This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog resumes my old January by January look at what stories Marvel had out that month.
FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #166 (January 1976)
Title: If It’s Tuesday, It Must be the Hulk
Villain: Hulk
Synopsis: The U.S. Army calls in the Fantastic Four to help them corral the fugitive Hulk now that Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) has invented a new device which might be able to cure Bruce Banner once and for all.
Through teamwork, the F.F. manage to capture the Hulk. Back at the army facility, Reed’s device works, but the Thing, outraged at the inhumane treatment of the captive Bruce Banner, mucks thing up, causing Bruce to turn back into the Hulk. Continue reading
CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol 1 #193 (January 1976) 
This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will look at some of the stories Marvel Comics created around the licensed I.P. of Micronauts toys. 
BARON KARZA – The evil, black-armored Baron Karza was a very impressive villain, despite being one of the most blatant Darth Vader ripoffs this side of Japan’s Swords of the Space Ark movies.
SPACE GLIDER ARCTURUS RANN – The leader of the Micronauts. Rann was the very first Micronaut (the Microverse’s version of Astronauts), who was placed in suspended animation and sent out in a spaceship called The Endeavor on a 1,000-year mission of exploration throughout the Microverse. 
DAZZLER Vol 1 #1 (March 1981) 
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at licensed I.P. Rom the Spaceknight’s crossovers with Marvel Comics characters. 
ROM Vol 1 #5 (April 1980) 
DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Vol 1 #22 (March 1976) 
While fleeing those villains, Jonathan was accidentally exposed to the Zero Fluid, transforming him into a super-powered being able to shoot Zero Energy from his hands in the form of rays of concussive force. That concussive force from his hands could allow him to fly, as well, the same way the Fantastic Four villain Blastarr does. 
YOUNG MEN Vol 1 #24 (December 1953) 
Synopsis: Steve Rogers aka Captain America is now teaching at a prep school called the Lee School in a New York suburb. James Buchanan Barnes aka Bucky is one of his students. In old school comic book disregard for the passage of time, Bucky is still that young despite having been a teen in 1941. 
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). 
EL AGUILA 
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. 
AMAZING FANTASY Vol 1 #15 (August 1962) 
THE FANTASTIC FOUR – There can be no over-stating the importance of the Fantastic Four to Marvel Comics and by extension to much of pop culture the last several years regarding superhero movies and television programs. Though the Fantastic Four are now considered as dull as any b&w sitcom family of long ago, the team’s success convinced Marvel the market was right to recommit to superhero comic books. 
As Marvel Comics in 1961 the company decided to dabble in superhero comic books again, with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, two veteran comic book hands since the 1940s, putting together a brand-new team of superheroes. That team was, of course, the Fantastic Four. 
