| Characters |
Madame Hydra; HYDRA; Rick Jones; Vision; Black Panther [T'Challa]; Iron Man [Tony Stark]; Hawkeye [Clint Barton]; Thor [Dr. Don Blake]; Nick Fury; Sharon Carter; Jasper Sitwell (cameo); Dum Dum Dugan (cameo); Gabe Jones (cameo); Captain America [Steve Rogers] |
| Synopsis |
While the news reports Cap's death, and that "Steve Rogers" was a fake identity, Madame Hydra has Cap's HYDRA file burned. She then thinks back on her past, and the way she bumped off several top men in the organization following the death of Baron Strucker, to become Supreme Hydra "in this sector". The Avengers, together with Nick Fury, Sharon Carter and several top SHIELD men, hold a wake, but are suddenly gassed by HYDRA agents, bent on eliminating them as well! Rick follows to the cemetary, where multiple premature burials are planned, and is almost caught himself-- when out of nowhere, Cap appears on a motorcycle, very much alive! A battle follows, ending when a set of "Hunter Missiles" miss their target and take out Madame Hydra instead! Cap reveals he faked his own death in order to create the idea that he was never "Steve Rogers"-- "and so, Captain America has a secret identity once more!" |
| Genre |
Super-hero |
| Script |
Jim Steranko |
| Pencils |
Jim Steranko |
| Inks |
Tom Palmer |
| Colors |
Ken Feduniewicz; George Roussos |
| Letters |
Artie Simek |
| Editing |
Stan Lee |
| Notes |
Part 3 of 3. The climax of this story in part pays tribute to "Spy Ambush" from CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #10 (January 1942). Nick Fury presumably appears between NICK FURY #11-12. HYDRA would finally return to battle SHIELD this month in NICK FURY #12 (May 1969). After all the effort to get Cap and Rick together as a regular team, it would prove short-lived, as Roy Thomas and Gil Kane wound up teaming Rick with Captain Mar-Vell in CAPTAIN MARVEL #17 (October 1969). Following the cancellation of NICK FURY, Nick, SHIELD and HYDRA became recurring elements in the CAPTAIN AMERICA series. In the wake of Baron Strucker's demise, most HYDRA stories beginning with this one involve regional factions rather than one big, centralized organization. Although she appeared to have been killed at the end of this episode, Madame Hydra would return-- renaming herself "The Viper"-- in CAPTAIN AMERICA #180 (December 1974). |
| Reprinted |
from Captain America (Marvel, 1968 series) #113 (May 1969). |
| Characters |
The Hound Of Ravenmad [Snoopy]; Knock Furious; Lord Ravenmad; Cousin Gotta Lotta Gaul; Cousin Edgar Allan Schmoe; Cousin Vava Va Voom; Cousin Robert Mashem; Colonel Von Twothreefour (Nazi Corps commander, Hitler confidante, torture-camp recreation director, general sadist-about-town); Arnold Drake (writer, raconteur, rotten pool player); Frank Springer (artist, designer, martini enthusiast) |
| Synopsis |
After a huge beagle attacks a Scotsman & chews up his bagpipe, Knock Furious is hired to investigate the mystery of Ravenbad Castle. When some "pea-brained, sieve-headed, vacuum-skulled idiot" opens a door Knock was rushing to break down, he finds himself in the castle's "sub-cellar"-- so called because it's got a sub (also twelve planes, three tanks, and four nuclear-armed missles). At that point, Arnold Drake finds he's stuck for the rest of the plot, and he and Frank Springer toss ideas around-- until Knock can take no more!! |
| Genre |
Spy; Detective; Occult; Satire |
| Script |
Arnold Drake |
| Pencils |
Frank Springer |
| Inks |
Tom Sutton |
| Colors |
Ken Feduniewicz; George Roussos |
| Letters |
Herb Cooper |
| Editing |
Stan Lee |
| Notes |
"You know us-- we don't wanna offend ANYBODY!" A parody of Jim Steranko's "Dark Moon Rise, Hell Hound Kill!" from NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD #3 (August 1968). This was published only 4 months after the original. Frank Springer had become the regular artist on SHIELD at the time this came out (and doing this may have been what caused Herb Trimpe to have to pitch in on pencils for NICK FURY #8). "Knock Furious" header removed from splash page for this reprint. |
| Reprinted |
from Not Brand Echh (Marvel, 1967 series) #11 (December 1968). |
| Characters |
Dum Dum Dugan; Jasper Sitwell; Nick Fury; Gabe Jones; Laura Brown; Yancy Street Gang (flashback cameo); Mamma Fury (flashback cameo); Jake Fury (unnamed; flashback cameo); The Gaff [Sidney E. Levine]; Val [Contessa Valentina Allegro De Fontaine]; Captain America [Steve Rogers] |
| Synopsis |
Following the destruction of Hydra Island, the Heli-Carrier docks in NYC for repairs. Jasper gets a new secret assignment; Gabe gets an undercover job which involves playing trumpet in Greenwich Village; and Dum Dum takes some leave to visit his family in Boston. Fury reminisces with Laura about his days growing up in Hell's Kitchen; then at SHIELD HQ, offers her a job as an agent. She wants time to think it over, so he sends her on a shopping spree. After a good night's sleep at his apartment, Fury goes to UNIT (Underground Network Intelligence Training academy) where recruits undergo rigorous education. He meets 2 new agents: Sidney E. Levine, a tech expert (who agrees to replace Fury's destroyed Porsche 904) and Val, who scoffs at his attitude that the spy game is man's work. Fury takes on Captain America in a display bout for the recruits, but gets dizzy due to a "side-effect" of the invisibility pill he used earlier. Cap tells him he's found out who was responsible for a job they tackled "a year ago"-- "The Big Blackout". |
| Genre |
Spy |
| Script |
Jim Steranko |
| Pencils |
Jim Steranko |
| Inks |
Jim Steranko |
| Colors |
Ken Feduniewicz; George Roussos |
| Letters |
Jerry Feldmann |
| Editing |
Stan Lee |
| Notes |
Part 1 of 9. 1st appearance of Fury's apartment, The Gaff & Val. During the fight, Cap mentions the last time he and Fury met was when they fought "THEM"'s Humanoid Assassin in TALES OF SUSPENSE #78 (June 1966). That story was clearly Cap and Fury's 1st meeting since WW2 in SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #13 (December 1964), as Cap had been trying to contact Fury for months about possibly becoming a SHIELD agent (seen in several issues of THE AVENGERS). Yet 4 pages later, Cap refers to a job they tackled together "a year ago". (Perhaps "The Big Blackout" took place immediately after TOS #78, as there was a break between issues #78 and #79.) Meanwhile, after loitering in the shadows outside Stark Industries for 2 months, Jasper would become a regular in the Iron Man series in TALES OF SUSPENSE #95 (November 1967). |
| Reprinted |
from Strange Tales (Marvel, 1951 series) #159 (August 1967). |