 1 #95 (January 1973) 
When the Man-Bull begins rampaging through Frisco in order to flush out our hero, the Black Widow and Daredevil swing into action against him. Eventually the villain renders Daredevil unconscious, leaving the Black Widow alone against him for the cliffhanger ending. 
SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #104 (January 1972) 
Back to the story, Spider-Man is saved from the quicksand by the timely arrival of 
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