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1872 #4

Oct 2015
Gerry Duggan, Nik Virella

Story Name:

(no title given)


Synopsis

1872 #4 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
It's 1872 in the Old West town of Timely and Simon Williams is trying to beat information out of Bruce Banner about other rebels he's in league with. Banner claims it was just him and Natasha Barnes who were going to blow up the Roxxon silver mine's dam, and begs them to stop torturing her. A guy goes inside to see if she's ready to talk, but finds that she has killed all her assailants and has just been pretending to scream in agony. Natasha kills the new guy and then comes out to deal with Williams. But Bruce is dying because they made him drink some of his liquid explosive.

In town Sheriff Red Wolf and Tony Stark in his crude Iron Man armour are facing men that Wilson Fisk is paying to kill them. A man named Creel rides at them but Stark KO's his horse which falls on its rider, crushing him. Red Wolf puts the rider out of his misery, then heads to the train station to stop Fisk escaping. But he runs into Elektra, who stands against him because Fisk hired her but lets Red Wolf shoot her because it's the honourable thing to do.

Natasha leaves dying Bruce amongst his jars of explosive green liquid against the dam, and heads back to town to get revenge on Fisk for the death of her husband Bucky. Banner adds the catalyst to the liquid and an explosion wrecks the dam.

The enigmatic old Indian we saw in #2 smiles with satisfaction. He has a wooden symbol which resembles the recent A-in-a-circle Avengers sign, and he has some hi-tech weaponry. He says to himself(?) "Now we can focus on the problem lurking in their mine".

Meanwhile Red Wolf catches up with Fisk. Wilson's sheer mass gives him the upper hand in a fight until Red Wolf stabs him in the eye with his Sheriff's badge. The Indian refuses to kill him and takes him to jail to stand trial. But Natasha arrives and shoots Fisk before they get there. The town goes wild in celebration.

Red Wolf stays on as Sheriff (and his 1st job is to find a boy's missing father Norman (Osborn?)). Tony Stark stops drinking and starts inventing again. Governor Roxxon sends a ruddy German (Red Skull?) to take Fisk's place. Carol Danvers becomes Mayor(?). Last issue Fisk blamed Sheriff Steve Rogers' death on the gang known as the Sinister Six. Not having heard to the contrary Pastor Frank (Punisher) and Merc (Winter Soldier? - but Bucky Barnes is supposedly dead) are hunting them down. There are huge footprints seen in the desert containing a green liquid, which may affect an ant that wades through 1. Ben Urich continues as a reporter, but now seemingly working from the old Parker place. And Red Wolf, Tony Stark, Natasha Barnes and a 4th man (looks like maybe Jim Rhodes?) form the Avengers of the West.


 

Review / Commentaries


1872 #4 Review by (October 28, 2015)
Creel is of course an analogue of Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man. The epilogue (and the mysterious old Indian bit) are probably a setup for the forthcoming Red Wolf series. We still don't know how the various retained bits of Battleworld fit in with the otherwise normal-seeming new/old Marvel Earth. But it would be strange if the 1872 cats could exist in that Earth's past, given the incredible (and invincible, etc) coincidences in names of some characters with those in modern-day Marvel.


> 1872 comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
Statue Hulk (Battle of New York) 1/10 - Infinity Saga - BDS Art Scale - Iron Studios
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Nik Virella
Nik Virella
Lee Loughridge
Leonard Kirk (Cover Penciler)
Leonard Kirk (Cover Inker)
Leonard Kirk (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)