AVENGERS '58 #5

1958. Communists, aliens, terrorists. As the nation faced these many dangers, President Eisenhower brought together the greatest heroes of the day.

Marvel Boy - Super-powered youth armed with Uranian science
Venus - The goddess of love
3-D Man - The triple-powered protector
Gorilla Man - A human mind in the body of a beast
Human Robot - The mechanical marvel
Captain America - The driven patriot
Bucky - The all-American boy

Together, they protect America from the threats of this world and of others.

Bob Gansler presents: AVENGERS '58

Inside of the First National Bank, the Avengers kept a close eye on the downed agents of the Red Skull. The police were now on their way. The Human Robot had relayed a message back to the Cold Warrior at the FBI Building. He, in turn, had contacted the NYPD via telephone, since the Skull’s device was still interfering with police radio communications.

Captain America approached Marvel Boy. "That’s all you got out of the stooge when you read his mind?"

Marvel Boy nodded. "I did get a little bit more, but it seems that this one was not privy to all of what the Skull’s scheme is."

"So what this bozo know?" Bucky bounced over. The rush of adrenaline was still coursing through this veins, interacting with the Super Solider Formula in ways that Professor Erksine had never expected.

"Well," Marvel Boy, "the scrambling of the police radio channels is definitely the work of the Red Skull."

Bucky slapped his hand on his forehead. "Brother, as if we couldn’t figure that part out!"

Marvel Boy glared at the youth. "If I may continue?" Marvel Boy was becoming increasingly more uneasy with the induction of Cap and Bucky into the team. They seemed nothing like the wartime stories he had heard about them.

"Please do," Venus interjected.

"As I was saying, the Red Skull is using the radio scrambling to cover the activities of his Communist agents. He’s trying to wreck the American economy."

"Hmm," 3-D Man thought aloud. "I don’t remember the Red Skull operating that way back when you were fighting him in WW2." He looked directly at Cap.

"That’s because," Cap scowled, "he’s not the real Skull. He’s just a fake that the Commies created to scare us." He did not feel impelled to mention that neither he nor Bucky were the genuine articles.

"Only we ain’t afraid, are we Cap?" Bucky added.

Cap put his hand on the lad’s shoulder. It was encouraging to see the patriotism that Bucky exuded. If only more true-blooded American could do the same.

The Human Robot stepped forward now. "It would appear that the campaign of economic warfare that Red Skull has initiated is having the desired effect."

"What do you mean by that?" Venus inquired. The way of modern-day American society were so dissimilar to those of the time when she had last actively walked in the mortal world - back in the early days of the Roman Empire. The financial and monetary workings of the modern world were foreign to her.

The Human Robot continued, "I have been reviewing stock market and financial market information that I have collated. My projections show that it could precipitate a crisis greater than that of 1929."

"Holy mackerel!" Gorilla-Man exclaimed. "That could give the Commies the opening to take over the world!"

"Just like the Commies," Cap shrugged, "to fight dirty."

"Yeah," Bucky added in his characteristic fashion. "They don’t want to fight us out in the open. The yellow cowards."

"If everyone is done waving the flag," Marvel Boy interrupted, "we have an assignment to fulfill. All we’ve done so far is stop one robbery. The mastermind behind this plot is still at large. I move that we return to FBI HQ and see if the Cold Warrior has come up with anything." He pointed outside to the Silver Bullet and motioned to Venus, "Your chariot awaits."

Venus was on the verge of embarrassment. Was this Marvel Boy taking a distinct liking to her? He was a handsome man, despite his youthful appellation. She was tempted to use her godly powers to find out, but she thought better of it. For one thing, Marvel Boy's telepathic powers might discover such an inquiry. For another thing, Venus was intrigued by the idea of Marvel Boy carrying a torch for her.

Back at FBI HQ, the Cold Warrior was busy fiddling with a mess of electronic equipment. He had cobbled together a few things he found in the building while the rest of the Avengers were out on the search. Once they returned, he showed them what he had found. It was some sort of radio-like device.

"So, it's real crude," Cold Warrior explained, "but it's functional." He twisted the little aerial on the device. "I was able to narrow down the range of frequencies of the disturbance." He showed the settings on the dial to the rest of the Avengers, but only Marvel Boy and the Human Robot seemed to understand the significance.

Marvel Boy nodded. It was quite crude, but the principle was sound. "Good work, CW." He put his hand on the Human Robot's shoulder. "Come on, we'll get some more refined equipment on the Silver Bullet and then we can track the disturbance to its source."

As Marvel Boy and the Human Robot walked toward the building entrance, they were met with a large entourage of FBI agents. In the midst of all the agents was their Director, J. Edgar Hoover.

Hoover noticed the two Avengers leaving. "Where are you going? Have you ended the situation?"

"No," Marvel Boy replied. "We're still working on it. We're going out to the Silver Bullet to get some equipment."

"Hmm," Hoover scowled. "I want a report on the situation as soon as you get back."

"Begging your pardon, Mr. Hoover, but the Avengers are not your FBI agents. You might try asking nicely," Marvel Boy responded curtly.

Hoover pointed angrily at Marvel Boy. "Look, I'm giving you access to FBI resources. If I want a report, by God, I'll get a report."

The Human Robot pushed Marvel Boy past the FBI agents and outside. He saw no point in that conversation continuing. In the conference room, the remaining Avengers were debriefing an obviously disgruntled Director Hoover. Captain America was providing the details of his encounter at the first National Bank while Bucky chimed in with a number of enthusiastic comments.

3-D Man checked the clock on the wall. "Time for me to go. I'll be back soon." He rose from his chair and left the room, heading for the guest room where his comatose brother lay.

Hoover stood up and growled, "Where is he going?"

"It's the nature of his powers," Venus explained. "He can't exist on Earth for more than three hours at a time."

Hoover was disturbed by these words. Where did the 3-D Man go when he was not on Earth? Was the 3-D Man an alien? Perhaps he needed to investigate these heroes even more fully.

After Captain America finished with his mission report, the Avengers offered some thoughts to Director Hoover as to the situation. The re-appearance of the Red Skull could prove to be an ideal weapon to uncover communism in the country, at least in Cap’s opinion. Hoover was inclined to agree. The discussion continued even after the Human Robot and Marvel Boy returned with equipment for the ‘Signal Tracker’, as the mechanical man was calling it.

Marvel Boy laid out the local map once again and gave each Avenger his or her assignment. This time Cold Warrior would be sent out into the field while Marvel Boy would remain at FBI HQ with the Silver Bullet. The Human Robot would also be out in the field, although his responsibility was to provide the third point in the triangulation effort.

Venus, Cold Warrior, Gorilla-Man, Captain America, and Bucky all left to take up their assigned positions. The Human Robot stayed behind for now, as he and Marvel Boy went to work in putting together their signal tracker devices. Once they had the two devices coordinated, the Human Robot would take up a useful position in the city.

Looking for over the two heroes working feverishly with wires and transistors, Hoover expressed his displeasure with the plan. "You all should be out there."

"Begging your pardon, Mr. Hoover, but the Avengers are not under your command." Marvel Boy replied, not looking up from his soldering efforts.

"I am in charge of ensuring this nation’s security. You will listen to me," Hoover objected.

"PLEASE DESIST FROM MAKING INTERRUPTIONS." The Human Robot blared with his synthetic voice. The mechanical marvel left the room to obtain some more copper wiring from the Silver Bullet.

Once the Human Robot was out of sight, Hoover grabbed Marvel Boy by the shoulder. "I don’t trust this mechanical menace."

Marvel Boy continued to focus on his work, ignoring the director’s hand. "I fixed his regulator, Mr. Hoover. His programming won’t allow him to become a menace again."

"And I should trust you on this?"

Marvel Boy slapped Hoover’s hand from his shoulder. "Actually, the Human Robot is rather primitive compared to the robotics technology that’s been developed on Uranus." He was quite perturbed with the audacity of this man. Hoover continued to rave about various topics until the Human Robot returned. Once the robot resumed his seat at the table, the FBI Director fell silent.

While Marvel Boy and the Human Robot worked to refine the Cold Warrior’s work into something that could track down the source of the radio disruptions, the other Avengers, except for 3-D Man, were scouring New York City for any clue relating to these incidents.

Gorilla-Man leapt from rooftop to rooftop in the neon-lighted Broadway district. "Man I wish I could go down there." He noted the giant signs that proclaimed the biggest shows on the block. It had been a long time since he had gone to a Broadway show. Back when he was only big game hunter Ken Hale, he had the kind of money to entertain himself in a lavish fashion. Now that he was the brutish Gorilla-Man, he could not even prove that he was still Ken Hale, much less have the courage to admit that he was so cursed. For now, he would keep his mind off of his condition by fighting alongside the Avengers. A recent call back to Africa to Jann and Lorna assured him that the two jungle queens would continue his search to find a cure there.

In the red light district near Times Square, Venus was enduring the gawking looks of the seedy people who congregated there. She had to fend off numerous entreaties for her favors as well as offers to model and to appear in "professional movies". She looked with disgust at the bawdy advertisements for films and periodicals that adorned the many storefronts.

"They call this making love?" she sighed. "That is not love." As Roman goddess of love, she considered quite the expert on the matter. Even her devilish son Cupid would never stoop this low. She was grateful once her path took her out of this area.

The Central Park area was where the Cold Warrior currently was. He could not repress the thrill that he was getting from the experience. For once he really was doing the right thing. Plus, Marvel Boy had complimented his work in starting up the detector. The Arctic Avenger knew that he was no dummy when it came to science, but he also realized that he was not in Marvel Boy’s league, what with the ‘kid’ having access to the high technology of Uranus. Perhaps he really could be the hero that he felt he could be.

Captain America and Bucky raced through the Wall Street area. Cap was convinced that the next strike would be here. While the biggest heists had been in this vicinity, they had not been confined to this area. That was why the police had not been able to break this case. The hits were occurring all over the five boroughs. The presence of the red, white, and blue crusaders brought a cheer from the stockbrokers and investment bankers that were on the Street. Their confidence was buoyed the sight of the legendary crime-fighters and the Dow Jones Index reflected that confidence, at least for today.

Back at FBI HQ, Marvel Boy and the Human Robot were nearing the completion of their task. It had taken a few hours, but they had finally finished constructing the delicate circuitry that, they hoped, would allow them to track the jamming signal back to its source. As Marvel Boy soldered the final circuit together, the colorful form of 3-D Man came rushing in.

"I’m back!" 3-D Man exclaimed. His brother Hal had obviously ‘recharged’ and had the strength to summon Chuck back into existence. "What did I miss?"

"Not much," Marvel Boy replied. "The others are out there on patrol. HR and I are just finishing putting together the tracking device. The next time that the Red Skull activates it, we should be able to follow it back to the source."

"Great," 3-D responded. "What do you want me to do?"

The Human Robot directed 3-D Man over to the map upon the conference table. "Your area is marked in green and red."

"Cute," 3-D Man laughed. "And I suppose you did it that way, HR. I think you’re getting a sense of humor."

"Humor is a human quality I am trying to master," Human Robot replied dryly.

3-D Man slapped the mechanical man on his cold metallic shoulder. "You’re OK in my book, HR. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, ‘specially that Hoover guy. Say, where is our dearly beloved FBI Director?"

"He left here in a huff about thirty minutes ago," Marvel Boy said. "He was going back to Washington. I think he’s a little upset with us, for not jumping at his every word."

"Hey, he got us Captain America and Bucky." 3-D Man was clearly enthusiastic about the membership of the legendary heroes. "He can’t be all bad. Plus, we’re all after the same thing, aren’t we? Truth, justice and the American Way."

"I suppose we are." However, Marvel Boy was not sure what the Director’s definitions of these concepts were. He was somewhat certain that Hoover interpreted these ideals a little differently than the average American.

The 3-D Man was eagerly rubbing his hand together. As always, he only had three hours of existence before he had to disappear and allow Hal to rejoin the land of the living. He wanted to make the most of every minute that he was back on Earth. "I’m ready to go. I’ll see you guys later, hopefully with the Red Skull lying beaten before us."

"Good luck," Marvel Boy called out to the exiting red-and-green blur that ran out of the building. He checked over the portable power supply for the unit that Human Robot would be carrying. Everything seemed in order. He handed the unit over to the automaton. "What say you take up a position over by the George Washington Bridge?" he suggested.

"That seems like a good location," Human Robot replied. With that, he exited the building and took off with mechanical speed to the other side of town.

Time seemed to drag on for Marvel Boy. It had been almost two hours since the Human Robot and 3-D Man had left the building. The other Avengers had been out on patrol for even longer. None of them had reported in with anything related to these financial crimes, although they did deal with some of the typical local criminal activity. Gorilla-Man had dumped a number of wiseguys into the water after they had tried to "liquidate" a former associate. Captain America and Bucky ran tirelessly through the Wall Street district looking for any sign of the Skull. Venus had called in with something about wanting to clean up the red light district. The Human Robot stood patiently at the George Washington Bridge, waiting for the jamming signal to commence.

Suddenly, a red light lit up on the tracker’s display board. The jamming signal was being broadcast! Marvel Boy worked feverishly to narrow down the frequency. Once this was accomplished, he needed to adjust the directional finder. He activated Interplanetary Cosmic Radio (ICR) and contacted the Human Robot.

"HR, I need you to head west in order to get a better fix."

"Understood and complying," the Human Robot quickly responded.

Marvel Boy looked at the screen in front of him. It looked similar to a radar screen with a very large blip. He now knew the general area. He could tell that the Human Robot was moving because the mechanical man’s actions were giving them a better fix and thus a smaller blip on the screen. Marvel Boy continued to adjust the dials until he acquired as good of location fix as he could. He called the Human Robot to stand by.

"I’ve got the location. I’m cross-referencing the city map now," Marvel Boy declared.

Marvel Boy quickly turned to the city map on the conference table. He took the position indicated on the tracker screen and translated it to the map. Moving slowly across the map, he pinpointed the location – the intersection of Tenth Street and Fifteenth Avenue. Marvel Boy called upon his extra-human powers of recall to remember what was at that intersection.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "That’s the broadcasting building for WMVI."

Marvel Boy dialed up a general call on the ICR. "Avengers. Converge on the radio station WMVI. Location – Tenth Street and Fifteenth Avenue."

Scribbling a quick note to leave on the table, Marvel Boy rushed upstairs to the parked Silver Bullet. He would find out his teammates’ locations once he was airborne and then would pick up those that were farthest from the radio station.

Inside of the WMVI building, the Red Skull was eagerly awaiting news of this latest operation. The target of the day was the First Manhattan Bank. While it was not a big player on the Wall Street scene, the bank did have a substantial amount of activity in the markets. The Red Skull had decided that they would ‘pay’ for their participation in the capitalist economy.

"Balinkov!" he called out. "How is the Destabilizer operating?"

"It is working perfectly, Comrade Skull," Balinkov replied. "All readings show optimal."

"Very good." The Red Skull decided that now would be a good time to revise his projections. Once the calculations were completed, he would send them by courier back to his superiors in Moscow. They would be delighted to hear about the progress of this insidious scheme.

"I’m going back into my office," the Red Skull declared. "See that I am not to be disturbed until today’s operatives have returned with their spoils." He walked back into the Station Manager’s Office, where the real station manager, Bob Richtermann, sat in a complete daze. Once in the office, the Red Skull unceremoniously pushed the Richtermann to the floor. The Red Skull sat down and began writing his report.

Venus had been the first to arrive. She sauntered around the building, looking for any signs of installed defenses. Seeing none, she provocatively approached the main door. Still nothing, although she could now see a pair of men staring at her from inside of the revolving door. She stood there, waiting, and eventually the desired result was achieved. The men came slowly out through the revolving door. Venus had noticed that Gorilla-Man stood poised on the second story roof of the next-door building while 3-D Man was rapidly running up Tenth Street. If anything happened, her "boys" would protect her.

Venus reached out with her love power. Some newspaper reporters had said that she had the ability to neutralise weapon of war. That was not completely true. She reached out with her power of love to the two men. She hoped to at least befuddle them, if not incapacitate them with feelings of love. She strained, but it seemed that all she would be able to do would be to confuse them; their feelings of love started and ended with the Soviet State. Once the men were mesmerized, Venus signaled for Gorilla-Man and 3-D Man to approach. With a couple of quick punches, the guards were rendered senseless.

As they dragged the guards to the road, Captain America and Bucky arrived via Fifteenth Avenue with the Human Robot on the verge of overtaking them. The Avengers now gathered together. Time was of importance here. The disappearance of the guards would be noticed. The bystanders were beginning to gather at the spectacle. That would likely alarm whoever the perpetrators were. Noting that the guards were armed, the Avengers figured that there would be more resistance inside.

Marvel Boy and Cold Warrior had not yet arrived. There was no time to wait for them. The Human Robot took the initiative and ran point right through the revolving doors. Captain America and Bucky followed close behind with the remaining Avengers bringing up the rear.

They all rushed through the lobby. The two guards they had incapacitated were the first line of defense. The Avengers expected more. When they burst into the programming room, they were greeted by a hail of gunfire. The bullets bounced off of the Human Robot’s metallic hide while the others sought cover.

Looking through the office window, the Red Skull could see the arrival of the heroes. He quickly flicked on the PA system and shouted out orders. "A thousand rubles bonus to anyone who kills one of these American costumed heroes!"

The Skull grabbed the pistol that was resting on the desk. His projections would have to wait until after the heroes were disposed of. In the flurry of activity, he could not recognize who the intruders were. He could make out that some sort of robot was leading the charge. He looked with derision at the crude shape of the mechanical man. "This is the work of the vaunted American industrial complex? Our Matrushka model is clearly superior."

The Skull began shooting through the glass at the heroes. His first shot shattered the glass separating his office from the studio. He could not see any targets so he rushed to join his underlings in engaging the Americans.

As he entered the programming studio, a disc-shaped object whirled past his head. It only took him a second to recognize what the object was – the dreaded shield of his nemesis Captain America. Was it the Captain that he had faced in the past, a previous holder of the title, or a recent successor? Regardless, the Skull would kill him and bring back the shield to the homeland as a prize.

Captain America’s rebounding shield had created a momentary lull in the gunfire as the Soviet agents ducked to avoid it. The Avengers took advantage of the opportunity and swarmed over the enemy.

The 3-D Man launched himself into a group of agents huddled behind a secretary’s desk. "From each according to his ability?" 3-D Man mocked. "Well, I have the strength of three men, so that means I better take out at least three of you." He pummeled one man to the floor before tackling two more together.

Venus picked up a playlist binder and walloped an agent over the head with it. The man struggled to stay conscious and succumbed to the pain in his head.

The Human Robot ignored all of the bullets that were ricocheting off of him as he tried to ascertain the exact location of the jamming. The few agents that tried to attack him physically were easily dismissed by his robotic strength.

Gorilla-Man was landing haymaker punches with devastating effect. It only took one of his punches to lay a Soviet agent low. He caught a glimpse or two of the menace behind all of this, the Red Skull, but he could never tear himself away from all of the opponents who were begging to be clobbered.

Bucky was jumping from desk to desk, peppering each agent that he encountered with a few rabbit punches before moving on to the next target. Though bullets zipped past him, the agents could not get a bead on him.

Captain America sized up his next shot. He saw two men rushing down the hallway at him. He judged the angles and figured he could bounce the shield down the hall, strike both men, and have it return to him. He let the disc go. The shield bounced back and forth down the hallway, taking out the first man, and then the second, but the shield then fell to the ground and rolled to the end of the hallway. There was no time to retrieve it now.

Bucky was fighting like a wildcat. This was what he loved most – battling against Communists. This time, at least, there was no doubt as to the loyalties of these opponents. They were staunch believers in communism and were dedicated to the destruction of capitalistic democracies.

Captain America looked up and saw that the Red Skull had leveled his pistol at Bucky. As he cursed himself for his last errant throw, he called out, "Bucky! Look out!" However, it was too late. The gun had been fired and the bullet found its mark. Bucky’s head snapped back and then the lad fell to the ground.

"BUCKY!!!" Captain America screamed. He threw off the men that were trying to grapple with him and headed straight for the Red Skull. Seeing this, the Skull began running in the opposite direction.

"Don’t let him catch me, or you’ll end up in Siberia!" the Red Skull called out. The Communist agents concentrated all of their fire on Cap’s rushing form. Cap was forced to drop to the ground and take cover behind an oak desk. The Red Skull used the opportunity to flee through a door at the far end of the room.

"This isn’t the end, foolish Americans," the Red Skull called out. "The Red Skull will return."

Cold Warrior and Marvel Boy came rushing in. The Cold Warrior had gotten himself helplessly lost in the urban jungle that was New York. When he finally had gotten his bearings, it was in an area filled with narrow streets and an even narrower alleyway. Marvel Boy had not been able to find a landing spot. He was forced to wait for Cold Warrior to make it up the roof of one of the many dingy tenement buildings before the Silver Bullet could head for the radio station.

"Stand aside," Cold Warrior ordered, once he saw Bucky’s condition. With careful and precise application, he used his cold-generating powers to slow down Bucky’s metabolic processes. He hoped that it would be enough to ensure that the lad would survive until an emergency medical team arrived. He could not tell how grave the damage was, but it certainly was much more than a flesh wound.

The other Avengers finished mopping up the rest of the Soviet agents. The Human Robot and Marvel Boy found the Frequency Destabilizer attached to the radio station’s master control panel. After a few minutes of investigation, they were able to disconnect the device.

Venus went over to a large conference room, where the mesmerized WMVI workers had been gathered. She was able to bring them out of their trance and back to a normal state of mind.

3-D Man and Gorilla-Man searched the building for any other Communist agents, but they found none. A quick check outside of the back door through which the Red Skull had fled showed the tire marks of an escape vehicle. As to where the Skull had fled, they had no idea.

Inside, Captain America hovered over Bucky’s still form as ambulance personnel came to take care of the boy. . "Bucky," he muttered through gritted teeth. "If the Skull’s killed you, I’ll have his head … literally."

Soviet Attack Submarine G-567 continued in its silent duty at the bottom of a deep trench in the Atlantic Ocean. They had been assigned this position the previous week and they still had a few weeks to go before they could return to port at Sevastapol. Her captain, Anatoly Koloskovich, was eager to finish this assignment. The men were beginning to become a little stir crazy. Some of them were discussing the rumors they heard shortly before they left port. Supposedly, another submarine had been sunk just outside of the North Sea. The official word out of North Atlantic command was that the vessel had suffered structural failure. However, over some drinks of vodka, members of the salvage crew said that the structural failure had come from the outside, that something had damaged the boat.

Koloskovich did not care what the reason behind the sinking of Submarine G-536 was, his only concern was that he ensured the safety of his boat. He went to the pilot’s station and checked the boat’s position and depth. Everything was in order, but that would not last long.

The monotonous silence of the deep was shattered with a resounding boom. The entire shipped rocked from its resting place. Sailors who were unprepared for the shock, which was most of the crew, were hurled about the ship.

"What was that?" Koloskovich demanded. He had righted himself by holding onto the periscope.

"We’ve been hit!" the first officer replied. The ship lurched again as it was struck with massive force.

The communications officer tore off his headset and screamed at the captain. "Reports coming in from all over the ship. We have water coming in everywhere. There’s a big hole in the engine room."

"Lenin’s ghost," Koloskovich gasped. "What could have done this? That was no torpedo. I know what torpedo impact feels like."

The regular lights turned off and were replaced with the ominous gloom of the red emergency lights. Sailors were rushing around, trying to stop leakage and put out some small fires that had erupted on the bridge.

"Captain, what are your orders?" the first officer demanded.

Koloskovich sized up the situation. He could see how much damage there was here on the bridge, and they were far from the point of impact. If he didn’t surface the ship now, it might never come up again. He sighed and then issued his orders. "Blow the tanks! We must surface immediately."

"But that will give our position away to the Americans," the first office replied.

"We will be of no service to the State if we are dead at the bottom of the ocean." Koloskovich went over to the pilot’s station. The button was pushed and the crew could hear the tanks being blown. The ship shook for a few moments and then the boat began to rise.

On the sea bottom, a humanoid watched with satisfaction as Submarine G-567 rose to the surface. The ‘aqua- man’, had apparently no need of mechanical assistance in dealing with the extreme pressure or the lack of air. His features were somewhat disguised in the murky depths, but there were a few noticeable oddities about him. His head was somewhat flat and his feet were marked with some kind of appendages.

"That’ll show those Commies to stay in their own waters," the ‘aqua-man’ stated proudly. With that, his body arched and then he propelled himself with inhuman speed along the seabed.

FLASHBACKWORDS

Previously in Avengers ’58: The team reforms at the request of the President to stop the Yellow Claw. The Avengers save California, but an atomic weapon destroys a town in Nevada. FBI Director has the anti-communist heroes Captain America and Bucky thawed out. Cap, Bucky, and Cold Warrior join the Avengers to stop the Red Skull from ruining Wall Street.

Now, onto a letter!

Thanks Barry. That means a lot coming from arguably our most prolific colleague. Cap and Bucky won't be cooling off for a while; I plan in having them appear quite regularly. As to what that means for their membership in Avengers '58, we'll have to wait and see until the new lineup shakes out in #9.

To find out about the second and third incarnations of the All-Winners Squad, check out All-Winners Squad by Jess Nevins. He’ll tell you about it in a future tale.

COVER CREDITS: Cap and Bucky from Avengers #46

NEXT ISSUE: An Avenger's Revenge

Bucky lies near death. Can he be saved? What will the Avengers do to the Red Skull if they find him?

Comments, criticisms, and concerns for FLASHBACKWORDS accepted at rgansler@facstaff.wisc.edu

The Avengers '58 web page is at http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~gansler/vamptales/vamptales.htm