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Marvel Premiere #44

Oct 1978
Bill Mantlo, Rudy Nebres

Marvel Premiere #44 cover

Story Name:

The Jack of Hearts!


Synopsis

Marvel Premiere #44 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Jack of Hearts flies through a heavy storm crossing Long Island Sound. He passes a Coast Guard cutter on a search-and-rescue mission and can hear the captain telling his mate that superheroes live in their own world and don’t have the time for ordinary people. So Jack locates the capsized yacht and lights up to guide the rescue ship to their location. On the ship, he lets the captain know he heard what he said earlier and slips his calling card into the man’s pocket: the Jack of Hearts….

He arrives home at his New Haven, Connecticut, estate and is greeted by his new butler, Martins, selected by SHIELD. He gives Martins some instructions, including leaving untouched the room where his father was murdered. Martins has had another batch of calling cards printed up, which causes Jack to have flashbacks to his previous adventures, bringing the reader up to speed. He informs Martins that the Zero Fluid has been absorbed into his every cell, necessitating his wearing the elaborate armor to prevent destruction. Tony Stark and SHIELD have devised the Neutro-Mist which renders him powerless for an hour, permitting him to relax without his armor. But there’s nothing that can be done about the radiation burns on his body which appear to be spreading. Jack receives a letter informing him that the Corporation that had his father dead can order his death as well, ending with a challenge from “Hemlock.” He decides to go once his powers return…

At his palatial home in Ithaca, New York, Jonathan Hemlock, a cultured fellow who wears an all-black costume with mask, lectures his two henchmen on his plan to take Jack of Hearts alive and so gain the secret of the Zero Fluid….

Jack of Hearts arrives at Hemlock’s mansion and the villain greets him in his garden, offering to purchase the Zero Fluid for his employers; Jack refuses so Hemlock tosses him a gas bomb before attacking. Jack has trouble seeing in the fog-filled room. Jack is assaulted by the baddie’s henchmen and easily defeats them. The fight spills over into Hemlock’s greenhouse and he is angered that his beloved plants are endangered. He sends out a trowel, which is actually a heart-seeking missile. Jack flies away but leads the trowel back to blow up the prize orchids. This drives Hemlock insane and he determines to kill Hemlock, against the Corporation’s orders. The two engage in a brutal hand-to-hand fight which ends when the villain uses a small hand blaster to knock out the hero. Hemlock then tries to cut open Jack’s armor—and the sudden release of energy devastates him. Jack awakens, surveys the situation, leaves his calling card, and goes home….



 

Review / Commentaries


Marvel Premiere #44 Review by (August 13, 2024)

Review: Jack of Hearts! Most hated Marvel character by artists as he has the hardest costume to draw! And so finally, he’s got a solo adventure of his own to gauge interest in a series of his own. Clearly it didn’t work as he never did star in his own comic, the closest he came was a four-issue miniseries in 1984. Which is a bit disappointing as he’s not that bad a character. Yes, his earliest appearances had him making dumb mistakes against White Tiger, Hulk, and Iron Man so that I was wondering if “screw-up” was going to be his main characterization but no, he had some training from Iron Man and so he was allowed out of the house. And so we learn that his condition is dangerous and he is trapped in a weirdly elaborate armor that he needs a special chemical to escape for only a brief time, a variation on the predicament of Ben Grimm who is also a prisoner of his hero form. And the villain, Hemlock, is another “cultured villain” seen very often in James Bond films and the like, set apart by his all-black costume with yellow-trimmed mask. It’s well-done, Nice art and all so I don’t know why it failed. Next appearance of Jack of Hearts is MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #48, with the aforementioned Thing.

Comments: Jack of Hearts was introduced in one of Marvel’s black and white titles, DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU #22-32, as a supporting character in the White Tiger back-up series; he then guested in Hulk, Iron Man, and the Defenders before this issue which was a tryout for a solo series. Story takes place right after IRON MAN #113. First appearance of William Martins, SHIELD-supplied butler. Sole appearance of assassin Jonathan Hemlock, which is also the name of the assassin played by Clint Eastwood in THE EIGER SANCTION (1975), based on a novel by Trevanian. Letters page includes article on the hero and the evolution of his costume by Dave Cockrum. Gaspar Saladino lettered the first page.



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Rudy Nebres
Rudy Nebres
Roger Slifer
Mike Zeck (Cover Penciler)
Rudy Nebres (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Layouts: Keith Giffen. Letterer: Diana Albers.



Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Jack of Hearts
Jack of Hearts

(Jonathan Hart)


Thor

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