Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 15: The Massacre at the Bar with No Name

This is part fifteen of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

CAPTAIN AMERICA#319 by Mark Gruenwald (writer) and Paul Neary & Joe Sinnott (artists) 

Victims: Gary Gilbert (formerly Firebrand), Bird-Man (Archille DiBacco), Turner D. Century (Clifford F. Michaels), Cheetah (Esteban Carracus), Commander Kraken (real name unknown), Cyclone (Andre Gerard), Grappler (real name unknown), Hellrazor (real name unknown), Hijacker (Howard Mitchell), Jaguar (Ramon De Rico), Letha (Hellen Feliciano), Mind-Wave (Erik Gelden), Mirage (Desmond Charne), Rapier (Dominic Tyrone), Ringer (Anthony Davis), Shellshock (Gary Buser), Steeplejack (Maxwell Plumm), Vamp (Denise Baranger)
Disguise: Jake (bartender)
Synopsis: After Captain America apprehends Blacklash, Blacklash admits that he is resorting to jewelry heists because he expects to be killed by the super-villain serial killer, known to Captain America to be Scourge, and wants to put away enough money to support his mom after he's gone. Sidewinder brings Death Adder's corpse to the Serpent Society Headquarters and orders the super-villain team to track down the killer. At the Bar with No Name Gary Gilbert meets with Ramon "Jaguar" De Rico and Hellen "Letha" Feliciano and they agree to help; Letha has a personal stake as Scourge killed her friend Titania. Captain America learns from his allies Stars and Stripes who all Scourge has killed thus far. The Serpent Society's leads go nowhere. Gary Gilbert chats with Jake the bartender before meeting with Anthony "the Ringer" Davis. Captain America visits Greg "Foolkiller" Salinger; while that proves to be a dead end, Serpent Society agent Diamondback is pursuing the same lead and they  join forces. Gary talks to Jake about the security measures being taken for an upcoming meeting at the bar. Captain America starts to part ways with Diamondback when her flirtation goes too far but she is shot by someone Captain America initially believes to be Scourge but who proves to be a farmer thinking there were Martians in his field. Captain America arranges hospital Care for Diamondback. Seventeen super-villains join Greg and Jake for a super-villain meeting, those villains with gadgets being forced to remove them in case Scourge is posing as a super-villain. The villains start to argue with one another as to the plan. Greg tries to maintain order and hear the plans one at a time. Jake says, "Say Gary -- may I make a suggestion? You could all... eat lead and die!" Jake opens fire with two semi-automatic guns with explosive bullets at the same time at the same time, so there's no chance to veto that particular suggestion. After the shooting stops, Jake, removing his mask says, "Dead -- all eighteen of them! Justice is served!"
Is this a key part of the overall Scourge storyline? Oh yes. Aside from being a key part of the Hunt for Scourge story, it's his greatest success, though it also plays into his downfall in the next issue.
Does this tie into the main story in this issue? It is the main story this time.
Postmortem use of victims:•    Firebrand: Greg Gilbert was brought back from the dead but then almost immediately after killed again by the Punisher. Subsequent Firebrands include Russ Broxtel, Rick Dennison, and Amanda (surname unknown);
•    Bird-Man: Archille DiBacco was revived by the Hood. He has an unidentified successor and is himself a successor to Henry Hawk as Bird-Man; Arnim Zola created a proto-husk of him prior to his revival;
•    Turner D. Century: Clifford F. Michaels was revived by the Hood. There have been no subsequent villains named Turner D. Century, though Arnim Zola created a proto-husk of him prior to his revival;
•    Cheetah: Esteban Carracus was revived by the Hood but killed again soon after by the Punisher. There have been no subsequent Cheetahs, though Arnim Zola created a proto-husk of him prior to his revival;
•    Commander Kraken: He has no successors and has appeared in Pluto’s Underworld, still deceased;
•    Cyclone: Andre Gerard was revived by the Hood but killed again soon after by the Punisher. Gregory Stevens took over the identity but was killed soon after. Pierre Fresson is active as the third Cyclone; Arnim Zola created a proto-husk of him prior to his revival;
•    Grappler: Grappler remains dead and has no successors;
•    Hellrazor: Hellrazor remains dead and has no successors;
•    Hijacker: Howard Mitchell was revived by the Hood but killed again by Venom; he has no successors as Hijacker;
•    Jaguar: Ramon De Rico remains dead; while using the name Jaguar, Major Buxley is likely not a true successor;
•    Letha: Hellen Feliciano was revived by the Hood; there have been no subsequent characters usuing the name Letha;
•    Mind-Wave: Erik Gelden was revived by the Hood but killed again soon after by the Punisher; there have been no subsequent Mind-Waves
•    Mirage: Desmond Charne was revived by the Hood; Boomerang apparently subsequently killed him again; while two subsequent characters used the name Mirage prior to his death, neither have any connection to Charne; Arnim Zola created a proto-husk of him prior to his revival;
•    Rapier: Dominic Tyrone has not been revived nor have there been any subsequent Rapiers;
•    Ringer: Anthony Davis: despite his body being seen by Water Wizard and Captain America, Anthony Davis was found barely alive by AIM agents, saved, and brought back as Strikeback. However he eventually did die from Scourge’s wound after his Strikeback armour broke down. His wife Leila Davis used his equipment for a time as Hardshell. Keith Kraft is the current Ringer;
•    Shellshock: Gary Buser has not been revived nor have there been any subsequent Shellshocks;
•    Steeplejack: Maxwell Plumm has not been revived; while not the first Steeplejack, there have been no subsequent Steeplejacks, though Jack Monroe as a later version of Scourge used his welding gun;
•    Vamp: Denise Baranger remains deceased, though Arnim Zola created proto-husks of both her Vamp and Animus identities.
Other comments: This issue was the start of the Captain America/Diamondback romance, though it wasn’t particularly romantic at this stage. It is unrevealed if Scourge created the Jake identity from scratch or if he usurped the real Jake’s identity; Jake is dark haired in #318 and blond here, but that is likely just a colouring error; most likely Scourge had been setting this trap for a while. The Ringer’s revival seems unlikely because his body was still there hours later, having been seen by both Water Wizard and Captain America, and subsequent news footage seemed to include the Ringer in the body count. Also, the wound was in a location that should have been fatal given the amount of time that had passed (very close to the heart). The villains aren’t directly depicted as dying here; a panel shows Scourge opening fire and then standing in front of the corpses. Various entries of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe v2 (Deluxe Editions) depict the deaths directly for the first time in the Book of the Dead issues (16-20); #16 credits this new art to James Fry and Josef Rubinstein. Many of the Bar with No Name death illustrations depict characters other than the subject of the entry dying, as follows:
•    #16 Turner C. Century: Turner C. Century;
•    #16 Cheetah: figure in shadows, Bird-Man, Commander Kraken, Cheetah;
•    #16 Commander Kraken: Cheetah, Commander Kraken, Bird-Man;
•    #16 Cyclone: three figures in shadows, Cyclone;
•    #18 Letha: Letha;
•    #18 Mirage I: Mirage;
•    #19 Ringer: Ringer;
•    #20 Vamp: Vamp, Turner D. Century.

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 14: Blue Streak

This is part fourteen of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

CAPTAIN AMERICA#318 by Mark Gruenwald (writer) and Paul Neary & Dennis Janke (artists)
Victim: Blue Streak (Don Thomas)
Disguise: Trucker
Synopsis: Blue Streak, out of costume, has a drink at the Bar with No Name. The bartender tells him to speak to a man in a booth who identifies himself as Gary Gilbert, formerly Firebrand. Gilbert tells Blue Streak that he has pieced togther that there is a serial killer targeting super-villains and is trying to organize an underground network to track the killer. Blue Streak declines to join up. Subsequently he ends up at the same rest stop as Steve Rogers, who recognizes him. They get into a fight, Blue Streak believing Rogers to be a SHIELD agent and soon after changes into his new costume while Rogers changes into Captain America. After moire fighting, Blue Streak gets away and he picked up by a trucker. He mentions to the trucker that the trucker must be wondering about the way he's dressed. The trucker replies, "Not at all," shoots him, and declares, "Justice is served, Blue Streak!"
Is this a key part of the overall Scourge storyline? Definitely. We learn that super-villains are finally starting to organize again the threat.
Is this part of the main story? Yes. In this case the main story is about two things: the hunt for Scourge, and Captain America's clash with Blue Streak, the outcome of the latter tying into the former.
Postmortem use of victim: Don Thomas was resurrected by the Hood and then promptly killed again by the Punisher's ally, Henry Russo. There is one confirmed successor, Jonathan Swift who may or may not be the same Blue Streak as a psychic who was killed by Bullseye. There is another Bluestreak in the alternate reality MC2 (Blue Kelso) but while really fast there is reason to believe she was away of the earlier villains.
Other comments: Death Adder also dies in this story at Scourge's hand. See the last post. Blue Streak claims not to be a joiner despite having infiltrated SHIELD on behalf of the Corporation; likely he was using shorthand for "I've been a joiner in the past but it ended badly so no more". Blue Streak's real name wasn't revealed until later, hence his being referred to as Blue Streak even out of costume. Oddly, Blue Streak's new high tech gear appears just in time for Scourge to kiil him in it; this may have been a bit of misdirection for the readers, making his death slightly more of a disguise.  As with Titania, Blue Streak's death is not directly shown though through the dialogue is confirmed. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe v2#16 (i.e. Book of the Dead Deluxe Edition) shows his death for the first time. He was shot in the head rather than through the chest like most hits, probably due to where both were sitting in the truck. The same issue credits James Fry and Josef Rubinstein as the artists drawing previously not depicted deaths in this Handbook series. The bartender's name is given as Jake in the next issue. One of the newspaper clippings is for Wraith; however, Scourge didn't kill Wraith until later.

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 13: Death Adder

This is part thirteen of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

CAPTAIN AMERICA#318 by Mark Gruenwald (writer) and Paul Neary & Dennis Janke (artists)
Victim: Death Adder (Roland Burroughs)
Disguise: Cab driver
Synopsis: After something hits the Serpent Society saucer, Death Adder, en route to transport Princess Python back to the Circus of Crime, crash-lands the aircraft. He hides away Princess Python, keep her safe due to her random value. He blocks the path of a cab and tosses out a passenger, getting in himself. After the cab driver drives Death Adder a ways, talking all the while, he shoots Death Adder through the right front seat. The driver removes a face mask and declares, "Justice is Served, Death Adder."
Does this tie into the Scourge storyline? More or less. This story begins the hunt for Scourge story, but this hit occurs before we see any of the organized attempts to stop Scourge in action.
Is this part of the main story? Pretty much since it's the opening scene of a storyline about Scourge
Postmortem use of victim: Roland Burroughs was revived by the Hood, albeit in mutated state, but was subsequently killed by Venom. Between his first death and his revival, Ted Scott took on the identity of Death Adder.
Other comments: Oddly, Scourge says, "Justice is Served, Death Adder" instead of just 'Justice is Served." It is likely that Scourge was somehow responsible for the saucer crashing. Given that, it is unclear why he would accept a passenger after a hit had begun; possibly another Scourge shot the saucer and the Scourge depicted had no chance to ditch his fare once the hit commenced. Death Adder hiding Princes Python away likely saved her life. Another hit occurs in the same issue. See next post. 

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 12: Human Fly

This is part twelve of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN#276 by Tom DeFalco (writer) and Ron Frenz (artist)
Victim: Human Fly (Richard Deacon)
Disguise: Psychiatric ward orderly/garbage man
Synopsis: Two orderlies at a psychiatric ward, one new, bring garbage to the Human Fly's room for food, only to find he has escaped. Later, near a trash bin, the Human Fly spots Spider-Man, then notices a garbage man who has a strong resemblance to the new orderly (the Human Fly had escaped before he could spot the orderlies). Dismissing the garbage man as not a threat, he flies after Spider-Man. The garbage man shoots the Human Fly and declares, "Justice is Served!"
Is this a key part of the overall Scourge story? No.
Does This tie into the main story in this issue? No. The main story dealt with Spider-Man battling the Hobgoblin.
Portmortem use of victim: Richard Deacon was revived by the Hood. There have been no subsequent villains called the Human Fly or the Fly; see below, however.
Other comments: The Human Fly acquired his taste for garbage in Spectacular Spider-Man #86. His not noticing the gun with his eyes is likely the result of his focus on Spider-Man. At the time he was also called the Fly, presumably to avoid confusion with the superhero/real-life stuntman called the Human Fly (who made his first Marvel appearance less than a year after the villain's first appearance), but the full version of his code name is used here. This is the only time a failed hit subsequently became a successful hit.

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 11: Hammer and Anvil

This is part eleven of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

MARVEL FANFARE#29 by John Byrne (writer/artist)
Victims: Hammer and Anvil (Leroy Jackson and John Anvil)
Disguise: Elderly First Nations man
Synopsis: the Hulk encounters an elderly First Nations man in the desert, who manages to calm the Hulk first by talking and behaving peacefully towards him, then by using neuro-tranquilizing vapours. The old man is clearly expecting additional company, who prove to be Hammer and Anvil. They attack the Hulk from behind. The old man shoots Hammer in the head. With their Anvil's life force linked to Hammer's by a chain, Anvil dies as well, and the old man/Scourge declares, "Justice is Served!" A confused Hulk finds Scourge's discarded disguise.
Is is a key part of the overall Scourge storyline? No.
Is it part of the first main story in this issue? Yes, since the the only character in the story besides Hulk and the villains turns out to be Scourge, who apparently learned that Hammer and Anvil were going to attack the Hulk and so used the Hulk as bait.
Postmortem use of victims: Leroy Jackson and John Anvil have not been revived, nor has there been a new Hammer and Anvil team as of February 2015.
Other comments: This story was published out of sequence (after Captain America #320) but takes place roughly here. The Scourge trade places it after Amazing Spider-Man #276 but Handbooks place it right before that issue. While not the only story in Marvel Fanfare #29, it is the main one, all done in full pages, with pages with a cartoon Al Milgrom discussing the story right before and after the story. It is unclear if this was an inventory story leftover from John Byrne's short lived Hulk run, or if Byrne did one more Hulk story specifically for Marvel Fanfare. If so, then this made be the first story written and drawn to focus on Scourge (as opposed to Scourge being a peripheral character), though it's not the first story to do so in publication order. Anvil's death is the only time a villain died indirectly rather than directly from a Scourge attack.

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 10: Basilisk

This is part ten of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

FANTASTIC FOUR#289 by John Byrne (writer and artist)
Victim: Basilisk (Basil Elks)
Disguise: Construction worker
Synopsis: Basilisk crawls up from the construction area of the then-future Four Freedoms Plaza after killing a construction worker. He brags about his return and starts declaring his plans. Another construction worker shoots him out of the building and declares, "Justice is Served!"
Is the story key to the overall Scourge storyline? No.
Does the scene tie into the main story in this issue? Not really, beyond tying into the subplot of the new headquarters being built.
Postmortem use of victim: There was a Basilisk before and after Elks, but none of them have any real connection to one another. Basil Elks was revived by the Hood.
Other comments: This was the first time Scourge was written and drawn by John Byrne, who came up with the name Scourge.

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 9: Titania

This is part nine of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

THE THING#33 by Mark Gruenwald (writer) and Ron Wilson & Kim DeMulder (artists)
Victim: Titania (Davida DeVito)
Disguise: Golddigger, a female wrestler
Synopsis: With the Grapplers now gone legit as wrestlers, Titania takes a shower after losing a match with Battleaxe. One of the other female wrestlers, Golddigger shoots her with an explosive bullet, declaring "Justice is Served!" She makes a getaway, claiming it was a man who killed Titania; The Thing suspects Golddigger is the actual killer but is blocked by a distraught Battleaxe, who finds the body and is fooled by Golddigger's story.
Is this a key part in the Scourge story? Somewhat. It would be hard for a male to fit into the Golddigger disguise, making this the first indication that there might be more than one Scourge, who is female; all previous instances of a female Scourge could be attributed to a man in drag.
Does this tie in to the main story in this issue? A lot of the issue is devoted to reintroducing the Grapplers and establishing them as legit wrestlers so it ties in in that sense.
Postmortem use of victim: Another Titania, Mary MacPherson was already active at this point. Davida DeVito is later revived by the Hood and takes on the alias Lascivious.
Other comments: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition claims that Golddigger was in fact the original Scourge, unlikely as that may seem, but subsequent Handbooks treat this Scourge as agent Caprice, making this Caprice's first appearance. An actual Golddigger, Angela Golden later turns up. It is unclear if Caprice was impersonating Golden or if Golden co-opted Caprice's abandoned alias. Probably due to her being naked, we don't actually die Titania die, just Scourge opening fire and then Battleaxe finding the body. Her actual death is depicted in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe v2#20 (i.e. Book of the Dead Deluxe Edition); #16 credits all death scenes drawn for the Book of the Dead issues to James Fry and Josef Rubinstein. This is the first time a second Scourge hit occurs in the same title, since Scourge killed Miracle Man in #24. This is the first time that a character is killed off by a co-creator (Mark Gruenwald).

Justice is Served!: The Scourge of the Underworld Files 8: Melter (and Keegan)

This is part eight of a series of posts examining the original Scourge storyline in the 1980s to 1990s, in which an organization devoted to the assassination of super-villains, usually with a modified submachine gun with explosive shells went into action, usually uttering the catch-phrase "Justice is served!" just after killing the villain. Adapted from material I previously wrote in the 1990s on an older website. Previously I was going from memory but in 2014 I purchased the Scourge of the Underworld trade. I also have the most recent Marvel Index volumes. I am therefore editing this series accordingly. This series covers Iron Man#194 to USAgent#4. It does not cover subsequent appearances of characters called Scourge as all subsequent appearances deviated in key ways from the original concept. On the other hand, hits that were considered unsuccessful even at the time are covered. For successful hits, postmortem uses of victims are now noted.

AVENGERS #263 by Roger Stern (writer) with John Buscema & Tom Palmer (artists)
Victim: Melter (Bruno Horgan); also Keegan
Disguise: Keegan (Melter's assistant)
Synopsis: Melter is observing an Avengers Quinjet through a view finder. He gloats to his assistant Keegan that he has a ray that will wipe out Avengers Mansion and everyone in it. He finds the real Keegan dead in a locker, at which point the imposter guns him down, declaring, "Justice is Served!"
Is it a key part of the overall Scourge storyline? No
Does it tie into the main story? No, beyond the fact that the Avengers are present in the mansion as a result of the main story. I don't believe the Avengers ever found out they were in danger.
Postmortem use of victim: Neither Bruno Horgan nor Keegan have been revived. There have been two subsequent Melters (Christopher Colchiss and an unidentified patron of Roderick Kingsley) but no one has taken up the mantle of Keegan as of February 2015.
Other comments: This was probably Scourge's most significant hit. We never find out if the ray actually worked. In the case of Keegan, this is the first time a kill occurred off panel; Keegan has never appeared alive anywhere.

Was Something Lost in the Title Translation? English Translations of French Names of English Movies Part 1

Living in Canada, many DVDs of English language movies have French names on them. For each installment in this series I will take 20 DVDs or blu-rays with French versions of English names and translate the French name back into English. I predict some will skrew very close and some not at all.

To do this I will use three sources: Google (G), Babylon (B), and SDL Free Translation (S). Hopefully this will minimize any major errors in translation

Die Hard

French: Piège de Crystal

French back into English: Crystal Trap (G) Trap of Crystal (B, S)

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

French: 58 Minutes Pour Vivre

French back into English: 58 Minutes to Live (G, B, S)

Die Hard With a Vengeance

French: Marche ou Crève: Vengeance Définitive

French back into English: On or Creve: Vengeance Final (G); Market or die: Revenge Final (B, S)

Live Free or Die Hard

French: Vis Libre ou Crève

French back into English: Free Creve screws or (G); Screw free or Punctured (B, S)

The Adjustment Bureau

French: Bureau de Contrôle

French back into English: Control Office (G, B, S)

American Graffiti

French: Graffiti américain

French back into English: American Graffiti (G, B, S)

Angel Heart

French: Aux Portes de l’Enfer

French back into English: The Gates of Hell (G), At the gates of Hell (B, S)

Armored

French: Blindé

French back into English: armored (G); armored, bulletproof; armor clad, shellproof; plated; ironclad, armor-bearer, tank (B); Shielded (S)

The Aviator

French: L’Aviateur

French back into English: The Aviator (G); The Airman (B, S)

Bad Teacher

French: Sale Prof

French back into English: Prof Sale (G); Dirty Prof (B, S)

Batman Begins

French: Batman: Le Commencement  

French back into English: Batman: The Beginning (G, B, S)

Absentia

French: Absent

French back into English: Absent (G, S); absent, off, missing; truant, vacant (B)

About Cherry

French: La Vie Cachée de Cherry

French back into English: Hidden Life of Cherry (G), The Hidden Life of Cherry (B, S)

The Age of Stupid

French: L’Âge de la Stupidité

French back into English: The Age of Stupid (G, B, S)

Alexandra’s Project

French: Le Projet d’Alexandra

French back into English: Alexandra Project (G), The project of Alexandra (B, S)

Alien Nation

French: Futur Immédiat

French back into English: Immediate Future (G, B, S)

Enemy Mine

French: Enemy

French back into English: Enemy (G, B, S)

Alone With Her

French: Seul Avec Elle

French back into English: Only With It (G, B, S)

The Anniversary Party

French: Soirée d’Anniversaire

French back into English: Birthday Party (G, B, S)

War of the Dead

French: La Guerre des Morts-Vivants

French back into English: The War of the Undead (G); The War of hearkens (B, S)

Golden Age Superman Annotations Part 1 Action Comics #1 June 1938

This is the first installment of a series looking at Superman as the readers learned of him from his earliest appearances, in order. The source of this information is Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1. Consequently, once all the stories in that volume are covered, this series will then take a break until when/if Vol. 2 is published.

The rules I’m playing by are as follows:

·        As covers are not normally an actual part of the story, if something happens first on a cover, than inside, both are noted;

·        The reverse will be true sometimes but not all the time; basically when it’s relevant to the marketing of the character, as the cover is intended to sell the comic;

·        Firsts are noted in the order that a reader of the 1930s-1940s would experience them, even if other material was written and drawn earlier;

·        An emphasis here is recurring concepts and themes; while not ignored entirely, one-shot concepts are downplayed, and not every minor character who appears in a Superman story is noted;

·        Another emphasis here is information not readily available elsewhere; for example, the story of how Superman came to be published in Action Comics #1 has been told in numerous texts on the history of comics and is easy to find, thus not discussed here. However, if people have interesting stories to tell on the creation of other issues that can be folded in, I’ll add that later, as that kind of information is harder to find;

·        Particularly large captions are treated as a separate panel as long as there is a clear separation from any image;

·        As the comics progress, material from other sources such as the radio show and comic strip start to get folded into the comics. For now I am only looking at the original comics, but if anyone wants to add information on material that appeared in other media prior to the comic strip, I will add that in;

·        Dates are always cover dates. If anyone has the actual release dates, I’ll add them in;
·        All material written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Joe Shuster unless otherwise noted.

This story is untitled. The Golden Age Omnibus calls it “Superman, Champion of the Oppressed!”

Cover: First appearance of Superman (unidentified), first use of super-strength (lifts car)

Page 1

Aside from a small section at the end  delving further into his powers, page 1 is basically Superman’s first origin story.

·        Panel 1: First use of Superman logo; first appearance of Krypton (referred to as "a distant planet"), first depiction of Krypton exploding; first appearance of the rocketship carrying the future Superman to Earth (and thus first reference to Superman as infant being in the rocketship); first mention Superman’s birth father, here referred to only as a scientist;

·        Panel 2: This panel depicts the front of a car owned by a passing motorist (not seen), headlights shining on the rocketship. The notable thing here is that, unlike most later accounts of Superman’s origin, it is not the Kents who find the rocketship: the text suggests that only one person is in the car, who takes the infant to the orphanage (first mention of an orphanage being part of Superman’s origin), and as the motorist is not mentioned again, there is no reason to believe he/she (or for that matter anyone) adopts the infant in this telling of the origin;

·        Panel 3: First depiction of Clark (unidentified) as a baby; first in-story use of super-strength (baby Clark lifts chair with one hand as attendants – one male, one female – look on)

·        Panel 4: First depiction of Clark (unidentified) using super-leaping (leaps 20-story building);

·        Panel 5: First in-story case of Clark (unidentified) using super-strength as adult (holds steel girder with one hand);

·        Panel 6: First depiction of Clark (unidentified) using superspeed (outraces an express train);

·        Panel 7: First use of name Clark (no image in panel)

·        Panel 8: First in-story depicted of the Superman costume, first use of name Superman outside of the logo

·        Panels 9-11: First attempt to explain Superman's powers, shared caption reveals his full name of Clark Kent

After page 1, some background information is in fact necessary: Superman was at one point intended as a comic strip, so the Superman story in Action Comics #1 is largely if not completely composed of rearranged panels from that strip. However, after the origin page, the rest of the story in this issue omits an earlier section of the story. The full version of this story appears in Superman #1, but here we join the story in progress. The implications are twofold: we’re joining a story in progress and Action Comics #1 makes no effort to catch the reader up on what happened in the missing pages. Also it means that material that should have been firsts in the Superman mythos is not because it got published later. Such material will be discussed in annotations for Superman #1.

Page 2

·        Panel 1: Due to the missing pages resulting in the story being started in progress, Bea Carroll, the woman tied and gagged is unidentified in this issue. We also only know at this point that Superman that this is necessary to save a life. His leaping with her bound and gag is probably the first instance of early Superman breaking the law for the greater good;

·        Panel 6: Superman breaking down the governor’s door is the first undeniable instance of early Superman breaking the law for the greater good.

Page 3

·        Panel 3: For some reason the governor’s bedroom has a steel door; this is the first instance of Superman bending steel with his bare hands;

·        Panel 5: At this point the reader catches up with the missing pages, as Superman tells the governor that he is trying to save an innocent woman, Evelyn Curry from being executed; the reference to the signed confession makes it fairly clear that Carroll is the true murderer;

·        Panel 8: The governor’s butler tries to shoot Superman in the neck; this is the first time we that Superman can be shot unharmed; part of the panel is a bit vague but it appears we see the shadow of the bullet but not the bullet itself.

Page 4

·        Panel 6: First appearance of Clark's traditional reporter garb, first reference to Clark being a reporter; first depiction of a Daily Star newspaper (unnamed);

·        Panel 7: A closer up view of the newspaper identifies it as the Daily Star (which would later be renamed the Daily Planet); this panel also concludes the Evelyn Curry storyline; Clark whispers, “Good! I’m not mentioned!” thus confirming that it’s a secret that Superman and Clark Kent are the same person;

Page 5

·        Panel 1: First appearance of the Daily Star office (identified); first confirmation that it is in fact the Daily Star where Superman works; first appearance of the then unidentified editor and first time he and Clark are seen in the same panel (in later issues identified first as George Taylor and then as Perry White – later accounts would treat Taylor and White as separate characters but likely this was a renaming originally);

·        Clark first refers to the editor as Chief, a name Jimmy Olsen would later often call Perry White;

·        Panels 5-7: Superman goes after a wife beater; in early stories Superman was more interested in helping the common person than battling super-villains.

Page 6

·        Panels 1-3: More of the wife beater; the first two panels are the first time an item is shown before and after breaking off Superman’s skin, in this case a knife; we don’t actually see the breaking, just the before and after;

·        Panel 6: First appearance of Lois (only first name given) and first time she and Clark appear in the same panel;

·        Panel 8: The three criminals on the front cover appear, with the guy running away on the cover being identified as Butch.

Page 7

·        Panels 1, 3-4:  First time Clark feigns being a coward; note that in his early appearances Clark was supposed to be cowardly rather than clumsy.

Page 8

·        Panel 2: First instance of Lois being kidnapped and thus needing to be rescued by Superman.

Page 9

·        Panel 2: As Superman shakes everyone out of the kidnappers’ car, we see Superman in costume and Lois in the same panel for the first time;

·        Panel 3: This is a recreation of the front cover scene, though one of the crooks is missing from the panel.

Page 10

·        Panel 2: First time Superman in costume speaks to Lois; it’s implied that Lois has never met Superman previously except as Clark;

·        Panel 5: First panel with Lois and the editor together; while Lois is unsuccessful in getting the story of her kidnapping printed, her efforts to do so show one of the main constants of her character: her ambitions as a newspaper reporter;

·        Panel 7: Yet another storyline starts, as the editor sends Clark to San Monte (a fictional South American country) as a war correspondent; this story continues through the rest of the issue and into the next issue.

Page 11:

·        Panel 3: Since Superman has to hang from a window to eavesdrop on a conversation, he apparently does not have super-hearing at this point;

·        Panel 5-6: We learn that the conflict of this storyline involves corrupt Senator barrows passing a bill that will embroil the United States in a conflict with Europe somehow (the specifics are vague).

Page 13

·        Panel 7: This is an out-of-story panel concluding things for this issue; first depiction of Superman breaking out of chains.