Black Bolt takes off from the Great Refuge, leaving behind
his brother Maximus the Mad, unconscious and sealed in a capsule of metal and
glass. Medusa prevents Karnak and Gorgon from asking Black Bolt about it and
they conclude that BB means to murder his villainous brother….
Black Bolt flies over the sea, not noticing the greeting of
his cousin Triton, arriving in San Francisco at night. Near the docks he spies
a boy named Joey who is being forced by his uncle Roscoe and Roscoe’s band of
thieves, to break into a warehouse and unlock the door for them. Joey balks at
the openly criminal act and Roscoe brutally punches the boy. Black Bolt flies
into a rage and beats all the crooks into unconsciousness. To take the boy to a
hospital, BB realizes he must not attract attention so he removes his costume
and dons the clothes of one of the crooks….
In Attilan, Karnak and Gorgon encounter one another in the
dark while creeping to investigate the metal and glass capsule with Maximus
inside. Karnak deals it a mighty blow which fails to open the coffin; they try
together and now the capsule opens and as Maximus awakens a burst of brain-wave
energy emerges. It zaps around the world, hitting the disguised Black Bolt and
knocking him down. Joey draws him into hiding in an alley. Max reveals to his
two cousins that he has now developed a super-power: the ability to blank
people’s minds. Black Bolt kept him in the sealed casket to protect mankind and
now he is free; he also reveals that Black Bolt now suffers from amnesia,
meaning he will not remember that he cannot speak without causing massive
destruction. Even now, Joey is encouraging his rescuer to talk to him….
“…And to All a Good Night”
5/5
Writer: Roy Thomas. Pencils: Gene Colan. Inks: Bill Everett.
Colors: ? Letters: Artie Simek.
Synopsis: A young man is about to jump from a bridge when he
is halted by Ivan Petrovich who shows him the Black Widow’s calling card. The
young man is confused but Ivan bullies him into the car and locks the door,
calling to tell Natasha that they are coming, while she is in the shower. As
she dresses, Ivan brings the young man to Mammon Towers where a private
elevator takes them to the 22nd floor—its only stop. Natasha
introduces herself and persuades the young man to tell his story. He left Utah
to come to the big city to start a new, exciting life. While sleeping on a park
bench he was found by the Astrologer who had a “family” that robbed and stole
based on the Astrologer’s forecasts and the young man eagerly joined them. Then
the Astrologer outlined a plan to hijack all of the Type O-negative blood in
the city and hold it for ransom; the young man balked and was beaten up by the
Astrologer’s thugs. He fled and was planning suicide when Ivan Petrovich found
him. There is a phone call and it’s the Astrologer’s gang announcing they are
coming to kill the young man—and Natasha and Ivan….
The public elevator takes the bad guys only to the 21str
floor and when they walk up the last flight, they are met by Ivan who leaps
into battle. Other hoods climb down from the roof and Black Widow fights them
on the terrace. Then she is hit in the head so to protect her, the young man
throws himself at her attacker and both men go over the ledge to their deaths.
A shattered Natasha calls the police to report the death of a young man whose
name she didn’t know—but he was her friend….