Synopsis for "Gold
Rush!"
Story continued
from Secret Wars II #2...
The Kingpin is
woken up at 3:00 am with some troubling news. He places a call to a
man Bainbridge. As he waits for the man to answer, he figures out the
financial worth of the current crisis and realizes that it could make
the great depression seem like prosperous times. When Bainbridge
answers the phone, the Kingpin explains what must be done...
While elsewhere in
Manhattan, Mary Jane Watson cannot sleep, her mind keeps coming back
to the fact that she had recently revealed to Peter Parker that she's
known that he's secretly Spider-Man for years[Continuity 1]. She
struggles with the fact that she can't be with someone that risks
their lives on a daily basis, and although she is still friends with
Peter she cannot shake the feelings she has for him. As she considers
the strange twist of fate she finds herself in, she notices that
there is a fire some blocks away and wonders what the cause of it
could be.
At the site of the
fire is the man of Mary Jane's thoughts, Spider-Man who is at the
scene of the office building that formerly housed the Heroes for Hire
until the Beyonder recently turned the structure entirely into gold
just moments ago. Realizing that there might be people trapped inside
the building despite the late hour, Spider-Man enters the building
and begins finding those who are trapped inside and finds that
everything except for humans has been turned into gold.[Continuity 2]
As Spidey searches for survivors, those few who are still up at this
late hour find it almost impossible to believe that a building can be
turned into gold. However, before anyone can capitalize on this, the
Kingpin calls in to his contacts in Washington D.C. to assist in
closing off the area to prevent people from making off or learning
about this sudden cache of gold, as it could cause a financial
crisis. Hard pressed for resources, the government makes a deal with
the Kingpin even though they realize that they are making a deal with
the proverbial devil.
Unaware of this
deal, Spider-Man continues to rescue those trapped in the building as
two police officers arrive. When the cops wonder how they will keep
the public away from a giant pile of gold, they soon find themselves
surrounded by a heavily armed guard of gangsters and street thugs.
They are soon relieved by government agent Charles Anderson who
explains to the two officers that these men as assisting in keeping
the area secure until the military arrives. When Spider-Man returns
to the outside he recognizes some of the armed men as enforcers for
the Kingpin. He also witnesses as the owner of the building, Henry
Trumpsley, is forced to accept a check buying his property and is
escorted off the property.
When Anderson
tells Spider-Man to leave, the Wall-Crawler refuses to tell him that
he can rescue the people trapped inside easier. Despite being shot
at, Spider-Man slips back inside, wondering what the Kingpin has to
do with the recovery. Seeing that he is unable to stop Spider-Man,
and hard pressed for resources, Anderson orders the men to hold their
fire and let Spider-Man do his job.
As the work
continues on, over in Queens Aunt May and her fiancée Nathan
Lubensky mull over the financial problems they're having keeping
their elderly boarding house afloat.
By this time, the
military has arrived and begun slowly removing the gold and shipping
it out of the area and a massive barrier is being erected around the
block to prevent people from seeing it. By the time the press
arrives, there is speculation going around as to what the military is
clearing out of the area. Inside the wreckage, Spider-Man continues
to pull people out of the building. For the most part, everyone is
alive, but he does come across one dead body within the wreckage.
After bringing the body out, Spidey decides to take a break and take
into consideration that scope of what the Beyonder has done.
Everything, including simple trash, has been turned into gold, a
discarded notebook that was considered trash hours earlier is now
worth a small fortune. When Peter considers how much he and his Aunt
May could benefit from something as small as a solid gold notebook,
Peter wrestles with his desires and what he feels is the right thing
to do and leaves the notebook behind. Spider-Man's attention is drawn
to another individual who is trapped in the building. However, upon
closer inspection, the Wall-Crawler learns that the reason why the
man is trapped is that he was attempting to carry out all his
personal possessions that had been turned into gold and that the
weight of it all had pinned him to the floor. The man is unwilling to
give it all up until the roof begins to collapse over their head and
he begs Spider-Man to save him.
With the last of
the people out of the building, Spider-Man is about to web-sling away
when he notices a black limo pull up to Anderson. Spider-Man is
shocked to see that it is his old foe the Kingpin, and becomes angry
when he witnesses a number of soldiers loading several gold
typewriters into his limo. Furious that he must struggle through life
while a known criminal like the Kingpin gets free gold from the
government, Spider-Man finally has enough and decides to get what he
believes he deserves. Jumping back into the ruins of the building, he
recovers the gold notepad that he previously decided to leave behind.
Exiting the building he confronts Anderson and tells him that he saw
the transaction between him and the Kingpin and shows him that he
intends to keep a reward for himself. After angrily chastising the
government official, Spider-Man swings off leaving Anderson to
consider what he has just done.
This story and
Secret Wars II continues in Amazing Spider-Man #268...
Synopsis for
""Welcome... ...to My Nightmare!""
Peter Parker is
having a dream wherein he has arrived at the Daily Bugle completely
naked to see if Joe Robertson is in. Betty Leeds sends him through,
not noticing that he is not wearing clothes. Likewise, Peter doesn't
seem the least bit concerned that the Daily Bugle staff is comprised
of heroes and villains. Betty warns Peter that Joe is in a bad mood,
but he assures her that he can handle it. However, when he arrives
outside Robertson's office he is shocked to see the Hulk come
smashing out. With this threat before him, Peter's original
Spider-Man costume begins to appear upon him. The other people in the
Bugle begin to run, telling Spider-Man to run. With the Hulk looming
over him, Spider-Man can't find a way to fight back. Thinking a
change of costume will confuse the Hulk, Spider-Man's costume
suddenly changes to his black and white costume and flees from the
Daily Bugle building. Suddenly, the Daily Bugle building collapses.
Examining the rubble, Spider-Man discovers the Hulk is still alive.
As his costume continues to alternate between red-and-blue and
black-and-white, he tries to battle the gamma-spawned monster.
Despite his efforts, the wall-crawler is grabbed by the Hulk and
tossed at the Brooklyn Bridge. However, instead of being splattered
against the metal frame of the bridge, he rips through it like a
piece of canvas. On the other side, the web-slinger finds himself
falling into a void. He hears a voice calling out for help, but can't
find any way to save himself from falling.
Suddenly, Peter
Parker wakes up and realizes that this was all a dream. Even though
he is in his Spider-Man costume and has a coffee machine in his
apartment, Peter doesn't realize that he's still dreaming. When he
hears someone cry for help, he looks out his window and sees his Aunt
May's home down below. Fearing the worst, Peter puts on his mask and
swings down to the house. There, Spider-Man watches in horror as the
Burglar with an automatic weapon mowing down his Uncle Ben, Aunt May,
Gwen and George Stacy, Mary Jane, and Betty Leeds.[Continuity 1]
Horrified to see all his loved ones dead, Peter demands to know why
the Burglar killed them. Fleeing the scene, the Burglar tells him
that this is what Spider-Man wanted, that he needs guilt to keep
going. Spider-Man denies this and in a fit of rage follows after the
Burglar. Suddenly, Spider-Man finds himself replaying his
confrontation with the Burglar at the Acme Warehouse.[Continuity 2]
Spider-Man knocks the crook out, but this time when he gets a good
look, he has the face of Peter Parker. This is a shock to Peter but
this puts him in a state of despair that he believes that Spider-Man
is actually responsible for the death of his loved ones.
Accepting defeat,
Spider-Man doesn't resist when the Hulk comes smashing through the
wall to destroy him. However, when the Hulk smashes the floor, it
breaks away and the pair both fall into some water below. Once again
he hears a voice calling out for help and begins swimming toward the
voice. This leads him into a sewer where he finds the creature that
calls itself Nightmare. It begs Spider-Man for help as the Hulk has
been chasing him and begs Spider-Man to save him before his realm is
destroyed. Spider-Man finally clues in to the fact that he is
dreaming. However, Nightmare warns him that if he dies here, he will
die in real life. When the Hulk catches up to them, Spider-Man lures
the brute out to the surface. Spider-Man is surprised that this
dreamscape looks just like Manhattan. Surfing in the air on a manhole
cover, Spider-Man loses the Hulk around the Statue of Liberty. He
returns to Nightmare and demands to know why Nightmare's realm looks
like Manhattan. Nightmare explains that his realm takes on aspects
that are familiar to those who are trapped in it and that only an
adept can see it as it truly is. When Spider-Man mentions the name of
Doctor Strange, Nightmare curses his foe, blaming him for everything
that has happened. Spider-Man demands answers, and Nightmare tells
the wall-crawler that Doctor Strange cursed his realm with Bruce
Banner's sleeping mind.[Continuity 3]
Nightmare goes on
to say that this dream-form of the Hulk is just as powerful as the
real thing and that he chose Spider-Man due to his sense of
responsibility and his previous experience battling the Hulk. That's
when the Hulk comes crashing through again. Spider-Man blinds the
behemoth with some webbing, allowing them to flee. Nightmare takes
Spider-Man to the very edge of his realm where there is nothing but a
white void that Nightmare states is a realm of utter madness. When
the Hulk catches up to them once again, Spider-Man battles it the
best he can, and ultimately uses his superior agility to knock the
Hulk into the void, destroying it. Exhausted, Spider-Man is glad it
is over so he can finally return to the waking realm. However,
Nightmare has other ideas, telling the hero that he intends to keep
him in the Nightmare Realm to defend him forever. Suddenly, the Hulk
reaches out from the void and grabs Nightmare dragging him in.
Nightmare begs Spider-Man for help, reminding Spider-Man of his sense
of responsibility. Instead, Spider-Man turns away trying to ignore
Nightmare's sickening screams. Spider-Man does have a responsibility
to himself, as well as others. As he leaves Nightmare's realm, he
tries to ignore the horror he has seen, reminding himself that if he
saved Nightmare, he'd be trapped in his realm forever and unable to
save anyone ever again.
Suddenly,
Spider-Man wakes up and is suprirsed to see his landlord, high
neighbors, and the police standing at the foot of his bed. As it
turns out, his nightmare was so intense his screams woke everyone up
and they called the cops. His landlady Maimie Muggins is upset that
he made such a racket. His neighbors are a little more sympathetic,
when Peter tells him he forgot what the nightmare was about. However,
he thinks that sometimes it is better that way.
Synopsis for
"Local Superhero!"
Years
Ago:[Continuity 1]
In the vastness of
space, a planet explodes, hurtling debris across the universe. One
such chunk ends up crashing in a junkyard on planet Earth in the
small town of Smithville, Pennsylvania. The following morning, Frank
Hopkins reports for work at the Smithville Savings Bank. He arrives
late for work much to the annoyance of his employer. After being
snubbed by Marge, the bank typist, he meets with his co-worker
Irving. Irving has two tickets to an orchestra performance that
evening and Frank accepts an invitation to join. That evening, Frank
waits outside for Irving, who is running late. Suddenly, he hears a
scream in a back alley and sees a pair of thugs tar and feathering
Irving. Around his neck is an antisemitic sign reading "Jew
Boy". When Hopkins tries to stop them, he is beaten up and left
in the alley. The two thugs then throw Irving in the back of a
pick-up truck and attempt to flee. Frank grabs ahold of the tailgate
and holds on for dear life. However, despite his heroic efforts, the
speeding vehicle shakes him loose, sending Frank Hopkins rolling into
the junkyard. Trying to get up, Frank uses the chunk of space rock to
steady himself. Suddenly he feels funny and gets up with no further
pain. Walking home, Hopkins dismisses this as nothing but adrenaline.
Returning home,
Frank goes through old newspaper clippings of heroes like Captain
America and the Human Torch, who were active in World War II. He
wishes that there were heroes like that around in this day and age to
prevent such acts of violence.[Continuity 2] The next morning, the
front page story in the papers is about the beating of Irving Stein,
who is now recovering in hospital. Reading this at work, Frank
Hopkins once more wishes there was something that could have been
done for poor Irving. At lunchtime, Frank goes out into the bank
parking lot to eat his lunch. When he accidentally drops his apple
under a car, he is surprised when he somehow manages to lift the car
off the ground in order to retrieve it. Not believing what just
happened, Hopkins attempts to lift the car again. He is surprised
that he is able to lift it over his head. Putting it back down he
wonders what he should do with this newfound power. When he walks
around the front of the bank, he witnesses the two thugs who beat up
Irving as they trip a young African-American boy. Suddenly, Frank
Hopkins has some inspiration.
That evening,
Frank returns home and gathers an old pair of long johns, some dye,
and some markers and gets to work. Putting on this outfit and a mask,
Frank Hopkins goes out looking for the guys who beat up his friend.
He finds them roughing up a man who just walked out of a liquor
store. Frank easily trounces these youths before the eyes of
astonished bystanders, who proclaim him a hero.
Now:
Peter Parker is
meeting with Joe Robertson at the offices of the Daily Bugle. He is
upset that Joe is once again refusing to buy photos of Spider-Man.
Joe tells him that if he used every photo of Spider-Man they have in
his files, they could publish them for a year-and-a-half. Sympathetic
of Peter's situation, Joe assigns him to a story that Joe is
researching for the Sunday Suppliment. It is regarding the true
identity of the Smithville Thunderbolt, a local hero in Pennsylvania.
With no other choice, Peter grudgingly accepts the assignment and is
soon on a bus to Smithville. The whole way, Peter complains to
himself about how hard it is to make a living now that Joe Robertson
is less interested in photos of Spider-Man.[Continuity 3] Soon, Peter
arrives in Smithville and once off the bus a young man runs by
warning everyone of a fire. Peter sees a nearby abandoned home
billowing with smoke. With everyone off the bus, Peter slips inside
to change into Spider-Man to save anyone who is trapped inside.
However, no sooner
is Spider-Man on a rooftop opposite the other building, he witnesses
the Smithville Thunderbolt running onto the scene. The wall-crawler
decides to sit back and watch things from the back of the burning
building. As Spider-Man climbs into the building, the Thunderbolt
leaps out with two children out the front. The web-slinger looks
around but can hardly see through the smoke. Suddenly, his
spider-sense begins going off, warning him of danger. However, he is
too late to stop a huge bruiser in overalls from striking him from
behind. The strength of the blow causes Spider-Man to break through
the floor to the main level of the house. Looking at who he attacked,
the mysterious attacker realizes that this isn't the Smithville
Thunderbolt and leaves. Spider-Man recovers from the blow and
witnesses the Thunderbolt leap away. Wanting to learn more,
Spider-Man tags the local hero with a spider-tracer. With the danger
over, Spider-Man decides to change back into his civilian guise
before he is spotted. Later, Peter Parker begins tracing the signal
from the spider-tracer. It lures him to a dumpster, and Peter fears
that the Thunderbolt discarded his tracer. Suddenly, someone from
behind compliments him on his camera. It's a woman, and when he
thanks her for the compliment and that he uses it for journalism, the
woman gets upset. Turns out, the woman is Roxanne DeWinter a reporter
for the Smithville Gazette, and she views Peter's presence as
competition for her attempts at learning the Thunderbolts identity.
However, she quickly changes her tone when she learns that Peter
works for the Daily Bugle and insists on buying him lunch.
Soon the pair are
sitting down at a diner where Roxanne explains that she is looking
for a big scoop so she can finally get out of Smithville. She figures
that learning the Thunderbolt's true identity is her ticket out of
town. She suggests that the two of them work together, but Peter
declines, saying that he works better alone. He thanks her for lunch
and heads out. However, Roxanne DeWinter refuses to be blown off so
easily. Moments later, Peter is back at the dumpster, but doesn't
find any trace of his spider-tracer. Suddenly, he picks up a faint
signal and leaps over the dumpster to track it, unaware that DeWinter
is following after him. The signal leads Peter to a modest looking
home. He then slips around to the side of the house and changes back
into Spider-Man and tries to find a way inside so he can recover his
spider-tracer. Not far away, Roxanne DeWinter has lost sight of Peter
since going back for her car, but deduces that he is in the only
inhabited house in the area. Inside the house, Spider-Man introduces
himself to Frank Hopkins, who is shocked to see Spider-Man in his
home. Saying he has come to recover his property and follows the
signal to a closet. Before Frank can stop it, the wall-crawler opens
it and is shocked to discover the costume belonging to the Smithville
Thunderbolt.
Unaware that
Roxanne DeWitter is listening outside his door, Frank Hopkins
confesses that he is the Smithville Thunderbolt. He begs Spider-Man
not to tell anyone because he believes he will be humiliated and
ridiculed. He explains that he got his power a number of decades ago,
but they are now starting to fade. He reveals that he has been using
ordering scientific equipment to build devices that could roughly
mimic is fading powers. Frank then reveals that with crime at an all
time low in Smithville, he would manufacture dangers so he could
still play hero. He reveals that he staged the "fire" in
the house with smoke bombs and hide in the dumpster after his
"daring" rescue. He once more begs Spider-Man not to reveal
his secrets, fearing he will be laughed out of town. That's when
Spider-Man hears a creaking floorboard from behind a door and ues his
webbing to open the door. Before they can react, Roxanne snaps a
photo of Frank in costume with his mask off. As Spider-Man tries to
recover the camera from Roxanne, his spider-sense begins to go off.
Suddenly, the strong man that attacked Spider-Man earlier comes
bursting through the wall. He intends to kill Frank, insisting that
he is the true Smithville Thunderbolt.
Synopsis for "The
Twilight Heroes"
Years
Ago:[Continuity 1]
A planet explodes,
sending debris across the universe. One piece came to the planet
Earth, breaking in two as it entered the atmosphere. One half ended
up in a junkyard in Smithville, Pennsylvania. The other half ends up
crashing in a nearby farmers field.
One Year
Ago:[Continuity 2]
Ludlow Grimes is
toiling away, plowing his field by horse. Suddenly, his plow blade
strikes a rock. Ludlow digs it out and suddenly feels strange, but
dismisses it as getting too much sun. When his wife calls him back to
the farmhouse for dinner, he simply tosses the rock away and heads
in. Down at the homestead, Ludlow is greeted by his wife and children
as they set the kitchen table. When Ludlow's wife tries to swat a
fly, Grimes offers to do it for her. With a single swat, Ludlow not
only kills the fly but smashes through the front door with his bare
hands. Ludlow is confused by what happened, but his family is
frightened. His wife now thinks her husband is a monster and tells
him to get out.
Now:
Ludlow Grimes has
smashed his way into the home of Fred Hopkins, who has just been
outted as the Smithville Thunderbolt by Spider-Man and reporter
Roxanne DeWinter. Ludlow pronounces himself the true Smithville
Thunderbolt and intends to kill Hopkins. Spider-Man gets between the
two men and tells Frank to flee. However, Hopkins can't bring himself
to go, wishing there was something he could do, but doesn't feel
confident as his powers are fading. Meanwhile, Roxanne DeWinter snaps
photos of the battle, intent on getting the scoop on this story in
order to advance her career and get out of Smithville. Eventually,
the Smithville Thunderbolt loses his nerve and flees. Spider-Man
continues to struggle with Ludlow, and tells Roxanne to get out as
well. However, she refuses to leave until she is finished her roll of
film. Spider-Man, manages to briefly stun Grimes and tells Roxanne to
get a move on. She agrees and tells Spider-Man that she will call the
cops after to drops her film off to be developed. The pair begins to
fight again, but Ludlow gets frightened off by the sound of a police
siren and flees the scene. With an officer banging on the door,
Spider-Man takes his leave as well, wondering what he should do next.
Changing back to
Peter Parker, the hero goes to the Smithville Gazette to try and stop
Roxanne from developing the film. However, he arrives too late, as
she has finished processing the photos. He tells her that he knows
what happened and who Frank Hopkins is and pleads with her to destroy
the pictures. He tries to convince her that this revelation will ruin
Frank's life and he doesn't deserve it after all he has done for the
community. Roxanne refuses to listen because she is still chasing
fame and heads off to the printers with her photos. Meanwhile, Frank
Hopkins has changed back into his civilian clothes and returns to his
home. Talking to the police, he pretends to have no idea what
happened at his home. After assuring the police that he isn't in any
danger, he goes back into his home. There he pulls out his binder
full of newspaper clippings of his exploits as the Thunderbolt. He
laments on how he is a nobody without his powers, which are now
fading. Knowing that Roxanne DeWinter will ruin his life with her
exposé, he takes a gun out of his deskdrawer and briefly considers
murdering her. However, he can't bring himself to take a human life
and decides to find some other way.
Elsewhere, Ludlow
travels through a nearby swamp, confident that nobody will find him
here. Looking at his reflection in the water, Grimes begins to think
back to the events of the past year. He remembers how his wife
thought he was a monster since he got his powers and kicking him out
of his own home. He went to the local church for guidance, but the
priest insisted that his powers were the product of the devil and
shunned him. Soon, a lynch mob was out searching for him forcing him
to flee into the wilderness. For a whole year, Ludlow lived off the
land. One day he happened upon a newspaper article about the
Smithville Thunderbolt and became jealous how he was respected and
treated as a hero with his powers. Grimes then came up with his plan
to kill the Thunderbolt and take his place so that he could be
considered a hero. This all brought him to Hopkin's home and his
clash with Spider-Man. Later, as rain begins to fall over the town,
Roxanne DeWinter drives the Smithville Gazette news van to the
printers. Still intending to try and convince Roxanne to drop the
story, Peter has changed back into Spider-Man and is hitching a ride
on the roof of the van.
As they drive down
a country road, they are spotted by a downed tree to block the road.
When Roxanne is forced to stop, her car won't move and rocks begin to
tumble down toward the road. As Spider-Man leaps into action, Roxanne
tries to flee, only to be carried to safety by the Smithville
Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, Spider-Man discovers that the rockslide
was fake, another one of the Thunderbolt's fake rescues. Before the
heroes can remove the tree, they are ambushed by Ludlow Grimes. As
Roxanne slips into her van and tries to get away. However, when
Spider-Man tosses Ludlow, it strikes the van knocking it over the
side of the road and down a cliff. Seeing that the van is caught in
some tree branches, the Thunderbolt overcomes his fears to climb down
and try and save Roxanne. While Grimes and Spider-Man battle it out,
Frank manages to save Roxanne, who is grateful that he had done so,
even without his powers. By this point, Ludlow has knocked Spider-Man
out and is annoyed to hear that Hopkins has no powers. Ludlow is
about to lambaste Frank but sees how frightened he looks and realizes
that they are the same. By the time Spider-Man recovers from Grimes'
beating, the situation has defused itself.
The next day, the
life of Ludlow Grimes takes a fortuitous turn, as he is enlisted by
S.H.I.E.L.D. Finally finding a place to belong, Ludlow is finally
happy. After witnessing this, Peter Parker is about to head out, when
he sees that Roxanne still published the story about the
Thunderbolt's true identity. Furious, Peter goes down to the Gazette
office and confronts DeWinter over this revelation. She still doesn't
care as she is confident that this will boost her career. Suddenly,
they hear a mob heading toward Hopkin's home, thinking it is a lynch
mob, Peter rushes to see what he can do to stop them. However, much
to his surprise, the townspeople have come to celebrate their local
hero. Roxanne is about to gloat about how her story caused no harm
she is suddenly silenced by the sound of a gunshot. Peter forces the
front door open and discovers that Frank Hopkins committed suicide.
Sadened by this turn of events, Peter Parker walks away without
saying another word. Roxanne DeWinter, however, pulls a camera out of
her handbag and takes a picture of Smithville's fallen hero.
Ahhh yes, I had really forgotten just how political and left leaning
most comic book artists were and are. The Government defines what is
right and wrong, as they are the Highest Authority. Gawwwwww, that
really chaps my britches. There is a scene in Issue #6 where
Spiderman is going to rescue a man who is weighed down with gold
items (that were his own before getting transformed to gold) and
Spiderman lectures him on how it is now ALL the Governments because
they said so and so he can’t take it with him because that would be
illegal. It was so mind boggling wrong that I couldn’t enjoy the
rest of the issue. It was also a cross over issue within the larger
Secret Wars II series. They did a good job of bringing me the reader
up to speed in one page, but the FOMO (fear of missing out) being
produced for the rest of the comics books dealing with Secret Wars II
was almost palpable. 2 stars for hypocrisy by artists who were at
the forefront of the dammed commie led hippie revolution.
Issue #7 was a dream/nightmare sequence where Nightmare drags
Spiderman into the Nightmare realm to save him from a manifestation
of the Hulk that Dr Strange sic’d on him. It was obviously filler
and made almost zero sense but I just rolled with it. The funny thing
was at the end of the issue the land lady had called the cops because
Peter had been screaming in his sleep and she’s in his apartment
along with 2 cops and 3 chicks in their nightwear and Peter’s
lounging in bed with only briefs on and everybody’s totally cool
with it all. Only in comicbook land. 3 stars for blondes in
nightgowns though.
Issue #8 begins a multi-part story about some bank teller who touches
a space blob and gets super strength. For a while. Then as it fades
he begins faking things to keep up the appearance so people will
still say nice things about him. Peter is sent on assignment to cover
it and another local writer is involved. Peter finds the fake guy and
right at the end of the issue some super brawny guy busts through the
wall of the house claiming to be the real Smithville Thunderbolt. It
was sad and pathetic. 2 stars for an old man who want the adulation
of the unwashed masses.
Issue #9 is where I mentally checked out. The same goop infested some
other guy who was a farmer. His ignorant wife rejected him when he
accidentally tore a whole in the wall. A priest calls him an agent of
Satan. The villagers chase him down with torches and pitchforks. I
kid you not. Then “comic book logic” and next thing you know he’s
working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the original Thunderbolt commits suicide
because his identify was revealed in the local paper. 2 stars for big
city bias and poor story quality.
This was some very poor story telling. It felt like everything was an
idea the writers jotted down on a napkin at the tail end of a very
short lunch. I realize that top quality story telling is almost
impossible for a monthly comic book but my goodness, this stuff was
bad. One thing is that Louise Simonson wasn’t involved and I think
she was the guiding hand on the first few issues. I am super glad I
am not reading these individually. I couldn’t handle just one a
month. As it is, I’m going to be discussing with Dave the future of
this buddy-read. These 4 issues really make me question if I actually
want to read more, sigh.
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