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Amazing Adventures #2

Sep 1970
Jack Kirby, Jack Kirby

Amazing Adventures #2 cover

Story Name:

Friend Against Friend!


Synopsis

Amazing Adventures #2 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

By means of Lockjaw the teleporting giant dog, the Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon) invade the Baxter Building to attack their friends the Fantastic Four whom they wrongly believe have launched missiles at Attilan. Thing hears a noise and gets up to investigate but he can’t open the door as Lockjaw is holding it tight. Ben rips the door off and sees the Inhumans, Black Bolt stuns him with a mental blast, and Karnak knocks him cold with a blow of the hand. This ruckus is heard by Human Torch and Crystal; they investigate but Crystal is snatched away by her sister Medusa and Johnny is doused by Gorgon with flame retardant, blown out by a giant fan, then knocked in the head….

On his island exile, Maximus the Mad rejoices at how well his plan is going. But Triton rises from the sea and apprehends him as the only other candidate for launching the missiles, stuffs him in a sea sled, and takes him back to Attilan. On the way he sends a message to Black Bolt to hold off on the FF….

But Reed Richards and Sue Storm, with baby Franklin, have returned home to find the place a shambles. The Inhumans stand back, explain that the situation demanded a response up until they found there was another culprit, Black Bolt uses his mental powers to restore Ben’s ruined bathrobe, and Lockjaw opens a dimension door back to the Great Refuge and they leave with a warning to the world to keep a tight rein on their own nuclear stockpiles….

Characters: Inhumans, Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Lockjaw, FF, Thing, Johnny, Crystal, Maximus, Triton, Reed, Sue,

“The Young Warriors!” 3.5/5
Writer: Gary Friedrich. Pencils: John Buscema. Inks: John Verpoorten. Colors: ? Letters: Jean Simek.

Synopsis: Madame Natasha has movie director Roman Wilson over; he kisses her but beside the kisses of Hawkeye and her late husband the Red Guardian, he’s pretty lame. She asks him to leave and he does. Then Maria, her maid, shows up with her son Carlos, who doesn’t believe his mom works for the famous Black Widow. Nat confirms it, realizing any attempts now at a secret identity would be pointless. She dons her BW suit and does some acrobatics in the gym. Carlos has a favor to ask: he is a member of the Young Warriors and they intend to take over a building in Spanish Harlem and turn it into a center for underprivileged children and they want Black Widow to chase the baddies out. BW defers her decision until she learns more….

The next day, the Young Warriors burst into the offices of shady politician Anthony Scarola who is incensed at first but calmly leaves with his men because he has a plan. Black Widow drops by and sees the Young Warriors serving free breakfast but she questions the methods. Then Scarola’s thugs burst in with guns and chase everyone out; Natasha swings into action and clobbers them all. The police arrive to arrest the hoods but also serve an order to vacate as the Young Warriors are squatters. Carlos and his pals don’t want to move to another location as this one had been publicized. Nat offers to help them do things legally and news columnist Paul Hamilton points out that the Black Widow, by her tentative association with the Young Warriors, is being labeled a crazy radical in the press. She is flustered and he offers to help….



 

Review / Commentaries


Amazing Adventures #2 Review by (January 30, 2024)

Review: More conflict among a very colorful set of superheroes though it strikes me that if Triton could track the radioactive warheads back to Maximus then they should have done that first and left the Fantastic Four alone (which in the story is called pursuing a slim alternative). And why do they let an exiled madman have access to nuclear technology? But that’s more of Kirby’s charm. And the final page suggests that the Inhumans don’t hold a very high opinion of the FF’s judgment in similar circumstances—or too high an opinion of their own. Interesting bit of characterization there, that the Inhumans consider their actions justifiable—against longtime friends. Hmmmm, maybe these good guys aren’t all that good after all.  

So the Inhumans are almost involved in a world war…so what is the Black Widow facing in her half of the book? Being called a radical. Seeing as she was once a commie spy sent to destroy Tony Stark and bring down the United States government, you’d think little things like this wouldn’t bother her. It’s also hard to picture the later Black Widow showing off like she does to prove she’s the real thing to a nosy teenager but she does. And she questions the radical idea of seizing a building to put it to good use. Remember, she offered to help the YW buy a property legally but because she beat up agents of the building’s legal owner to keep them from shooting people, she is seen as supporting property theft. But it’s all the media’s fault. From the vantage point of half a century later, 1960s era politics seem rather quaint. We’ll have to see what happens next.

Comments: Inhumans story: Part two of two parts. Medusa refers to Crystal as her cousin but they are sisters. Ben mentions “Chloe,” a popular song of the 1920s and long after.

Black Widow story: Part two of four parts. First appearance of the Young Warriors, Paul Hamilton, and Anthony Scarola who all figure in the next two issues as well and then drop out of the comics forever. Letterer Jean Simek credited as Jean Izzo.




> Amazing Adventures comic book info and issue index

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Holy smokes, Batman!
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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Jack Kirby
Chic Stone
Unknown
John Buscema (Cover Penciler)
John Verpoorten (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Art Simek.

Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Black Widow
Black Widow

(Natasha Romanoff)
Crystal
Crystal

(Corystalia Amaqulin Maximoff)
Human Torch
Human Torch

(Jonathan Storm)
Invisible Woman
Invisible Woman

(Sue Storm)
Ivan Petrovich
Ivan Petrovich

(Ivan Petrovich Bezukhov)
Maximus
Maximus

(Maximus Boltagon)
Medusa
Medusa

(Medusa Amaquelin Boltagon)
Mr. Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic

(Reed Richards)
Thing
Thing

(Ben Grimm)


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