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Invaders #20

Mar 1977
Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins

Invaders #20 cover

Story Name:

The Battle of Berlin!


Synopsis

Invaders #20 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 3.5 stars

With the execution of the Invaders only seconds away, Adolf Hitler is surprised by WWI British hero Union Jack swinging down to their rescue. Captain America and Spitfire immediately recognize the new hero as her brother Brian a/k/a the Mighty Destroyer as the Invaders join in the battle. Human Torch creates a fire shield protecting his teammates but Toro's flame is not hot enough to prevent Nazi bullets from hitting him. An enraged Torch immolates the soldier who shot Toro and Bucky hustles his wounded compatriot to safety as the Sub-Mariner enters the fray. Inside the building, Hitler commands the wedding of Warrior Woman and Master Man to proceed but a collapsing wall kills the minister—to WW's relief. Hitler hastily pronounces them man and wife so they can join the fight below. Warrior Woman is more than a match for Cap and Union Jack until Torch leaps to their aid; a weakened Namor has trouble with Master Man until the Nazi hero inadvertently knocks Namor into a fountain, restoring his full strength. At the airfield, Hitler, accompanied by Dr Dietrich and carrying Cap's shield, boards a plane, planning to bomb the city and destroy the Invaders but he is unaware his enemies are closer than he thinks, as Dyna-Mite is clinging to the underside of the shield....

Sub-Mariner

Writer: Bill Everett. Art: Bill Everett.

Synopsis: Two divers from a salvage ship encounter Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, underwater; assuming they are robots, Namor kills them, then sinks their ship and takes the bodies back home for trophies. Opening them up, Namor discovers they are Earth-men, for which his mother praises him. He asks why the Earth-men are so bad if his father was one; Princess Fen relates how the surface men inadvertently destroyed much of the undersea city with explosives. Fen was sent up to spy on them but she fell in love with Commander Leonard McKenzie and they were married—but further bombings nearly wiped out the undersea race. So now, twenty years later, their numbers have increased to send a fighting force above, and Namor is chosen to lead the army into battle....


 

Review / Commentaries


Invaders #20 Review by (October 15, 2018)

Review: An all-fighting issue is quite a rush even though it's only half the promised story. Portrayal of real-life characters in comics is an interesting topic for exploration but I find it hard to believe Hitler was such a screaming fanatic and coward as this issue makes him out to be; such an obvious idiot would not have risen to Hitler's heights of power so it must be a bit of verisimilitude on Roy Thomas' part to echo the portrayals of Der Fuehrer in the authentic wartime stories. The Golden Age reprint is a nice addition backing up that nostalgic echo.

Comments: Part five of six parts. First (full) appearance of the second Union Jack, Brian Falsworth. Second story reprinted from MOTION PICTURE FUNNIES WEEKLY (1939)--the first appearance of Sub-Mariner, later expanded and printed in MARVEL COMICS #1. The editor explains that the lead story was cut in two so they could present Namor's original origin, though a deadline problem is more likely.

Period Pop-Culture Details: The Bobbsey Twins (a popular series of children's books featuring two pairs of twins), Joe Palooka, Popeye, and Big Ben Bolt (a trio of comic strip characters, known for their strength, Joe and Ben being boxers and Popeye being an adventurous sailor man). Then there's the two fingered “V” sign; palm out it means “Victory,” palm in it is an extremely insulting gesture, a tip off that Hitler's pilot is one of the good guys.




> Invaders comic book info and issue index

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Holy smokes, Batman!
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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Frank Robbins
Frank Springer
Don Dickens
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Frank Giacoia (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)


Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes

(James Barnes)
Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Human Torch
Human Torch

(Jim Hammond)
Spitfire
Spitfire

(Jacqueline Falsworth)
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner

(Namor McKenzie)
Toro
Toro

(Thomas Raymond)
Union Jack
Union Jack

(Brian Falsworth)
Plus: Dyna-Mite (Roger Aubrey), Master Man, Warrior Woman.

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