The Invaders (1993) #2, "Havoc In Hollywood"

Presumably because the first issue of the new Invaders series becomes available this coming Wednesday, Marvel had a quickie sale of past Invaders material earlier this week. I grabbed a few things, of course, including the issue below.

The first issue in the series was reviewed briefly here.

Coming off her fight against Battle-Axis, in which she was defeated and Whizzer was abducted, Miss America crashes through the window of the Invaders' headquarters. After a little recovery time, she brings the rest of the team up to speed.

That's a hell of a reference there. The story to which Namor refers was published in late 1976. I think I know which book I'll be reviewing next.

When they reach L.A., Namor and the original Human Torch are tasked with looking in on this Goldstein guy. when they arrive at his home, they find that the leader of Battle-Axis, Dr. Death, has beaten them there! And who's that behind him?

Obviously, a fight ensues. The house catches fire, as it might when the Human Torch fights indoors.

The heroes lose (again). The Human Torch is abducted (Dr. Death specifies that he wants him alive) but Namor is left to die in the burning building. And he nearly does, until he is rescued by...

Damn, man, that's pretty obscure! One of the more enjoyable aspects of this book was how writer Roy Thomas worked in ancient and/or public domain characters. The Blazing Skull had appeared very rarely in comics since 1942 at that point. Way to flaunt that knowledge, Mr. Thomas!

In the concluding pages of this issue, Captain America and Miss America head to UCLA. It seems like it's mostly on a hunch based on the amount of war-based research being conducted there.

That hunch proved accurate, however, as they encounter, and defeat, the rest of Battle Axis with the help of another character from the 1940s, the Silver Scorpion. The Silver Scorpion is aware of the location of this Mojave Project so off they go. To be continued.