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Beta Ray Bill! 4 1 8 3

Beta Ray Bill! 4 1 8 3

This issue: STAND-INS!

December 2019 No.117 $9.95 ™

IT’S HAMMER TIME WITH

BETA RAY BILL! 4 1 8 3

John Stewart • James Rhodes 0 0

U.S. Agent • Azrael • and Hollywood Gregory Reed 8 5 6 2

with ADAMS, BATES, GIBBONS, MARZ, MICHELINIE, O’NEIL, 8

SIMONSON, THOMAS & more 1 TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Volume 1, Number 117 December 2019

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PUBLISHER Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond! John Morrow

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks

COVER ARTIST Walter Simonson (Produced in 2009 as a gift for William Klein.)

COVER Glenn Whitmore

COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

PROOFREADER Rob Smentek

SPECIAL THANKS Cary Bates Simon Bullivant Luigi Novi Patrick Olliffe Sergio Cariello Dennis O’Neil Kevin Dooley Roger Robinson Rich Fitter Philip Schweier Stephan Friedt Walter Simonson Grand Comics Bryan D. Stroud Database Thomas Tenney BACKSEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury ...... 2 Tom Grindberg Dann Thomas Cully Hamner FLASHBACK: Becoming His Own Hero: ...... 3 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Michael Zeno The character’s evolution from a substitute Green Lantern to a major player Heritage Comics Auctions BEYOND CAPES: Superman’s Stand-In, Gregory Reed ...... 13 Dan Johnson The DC Universe’s ultimate typecast character Barry Kitson Ed Lute FLASHBACK: James Rhodes: the Essential Stand-In Superhero ...... 19 He’s Tony Stark’s pal, a surrogate Iron Man, and much, much more Elliot S! Maggin PRINCE STREET NEWS ...... 32 Cartoonist Karl Heitmueller, Jr. takes his jabs at superhero stand-ins

FLASHBACK: Beta Ray Bill ...... 34 Don’t STEAL our A chronological ’80s and ’90s history of the Stormbreaker-wielding monster-Thor Digital Editions! BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Agent of Change ...... 48 C’mon citizen, John Walker’s evolution from villain Super-Patriot to fill-in to U.S.Agent DO THE RIGHT THING! A Mom FLASHBACK: The Coming of Azrael ...... 62 & Pop publisher like us needs This avenging stood where the Dark Knight fell every sale just to survive! DON’T BACK TALK ...... 75 DOWNLOAD Reader reactions on issues #110–112 OR READ ILLEGAL COPIES ONLINE! Buy affordable, legal downloads only at www.twomorrows.com BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, or through our Apple and Google Apps! NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office:BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: [email protected]. Eight-issue subscriptions: $89 Economy US, $135 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Walter Simonson. Beta Ray Bill Thor TM & © & DON’T SHARE THEM WITH FRIENDS OR POST THEM ONLINE. Help us keep Marvel. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators producing great publications like this one! unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2019 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Superhero Stand-Ins Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1 When people think of a replacement or substitute, they might think of someone who is maybe not quite as good as the original. In the case of John Stewart, the man who was intended to be the backup for as a Green Lantern of Earth, that might have been the case starting out, but as time passed, the character has grown into his own man. More than that, he has grown into his own hero. The process hasn’t been quick and it wasn’t painless. John Stewart started out as a young black man who felt like the system was against him. As Hal Jordan noted in John’s , John challenged authority and wasn’t the type of person who would just fall in line. Indeed, John served as a reflection of the anger and frustration black youth felt towards the establishment of the early 1970s. Because of personal tragedies and mistakes he made along the way as a Green Lantern, John Stewart has grown over the course of several decades as various writers and artists have added to his story and molded him into one of the most layered characters in the DC Universe. No longer an angry young man, John is now a seasoned warrior and . So don’t ever call John Stewart the “backup” Green Lantern. Just call him Green Lantern. IN THE BEGINNING… John Stewart was created by the legendary comics team of Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams. He made his first appearance in Green Lantern/Green #87 (Dec. 1971–Jan. 1972) during that book’s historic “relevance” run when its creators tackled such timely by Dan Johnson social topics as pollution, overpopulation, and drug abuse. With John Stewart, O’Neil and Adams addressed the need to bring more diversity and equal representation of African-American characters to comic books. The process began thanks to a conversation between Neal Adams and his editor. “I was sitting with [Green Lantern editor Julius] ‘Julie’ Schwartz and I was talking about the idea of doing another Green Lantern,” said Adams in a previous interview for BACK ISSUE, in issue #8, the Black Super- heroes issue. “I said, ‘Let me ask you a , Julie. If you were to do another Green Lantern, do you think you would make him a white guy?’ Julie said yes, he thought so, to sell comics. ‘Why are you asking?’ I said, ‘Well, you have a Green Lantern who came to Earth, , and he was going to die. So he sent out the ring and the ring was to find the most noble and bravest guy on Earth to become Green Lantern. It makes sense to me that it would find Hal Jordan. Hal Jordan was a test pilot, who under various people’s tutelage seemed to have been a pretty good fella. Then the ring went out and found a replacement [for Hal] and it turned out that this replacement, , happened to be a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant, blond-haired gym teacher. Now this has to be straining the edge of credulity here that the second best guy on Earth [to become

The New Green Lantern Move over, Hal Jordan… John Stewart’s the ring-man now! ’ gut-punching cover art to Green Lantern #183 (Dec. 1984).

TM & © DC Comics.

Superhero Stand-Ins Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3 a Green Lantern] is a white guy. It seemed to me that if Julie, in his generation’s innocence, asked why. I said, the ring was going to go out a third time, I don’t ‘Julie, that’s a slave name. I don’t think you think it’s going to find a white, Anglo- could find a more slave name than Lincoln Saxon Protestant guy, it’s going to find Washington.’ There were black guys in an Oriental guy or a black guy. The gist America then who were changing their Fearless of my question to Julie was, ‘Can’t we names to Muslim names to avoid slave find a black Green Lantern?’” names, I explained. Julie asked me John Stewart’s From this conversation came what I thought his name ought to landmark first John Stewart, who was destined to be. I said, ‘I don’t know if you help change DC Comics as its first want to go to the Muslim thing, appearance, in the African-American superhero. As it but just give him a regular name, O’Neil/Adams was, John was originally going to be like John Stewart, that would be a really named Lincoln Washington until good name.” classic, Green Adams took issue with the moniker Adams also suggested John’s Lantern/ with editor Schwartz. “I got the first profession, one that helped establish pages of the , [and the story neal adams him even more as a realistic, grounded #87 (Dec. 1971– was originally about] this fellow character. “I had originally asked © Luigi Novi / Jan. 1972). named ‘Lincoln Washington,’” Wikimedia Commons. that he be made an architect,” stated explained Adams. “I [went to Julie] Adams. “[And that he] be given a TM & © DC Comics. and said, ‘I’m having a little with this name.’ profession that anyone who is black would look at it and say, ‘Yeah, I could buy that.’” With a realistic name and occupation in place, John Stewart was at last ready to break new ground. “Neal and I were kind of aware that we were pushing the envelope a bit,” said writer Denny O’Neil in that same edition of BACK ISSUE. “I think it was just a consensus between us and Julie Schwartz that we needed a black character. The rationale for being a Green Lantern made it very easy to create an African- American Green Lantern because there is no reason a guy like that couldn’t get the ring.” KEEPING THINGS REAL While O’Neil did a fine job giving life to John in his first appearance, he did wonder if he was the right man for the task. “Ideally, of course, [John] would have been written by a black writer, but there were virtually none in the field back then,” said O’Neil. “I always feel a little awkward when I’m doing an ethnic character because it’s not Irish Catholic, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.” In , O’Neil did just fine and it is generally agreed upon that John faired better as a character than some of the African-American heroes that would follow him. O’Neil and Adams kept things real by, well, keeping John real. “There are also artists who, when they draw black people, draw a standard ,” said Adams. “They have a face they think of and many of the things they do are controlled by their desire not to offend. In fact, some of these artists are Afro-American themselves. That’s why my John Stewart looks unique and singular and like no other black face I have done. I ran into a couple other problems when I did John Stewart. Julie mentioned I was doing [John’s] lips a little big. I said to Julie, ‘You know, one of the things about an African’s face is that their lips tend to be big, that’s not a bad thing. Their noses are broad too, and that’s not a bad thing. No offense, but many people in America, and many people around the world, have a really bad standard of beauty. It’s what I see [as an artist], and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Putting thick lips on John Stewart was the right thing to do. They weren’t overly thick; they were handsomely thick. He was a very handsome guy, John Stewart.” Adams went on to tell BACK ISSUE how his demand for a realistic look for John helped DC see the light in how they had been presenting people of color for a long time in their comics and make a change to a very grievous practice. “DC Comics had this rule that said if someone had dark skin, you were supposed to color them YR2B2,” said Adams. “That’s solid yellow, 25%

4 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Stand-Ins Issue There’s no denying the impact The Adventures of Superman (1952–1958) has had in the comic-book world. The TV show has been broadcast continuously for decades, cultivating generations of Superman fans. For many, actor George Reeves was their first exposure to the Man of . “For me and millions of other kids in the 1950s,” says long-time Superman writer Cary Bates, “Reeves became an who embodied all the noble and heroic traits that defined Superman. His image was so unassailable, none of us seemed to notice our Man of Steel was in fact a slightly paunchy 40-something man wearing shoulder pads.” Bates’ frequent compadre in the comic-book trenches, Elliot S! Maggin, agrees. Throughout the 1970s, they wrote by Philip Schweier many of the Man of Steel’s adventures. “Reeves brought interpretations and nuance to the character of which only Superman’s creators had been aware before. He was a consummate actor, living every bit as much in any given moment as a gifted stage performer— and playing a character who just didn’t occur in nature to boot. Not many people can pull off a role like that.” A STAR IS In 1972, Reeves’ influence made its way to Superman’s comic-book world, in the form of supporting player Gregory Reed. The thinly veiled homage to Reeves was the product of late night meetings at the Hilltop Diner in , where Bates and Maggin shared story ideas. “We worked closely like that from the time Cary got an apartment a block away from mine and for a couple of years after that,” Maggin says, though he offers the lion’s share of Reed’s development to Bates. “Cary used the character first, so obviously it’s his creation.” In #414 (July 1972), Bates wrote “Superman vs. Superstar,” with art by and . The story opens with a would-be bank robber challenging the Man of Steel. However, when an escaped tiger approaches, Superman panics, until a second Superman arrives to handle the big cat. It is quickly revealed the robbery scene is just that— a scene from a movie being filmed. Gregory Reed, the costumed actor, retires to his trailer, angry at being upstaged by the real Superman. Reed had built a film career as the Man of Steel, but was disfigured when a stunt went tragically wrong. The studio managed to keep his scars a secret, and thanks to a lot of Hollywood makeup and costuming, portraying Superman is Reed’s only career option. Blaming Superman for derailing his life and career, the embittered actor seeks out the dark of magic. He lures Superman to his home to apologize for his earlier rude behavior, and uses sorcery to trap Superman and exchange bodies. Now gifted with superhuman abilities, he’s ready to trade lives with the weakened hero, leaving Superman to continue the life of a disfigured movie star.

Caught in the Act Action Comics #414 (July 1972), introducing the DC Universe’s Superman actor, Gregory Reed. Cover by Nick Cardy.

TM & © DC Comics.

Superhero Stand-Ins Issue • BACK ISSUE • 13 But Superman notices a magic symbol on the palm justify this fictional suicide. He was generally a happy, of his (formerly Reed’s) hand, and deduces the mind accomplished guy with only good things on the horizon switch happened as a result of them shaking hands. for his career. Cary and I learned this, and consequently When Reed is unable to control his new powers, the ceiling we changed the character’s attitude so it better reflected collapses, trapping Superman beneath the rubble. He George Reeves’ outlook.” reaches out to Reed, who instinctively takes Superman’s “Count Ten, Superman—and Die,” was written by hand to pull him to safety, causing their minds to switch Bates, with art by Curt Swan and . The Clothes Make back to their proper bodies. After subduing his foe, attends a presentation by Reed at the Superman promises to use science to heal Civic Center. Afterward, while addressing the (Super)Man Reed’s weakened form. the media outside, Reed is struck by an invisible pulse Black magic bolt, knocking him into a fountain. The genuine A SEQUEL Superman appears, and flies the dazed actor to the allows Reed to swap Three years later, Reed returned in Action Comics #445 hospital. The pulse bolt was fired from a spaceship places with, then (Mar. 1975). Superman has made good on his promises of the Superman Revenge Squad, in orbit above. to help heal Reed in mind and body, and the actor now The crew’s leader reprimands his subordinate for targeting humiliate, Superman proudly embraces the role for which he is famous. an impostor, a mistake he quickly corrects. in Action #414. Maggin recalls Reed’s redemption came about as a As Superman uses his powers, the pulse bolt will result of encounters with people who were involved with gradually poison him. He handles several crises and By Bates, Swan, the old TV show. “The story was that George committed near-catastrophes, while Reed seemingly lies comatose and Anderson. suicide because supposedly he was typecast and in the hospital. Clark’s seeming lack of emotional control depressed about his career,” he explains. “It turns out is attributed to the side effects of the pulse bolt. TM & © DC Comics. that was just something his friends agreed they’d say to Eventually, Superman saves a boy fallen from a high-rise. Upon landing, he collapses, apparently dead, and the Superman Revenge Squad leaves orbit for home. To no surprise, Superman is not dead. Thanks to a pill that will temporarily give humans Kryptonian powers, he and Reed shared super-duties, giving the poison time to drain harmlessly from his body. Learning of the failure, the Superman Revenge Squad destroys their comrades’ spaceship upon their return to base. Reed’s next appearance came in Superman #297 (Mar. 1976), chapter two of a four-part story crafted by Maggin and Bates. In “Clark Kent Forever… Superman Never,” Superman appears to have lost his powers, permitting Clark to lead a normal, human life. Unfortunately, there are plenty of emergencies that require a hero’s attention, such as an unruly mob on the verge of becoming a . Though subdued by a familiar red and blue figure, the man wearing the cape isn’t Superman. Gregory Reed bravely faces the angry people, using his own powers of oratory and delivery to calm them. SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS By 1977, production of Superman: The Movie starring Christopher Reeve was underway, and Gregory Reed became a popular supporting player in the Superman titles. “Most of what we did with our stories was a product of whatever we were thinking about at the time,” explains Maggin. “I think probably our imaginations were fed by the prospect of a new guy playing Superman in such a high-profile environment.” Reed made four appearances in as many titles, beginning with Action Comics #469 (Mar. 1977). “The Night Superman was Buried in Boot Hill” was written by Bates, with art by Curt Swan and . In the first half of a two-part story, Terra-Man returns to Metropolis to challenge the Last Son of . Night after night, the citizens of Metropolis watch Terra-Man defeat Superman on television. Meanwhile, producers of the latest Superman film raise the question of continuing to promote a hero who appears less than heroic. But that soon becomes the least of the public’s worries when Terra-Man sends Superman to his grave. Part Two, entitled, “Even Superman Must Die Sometime!” (Action Comics #470, Apr. 1977), begins as a lone figure tosses a Superman costume into the sea. “I have no more use for this uniform,” he says to himself. “My career as Superman is over… finished!” For those who believing this to be Clark Kent, it is soon revealed to be Gregory Reed, mourning the demise of his hero.

14 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Stand-Ins Issue Heroism is the noblest state of being to which a person can aspire, but people have moments of weaknesses, flaws, and vulnerabilities. Even the most heroic person has to have a limit. So, that begs the question: What qualifies someone to be a substitute hero? There has to be a journey, and it has to start from somewhere. James “Rhodey” Rhodes began his journey to becoming the superhero Machine with many steps in between. He first appeared as a reliable employee who later became a trusted friend, and though there were moments in his relationship with Tony Stark that tested their friendship, there was still trust and confidence that managed to make for entertaining and memorable stories. Rhodey’s bravery, loyalty, and the combination of other attributes like combat skills, avionics engineering knowledge, and an overall reliability that all manifested in different stages of his life give readers a sense of Rhodes’ deservedness by John Kirk to take on the role of Iron Man and later, . THE “WINGMAN” We were first introduced to James Rhodes in Iron Man #118 (Jan. 1979), co-plotted by and scripter and penciled by John Byrne. This was a seemingly innocuous introduction of a minor supporting character which included a brief conver- sation between the pilot/engineer of Stark’s personal air transport and his boss. It was a logical presumption that a billionaire industrialist (Stark) would have his own personal aircraft and pilot (Rhodes). john byrne Rhodes is presented as affable, confident, and not subservient. There’s a respect © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. between the two men in these first panels that signals the type of relationship they would continue to have. While a brief encounter, it was significant enough for creator John Byrne to wonder how he should be presented. “I was kind of a mid-wife in the creation of Rhodey, so he is somewhat near and dear,” Byrne recounted in ’ book, Iron Man: Beneath the Armor. “I actually drew it sitting at a tiny drawing board tucked into the corner of [Iron Man editor] ’s office. I came to the page Jim Rhodes first appeared on and I looked over at Rog and said, ‘Any reason why this guy shouldn’t be black?’ Rog liked the idea, so I drew Rhodey as a black man.” Byrne is emphatically proud of this daring decision. Though skin color shouldn’t have been an issue in deciding the merit of a new character, that was still a consideration in the 1970s, and the idea of a minority character, even a supporting one, could have been seen as challenging, as minority characters were still rare in comic books and the popular culture at large. Rhodey’s race was not a matter of concern for Byrne, Stern, Michelinie, or Layton, but it was still conceivable that it could present itself as one for some readers. But Rhodes was presented as not just a “Fifth Business” supporting character of marginal

The Man in the Iron Mask Rhodey begins his career as Tony Stark’s replacement in Iron Man #170 (May 1983). Cover by Luke McDonnell and Steve Mitchell.

TM & © Marvel.

Superhero Stand-Ins Issue • BACK ISSUE • 19 by Stephan Friedt

Beta Ray Bill has had a sporadic history as a character. Shortly after structure of a beautiful animal underneath the monster to give this Walter Simonson’s introduction of the character in the pages of The dichotomy between the monstrous and the beautiful in the same face.” Mighty Thor (herewith Thor), Bill was relegated to appearing only How did Simonson come up with the name “Beta Ray Bill”? occasionally, usually in a one-page appearance giving some hint of his “I chose the name for its alliterative qualities,” he said in the Kirby soap-opera-like life. interview. “Originally I was going to call him ‘Beta Ray After Walt left Thor, there would be months, sometimes Jones,’ because I really wanted a name. My feeling years, between Beta Ray Bill’s appearances… writers would was, ‘Bill’ was ‘Everyman’ for this alien race. Whatever his use him as a secondary or background character, real name was, it didn’t matter. It was as close as the some leaving his condition hanging. In many instances universal translating machine could come to his real he received no more than a cameo appearance just name, which was unpronounceable by human lips. to keep his memory alive. I deleted ‘Jones’ because Louise Jones was working Some writers would take him to heart, devoting at Marvel, they had a Rick Jones in The , they had full stories to his interactions with other characters: at the time; there were too many Ron Marz and come to mind, Joneses floating around the .” and much later in his history, Walt would elaborate more at a Thor Spotlight and Dan Berman. panel at Baltimore Comic-Con (August 28, 2010), as Bill was always intended to be a hero… but he reported by Matt McGloin of CosmicBookNews.com. was drawn as a monster. “I had done a lot of stories and had a lot of fun doing walter simonson them, but a lot of them weren’t groundbreaking,” IF HE BE WORTHY Simonson commented. “I did want to do something Beta Ray Bill sprang from the mind of , © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. that hadn’t been done before though. writer and artist of Thor, who rolled out the character in a four-issue “One of the cool things about Thor was the enchantment around adventure in issues #337–340 (Nov. 1983–Feb. 1984), in what would [the hammer] and the original inscription on it. So I thought, become Walt’s longest story arc at the time. ‘Well, that means someone else can pick up this hammer and get this In Jon B. Cooke’s interview the creator (“Walt Simonson Interviewed”) power if they’re worthy!’ Since then, some other big characters, in The Collector #14 (June 2004), Simonson explained, people’s favorites, have picked up the hammer—Captain America, “I wanted to start fresh, and I thought a new character would be the Superman, whoever—but at this point, no one had ever picked up the way to go on that. My thinking was that comics are a short form, hammer. I liked the idea of Cap walking to the bathroom and seeing and one of the things that’s mostly true about comics is characters are it, and grabbing and just tugging, not being able to. So this had to be what they look like; the good guys are handsome, the bad guys are someone new. This is the most powerful weapon of the Norse gods.” ugly. It’s not always that way, but basically that’s what it is. Mjolnir, of course, is as significant to Thor’s history as is the Thunder “I designed Bill deliberately as a monster, because I knew that people God himself. would look at it and go, ‘Oh, my God, it’s this evil guy.’ I deliberately Simonson went on to explain the history of the hammer: “This wrote them so you weren’t sure in the beginning if he was a good guy or hammer is a killing weapon. It’s used to kill Frost Giants and others. a bad guy. His face was designed around a horse’s skull, partly because So Superman couldn’t pick it up, because he’s never going to kill anyone, horses are quite beautiful. I thought it’d be kind of cool to have the and the hammer knows that. Captain America, he’s too patriotic.

Superhero Stand-Ins Issue • BACK ISSUE • 35 He’s too much a symbol of America to be chosen by this Norse artifact. So he couldn’t get it. So I created Bill because he’s noble, and he’s designed to kill. He’s got a great purpose as a warrior, and also the noble ability. That makes him ‘worthy,’ whatever that may be.” At the Baltimore Comic-Con, Simonson addressed the initial reader reaction to Beta Ray Bill’s monstrous appearance. “I got letters after the first issue that said, ‘What on Earth? Why is this monster picking up the hammer, what’s wrong with you?’” Yet Walt’s new character, designed with “a sense of death, a sense of monster, underlined by beauty,” soon won over readers. “His costume was the same, so that the minute you see the image, when he strikes the stick and becomes ‘Beta Ray Thor’ or whatever, you know… ‘Okay, that guy has the powers of Thor.’” IF I HAD A HAMMER Bill’s story starts in “Doom!” in Thor #337. Walt graced the issue with a Kirby-style cover of Bill in full Thor costume, breaking through the comic’s logo with Thor’s hammer. The story begins with the agency S.H.I.E.L.D. detecting an alien ship in our system. The ship absorbs stars to refuel. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director surprises Dr. Don Blake in Chicago, revealing he is well aware of Dr. Blake’s alter ego, Thor. Fury briefs Dr. Blake, who has now returned to his Thor identity, and asks him to investigate the ship. Thor does, and after a short battle, he forces his way into the ship… only to find it empty and healing itself like a living being. Because of the intrusion the ship activates its sleeping defense—Beta Ray Bill! Bill is as big and strong as Thor, decked out in his full battle uniform. Bill and Thor go toe-to-toe in a battle where we learn, thanks to Bill’s ongoing banter, that the ship has a name, Skuttlebutt. He also reveals that the ship has the capability to download languages and skills to Bill while he in suspended animation, thereby allowing him to understand and converse with his invader. Thor and Bill’s hand-to-hand battle (with Thor’s hammer lying on the floor) damages the ship enough that it seeks a planet to land on for repairs, Earth being the closest candidate. As it nears the world, the earthbound quality of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir (that it not leave Thor’s grip for more than 60 seconds or he reverts to his mortal shell of Dr. Blake) takes effect. Bill takes the opening and strikes, knocking Dr. Blake unconscious. Skuttlebutt lands and is quickly surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Bill notices Blake’s cane on the floor where Thor’s hammer had fallen and picks it up and swings it, striking it against the wall. He is immediately engulfed in light and becomes a Beta Ray Bill version of Thor, complete with hammer! As Simonson explained, “We all know, if you read Thor, that ‘Whosoever holds the hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ That’s on the hammer, those are the rules. So my job as a writer is to create a character that people will be worried about. How can this guy lift the hammer? The obvious answer is, ‘Well, he must be worthy.’ But you want them to think, ‘Oh, my God, something’s gone terribly wrong.’ Maybe Simonson can’t write, or ’s dead, or who knows?’” Looking like Thor, hammer and all, Bill proceeds to battle Fury and his agents, much to their surprise. But as soon as the battle begins, Odin summons his son Thor back to for an emergency, pulling Bill and Mjolnir “home” and leaving Don Blake looking lost in the commotion on Earth. Walt again channels Jack Kirby for his cover featuring Bill and Thor going head-to-head in Thor #338 in “A Fool and His Hammer…” Finding himself transported to Asgard, a confused Bill fights against the surprised Asgardians until I Am Worthy, Hear Me Roar Odin realizes the error… and is shocked that here is another being worthy of the mantel of Thor. (top) Bill gets a surge of Odin Power and becomes Thor for the first Odin then calls his real son home, and offers Bill the time in Simonson’s Thor #337. (bottom) Bill meets Odin, in #338. hospitality of Asgard. Sitting on “Hlidskjalf,” the high seat, where you can see all of the nine worlds, Odin asks Bill to TM & © Marvel. relate his .

36 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Stand-Ins Issue The 1980s were a decade of change for Marvel Comics, especially where their superheroes’ identities were concerned. A few of the more memorable changes were when Tony Stark was replaced by James “Rhodey” Rhodes as Iron Man, replaced Professor Charles Xavier as the leader of the X-Men, and Beta Ray Bill proved he was worthy to lift the hammer Mjolnir and wield the weapon of the Mighty Thor. In these cases, each replacement was a natural progression of the starring character, or the character showed they had what it took to replace the original. Rhodes had been a confidant of Stark prior to suiting up, and Magneto had been friends with Xavier prior to their divide on the questions of how to handle / by human relations. While at the time Beta Ray Bill was a Ed Lute new creation by Walt Simonson, Bill had shown that he had what it takes to wield Mjolnir and to take possession of (albeit briefly) Thor’s mantle. However, this wasn’t the case when Steve Rogers quit the role of Captain America and was replaced by John Walker. Prior to this, Walker was the villainous Super-Patriot. Then, a strange thing happened: Not only did Walker go the heroic route even when Rogers returned to his role as the of Liberty, but he became a mainstay of the Marvel Universe. Like Rhodey and Beta Ray Bill, Walker became a hero in his own right and remains one to this day. While Magneto’s conversion to the side of good led to a back-and-forth as opposed to a 180-degree change with the character, Walker’s change had him grow as a character and not revert to his previous ways. So, how did a villainous character take the place of one of America’s greatest heroes? Let’s look at John Walker’s origin, how his political ideology made him an interesting and engaging character, his time as Captain America and beyond, and a look at his continued development. VILLAINOUS BEGINNINGS Super-Patriot [not to be confused with the Marvel villain of the same name, from 1969’s Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #13, or ’s superhero SuperPatriot, first seen in 1992—ed.] was introduced in Captain America #323 (Nov. 1986), although his real name of John Walker wasn’t revealed until almost a year later. During this premiere issue, written by longtime Captain America scribe Mark Gruenwald (1953–1996) and drawn by Paul Neary and John Beatty, John Walker, clad as Super-Patriot, was in a limousine with his agent Ethan Thurm. When Thurm pointed out an old lady getting mugged, Walker chose not to stop the crime because it wasn’t glitzy enough to make headlines.

When Captains Clash Stand-in Captain America John Walker (right) vs. his star-spangled sparring partner, the original Captain America Steve Rogers, now the Captain (left), on the Kieron Dwyer/ cover to Captain America #350 (Feb. 1989).

TM & © Marvel.

48 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Stand-Ins Issue “Azrael – The angel of death in Jewish and Islamic thought…” – Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The name Azrael is not a new one, but the character named Azrael made his first appearance in DC Comics’ : Sword of Azrael four-part miniseries beginning in 1992. The co-creation of writer Denny O’Neil and penciler , this avenging angel would very soon capture the attention of Batman and ultimately TM change the Dark Knight’s world. THE AVENGING ANGEL APPEARS The action begins immediately in issue #1 (Oct. 1992) when a figure dressed in classic medieval gear, wielding a flaming sword, is seen confronting one Carleton Lehah in his downtown apartment with the words, “Know that men call you liar! Know that men call you betrayer! Know that men call you defiler! Therefore, it is the duty of the angel Azrael to bring you punishment!” Lehah, however, is prepared for this walking nightmare, firing several rounds from a pistol that send the self-proclaimed angel into a bloody on the floor. Azrael, however, strikes out savagely with the sword, damaging the eye of Lehah just before crashing through the terrace window and to the street where a steed waits to spirit him away. by Mortally wounded, the figure soon falls from the back of the horse Bryan D. Stroud and limps to a doorway with an alley access and a young, blond-haired man gasps, “Father!” Moments before dying on his son’s bed, the man instructs him to abandon his body and get the package he’s left in his son’s care. The man then breathes his last. Elsewhere, has taken an interest in the reports of an angel falling from the sky and disrupting a downtown parade. It was also notably near the penthouse apartment of Carleton Lehah, an underworld financier and dealer in exotic ammunition, such as armor-piercing Teflon bullets, and also involved in gunrunning. The young man, meanwhile, has followed his father’s instructions, finding in the package a telephone number, a large amount of currency, and a letter. The instructions in the letter lead him to fly to a small airfield in Switzerland and rendezvous with a driver, who delivers him to a tiny mountain village, where he is met by Nomoz, a small, gnome-like man dressed like a monk, who is to be his new teacher in an unnamed “system.” The training begins with some physical abuse by another man while Nomoz describes the preparations that will ensue, paving the way for the young man to replace his father in a secret organization dating to the 14th Century and that he shall be the new Azrael. The organization is described as the ancient order of St. Dumas. Back in Gotham City, the World’s Greatest Detective has been busy attempting to unravel the mystery of the fallen angel. Fieldwork indicates that the bullets used on him were coated with Teflon and he is able to find the lost sword of the angel, with an unfamiliar insignia on the ’s handle. It is a match for the sigil Nomoz displays to the trainee with a depiction of St. Dumas. Nomoz further tells the young man that he has been receiving subliminal instruction since his earliest days at the hand of his late father and that it would seem to be the stuff of dreams, but when the sigil and proper suggestions are given to him, he instinctively responds to the next attack. The former graduate student at Gotham University is now a lethal force, ready for more indoctrination and training. It is further explained that he is the latest in a long line in his family to bear the mantle of Azrael. Segue to the Batman, calling upon Oracle to help in his search. With that assistance, our hero soon learns the origins of of St. Dumas. A splinter group from the Knights Templar, they were led by

There’s a New Bat in Town Bane gets what’s comin’ to him on ’ cover to Batman #500 (Oct. 1993), the newsstand variant.

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62 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Stand-Ins Issue on a mission to find and kill these other members of the Co-creator and writer Denny O’Neil shares some Ring of Order of St. Dumas. of his concepts about Jean-Paul Valley as Azrael with The utterly astound- Azrael fights like a demon, taking down security BACK ISSUE: “It was tricky, because if I had told the forces left and right in a merciless fashion, readers this guy was going to be the next ing original cover art IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, but Lehah is able to escape. The young man, Batman, we’dCLICK have THE sold LINKout everything TO ORDER that THIS by Quesada and Nomoz, and Alfred plot the next move we’d originallyISSUE IN printedPRINT ORand DIGITAL a lot more. FORMAT! and decide it must be in Texas, where But that would the story to Nowlan to the Sword Lehah himself is said to dwell. come and we didn’t want to do that. of Azrael trade At that location, an idled oil refinery, We thought it was more important Lehah has Bruce Wayne trussed up for to deliver a strong miniseries than to paperback. Courtesy torture when Azrael arrives to mete make a lot of money on one issue. of Heritage Comics out the vengeance he has been trained I think we brought it off. Nobody figured to accomplish. Lehah fires his pistol out what was going to happen. And I Auctions (www. and only succeeds in striking the piping owe a lot of credit to Joe Quesada, who I ha.com). above, dropping petroleum byproducts thought did a superb job.” onto an acetylene torch he’d Batman: Sword of Azrael artist TM & © DC Comics. dropped and engulfing the chamber dennis o’neil Quesada’s design of the original in flames. Then, ignoring the direction Azrael costume was critical to the of Nomoz, Azrael strides forward to © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. character, and Denny shares a little free Bruce Wayne. about his limited inputs to Joe’s designs: “I don’t know The quartet escape just as the becomes an exactly what I had in mind. I guess something that was explosion. Nomoz shrieks at his protégé that he has closer to the angel we know fromBACK Christmas. ISSUE That#117 kind disobeyed and disgraced his mantle as an angel of of white-clad little boringSUPERHERO guy, STAND-INS!but Joe started John Stewart from as Green square Lantern, James vengeance. The young man replies simply that he is a man one and did what heRhodes thought as Iron Man, was Beta Raya good Bill as Thor, costume. Captain America substi- tute U.S. Agent, new Batman Azrael, and Superman’s Hollywood and not an angel and that his name is Jean-Paul Valley, I certainly didn’t quarrelproxy with Gregory that Reed! decision Featuring NEAL that ADAMS, he made. CARY BATES, DAVE like that of his father, wrapping up issue #4 (Jan. 1993), It doesn’t read as ‘angel’GIBBONS, to RONme. MARZ, That’s DAVID the MICHELINIE, only quarrel DENNIS O’NEIL, WALTER SIMONSON, ROY THOMAS, and more, under a cover the final installment of this introductory miniseries. I might have with it.”by SIMONSON. (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 64 • BACK ISSUE • Superhero Stand-Ins Issue (Digital Edition) $4.95 http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1432

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