Nuke: Half a Hero

Though loosely based on Firestorm of the Justice League of America, the hero Nuke of the Squadron Supreme was at a disadvantage. Unlike Firestorm, Nuke was not a composite character; he did not share a mind with an accomplished physicist who could fill the role of superego for the young hero. As a result, Nuke lacked a scientific understanding his nuclear powers and the maturity to temper his emotional short fuse.

From a storytelling perspective, the Squadron's sizable roster may have prevented Nuke from developing into a more multifaceted character before his death in Squadron Supreme #3 (Nov. 1985).

This image of Nuke appeared in the Squadron Supreme entry of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

Revisiting Venus

Before Weird Wonder Tales began spotlighting Dr. Druid (#19-22), the cover of #16 (June 1976) promoted a soul-searing chiller starring a Venus, the Living Goddess! Originally published in Venus #19 (April 1952), that story pitted the heroine against a vampire—complete with the ability to turn into a bat and the inability to cast a reflection. Venus ultimately destroyed the creature by driving a stake through its heart. Two years after that original publication, references to vampirism became prohibited under the Comics Code of 1954. Only after the Comics Code Revision of 1971 could the story reappear in print for a new generation of readers.

Working backward, Weird Wonder Tales #17-18 reprinted tales from Venus #18-17 respectively. That earlier tale was particularly prescient in depicting an illustrator of a horror comic book whose monstrous drawings came to life. As if heeding the lesson from this fable, the Comics Code of 1954 would ban the word horror in the title of comic books.

Venus #19 was the final issue of the character's original series. Weird Wonder Tales #16 was the first of three consecutive issues to reprint the heroine's early adventures. In addition to promoting Venus, the cover of #16 compared one of the other reprinted stories in that issue to the popular 1974 novel Jaws!

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