Left Crying at the Altar: Leir's 10th and Final Appearance

 

The Mighty Thor #426 (NOV 1990)

In my last post, I wrote of the way that Leir's most recent story arc, which began with his effort to marry Lady Sif (way back in Thor #....) got more or less leap-frogged.  We wound up in the previous issue with Sif finally seeing Thor (her beloved and the only real reason she'd been entertaining Leir's advances in the first place) and immediately engaging in some good ole' Asgardian lip-wrestling.

I can only suspect that someone at Marvel back in the day noticed this and said, "Y'know...we really need a better resolution than just Leir slinking off like the band nerd who got rejected by the head cheerleader who'd been stringing him along, only to surprise him in front of the whole school by saying, "Later nerd!  I'm going to prom with the quarterback!"  And so...as the cover of #426 suggests, we finally get some resolution here.

Having defeated Ymir and Surtur and forestalled Ragnarok, Asgardians are due for a little downtime.

Odin, like any old man, chooses to take a nap.  (Sorry...I guess I should call it an Odin-Nap).

We get a bit of a political plot twist next.  In Odin's absence, the Father of Asgard will not be leaving Balder the Brave in charge, but instead...Heimdall!!  Perhaps this is appropriate, since the first action of Asgard's interim liege lord is to rebuild the Rainbow Bridge.

In the midst of such multi-hued reverie, Hercules informs Thor that he's going to make a quick round of the Asgardian ladies before heading to Olympus for his own homecoming.  Thor muses about how he's always all alone, but his cognitive pity party is interrupted by...

Having announced his intentions, Leir proceeds without further ado.

In response to Thor's natural question:  "Ummm...why're you hurling lightning bolts at me, again?"  Leir provides a quick run down of how they got to this moment.

First of all, I went back and re-read The Mighty Thor #417 (MAY 1990) wherein the attempted wooing of Lady Sif began.  There is nothing in there about Leir having to "defeat a champion of Sif's choice."  In fact, what is there is this little announcement:

"The Lady Sif has accepted [Leir's] chivalrous
proposal!" (Does that sound like she's putting any
conditions on the acceptance?)

So we have a pretty blatant plot hole here, created (I assume) to prevent acknowledging that Sif has straight up used Leir for over half a year of publication.  Hold onto your seat, though, because the humiliation of Avalon's premiere warrior is just beginning.

Now, understandably, Thor's still pretty ticked at being attacked while standing by a rainbow bridge, minding his own business.  I think we can all understand Thor's desire to take Leir down a peg or two.  His next statement, however, is...well... You decide.

"thy foul and loathsome touch"?!  Really, Thor?  I mean...the guy did just
help save Asgard from destruction, after the good Lady strung him along
under false pretenses. 

Despite Thor's unbecoming trash talk--Remember, Goldlilocks, this guy did just help you fight off a fire demon and an ice giant--he will not be the one to face Leir in combat. 

 

Instead, Sif herself is going to add injury to insult.

 

An an observer, I'm really beginning to feel sympathy for Leir.  The dude has done everything that was asked of him, and his reward is getting slandered, beat up, and now mocked by his wing man!?

 

And with that, Leir (lord of lightning and god of the spear) vanished from the Marvel universe.  Despite his arrogance, Leir still proved himself a loyal hero.  He deserved a better send-off than this.

[SIDENOTE:  Reviewing Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 (FEB 1992), I was reminded that yet another of my favorite Marvel characters also tried to wed Sif.  What was the deal?  Is she that irresistable?]

et tu, Warlock?

Another Midnight Feature...Or Is It? (part 2) -- Smash Comics #58 (APR 1945)

 

Last week we left a hypnotized Midnight backed up against a wall by machine-gun toting gangster, Vince McGonigle.  But before we find out what happens to our titular hero...

Once Gabby frees himself, he races to the McGonigle gang's warehouse hangout.  Despite the fact that it seems to destroy the in-story timeline, Gabby arrives just as his pals are about to get aerated by lead.  At the last possible moment, some random henchman convinces Vince to halt the execution, in favor of a "better idea."

Comic gangsters:  icons of best management practices

Gabby is mortified when he realizes what his pals can be persuaded to do in their hypnotized state.  Then, he realizes that since anyone can influence Midnight now...he (Gabby) could just order him to mop up the McGonigle gang.  However, a moment's reflection gives him pause.

I guess the moral of this story is:  don't be an annoying houseguest

Unfortunately, things don't work out at Gab is expecting.  Rather than attacking his captors, Sniffer takes a swing at the man in blue, himself!

Apparently, shortly after drawing this panel...somebody notified the creatives-in-charge they were running out of room.  You turn the page and all sort of plot holes and discrepancies explode.  After Gabby's second order to Sniffer, the clueless detective suddenly turns and starts fighting the actual gangsters. (No explanation on why that didn't work the first time.)  Next Wackey--for absolutely no explicable reason--snaps out of his hypnotic trance and then rouses Midnight by pulling his best "Dr. Phil."

Yep...that looks clinically sound.

Of course, once he comes to himself Midnight enters the fray alongside Sniffer.  Unfortunately, when our hero tells the Snoopster to "wake up!" the latter does so, and promptly reverts to his standard cowardly self.  Of course, that doesn't change the outcome.  Midnight mops the warehouse floor with McGonigle and his crew.

And we wrap up with the standard (lame) effort at humor.

Aaaaand, it's a swing and a miss!

Another Midnight Feature...Or Is It? (part 1) -- Smash Comics #58 (APR 1945)

I gotta give it to Gustavson (or whoever wrote this) the feature splash page is intriguing!

The main story begins--as the last several have--in Dave Clark's home, where the insufferable Sniffer Snoop actually asks a good question!

Show of hands -- Who else has been wondering
the same thing?

Dave goes on to "explain" that one Vince McGonigle has been bragging about having a "sure-fire way" to kill Midnight.  Dave's staying in costume because he wants to be ready for anything.  When Sniffer goes off on his typical monologue about how he could protect Dave, collar McGoniglce, etc., a frustrated Gabby storms off to see what Doc Wackey's up to. Our monk friend finds the inventor putting the finishing touches on yet another "greatest and most useful invention."  This turns out to be not much more than two mirrors, with flashing lights, attached to the ends of a fan.

Ta Daa--...wait...what?!

Eager to put Sniffer in his place, the two summon the still-pontificating "detective" into the room, ostensibly to check the balance on the mirrors.  Of course, Sniffer's immediately hypnotized, at which point Gab and Wackey exact their revenge.  They make Sniffer act like a dog...and seem to have designs on making him pose as an old woman. 

Gabby dashes off to get the old dress, while Wackey--inexplicably--decides that maybe one of the mirrors is out of line and he should check it.  Naturally, he too is hypnotized.  Midnight comes into the room a moment later to check on everyone and...well, you can guess what happens.  Gabby returns to find both his pals (and Sniffer) out of it.

To my recollection, this is the first instance
of Gabby have a signature tag line.  In earlier
stories, Midnight used the phrase, "Red Fire!"
a lot, but we haven't seen it in quite some time.
I'll be curious to see how many more times
Jupiter Pluvius! crops up.

Meanwhile, in the secret hideout of Vince McGonigle we finally learn the specifics of his "sure fire" tactic for killing Midnight.

In what is a glaring plot hole (given the earlier explanation that Dave was sitting around in his Midnight outfit so that McGonigle wouldn't realize Dave Clark was Midnight.

pg. 4

Yet here we find an anxiety-ridden Gabby still in the room (seemingly shortly after discovering his pals are hypnotized) and who should suddenly come through the window?

pg. 8

(Sooooo...I guess Midnight's civilian identity isn't all that "secret" after all?)

Anyhoo...once McGonigle's gang are inside, they praise Bixby for having (they assume) given Midnight the evil eye, "right through the window."  For unexplained reasons, the crooks decide it "ain't safe" to kill Midnight and his pals here in the apartment of Dave Clark.  Instead, Bixby orders the hypnotized trio to start walking to an as-yet undisclosed location where the coup de grace will be delivered.

Since Gabby remain unhypnotized--and is breathing out threats (however ineffective)--the crooks toss him in a footlocker.  McGonigle decides not to kill the simian sidekick because, "somebody's gotta tell around that it was me that was too tough for Midnight..."

On the way to the appointed execution, we get the in-story rationale for Midnight's eventual triumph.

Arriving at what appears to be a non-descript warehouse, McGonigle directs his prey down into the basement and backs our heroes up against a wall.

Is this it for beloved Midnight?!
Is Big City to be plunged into an unchecked reign of terror?!!