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Invaders #2

Jun 1993
Roy Thomas, Dave Hoover

Story Name:

Havoc in Hollywood


Synopsis

Invaders #2 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4.5 stars

The injured Miss America crashes through the window of Liberty Legion headquarters, surprising the visiting Invaders. She tells of how she and Whizzer were waylaid by Battle-Axis and Whiz captured; she also heard the baddies mention Los Angeles and Dr. John Goldstein as their next stop. Thin Man has to stay behind but offers to contact other heroes out west and ask for their aid. Miss America joins Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and Human Torch in their Atlantean airship as they head to California….

In Hollywood, a pair of police officers spot a dirigible and go to investigate; they are distracted by Spider Queen and electrocuted by Volton and their car stolen. Dr. Death, Strongman, and Human Meteor (with an unseen ally) head out for the next step in Operation Mojave, while their pilot, Sky Shark, itches at playing such a subservient role….

In L.A., Namor and Torch arrive at the home/lab of Dr. John Goldstein and discover Dr. Death is already there—with Goldstein’s brother Jacob, who turns into the Golem, now serving the Nazis. Golem battles the two heroes, knocking them both out as the house catches fire. On Dr. Death’s orders, Golem carries off the Human Torch, leaving Namor to die in the blaze. He is rescued by the Blazing Skull, contacted by the Thin Man about aiding the Invaders. Skull caries him to safety and Namor topples a water tower to regain his strength and they head out to find the Torch….

Captain America and Miss America have gone to the UCLA science labs where they find Strongman, Spider Queen, and Human Meteor have killed some staff and are planning to steal a huge oscillotron. They burst in and there is a battle with Cap and Miss A being overpowered and knocked out. Then the baddies are confronted by the Silver Scorpion, a female hero who is unused to the costume and about to be overwhelmed when Cap and Miss A recover and send the bad guys fleeing without the huge machine but believing they learned enough from the scientist before they killed him. Cap and Miss A ask Silver Scorpion who she is; she tells them she is Betty Barlow, secretary to private eye Dan Hurley (and in love with him) who has just been killed along with Professor Carson who created the suit. While quite inexperienced, she insists on coming with the Invaders as she overheard details of the baddies’ Project Mojave….



 

Review / Commentaries


Invaders #2 Review by (February 14, 2023)

Review: And so things escalate in issue #2, presenting first the Golem, patterned after a Jewish legend (and a couple of German silent films); he is a scary and formidable figure, especially after the reveal that he is herein working for the Nazis, not against them, as logic would dictate. Even more sinister-looking is the Blazing Skull, precursor to Ghost Rider, though without the more Satanic trappings, he just looks cool. And he can be a bit of a wise guy, clowning around to lighten tension, as seen in issue #3. The intro of Silver Scorpion is very offbeat as she has little experience wearing the superhero suit and is rattled by the murders of her beloved boss and her doctor friend. It’s amazing that she gets as far as she does and that makes us want to root for her more. And things never exactly improve for her. Very nice issue throws more new(ish) characters at us as the plot winds on.

Comments: Blazing Skull is an authentic Timely Comics creation, appearing in MYSTIC COMICS #5-9 in 1941; he is revived here and will go on to the NEW INVADERS series. Ditto Silver Scorpion, first seen in DARING MYSTERY COMICS #7-8 in 1941; she will go on to THUNDERBOLTS with a name change to Betty Barstow. Sky Shark previously appeared in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #1 and MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #20; unlike the other Battle-Axis members, he is a modern creation for Marvel. Golem (Jacob Goldstein) was introduced in INVADERS (1975 series) #12-13; he is not related to the Golem who had a brief Marvel series in the 1970s, starting with STRANGE TALES #174. John Goldstein/Jonathan Gold previously appeared only in INVADERS #11.




> Invaders comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
DIAMOND SELECT TOYS Marvel Premier Collection: Avengers Endgame Captain America Statue, Multicolor
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Dave Hoover
Brian Garvey
Paul Becton
Dave Hoover (Cover Penciler)
Dave Hoover (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Human Torch
Human Torch

(Jim Hammond)
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner

(Namor McKenzie)
Whizzer
Whizzer

(Golden Age)

Plus: Blazing Skull (Mark Todd), Silver Scorpion (Betty Barlow), Thin Man.