Super Adaptoid is the villain.
Thought balloons. For a robot. Super Adaptoid actually has an inner life.
Quicksilver flies into battle. Yes, flies. Remember? Pietro can fly. At least for a few issues.
He has the power of all the Avengers.
So of course guess who beats him?
Go ahead, guess.
Thaaaaaat’s right. Hawkeye. The lamest Avenger.
When the team gets back, Captain America calls a press conference for a big announcement. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are still members–but Pietro thinks they’re better than the others.
I think it’s cool to see them getting dressed up before the big assembled shot for the press.
I also like the use of a press conference by the team. Seems very realistic. Cap’s big announcement?
Thor and Iron Man quit after the battle with Super Adaptoid, and Hercules officially joins.
Grade “F”-??!- Grade “F”-???!!! C’mon! Just because this story featured an android with Artificial Intelligence, thus capable of thinking on it’s own, doesn’t mean it rates an “F”!! C’mon!! I thought this story was actually pretty good, and it was drawn well, for 1967! The sophistication of Marvel’s writing and art-style was constantly evolving, a work in progress. What was happening in the ‘Avengers’ in 1967 was halfway between the “crude” years of Kirby, Ditko, and Heck, and the ultra-sophistication of John Buscema, Gene Colan, and most especially, Neal Adams. As a matter of fact, when I first read “Blitztkrieg in Central Park”, I thought it had been drawn by John Buscema! Underestimating “Dashin’ ” Donnie Heck is a HUGE mistake! Look no further than his work on the legendary “Uncanny X-Men”#64- ( first appearance of Sunfire ) since Neal Adams, who had the ‘X-Men’ assignment at the time, was beginning to slip on his deadlines, ( which undoubtedly contributed to this legendary series’ premature demise ) editor Stan Lee asked Dashin’ Donnie to try his best to draw the issue to look as much like Adam’s style as possible! ( !!!!!!!!!! ) But, with a titanic amount of assistance from “Titanic” Tom Palmer, ( who just passed away a few months ago, along with Adams, who went last May, I believe- 2022 sucked!!! ) he actually PULLED IT OFF!!! As with my mistaking Heck for John Buscema with ‘Avengers’#45, the first three or four, or maybe even five times I read ‘Uncanny X-Men’#64, I thought it was actually Neal Adam’s art!! You see, you have to read the splash page credits VERY carefully! But it’s there! Anyway- “Blitzkrieg in Central Park” is notable for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is, it’s the issue in which Hercules’ probationary period ends, and he becomes an official Avenger! YAY!!! I like the Prince of Power! He’s my favorite member of Thor’s supporting cast, because he seems to have made it his mission in life to keep up with Thor, in all seasons and weather! That’s a very noble goal, of course, but Thor enjoys a few major advantages over the Herculean One, not the least of which is….. the hammer! With the hammer, Thor can not only FLY, ( very important talent for a superhero ) but he can control all forms of weather, fire power blasts out of it, bring down lightning strikes, travel between dimensions, and, on at least one occasion, fly through outer space, and into the Sun!! ( as seen in ‘Thor’#338, 1983 ) So, it’s not a great idea for Thor to lose his hammer! ( as has happened, on occasion ) But Hercules tries SO hard to keep up, it’s hard not to respect him, and his efforts. Of course, even without all of Thor’s supernatural powers, Hercules is STILL the second-most powerful Avenger. ( if you think it’s Iron Man, reread ‘Avengers’#163, where the Armored Avenger nearly beats himself to death against the Lion of Olympus’ godly frame , and in spite of what all the recent Avengers movies would have us believe, I do not consider the Hulk a member of the team ) Hercules brings a lot to the team, a fact that apparently became totally lost on Roy Thomas when he decided to write the Prince of Power right back out of the series, only five issues later, after spending almost a full year working to write the guy ONTO the team! ( ‘Avengers’#38-45 ) I always feel good when Hercules is around, because, like Thor and Iron Man, ( and Superman in ‘Justice League’ stories ) when he’s around, no matter how much trouble the Assemblers find themselves in, you know he’s going to pull them through! A true father-figure! My affection for this story, as well as the following issues’ “The Agony and the Anthill!” can probably be explained by the fact that these were among the first Avengers stories I ever read, and I’ve been firmly in the Assembler’s grip ever since! If I were writing this series, I would ensure that the Son of Zeus had a permanent place on the roster. ( with ‘Justice League of America’ it’s Aquaman ) He’s mighty enough to ensure the team’s every victory, but not so mighty that I would have to have the team battle Thanos, Ultron, and Galactus every single month! ( as would be the case with Thor and Iron Man ) Speaking of Ultron, he ( its-?? ) a super-deadly Artificial Intelligence, as well. Does that mean Ultron, and all the stories he/it appears in, all deserve “F” ratings, as well??? Really??! You know, before he died, astrophysicist Stephen Hawkins ( aka The Smartest Man on Earth ) tried very hard to warn the world that the single-greatest threat facing Mankind throughout this century would be Artificial Intelligence- the “Skynet” Syndrome. Ultron and the Super-Adaptoid are simply the advance guard. They’re not dumb characters! Incidentally, Hawkins also tried very hard to get the Global Scientific Community to dismantle the CETI program, for one single reason I am in TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH: If “ET” has the technology to reach Planet Earth, then it is smart enough to CONQUER Planet Earth!!! So, for GOD’S SAKE- STOP CALLING THEM!!!!!!! We DON’T NEED or WANT THEM HERE!!!! Exactly. They don’t call you The Smartest Man on Earth just because it SOUNDS cool!! We really don’t have the Super Friends, or the Avengers, or Mister Fantastic to fight off alien invasion!!! From a standpoint of pure mathematics, extraterrestrial life is undoubtedly out there, but comic-book superheroes are, unfortunately, pure bullshit. ( at least in the early 21st Century, so far ) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology informs us that the ‘Iron Man’ technology is still a good eighty years out. So- we’ve GOT to keep the BEMs OUT of here, at LEAST until then!! Right-??! DAMN right!!! That’s enough food for thought for now! Peace out!!