Holiday Heroes MARVEL TEAM-UP "Spider-Man and The Watcher in 'Small Miracles' " Conclusion

We Have Already Seen... 


...attending Aunt May's Christmas party, Peter Parker discovers one of her friends, Arthur Chekov, in despair because his granddaughter, Bette didn't show up, and he's worried about her since he's her only surviving relative.

Peter attempts to console him when the webslinger's Spider-Sense goes off!

Excusing himself from the party, Peter goes to the darkened backyard to find...The Watcher...who says nothing, but hands him a glowing gem showing an image...of Chekov's grandaughter, Bette!

Taking this as a portent, Peter, now in costume, attempts to track down Bette, but can't!
Ol' Web-Head doen;t know how to proceed, when none other than the Star-Spangled Avenger himself, returing home via the rooftoops, finds him and offers to help...

Written by JM DeMatteis, penciled by Kerry Gamill, and inked by Mike Esposito, this never-reprinted Yuletide tale from Marvel Team-Up #127 (1983) offers a bit of insight into why the enigmatic Watcher doesn't just observe, but violates his race's version of the non-interference Prime Directive time and again, sometimes during Earth-shaking events, sometimes in matters affecting those who others might consider "unimportant".

Holiday Heroes MARVEL TEAM-UP "Spider-Man and The Watcher in 'Small Miracles' " Part 1

It's Christmas Eve in the MCU...

and a never-reprinted Yuletide tale from four decades ago is about to unfold!

Pay attention, True Believer...

Will Spider-Man Bette in time?

Will the Star-Spangled Avenger pop up again?

Will The Watcher just stand around and watch?

The answers to these and other annoying questions will be found

TOMORROW!

(Because unless you read this story when it came out, or picked it up as a back issue, you don't know what happens!)

Russkie-Smashers CAPTAIN AMERICA "His Touch is Death!"

For the 4th of July, We Decided to Go with the Russkies' Attempt to Create Their Own Super-Soldier...

...Albeit One Powered by Electricity!

BTW, note the difference between how Electro, the Russkie "Super-Soldier" is shown on the cover and inside, even though both cover and interior art are by the same artist...John Romita Sr!

It's likely they were done a couple of months apart.

This cover-featured story from Atlas' Captain America V1N78 (1954) is written by Don Rico and illustrated by John Romita Sr.

Trivia: The name "Electro" was used by numerous heroes and villains at various comics publishers during the Golden Age, including a heroic robot appearing in Timely's Marvel Mystery Comics for several issues, making Ivan Kronov the second Timely/Atlas/Marvel character (and first villain) to use the name.
There have been two unrelated Marvel villains known as "Electro" since; Max Dillon and Francine Frye.

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Decades

Marvel in the '50s

Captain America Strikes!

(Which reprints this story)
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Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Captain America Turns Traitor!"

Last Time, We Presented a Captain America Pastiche...

...This Time, He's the Real Deal!

(At least 1950s readers thought he was, though he was later retconned into one of several Cap replacements before the real Star-Spangled Avenger was defrosted by The Avengers!)

The Super-Soldier Serum makes Cap invulnerable to psyche-controlling drugs?

Written by Don Rico and illustrated by John Romita Sr, this tale from Atlas' Young Men Comics #26 (1954) also features Bucky killing an entire Russkie sub crew!

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Decades

Marvel in the '50s

Captain America Strikes!

(Which reprints this story)

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Russkie-Smashers YOUNG MEN COMICS "Captain America: Back from the Dead!"

Wonder why Simon & Kirby created Fighting American?

Because Atlas (Once Timely, later Marvel) didn't ask them to handle this revival of the character they created, so they decided to show how it should be done!
Now., let's look at what inspired them to do a new patriotic superhero...

Written by Don Rico and illustrated by John Romita Sr (with a splash panel by Mort Lawrence), this story from Atlas' Young Men #24 (1953) ostensibly continued the adventures of Captain America, Bucky, and The Red Skull from the 1940s.
When Cap was revived in 1964, this (and other 1950s Atlas superhero tales) were considered apocryphal, since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby postulated the Star-Spangled Avenger had been frozen since the end of World War II until he was defrosted in Marvel's The Avengers V1N4 (1964).

But, in 1968, writer Stan Lee, pencilers Larry Lieber and John Romita Sr and inker "Mickey Demeo" (actually Mike Esposito), revealed the 1950s Red Skull was a Russkie imposter who killed CIA agents Richard and Mary Parker (Peter Parker/Spider-Man's parents) in Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (1968)

Then, in 1972, writer Steve Englehart and penciler Sal Buscema revived the 1950s Cap and Bucky, showing them to be government-approved replacements for the original Cap and Bucky in Marvel's Captain America and the Falcon #153-156 (1972...

...thereby bringing their 1950s tales (and, presumably the Sub-Mariner's and Human Torch's 1950s stories) into official continuity!
It also created the concept that others filled-in for Cap and Bucky during that era.
In fact, the "1950s Cap" is actually now considered the fourth official "Captain America", after already-existing patriot-themed heroes The Patriot and Spirit of 76 filled-in in the 1940s after Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were believed to be KIA (Killed in Action)!

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Marvel MasterWorks
Atlas-Era Heroes
Volume 1

(which features this tale)