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Invaders #4

Aug 1993
Roy Thomas, Dave Hoover

Invaders #4 cover

Story Name:

“...And a Hero Shall Die!


Synopsis

Invaders #4 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 0 stars

The Battle-Axis have captured the Invaders (Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch) and their allies (Miss America, Whizzer, Blazing Skull, Silver Scorpion) and sealed them inside glass tubes. The heroes try to talk their way out and learn that Aarkus (the original Vision) is aiding the bad guys because they control the machine that can return him to his home dimension; the Golem (Jacob Goldstein) is helping his natural enemies because they have his brother Jonathan Gold prisoner. Doctor Death explains his scheme to use the oscillotron to cause earthquakes to destroy the American West Coast and he adds the detail that his own allies don’t know: there is a cache of poison gas buried in the desert and the earthquake will release it, killing millions and forcing the USA out of the war, allowing Germany the break it needs to defeat Russia. The good guys try to break free so knockout gas is pumped into the tubes. It takes longer to affect the Human Torch who burns his way out but he is seized by Volton and clobbered, followed by Aarkus freezing him and replacing him in the tube.  Dr. Death gloats that he will gain the recognition that was denied him for helping to create the Human Torch….

Dr. Death and some of the others go to another part of the lab to pick up the final component of the oscillotron; on his way out, Dr. Death tells Jonathan Gold that his brother is there, in his Golem form, which shocks and angers Gold. Back at the tubes, Cap and the others tell Volton (guarding them along with the Golem) that he is the android stolen by Dr. Death, explaining his lack of memory, the fact that he wasn’t burned when touching the Human Torch, and why he doesn’t shave. Volton refuses to believe it until he stabs himself through the hand with a shard of glass from one of the broken tubes. While he is distracted, Cap escapes and moves past Volton to regain his shield, hurling it to smash open all of the tubes. The freed heroes join the fray: Silver Scorpion knocks out Volton with a dart. Cap reminds the Golem of what the Nazis are doing to his people and he switches sides. The heroes invade the main lab and a big brawl breaks out. Torch melts the handle of the oscillotron; Dr. Death heads to the machine to start it manually, Dr. Gold tries to stop him and is gunned down by Sky Shark. Seeing his brother die, the Golem goes berserk and smashes all of the guards. Dr. Death hits the secret button and is electrocuted by the angry Volton—who won’t let them turn off the machine. Namor smashes the oscillotron but Miss America sees that some poison gas has been released. Aarkus, freed from the bad guys’ control by the destruction of the Dimension Smasher, opens his own gateway home and draws all of the poison gas with him where it will be neutralized. The Battle-Axis members surrender and the heroes rush to the surface to ensure there is no threat from the gas. Cap calls Dr. Jonathan Gold a hero though Blazing Skull is a bit more skeptical….



 

Review / Commentaries


Invaders #4 Review by (March 8, 2023)

Review: The adventure wraps up in grand style, though many of the multitude of characters introduced in the first two issues have little to do; sometimes a writer can get carried away with building his world that he doesn’t always know when to stop. But it’s all cool, especially the Invaders showing Volton his true nature, Yeah, the title is misleading: who would have thought the hero who died would be Dr. Gold who wasn’t seen in the first three issues? It looks like the title was devised first and Roy Thomas sought to justify it later and discovered that he didn’t want to kill any of the real heroes. Not complaining, it’s part of the fun of comics to see the wheels turning (or seeming to turn) behind the scenes. Thanks for the cool miniseries, Roy!

Comments: Final appearances of Dr. Death, Strongman, Human Meteor, and Volton; Spider Queen returns in AVENGERS 1959 #5. Includes text article by Roy Thomas “Look Out, Battle Axis, Here We Come!” giving capsule histories of the Invaders’ villains from the 1970s series and this miniseries.  




> Invaders comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

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




Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Blazing Skull
Blazing Skull

(Mark Todd)
Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Human Torch
Human Torch

(Jim Hammond)
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner

(Namor McKenzie)
Vision
Vision

(Aarkus)
Plus: Silver Scorpion (Betty Barlow), Whizzer (Robert Frank).

Thor

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