Featuring: Captain America
Release: September 8, 1966
Cover: December 1966
12 cents
A Stan Lee * Jack Kirby powerhouse production
Delineated by: Fearless Frankie Giacoia
Lettered by: Swingin’ Sammy Rosen
10 pages
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After all these years… all the countless battles… and the scars which will never fade… here I stand… still a loner– a human anachronism. All I’ve ever loved… all I’ve held dear… vanished with the past… while the memories remain to haunt me forever! But, I must be true to my trust! Every man has a purpose… a destiny to fulfill… and, whatever mine may be… I’ll never shirk it!
Captain America calls in the Avengers to deal with the Adaptoid. The Tumbler he just left to the police.
Hawkeye recalls the original Avengers foe the Space Phantom, and suspects a connection. But Cap notes the Adaptoid is a robot, while Space Phantom was an alien. Goliath and Wasp, the only ones present who actually fought the Space Phantom, do not weigh in.
Cap credits Nick Fury and SHIELD with destroying AIM, but really AIM was destroyed from within, perhaps by Hydra resurrected.
Hawkeye seems impressed Adaptoid stood his own against the Tumbler. Why would this be impressive?
Hank and Wasp don’t find this urgent enough to stay and hang out. They have to go take care of some pressing “Avengers business”. Just the two of them. Alone.
Hawkeye is going to go find Black Widow, presumably also to take care of some Avengers business.
Black Widow by this point seems fully reformed, and even just helped the Avengers defeat the Sons of the Serpent.
While the others go off to their Avengers business, Captain America again leaves the Adaptoid unguarded and reminisces about being a man out of time.
The Avengers underestimated the Adaptoid. While he appeared to lay there helpless, he recorded each of them in the room, and now can take on all their forms and powers.
At this point, every superhero team has a foe with their combined powers. The Fantastic Four had Super-Skrull. The X-Men had Mimic. And now the Avengers have, not the Adaptoid, but the Super-Adaptoid!
Unfortunately, he could mimic and combine their forms and powers, but not their color schemes. He’s a garish green. Which admittedly is one of the two colors of super-villains.
He’s really powered up, as he not only has Hawkeye’s abilities, but also has his own arrows somehow. When he absorbed Cap’s powers, he had to steal the shield. But now he’s the Super-Adaptoid. He also has his own copy of Cap’s shield now.
Cap’s plan was to goad him into flying. I find this a questionable plan.
“Your death shall be glorious… like the end of a falling star!”
Super-Adaptoid is no longer getting messages from AIM. He doesn’t know they are destroyed and fears they just no longer have use for him. He flees.
Stan’s dialogue claims that Cap ultimately found victory.
I don’t agree. Cap got his butt handed to him. The Super-Adaptoid chose to leave after leaving Cap to drown. Cap’s victory is not dying.
It’s not often that our heroes don’t win. Spider-Man tends to lose the first fight but then come back strong. The Fantastic Four were defeated by the Frightful Four in issue 38, but had their rematch and victory soon after.
But it will be a long time before Cap faces the Super-Adaptoid again. So there’s no real victory in sight here.
Letters page:
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 55/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I gave the introduction of the Adaptoid 4 stars in significance. I don’t think I can justify doing the same for his transformation into the Super-Adaptoid. Perhaps I was backwards and I should call this one the significant issue.
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Captain America vol. 2.
Characters:
- Goliath
- Hawkeye
- Captain America
- Wasp
- Adaptoid/Super-Adaptoid
Story notes:
- Hawkeye suspects Adaptoid is the Space Phantom, but Cap notes Adaptoid is an android, and Space Phantom was an alien.
- By appearing in front of him, Adaptoid was able to record all their forms and powers.
- Adaptoid now Super-Adaptoid.
- Super-Adaptoid can turn Cap into an adaptoid, and then make an army of adaptoids.
- Super-Adaptoid receives no new messages from AIM, not appreciating they are no more. He fears his creators will destroy him if he is no longer useful, so he goes to seek a refuge.
| Previous | #591 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Tales of Suspense #84 | Reading order | Tales to Astonish #84 |
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