Issue(s): Marvel Super Heroes #7 (Cloak & Dagger story only)
Cover Date: Oct 91 / Fall 91
Title: "Guardian Angel"
Credits:
Peter David - Writer
Gary Hartle - Penciler
Randy Emberlin - Inker
Mike Rockwitz - Editor

Review/plot:
The 1993 USAgent miniseries reveals that the Golden Age Angel was behind the Scourge program. In that story, he's wealthy, and the most obvious reading of the story is that Angel was behind the Scourges since the beginning. We see a flashback with him meeting Domino, the original Scourge's assistant, while Angel talks about setting up the Scourge organization. So when i read this story, with the Golden Age Angel living as a homeless person, it surprised me. But it will later be retconned so that this Angel is a half-brother of the original.

Angel first appears on a subway train and is moved to action when he sees a mugging on a train and can't stand it any more.

Angel kills one of the men, and it sure seems like it's the first time he's killed someone.

And it looks like he's going to wait around and turn himself in to the authorities until a supportive crowd convinces him to run.

Coincidentally, the mugger that was killed is the grandson of a former villain of the Angel's.

In fact he claims to be the Angel's greatest opponent.

But readers of this site know that that is an outrageous lie. Everyone knows that the Angel's greatest villain was Armless Tiger Man. Stinger doesn't even seem to be an actual Golden Age villain. I guess this is proof that the retcon was correct, since this couldn't be the original Angel.

Cloak and Dagger get involved in this story when they "rescue" a young girl who is being pursued by Child Services. They want to put her in a home because her mother is homeless. Cloak and Dagger bring her back to the homeless community where the girl's mother lives. And that's where they meet the Angel.

Here's the girl's mother.

Stinger rounds up some goons to go after Angel at the homeless community, and it's like the Mutant Massacre all over again.

While Cloak and Dagger fight the goons (who are armed with Stinger's technology), Angel and Stinger face off.

Stinger falls onto a subway track's third rail and dies. Angel seems willing to let himself get run over by a train, but he's rescued by Cloak.

Interesting that the two Angel brothers share the same general attitude towards criminals, although Mark Gruenwald approached things a very different way than Peter David.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Placing this at publication date.

Other stories from this issue: X-Men, Shroud, Marvel Boy.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

If I recall, I thought the idea of the Angel (Thomas Holloway) was that he was twin brothers posing as one guy (or I should say that's the retcon)--one of the brothers is the guy here, and the other one founds Scourge.

I guess he was more like a half brother who was inspired by the original Angel to act like him:

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix6/angel_simonholloway.html

Ah, that explains everything. Thanks MikeCheyne. The MCP list this as an appearance of the "real" Golden Age Angel.

Kids growing up in the UK might remember the UK "Spectacular Spider-Man" set mostly outside 616 (aside from the occasional reprints).

The Golden Age Angel exists within that comic, a recurring character who is a timely gentleman that dates Aunt May, figures out Peter's identity and occasionally aids him in his old Angel suit (even against Butterfly, the Fiddler and Dr. Grimm, the last of which would also make a comeback. It even mentioned their seeming deaths at the hands of Captain America!)

Yeah, the UK version of the Golden Age Angel sure does make the 616 versions of being a vagrant or man behind a vigilante assassin conspiracy seem somewhat surprising. Although given Aunt May's dating history... Is it? Is it really?

I never heard of Gary Hartle before, but he's a pretty decent artist....reminds me of Kerry Gammill.

It might just be me, but Angel seems a very Shadow-esque in this story.