Issue(s): Captain Marvel #13, Captain Marvel #14
Cover Date: May-Jun 69
Title: "Traitors or heroes?" / "When a galaxy beckons..."
Credits:
Gary Friedrich - Writer
Frank Springer - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
Arnold Drake theoretically established a change of direction for Captain Marvel two issues ago but now he's gone along with Dick Ayers, and now we've got Gary Friedrich and Frank Springer.

We saw Mar-vell teleporting away at the end of the last issue to get his vengeance on Yon-Rogg, so this issue naturally starts with him... sitting around reading Times magazine...

...and dressing up like an old man.

Then the Mad Thinker's Man-Slayer robot rebuilds itself and goes on another rampage.

Actually, the robot has developed its own consciousness and isn't even sure if it should still be fighting...

...but Captain Marvel isn't in a mood for diplomacy.

However, when the guards at the Cape start shooting at him instead of the robot, Mar-vell finally decides to go after Yon-Rogg instead.

However, the encounter with Yon-Rogg doesn't go as expected, and not just because all of Mar-vell's new super-powers seem absolutely worthless...

...but because Yon (can i call him Yon?) throws out the wacky idea that he might be able to bring Una back from the dead...

and then shows him that Carol Danvers is (brace yourself) in trouble, about to get killed by the Man-Slayer robot. Mar-vell leaves Yon-Rogg and heads back to destroy the robot; the idea that it had an independent intelligence and potentially peaceful intentions is abandoned.

It's never explicitly stated that the Man-Slayer robot was part of the Thinker's plot with the Evil Alliance (which teams up the Thinker with Egghead and the Puppet Master), although it is pretty clear that was the case.

After defeating the robot, Captain Marvel is cornered by the military, who think he is a traitor since he stole their rocket several issues back. Carol Danvers is standing between him and the soldiers.

Meanwhile, Tony Stark is flying overhead, high on cocktails and making passes at the stewardesses.

That's when the Puppet Master gets involved.

His goal is to destroy the Cape's launching facility, which will safeguard Egghead's space-station.

Interesting stylistic choice in that third scan above.

The fight ends because Tony Stark has a heart attack, preventing him from responding to the Puppet Master's commands.

The nice thing about being the Puppet Master is that you can do your dirty work from afar, and the people you manipulate might not even realize that you're involved. So even if your plot fails, you should be able to get away scot-free. Unless you throw your radioactive puppets at your high tech equipment in a tantrum, and it explodes and kills you.

With Iron Man defeated, Captain Marvel decides to not stick around and put himself at the mercy of the US military after all, and he teleports away. He soon finds himself confronted with a Wall of Rainbow Exposition, leading into his encounter with Zo next issue.

The Puppet Master's motivation here seems more directly related to the ongoing Evil Alliance plot in Avengers, unlike the Sub-Mariner issue which felt a bit more random. I had some problems with this issue like the normally tough Carol Danvers mewling "Help me" during the fight, and Stark's all-too-convenient heart attack and recovery, but this was still fun. And there's some interesting experimenting going on in the artwork. It's still clean, but there's some unusual layouts. That text page is a bit much, however.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This takes place soon after Iron Man #14.

References:

• Tony Stark was last seen on a plane with Janice Cord in Iron Man #14, but he's subsequently switched planes so he can head to Miami on business.
  
• The closest i've seen to acknowledging the Evil Alliance crossover is in this footnote: "If that doesn't tell you that this yarn is part of a titanic trilogy which begins in Sub-Mariner #14 and ends in Avengers #64, we'll give up and tell you that it is! So, if you want in on the whole happening, rush out and pick up those issues before you read another word! -- Stan (who isn't responsible for this) and Roy and Gary (who are)!" Those issues don't even cover the whole shebang, since Avengers #63 and Avengers #65 also relate to this story, and Captain Marvel #12-13 are related as well.

Crossover: Evil Alliance

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Man, Carol sure got damseled a LOT, didn't she? She might as well just stay down, instead of getting up to be threatened by the next menace.

I'm trying to think when was the next time Marvel did a three-title (four if you count the continuity tie-in with Tony's trip to the Caribbean in Iron Man) cross-over. Not for a very long time, I'm thinking. (Unless you count the Rutland Halloween parade crossover from Thor #207, Marvel Feature #2...and Justice League of America #103, but that's unofficial, of course.)

I think the next multi-title crossover is the Mr. Kline saga.

How did the Puppet Master survive this one, is he just randomly brought back in Ff 100?

And is he the character with the most random redesigns only to end up looking exactly as weird as when Kirby first drew him in the end?

Yeah, there's no reference to this issue in FF #100.

My theory is that he transferred his consciousness to a puppet early on, explaining both his changes in appearance as well as any unexplained resurrections.

I like that theory. Simple and fitting for the character. How many noprizes does marvel owe you?