Happy Thursday, folks!
Today's topic is the fifth issue of Super-Villain Team-Up. The cover showed Namor the Sub-Mariner on a table, being tended to by Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) and the Thing (Ben Grimm), with Dr. Doom attacking them from behind. The tale was titled "...And Be A Villain!" The issue had a publication date of April 1976.
Richards was busy at work before one of his many computer consoles in the Baxter Building in New York when his concentration was interrupted by Namor bursting through a nearby window. The Sub-Mariner was barely conscious, but still alert enough to beg for Reed's help. The hero instinctively leapt into action and placed his guest in a tank of water, thinking back to why he'd created the suit Namor was wearing in the first place.
A short while later, Reed's Fantastic Four teammates, the Thing, the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Invisible Girl (Susan Richards) entered the room. They'd heard the crash and decided to investigate. Reed quickly filled them in before Grimm noticed that the Sub-Mariner was starting to recover. He swam to the tub's surface and explained that he'd been attacked by Dr. Doom with a weapon that made his suit nonfunctional.
The Latverian monarch stated that his erstwhile ally would suffocate in minutes unless he received Doom's antidote. Before another conflict could begin, Von Doom brought Namor into his ship and steered toward Atlantis. Doom fired a weapon from his vessel, destroying Atlantis' protective dome. He then offered Namor a choice: his allegiance or his people's continued suffering. The Sub-Mariner felt like he had no choice but to align with Doom once more.
Victor Von Doom then supplied his guest with an elixir that would allow him to breathe air again for 24 hours before commanding that he find Richards to see if he could repair his suit. No sooner had Namor finished his tale when Doom appeared in the center of the room. Grimm lunged at his longtime rival, only to learn that it was just an image.
The real Doom was in his home country of Latveria. Upon ending the transmission, he walked the streets of his native land, confident that he had the Sub-Mariner in his grasp, and that the world would soon be not far behind. Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four were mostly preoccupied trying to address Namor's situation.
Everyone except Johnny was pitching in. The Human Torch noticed a shadowy figure in a building across from their headquarters and flew to check it out. He encountered a human who called himself the Shroud. Storm wanted to know the stranger's connection with Doom, but didn't receive much of an answer before the hooded figure disappeared.
The Human Torch flew back to join his friends and saw that Richards had figured out that the problem Doom postulated was probably unfixable. The solution had to lie in the antidote that Victor had given Namor. After some time, the Sub-Mariner decided he'd had enough. He smashed the water vat, and strode to the window. He flew away only to falter, before a beam dispatched by Doom whisked him away.
The Fantastic Four were determined not to let their bitter enemy claim another friend. Everything was ready for another classic battle. The only question was where the Shroud's loyalty lay.
One thing about a book like this whose creative team changed regularly, is the lack of consistency. As you may remember, it was Namor, not Doom, who initially proposed their alliance at the start of this series. It's a little puzzling why Doom was obsessed with having Namor join his cause, especially after declaring that he needed no one toward the end of last issue following their spat. Doom and Namor have definitely had a kind of weird love-hate relationship over the years.
That's it from me for today. Tomorrow, I'll close out the work week with an analysis of the sixth issue of Super-Villain Team-Up. We'll see where the Sub-Mariner was transported to, and what roles the Fantastic Four and the Shroud have to play in this conflict against Dr. Doom. There also promises to be the involvement of an as-yet-unidentified player. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment