Avengers (UK) Vol 1 99

Continuing from last issue, Ultron-6 has just been resurrected by the Vision inside Avengers Mansion, the resulting attack causes an explosion. Even with the combined efforts of Thor, Iron Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Black Panther, the Wasp and Vision (who is now free from Ultron's influence), the robot manages to defeat Earth's mightiest heroes and makes a quick escape, to plot the total destruction of mankind.

Seeking to make up for betraying the Avengers, the Vision follows Ultron back to his base to learn the robots plot: It's attempting to destroy New York City in a giant nuclear explosion. Soon, the Vision is joined by the Avengers who take the sidelines while the Vision battles his creator. However the battle is lost because of the untimely intervention of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (who are tracking the Adamantium which Ultron's body is constructed of) arrive and stun the Vision, allowing Ultron to escape, leaving the Avengers to deal with the device set to destroy the whole city.

Appearing in "Why a Tiger-Claw?!,"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #4

Featured Characters:

Shang-Chi

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Rufus T. Hackstabber (First appearance)
NYPD
Paul Bunyan (Referenced)

Races and Species:

Humans

Realities:

Earth-616

Locations:

Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America
  - - New York
      - New York City
        Manhattan
        Midtown
        Madison Avenue
        
        57th Street
        
        Rockefeller Center
        
        Upper West Side
        Central Park West
        
        Brooklyn
- China (Only in flashback)
  - Henan (Only in flashback)
    - Zheng Zu's Fortress (Only in flashback)

Vehicles:

Hackstabber's taxi

Synopsis for "Why a Tiger-Claw?!,"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #4

Shang-Chi, about to cross the street at Madison and 57th, nearly gets hit by a taxi. At 54th Street it turns sharply and runs through the window of a bank. Two men in masks get out, guns ready. They rob the bank, the customers, and the taxi driver. On their way out, they run into Shang-Chi, who disarms them. The police arrive and try to apprehend Shang-Chi along with the two robbers. Suddenly the taxi smashes out of the bank. In the confusion, the robbers pile into their intended getaway car. Shang-Chi gets into the taxi. The taxi driver introduces himself as Rufus T. Hackstabber, and he wants the $7.80 that the robbers took from him.

First appearance of Rufus T. Hackstabber

They trail the car to an alley, but by the time they get there, it has disappeared. Shang-Chi opens the back of a truck parked there. The car is inside, but the occupants have disappeared. Hackstabber, inspecting the car, falls through a hole in the truck's floor ... and through the open manhole beneath ... and into the sewers.

A servant tells Fu Manchu that a search for Tiger-Claw has turned up nothing. When Ducharme asks about Tiger-Claw, Fu tells her that he is a traitor. In the sewers, Shang-Chi and Hackstabber manage to follow the robbers to a manhole in a subway station. The robbers board the train, while Shang-Chi and Hackstabber leap onto the rear platform. Sir Denis Nayland Smith gets a call from the police commissioner, asking if Fu Manchu has something to do with the twelve bank robberies committed that day. Smith thinks not, but he and Black Jack Tarr will look into it. The robbers get off the train at an elevated station. Shang-Chi subdues them again. He learns that they left all the loot in the truck and that the man who hired them calls himself Tiger-Claw.

Chapter 2: The Way of the Tiger: A Movement in Blood

Shang-Chi remembers Tiger-Claw. He was ten years old and spying on his father's court. The man demanded that Fu Manchu make him a lodge master of the Si-Fan. Fu ordered three assassins to kill Tiger-Claw. Even at that age, Shang-Chi quickly saw that the three were outmatched, but Fu did not stop the conflict. The three died, and Tiger-Claw became a lodge master.

Back in the present, Smith and Tarr find the truck. Shang-Chi, Hackstabber, and the robbers arrive. The police almost arrest Hackstabber, but Smith vouches for Shang-Chi. Hackstabber drives off in his taxi; he knows where the robbers were supposed to meet their gang, and Shang-Chi, Smith, and Tarr head for the same lumberyard in Brooklyn. When they arrive, Hackstabber has been captured and the money is gone again, but he knows it has gone to Rockefeller Center.

At Rockefeller Center, Hackstabber distracts the gangster carrying two suitcases full of loot, and Shang-Chi knocks him out. Tiger-Claw, expecting to pick up the loot, arrives. He tells Shang-Chi that he intends to come out on top in the war between Fu Manchu and Fah Lo Suee. A group of Si-Fan assassins arrives. Tiger-Claw unites with Shang-Chi against the Si-Fan, and the two make short work of them.

Hackstabber tries to get his $7.80 from a suitcase, but Tarr kicks it shut. Smith and Tarr watch Shang-Chi battle Tiger-Claw. It looks bad until Shang-Chi uses a broken umbrella pole to snag Tiger-Claw's poisoned-claw gloves and pull them off. In a fair fight, Shang-Chi beats Tiger-Claw.

Hackstabber asks Smith for his $7.80. Smith tells him to "file a proper claim with the authorities." Hackstabber replies: "Well that's a fine how do you! And it's also a criminal outrage! Why I never heard of such a thing! Harumph, sir - harumph, I say! And furthermore, you'll hear from my lawyers in the morning. ... oh, and by the way - is that your final offer?" Shang-Chi takes Smith aside, while Tarr snaps Hackstabber's cigar in two, and receives a few bills. Hackstabber gives Shang-Chi a ride home to Smith's townhouse. When Shang-Chi arrives, he gives Hackstabber his "fare": $7.80.

Appearing in "At the Mountain of the Moon-God / Chapter 2: Where Dark Death Soars"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Savage Sword of Conan #3

Featured Characters:

Conan

Supporting Characters:

Princess Yasmela of Khoraja
King Khossus of Khoraja
Yasmela's counselors
- Lord Malthom
- Taurus
- Prince Katuman (Joins team behind the scenes)

Antagonists:

Vateesa (Death)
Strabonus, King of Koth (First appearance)
Sergius of Khrosha and his rogues (First appearance)
Ophirean soldiers
- Commander Quzak (First appearance; dies)
- Capt. Ceballus (First appearance)
Pterodactyl (First appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

Tevalos (First appearance; dies)
Khoraja Host (Mentioned)
Natohk (Mentioned)
Serpent Men (Mentioned)
Amalrus (Mentioned)
Kothian Army (Mentioned)
Murilo of Corinthia (Referenced)

Invocations and Deities:

Crom (Invoked)
Ishtar (Invoked)
Mitra (Invoked)

Races and Species:

Humans
Serpent Men (Mentioned)
Pterodactylus

Locations:

Earth
- Hyboria
  - Khoraja
    - Khoraja
      - Palace
  - Stygia (Mentioned)
    - River Styx (Invoked)
  - Koth
  - Ophir
    - Mountain of the Moon-God (First appearance)
  - Corinthia (Referenced)

Items:

The map

Events:

Hyborian Age

Synopsis for "At the Mountain of the Moon-God / Chapter 2: Where Dark Death Soars"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Savage Sword of Conan #3

A failed diplomatic mission to the Khozgari results in a speedy escape for Conan and the soldier Jamal. Retreating to the hills, Conan almost kills a girl who attempts to ambush them, and turns out to be the princess of the Khozgari, Shanya. The two men force Shanya to lead them safely through the demon-infested Misty Mountains. After a bit of a ride, the mists rises, and they come across a sacrificial altar and hear demonic laughing. A boulder falls from the sky and crushes Jamal, and a noose rips Shanya out of Conan's hands into the air. Conan evades another noose, and kills the humanoid, musky ape creatures who ambushed them. He follows the sickening stench to a stone citadel in the mountain, where Shanya is tied to a bed. A hunched elderly man tells Shanya that she will bear his and his sons children, or he will give her to a mysterious creature behind a mist-shrouded door, the very sight of which terrifies the girl. Meanwhile, Conan makes short work of the citadel's guards, all of whom seem to be wearing a bizarre transparent mask. Conan takes a mask and confronts the elderly man and his guards inside. The mists are called again, and Conan swings blindly until he realizes his opponents had put on masks before they fought him. He puts the mask he stole on and discovers he can see through the mists, and quickly ends the battle. At this, the head man opens the door and releases a giant spider-crab-creature with his dying breath. Conan pulls a stone from a stacked pyramid of stones, and brings the whole collection down on the creature as Conan and Shanya make their escape, Shanya more than happy to show her gratitude to the barbarian for rescuing her.

Links and References

References