Issue(s): Captain America #164
Cover Date: Aug 73
Title: "Queen of the werewolves!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Alan Weiss - Co-plotter
Alan Weiss - Penciler
Alan Weiss - Inker

Review/plot:
This issue introduces the deadly Nightshade.

It starts off with a vicious scene of her training her pack of werewolves to kill Captain America by dressing up poor prisoners in Cap clothing.

Then it switches over to a bizarre scene with Cap getting a little too friendly with the Falcon.

Yeah, Cap, we're "together" as partners. OK?

The Falcon is investigating a letter from a former friend who was being held prisoner. He's the poor slob that was eaten by werewolves, but Sam doesn't know that yet. Since it's the Falcon's mission he flies ahead and gets captured by Nightshade's werewolves.

When Cap arrives, his mind isn't exactly on the mission.

I'm not sure where Cap's getting the "little girl" idea, but he's clearly distracted, and he gets led into a trap.

Cap fights werewolves...

...and a Falcon-turned-werewolf.

He handles them all with relative ease, thanks in part to his super-strength, but also because these werewolves aren't the kind that can only be stopped with a silver bullet. Facing defeat, Nightshade starts to bawl (there's that little girl thing, i guess), and is chewed out by the Yellow Claw.

Rather than face defeat, Nightshade leads her werewolves in a jump off the roof, seemingly committing suicide.

Nick Fury shows up with SHIELD, acting on news that the Yellow Claw is around. He was apparently called away from a Conan the Barbarian convention.

The immediate threat of Nightshade halted, Cap and Fury show very little sympathy to Sam, who's just learned that his friend was eaten by werewolves, since they are focused on hunting down the Yellow Claw.

Alan Weiss, who according to the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Creators also gets a co-plot credit, is a pretty good artist. Everything has a kind of loose and limber feel, which looks good on Nightshade's werewolves and of course the cheesecake poses of Nightshade herself. The problem is that the semi-cartoony feel makes everything a little goofy but at the same time we're dealing with murderous werewolves who actually kill someone in this issue, so there's a bit of a mood conflict (and i don't know what the deal is with Nick Fury's outfit).

This story is the basis for the reviled Cap-Wolf story from the early 90s.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - first Nightshade

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

ha, ha a conan the barbarian convention

When Tony Isabella brought Nightshade back in late 1975, he gave her birthdate as 1957 making her 16 in the story. That story also brought him into contact with an, um, deranged fan at a convention years later who had a Nightshade-only sketchbook and scared the crap out of him.

"He was apparently called away from a Conan the Barbarian convention." You got that right. Either that or Alan Weiss was doing some serious acid. And aside from his ridiculous outfit, he's just drawn horribly. Eww. Must block from brain.

I bet on the acid. Look at the expressions. I liked the issue, though