“CURTAIN OF IRON”
Part II: Tussle in the Tundra!
WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: Investigating a report by Ivan that the Winter Soldier was alive, the Champions went to Russia to find him and rescue him, only to find instead the Soviet Super-Soldiers! Satana, working with Ares, contacted the villainous Orb.
Black Widow looks up, from her position on her hands and knees, seeing Crimson Dynamo and the Red Guardian before her. The Soviet scientist (that she had been trying to force information out of) moves quickly away from her, pleased that he is no longer being threatened. A quick look from the Red Guardian reminds him that he needs to return to his work. Black Goliath and Ghost Rider look on with interest, the Ghost Rider’s eyes flaring with energy.
“Red Guardian?!” she asks, surprised to see the familiar figure in front of her. “But I thought…!”
“You thought me dead, my dear?” the Red Guardian responds, standing over her, and holding onto her chin, pulling her face upward. “No, the State had other designs for me. I have been away from mother Russia, but now I have returned. It’s fitting that you should be here to welcome me back.”
“Hey, reds!” Black Goliath calls out, annoyed. Ghost Rider nods in agreement. “You’re talking around us, like we’re not even here!”
“You are of no consequence to any of us,” Crimson Dynamo responds sharply, turning over to them. “Leave now, and you will not share the fate of your former teammate!”
“There’s two problems with that little statement,” Ghost Rider returns, sending out a blast of hellfire at Crimson Dynamo, sending him back, “first, we don’t turn our backs on our teammates…and second, she’s still very much a part of our team!”
“You left out a part,” Black Widow exclaims, getting to her feet and kicking Red Guardian with a high kick to his chest, “I’m fully capable of taking care of myself!”
Black Goliath slams his fist into Crimson Dynamo’s face, jerking his head to the side from the impact of his punch! “I’m not surprised that this happened,” Black Goliath comments. “I was afraid we’d find the reds waiting for us!”
“Oh, we were expecting you!” Crimson Dynamo returns, sending out a blast of energy from his gauntlet, slamming directly into Black Goliath’s face, driving him back. “And you brought us the very thing that it would be difficult to acquire on our own!”
“I don’t like the sound of that!” Ghost Rider remarks, blasting Crimson Dynamo with his hellfire. Crimson Dynamo’s eye slits automatically close to protect his eyes and skin from the searing, unnatural heat. “I just hope this wasn’t a wasted trip!”
Ghost Rider hears a smashing sound from directly above him. He leaps out of the way, just as the ceiling explodes from the impact of a powerful blow above, even as Hercules falls through the ceiling, landing in between him and Crimson Dynamo!
“Hercules?!” Ghost Rider asks, clearly surprised, even as Crimson Dynamo takes the opportunity of the distraction to get back on his feet. “You okay, buddy?”
Hercules gets to his feet, a wide smile on his face, as the debris from the ceiling falls from his shoulders and back, crushed onto the floor below his feet. Titanium Man floats down from the ceiling to inspect his handiwork.
“Aye, friend Ghost Rider!” Hercules responds, as he makes his way over to the Titanium Man, still smiling. “’Twas worth the trip to this icy place for the taste of combat!” Tackling Titanium Man, Hercules drives them both across the floor, slamming into—and through—the outer wall, letting in the winter winds from outside! “Have at thee!”
# # # # # # # # # #
INTERLUDE
♪ Theme Music: “Blue Collar Man” By Styx.♪
City of Angels Hospital, Los Angeles, California. For the past few weeks, the man known as Rampage has laid in a hospital bed, recovering from an explosion set off by his former allies—Griffen, Titanium Man, and Crimson Dynamo. Although (unknown to him), he is receiving the best medical care that the Angel’s money can buy, there are some things that will never be the same.
Leaning forward, Rampage looks out through the narrow slits in the bandages covering his face, reacting to the sound of footsteps in his room. It has been some time since he had a visitor, and he is surprised by the sight of an incredibly beautiful woman in a revealing costume, with long red hair and high heels.
“What the hell?!” he asks, his voice somewhat altered by the constrictive force of the bandages around his face, just above his lips. His face still hurts due to the numerous reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries that he has undergone since his entry into the hospital. “Who are you?!”
“Does that matter?” she asks, moving towards him, leaning over to the man, who is pushing his palms onto the mattress of the bed, trying to sit up in the bed. “Although, I must admit, your description is quite apt.”
“Yeah, I figured I’d be kind of a celebrity around here,” Rampage manages, eyeing the cleavage of the stunning Satanna. “But, if you’re here to see the man who fought the glory boys, you can take it somewhere else.”
“Maybe I’ve come to make you an offer,” she comments.
“Hmm,” Rampage tries to smile under his bandages, but it hurts to bad to do so. “Normally, I’d be happy to take you up on your offer, babe, but…”
Satanna smiles, nodding, at the suggestion. “Yes, you are in a lot of pain,” she responds. “And I’m here to offer you some help with that.”
“WHAT?!” Rampage exclaims, his right hand flailing out, slamming into a glass of water, knocking it against the wall, where it shatters, water splattering against the wall. “I don’t take charity, woman! I didn’t take it from Angel, and I’m not taking it from you either!”
Satanna leans forward, fanning herself with the sheer hatred in the air, emanating from Rampage, smiling a sadistic smile. “Yes,” she says softly, her face reflecting with pleasure. “Your hatred is what is keeping you alive, and it strengthens you even now.”
Rampage’s eyes suddenly widen from behind his bandages. “What…exactly are you here for?!”
“I’m here to make you an offer you can’t refuse,” she offers, leaning back, her hands on her hips.
“Yeah,” Rampage asks. “Why do I feel like I’ve heard this story before…and it didn’t end well?”
“Don’t let your scruples keep you from getting what you truly want,” Satanna responds. “I offer you the things you want the most…your health and revenge against your enemies.”
“Heh,” he responds. “That sounds like my kinda deal, but you haven’t explained how you can do it.”
“Leave that to me,” Satanna replies, smiling with satisfaction.
END OF INTERLUDE
# # # # # # # # # #
♪ Theme Music: “Waterhole” by The Outlaws.♪
Soviet Union. Hercules and Titanium Man struggle outside of the building where his comrades-in-arms are fighting the other members of the Soviet Super Soldiers. As snow pours down outside in the darkness, the black water of the sea crashes onto the shore nearby.
With a smile that extends the length of his face, Hercules slams his fist into the towering armored figure, doubling him over. “Thou and thy friends hath been regular opponents,” Hercules comments. “I will reward thee for thy persistence! Have at thee!” With that, Hercules hits the Titanium Man with a massive uppercut, which picks the emerald villain off his feet and sends him flying though the air, landing fifty feet back, into the icy sea!
Without hesitation, Hercules covers the distance with one mighty leap, landing into the sea where the Titanium Man had disappeared a moment earlier, prepared to continue the battle.
Suddenly, the water explodes upward, even as a muffled sound of impact fills the cold night air. Underneath the surface, Hercules and the Titanium Man struggle like the titans they are, oblivious to water that would instantly give anyone else hypothermia. Titanium Man strikes Hercules in the stomach, pushing his armored fists through the water. Hercules responds with a powerful blow that sends Titanium Man flying through the water, and into the air, sending water trailing in his wake.
Hercules leaps out of the water, even as Titanium Man slams on the snow-covered ground outside of the government complex. Before he can rise to his feet, Hercules has landed on top of him, slamming his feet into Titanium Man’s face, driving the back of his helmeted head against the frozen tundra!
Titanium Man extends his hand outward, sending a blast of energy directly into Hercules’ mid-section. <“I cannot believe his strength!”> Titanium Man thinks to himself. <“I must give myself some time…at least to get back on my feet!”>
“Normally, thou art not alone in attacking me,” Hercules remarks, quickly recovering from the energy attack, which caused him to slam into a tree. Hercules quickly rips the tree out of the ground, and slams it into the back of Titanium Man’s legs at the knees, making him loose his footing quickly. “’Tis a different matter fighting the prince of power one-on-one, is it not?!”
# # # # # # # # # #
Back inside the governmental complex, the Angel hovers over the hole that was created a short time ago, when Titanium Man and Hercules started their battle. Also around that hole are Iceman and Darkstar. Before they can resume their search, the Angel has to fly through the air, making a loop to avoid a blast of radioactive energy, which incinerates the wall behind him!
“Iceman! Darkstar!” the Angel calls out, as he flies back down, seeing the female Red Guardian and Electro each send out separate blasts of energy at the heroes! The bulky Electro blasts his energy at Iceman and Darkstar, who leap in opposite directions, the blast of energy separating them!
“I think I’ve seen you before…Red Guardian, right?” the Angel offers, as he flies over the female Red Guardian, avoiding her energy attacks with his aerial prowess. “But I didn’t know you were working in Russia again. I thought you were with the Defenders.”
“It’s true that I was with the Defenders for a while,” the scarlet-clad female responds, “but I was never a member of their group. I must always side with my country, just as you side with yours. And I am no longer called the Red Guardian. I am Starlight.”*
[*Marvel continuity changed the female Red Guardian’s name later in time, but she’ll be called by that name here. No need to come up with another name for her. -J ]
“We’re not here because of east against west,” the Angel responds. “I’m not a polical person myself. I’m just here to recover someone who has been held captive, for what I understand, for decades.”
“You cannot say that you are here for non-political reasons,” Starlight responds, sending out another blast of energy, which the Angel again avoids. “Your country is constantly spying against ours. We know this well. And I cannot let you and your government conduct such missions on our soil.”
Iceman instinctively gets in front of Darkstar, as Electro advances towards them. “I didn’t know this fella was still around!” Iceman comments. “I think he used to fight Captain America—or someone calling himself Captain America—during the fifties.”
“I know about him, Bobby,” Darkstar responds, placing her hand on his icy shoulder. “He is dangerous. We must take him out quickly.”
“Look out!” Iceman exclaims, erecting an ice shield from the floor to just above their heads. “I need to pour on a thick layer of ice. I don’t know what his electrical energy would do to us if it hits!”
“Good move, Bobby!” Darkstar responds. “I don’t think we want to find out.”
“Listen,” Iceman offers, looking over at the lovely Darkstar, even as electrical energy strikes the thick shield, lighting up the air around them, “Me and Warren can take care of things here. You need to find Bucky. That’s why we’re here.”
“I can’t leave you here to fight Electro,” Darkstar interjects, shaking her head.
“No, you have to!” Iceman urges her. “We need to finish this before they bring in the calvary…who knows who!”
Darkstar looks at Iceman, who can hear the ice cracking behind his head. She nods, although uncertainty is in her eyes. “All right, Bobby,” she resigns. “I will, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Crimson Dynamo sends out a blast of energy at Ghost Rider, slamming into his chest and sending him flying back against the wall. His flaming skull scorches the plaster wall, leaving black marks on the wall, as he falls to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, even as Crimson Dynamo smiles under his mask.
“I’m out of my element here,” Ghost Rider thinks to himself, as he slowly gets to his feet, his chest aching from the energy attack. “I don’t have my mobility without my bike, and Crimson Dynamo has the advantage.”
“Prepare to join your master in Hell!” Crimson Dynamo comments, his gauntlets glowly with energy, as he stands over Ghost Rider, still on his hands and knees, looking up at the villain. “Because you’re about to join him!”
“I didn’t think the party let you make those kinds of statements!” Black Goliath shouts out, as he slams his fist into the back of Crimson Dynamo’s helmet, causing him to lurch forward, surprised by the suddenness, and forcefulness, of the attack. “I’d hate to see you get on Fearless Leader’s bad side!” Black Goliath smiles at the thought of one of his favorite cartoons.
Pressing his advantage, Black Goliath kicks Crimson Dynamo in the back, sending him crashing to his knees in front of a relieved Ghost Rider. “Don’t just sit there, G.R.,” Black Goliath comments with a sly smile. “I’m trying to give you a breather, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help out!”
“Point taken,” Ghost Rider responds, getting to his feet, and blasting Crimson Dynamo with a blast of hellfire, which completely encircles the communist villain, who leans his head back, reeling in pain! “How’s this for some help?!”
“Not bad!” Black Goliath responds, stepping back a couple of steps so the heat does not get to him as well. “I’ll have to hold off for a minute before I hit him again, though.”
“Then I will just hit you, fool!” Crimson Dynamo responds, sending out a blast of energy that strikes Black Goliath full force in the face and upper chest, even as Ghost Rider looks on with surprise.
Crimson Dynamo gets to his feet, blasting Ghost Rider as he gets to his feet. “You over-estimated your own powers…to your own detriment!”
Red Guardian blocks a kick by his former wife, the lovely Black Widow, with his forearm, standing his ground. “Why do you not return to mother Russia, Natasha?” he asks. “The party has always been good to you.”
“Good to me?!” Black Widow responds with anger, jumping up and kicking Red Guardian across the chest. He steps back, rolling with the impact of the blow so that it does not have its full impact. “I suppose you consider sending minions to kill me, and Ivan, constitutes being “good to me”?! Only a party ideologue could say something like that!”
Red Guardian shakes his head, as he leans forward, kicking Black Widow in the stomach, doubling her over. “A pity, my dear,” Red Guardian remarks coolly. “You could be a positive force for your homeland once again, but you have been poisoned by your years in the United States. Perhaps this will change when you have been properly re-conditioned. I have confidence that I will have my wife back again, after proper training.”
“That day will never come again!” Black Widow shoots back defiantly, as she steps back defensively, still partially doubled over.
# # # # # # # # # #
Darkstar walks down the hall on the second floor of the complex, hearing sounds in the distance. As she walks down the hallway, lit only with trace lighting, she nears a door that has light shining from underneath it. She nods silently, as she continues down towards the door. She opens it slowly, trying to make little sound, as she enters the room.
As Darkstar does enter the room, she sees a familiar figure standing in front of machinery, his fingers dancing across keys on a computer keypad. He looks up, seeing her, his hideous face not one that can be soon forgotten.
<“Gremlin!”> Darkstar exclaims. In the corner of the room behind the Russian villain is a cylindrical object, with a shadowy figure contained in the cylinder.
<“I have heard of you, girl,”> Gremlin responds. <“You were a part of a top secret government project with mutants. And I know why you are here. But, you cannot interfere with my work.”>
“Your work?!” Darkstar calls out. “You’re talking about a human being! This is the same way that my brother and I were poked and prodded by the government…and for what?!”>
<“You are young, and you are not a scientist,”> Gremlin responds sharply. <”You could not understand.”> He waves his hand, dismissively. <“Now, leave here, girl, so that I may return to my work.”>
<“I can’t believe how cold you are!”> Darkstar calls out, angry. <”I won’t let you conduct human experiments!”>
<”Foolish girl!”> the Gremlin responds sharply, pulling out a large gun and holding it before him, towards Darkstar. <”My father is responsible for the fact that he is alive, and my technology has maintained him in a pristine state. He owes his life to me…and to the state!”>
<”I’ve heard enough!”> Darkstar exclaims, sending out a blast of dark energy at the Gremlin. It solidifies and slams into his face, knocking him to the floor, even as the gun he was carrying falls on the ground and skids off into the distance, as Gremlin struggles to retain consciousness.
The blast of dark energy then turns, and slams into the cylinder located in the corner of the room. The effect is instantaneous! The glass breaks, and gas floods from the cylinder, creating a fog that fills the room. As Darkstar leans over, coughing at the unnatural gas that floods the room, a shadowy figure kicks at the glass, and makes his way away from the cylinder, walking towards the machinery.
Gremlin, seeing the figure approaching him, has a terrified look on his bestial face, his eyes growing ever larger. <”NO!”> he exclaims with fear exploding from his voice. <”Stay back!”> The figure effortlessly grabs Gremlin and throws him across the room like he was a paper doll, and the Gremlin hits the wall hard, bouncing off the wall, and landing on the ground below in an unconscious heap.
As Darkstar looks up, her eyes red and tears flowing from them, an effect of the gas, she sees the Winter Soldier before her, looking around, and then looking at her.
“Who are you?” he asks, in English, holding the gun that Gremlin held mere moments earlier. “Do you work for them?”
TO BE CONTINUED...
NEXT ISSUE: The Russian storyline comes to its dramatic conclusion! Ares’ plan continues to unfold! And what can the Champions expect when they return to Los Angeles? Find out in 1970s Champions #6!
# # # # # # # # # #
CABLES OF CHAMPIONS
Okay, the Soviet storyline heats up this issue, with some familiar faces from the Cold War. Also brought back this issue is Rampage. There was a period of time when I considered reforming Rampage, and having him work with the Champions. But, when you look at those issues with the character—and even the one where the Angel offers to help him with his legal bills (which I established this issue that he did anyway), he responded with bitterness and anger. He did touch a nerve at the time of his creation, though, as the inflationary villain. I’ve always thought that “Blue Collar Man” should be his theme song, which is why I used it in this issue. I also couldn’t resist the guitar-heavy number “Waterhole” for Hercules’ fight with Titanium Man, given the setting. And, let’s see what the readers have had to say about previous issues…
I really enjoyed 70's CHAMPIONS #2, with the Black Widow talking calmly to the spooked pilot to the Black Goliath bus fiasco (great dialogue there). This was some of your best work yet. Graviton is one of my favorite villains, and your choice of Theme Music continues to prove you may have a future as a DJ!
The sibling rivalry of Enyalios and Phobos was well done and, from your descriptions, images of the movie "300" seemed to come to mind. Looking forward to seeing Ares in action. He has one helluva costume.
Graviton does remind one of Magneto (images of Kirby's Magneto havoc-wreaking scenes from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY certainly came to mind quite readily at times as I read your tale), as Warren correctly pointed out. Too bad he doesn't remember that Magneto and the Beast helped saved the world from Dr. Doom in a story the Champions played a big role in.
Graviton still has an eye for the lovely ladies, eh? Ah well, who doesn't?
The Angel/Graviton dialogue exchange was great stuff. I wish Marvel would get an artist to draw this book and publish it. It's a real gem!
"I knew I kept you around for something!" Classic! Remniscent of their old X-Men days.
Herc vs. Graviton was cool, but the way you handled the entrance of the Ghost Rider really kicked ass! While lacking Herc's raw super-strength, Ghost Rider's hellfire is damned spooky and--let's face it--no matter who you are, it can't be fun to fight monsters from Hell.
Tychovosky,eh? Fitting. Ivan seems like he needs a swig of Vodka to calm down.
Looking forward to the next issue. Wish Marvel still made comics like this. Wish I could still recognize the characters these days.
Ricky Powell
An understandable dilemma these days. I’m glad that you enjoyed the issue, and that you’re enjoying the series. This series is something I enjoy writing. The 70s elements, and 70s continuity, will hopefully be welcome for older fans, and fans of the older stuff that I and many others grew up reading. In addition, the Champions really was a title that was cut too short. I think that this could really have been a Defenders-type series, with a long publishing history. As for the Angel’s amnesia, keep in mind that a large part of the Dr. Doom/Magneto battles was the fact that the heroes were also battling mind control at the time, in addition to being in the midst of a villain war.
Heya,
(I’m going to preface this with some unnecessary background info. I’ve just recently returned from a fanfic hiatus and have decided be a bit more active in the community. One of things I’m planning to do -- overly optimistically no doubt -- is to keep myself up-to-date on what’s going on in the various series running at M2K and try to give people regular feedback, starting with this update. Since ‘70s Champions #2 happened to the first issue listed on the New Releases page, it’s the first I read).
To begin with, let me just say I like your retro-stories. I read several of your ‘60s Avengers issues about a year ago and remember thinking what a great idea that seemed like to me. Why write a fanfic series stuck at some arbitrary cut-off point when you can pick it up right when you felt it was at its height? So I’m glad to see you applying it to another title. Definitely a fan of this sort of thing.
Including a suggested soundtrack is an interesting idea too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do that before. Makes me wish I actually had all those songs on my hard drive and could hear them while I was reading. The ones I could imagine the tunes for brought a whole different feel to the scenes as I read them. Cool idea.
Beyond that…not a whole lot more to say at this point. This issue felt mostly like set-up (with the gods plotting something and Graviton wiping the floor with the teams’ powerhouses), but the action kept things moving at a nice clip. My only critique is that the prose seemed a little rough in a couple spots. Nothing that takes you out of the story, but just a few lines here and there that seemed like they could have used a bit more polish IMO.
Overall, I look forward to seeing what else you have in store. And I’d also love to see some other references to Marvel continuity from around the same time. Maybe even some guest appearances from other ‘70s era teams and characters. It's a neat idea with an interesting (if obscure) team, so I predict there'll be some fun stuff ahead.
Best,
Alan Strauss
I’m glad you’re enjoying the series thus far. I hope you continue to enjoy the retro feel of the title. Rest assured, additional guest-stars are planned, crossing the spectrum of the fan fiction community. Just remember that they will be as they were in 1978 continuity.
As always, comments, suggestions, and questions are welcome at [email protected].
- Jeff Melton
Part II: Tussle in the Tundra!
WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: Investigating a report by Ivan that the Winter Soldier was alive, the Champions went to Russia to find him and rescue him, only to find instead the Soviet Super-Soldiers! Satana, working with Ares, contacted the villainous Orb.
Black Widow looks up, from her position on her hands and knees, seeing Crimson Dynamo and the Red Guardian before her. The Soviet scientist (that she had been trying to force information out of) moves quickly away from her, pleased that he is no longer being threatened. A quick look from the Red Guardian reminds him that he needs to return to his work. Black Goliath and Ghost Rider look on with interest, the Ghost Rider’s eyes flaring with energy.
“Red Guardian?!” she asks, surprised to see the familiar figure in front of her. “But I thought…!”
“You thought me dead, my dear?” the Red Guardian responds, standing over her, and holding onto her chin, pulling her face upward. “No, the State had other designs for me. I have been away from mother Russia, but now I have returned. It’s fitting that you should be here to welcome me back.”
“Hey, reds!” Black Goliath calls out, annoyed. Ghost Rider nods in agreement. “You’re talking around us, like we’re not even here!”
“You are of no consequence to any of us,” Crimson Dynamo responds sharply, turning over to them. “Leave now, and you will not share the fate of your former teammate!”
“There’s two problems with that little statement,” Ghost Rider returns, sending out a blast of hellfire at Crimson Dynamo, sending him back, “first, we don’t turn our backs on our teammates…and second, she’s still very much a part of our team!”
“You left out a part,” Black Widow exclaims, getting to her feet and kicking Red Guardian with a high kick to his chest, “I’m fully capable of taking care of myself!”
Black Goliath slams his fist into Crimson Dynamo’s face, jerking his head to the side from the impact of his punch! “I’m not surprised that this happened,” Black Goliath comments. “I was afraid we’d find the reds waiting for us!”
“Oh, we were expecting you!” Crimson Dynamo returns, sending out a blast of energy from his gauntlet, slamming directly into Black Goliath’s face, driving him back. “And you brought us the very thing that it would be difficult to acquire on our own!”
“I don’t like the sound of that!” Ghost Rider remarks, blasting Crimson Dynamo with his hellfire. Crimson Dynamo’s eye slits automatically close to protect his eyes and skin from the searing, unnatural heat. “I just hope this wasn’t a wasted trip!”
Ghost Rider hears a smashing sound from directly above him. He leaps out of the way, just as the ceiling explodes from the impact of a powerful blow above, even as Hercules falls through the ceiling, landing in between him and Crimson Dynamo!
“Hercules?!” Ghost Rider asks, clearly surprised, even as Crimson Dynamo takes the opportunity of the distraction to get back on his feet. “You okay, buddy?”
Hercules gets to his feet, a wide smile on his face, as the debris from the ceiling falls from his shoulders and back, crushed onto the floor below his feet. Titanium Man floats down from the ceiling to inspect his handiwork.
“Aye, friend Ghost Rider!” Hercules responds, as he makes his way over to the Titanium Man, still smiling. “’Twas worth the trip to this icy place for the taste of combat!” Tackling Titanium Man, Hercules drives them both across the floor, slamming into—and through—the outer wall, letting in the winter winds from outside! “Have at thee!”
# # # # # # # # # #
INTERLUDE
♪ Theme Music: “Blue Collar Man” By Styx.♪
City of Angels Hospital, Los Angeles, California. For the past few weeks, the man known as Rampage has laid in a hospital bed, recovering from an explosion set off by his former allies—Griffen, Titanium Man, and Crimson Dynamo. Although (unknown to him), he is receiving the best medical care that the Angel’s money can buy, there are some things that will never be the same.
Leaning forward, Rampage looks out through the narrow slits in the bandages covering his face, reacting to the sound of footsteps in his room. It has been some time since he had a visitor, and he is surprised by the sight of an incredibly beautiful woman in a revealing costume, with long red hair and high heels.
“What the hell?!” he asks, his voice somewhat altered by the constrictive force of the bandages around his face, just above his lips. His face still hurts due to the numerous reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries that he has undergone since his entry into the hospital. “Who are you?!”
“Does that matter?” she asks, moving towards him, leaning over to the man, who is pushing his palms onto the mattress of the bed, trying to sit up in the bed. “Although, I must admit, your description is quite apt.”
“Yeah, I figured I’d be kind of a celebrity around here,” Rampage manages, eyeing the cleavage of the stunning Satanna. “But, if you’re here to see the man who fought the glory boys, you can take it somewhere else.”
“Maybe I’ve come to make you an offer,” she comments.
“Hmm,” Rampage tries to smile under his bandages, but it hurts to bad to do so. “Normally, I’d be happy to take you up on your offer, babe, but…”
Satanna smiles, nodding, at the suggestion. “Yes, you are in a lot of pain,” she responds. “And I’m here to offer you some help with that.”
“WHAT?!” Rampage exclaims, his right hand flailing out, slamming into a glass of water, knocking it against the wall, where it shatters, water splattering against the wall. “I don’t take charity, woman! I didn’t take it from Angel, and I’m not taking it from you either!”
Satanna leans forward, fanning herself with the sheer hatred in the air, emanating from Rampage, smiling a sadistic smile. “Yes,” she says softly, her face reflecting with pleasure. “Your hatred is what is keeping you alive, and it strengthens you even now.”
Rampage’s eyes suddenly widen from behind his bandages. “What…exactly are you here for?!”
“I’m here to make you an offer you can’t refuse,” she offers, leaning back, her hands on her hips.
“Yeah,” Rampage asks. “Why do I feel like I’ve heard this story before…and it didn’t end well?”
“Don’t let your scruples keep you from getting what you truly want,” Satanna responds. “I offer you the things you want the most…your health and revenge against your enemies.”
“Heh,” he responds. “That sounds like my kinda deal, but you haven’t explained how you can do it.”
“Leave that to me,” Satanna replies, smiling with satisfaction.
END OF INTERLUDE
# # # # # # # # # #
♪ Theme Music: “Waterhole” by The Outlaws.♪
Soviet Union. Hercules and Titanium Man struggle outside of the building where his comrades-in-arms are fighting the other members of the Soviet Super Soldiers. As snow pours down outside in the darkness, the black water of the sea crashes onto the shore nearby.
With a smile that extends the length of his face, Hercules slams his fist into the towering armored figure, doubling him over. “Thou and thy friends hath been regular opponents,” Hercules comments. “I will reward thee for thy persistence! Have at thee!” With that, Hercules hits the Titanium Man with a massive uppercut, which picks the emerald villain off his feet and sends him flying though the air, landing fifty feet back, into the icy sea!
Without hesitation, Hercules covers the distance with one mighty leap, landing into the sea where the Titanium Man had disappeared a moment earlier, prepared to continue the battle.
Suddenly, the water explodes upward, even as a muffled sound of impact fills the cold night air. Underneath the surface, Hercules and the Titanium Man struggle like the titans they are, oblivious to water that would instantly give anyone else hypothermia. Titanium Man strikes Hercules in the stomach, pushing his armored fists through the water. Hercules responds with a powerful blow that sends Titanium Man flying through the water, and into the air, sending water trailing in his wake.
Hercules leaps out of the water, even as Titanium Man slams on the snow-covered ground outside of the government complex. Before he can rise to his feet, Hercules has landed on top of him, slamming his feet into Titanium Man’s face, driving the back of his helmeted head against the frozen tundra!
Titanium Man extends his hand outward, sending a blast of energy directly into Hercules’ mid-section. <“I cannot believe his strength!”> Titanium Man thinks to himself. <“I must give myself some time…at least to get back on my feet!”>
“Normally, thou art not alone in attacking me,” Hercules remarks, quickly recovering from the energy attack, which caused him to slam into a tree. Hercules quickly rips the tree out of the ground, and slams it into the back of Titanium Man’s legs at the knees, making him loose his footing quickly. “’Tis a different matter fighting the prince of power one-on-one, is it not?!”
# # # # # # # # # #
Back inside the governmental complex, the Angel hovers over the hole that was created a short time ago, when Titanium Man and Hercules started their battle. Also around that hole are Iceman and Darkstar. Before they can resume their search, the Angel has to fly through the air, making a loop to avoid a blast of radioactive energy, which incinerates the wall behind him!
“Iceman! Darkstar!” the Angel calls out, as he flies back down, seeing the female Red Guardian and Electro each send out separate blasts of energy at the heroes! The bulky Electro blasts his energy at Iceman and Darkstar, who leap in opposite directions, the blast of energy separating them!
“I think I’ve seen you before…Red Guardian, right?” the Angel offers, as he flies over the female Red Guardian, avoiding her energy attacks with his aerial prowess. “But I didn’t know you were working in Russia again. I thought you were with the Defenders.”
“It’s true that I was with the Defenders for a while,” the scarlet-clad female responds, “but I was never a member of their group. I must always side with my country, just as you side with yours. And I am no longer called the Red Guardian. I am Starlight.”*
[*Marvel continuity changed the female Red Guardian’s name later in time, but she’ll be called by that name here. No need to come up with another name for her. -J ]
“We’re not here because of east against west,” the Angel responds. “I’m not a polical person myself. I’m just here to recover someone who has been held captive, for what I understand, for decades.”
“You cannot say that you are here for non-political reasons,” Starlight responds, sending out another blast of energy, which the Angel again avoids. “Your country is constantly spying against ours. We know this well. And I cannot let you and your government conduct such missions on our soil.”
Iceman instinctively gets in front of Darkstar, as Electro advances towards them. “I didn’t know this fella was still around!” Iceman comments. “I think he used to fight Captain America—or someone calling himself Captain America—during the fifties.”
“I know about him, Bobby,” Darkstar responds, placing her hand on his icy shoulder. “He is dangerous. We must take him out quickly.”
“Look out!” Iceman exclaims, erecting an ice shield from the floor to just above their heads. “I need to pour on a thick layer of ice. I don’t know what his electrical energy would do to us if it hits!”
“Good move, Bobby!” Darkstar responds. “I don’t think we want to find out.”
“Listen,” Iceman offers, looking over at the lovely Darkstar, even as electrical energy strikes the thick shield, lighting up the air around them, “Me and Warren can take care of things here. You need to find Bucky. That’s why we’re here.”
“I can’t leave you here to fight Electro,” Darkstar interjects, shaking her head.
“No, you have to!” Iceman urges her. “We need to finish this before they bring in the calvary…who knows who!”
Darkstar looks at Iceman, who can hear the ice cracking behind his head. She nods, although uncertainty is in her eyes. “All right, Bobby,” she resigns. “I will, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Crimson Dynamo sends out a blast of energy at Ghost Rider, slamming into his chest and sending him flying back against the wall. His flaming skull scorches the plaster wall, leaving black marks on the wall, as he falls to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, even as Crimson Dynamo smiles under his mask.
“I’m out of my element here,” Ghost Rider thinks to himself, as he slowly gets to his feet, his chest aching from the energy attack. “I don’t have my mobility without my bike, and Crimson Dynamo has the advantage.”
“Prepare to join your master in Hell!” Crimson Dynamo comments, his gauntlets glowly with energy, as he stands over Ghost Rider, still on his hands and knees, looking up at the villain. “Because you’re about to join him!”
“I didn’t think the party let you make those kinds of statements!” Black Goliath shouts out, as he slams his fist into the back of Crimson Dynamo’s helmet, causing him to lurch forward, surprised by the suddenness, and forcefulness, of the attack. “I’d hate to see you get on Fearless Leader’s bad side!” Black Goliath smiles at the thought of one of his favorite cartoons.
Pressing his advantage, Black Goliath kicks Crimson Dynamo in the back, sending him crashing to his knees in front of a relieved Ghost Rider. “Don’t just sit there, G.R.,” Black Goliath comments with a sly smile. “I’m trying to give you a breather, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help out!”
“Point taken,” Ghost Rider responds, getting to his feet, and blasting Crimson Dynamo with a blast of hellfire, which completely encircles the communist villain, who leans his head back, reeling in pain! “How’s this for some help?!”
“Not bad!” Black Goliath responds, stepping back a couple of steps so the heat does not get to him as well. “I’ll have to hold off for a minute before I hit him again, though.”
“Then I will just hit you, fool!” Crimson Dynamo responds, sending out a blast of energy that strikes Black Goliath full force in the face and upper chest, even as Ghost Rider looks on with surprise.
Crimson Dynamo gets to his feet, blasting Ghost Rider as he gets to his feet. “You over-estimated your own powers…to your own detriment!”
Red Guardian blocks a kick by his former wife, the lovely Black Widow, with his forearm, standing his ground. “Why do you not return to mother Russia, Natasha?” he asks. “The party has always been good to you.”
“Good to me?!” Black Widow responds with anger, jumping up and kicking Red Guardian across the chest. He steps back, rolling with the impact of the blow so that it does not have its full impact. “I suppose you consider sending minions to kill me, and Ivan, constitutes being “good to me”?! Only a party ideologue could say something like that!”
Red Guardian shakes his head, as he leans forward, kicking Black Widow in the stomach, doubling her over. “A pity, my dear,” Red Guardian remarks coolly. “You could be a positive force for your homeland once again, but you have been poisoned by your years in the United States. Perhaps this will change when you have been properly re-conditioned. I have confidence that I will have my wife back again, after proper training.”
“That day will never come again!” Black Widow shoots back defiantly, as she steps back defensively, still partially doubled over.
# # # # # # # # # #
Darkstar walks down the hall on the second floor of the complex, hearing sounds in the distance. As she walks down the hallway, lit only with trace lighting, she nears a door that has light shining from underneath it. She nods silently, as she continues down towards the door. She opens it slowly, trying to make little sound, as she enters the room.
As Darkstar does enter the room, she sees a familiar figure standing in front of machinery, his fingers dancing across keys on a computer keypad. He looks up, seeing her, his hideous face not one that can be soon forgotten.
<“Gremlin!”> Darkstar exclaims. In the corner of the room behind the Russian villain is a cylindrical object, with a shadowy figure contained in the cylinder.
<“I have heard of you, girl,”> Gremlin responds. <“You were a part of a top secret government project with mutants. And I know why you are here. But, you cannot interfere with my work.”>
“Your work?!” Darkstar calls out. “You’re talking about a human being! This is the same way that my brother and I were poked and prodded by the government…and for what?!”>
<“You are young, and you are not a scientist,”> Gremlin responds sharply. <”You could not understand.”> He waves his hand, dismissively. <“Now, leave here, girl, so that I may return to my work.”>
<“I can’t believe how cold you are!”> Darkstar calls out, angry. <”I won’t let you conduct human experiments!”>
<”Foolish girl!”> the Gremlin responds sharply, pulling out a large gun and holding it before him, towards Darkstar. <”My father is responsible for the fact that he is alive, and my technology has maintained him in a pristine state. He owes his life to me…and to the state!”>
<”I’ve heard enough!”> Darkstar exclaims, sending out a blast of dark energy at the Gremlin. It solidifies and slams into his face, knocking him to the floor, even as the gun he was carrying falls on the ground and skids off into the distance, as Gremlin struggles to retain consciousness.
The blast of dark energy then turns, and slams into the cylinder located in the corner of the room. The effect is instantaneous! The glass breaks, and gas floods from the cylinder, creating a fog that fills the room. As Darkstar leans over, coughing at the unnatural gas that floods the room, a shadowy figure kicks at the glass, and makes his way away from the cylinder, walking towards the machinery.
Gremlin, seeing the figure approaching him, has a terrified look on his bestial face, his eyes growing ever larger. <”NO!”> he exclaims with fear exploding from his voice. <”Stay back!”> The figure effortlessly grabs Gremlin and throws him across the room like he was a paper doll, and the Gremlin hits the wall hard, bouncing off the wall, and landing on the ground below in an unconscious heap.
As Darkstar looks up, her eyes red and tears flowing from them, an effect of the gas, she sees the Winter Soldier before her, looking around, and then looking at her.
“Who are you?” he asks, in English, holding the gun that Gremlin held mere moments earlier. “Do you work for them?”
TO BE CONTINUED...
NEXT ISSUE: The Russian storyline comes to its dramatic conclusion! Ares’ plan continues to unfold! And what can the Champions expect when they return to Los Angeles? Find out in 1970s Champions #6!
# # # # # # # # # #
CABLES OF CHAMPIONS
Okay, the Soviet storyline heats up this issue, with some familiar faces from the Cold War. Also brought back this issue is Rampage. There was a period of time when I considered reforming Rampage, and having him work with the Champions. But, when you look at those issues with the character—and even the one where the Angel offers to help him with his legal bills (which I established this issue that he did anyway), he responded with bitterness and anger. He did touch a nerve at the time of his creation, though, as the inflationary villain. I’ve always thought that “Blue Collar Man” should be his theme song, which is why I used it in this issue. I also couldn’t resist the guitar-heavy number “Waterhole” for Hercules’ fight with Titanium Man, given the setting. And, let’s see what the readers have had to say about previous issues…
I really enjoyed 70's CHAMPIONS #2, with the Black Widow talking calmly to the spooked pilot to the Black Goliath bus fiasco (great dialogue there). This was some of your best work yet. Graviton is one of my favorite villains, and your choice of Theme Music continues to prove you may have a future as a DJ!
The sibling rivalry of Enyalios and Phobos was well done and, from your descriptions, images of the movie "300" seemed to come to mind. Looking forward to seeing Ares in action. He has one helluva costume.
Graviton does remind one of Magneto (images of Kirby's Magneto havoc-wreaking scenes from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY certainly came to mind quite readily at times as I read your tale), as Warren correctly pointed out. Too bad he doesn't remember that Magneto and the Beast helped saved the world from Dr. Doom in a story the Champions played a big role in.
Graviton still has an eye for the lovely ladies, eh? Ah well, who doesn't?
The Angel/Graviton dialogue exchange was great stuff. I wish Marvel would get an artist to draw this book and publish it. It's a real gem!
"I knew I kept you around for something!" Classic! Remniscent of their old X-Men days.
Herc vs. Graviton was cool, but the way you handled the entrance of the Ghost Rider really kicked ass! While lacking Herc's raw super-strength, Ghost Rider's hellfire is damned spooky and--let's face it--no matter who you are, it can't be fun to fight monsters from Hell.
Tychovosky,eh? Fitting. Ivan seems like he needs a swig of Vodka to calm down.
Looking forward to the next issue. Wish Marvel still made comics like this. Wish I could still recognize the characters these days.
Ricky Powell
An understandable dilemma these days. I’m glad that you enjoyed the issue, and that you’re enjoying the series. This series is something I enjoy writing. The 70s elements, and 70s continuity, will hopefully be welcome for older fans, and fans of the older stuff that I and many others grew up reading. In addition, the Champions really was a title that was cut too short. I think that this could really have been a Defenders-type series, with a long publishing history. As for the Angel’s amnesia, keep in mind that a large part of the Dr. Doom/Magneto battles was the fact that the heroes were also battling mind control at the time, in addition to being in the midst of a villain war.
Heya,
(I’m going to preface this with some unnecessary background info. I’ve just recently returned from a fanfic hiatus and have decided be a bit more active in the community. One of things I’m planning to do -- overly optimistically no doubt -- is to keep myself up-to-date on what’s going on in the various series running at M2K and try to give people regular feedback, starting with this update. Since ‘70s Champions #2 happened to the first issue listed on the New Releases page, it’s the first I read).
To begin with, let me just say I like your retro-stories. I read several of your ‘60s Avengers issues about a year ago and remember thinking what a great idea that seemed like to me. Why write a fanfic series stuck at some arbitrary cut-off point when you can pick it up right when you felt it was at its height? So I’m glad to see you applying it to another title. Definitely a fan of this sort of thing.
Including a suggested soundtrack is an interesting idea too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do that before. Makes me wish I actually had all those songs on my hard drive and could hear them while I was reading. The ones I could imagine the tunes for brought a whole different feel to the scenes as I read them. Cool idea.
Beyond that…not a whole lot more to say at this point. This issue felt mostly like set-up (with the gods plotting something and Graviton wiping the floor with the teams’ powerhouses), but the action kept things moving at a nice clip. My only critique is that the prose seemed a little rough in a couple spots. Nothing that takes you out of the story, but just a few lines here and there that seemed like they could have used a bit more polish IMO.
Overall, I look forward to seeing what else you have in store. And I’d also love to see some other references to Marvel continuity from around the same time. Maybe even some guest appearances from other ‘70s era teams and characters. It's a neat idea with an interesting (if obscure) team, so I predict there'll be some fun stuff ahead.
Best,
Alan Strauss
I’m glad you’re enjoying the series thus far. I hope you continue to enjoy the retro feel of the title. Rest assured, additional guest-stars are planned, crossing the spectrum of the fan fiction community. Just remember that they will be as they were in 1978 continuity.
As always, comments, suggestions, and questions are welcome at [email protected].
- Jeff Melton