Marvel Comics Presents #148

Black Panther makes a triumphant return to the pages of MCP since the conclusion of his 25-part story in issue #37. In this 8-pager, Black Panther is on the trail of the mutant Sabretooth in the jungle wilds of Wakanda. 

Jason Strongbow, the Indian superhero known as American Eagle, has another fish out of water adventure. Only this time, he's not in the Big Apple. He's in the Middle East taking on an American soldier who tragically was left behind after Desert Storm. Having lost his mind and turned into a despotic nomad warrior, it's up to Strongbow to bring one of our missing sons home.

In the most powerful story of the bunch, and that's saying a ton after that American Eagle story, the hero who could be anyone; even you- Captain Universe, has claimed another temporary host. This time around he's Elijah Jackson, a former star baseball player reduced to a near vegetative state due to a massive stroke. When thugs try to rob his struggling daughter who's recently returned from another desperate trip to the pawn shop, Elijah transforms into Captain Universe, this time armed with a baseball bat, in order to save the day. 

The lone multi-part segment stars the punk-rockish Vengeance. It's an interesting story. But it doesn't hold a candle to any of the 3 one-and-done tales. The Black Panther story has a great twist ending. The American Eagle story is poignant and powerful. The Captain Universe story takes that American Eagle epic and blows it out of the water!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Universe: Power Unimaginable

Collecting the almost very first adventures of Captain Universe- the superhero who could be you! 

This volume features the Bill Mantlo/Steve Ditko creation that debuted in the pages of Micronauts. Since Marvel no longer owns the rights to that property, the first storyline is missing from this book. It seems really weird to me. The Micronauts are referred to several times in the stories collected and in at least one of them, there are characters from the Micronauts seen in panels recalling Captain Universe's origin. Surely, Marvel could have worked out some sort of licensing agreement to have had those books added to this assemblage.

I bought this book because of the reprinted stories from Marvel Spotlight. I figured paying less than $7.00 cover price (Check your local Ollie's for this book!) was going to be cheaper than finding those 3 issues from the early 70s. It was a very good gamble as I enjoyed almost the entire book.

The concept behind Captain Universe was that there's the sentient power called the Unipower. It bestows itself upon random people in need of superhero assistance. From a small child to a pair of twins, the Unipower wasn't prejudiced. The best story involves Bruce Banner being stripped from his Hulk persona and becoming Captain Universe. While fighting his mean green alter-ego, Banner must also stop a nuclear missile from being launched on the Soviet Union!

My least favorite story was the last one. It sorta reboots the character and ends on a cliffhanger. I wouldn't mind either if Marvel ever published a second volume. As this book debuted in 2005 and a quick Amazon search doesn't show a sequel, I ended this amazing read a little unfulfilled. 

Another thing that might make you feel like you are missing something is that some of these stories are from Web of Spider-Man. Other than an off-panel cameo of Peter Parker, the wall-crawler is absent from this book. Do not expect this book to be the jewel of your Spidey collection.

But for someone like myself who didn't any of the books or stories reprinted (except for the Marvel Fanfare beauty), this is a great collection of adventures. I love the Steve Ditko art and it's kinda fitting to read this now as he passed away earlier this year. Plus it features work from the great Bill Mantlo whose career, but not life, was cut way too short by a hit-and-run driver.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.