Frank Robbins Fashions

Frank Robbins remains one of the most controversial comic book artists among aficionados. Although his true claim to fame is the Johnny Hazard newspaper strip, which ran from 1944 to 1977, Robbins is best known to most comic book fans for his 1970s work on superhero titles like Batman, Captain America, and The Invaders. His distinctive artwork was a far cry from the preferred “house style” at either Marvel or DC, and was so different, even strange, that many young fans absolutely hated it. But, a familiar refrain in discussions of Robbins and his art is that these fans who reviled it in their youth eventually developed an appreciation for it as they grew up and matured. I certainly count myself among their number.

As a child, I found Robbins’ awkward contorted figures laughable, his faces cartoony and exaggerated to the point of silliness, and his scenes cluttered and overwrought. About the only good thing I could say about Frank Robbins was that his work wasn’t bland. But I was at a loss to understand what people like Stan Lee and Roy Thomas saw in his art that made them so enthusiastic about it. They touted getting Frank Robbins to work for Marvel like a major coup. But as Robbins’ tenure at Marvel was relatively brief and his work was generally easy to avoid, I didn’t think much about him for many years. But as I started encountering the work of Frank Robbins again in Marvel’s line of “Essential” reprints, I found my attitude toward him had softened, and his oddball approach didn’t turn me off as much as it once had. But it wasn’t until I attended the 2006 Masters of American Comics exhibition at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and saw original art by Milton Caniff that I finally “got” what Frank Robbins had been trying to do.

Frank Robbins imitated Milton Caniff, in the same sense that both John Byrne and Bill Sienkiewicz imitated Neal Adams, Paul Gulacy imitated Jim Steranko, or Dan Adkins imitated Wallace Wood when they were starting out. Caniff, famous for his pioneering newspaper adventure strips Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon, is listed as a major influence on virtually every comic book illustrator of their generation. Artists as disparate as Jack Kirby and Mike Sekowsky would acknowledge their debt to Caniff, but no one aped Caniff’s stylistic quirks as closely as Robbins. Somehow, seeing Caniff’s drawings in person caused an epiphany, and all of a sudden Frank Robbins’ art made sense. I started seeking it out to regard it with a fresh eye, and far from grotesque, I now found it dynamic and fascinating and fun. And what surprised me most of all was that Frank Robbins proved to have a definite eye for the ladies, as well as an unexpectedly kinky fashion sense.

While working on my series of profiles of Obscure Marvel Women, it struck me that several of them were based on the designs of Frank Robbins. I never would have expected that, so I thought it merited a closer look.

Frank Robbins’ most successful series for Marvel was unquestionably The Invaders, which was set during World War II. Here, his Caniff-inspired art seemed appropriate, and his detailed knowledge of the period helped establish a sense of verisimilitude (although, as on Happy Days, the period flavor was undercut by anachronistic 1970s hairdos). In the 14th issue, Robbins introduced a team of British superheroes formed as part of a Nazi plot to undermine the Invaders. These characters, called the Crusaders, were part of a sort of intercompany idea exchange and were analogous to DC’s WWII-era super-team the Freedom Fighters. (DC ran a similar story wherein the Freedom Fighters battled analogs of the Invaders.) The female member of the team, Ghost Girl, was based on Phantom Lady (a character dating back to 1941), but Robbins’ design for the new character was entirely his own. Clad in a sleeveless silver lamé bodysuit with silver opera gloves and a long silvery wig attached to her mask, Ghost Girl easily showed up her more conservatively dressed rival Spitfire in terms of sex appeal.




Frank Robbins also did a fair amount of work for Marvel’s horror titles, and here again his outré approach lent itself more readily to the material. In two vampire-themed stories he did for Dracula Lives! and Adventure Into Fear we find more evidence of Robbins’ penchant for erotically charged fashions.

In “The Lady Who Collected Dracula,” we meet Ursula Lensky, a Manhattan socialite with a serious vampire fetish. Ursula likes to parade around in a black leather minidress with a dangerously plunging neckline, black leather opera gloves, and knee-high boots. Prominently placed buckles are another recurring Robbins fashion motif, as seen in both these examples. Martine Bancroft, featured in the “Morbius the Living Vampire” series in Adventure Into Fear, appears in one story sporting this burgundy leather peek-a-boo ensemble with matching thigh-boots. A big belt accentuates her hotpants, and the outfit is accessorized with a gold lamé cape. Why Martine was dabbling in extreme fashion was not explained, but perhaps hanging out with her vampiric boyfriend brought out the beast in her.

Invaders #17 introduced us to the Third Reich’s ultimate bad-girl, Kriegerfrau. She was generally referred to as “Warrior Woman” for the benefit of the English-speaking audience, though a closer translation would actually be “Mrs. Warrior” -- which would also be more appropriate given that her number one mission seemed to be to marry the Übermensch. Robbins’ design for this character obviously draws on the stock Nazi dominatrix that was a common fixture of men’s magazines in the second-half of the 20th century. (I don’t know, maybe they still are.) Again we have lots of leather with knee-high boots and gauntlets. She’s covered with straps & buckles, and the only splash of color is provided by her Nazi swastika armband. Her favorite accessory? A bullwhip, of course. How better to punish those liberty-loving men she so despises?

Another “bad-girl” design by Robbins, that seems to have gone a little too far for Marvel’s editors, appeared in Captain America #192, which was his last issue on the title. In the story, Cap infiltrates a meeting of numerous gangsters held by the villainous psychiatrist Dr. Faustus, and on hand is Faustus’s gun-moll Karla. She would return later as the equally villainous psychiatrist Dr. Karla Sofen, a.k.a. Moonstone, and enjoy a long and distinguished career as a super-baddie. At this point, however, she was apparently still completing her degree and working for Dr. Faustus to finance her education. Now, when Captain America #192 was first printed in 1975, Karla was colored so as to appear to be wearing an orange bodystocking with brown leather accessories. Seeing the art in black & white in Essential Captain America v. 5, it becomes clear that Robbins had something more risqué in mind. Karla is meant to be eye-candy for Faustus’s criminal guests, as well as bolstering the rather rotund mastermind’s unspoken claim to sexual potency, so it makes sense she would be practically nude, her modesty preserved only by a strategically wrapped ammo belt and a well-placed holster, as Robbins drew her. I think it more likely, furthermore, that her matching gloves, boots, mask, and choker would be black. I present her here as I believe she was intended to appear.


In the last panel of the same issue, a crowd scene in which Captain America passes among the somewhat shadier-looking denizens of New York City, we see the following woman giving Cap the big eye. She’s a totally throwaway anonymous background character, but her rather striking outfit seems to be the quintessence of Frank Robbins’ fashion sense. A very tight, very shiny, and very skimpy top & miniskirt combo accessorized with knee-high boots and opera gloves of brown leather, with a big brass buckle at her waist. This outfit would not be out of place in a high-end fashion magazine of the 1970s or today. The double-ponytails and big round glasses mark her as “brainy,” adding to her sex appeal. However, given the setting she appears in, it would come as no surprise if a man had to pay cash money to secure this lady’s company for the evening.

Although a great many comic book readers failed to appreciate Frank Robbins’ artwork, it is pretty clear that he enjoyed what he was doing, and we can only envy a guy who was paid to draw sexy girls wearing outlandish costumes.

Tony Television Special #4

At the Tony Television Network, originality is our watchword. We refuse to torture our audience by rehashing the same tired plots over and over and over again. And let it never be said that we shy away from controversial subject matter by playing it safe and sticking to the same bland, inoffensive concepts. No way, José! Our commitment to the startling, the shocking, the never-before-seen, and the groundbreaking -- our commitment to you, the discriminating viewer, is best demonstrated by our fourth television movie event! The drama, the grandeur, the excitement, the novelty that you demand are all here in one gut-wrenching package that is destined to go down in history as one of the greatest films of all time, with undreamt-of cross-marketing possibilities! Nothing you have ever experienced could possibly prepare you for this feature-length drama! Merely burn into your brain this immortal tagline: A Long Time Ago, On an Island Far, Far Away…


HEAVEN’S WARRIORS

The story opens with an exciting car chase through the countryside of Northern Ireland as a 1977 Lotus Esprit sportscar is pursued by a British RAF Police truck. It is the autumn of 1978. The sportscar temporarily eludes its pursuers as it races through a small village. The driver slams on the brakes in front of the village pub, and a large St. Bernard leaps out of the passenger-side window. The driver, a beautiful dark-haired woman, commands the dog to “stay,” then roars off. The military truck speeds past a moment later, taking no notice of the dog sitting near the pub door. Further down the road, the truck finally catches up to the sportscar and forces it into a ditch. Soldiers leap out, guns drawn, and place the woman under arrest.

Later, as she is interrogated at an RAF base, we learn that she is Lady Leah O’Grady, and is suspected of conducting espionage for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). She remains defiant, despite the cold, intimidating demeanor of her asthmatic captor, Group Captain Garth Eder. He accuses her of stealing the blueprints for a new bomber the RAF is testing at the base, but she responds with only wisecracks and mockery. He orders her taken back to her detention cell, and promises her she will regret not cooperating. Meanwhile, as evening falls, a Rolls-Royce pulls up to the village pub where the St. Bernard is still patiently waiting. A butler gets out and clips a leash to the animal’s collar, on which is attached a decorative brandy barrel. The dog happily bounds into the posh vehicle, which then pulls away and disappears into the night.

The next morning, the butler and the dog are found staying at a nearby bed & breakfast, which is a farmhouse owned and operated by Lawrence and Beth Owens. Their orphaned teenage nephew, Skye Walker, takes a shine to the St. Bernard. The butler, who introduces himself as Mr. S. T. Keough, tells the boy that the dog’s name is Artie. He goes on to say he needs to deliver the pet to an old friend of his employer, Owen Kearney, who is thought to live in the area. Skye replies that the only Kearney he knows of is Old Ben Kearney, a reclusive drunk with a mysterious past. Later that afternoon, while playing with Skye, the dog escapes from the yard and runs off into the hills behind the farm. Skye and Mr. Keough give chase, but are soon accosted by a gang of local hooligans. They are saved by Old Ben Kearney, who appears suddenly with his shotgun and scares off the troublemakers.

Kearney takes Skye and Mr. Keough to his ramshackle cabin, where Artie the St. Bernard is waiting. Skye is in awe of the huge crucifix hanging on the wall, and notices the various other religious paraphernalia scattered throughout the tiny hovel. Old Ben reveals that he is, in fact, Owen Kearney, the notorious IRA explosives expert who made a name for himself nineteen years before during the Border Campaign. He claims to have known Skye’s father back in those days, before he was murdered by RAF Group Captain Garth Eder, a ruthless operator known to have ties to MI5. He takes out a pistol, saying it belonged to Skye’s father, and offers it to the boy. Then, Kearney opens the brandy barrel at the dog’s throat and removes a small canister, which contains a microfilm of the stolen blueprints and a note from Lady Leah. Saying he needs to get the microfilm to Londonderry, Kearney tries to recruit Skye to the republican cause by playing on his Catholic sympathies, but the boy is not interested. However, on the way home, Skye sees smoke rising from over a hill, and as he reaches the top, he discovers that his farmhouse is on fire. British troops are standing around doing nothing but watching it burn down. Then he sees his aunt and uncle, in handcuffs, being pushed into an RAF Police van. Skye watches in horror as his uncle suddenly fights back, only to be shot in the head. His aunt’s anguished screams are silenced by a second gunshot. Gripped with a desire for revenge, Skye returns to Kearney’s cabin and says he wants to join the IRA.

Knowing military roadblocks would prevent them from driving all the way to Londonderry, Kearney takes Skye, Mr. Keough, and Artie into Omagh, where they visit a rowdy pub with a shady reputation, the Moss & Ivy. There, they strike a deal with two drug smugglers, a Swede named Hans Olaf and his incomprehensible sidekick “Debacle,” a Rastafarian ganja-head, to ferry them north aboard their twin-engine Cessna the Maltese Falcon. They narrowly avoid a police raid on the pub and a subsequent attack by gangsters gunning for Hans to reach the airfield and take to the skies. But, upon reaching Londonderry, their flight over the O’Grady estate reveals only a smoking crater -- the manor house has been bombed into oblivion.

Kearney learns that Lady Leah is being held in the military prison on an RAF base several miles to the west and plans a jailbreak. Skye convinces Hans and Debacle to help by playing up Lady Leah’s great wealth and influence and suggesting they will be rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Their greed gets the better of them and they agree. Kearney spends some time teaching Skye how to fight, and tells him how to draw extra strength and resolve from prayer to Saint Michael, the Archangel, patron of all Heaven’s warriors. When they are ready, the quartet infiltrates the base with Skye and Hans disguised as British soldiers and Debacle pretending to be their prisoner. While they work on freeing Lady Leah, Kearney goes to sabotage the base’s power station and cause a blackout.

The plan goes flawlessly until they get Lady Leah out of her cell, when they are spotted by a group of armed guards. Hans holds them off, but Skye isn’t sure what to do. Seizing the initiative, Lady Leah takes Skye’s gun and shoots the hinges off a metal grating covering a window. She then smashes the window and they all jump out, landing in a trash dumpster. Unfortunately, the dumpster is lifted just at that moment and emptied into a garbage truck, with the four unlikely comrades tumbling down among piles of rubbish. They are nearly compacted before Mr. Keough arrives and forces the truck driver to switch off the mechanism. They commandeer the garbage truck and make a break for the rear gate in a blazing gun battle, waiting for Kearney to kill the lights.

Unfortunately, at the power station, Kearney is confronted by Group Captain Eder, which leads to a shootout in which Kearney is mortally wounded. The garbage truck pulls up and Skye yells to Kearney to jump in, but the old man has a different plan. Though he draws a bead on Eder, he pauses, intentionally allowing the soldier to shoot him dead, confident that his martyrdom will bind Skye to their cause more than ever before. As Skye screams in rage, Hans floors it and the garbage truck smashes through the poorly-defended rear gate and escapes. They soon reach the Maltese Falcon and take off, leaving their pursuers far below. They escape from a couple of RAF helicopters by executing some daring aerobatics inside a cloudbank.

Lady Leah directs them to a hidden IRA stronghold outside Ballycastle, where she and her comrades plan a daring attack to blow up the RAF base and destroy the new bomber in its hanger. The leader of the cell, Dooley, informs Leah that the new plane was used to destroy her estate, killing her family and all their servants, as a test run. Outraged, Skye insists on participating in the attack, but, to his disappointment, Hans and Debacle say they’ve had enough, take their money, and leave. The IRA assembles a convoy of explosive-laden trucks and drives them to the base under cover of darkness. Skye is behind the wheel of one, with Artie the St. Bernard on the seat next to him as a good-luck charm.

Upon arriving at the base, the trucks smash through the front gate, scattering the soldiers. They quickly regroup and open fire. However, as the trucks crash into the base’s buildings, they explode. The fires spread rapidly until the entire complex is a raging inferno. Group Captain Eder leaps on a motorcycle and daringly rides among the trucks, shooting the drivers through the windows and windshields. The out-of-control trucks crash into each other, going up in enormous fireballs. Meanwhile, Skye directs his truck at the hanger containing the new bomber. He crashes through the door and slams into the plane, but the explosives fail to detonate. He and Artie get out of the truck, dazed. Reaching the edge of the hanger, Skye watches the battle raging outside. But Group Captain Eder spots him and steers his motorcycle towards the hanger, getting Skye squarely in his sights. Suddenly, the Maltese Falcon buzzes the airfield and Debacle fires a machine gun from his open door, causing Eder to wipe out. Seizing the moment, Skye spins around, draws his father’s gun, and aims at the gas can on the back door of his truck. His head is still a bit fuzzy from the crash and his eyes won’t focus. Then he remembers Owen Kearney’s words and says a solemn prayer to St. Michael. He pulls the trigger. Multiple explosions rip the truck and the bomber to shreds and set the hanger on fire. In the confusion, Skye and Artie steal a Jeep and flee into the night.

Skye, Artie, Hans, Debacle, and the few surviving IRA guerillas rendezvous at Ballycastle the next morning, where Lady Leah congratulates them on a decisive victory for their cause. Mr. Keough brings out their best whiskey and they begin their celebration. Debacle proposes a toast to something no one can quite make out, so everyone merely drinks to whatever it was with a hearty laugh.

The End. Cue sweeping orchestral score.


We here at TTN can really see this leading to a six-movie epic! It’s gonna be huge!! And just wait till you see the Holiday Special…!!!


Previous: Tony Television Special #3

Gallifrey at War

As an addendum to my Brief History of Gallifrey, which is based solely on Doctor Who’s original 1963-1989 run on the BBC, I present a short synopsis of what was revealed during the tenure of erstwhile show-runner Russell T. Davies about the cataclysmic Time War, the events of which occurred between the original series and its 2005 revival.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF GALLIFREY (Con’t.)

After regenerating into his eighth incarnation, the enigmatic time-traveler known only as the Doctor is summoned back to his home planet of Gallifrey, for his people, the Time Lords, have gone to war with the Daleks, a murderous race considered the greatest threat to all living beings throughout the universe. Since the Daleks have finally perfected their own version of time-travel technology, the ensuing conflict takes the form of a “Time War.”

As the Time War begins, the Daleks suddenly vanish out of time and space, leaving only their fearsome reputation behind.¹ This places a great strain on the time-continuum, which the Time Lords alleviate by sealing the entire Time War inside an impenetrable “bubble” called a time-lock. It also limits the collateral damage from their warfare to lifeforms that are considered “time-sensitives.”² The Sontarans, despite their well-earned reputation as warriors, are excluded from participation in the Time War.³

Seeing the necessity of ending the threat of the Daleks, and hopeful that some good will ultimately come from the conflict, the Doctor fights on the front lines of the Time War. However, he is sickened by the carnage he witnesses during a battle known as the Fall of Arcadia. Unfortunately, the war leaves him no time to reflect or come to terms with what he is experiencing.⁴

In the very first year of the Time War, the prime Dalek command ship is destroyed when it flies into the jaws of a creature known as the Nightmare Child at a point in space called the Gates of Elysium. The Doctor is present and tries to save his old enemy Davros, creator of the Daleks, but fails. However, unknown to either side, Davros is rescued by a Dalek who has traveled from the future and broken through the time-lock at the cost of his sanity. Learning from his savior that the war will eventually exterminate both the Daleks and the Time Lords, Davros goes into hiding and begins growing a new race of Daleks from the cells of his own body.⁵

With the loss of Davros, the Daleks appoint leaders from among their own ranks, known variously as the Supreme Dalek or the Emperor Dalek. Certain Dalek strategists begin to suspect that the loss of Davros has left them at a disadvantage in the war, due to the Time Lords’ unpredictable emotional responses, which the Daleks lack.

Hoping to press their advantage, the Time Lords “resurrect” the Master, believing him to be the perfect warrior for the Time War.⁶ As the Trakenite body he had been inhabiting was corrupted by a mutation that clouded his mind with animalistic savagery, the Master is granted a new Gallifreyan body, complete with a new set of twelve regenerations, and sent into battle. The Master initially goes along with his conscription, looking for a way to turn the entire situation to his advantage.

After one particularly intense battle, a single Dalek is somehow blasted through the time-lock and hurtles down the time vortex until eventually crash-landing on the planet Earth in the 20th century. Its armor badly damaged and its weaponry useless, the Dalek is made the prisoner of a succession of humans over the years to follow.⁷

As the Time War rages on, the physical forms of the Gelth are destroyed, leaving their entire population trapped in a gaseous state. They begin searching for a way to regain solid bodies.⁸

At some point, the Daleks develop their technology so as to use the background radiation of the time vortex as a power supply.⁹ This makes them more formidable than ever, and they attack the Time Lords with renewed vigor.

Unbeknownst to the Doctor, Time Lord engineers create a transdimensionally-engineered prison ship in which millions of Daleks are incarcerated.¹⁰ They hope that this more humane solution will allow the Time Lords to salvage some of their lofty principles after the war is won.

However, out of a growing sense of desperation, the High Council of the Time Lords votes to awaken the first and greatest Time Lord in history, Rassilon, from his eons of suspended animation. Upon his emergence from his tomb at the center of the Death Zone, Rassilon is reinstated as their Lord President.

The resuscitation process causes Rassilon to regenerate, though unfortunately, his latest incarnation is even more power-mad and vengeful than his previous one was. These flaws were the reason the Time Lords had sentenced him to perpetual suspended animation in the first place, but the High Council now believes they will be an advantage against the Daleks.

Over the objections of the other councilors, Rassilon brings forward in time a half-mad soothsayer known as the Visionary to advise him on his conduct of the Time War. To the consternation of all present, she predicts that the war will end with the destruction of both sides.¹¹

After Rassilon wins a succession of devastating battles against the Daleks, a secret order of Daleks known as the Cult of Skaro is created. They are genetically engineered to possess emotions and to have a sense of individuality so that they may think as their enemies think and thereby negate the Time Lords’ strategic advantage. Existing independently of the authority of the Dalek Emperor, the members of the Cult of Skaro even go so far as to adopt individual names. The Doctor eventually hears legends of their existence, to which he lends little credence.¹²

The Nestene Consciousness loses its food stocks when its protein planets are destroyed. The Doctor attempts to save the homeworld of the Nestene Consciousness, but ultimately fails.¹³

When the Master witnesses the Dalek Emperor taking control of the Cruciform, he becomes so frightened that he deserts the war, fleeing to the veritable end of the universe, near the year 100 trillion as humans reckon time. He uses a Chameleon Arch to change himself into a human being so neither the Time Lords nor the Daleks will be able to find him.¹⁴ The Master’s time capsule is able to penetrate the time-lock, but it is destroyed in the process.

The Master, now in human form, is found naked and alone on the coast of the Silver Devastation. He has no memory of his true identity and his only possession is an unassuming “fob watch,” which contains the essence of his Time Lord self. Barely aware of the fob watch due to its perception filter, he assumes the name “Yana” and becomes a scientist, eventually growing into an old man.¹⁵

After the Master’s desertion, both the Time Lords and the Daleks resort to increasingly horrific measures in an attempt to gain any advantage in the Time War. Among the abominations unleashed in battle are the Skaro Degredations, the Horde of Travesties, and the Could-Have-Been King with his Army of Meanwhiles and Never-Weres. The Doctor soon realizes the area within the time-lock is turning into Hell. Though at its outer edges the Time Lords can conduct business as usual, at the heart of the time-lock millions of combatants die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity, only to be continually resurrected by time itself to face death again and again.¹⁶

The Doctor realizes he is the only one who can end the war. As such, he tries everything he can think of to bring this about. Sadly, his heroic efforts come to naught.¹⁷

As the inevitable end of the Time War approaches, four members of the Cult of Skaro capture one of the Time Lord prison ships and escape with it into the Void, the area of null-space that exists between dimensions, so that their race might survive the coming armageddon.¹⁸

Rassilon finally decides the only way to win the war is to bring about the end of time itself, an apocalypse he believes the Time Lords can survive by abandoning their corporeal forms to become cosmic entities of pure consciousness. Learning of this plan, the Doctor is forced to accept that the Time War has changed his people right to the core, corrupted them, and made them more dangerous to life in the universe than any of the enemies he has fought in the past. He decides that he must do whatever it takes to stop them.

The Doctor slips away in the TARDIS. Members of the High Council realize he is gone, but a quick search turns up nothing. They are aware that he still “possesses the moment” and fear he may use it to end the war, destroying Time Lords and Daleks alike.

The High Council of the Time Lords meets in special session on the day the Visionary has foreseen will be the last of their existence. The Chancellor shares with Rassilon one further prophecy from the Visionary, which suggests that the Doctor and the Master will somehow both survive the war and continue their personal conflict into the future, with the planet Earth as its focal point. Inspired, Rassilon hatches a plan to enable Gallifrey to escape the time-lock, and thus its imminent doom, by forming a psychic link to the Master’s mind that extends beyond the time-lock’s beginning and end.

The Time Lords send a signal back to the moment when the young Master first looked into the Untempered Schism — a rhythm of four beats that echoes the heartbeat of a Time Lord. (This ever-present “drumbeat” would prove to be a major contributing factor to the Master’s psychopathic tendencies as he grew older.) Then, to make the link a physical one, Rassilon removes a large diamond — a “white-point star” — from the head of his scepter and hurls it to Earth in the early 21st century, where he knows the Master will find it. Predictably, the (future) Master uses the white-point star diamond to open a conduit through the time-lock, planning to conquer the Time Lords as part of his latest scheme. Meanwhile, Rassilon addresses the full Time Lord council, having them vote on whether the Time Lords should accept their destruction or escape into the future to complete his plan to win the war. The council votes with Rassilon nearly unanimously — only two among them dissent. Angered, Rassilon commands both dissenters to assume a stance of shame. Along with two councilors, Rassilon leads the dissenters to the mouth of the conduit to confront the Master and the Doctor of the future.

Outside the time tunnel, the (tenth) Doctor convinces the (future) Master that the Time Lords must not be allowed to escape from the time-lock, for they will merely unleash untold horrors upon the universe before destroying it completely. Thus, the friends-turned-enemies join forces one last time. The (tenth) Doctor destroys the white-point star, causing the conduit to collapse, as the (future) Master attacks Rassilon and drives him back into the warp as it closes. Though Gallifrey itself had begun to materialize right next to the Earth, as the conduit closes it is drawn back into the warp, reverting to its previous location in time and space.¹⁹

Shocked to see Gallifrey beginning to dematerialize, and feeling he no longer has any choice, the (eighth) Doctor initiates the destruction of the Dalek fleet. In one second, ten million Dalek warships burn up, exterminating the entire Dalek race.²⁰

As the Daleks die in the Doctor’s inferno, one ship manages to slip through the time-lock while it is weakened by the (future) Master’s meddling. It hurtles through time, a crippled hulk, until coming to rest near Earth circa the year 200,000. The last surviving Dalek conceives a plan to recreate his species using human tissue as a basis.²¹

Amidst the inferno, the planet Gallifrey is destroyed just as it rematerializes, reduced to rocks and dust adrift in space. Every remaining Time Lord is killed except the Doctor. Isolated from the conflagration aboard the TARDIS, he is the sole survivor.²²

The process of destroying the Daleks and the Time Lords grievously injures the Doctor, causing him to regenerate into his ninth incarnation. His new physical appearance is affected by his emotional trauma, and he becomes a gaunt, intense figure with his hair shorn in mourning.²³

For a time, the TARDIS drifts aimlessly in space as the Doctor grieves. With the destruction of Gallifrey, his whole family has been wiped out. He realizes the Laws of Time prevent him from saving any of them.²⁴ The inferno has also badly damaged the interior of the TARDIS, forcing the Doctor to make extensive repairs.

Eventually, the Doctor resumes wandering the universe in the TARDIS, though he is now completely alone.²⁵

_______________________________________

¹ 27.13 “The Parting of the Ways”
² 27.3 “The Unquiet Dead”
³ 30.5 “The Sontaran Strategem”
⁴ 28.14 “Doomsday”
⁵ 30.13 “The Stolen Earth”
⁶ 29.13 “The Sound of Drums”
⁷ 27.6 “Dalek”
⁸ 27.3 “The Unquiet Dead”
⁹ 28.14 “Doomsday”
¹⁰ ibid
¹¹ 30.18 “The End of Time”
¹² 28.14 “Doomsday”
¹³ 27.1 “Rose”
¹⁴ 29.13 “The Sound of Drums”
¹⁵ 29.12 “Utopia”
¹⁶ 30.18 “The End of Time”
¹⁷ 29.13 “The Sound of Drums”
¹⁸ 28.14 “Doomsday”
¹⁹ 30.18 “The End of Time”
²⁰ 27.6 “Dalek”
²¹ 27.13 “The Parting of the Ways”
²² 27.2 “The End of the World”
²³ 27.1 “Rose”
²⁴ 27.8 “Father’s Day”
²⁵ 27.2 “The End of the World”

Tony Television Special #3

We here at the Tony Television Network have never worried about competition from niche-oriented cable-TV outlets, because we’ve beaten them at their own game! Our intrepid research teams have scavenged through file cabinets all over the globe to produce our third special presentation, which is nothing less than the ultimate in niche entertainment! Remember, for spine-tingling real-world chills and pants-wetting true-life thrills, nobody does niche like TTN!


SHARKS VS. NAZIS

This astonishing feature-length documentary uses cutting-edge computer-generated imagery, live-action reenactments, and the latest technological developments in deep-sea cinematography to tell the little-known story of one of the strangest battles of the Second World War.

In the spring of 1942, the infamous Nazi submarine U-113, under the command of the cunning Korvettenkapitän Jurgen Unterwäsche, broke formation with its “wolf pack” to pursue an Allied troop transport ship into the Caribbean Sea. However, before the devious U-boat crew could launch a single torpedo, they were savagely attacked by a clan of freedom-loving Great White Sharks. Proving themselves the deadliest predators in the ocean, the sharks disabled the sub just west of the Grenadines, forcing the crew to abandon ship. Fighting the sharks tooth and nail, only a few of the Nazi mariners managed to make it to safety on the beaches of Union Island. They spent the rest of the war in an Allied P.O.W. camp.

This gripping tale of a forgotten chapter of World War II is narrated by Peter Coyote.



The Tony Television Network -- Bringing You History’s Mysteries of the Natural World!


Previous: Tony Television Special #2

Next: Tony Television Special #4

Steed & Mrs. Peel -- Closing

The closing credits sequence for the fourth series of The Avengers bookends the episode with the same approach used in the opening titles. This series of still images, cut together in time with the music, showcases the signature items that defined the characters in the minds of many: Steed’s bowler hat and Mrs. Peel’s leather boots. The sequence concludes with the characters driving away in Steed’s vintage Bentley. Fennell, Johnson, and Clemens would later form their own production company. Incidentally, the ABC logo at the end refers to the Associated British Corporation, not the American TV network.

Next

Steed & Mrs. Peel -- Opening

The title sequence for the fourth series of The Avengers, the first also to be shown on American television, produced some iconic images of the main characters, debonair super-spy John Steed and leather-clad martial-arts expert Emma Peel. Through the use of static images, the sequence shows that the pair is by turns flirty and violent, while showcasing Mrs. Peel’s considerable sex-appeal. The theme music which accompanied it was adapted by bandleader Laurie Johnson from his earlier composition entitled “The Shake.”

Next

Steed & Mrs. Peel -- Intro

When the British adventure show The Avengers debuted on American television in March 1966, a special pre-credits sequence was added to explain the premise to its new audience. The brief, highly-stylized scene introduces the main characters, secret agent John Steed and his civilian associate Mrs. Emma Peel, and also gives a sense of the program’s distinctive flavor. While I’ve always been a big fan of the show, I think the sequence works just as well, or perhaps better, in “comic book” format, as seen here.

For the ultimate guide to all things Avengers, visit David K. Smith’s The Avengers Forever.

Next

It Happened in Rutland

Following The Crossover That Wasn’t, the characters from the Marvel Universe and their fellow superheroes from the DC Universe came one step closer to meeting in an unofficial crossover event that found them in the same place at the same time, though they never actually crossed paths with each other. The time was Halloween and the place was Rutland, Vermont, which is known for its annual parade in honor of All-Hallows Eve.

Rutland and its Halloween Parade had already been featured in stories by both companies in previous years, but this time it was clear that a single story wove through issues of Justice League of America, Thor, and Amazing Adventures. The common thread is a sub-plot featuring four real-life comic book creators, writers Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, and Len Wein and colorist Glynis Wein, who travel to Rutland for the parade and get caught up in the paranormal events that ensue.

However, when studying the overall flow of time in the Marvel Universe, continuity-pioneer George Olshevsky realized that the Rutland Halloween story with the Defenders in Marvel Feature #2 must have happened simultaneously as well, adding yet another layer to the already complex storyline. Fortunately, all the overlapping stories can be blended seamlessly, which I have endeavored to do here.

Though unstated, the semi-crossover was made possible by a dimensional convergence -- in effect, the Rutland in the Marvel Universe fused with the Rutland in the DC Universe for a little over 24 hours. Direct dimensional counterparts -- such as the two sets of Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis, as well as Roy Thomas and his wife Jeanie and parade organizer Tom Fagan -- merged upon entering the zone of convergence. They would have shared memories of both the Avengers and the Justice League, and it would have seemed perfectly normal, for as long as the convergence lasted. When the convergence finally collapsed, reality righted itself and the people involved were none the wiser.

Here, then, is the full and complete story of the craziest Rutland, Vermont Halloween Parade ever held:



On the evening of October 27th, on the outskirts of Rutland, Vermont, two boys are fishing in Otter Creek when they witness a large meteorite crash into the earth with a tremendous explosion. Curious, the boys approach the site of the impact and discover what appear to be large chunks of amber. However, when the shadowy figure of a man emerges from the smoldering rocks, the boys flee in a panic. The man is Loki, the Asgardian trickster, and he immediately sets into motion his latest scheme of revenge against his half-brother Thor.

Loki fires a bolt of eldritch energy from his hands into the sky. It arcs across the North American continent all the way to the west coast, where it revives the Absorbing Man, who has been trapped for about a year following a battle with the Hulk. Once free, the Absorbing Man is driven by voices in his head to make his way to New York City.

Loki, meanwhile, comes upon the remote home of the reclusive Tom Fagan, where he poses as a poor, lost traveler to take advantage of Tom’s good nature. Since Tom has stocked up on food and drinks for his coming Halloween party, he offers Loki a meal. Once inside the house, though, Loki ensorcells Tom and makes him his unwitting servant.


The Absorbing Man reaches New York by the evening of October 29th, where he challenges Thor to a fight. But, after knocking each other around the city streets for a little while, the Absorbing Man abandons the battle and is magically transported to Rutland, where the voices in his head drive him toward Tom Fagan’s house. There he meets Loki and learns of his plans to finally destroy Thor.


All day on October 30th, the Absorbing Man hides out in Tom Fagan’s barn while Loki outlines his plans. Then, when Tom’s out-of-town guests begin to arrive, Loki assumes the guise of the “lost traveler” once more. That evening, an eerie red glow is seen atop Bald Mountain, just northeast of town. Loki realizes the glow is the result of a ritual of black magic being performed on the mountain to open a portal to the dimension of the dread Dormammu, and factors it into his plans.

Meanwhile, on Bald Mountain, Dormammu’s cultists succeed in opening a portal through which they can communicate with the demonic entity and tell their dark lord that their plans are proceeding. Members of the cult are already in New York City to kidnap Dormammu’s enemy, Doctor Stephen Strange, for the ritual tomorrow that will enable Dormammu to conquer the earth.

However, the cult’s spells have an unintended side-effect due to the dimensional instability that occurs there every Halloween: the walls between this reality and a parallel world collapse, causing two different Rutlands to merge into one. The area of dimensional convergence covers a ten-mile radius around Bald Mountain.

In the Greenwich Village Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts sees a vision of Dormammu in the Orb of Agamotto and considers summoning his sometime allies, Prince Namor of Atlantis, a.k.a. the Sub-Mariner, and the incredible Hulk. However, the sorcerer is tricked by a false image of his mentor, the Ancient One, into sending his astral form high into the sky above the city. When he returns, he finds a spell has blocked access to his physical form, which is being kidnapped by several hooded figures. When his manservant Wong tries to intervene, he receives a savage beating. Strange’s body is loaded into a station wagon and driven north out of New York.

Luckily, Wong had been on the phone with his master’s estranged lover, Clea, when the attack occurred and she became worried when he did not come back on the line. Arriving at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Clea revives Wong and learns what has happened. Using the Orb of Agamotto, Clea manages to send a psychic summons to both Namor and the Hulk.

Back in Rutland, a couple from New York, Roy and Jeanie Thomas, arrives at Tom Fagan’s house to help him finish the float for tomorrow’s Halloween Parade. Roy mentions that they heard talk on the radio driving up about mysterious red lights atop Bald Mountain. Tom tells them some of the local legends about the mountain, which has long been a site of paranormal phenomena. Still subtly affected by Loki’s spell, Tom’s manner is unusually creepy.

About a half-hour before midnight, Tom invites Roy and Jeanie to another Halloween ritual that goes back many years, gathering at a particular crossroads on the edge of town to hear “Old Mistress Sarah” chant the names of those who are to die within 24 hours. Arriving at the site, they join the crowd in time to see the elderly woman appear as she does every year. As the nearby church bells toll midnight, Old Mistress Sarah surprises the crowd when she reads off the names of Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Hawkman, all members of the Justice League of America.

Around the same time, the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk arrive in Greenwich Village, where they are met by Clea and Wong, and they both agree to assist in the rescue of Doctor Strange. Clea hypnotizes the Hulk so that he will change back into Bruce Banner. They return to the Sanctum Sanctorum to try to determine where Strange has been taken.


Just before dawn on October 31st, Roy and Jeanie get their first look at Bald Mountain from Tom Fagan’s yard. Some of the other party-goers are already up and getting into their costumes. They then work together to put the finishing touches on the parade float.

An hour or so later, the station wagon bearing Doctor Strange’s body arrives in Rutland after driving all night. It pulls up to a ramshackle cabin at the foot of Bald Mountain, where they plan to wait until dusk before carrying the body up to the site of the ritual. After surrounding the body with black candles to keep the shielding spell potent, the cultists discuss their plans to enable Dormammu to possess the body of Doctor Strange so he can enter and conquer earth’s dimension. With devilish glee, they predict that Dormammu will cause Bald Mountain to erupt and bury Rutland in a lava flow. Having surreptitiously observed these events, Doctor Strange’s astral form then flashes back to New York and slips inside Wong’s body to better survive the prolonged separation from his physical form.

Later that morning, in the parallel universe, Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Hawkman assemble for a meeting aboard the Justice League’s orbiting satellite. They are startled to learn they were actually summoned by the enigmatic Phantom Stranger. Having encountered the Phantom Stranger previously, Batman vouches for him, and the rest of the team agrees to hear him out. He explains that the evil sorcerer Felix Faust plans to take advantage of the annual dimensional instabilities to unleash a horde of demons in Rutland, Vermont that very night. The team agrees to investigate.

Not long after, Felix Faust arrives in Rutland, and is drawn to Tom Fagan’s house when he senses Loki’s magical energies. He sequesters himself in a small room on the house’s top floor and begins preparing himself for the incantations he will perform once the sun goes down. Loki also senses Faust’s presence, and realizes he can take advantage of whatever chaos this interloper may cause.

During the afternoon, four friends from New York City -- Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, and his wife Glynis Wein -- lose their muffler while driving Steve’s dilapidated car to Rutland for the parade. Gerry mentions having had problems in Rutland the year before as well.

Meanwhile, Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Hawkman spend the entire afternoon searching the area of Rutland for anything out of the ordinary, but have no success since the forces of evil are all laying low until nightfall.

At dusk, Hank McCoy, the former member of the X-Men known as the Beast, and his ex-girlfriend Vera Cantor find themselves stranded several miles west of town. Hank has recently mutated further into a somewhat ape-like form with blue-black fur, but has managed to disguise himself in order to appear human. Vera has enlisted his aid for a looming crisis in Canada, though she has yet to reveal any details, and they were en route to Quebec when Vera’s car broke down. After failing to flag down any passing vehicles, Hank resorts to desperate measures. Out of sight of Vera, he sheds his disguise and lopes across the road as the next car approaches, making sure he is seen. The car happens to be the one bringing Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis to Rutland. Steve slams on the brakes, and, freaked out by the strange apparition, they get out to have a look. Hank quickly puts his disguise back on, gets Vera, and flags down the four New Yorkers before they can get underway again. The quartet agrees to give the hapless couple a ride into town.

As they drive off, a dimensional portal opens, depositing the Juggernaut onto the road. However, before he can go anywhere, he is sucked back into the Crimson Cosmos, where he has been trapped for a year and a half. Unknown to the Juggernaut, the phenomenon is caused by the incantations of the cult of Dormammu, who are beginning their long ritual high up on Bald Mountain. Their spells further weaken the boundaries between dimensions, allowing the Juggernaut to materialize briefly in the vicinity of his hated enemy, Hank McCoy.

Soon, the four New Yorkers, along with Hank and Vera, arrive at their motel in Rutland. Hank and Vera thank them for their kindness, then go into town to find a restaurant. Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis check into the motel and stow their luggage in their rooms. After getting cleaned up, Glynis puts on her Supergirl costume, but Len’s costume rips when he’s putting it on, so the guys elect to keep wearing their regular clothes instead. The four friends walk up to the start of the parade route to check out the preparations and enjoy the carnival atmosphere. After a little while, they decide to head out to Tom Fagan’s place, as he is expecting them.

Twenty minutes later, Steve’s noisy car rumbles up to Tom’s house, and their host greets them at the door in his Batman costume. The four friends also detect the subtle change in Tom’s demeanor caused by Loki’s spell. He tells them that everyone is just getting ready to leave for the parade. Just then, the real Batman appears, leading the rest of the JLA to Tom’s house. Knowing from the previous Halloween Parade that Tom is one of the event’s organizers, Batman decides to let Tom know about their ongoing investigation. Tom is thrilled to have actual superheroes attending the parade, and asks them to ride on his float. Not seeing any harm in it, the Justice League agrees to participate. The heroes then head into town, but before Tom leaves his house, Loki checks in with his thrall to make sure that everything proceeds apace. Sensing that Thor is approaching, Loki sends the Absorbing Man out into the woods to ambush the thunder god when he arrives.

Tom rides into town with Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis. On the way, they ask if Hank and Vera can come to the party later, and Tom is happy to extend them an invitation. At that moment, Hank and Vera are having dinner at a restaurant on Main Street, unaware that the Juggernaut briefly rematerializes in the alley behind the building. The Juggernaut sees the parade getting ready to start, but before he can leave the alley, he is drawn back into the Crimson Cosmos.

As the Halloween Parade begins, Clea, Wong, Namor, and Bruce Banner arrive in Rutland, having made the journey by bus. They immediately notice the eerie red glow bathing the mountaintop and head out of town to investigate. Meanwhile, back at Tom’s house, Felix Faust begins his own sorcerous ritual, drawing demonic energies into the woods surrounding the town.

Just then, Thor arrives in the area, having used his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, to track the Absorbing Man’s “mystic trail.” With the thunder god are his Asgardian companions Sif and Hildegarde. Thor immediately senses the evil forces that have been unleashed by Felix Faust and Dormammu’s minions. Suddenly, the Absorbing Man attacks and Thor battles him.

In town, Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis run into Hank and Vera again and tell them they are invited to Tom’s party later. However, their discussion is interrupted by the sudden materialization of the Juggernaut atop one of the parade floats. He smashes the float but then is just as suddenly drawn back into the Crimson Cosmos. However, in the confusion, Glynis has disappeared and Len, Gerry, and Steve begin a desperate search. Hank sends Vera back to the motel to get a room for them, then ducks into an alley and strips off his disguise. Knowing people will mistake his blue and furry form for a Halloween costume, the Beast sets off in search of the Juggernaut.

Glynis and Tom, along with several other parade-goers, have been mystically mesmerized by Loki and are compelled to walk through the woods to where Thor is fighting the Absorbing Man. The thunder god defeats his opponent by knocking him into Otter Creek in mid-transformation, causing the villain to absorb the properties of the water and be washed away with the current. Thor scarcely has time to catch his breath before Loki reveals himself, claiming he will use the dimensional chaos to supercharge his magic and thereby destroy Thor once and for all.

Loki first sics Tom’s dogs on Thor, having magically transformed them into slavering monsters. When Thor summons a vortex of wind to carry the canines away, Loki turns to his human victims, draining their life-forces to power the fearsome Fire-Sword. Thor is outraged and attacks his brother, but the duel does not go well for the thunder god. Watching from nearby, Sif and Hildegarde know they are honor-bound not to interfere in Thor’s fight.

Meanwhile, in the woods on the opposite side of town, the Beast encounters the Juggernaut when he rematerializes. The Juggernaut recognizes his old foe despite his mutated appearance, and their battle leads them up to Chittenden Reservoir, where the Juggernaut smashes a power station. However, the Beast soon loses his enemy when the Juggernaut’s massive frame keeps slipping on the loose dirt and rocks of the forest. The former X-Man then heads back towards town.

As Sif and Hildegarde watch Loki gaining the upper hand in the battle, they are suddenly visited by the Norn Queen Karnilla, who offers to use her magic to save Thor’s life if Sif will agree to help her track down her lost love Balder the Brave. Sif initially refuses the deal, but then Loki manages to separate Thor from his enchanted hammer, gloating that he need only hold Thor off for 60 seconds to then be able to kill him in his mortal guise as Dr. Donald Blake. Panic-stricken, Sif agrees to Karnilla’s terms, and so the sorceress immediately conjures up a fierce thunderstorm with driving rain that distracts Loki, allowing Thor to retrieve his hammer in the nick of time. Instantly, Thor calls down lightning to strike Loki, destroying the Fire-Sword and releasing those in Loki’s thrall. Loki himself has suddenly been struck blind, and stumbles off into the woods, losing Thor in the darkness. Giving up the search, Thor meets up with Hildegarde, who tells him Sif has gone off with Karnilla. Angered by this turn of events, the two Asgardians return to New York.

Glynis, Tom, and Loki’s other victims wander back into town with no memory of what has happened to them. Glynis soon meets up with Len, Gerry, and Steve again, to their great relief. Then the four friends decide to find a place to get something to eat.

Clea, Wong, Namor, and Bruce Banner climb Bald Mountain to find the black rite is underway. A dimensional portal has already been opened and Clea is horrified to see Dormammu lurking within. Unfortunately, they are discovered by the cult members, of whom there are at least fifty, and while some continue the ritual, others attack the intruders. Banner quickly turns into the Hulk and he and the Sub-Mariner batter the horde of cultists. Before Dormammu can commandeer his host body, though, Doctor Strange’s astral form emerges from Wong and re-enters his own physical form. Strange then battles Dormammu in the dimensional gateway, and the mystic forces they unleash against each other shake the mountain to its very foundations. The people on the streets of Rutland fear the mountain is erupting like a volcano.

There is a sudden landslide that wipes out the cult. The Hulk and the Sub-Mariner manage to protect Clea and Wong until Doctor Strange emerges from the collapsing portal. His power dampened by his exposure to the earth’s environment, Dormammu has decided to retreat, thus freeing Strange to carry Clea and Wong aloft with his Cloak of Levitation. The Hulk and Namor are caught in the final avalanche, but they manage to survive and dig themselves out. Grateful for his friends, Doctor Strange takes Clea and Wong back to the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York while the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk go their separate ways.

Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis are hanging out at a restaurant in town, where they have been for over an hour waiting for repairs to be completed on the floats wrecked by the Juggernaut. Glynis, still wearing her Supergirl costume, goes to the bathroom, but when she has not returned 20 minutes later, the guys become concerned. They ask a waitress to check the ladies’ room for them, only to discover that Glynis has vanished once again. Len is worried, but Gerry promises they will find her.

Glynis has been ensorcelled a second time, now by Felix Faust to serve as one of the host bodies for his demon horde. His spells also cause the Justice League, who are standing on one of the floats going down Main Street, to see all the other floats vanish into thin air, with the throng of spectators standing in a glassy-eyed trance. Baffled, the superheroes decide to pair off and canvas the area for the missing floats.

In the woods outside of town, Flash and Hawkman encounter a trio of costumed parade-goers who have been possessed by Faust’s demons. The possession has endowed the victims with superhuman powers to match their costumes. Joined by “Adam Strange” and “Captain America,” Glynis uses the powers of Supergirl to defeat the heroes. Flash and Hawkman collapse to the ground, feeling their life-force ebbing. Glynis and the two men are then teleported away to another part of the woods, where the demons plan to open a portal to their own dimension so they can invade the earth in their true forms. However, the Phantom Stranger appears and removes bits from the costumes of the fallen heroes, in preparation for performing some magic of his own.

Elsewhere in the woods, Batman and Green Lantern are likewise defeated by “Robin,” “Spider-Man,” and “Thor,” while Superman and Green Arrow are overcome by “Captain Marvel” and the 1940s “Flash.” From his hideout, Felix Faust exults over his easy victory, but the Phantom Stranger visits each of the dying heroes in turn to collect his token.

Meanwhile, Len, Gerry, and Steve search frantically for Glynis around town, then decide to go back to Tom Fagan’s house to look for her there. They are unaware that the Beast is very nearby, collecting his disguise from the alley where he left it, and is himself planning to make his way to Tom’s place, hoping to meet up with Vera there. Loki, having stumbled blindly through the woods, also draws near Tom’s house, following the mystic emanations from Felix Faust’s spellcasting. They all arrive at Tom’s house just minutes before midnight.

Hank McCoy enters first to find the party is already in full-swing. He passes Roy and Jeanie Thomas while looking for Vera. Suddenly, though, the Juggernaut smashes through the wall to continue his relentless pursuit of the Beast. Hank runs upstairs to lead him away from the other guests. He goes all the way up to the attic with the Juggernaut following close behind. In a desperate gamble, Hank removes his human-looking mask and huddles up on the floor, hoping to take the Juggernaut by surprise. When the villain enters the dimly-lit room, the Beast suddenly spins around and snarls. The Juggernaut draws back, startled, only for an instant, but it is enough for the Beast to leap on him and tear off his magic helmet. The Juggernaut falls backwards down the stairs to the second-floor landing, feeling his superhuman strength suddenly diminishing. At that moment, the clock strikes midnight.

Simultaneously, the Phantom Stranger has assembled the dying members of the Justice League at the same intersection where Old Mistress Sarah made her predictions 24 hours earlier. As the church bells toll midnight once again, the Phantom Stranger reads off the names of the heroes while tossing the items he had collected from each of their costumes. He thus breaks the spell of imminent death, allowing the Justice League to revive.

The spell broken, Faust’s demons are driven out of their host bodies, which had gathered not far from Tom Fagan’s house. Felix Faust curses his failure and, hearing the commotion in the hall, decides to make good his escape before he is discovered. Just as Len, Gerry, and Steve come upstairs to look for Glynis, they pass the Juggernaut on the landing, with the Beast in hot pursuit. Making it outside, the Juggernaut tries to steal Steve’s car, but it won’t start. The Beast leaps at him, knocking him out of the passenger-side door. They tumble into Tom’s yard and continue their brawl.

Len, Gerry, and Steve enter the room where Felix Faust has been hiding, seeing the wizard about to jump out the window. They initially assume he is trying to commit suicide, but then Faust levitates down and steals Steve’s car, making the engine start with the last of his fading sorcerous might. As the car roars away, the portal to the Crimson Cosmos opens above the weakened Juggernaut and he is drawn back into his extradimensional prison.

Meanwhile, Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Hawkman have rushed to the scene to battle Faust’s demons before they can assume new host bodies. Glynis and the others awaken from their trance, though dazed, and catch glimpses of the battle as they head for the lights of Tom Fagan’s house. The Justice League makes short work of the demons and manages to drive them back through the doorway to their home dimension before it collapses.

As the Beast stands brooding in the darkness, Glynis wanders up to meet the three guys, who are watching helplessly as Faust drives off in their car. Len asks her where she was, but her memories are too scrambled to give a clear answer, though she thinks she saw some kind of battle raging in the woods. Gerry is mad, but Glynis puts him down for making such a big deal out of everything. Suddenly, Loki comes running out of the trees toward the fleeing car, trying desperately to reach this alien sorcerer before he disappears. To the horror of the four New Yorkers, Loki misses the car and runs right off a cliff. However, before Loki can hit the ground at the bottom of the gorge, he is teleported away by Dormammu, who has just conceived of a new plan of conquest. Assuming Loki to have been one of Tom’s costumed guests, the four friends immediately have their host call the Rutland police.

Not far down the road, Felix Faust is pulled over by the police for his missing muffler. Since he is wanted for breaking out of jail, the officers take him into custody.

With nothing left to sustain it, the dimensional convergence collapses about ten minutes after midnight and the two parallel Rutlands naturally disentangle themselves. In one world, the Beast slowly makes his way back to the motel to meet up with Vera, and in the morning they buy a car from a local farmer to continue their journey north into Canada. In the other world, the Justice League extends an offer of membership to the Phantom Stranger, but he elects to merely disappear. The teammates then return to their orbiting satellite headquarters to file their reports on the mission.

In both worlds, the Rutland police comb the gorge by Tom Fagan’s house in the morning for any sign of a body, and when none is found, the baffled Steve, Gerry, Len, and Glynis are let off with a warning for filing a false report. Steve then has the lost muffler replaced and the quartet drives back to New York City. After hearing the shocking news that 50 members of their community were killed in a landslide on Bald Mountain last night, Tom Fagan makes arrangements to have the gaping hole in the side of his house repaired before winter sets in. He also begins making plans for next year’s Rutland, Vermont Halloween Parade.

Clea's Fashion Parade

Doctor Strange’s girlfriend Clea always had a unique sense of style. Not surprising considering she came from another dimension. Created by Steve Ditko, her earliest outfits were as bizarre as the abstract landscapes that she inhabited.


When she first appears in Strange Tales #126, it seems that Clea is dressed to the nines in this elaborate outfit that includes gloves and high-heels. It also introduces the distinctively-patterned leggings that would become her trademark. It’s no wonder Doctor Strange was smitten with her.

Clea is dressed somewhat more conservatively the next time we see her, in Strange Tales #132, wearing this floor-length gown with long, tapering sleeves. Since she is with a man whom she addresses as “father” who doesn’t really look like her actual father, Orini, we might assume that she is in the Dark Dimension equivalent of a church speaking to some sort of priest. Dormammu is something of a self-styled deity, so it would make sense that his own “royal court” would have some sort of organized religious structure about it. And like many churches on Earth, Clea clearly feels it is appropriate to “dress up” to attend.

In the next issue, Clea goes casual in this comfortable-looking long-sleeve red T-shirt and pink tights (again with heels), accessorized with an elaborate ornamental collar. Its yoke-like design might be symbolic of the oppression suffered by Dormammu’s subjects. We might also note that, while living in the Dark Dimension, Clea also seemed partial to layering with horizontally-striped turtlenecks, which might suggest that her native realm is a bit chilly as well as dark.

Clea first opts to wear purple in this ensemble from Strange Tales #134, which features a wide, shiny waist-cinching belt. It is interesting to note that she seemed to favor stiletto heels in her home dimension, but largely abandoned them after taking up residence on Earth. Clearly the laws of physics as we know them do not apply in Dormammu’s realm, and she thus was forced to rethink her footwear choices once she had to start walking on solid ground.

After a period spent lost in one of the numberless nether-realms, Clea adopted her best-known look, which she would sport regularly during the period she served as Doctor Strange’s disciple. It was first seen in Doctor Strange #171 and was apparently designed by Tom Palmer. (Eventually her shirt became more of a bodysuit.) It was both functional and comfortable, while still retaining an alien quality that reminded her of her home world.

After Doctor Strange was captured and tortured by a race of extradimensional demons called the Undying Ones, he gave up the mystic arts for a period of time, until he recovered from the trauma. During this period, Clea was left to fend for herself in the unfamiliar environment of New York City. Worse, the mystic powers she had once possessed, derived from her native Dark Dimension, had faded away during her exile, and she had not yet mastered Earth’s occult forces. Thus she was forced to assimilate somewhat into the local culture, as evidenced by this outfit seen in Marvel Feature #2. It was designed by Ross Andru, and shows that Clea knows how to make a fashion statement in any universe.

After Doctor Strange returned to sorcery, Clea became his disciple, moving in with him in his Sanctum Sanctorum. She would continue to push the envelope of fashion from time to time, as we may see in future posts.

(Homo) Superior vs. Inferior (Five)

By 1966, industry leader National Comics (now better known as DC) was all too aware that the recently re-energized Marvel Comics was rapidly gaining on them in popularity. Upstart that it was and keen to cultivate a hip image, Marvel was well-known for ribbing its competition, and the staid, conservative National proved an easy target. However, the editors at National were not above striking back, and the vehicle for one of their most elaborate spoofs of Marvel was their own lampoon of the superhero genre, the Inferior Five.

In their third try-out appearance in the anthology title Showcase (#65), written by E. Nelson Bridwell with art by Mike Sekowsky & Mike Esposito, the hapless team of superhero wannabees encounters this familiar-looking quintet of super-powered students:

The X-Men may have seemed ripe for parody at this time, as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had already passed the book on to other creators (Roy Thomas & Werner Roth), who could not generate the same chaotic dynamism found in the title’s early issues. Although, as it was hardly one of Marvel’s top books, we can say it may have been too easy a target, and one may wonder why National singled this property out for special ridicule.

The tale opens at Dean Egghead’s Academy for Super-Heroes, as the entire staff walks out and leaves the dean to fend for himself with his rambunctious students. Dean Egghead is a straightforward caricature of Professor X and even shares his telepathic powers.

When no superheroes will answer the dean’s call for help, he turns to the Inferior Five, recruiting them as his new faculty. As they enter his academy for the first time, he introduces them to his five uncanny students. Rather than “mutants” like the X-Men, these students are described as being “atavistic,” i.e., throwbacks to earlier epochs. Therefore, instead of seeing the next stage in human evolution, we are presented with evolution working backwards, suggesting these characters are even more “inferior” than the Inferior Five.

The star pupil (who also gets the most “screen time”) is Harry McElhinney / The Ape, a bookish monkey-man who sends up Henry McCoy / The Beast.

Next we meet Irish Autumns / Basilisk, a clever parody of the similarly mythology-themed Scott Summers / Cyclops. Rather than red force beams, his eyes emit a white ray that turns people to stone. Despite the misaligned word balloon pointer, it is the dean who is speaking.

We are then introduced to the brown-winged Melvin Murgatroyd XIV / Icarus, a tow-headed and uncouth youngster who is the opposite of the glamorous Warren Worthington III / The Angel.

Next up is Billy Gander / Winter Wonderlad, a goof on Bobby Drake / Iceman. Rather than turning into either a snowman or a human ice-sculpture, Billy becomes a walking iceberg by encasing himself in the stuff.

Lastly, we meet Penelope Pink / Levitation Lass, a dark-haired version of Jean Grey / Marvel Girl. With the help of the Inferior Five’s resident airhead, Dumb Bunny, Penelope immediately ditches her saggy-baggy school uniform for the more revealing version seen above.

Like the X-Men, the heroes-in-training at Dean Egghead’s Academy also have villainous counterparts, a rival team that is diametrically opposed to their do-gooding philosophy. Instead of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, we are presented with the Fraternity of Atavistic No-Goodniks.

Frog Man is an obvious analogue to the Toad, and Pterano Don Juan bears a passing resemblance to Mastermind. The Amoeba may be a take-off on the Blob, and I can only assume that Angel Fish must stand in for the Scarlet Witch. I guess there’s a sort of logic to replacing a witch with a mermaid, both being creatures of folklore. Their leader, Dr. Dinosaur, really has nothing in common with Magneto, but he is the only truly funny concept in the book, as his special power is that he has two brains—one in his head and one in his ass. Hence the two-pronged attack needed to bring him down:

Curiously, during the heroes’ field-trip to the big city, Bridwell throws in a random dig at the long-running rivalry between the Fantastic Four’s Thing and the Yancy Street Gang, which, while making for a decent gag, seems a bit out of place.

Marvel Comics would get a little of their own back about a year later with the publication of their own lampoon comic Not Brand Ecch, which would send up DC’s characters in a similar fashion.

Stan Lee has since said in interviews that he intentionally played up the idea of an intercompany rivalry “to make it fun” for the readers—and no doubt in order to inspire brand loyalty among the fans. He claims to have enjoyed a jovial camaraderie with the personnel over at National Comics, and the good-natured spoof of one of Marvel’s franchises seen in this issue of Showcase seems to support his view.