The previous issue ended with Cap and the gorilla that is really a transformed mad scientist falling in a hole dug deep into the earth for the purpose of disposing of radioactive waste. In other words, it's Tuesday.
We start Captain America #136 (April 1971--written by Stan Lee, drawn by Gene Colan) back on the surface, with Nick Fury, Falcon, and Sharon Carter mourning Cap's apparent death. Fury, though, realizes that Falcon isn't going to give up and gives him the space he needs to make a rescue attempt by getting Sharon out of the way.
Falcon goes to Tony Stark, who quickly whips up a jet pack that will get Falcon down the shaft--though it won't have enough fuel to bring him back up again.
There are several points that show the challenges of writing stories set in an ever-expanding fictional universe. First, as we'll soon see, the tunnel has been drilled directly into the domains of the Mole Man. Since subterranean civilizations are known to exist, it seems unlikely that no one would have given this consideration when the tunnel was first planned.
Also, one wonders why Tony Stark didn't suit up as Iron Man and come along with Falcon. Cap is one of his best friends, after all.
But, as much as I like consistant continuity in my comic book universes, there are times when it is more important to tell an individual story in an exciting manner without worrying about the overall universe it is set in. This is Cap's and Falcon's book and there's no room for an extra guest star in this story, so Iron Man is simply left out of it. And the story requires the interaction with Mole Man, while pages of political negotiating with him about the tunnel would have slowed the action-oriented tale down just a tad too much. Besides, politicians both in fiction and in real life are often short-sighted, so maybe digging the tunnel without thinking about the consequences isn't that much of a jump in logic.
Anyway, we find out that Mole Man used an anti-gravity beam to lower Cap and the Monster Ape to the bottom safely. This is because he wants to find out what's up with that darn tunnel. Mole Man's characterization in this issue is a lot different than we've seen in the past. He isn't looking for conquest or revenge on the surface world right now, but simply wants to make sure that his own domain is safe.
The Monster Ape immediately starts planning to make trouble. He begins a rampage and has to be subdued and caged--though we soon find out this is part of a quickly improvised plan to get Cap killed. What his long-term plans are isn't clear, but that's not really a flaw in the story. Perhaps he's just playing it by ear to see what he can eventually get out of it for himself.
Cap is quite straightforward about the fact that the tunnel was going to be used to store radioactive waste, but he assures Mole Man that he can get this plan cancelled once it is known that they'd be dumping the stuff in the lap of another civilization. Mole Man believes him and is about to send him back to the surface when the Monster Ape does indeed start to cause trouble.
By turning back into Dr. Gorbo, he is able to slip out of his cave. He then convinces Mole Man that Cap is a spy scoping out the underworld defenses. This quickly leads to Gorbo (once again in ape form) getting into a fight with Cap. Falcon shows up at this point, though, and in a very well-choreographed fight scene, the two heroes work together to take down the big ape.
But Mole Man is now planning on destroying SHIELD headquarters before then attacking various surface cities. When Gorbo hears this, he realizes that this would mean Julia--the lab assistant he loves--would be killed. So he sacrifices his life to stop the attack, confessing to having lied about Cap just before he dies.
A lot of pages are used up recapping the previous issue and reviewing Mole Man's origin, so the main plot comes across as a little rushed. But Gene Colan's art has it all looking magnificent. As I mentioned when I reviewed the part one, this story is an example of taking old and perhaps cliched ideas, but still telling a fresh and interesting tale based on those ideas.
Next week, it's back to Superman Family #182 as Supergirl visits Mars.
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