This comic—the only issue of What If? that takes place in the mainstream "616" Marvel Universe rather than creating new timelines with alternative versions of canonical stories—represents what may be the pinnacle of writer Roy Thomas's original sense of retroactive continuity (or retconning) at Marvel, filling in details in old stories to address inconsistencies and... Continue Reading →
These three issues reintroduce another Golden Age Timely Comics hero to the book, and Captain America has a Superman/Captain Marvel moment when he discovers a comic book character with a strikingly familiar origin to his (and I'm not talking about his own portrayal in the Marvel Universe version of Timely Comics). All of this... Continue Reading →
In this issue (falling between issues #15 and #16 of the main series), writer Roy Thomas demonstrates his original concept of "retroactive continuity," filling in details in comics history to fill in gaps or explain current-day curiosities—this time, as he explains on the ending text page, correcting some goofs he admits he made in the... Continue Reading →
Roy Thomas is up to his old tricks again. These two issues introduce the British WWII team the Crusaders, who bear a striking resemblance to the Freedom Fighters, DC's team that, like the Invaders themselves, was retroactively formed from 1940s characters—in this case, Quality Comics heroes that DC acquired the rights to, including... Continue Reading →
These three issues conclude the saga of the Fallsworths that began in issues #7-10, and brings the end of one superhero career and the start of a new one. As issue #11 opens, the Invaders are rushing Lord Fallsworth and Jacqueline to the hospital, after the vampire Baron Blood smashed his legs and bit her... Continue Reading →
These four issues of Invaders introduce several characters who will become important elements of the book going forward (as well as the broader Marvel Universe). As I explained in the first Invaders post, these World War II-era stories feature a younger, less experienced Captain America, with the same virtues that we know well, albeit less emphasis... Continue Reading →
These four issues, a crossover between Invaders and the anthology series Marvel Premiere (best known for some amazing Doctor Strange stories by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner), introduce the Liberty Legion, yet another retconned assemblage of once-forgotten Timely Comics heroes from the 1940s, several of whom would live on in Marvel infamy. Captain America doesn't feature... Continue Reading →
Just two months after Giant-Size Invaders #1, the (mostly) monthly Invaders title began (the first two issues originally intended for a second giant-size comic). As I wrote in the post for the last issue (after some background regarding its origins), this series is heavy of the action and light on the moral dilemmas—this being an... Continue Reading →
We have finally come to the first extended treatment of Captain America's World War II adventures in writer Roy Thomas's brainchild series, Invaders, drawn by Frank Robbins and others. Please indulge me for a minute: my favorite comics series when I was a little nipper (and exclusively a DC Comics reader) was All-Star Squadron, in... Continue Reading →
These three issues of Avengers (and two related issues of Iron Man) see Captain America return to the team for some alternate world/time travel fun, during which our heroes meet some familiar faces from the Distinguished Competition as well as a trio of World War II heroes that you'd think were invading something. A warning... Continue Reading →
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 