The Making of Mad-Dog

Published two decades before Patsy Walker become Hellcat, Patsy and Hedy #46 reads almost like an origin story for Buzz Baxter becoming the supervillain known as Mad-Dog.

Patsy dated Buzz regularly in high school. But when his car kept breaking down, Patsy insisted that Buzz get a new car. Pressured by Patsy and a handful of their friends, Buzz traded in his car at Mad-Dog Cur Used-Cars. The new car, however, proved almost as unreliable as his old jalopy had been.

Later that issue, Patsy turned down Buzz when he asked her to go for a drive—or on any kind of date for that matter. Classmate Hedy Wolfe, who also pined for Buzz, spoke to him about Patsy's behavior.

Hedy: Can't you see how she treats you? She takes you for granted like you were the family dog!

To make Patsy jealous, Hedy suggested that Buzz start dating her instead. Hedy then told Patsy that it was Buzz who had come up with the scheme. Patsy responded by making a date with a stranger who had whistled at her on the street. When Buzz saw the two of them out together, he slugged the unsuspecting fellow. In hindsight, these story elements set the stage for Buzz taking the name Mad-Dog and plotting to disrupt Patsy's wedding to Daimon Helstrom (New Defenders #125).

These panels come from Patsy and Hedy #46 (Oct. 1956).

Stacking the Deck

Dr. Strange was dead. But before he departed, the sorcerer cast a lingering, final spell that would strong-arm Blue Marvel into leading a new combination of Defenders in a five-issue limited series. A magical Tarot deck would identify who would join this version of the non-team. In addition to Blue Marvel, the desk selected Ms. America Chavez, a young version of Loki, Taaia of the Sixth Cosmos, and Tigra, the Were-Woman (Defenders: Beyond #1).

Although a Ten card from each of the traditional Tarot suits (Wands, Swords, Cups, Coins) would represent four of these Defenders, the card representing Tigra was the Ten of Crowns (a fifth suit that doesn't exist in any other Tarot deck). While a standard Tarot deck has 78 cards in all, we can only imagine how many unique cards might appear in this magical deck—and what that could mean for the Defenders.

This image of Blue Marvel comes from Defenders: Beyond #1 (Sept. 2022).

Stilt Man

Stilt Man made a dramatic debut in Daredevil #8 (June 1965), towering above the street-level hero. The version of Stilt Man to appear in Spidey Super Stories #47 (July 1980), however, was far less intimidating than the original. In place of a full-fledged battle suit, this rendition of the criminal wore a pair of ordinary stilts as he faced Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. Even in a series designed for young readers, it is hard to imagine the reasons for stripping Stilt Man of any semblance of superpowers in that story.

Superheroes Sinister

When the story from Defenders #13 (May 1974) later ran in Rampage #12 (Jan. 4, 1976), the U.K. reprint series kept the cover illustration of the original. But whereas the original cover text promoted Super-Team vs. Super-Team, the reprint said, "Superheroes battle Superheroes when--the Squadron Sinister Strikes!

As their name implied, of course, the Squadron Sinister were not superheroes. To be fair, though, the Squadron Sinister did look strikingly like their superheroic counterparts in the Squadron Supreme—so much so that the cover of Avengers #141 (Nov. 1975) had incorrectly billed the Squadron Supreme as the Squadron Sinister!

Innocent Advertising

Rereading Seduction of the Innocent is becoming something of an annual tradition for me, as I've summarized portions of the 1954 book by Fredric Wertham twice before: first in 2020 and then in 2021. This time around I'm narrowing the topic to Wertham's concerns over advertising—specifically the prominence of bodybuilding ads in comics.

Noting how some boys might look aspirationally at the shirtless he-men pictured in the these ads, Wertham worried that the photos might instill feelings of insecurity in boys unable to achieve the desired results. Wertham raised a further objection, asserting that boys with homosexual tendencies might collect these photos and use them for sexual stimulation.

While many of Wertham's concerns would haunt the comic book industry for decades to come, bodybuilding ads remained a mainstay in comic books when I began reading them in the 1970s. Although I grew up to be gay, I can't say that I paid much attention to these ads during my formative years.

For more context about the far-reaching scope of Seduction of the Innocent, a list of the book's chapter titles appears below.

"Such Trivia As Comic Books" "You Always Have to Slug 'Em" The Road to the Child The Wrong Twist Retooling for Illiteracy Design for Delinquency I Want to Be a Sex Maniac!" "Bumps and Bulges" The Experts for the Defense The Upas Tree Murder in Dawson Creek The Devil's Allies Homicide at Home The Triumph of Dr. Payn

This particular full-page ad appeared in Defenders #27 & 28. Smaller versions of the ad appeared in other issues of the series.

The Black Knight Reborn

Dane Whitman already had the Ebony Blade and the winged horse Aragorn, yet he was reluctant to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor Sir Percy, the original Black Knight. Only after inheriting Garrett Castle (the spot where King Arthur purportedly died), did Whitman feel a deeper calling to follow in his ancestor's footsteps (Marvel Super-Heroes #17).

This change of heart did not go unnoticed. To create an adversary for the new Black Knight, the ghost of Modred the Evil co-opted former stage performer Paul Richarde (a.k.a. Le Sabre), whose career had ended tragically when his blade accidentally hit and killed his assistant. Under Modred's evil influence, Le Sabre challenged Black Knight to a duel. Instead of a flying horse, Le Sabre rode a gargoyle statue magically brought to life. Black Knight proved victorious in battle, seemingly ending Modred's mystical hold over Le Sabre.

Marvel Super-Heroes. Vol. 1. No. 17. November 1968. "The Black Knight Reborn!" Roy Thomas (writer), Howard Purcell (artist), D. Adkins + Co. (inking), Sam Rosen (lettering). Other stories within the issue were reprints from the Golden Age.