A Monster Who Isn't A Monster

cover art by John Romita

Captain America and the Falcon #135 (March 1971) makes one think about cliches and tropes. The story, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gene Colon, uses a version of the Jekyll and Hyde routine, in which a man transforms himself both physically and morally into a monster. But its an example of why some ideas are continually reused. They are the entry way for countless variations of the basic plot and, in the hands of good storytellers, often still make for entertaining stories. Colon's art looks great and the fight scenes are fun. Also---well, if Angela had failed to notice me the way Julia fails to notice Dr. Gorbo, perhaps I would have transformed myself into a giant ape and gone on a crime spree. So it is difficult not so sympathize with him. 

The issue begins with Cap bringing Falcon (at this time still a fairly new character) to SHIELD headquarters. Falcon meets Nick Fury and demonstrates his skills as a fighter by brawling with Dum Dum Dugan. 

While this is going on, we meet the aforementioned Dr. Erik Gorbo, whose lab is located near the combat area where Falcon and Dum Dum are sparring. Gorbo is crushing on his lab assistant Julia but realizes she doesn't see him in a romantic light. She's more interested in talking about another scientific experiment going on--the Earth Dig project--than in him. Though, to be fair to her, she's unaware of his interest and treats him with respect. Gorbo is butt-ugly, but there's no indication this bothers her. She just isn't in to him. 

Nowadays, this is an issue that would probably end with everyone talking to H.R.  But in 1971, it often ended with the rejected guy drinking a secret formula to make himself physically swesome and thus impress the girl. 

Unfortunately for Dr. Gorbo, the formula turns him into a large gorilla, which rarely impresses the ladies. But he has an antidote and he now also has an evil plan. He can rob banks as a gorilla, then turn himself into a human again so that no on suspects him. He also learns he can mentally control other animals, so he orders all the dogs in the neighborhood to attack the police, thus ensuring his getaway.

Well, a gorilla robbing banks is the sort of thing that draws the attention of superheroes. Cap and Falcon are soon on the trail, though they are also distracted by attacking dogs when they try to catch the gorilla.

But when Dr. Gorbo is next in his lab, Julia tells him she's going to watch the Earth Dig project, which involves digging the deepest hole ever dug into the Earth. In a world where we KNOW that subterranean civilizations exist, this seems like a bad idea. But science must march on.

Anyway, Gorbo gets jealous of the Earth Dig project and attacks it in his ape-form. This starts another tussle with Captain America and ends with the both of them falling into a very, very deep pit.

We'll return to this story in two weeks to see how it ends. I do think it gets off a fairly strong start. A lot of the stuff that happens on SHIELD can seem a bit like filler, but it does serve a purpose in introducing Falcon to a portion of the larger Marvel Universe while giving us a chance to meet Dr. Gorbo. As I already mentioned, Colon's art is wonderful and, though Gorbo is largely a jerk, he does have a few moments that allow us to feel some sympathy for him.

I'll have to ask Angela if turning myself into a giant ape would have impressed her. Probably not, I suppose.

Next week, we visit the planet Krypton.