Monday, January 14, 2019

Say what you will about Batroc, he is inclusive...


The last Spider-Man/Captain America team-up we checked out tied into Spidey's current continuity quite a bit; this time was more on Cap's side: from 1976, Marvel Team-Up #52, "Danger: Demon on a Rampage!" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Mike Esposito.

A demon appears through a strange portal, arriving in the middle of a New York City street; it's shortly followed by the Falcon, his girlfriend Leila, Texas Jack, then a bunch of mentally ill extradimensional refugees, then finally Captain America! Where did they come from? The end of Captain America #203, a Jack Kirby issue involving the Night People and a standoff against demons. Cap doesn't really have time to recap anything, since Falcon was still brainwashed and crazy; the cops were rounding up the "madmen," and one patrolman is already blaming Spider-Man for this mess. The demon is seemingly forgotten, and wanders down an alley near the penthouse hideout of none other than Batroc the Leaper! Calling it "le diable," Batroc befriends it quickly. Enh, it could do worse.

Almost immediately thereafter, Batroc and Diable hit a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport, hoping to make off with some "trans-uranium." Cap was already in the area, and Spidey shows up shortly, cue four page fight. Le Diable begins glowing at the end of it, though; which Cap finds troubling even if Batroc thinks he's just trying to scare him. The poor monster fights his way onto a ferry, struggling to find a way home...to a dimension Cap may have already blown up. Together Cap and Spidey blow up Diable as well, with Spidey having at least the decency to feel kind of bad about it.

Later, as Peter Parker gets his aunt from the hospital (and Mary Jane needles him) he sees a moping Cap, and wonders what it would be like to be an adored hero like him, with no problems...as his internal monologue goes on and on about his problems. Cap is seemingly still worried about the Falcon, who might've been okay by their next issue, so maybe Peter has a point.

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