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Tarot #1

Jan 2020
Alan Davis, Paul Renaud

Story Name:

(No title given)


Synopsis

Tarot #1 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

In WW2 France, the Invaders (Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch) come upon the scene of an allied defeat near a cemetery. Suddenly, Oberfuhrer Okkulte, Hitler’s chief wizard, appears and he makes the statues in the cemetery come to life and attack the heroes. The Invaders are nearly overcome by the stony enemies when Cap suddenly transforms into the Hulk, smashing all the statues to bits and causing Okkulte to flee in terror. When the ruckus is over, the Hulk returns to his Cap form (who is unaware of what just happened), leaving Torch and Namor in shock…

…and the incident is now remembered by Namor in modern day Arizona where the Defenders are preparing for action; Namor is confused by the sudden appearance of a new memory but he must keep his mind on the mission. The evil wizard Cyrus Black has enslaved a multitude of innocent citizens and is marching them into a narrow canyon so they can witness his triumph over the captive Doctor Strange. Strange springs his trap, showing he was never truly a captive and at his cue, Namor, Hulk, Valkyrie, and Silver Surfer leap into action, holding the possessed crowd at bay while Strange blasts the baddie in a magic duel. The people collapse and the evil pours out of them and Strange is able to catch all of the Infernal Ichor of Ish’izog in a cask of Cytorrak. Strange notes that not all the Ichor has been collected and mentally traces the remainder to Avengers Mansion. The Defenders step through a portal…

…and arrive at the Mansion to see Vision and Iron Man locked in battle. Captain America tells them to stay back while the Avengers handle the problem. With great pain, the Scarlet Witch casts a spell that shuts down the berserk android. Strange asks Wanda if the Ichor could have something to do with Vision’s breakdown, the Surfer helps Iron Man bring Vision in for repairs, and Thor asks Hulk and Valkyrie to help him shore up the damaged façade of the Mansion. Namor talks to Cap and finds that Cap doesn’t remember any such incident from the war and a database search yields no relevant information. Strange and Wanda trace the Ichor’s emanations and run into Diablo, the villainous alchemist, who reveals that he was unable to exert full control over Vision but his magic cards have allowed him to capture the minds of the Avengers and they have now caught the Defenders unaware and subdued them…and then he plays his last card: Dr. Strange himself….


 

Review / Commentaries


Tarot #1 Review by (January 1, 2020)

Review: Starting with a WW2 flashback and ending with a villain going Bwa-ha-ha, this story is quite entertaining though we would have to see more to make a final judgment. But an Avenger/Defenders War is in the offing and that sounds like fun. And of course, Cap Hulk has us curious. An interesting side bit: Thor tricks Hulk into holding up the heavy lintel by suggesting that only the Hulk would be strong enough to do that; Thor is pleased with his own cleverness but Valkyrie thinks it’s more of a Loki strategy.

Comments: Story is not quite set in the present day as Hulk is not the “Immortal” scary one and Valkyrie is Brunnhilde who was killed in the War of the Realms; Namor doesn’t seem to be at war with the surface world as in the 2019 INVADERS series and Cap isn’t a fugitive. Cyrus Black first appeared in DEFENDERS #6 and has returned very infrequently; Okkulte is new with this issue.  



> Tarot comic book info and issue index

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Preview Pages




Paul Renaud
Paul Renaud
Paul Mounts
Paul Renaud (Cover Penciler)
Paul Renaud (Cover Inker)
Paul Renaud (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steven Rogers)
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange

(Stephen Strange)
Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Human Torch
Human Torch

(Jim Hammond)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch

(Wanda Maximoff)
Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer

(Norrin Radd)
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner

(Namor McKenzie)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)
Valkyrie
Valkyrie

(Brunnhilda)

Plus: Cyrus Black, Okkulte.