Previous Page   Next Page
#135
#136
#137
#138
#139
#140
#141
#142
#143
#144
#145
#146
#147
#148
#149
#150
#151
#152
#153
#154
#155
#156
#157
#158
Selector

Captain America (1968 series) #140

Aug 1971 on-sale: May 11, 1971

Stan Lee
writer
 |  John Romita
penciler

Captain America (1968 series) #140 cover

Story Name:

In the Grip of Gargoyle!


Synopsis

Captain America (1968 series) #140 synopsis by reviewer Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

In the stone cutter’s yard, Captain America is attacked by the Grey Gargoyle, whose touch turns men to stone. Leaping away to avoid the villain’s deadly touch, Cap hurls his shield—but it is turned to stone and flung back at him. The Falcon arrives to aid Cap; the Gargoyle hurls the petrified Reverend Garcia at them and while they are attempting to keep the innocent from smashing on the ground, the villain makes his getaway. At this point the Gargoyle’s spell starts to wear off his victim. Cap changes back to his Officer Rogers guise and contacts the Police Commissioner. The discovery that Steve is the Commissioner’s pet does not endear him to the crusty Sgt. Muldoon, however, promising some trouble in the future….

Elsewhere, the Falcon has located the Grey Gargoyle’s secret hideout where the villain is angrily rehashing his origin story and attacks him with the help of Redwing. The villain hurls Falcon into a batch of chemicals containing his new petrifying formula. Result: the Falcon is turned into living stone, under the Gargoyle’s control, as is Redwing, too….

Heroes of Goo Jit Zu Marvel Mega Mini 6 Pack
For the special marvelite in you

Meanwhile, Steve goes to Sam’s office to talk to him but is met by the radical Leila who hates both white people and cops. Realizing his partner may be in trouble, Steve dons his Captain America gear and heads out to search for the Falcon. Contacting SHIELD’s hover-carrier, he is taken aboard the craft. After an affectionate reunion with Sharon Carter, Cap learns about Nick Fury’s new headache: the safety of the lab experimenting with Element X, the most unstable element in the world. The only thing that will act as a shield against it is stone, so Fury is desperately trying to think of a way to launch a stone lab into orbit, protecting the Earth. The mention of stone causes Cap to realize what the Grey Gargoyle’s sinister scheme is…controlling Element X….


MIGHTY MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 2 - THE SINISTER SIX
For the special marvelite in you


Characters
Good (or All)
CAP  
Captain America
(Steve Rogers)
DUMDUM  
Dum Dum Dugan
(Tim Dugan)
FALCON  
Falcon
(Sam Wilson)
FURY  
Nick Fury
(Nicholas Fury)
Plus: Leila Taylor, Sergeant Muldoon.

Antagonists
GREYGARGOYLE  
Grey Gargoyle
(Paul Pierre Duval)

> Captain America (1968 series) comic book info and issue index



Marvel Comic Moon Knight 1:7 Scale Bust
For the special marvelite in you

Main/1st Story Full Credits

John Romita
George Roussos
Unknown
John Romita (Cover Penciler)
John Romita (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Art Simek.



Review / Commentaries


reviewer
Captain America (1968 series) #140 Review by (November 3, 2026)

Review: And the Grey Gargoyle turns out to be a formidable villain as Cap and Falcon both lack the super-strength needed to hold their own against him…which is why Falcon becomes his mind-controlled minion. This plot is pretty cool, while the introduction of generic science stuff Element X, adds a wacky complication to the story for next issue. The chief complication in the issue is Black radical Leila Taylor who hates Sam and Steve and white people and cops and everybody; she seems a bit broadly written, being a middle-aged white man’s idea of a young Black woman, but she’s a decent attempt to be “relevant” in the shifting social milieu of the early 1970s. She settles down eventually.  

Comments: Part two of a four-part story. The Grey Gargoyle’s origin is summarized from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #107; he is referred to as Pierre Duval in this issue when he is normally Paul Duval. As with Robert Bruce Banner, his official name was given as Paul Pierre Duval. The SHIELD hover-carrier appears to be the same vehicle as the heli-cruiser last issue. Inker George Roussos credited as George Bell.






Thor

The Marvel Heroes Library is a fan Marvel Comics site
Version 14.14.14 (October 8, 2026 - VS22)

Copyright © 1997-2026 Julio Molina-Muscara (creator, webmaster)
Site content is a collective effort by the MHL team and Marvel aficionados

Characters are copyright © Marvel or their respective owners. All portions of this Marvel fansite that are subject to copyright are licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license All rights reserved