Tuesday, June 20, 2023

I'm guessing he was the biggest fan of Iron Man's old skates. Somebody had to be.

I was thinking of this storyline the other day; and then happened into another copy of this issue: from 1986, Captain America #318, "Justice is Served!" Written by Mark Gruenwald, rough pencils by Paul Neary, finishes by Dennis Janke.
I don't know why the Marvel Database uses their "real" names, but his is used multiple times in the opening here: Roland Burroughs, better known as Death Adder. He was one of the creepier of the Serpent Squad and later joined the Serpent Society, and was the final hitter in one of their early successes, the assassination of MODOK. Today, he's ransoming Society washout Princess Python back to the Circus of Crime, when his serpent saucer is shot down and crashes into a tenement; which seems like it should attract more attention then it does. Adder was mute, an accident from when he was given gills, but was usually able to get his point across: he stashes the Princess, then hails a cab...and is promptly shot, another victim of the latex-mask wearing Scourge. (While it looks cool, nowadays you probably can't leave the masks behind like that; they're probably full of DNA!)
The next day, at Avengers Mansion, Captain America is moving in; although he tells current team chairwoman Wasp he probably wouldn't be around much. He planned on travelling the county, answering calls to his hotline, and helping where needed. He was going by van; and while Cap bought American, he does have it tricked out by Wakandans! Elsewhere, a nondescript car approaches a run-down looking bar; but it's nicer on the inside: the Bar With No Name, a hotspot for super-villains to drink, meet, and network. A lippy redhead stops in for a beer, and the bartender advises he might want a word with another patron: former Iron Man baddie Firebrand. Firebrand has a collection of newspaper clippings with murdered super-villains, and knows something is up, so he's trying to round up a group to find and kill the killer. The redhead, Blue Streak, claims he isn't a joiner and brushes him off.
Blue Streak? We've at least mentioned him before: along with fellow traitor the Vamp, he was part of the Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He appeared in Cap #229, which was part of a Whitman three-pack back in the day, and one of my first comics! He has a string of bad luck here, though: while he's able to run a cop off the road, later at a rest stop he's recognized by the plainclothes Cap. He tries for his laser and manages to blow up his own car, so he changes into his roller-skating gear; which likewise gives Cap time to suit up. With his shield, Cap clips one of Blue Streak's jets, so he wasn't able to escape at full speed, and Cap gives chase on the motorcycle he kept in his van. Fleeing on a curvy mountain road, he leaves tacks to try and stop Cap, and nearly gets him.
Coming around a corner, Cap finds a bent guardrail and a skate. Over the side, Cap can see Blue Streak's helmet, and climbs down to see if there was anything he could do. But, that was a trick: Blue Streak had left his skate and tossed his helmet. Unfortunately, Cap had taken the key to his motorcycle, so he couldn't just steal it and escape, but a passing truck offers him a lift...and promptly shoots him, Scourge again! "Justice is served, Blue Streak."  (How the truck got there is a bit of a mystery, since Blue Streak had left tacks all over the road.)

Like a bunch of Scourge's victims, Blue Streak was later brought back to life by the Hood...and then, like a bunch of Scourge's victims, killed again. His costume may have been passed on to someone else since; although I'd think twice. Seems unlucky.

1 comment:

Mr. Morbid said...

I kinda miss the old Scourge gimmick even if it got completely & overly complicated before it quietly faded into obscurity. Then again with death meaning less & less in the MU, what’s even the point of bringing the Scourge gimmick back?