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Invaders #15

Oct 1976
Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins

Story Name:

God Save the King!


Synopsis

Invaders #15 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 2.5 stars

The gathered Invaders discuss the new hero team the Crusaders, with Human Torch and Toro inclined to distrust them but Spitfire recognizing them as authentically British and so advising accepting them as genuine. She also points out that her teammates' suspicions of the new heroes could have applied equally well to the Invaders. The discussion is heated and drives a wedge between Torch and Spitfire. Captain America decides to give the new heroes the benefit of the doubt. After the meeting, Jacqueline's father has something to tell her....

Aboard a broken-down ship at a Thames dock, the Crusaders are meeting in secret, wondering why they were chosen to be costumed heroes or how their powers work. Their liaison, Alfie the cabbie, arrives and reminds them that he chose them and gave them their powers for a higher purpose. He then offers “evidence” that the Invaders are really Nazi spies and claims they were chosen to fight them. Only Dyna-Mite, trapped in his miniature form, is totally unsatisfied with that explanation. He then drives to another secluded waterfront spot and reports to his Nazi masters that a bomb will be in the bottle of champagne the King will use to christen the new ship and the Crusaders have been duped into making sure everything goes well. Dyna-Mite has stowed away in Alfie's coat pocket and heard everything but is clobbered and dumped in the river by the villain. The gravely injured hero makes his way to Farnsworth Manor to warn the Invaders about the coming catastrophe....

The next day, the Invaders arrive at the docks to interrupt the christening ceremony. The new heroes battle the old heroes and Human Torch seizes the booby-trapped bottle and tosses it to Sub-Mariner who hurls it far away where it explodes harmlessly. Alfie makes his getaway but Torch is forced to send his cab over a bridge to prevent his crashing into oncoming cars. The Crusaders realize they were Nazi dupes, having lost their powers with the destruction of Alfie's control device, and give up their heroic identities....

Epilogue: The Invaders return to Farnsworth Manor to find that Lord Farnsworth and Jacqueline have gone away with Dyna-Mite, leaving a note that the Invaders not follow them lest they be forced to fight them to the death....


 

Review / Commentaries


Invaders #15 Review by (September 10, 2018)

Review: So...a new team of heroes turns out to be a bunch of Nazi dupes? Wait, if the Nazis have the ability to grant people superpowers, why are they wasting them on six British subjects and not creating an army of superstrong, electrical, flying German troops? Especially since the Crusaders were entirely irrelevant to the assassination plot against the King. And the destruction of the control device causes the heroes to lose their powers? All except Dyna-Mite? Seems to me too much effort was put into creating these characters when five of them turned out to be completely useless in part two of the tale. As it transpires, the only point of interest lies in the hints of something not right with Dyna-Mite and the Farnsworths and this will be cleared up in later issues.

Comments: Part two of two parts. The title comes from the British National Anthem, with a more literal spin. As mentioned last issue, this is the final appearance of the Crusaders, save for Dyna-Mite who returns in issue #18. On the cover, Spitfire and Tommy Lightning seem awfully huge to be fighting on Tower Bridge. And Frank Robbins, WW2 buff, gets to draw some accurate airplanes on the splash page.




> Invaders comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
DIAMOND SELECT TOYS Marvel Premier Collection: Avengers Endgame Captain America Statue, Multicolor
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Frank Robbins
Frank Springer
Don Warfield
Jack Kirby (Cover Penciler)
Joe Sinnott (Cover Inker)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

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)

Plus: Dyna-Mite (Roger Aubrey).