Iron Man Vs. Captain America

Iron Man and Captain America have battled many times over the years, but the first was the best.


Tales of Suspense #58 (October, 1964) featured Iron Man "In Mortal Combat With Captain America", with an incredible cover by Jack Kirby, and story by Stan Lee (and interior art by Don Heck and Dick Ayers, with Kirby doing a few Cap figures in the story).



The two heroes were tricked into battle by the Chameleon (a foe who first menaced Spider-Man, back in Amazing Spider-Man #1, getting New Yorkers to mistrust Spider-Man)...and the Chameleon manipulates Iron Man and Cap to battle here!

Everything turned out okay, as starting with Tales of Suspense #59 (November, 1964), Iron Man and Captain America started to share the title, each with single stories in an issue...


...until Tales of Suspense #99 (March, 1968), after which, Cap took over the title with Captain America #100 (April, 1968) and Iron Man went to Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (April, 1968), and then into his solo Iron Man comic in May, 1968.


So, when are we getting the Sub-Mariner movie?

Spider-Man Teams With Iron Man

Back in the day, Spider-Man and Iron Man got along, and they teamed up quite a bit!

Iron Man's earliest adventures with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up were quite involved, pulling in people from all over the Marvel Universe, Avengers and more!

Time to take a look back at what Tony Stark and Peter Parker's alter egos did together....

Time Troubles

The first time Spider-Man and Iron Man worked together in MTU was in Marvel Team-Up #9 (May, 1973) with the start of "The Tomorrow War" by writer Gerry Conway, penciller Ross Andru and inker Frank Bolle.

This time, Spider-Man comes to the aid of the Avengers, whose mansion is surrounded by a force field, with Iron Man and Spider-Man trying to break through, but instead, they end up in the 23rd Century, where the duo meet Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man (an old time-traveling foe of Thor's from the future).  The pair search around for their captive friends, finding them....

....held captive by Kang the Conqueror (a time traveling foe of the Avengers!).

More trouble ensues...

...but that is for the next couple of issues (where Iron Man is not as involved, but instead, Spidey gets help from the Human Torch, and then, the Inhumans!).

Human Torch had his own team-ups in MTU, and the Inhumans were without Medusa and Crystal....

A Long Time

Spider-Man and Iron Man started a long run of team-ups with Marvel Team-Up #48 (August, 1976), with "A Fine Night For Dying!", by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema, and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Spidey had just returned from a battle with the Basilisk with the Thing (and before that, a time travel adventure that started with the Scarlet Witch and Vision, and ended in the alternate futures of Killraven and Deathlok), where Spidey is knocked off his swing by an explosion at Stark Industries, and saved by Iron Man.  While conferring with police detective Jean DeWolff (introduced in this issue), the heroes are the focus of a model plane attack (with bomb!) in her office, with Spidey headed to stop the villain who launched the plane....

...the Wraith (who also debuts in this issue!).

Iron Man and Spidey's battle against the Wraith continues into Marvel Team-Up #49 (September, 1976) with "Madness Is All In The Mind!" by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Spidey is taken prisoner by the Wraith, who reveals he has mind-control powers as well, so Spider-Man, Iron Man and Jean DeWolff have troubles battling the villain, but do cause the Wraith to flee.  Back in Jean's office, she shows the heroes a letter from the Wraith, but it appears in the handwriting of her brother Brian, an officer supposedly killed in the line of duty. 

Spidey thinks they may be dealing with the supernatural, a realm out of reach for Spider-Man and Iron Man, but not for a master of the mystic arts like Dr. Strange.... 

Iron Man takes a little back seat in this issue, as Spidey hooks up with Dr. Strange in Marvel Team-Up #50 (October, 1976) as they explore "The Mystery Of The Wraith!" by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Dr. Strange and Spider-Man find out that Brian was not killed in the shootout as everyone thought, and Iron Man does find Phillp DeWolff's fingerprints on the handwritten letter from the Wraith (Phillip being Brian and Jean's father).  After Jean is captured by the Wraith, she discovers that Brian is the Wraith, that he was wounded in the shoot out with a bullet in his brain, and taken by their father, who performed experiments on his son, linking their minds (allowing Phillip control, but Brian having mental powers).  Iron Man arrives trying to stop the Wraith with a special helmet, taking out the Wraith for a time.

Marvel Team-Up #51 (November, 1976) features "The Trial Of The Wraith!" by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito.

Peter Parker gets assigned to cover the case against the Wraith (both Phillip and Brian DeWolff), but gets in an argument with his boss J. Jonah Jameson, thus being able to leave and attend as Spider-Man, even as expert witnesses on mind control like the X-Men's Professor X and the Avengers' Moondragon are called, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents unsuccessfully prevent the defendants use of their mind powers.  Phillip reasserts control of the Wraith, at least until Dr. Strange lives up to his surgeon credit, using his mystic powers and medical knowledge to take the bullet from the brain of Brian as Spider-Man and Iron Man fight the menaces that Phillip is causing Brian to make up.  The court finds Phillip guilty, but Brian innocent (and the judges were secretly telepaths and telekinetics as well?)

All the while, the Hulk jumps around in New Mexico (though his team-ups would have to wait an issue, as Spidey worked with Captain America in the next issue, and then went to Marvel Team-Up's first annual to work with the X-Men.....), and the Wraith would appear again in issues of Iron Man, as well as the Amazing Spider-Man, Morbius the Living Vampire and the Punisher.

 Crack That Whip

After their lengthy battle with the Wraith, Spidey and Iron Man might have longed for a simpler time, like in Marvel Team-Up #72 (August, 1978) with a "Crack Of The Whip!" by writer Bill Mantlo, and art by Jim Mooney (and a cover by John Byrne and Bob Layton).

At least it seemed like a simple case, with Spidey trying to stop warehouse thieves, before Maggia enforcer and Iron Man foe, Whiplash, stopped him.  The crooks fled (though Spidey got a tracer on them), and Spidey, along with Jean DeWolff and Iron Man, prepare to go and face off against Whiplash.  Meanwhile, Whiplash arrives at the Maggia's base, where we find out that the Wraith is in control, heading up this Maggia's branch.  The heroes soon show up, with Iron Man fighting Whiplash's whips, and Spidey dealing with the Wraith's mind-projected illusions, until Jean stops her brother, causing Whiplash to turn on the Wraith, and the Wraith to defeat Whiplash.  The Wraith goes off with Jean as the police take Whiplash away.

 Hot Time In Town Tonight

Marvel Team-Up #110 (October, 1981) features "Magma Force" and the debut of a new villain, Magma, by writer David Michelinie, penciller Herb Trimpe and inker Mike Esposito (under a Bob Layton cover).

As Spidey is headed toward the Daily Bugle, he saves a falling window washer, who had been shaken loose from his perch by an earthquake in New York!  When Spidey goes into the Daily Bugle as Peter Parker, he gets an assignment to photograph the news conference that Tony Stark has called about how he plans to deal with New York's new earthquake problem.  This conference is interrupted by an earthquake, with Peter and Tony secretly changing into their alter egos to deal with it.  When Stark's tracking device pinpoints the area that started the trouble, the two heroes go to investigate, and find armed thugs there, under the leadership of Magma, a mining engineer who lost his company and his wife to environmentalists, and was to take revenge with his new armored suit and weapons, but his earthquake threat is stopped by Spider-Man and Iron Man (though Magma escapes, to cause Tony Stark trouble later....and ends up being the first foe that James Rhodes faces when he wears the Iron Man armor for a time!

 New Looks, Old Times

It's new hero meetings with Marvel Team-Up #145 (September, 1984) and the story "Hometown Boy" by writer Tony Isabella, penciller Greg LaRocque and inker Mike Esposito (under a cover by Greg LaRocque and Bob Layton).

Spidey's in his symbiote suit he got during the Secret Wars, James Rhodes is still acting as Iron Man and wearing the armor, and even Whiplash has a new look and name, now calling himself Blacklash.  They all meet at an electronics convention in Cleveland, with the newer Iron Man having trouble dealing with this improved Iron Man foe, but thankfully, Spidey is there to help defeat Blacklash....and the heroes head home, while Blacklash ends up in jail.

James, of course, later gets his own armor and becomes War Machine, after Tony takes back the Iron Man mantle.

Still, Spidey had plenty of team-ups to chronicle, and maybe it's time to look at the tech on those team-ups, and deal with some agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Spider-Man Teams With Vision And The Scarlet Witch

He's a density-altering synthezoid (synthetic android) created by Ultron, she's a reality-altering mutant who worked for Magneto in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants...but, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch put aside their criminal pasts, and both went to work for the Avengers...

....and even fell in love!

Better still, each of them teamed up with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

A Vision Of Trouble

Marvel Team-Up #5 (November, 1972) gave us a whole new Vision....well, not really, but it was a chance for the character to shine away from the Avengers, facing off against the Monstroid code-named Ballox (a Skrull robot, left over from the Kree-Skrull War) in the tale "A Passion Of The Mind" by writer Gerry Conway, penciller Gil Kane and inker Mike Esposito.

Vision was passing out on the street, and thankfully, Spidey was there to lend a hand....and found it was the Puppet Master (foe of the Fantastic Four and father of Alicia Masters) who was controlling the Monstroid (which was causing the problems the Vision was having).  Vision went and phased through the Puppet Master, ending his control of Ballox, and Vision left Spider-Man to deal with Puppet Master in the next issue (with some Thing helping him, and the Monstroid ending up in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D.), as the Vision went to rejoin the Avengers.

Time Enough At Last

Spidey met up with Scarlet Witch in Marvel Team-Up #41 (January, 1976), but she wasn't quite herself then in the tale of "A Witch In Time!" by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

Cotton Mather took control of Scarlet Witch and had her come to Dr. Doom's castle in upstate New York (injuring Vision as she took a Quinjet from the Avengers to get there).  Wanda had enough of her own mind left to summon help, in the form of Spider-Man, but Spidey was no match for the Salem witch-hunter and his thrall...who used Dr. Doom's time machine to go back to his home in the 17th Century, with Spider-Man soon following to go rescue the Scarlet Witch from the time of the Salem witch trials (though not having much luck)....and soon a Vision appears (who also used the time machine)....leading into the next issue.....

With Marvel Team-Up #42 (February, 1976), readers get "A Vision Of Hate" as writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt continue their story, with Vision working with Spider-Man to free the Scarlet Witch from the Salem witch trials, and facing off against Cotton Mather.

The heroes get separated, and Spidey ends up in prison, where he finds out more of the trials, and how Cotton Mather stirred up the controversy to use witches for his own ends.  Vision soon joins, and the two heroes go looking for Cotton Mather, finding out he is working for a sorcerous being calling itself the Dark Rider, who was powering Cotton to lure beings so that he may get more power...and while relating his plans, Vision attacks.

Then,  Fantastic Four foe, Dr. Doom appears!

This leads into the next issue, Marvel Team-Up #43 (March, 1976) with "A Past Gone Mad" by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt, and it was Dr. Doom who was mad (because all these people kept breaking into his castle and using his time machine!).

Sadly, this worked in the Dark Rider's favor, as he battled Dr. Doom, the Dark Rider also drew power from Doom, and the heroes (taking Dr. Doom along) had to continue the battle...

...with the Dark Rider eventually winning, or so it would seem....

At least until Marvel Team-Up #44 (April, 1976), with Moondragon (an Avenger with mental powers) who was having visions of the last three issues, walks away from Iron Man and gets pulled into 1692 by the Scarlet Witch to help in "Death In The Year Before Yesterday" by writer Bill Mantlo, penciller Sal Buscema and inkers Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt.

With the help of Moondragon, Vision, Scarlet Witch and Dr. Doom, Dark Rider is defeated and Cotton Mather has his mind broken.  Dr. Doom is nice enough to let the heroes use his time machine to get home, but Spidey lingers (sadly, not being able to save those accused of being witches from hanging....).

Spidey shouldn't have stayed behind by himself, as using Dr. Doom's time machine throws him into the alternate futures of Killraven and Deathlok in Marvel Team-Up #45 and #46  (1976), and returning for a team-up with the Thing in Marvel Two-In-One #17 and Marvel Team-Up #47 (both July, 1976), then into a lengthy team-up with Iron Man starting in Marvel Team-Up #48 (August, 1976)....but more on these in a later article.

I Found The Snake

All that time travel makes you want a simple story...but Marvel Team-Up Annual #5 (1982) isn't quite as simple as it seems, with Spider-Man not only working with the Scarlet Witch, but also the Thing, Dr. Strange and even former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Quasar...all dealing with the Serpent Crown in "Serpent Rising" by writer Mark Gruenwald, who also provided the pencils...and inked by Jim Mooney and Al Milgrom.

This was a chance to review the long history of the Serpent Crown as it passed through the ancient hands of Conan and Kull as they fought the Serpent Men, to more modern times with Namor the Sub-Mariner, his foe Krang, the Serpent Squad and even as Hellcat got her powers and faced the Squadron Supreme, as the Elder God Set tried to use the crown's power to take over the world by first taking control of Quasar at Project: PEGASUS (where it had been kept for safekeeping).  Thankfully, this awakening stirred Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, the Thing and the Scarlet Witch (who had all faced the Serpent Crown before) to prevent Set's plans of making everyone his serpent slaves!

All Together Now

Time for a tale that focused on only Vision and Spider-Man, and that is in Marvel Team-Up #129 (May, 1983), with Vision going to New Hampshire on his own, "And Much To Ponder Before The Dawn" by writer J. M. DeMatteis, penciller Kerry Gammill and inker Mike Esposito.

In New Hampshire, Vision encounters androids in the small town of Rain, but these androids seem familiar, as they look like famous authors like Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare and Fiodor Dostoyevsky (all left behind by Fantastic Four foe, the Mad Thinker after a battle with Captain America and Team America in Captain America #269).  Peter Parker ends up in Rain as well, taking photos for the Daily Bugle with reporter Andrew Pauncholito, following up on a murder case where the murder looked like Fiodor Dostoyevsky.  Soon, the police arrive, and begin shooting the androids, until they are protected by their new enforcer and protector...the android, Alpha, who was bested by Vision and Spider-Man.

With Vision occupied, the Defenders' magical foe, Necrodamus, takes advantage, capturing the Scarlet Witch while disguised as Vision in Marvel Team-Up #130 (June, 1983) in "Till Death Do Us Part" by writer J. M. DeMatteis, penciller Sal Buscema and inker Mike Esposito.

The dispossessed spirit that is now Necrodamus wants the Vision's android body for his own, and promises to free Vision's wife if Vision lets the spirit in.  Meanwhile, Andrew Pauncholito has figured out Peter Parker is Spider-Man....and threatens to expose him to further his own career.  Vision gives up his body to save his wife, and Spidey and Scarlet Witch team up to exorcise Necrodamus, and eventually do...teaching Andrew a thing about humanity (inspiring him not to reveal Spidey's secret identity to the world...knowing what trouble that would cause the hero).

Sadly, Spidey's identity was later outed during Marvel's  Civil War (for a time), thanks to Iron Man.

As alluded to, Iron Man had many team-ups with Spider-Man, and they follow soon! 

April Showers Bring May Flowers and More

May brings new plant life and rebirth...and this little gem from the 1978 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters, wherein the Dynamite Duo of Batgirl and Robin face off against floral foes Poison Ivy and the Floronic Man.

Art by Dick Dillin!

Spider-Man Teams With The Black Widow

Seems a natural, Spider-Man teaming up with the Black Widow.  After all, when she was giving up being an Iron Man villain, she stopped by Spidey's title to get a costume change (to the costume she used in most of her appearances in Marvel Team-Up).


So, let's take a look at those team ups!

It Starts Here

The stories in MTU were usually short, being one or two issue affairs, but Marvel Team-Up #57 (May, 1977) laid the foundation for future tales, with "When Slays The Silver Samurai", and a meeting of Spider-Man and Black Widow by writer Chris Claremont, penciller Sal Buscema and inker Dave Hunt (and under a Dave Cockrum cover).

This was the second appearance of the Silver Samurai (looking more the part than his first appearance in Daredevil #111), with him facing Spider-Man, as Spidey tries to stop some would-be thieves.  Meanwhile, Black Widow is in New York (taking a break from the west coast Champions), trying to find Nick Fury, and warn S.H.I.E.L.D.  Being unsuccessful, Black Widow finds Spider-Man battling the Silver Samurai, and comes to Spidey's aid.  The two battle the warrior, eventually defeating the Silver Samurai, and they recover a small statue that he had stolen.

But, more would come of this simple encounter.

All Together Now

Spidey next encounters Black Widow in Marvel Team-Up #82 (June, 1979, by writer Chris Claremont, penciller Sal Buscema and inker Steve Leialoha, under a cover by Rich Buckler), except that the Widow thinks she's upstate school teacher, Nancy Rushman...and completely helpless against muggers attacking her (showing "No Way To Treat A Lady"), at least until Spider-Man stops them.  Trying to help her, she finds she has no memory other than the above, but, in looking for identification, they find the Widow's costume, which Spidey convinces her to put on (he says for warmth, but also hoping to jog her memory).  Then, the two are attacked by agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with Spidey fighting them off, but getting injured, and "Nancy" displaying some combat abilities to save Spidey from the attacking agent, but not knowing how she knew how to fight.  The two are then confronted by Nick Fury, who shoots Black Widow, then Spidey...and asks the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to clean up the mess.

Spidey wakes up in Marvel Team-Up #83 (July, 1979), being happy there wasn't "A Slaughter On 10th Avenue", and proceeds to run down last issues events in this story by Claremont, Buscema and Leiahola.  It ends up being a team-up with Nick Fury, who had tranquilized Spidey (and the Widow), with Fury looking after the Black Widow at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ (which Spidey finds, and takes Black Widow away from S.H.I.E.L.D).  Meanwhile, a mysterious woman gives Silver Samurai orders aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier, asking him to use his teleportation ring to bring Hulk's foe, the Boomerang, to them (Silver Samurai got that ring from John Belushi of Saturday Night Live in Marvel Team-Up #74 in October, 1978).  This leads to a confrontation between Spidey and Nick Fury (who was being followed by Boomerang and Silver Samurai), and Spidey, Fury and the still amnesiac Black Widow to team-up to find out the plans. 

Those plans deepen in Marvel Team-Up #84 (August, 1979), where Shang-Chi (master of Kung Fu and son of Fu Manchu), shows up to help "Catch A Falling Hero" in the story by Claremont/Buscema/Leiahola, with the heroes finding out that it was Captain America foe, Madame Hydra (now calling herself the Viper) who was behind the brainwashing of S.H.I.E.L.D., and plans to use the Helicarrier to kill the President of the United States.  The heroes try to stop the assembled villains, and free the hypnotized crew, but the story ends with Spidey falling out of the flying Helicarrier...

...and into Marvel Team-Up #85 (September, 1979), dealing with his fall and "The Woman Who Never Was" in this story by Claremont/Buscema/Leialoha.  The combined heroes do battle with the villains, working to save the President and the hypnotized S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and we learned Black Widow had been previously pursuing Viper, and learned of Viper's plans, but was unable to get to Nick Fury to warn him (and had to get to Nick, as Widow wasn't sure who she could trust).  Captured by Viper, Widow was able to escape, but the severe torture Black Widow endured regressed the heroine into an old cover identity she used when she originally began working for S.H.I.E.L.D.  The story ends with Nancy coming to terms with who she is, and planning to come back to being Natasha Romanoff.

A Look Back

After that lengthy battle, it's time for a simpler team-up, and thankfully, Marvel Team-Up #98 (October, 1980), dealing with "The Fatal Attraction Of The Black Widow", in a story written by Marv Wolfman and Roger McKenzie, pencilled by Will Meugnoit and inked by Bruce Patterson, under a cover by Al Milgrom.

This time around, Spidey ends up working with the Black Widow and Simon Stroud (a C.I.A. agent, who faced monstrous Spider-Man foes, lycanthrope Man-Wolf and vampiric Morbius) to stop a smuggling ring...except that it was no average smuggling ring, instead, it was an operation run by Daredevil foe, the Owl, who had been injured in a battle with Spider-Man and Daredevil in Marvel Team-Up #73 (September, 1978), and is working the criminal mob of the  Maggia to plunge Manhattan into a blackout in return for the weaponized chair which now he needs for movement.  The heroes work against the Owl's henchmen, with Stroud taking down the Owl.  

A Look Forward

With their last team up, Spidey and the Black Widow get new looks.  True, Black Widow had just updated her costume in recent issues of Daredevil, and Spidey was still in the familiar red and blue for Marvel Team-Up #140 (April, 1984), the times were changing (though the title seems to hint at the fate planned for New York last time they met, with "Where Were You...When The Lights Went Out?", in this story written by Tom DeFalco and Bill Mantlo, pencilled by Ron Frenz and inked by Mike Esposito, under a cover by Ed Hannigan and Klaus Janson. 

This time around, New York has rolling blackouts, with Spider-Man failing to stop a murder, yet the police think they have the murderer, but blind lawyer, Matt Murdock (secretly Daredevil), thinks the boy is innocent, and has Black Widow looking into the case, meeting up with Spider-Man...but, Spider-Man gets sucked into the Beyonder's teleportation device and heads into the Secret Wars!

With Marvel Team-Up #141 (May, 1984), we see "Blind Justice" as Daredevil and Black Widow are dealing with the chaos brought about by the missing super-heroes...

...with Spider-Man returning to Earth in his new, black symbiote costume.  The heroes work together to find the real murder, with Daredevil making a deal with the Kingpin to find him in this tale by writers Tom DeFalco and Jim Owsley, pencilled by Greg Larocque and inked by Mike Esposito, under an Art Adams/Mike Mignola cover!



All this espionage can keep one busy....

....but looking forward to more straight forward team ups with Spidey and the Avengers soon!

JSA Opposite: Injustice Society Additions Part 1

The Injustice Society of the World was the evil opposite of the Justice Society of America, made up of members of the individual heroes Rogues' Galleries.  The first team faced the JSA back in All-Star Comics #37 (October-November, 1947) with the Wizard escaping....


...and returning with some new villains to start a new ISW in All-Star Comics #41 (June-July, 1948) in "The Case Of The Patriotic Crimes" by writer John Broome and artists including Alex Toth, Carmine Infantino, Arthur Peddy and Irwin Hasen, and inkers Frank Giacoia and Bernard Sachs.

Here's a few of the new foes....

Icicle

Joar Mahkent first appeared as a foreign physicist with a new freezing weapon, to make trouble for the Golden Age Green Lantern in All-American Comics #90 (October, 1947), in the story "The Icicle" by Robert Kanigher, Irwin Hasen and John Belfi (thought to have perished, but later revealed to be saved by Johnny Sorrow).  The Icicle quickly returned trying to make things cold for a South American dictator in All-American Comics #92 (December, 1947) to face Green Lantern again, in "The Icicle Goes South" by Robert Kanigher and Alex Toth.  Then, Icicle joined up with the ISW.....which influenced much of the rest of his career.

The Icicle first returned after joining the Injustice Society in Justice League of America #21 and #22 (August and September, 1963), as a member of the Crime Champions (which included the Wizard and Fiddler from Earth-2, and new villains of Chronos, Felix Faust and Dr. Alchemy, all to take on the Justice League and Justice Society, in the beginnings of annual team-up of the two heroic teams, as they'd face a Crisis every year for some time....).  Icicle next returned in Justice League of America #123 and #124 (October and November, 1975), as the Injustice Society was using Earth-Prime writers Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin in a plot to cause Crisis for the JLA and JSA.

The Icicle then worked with the ISW at home on Earth-2, in All-Star Comics #63 to #66 (in 1976 and 1977), as a plan to finish off the JSA (which almost worked).  Icicle switched over to Earth-1, working with Wonder Woman foe Minister Blizzard, Flash Rogue Captain Cold (and, secretly, Hawkman's foe, the Shadow-Thief) in Justice League of America #139 (February, 1977).  Icicle worked with fellow ISWers of the Shade and the Fiddler to help the gods of Apokolips revive Darkseid in Justice League of America #183 to #185 (October to December, 1980), then rejoined the Crime Champions at the direction of the Johnny Thunder of Earth-1 in Justice League of America #219 and #220 (October and November, 1983), before getting involved in the Crisis on Infinite Earths (issues #9 and #10), and perishing in Krona's lab in Crisis On Infinite Earths #10 (January, 1986).

This didn't keep a good villain down, as his spirit menaced Hawk and the second Dove and the Titans West in the Hawk and Dove Annual #1 of 1990 (along with a few other villains condemned to hell, which might have been enough to keep him away from the Black Lantern Corps during Blackest Night), as well as a flashback to soon after joining the ISW, facing Starman and planning retirement (and for his son) in Starman #46 (September, 1988) and facing the Star-Spangled Kid before the Crisis on Infinite Earths in a flashback in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 (July, 1999).

Even better, Icicle had a legacy, his son, Cameron, who had ice-generating powers (likely thanks to his dad's exposure to his own ice gun), and the second Icicle was a part of the Wizard's Injustice, Unlimited as of Infinity, Inc. #34 (January, 1987) and later, a member of an updated Injustice Society of the World.

There was also the case of the ghost of the Icicle in Flash #56 and #57 (November and December, 1991), facing off against Flash (Wally West), but didn't hear much about that part of the Mahkent legacy after those issues...

...and while there was a villain involved, there also rose a hero!

Sportsmaster

Crusher Crock was a sportish brute, who first faced the Golden Age Green Lantern in All-American Comics #85 (May, 1947) in "The Rise and Fall of Crusher Crock" by John Broome, Irwin Hasen and John Belfi, after being barred from all sports due to misconduct.  Crusher wanted revenge, and to prove himself better than anyone in any game at the time, but failed after sparring with the Green Lantern (though using wooden sports equipment like bats and hockey sticks caused quite a bit of trouble for GL, as his weakness was wood).  Crusher Crock returned with the moniker of the Sportsmaster in Green Lantern #28 (October-November, 1947) with "The Tricks Of The Sportsmaster" by John Broome, Irwin Hasen and Alex Toth, and then again with "The End Of Sports" in All-American Comics #98 (June, 1948) by Robert Kanigher and Alex Toth (where he sabotaged a hockey game in Gotham City), after which, Sportsmaster joined the Injustice Society, which would forever alter his life.

After the JSA disbanded, Sportsmaster was captured by Argent,  a secret government organization, (detailed in Secret Origins #14 of May, 1987, revealing how Crusher was stopped in the early 1950s)..

....or was he stopped by Mr. and Mrs. Superman, with help from the Golden Age Green Lantern and Harlequin in Superman Family #206 (March-April, 1981)? 



Either way, Crusher took a little sporting hiatus....


...but he came back, this time with his new wife in tow, the Huntress (more on her later on down), looking for revenge on Wildcat (but also facing Starman and Black Canary) in Brave and the Bold #62 (October-November, 1965).



The husband and wife villains returned in Justice League of America #123 and #124 (October and November, 1975) with the rest of the ISW.

The couple might have stayed on Earth-1, as they faced Batgirl and Robin in Batman Family #7 (September-October, 1976)...

....and a group of DC heroes in DC Super-Stars #10 (December, 1976, with Sportsmaster leading the villains, and Huntress leading the heroes in a game of baseball!).
 
The heroes won out in both cases...and it either convinced the villains to return to Earth-2 (or we just never heard of their Earth-1 counterparts again). 

Sportsmaster was there to attack the JSA again as a part of the Injustice Society in All-Star Comics #72 and #73 in 1978, but was quickly defeated...

...(Flash foe, the Thorn, and the Huntress were also attacking at that time, each for their own reasons).  Thankfully for the JSA, the villains didn't fair well no matter how hard they tried!

Sportsmaster came back one last time with Huntress, as they worked with the evil opposites of Infinity, Inc., the Injustice, Unlimited (made up of children and proteges of ISW members), and Huntress and Sportsmaster had a representative there as well (more on Tigress....soon!), as told in Infinity, Inc. #35 and #36 (February and March, 1987).

Sportsmaster had perished at some point (an alternate Earth version died in The Golden Age Elseworlds mini-series),  and the Council (a group of nefarious businessmen) who had cloned Paul Kirk (the Manhunter of the Golden Age) then had used clones of Sportsmaster to vex the JSA in JSA Secret Files #1 (August, 1999, which also introduced Kendra as Hawkgirl) and #2 (September, 2001), and in JSA Annual #1 (2000), keeping the Sportsmaster's villainy alive in the 21st Century.

Huntress

Paula Brooks was her name, but it took a long time before anyone hunted that fact down.  The Huntress began her career hunting Wildcat, starting in Sensation Comics #68 (August, 1947) in "Wildcat -- Former Crime Fighter" with art by Mort Meskin.  The hunt continued in Sensation Comics #69 (September, 1947) and "Follow The Leader" with Huntress robbing the U.S. Mail (also drawn by Mort, with no identified writer), kidnapping Wildcat's friend, Stretch Skinner in Sensation Comics #71 (November, 1947) in "The Count That Never Ended", this time by Robert Kanigher and Gil Kane, kidnapping Ted Grant to get to Wildcat in "Murder Masquerade" in Sensation Comics #73 (January, 1948), with art by Gil Kane (a problem, as Ted is Wildcat), using a phony Wildcat in a crime in Sensation Comics #75 (March, 1948) in "The Snare That Backfired" with art by Arthur Peddy and Bernard Sachs, going on a rollercoaster ride in "The Wildcat Ride" in Sensation Comics #76 (April, 1948), with art also by Peddy and Sachs...

....before joining up with the ISW (and never making a cover, as the book was dominated by Wonder Woman!).

An unpublished Golden Age story appeared in the DC 100-page Super-Spectacular #6 of 1971, with Wildcat facing Huntress one last time alone, when "Crime Wore A Costume" by Robert Kanigher and Jon C. Kozlak (and the book also reprinted the first JLA/JSA Crisis as well!).

Huntress returned, now married to the Sportsmaster, and looking for revenge on Wildcat (but also facing Starman and Black Canary) in Brave and the Bold #62 (October-November, 1965). 


The husband and wife villains returned in Justice League of America #123 and #124 (October and November, 1975) with the rest of the ISW, and may or may not have faced Robin and Batgirl in Batman Family #7 (September-October, 1976) and played baseball in DC Super-Stars #10 (December, 1976).

The pair returned again, with All-Star Comics #72 and #73 in 1978, along with the Golden Age Flash's foe, the Thorn, with the Huntress facing the new heroine who had taken that name (more on her, here....).  The female hero won (which made the villainess quite angry, but as later revealed, she had switched names anyway....).

The heroine formerly known as Huntress appeared helping villains, during the Crisis On Infinite Earths #9 and #10 in the 1980s, and returned as well to be helped by Injustice, Unlimited in Infinity, Inc. #35 and #36 (February and March, 1986), as among the team's members were former ISW members, the Wizard, the Fiddler and the Shade, and the son of Icicle, the daughter of the Gambler, and the Tigress, who was Artemis Crock, the daughter of the Sportsmaster and the Huntress!

Soon after this, in stories set in the 1940s, the Huntress' past was revealed, as she was Paula Brooks, a young woman who became fascinated with big game hunter, Paul Kirk, trailed him to learn more about his life (including his identity as the mystery man, the Manhunter), and Paula joined the Young All-Stars as the Tigress to be "a hunter of men".  This worked for a while, until the Tigress was killed by Gudra, the Valkyrie, and while Paula came back, she had a darker personality then (see Young All-Stars comics from the late 1980s, issues #6 to #26 to see how this all played out as Roy Thomas filled in character back story with his retroactive continuity).  The Tigress was even involved in a secret JSA case, fighting the Stalker with Hawkman and Wildcat alongside the Manhunter in Thrilling Comics #1 (May, 1999) and with the whole JSA plus a few in All-Star Comics #2 (Late May, 1999), and it was soon after this that she appeared as the Huntress fighting Wildcat in Sensation Comics.

Back in the present, with a full history behind her, Paula Brooks even came out to support her daughter, the Tigress, when she competed in the Olympics as a member of the Zandian team, along with other super-villains, like Green Arrow's foe, Merlyn, in Young Justice #25 (November, 2000), and the new Tigress has continued along with the Injustice Society of the World with her boyfriend, the new Icicle, as that team has popped up, as well as facing the new Hawkgirl, Kendra, for a time...proving, like a good hero, it's hard to keep a good villain down....and more ISW member facts are coming soon, with info on the Fiddler, the Harlequin, the Shade, Solomon Grundy and more!