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Invaders #17

Dec 1976
Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins

Story Name:

The Making of Warrior Woman, 1942!


Synopsis

Invaders #17 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 3.5 stars

At Berchtesgaden, the captive Invaders come face to face with their captor, Der Fuehrer Adolf Hitler himself. He speaks to them using a translator invented by the late genius Brain Drain, who also created the formula that gave Master Man his power. Captain America notices that Hitler is holding a copy of MAJOR VICTORY comic book by the imprisoned GI Biljo White, and tries to get him to reveal its importance. Hitler doesn't fall for the trick and leaves with Master Man and Sub-Mariner trading threats....

Elsewhere in the castle, Madame Ratsel (“Mystery”), who had captured the American disguised as his girlfriend Julia, now presides over his brutal interrogation. She wants to learn what he knows about the Super-Soldier Serum he mentions in his comic book but Biljo White denies knowing anything, having only used a phrase that was going around as a rumor. She hypnotizes him, which leads him to reveal he did know a scientist on the Super-Soldier project who mentioned Potassium as a key ingredient. Elated, she rushes to her lab to add the chemical to Brain Drain's formula which created Master Man. She intends to test the new formula on herself, wanting to prove superior to the men she despises. A quarrel with another officer leads to an explosion and Ratsel, enveloped in a gas, suddenly grows more powerful. The Invaders, hearing the explosion elsewhere in the castle, manage to escape their bonds and battle the Nazis; Namor and Master Man do battle while the Human Torch and Toro pursue Hitler. They have Der Fuehrer cornered when Madame Ratsel, now called Warrior Woman, blasts them with a fire hose and then punches them out. She dashes to the main fight and decks Bucky with a single blow, then picks up Cap and hurls him from the battlements. She and Master Man together take down Namor as Hitler gloats, ordering the four remaining Invaders (they assume Cap is dead) taken to Berlin where they will be publicly executed....


 

Review / Commentaries


Invaders #17 Review by (September 24, 2018)

Review: And so we have a new recurring villainess to contend with. A strong, powerful, confident woman who isn't exactly a role model as she is a fanatical Nazi, spouting comic book rhetoric (why not, she's in a comic book) and, since she's a strong woman according to the dictates of hack writers, must be smugly superior and hate men—and dress in a kinky black leather outfit. The speechifying comes off a bit silly, but as we've already mentioned that part of the charm of this retro comic book. Hitler comes off a bit silly too; it's only in retrospect, as Neo-Nazi sentiment is growing around the world, that such a course seems misguided. Otherwise, the issue is pretty cool with Master Man also becoming a forbidding villain too and the high level of action involved. The weirdest bit: comic book writer Biljo White really did know something about the Super-Soldier formula, probably the most unbelievable plot development in the series—which is in keeping with Marvel in the 1970s.

Comments: Part two of six parts. Origin of Warrior Woman a/k/a Krieg Frau. Her previous name is spelled both Ratsel and Ratzel.




> 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
George Roussos
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Joe Sinnott (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes

(James Barnes)
Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Human Torch
Human Torch

(Jim Hammond)
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner

(Namor McKenzie)
Toro
Toro

(Thomas Raymond)

Plus: Master Man, Warrior Woman.