Issue(s): Amazing Adventures #16
Cover Date: Jan 73
Title: "And the Juggernaut will get you if you don't watch out"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Bob Brown - Penciler
Frank McLaughlin - Inker

Review/plot:
"In cooperation with Marie Severin - Caricaturist".

Hank and Vera stop in at Rutland, Vermont on their way to Canada in time to see the annual Halloween parade (They are actually picked up by a carload of Marvel writers and editors, drawn by Severin, i assume, and we are subjected to a number of Bullpen in-jokes).

The Juggernaut briefly escapes from his prison dimension...

...fights the Beast for a while...

...and then gets sucked back in, seemingly dying of old age.

Englehart remembers that taking off the Juggernaut's helmet has helped the X-Men beat the Juggernaut, but that was only because the helmet protects Juggy from mental attacks. Getting the helmet off in this issue doesn't mean a damn thing, no matter what the Beast or Juggernaut think.

Even away from Brand, Hank is still maintaining his secret identity by wearing the ridiculously lifelike rubber Hank McCoy costume.

This is the last issue featuring the Beast in Amazing Adventures*, even though the Beast and Vera are in the middle of a plot that requires them to travel to Canada to save the world (the plot will be wrapped up in the Hulk). The note on the letters page says that sales were too low even though the letters they received were always positive. However the letters in this issue criticize both the previous writer (Gerry Conway, described as having a "sucking quagmire of verbosity") and artist (Tom Sutton).

That said, this was a fun series.

*As Morgan notes in the comments, next issue reprints the Beast's origin back-up stories from Uncanny X-Men #49-53. It's wrapped with some opening and closing narration from the Beast that i wouldn't consider to be in continuity.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Because of the Rutland Halloween festival, Thor #207 takes place soon after this, but Thor's appearances in Avengers #105-108 and Marvel Team-Up #7 make everything a tight fit. It's not directly a problem for this issue (which doesn't feature Thor) but a lot of Thor's other appearances should be considered as taking place concurrently with this story.

References:

• The Juggernaut got trapped in another dimension in Uncanny X-Men #33.
  
• He fought Dr. Strange in Dr. Strange #182.
  
• Dr. Strange was in Rutland, Vermont last Halloween, as depicted in Marvel Feature #2.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I'm not sure what Steve's aside to Jim Warren of Warren publishing means--Steve brefly wrote for Warren, but there was no Warren title called "Feature".

Bob Brown had previously drawn for Atlas/Marvel in the 1950s, then spent nearly all the Silver Age at DC doing Space Ranger, Challengers of the Unknown, Doom Patrol, Batman/Detective, Superboy, and other things. His 1970s Marvel work ranges from okay to horrible to just weird, depending on his inker.

The Beast had a healing factor similar to Wolverine at the start of his solo series, but that was ancient history by the time he joined the Avengers.

"This is the last issue featuring the Beast in Amazing Adventures..." Not quite; AA #17 contains what appears to be, based on the Marvel Database, a reprint of the Beast's X-Men Origins backups from X-Men #49-53 wrapped in a fourth-wall-breaking framing sequence, although mikesamazingworld.com weirdly treats it as an all-original story, at odds with its treatment of other issues in this era that are mostly origin-story reprints wrapped in (in-universe) framing devices. Not sure if it's even worth putting on the What's Missing page; it sounds like the framing device is probably questionably canon at best.

Thanks Morgan. I've found a scan of the framing sequence. As yo usay, it's fourth-wall breaking narration, and i wouldn't count it as an appearance, but i've added the scans to the bottom of this entry.

From Wikipedia:

In the fall of 1972, writers Englehart, Conway and Len Wein crafted a metafictional unofficial
crossover spanning titles from both major comics companies. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis , interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in
Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in Amazing Adventures vol. 2 #16 (by Englehart with art by
Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin ), the story continued in Justice League of America #103 (by Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano ), and concluded in Thor #207 (by Conway and penciler John Buscema). As Englehart explained in 2010, "It certainly seemed like a radical concept and we knew that we had to be subtle (laughs) and each story had to stand on its own, but we really worked it out. It's really worthwhile to read those stories back to back to back – it didn't matter to us that one was at DC and two were at Marvel – I think it was us being creative, thinking what would be really cool to do."

Also a small note. Amazing Adventures don't end with the reprint issue. Marvel instead does another transform - they start War of the World saga (of Killraven and his pals).

It's not a very well known story, and it takes a while to find a writer and its own voice, but once McGregor starts to write it changes from bad to quite good (if repetitive).

Even with Killraven the book still struggles to find an audience though, and it is canceled without resolving its storylines.

I understand why it's not included here - it's not Marvel 616. But it's worth mentioning :)

Killraven may not be -616 continuity, but it's the same timeline as the Guardians of the Galaxy, so it's worth keeping track of, I'd think. Ditto the original Deathlok series.

Or am I misunderstanding Karel's comment?

Karel is referring to the fact that i don't cover alternate futures except where they directly cross over with the main Marvel universe.

'I'm not sure what Steve's aside to Jim Warren of Warren publishing means--Steve brefly wrote for Warren, but there was no Warren title called "Feature".'

Steve's note was probably referring to "Marvel Feature" #2, published earlier in 1972, which also featured Roy and Jeanie Thomas. (I only figured that out because I just read the entry on Marvel Feature #2 yesterday.)

As for why Englehart referenced Jim Warren in that footnote, I had kind of guessed that maybe Englehart and Warren had spoken about the Marvel/DC crossover at some point earlier, but that's only a guess. Maybe Warren had previously had himself drawn into one of his own stories in similar fashion, or perhaps Warren is one of the caricatures included in Marie Severin's drawing? Again I'm only guessing, and have no real clue.

Thanks for the hidden Starlin material, fnord12!